The little one's purse connects the two worlds, turning a desolate village into a paradise.

After they had their fill of the wonder, the three little ones finally walked out of the bathroom together. Outside, the villagers were still lining up. The village chief stood guard at the door, and only after seeing Ya Ya and the others come out did he let the first five people in to come inside for a tour.

One group of villagers after another stepped into the house, and exclamations of amazement echoed out the door.

"Oh my goodness, you're using such clean water to rinse something dirty!"

"What kind of mechanism is hidden at the bottom of this white porcelain pool? Water comes out when you press it. Master Xiong, can you tell me what's going on?"

"I heard it can also dispense hot water, but why isn't it hot?"

After the group finished watching, they walked away, talking amongst themselves, hoping that the sun would be strong tomorrow so they could heat up the pipes and take a hot bath.

Fang Tiesheng was really distressed about the water in the tank. He only flushed it once when he was demonstrating with three children. The other dozen or so villagers took turns to watch, and he only gave a demonstration in front of everyone at the very end after he gathered them all together.

The moment the clear water gushed out, everyone in the room stared wide-eyed; they hadn't expected such a powerful flow of water.

Old Sun waved his hands repeatedly: "Turn it off quickly, it's such a waste of water!"

Fang Tiesheng looked helpless. "This thing can't be turned off manually, unlike a faucet. I just press it and it flushes away a whole tank of water."

After everyone had left, the village chief stood by the sink, looking at the showerhead, the water tank on the wall, and the black washing machine in the corner of the bathroom. His brows furrowed, and after thinking for a long time, he finally asked Xiong Bo beside him:

"Brother Xiong, could we add a pipe, like two pipes branching off from the water tank? The water from washing hands, wiping the face, and taking a bath is relatively clean, so we could run a separate pipe to collect it in a large wooden tub. Then, when we use the toilet, we could use this wastewater to flush the squat toilet. Do you think this method is feasible? It's really heartbreaking to see such precious water being wasted like this."

The villagers who hadn't finished walking around all nodded in agreement when they heard the village chief's words, their faces showing approval.

For generations, they have lived in the mountains. The difficulty of obtaining water and the preciousness of water are ingrained in their bones. Watching the flowing water being used to wash away dirt and filth, they felt terrible.

Xiong Bo slapped his thigh and immediately agreed: "The village chief is right, this is easy to do! Nannan brought a lot of soft water pipes and various accessories, there are enough materials. I will disassemble the pipes in a moment and make a diversion channel to separately divert the washing wastewater to the wooden barrel for storage."

The problem is that there's no separate pipe connected to the shower area floor. The water flows directly into the squat toilet basin and then into the septic tank. If you're really worried about wasting water, you can place a wooden basin on the floor while showering, stand in it to collect the water, and then use it to flush the toilet.

"Alright, but don't rush it. You've been busy all day, go to the yard for a meal and get some rest." The village chief patted Xiong Bo on the shoulder. Master craftsman, you truly live up to your reputation.

While everyone in Lotus Village was having a lively dinner and exchanging their thoughts on visiting the bathrooms that day, Cao Xiulian also got up. The sky in Red Leaf City was still dark.

After quickly washing up, she began to work quietly in her kitchen, rolling out the dough until it was thin and even. With one hand pinching pleats and the other filling the buns, by the time dawn broke, steamed buns, vegetables, and meat buns were piled high on the counter.

She gathered all the wrapped steamed buns and dumplings into the steamer, and put any extras into a special storage box. She covered them with a cloth, and was about to carry the steamer baskets downstairs when she heard a loud crash from her son's room.

She didn't take it seriously and went out as usual, when she heard hurried footsteps behind her. Zhao Haohao rushed out in a panic and grabbed her clothes.

"Mom! Wait for me! Don't walk too fast!" Cao Xiulian turned around and looked at his sleepy-eyed face, both amused and annoyed: "Why are you in such a hurry? You have to go to school today. You usually don't get up until the sun is high in the sky, why are you acting like this today?"

Zhao Haohao chuckled and rubbed his eyes: "Isn't it because I'm going to work at the store to earn money?"

He worked at the shop for two days during the Qingming Festival holiday, earning ten yuan a day.

The twenty-eight yuan that his sister Ya Ya gave him was ruthlessly stuffed back by his mother, and he even got a loving lecture from her.

I've only earned twenty in two days. I'll have to work a long time to buy my sister some nice clothes.

"You can lend a hand if you want," Cao Xiulian said sternly, "but you're not allowed to nod or doze off in class. If a teacher calls me to complain, you'll be out of work immediately, and all the pocket money you've saved will be confiscated."

Upon hearing that his savings were going to be taken away, Zhao Haohao immediately gritted his teeth and nodded vigorously: "I promise! I'll go to bed early tonight and pay close attention in class!"

Looking at her son's earnestness, Cao Xiulian felt a strange sense of emotion. She felt that her son had suddenly become much more sensible, and even a little unfamiliar to her.

Because they had to wait for Hao Hao to wash up and get ready, when Cao Xiulian and her son arrived at the store today, the lights were on. Little Ya Ya, wearing a new pink dress, was standing next to the shelves, placing goods from a large bamboo basket on the ground onto the shelves little by little.

Hearing footsteps, Ya Ya looked towards the shop entrance and saw her aunt and Brother Zhao. She grinned widely, revealing her two little tiger teeth: "Auntie, Brother Zhao, you're here!"

Cao Xiulian glanced at the several large baskets stacked on the ground, filled with tender wild vegetables, and exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my goodness, so many wild vegetables today, and they're even fresh cat's paw shoots! How did you manage to get so many? Sister Wang and the others are in for a treat!"

Zhao Haohao's eyes lit up, and he ran over to greet them, his backpack swaying back and forth.

Ya Ya stared at his schoolbag. Instead of Ku Nuomi, there was a strange figure with a round silver head and two yellow duck egg-shaped covers over his eyes.

"Brother Zhao, you really have another backpack? I thought you'd lost it the day before yesterday because I didn't see you change it!"

Zhao Haohao scratched the back of his head and chuckled, "I didn't bring my schoolbag because it was a holiday. I have so many schoolbags that I take turns carrying them."

After saying that, she stepped forward and said, "What are you doing? Let me help you!"

The two children were busy squatting by the shelf when Cao Xiulian took out her phone, opened the wild vegetable WeChat group, and sent a message: Today's new wild vegetable, cat's paw greens, is all tender tips with no old stems. Limited quantity, so hurry up if you want some!

After sending the message, she turned around and tidied up the steamer and portioned out the buns and steamed bread.

Zhao Haohao was very observant. After arranging the goods, he picked up a rag and wiped the tables and swept the floor inside and out, not slacking off at all.

After placing the large and small bamboo baskets aside, Ya Ya sidled up to Cao Xiulian's worktable and gently tugged at her sleeve.

"Auntie."

Cao Xiulian put down the steamer, wiped the flour off her hands, and turned around to ask softly, "What's wrong, Ya Ya? What's the matter?"

Ya Ya carefully took out a neatly folded piece of cloth from her pocket. The cloth was printed with bright red mushrooms and cute little rabbit patterns, and the stitches were neat and tidy. She held it out to her with both hands.

"This apron was specially made for you by Aunt Chuntao. I noticed that your old apron was dusty and had oil stains that couldn't be washed off. When I bought fabric last time, I thought this one would be perfect for you, so I'm giving it to you."

Cao Xiulian was taken aback, then quickly took it and unfolded it. The white fabric was bright and soft, with a small pocket sewn on the side of the waist, which could hold change or a rag. The stitches were so fine that it was clear that it was sewn by hand.