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

"What's wrong, Auntie?" Ya Ya stopped in her tracks.

All the customers in the shop have left, and one and a half of the two buckets of stewed chicken feet have been sold. Auntie's steamer is three layers short, and there is still a little bit of soup left.

Are you too busy to handle everything and need to stay and help out?

Cao Xiulian took two steps forward. "Here's what happened. Yesterday, your Grandpa Fang transferred five thousand yuan to me, saying it was for paying taxes. I don't know where the old man heard about this. I'm just going to talk to you about this tax matter, so you can explain it to Grandpa Fang later."

Ya Ya took out her phone. "Okay, Auntie, I'll record you talking."

Cao Xiulian smiled and patted Ya Ya's head, saying that new brains adapt quickly.

"Our shop is registered under my aunt's identity. We are a small-scale individual business taxpayer. The government has a policy that small-scale individual businesses with quarterly sales of less than 300,000 yuan are not required to pay value-added tax and surcharges. Only when sales exceed 300,000 yuan will full taxes be calculated and paid."

Our little flower bud shop only makes breakfast all morning, and we don't even reach the amount required for taxation.

Ya Ya blinked, confused. Grandpa Fang said Auntie must have helped pay a lot of taxes, but Auntie said the local government exempts them. Which one is right?

What is the government? Does it mean the government offices? The government offices here are so good; they don't have to hand over any money they earn. Unlike where they are, even if they don't earn a single penny, as long as people are still registered, they can be confiscated, not only for money and grain, but also for their people.

That's terrible.

But is there really such a good government...?

Ya Ya looked at Cao Xiulian with suspicion. Could it be that her aunt didn't want to take her money and was deliberately trying to fool her?

"So Auntie can't accept this five thousand. Take out your little watch and Auntie will transfer it back to you."

Ya Ya jumped and quickly covered her little watch. "No, no, Auntie, I'll show it to Grandpa Fang when I get back. We'll talk about it after Grandpa Fang looks at it. I'm going now!"

Cao Xiulian watched the little guy run off at lightning speed, shook her head with a wry smile, walked to the table, and thought, "It's not like we can only scan the watch, there's also a QR code."

Cao Xiulian opened WeChat and scanned the QR code.

With a beep, a message popped up on the phone screen: "This payment code is temporarily invalid and payment cannot be completed."

Cao Xiulian frowned. Wasn't she just receiving money normally? Could it be that she triggered the typhoon risk control measures that restricted payments?

After finishing the last piece of sausage, Jie Chi let out a satisfied burp.

Money that I, the god, have given away, has no reason to return.

……

When Yan Erzhu opened his eyes again, his mind was foggy, as if he had swallowed three pounds of muddy water. It took him a long time to come to his senses. The events that had just happened were a blur. He couldn't remember the cause and effect, nor could he figure out where he was.

My ears were ringing, and the sounds around me were muffled, as if there was a layer between them.

"Second Brother, Second Brother, you're awake!" Sanya rushed to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with delight.

"San, Sanya, what's wrong with us?" Erzhu tried to sit up, but his whole body was still numb and his limbs were weak and powerless.

My palms, which had just touched the wire, were burning and stinging, and fragmented memories slowly crept back into my mind along with the pain.

"Lie down. You'll feel numb, weak, and powerless after being shocked. You were reckless, but you're also incredibly lucky to be alive." Doctor Chen pressed Erzhu back down.

Yan Daya, who was standing to the side, woke up a little earlier than Erzhu. Her mind was a complete mess, and she was slowly looking around at her surroundings.

"Dr. Chen, what is electricity...? I was just struck by lightning?"

Dr. Chen opened his mouth. He didn't even understand the principles of this pulsed electric grid himself, so how could he explain it to others? He had only learned about the physical reactions after being shocked from the projector last night.

These things are village secrets, so it's not appropriate to go into too much detail.

When Fang Tiesheng saw that the Yan siblings were awake, he dragged over a broken, rickety chair and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed).

"San Ya has told us everything that just happened, including what happened to the three of you, and about Daya's situation. Life in Lotus Village is doing alright now. So, I'd like to ask you, what are your plans for the future? Are you planning to settle down and live independently in your village, or do you have other plans?"

Erzhu and Daya scratched their heads together, looking bewildered.

"Uncle Fang, we didn't think about these things. We can't stay in town anymore; my older sister ran away from there. Our village is empty now, and the old well, which never had much water before, has completely collapsed."

"We were thinking of bringing Da Niu and the other two over, but the government had already cancelled the registrations of all the people in your village. I was thinking..." Er Zhu paused. He really didn't expect that the dead people on the household registration would be sitting alive and well in front of him.

"I just wanted to come and take a look. If I could lend a hand, I would. If Brother Da Niu is alright, he must have some vegetable seeds by now. I was thinking of borrowing some."

Fang Tiesheng looked at the three of them: "Have you considered going outside again?"

Erzhu slowly shook his head: "We're not going out. The world outside is too chaotic. Huai'an Town is mostly empty. I heard that the war in the northwest is getting fiercer and fiercer. The imperial court can't take care of it. It's the local people and bandits who are defending the city on their own initiative. It seems that they've even lost a city. No one can say for sure when the war will spread over."

With this year's snowstorms and drought, it's all the same no matter where you go; it's better to stay in Luanyunling, where you can rely on the mountains for sustenance. Outside, all you can eat is the soil.

"If things become stable in the future, you still don't want to go out?"

"Uh..." Erzhu hesitated, but he still had to go out. Salt and cloth couldn't be found in the mountains, so he had to go out and buy them anyway.

"I can't say for sure."

Listening to the question and answer, Sanya vaguely sensed the unspoken meaning. She discreetly observed the clothing of the people in the room; even the village chief and Uncle Fang were wearing those strange, dark blue clothes. The room looked like it hadn't been lived in for a long time and was clearly a temporary accommodation for them.

I could faintly hear what sounded like a pig grunting in my ears.

Lotus Village, let alone this generation, didn't have any decent livestock even two generations ago. Now, not only are the clothes unique and warm, but there also seems to be livestock. Despite the impassable roads, everyone in the village looks full of energy. People who were originally deregistered are still alive and well, even more so than when she had seen them before.

Lotus Village must hold secrets unknown to outsiders.

That's why Uncle Fang kept asking them if they wanted to go out.

Outside, there is chaos, natural disasters, and man-made calamities; going out would be a dead end, while staying here might be a way to survive.

"Uncle Fang, Grandpa Li, Grandpa Chen, if you don't mind, my siblings and I would like to stay. We are all quite strong, don't eat much, and can do any kind of work." Sanya mustered her courage and broke the silence in the room.

Seeing that everyone else in the room was looking over, she hesitated for a moment and then said frankly, "Just now I vaguely heard pigs squealing. I know how to feed pigs. I'm not afraid of dirt or stench. I can handle any dirty or smelly work."

If you have any concerns, then we'll pretend we didn't hear anything. Please lend us some vegetable seeds; we'll leave immediately.

Daya and Erzhu were still in a daze and couldn't keep up with Sanya's train of thought. They just stared at Sanya blankly.

Where are the pigs? Lotus Village is the poorest village in the area, how could there be any pigs there?

Could it be that Sanya also experienced auditory hallucinations due to the barbed wire attack?

Fang Tiesheng could see clearly that although Sanya was young, she was the most quick-witted and clear-headed of the three siblings.

"Sanya, come with me."