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

Before the two even reached the entrance of Granny Liu's courtyard, they could hear a lively chatter and laughter coming from inside, just a dozen steps away.

Listening closely, even the most composed Fang Tiesheng was exclaiming, his voice trembling with surprise and a hint of joy: "Oh my, these are really beautiful! These shoes are so interesting!"

"Hey, what material is this made of? From now on, we can wear this to the bathroom when we take a shower, right? It won't get wet and it'll dry in no time?" That was the village chief's voice.

"It's so good to have shoes. The floor used to be a bit slippery, and I was always afraid of falling while standing on it."

"These shoes are so beautiful, bright red and translucent, and the flowers on them are so interesting, just like shoes made of glass." Ji Chuntao's tone was full of joy.

What is that? What kind of shoes?

Xiong Bo and Qiao Chuan quickened their pace.

Upon entering the courtyard, the two were dumbfounded.

In the open space next to the large sofa in the courtyard, the village chief, Fang Tiesheng, Doctor Chen, Ji Chuntao, and Granny Liu were all walking back and forth, each wearing a pair of brand-new transparent crystal slippers.

The soles of the shoes shimmered with colorful lights as the footsteps rose and fell, red, blue, green... all kinds of light flickering on and off.

As people move, their feet flash with light, sometimes bright, sometimes dim. Clusters of tiny, colorful lights reflect on the muddy ground, forming a river of colorful light.

Ya Ya was running back and forth in the yard, the colorful lights on the soles of her shoes flashing rapidly, leaving a trail of flowing colorful light spots on the ground where she ran.

"Uncle Xiong, Sister Chuan Chuan, you're here!" Ya Ya, who had run to the gate, saw the two people standing by the gate and waved enthusiastically.

"Come here, come to the sofa! My little girl bought something special today. Look at these shoes, they light up by themselves!" Ji Chuntao pointed to the sofa and called out with a smile.

Xiong Bo and Qiao Chuan walked to the sofa while looking at the shoes on the feet of the group.

"These shoes are available in various sizes. Please compare them with your own shoes and find the ones that fit."

"Okay, sure."

Qiao Chuan looked at the large bag of shoes packed in a large plastic bag on the empty space in the middle of the sofa, thought for a moment, then sat down on the sofa and lifted his feet to look at the soles of his feet using the only solar-powered clip-on light in the yard.

She remembered that in that area, shoe sizes were engraved on the soles of shoes.

Seeing her movements, Xiong Bo remembered this incident and looked down, pointing to his feet.

"My 36."

"41".

After figuring out their sizes, the two squatted down and started rummaging through the large bag of slippers. Qiao Chuan even sorted the slippers he had rummaged through by size, piling each size into a small, clear pile.

"You bought so many shoes this time?" Qiao Chuan stared at the huge pile of shoes with size 36 soles, and there were so many colors that he didn't know where to start.

"Sister Chuan Chuan!" Ya Ya hung half her body on the back of the sofa, her little feet swinging as she looked at the two of them.

"These shoes come in two types: one that lights up and one that doesn't. Look at the heel; the ones with the little white box hidden underneath are the ones that light up, perfect for walking at night. The ones without the box don't light up, and you can wear them in the bathroom, even in the rain. They're fine when they get wet!"

Xiong Bo picked up a dark blue slipper, examined it for a moment, and tapped the heel: "There are batteries in this little box, right?"

Ya Ya clapped her hands happily: "That's right! Uncle Bear, you're so smart! The clearance sale guy said he replaced all the batteries in the shoes with new ones, so they'll last a long time!"

Xiong Bo nodded, his hands moving faster than his brain. Instinctively, he pried open the small box lid on the sole of the shoe. Inside was a small white box connected to a thin wire. He gently pressed his finger down on the surface of the box, and the sole of the shoe suddenly flashed with a burst of colorful light.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn't bear to pull out the wires inside. He put the box back in, closed the lid, and put on a pair of dark blue transparent slippers.

Although there are many shoes, only one pair of shoes can light up. If one gets damaged and can't be put back in, then everyone will have shoes that light up except him tomorrow. How embarrassing!

Qiao Chuan also put on the pair of transparent slippers adorned with various small flowers, tried stepping on them a few times, and the light spots under his feet lit up.

"It's so beautiful!"

"Right? They're so pretty! These shoes are only eight dollars a pair!" Ya Ya slid off the sofa back and bounced off in her slippers.

"Beautiful! Our little girl always manages to buy things that are both pretty and affordable. She's the best shopper in the village!" Grandma Liu smiled as she looked at Ya Ya. Her daughter's happiness was her happiness.

After admiring the glowing slippers for a while, Ji Chuntao sat back on the sofa; she still hadn't looked at her clothes.

She didn't go to bed early today, thinking she would wait for Da Niu and the others to come back in the yard. Little did she expect that she would catch up with Nannan bringing back some novel and wonderful things from the fairy realm.

"This fabric feels like hemp, but it's much softer than our coarse hemp. Oh, and there are words on the back? Uncle Fang, could you please help me see what these words are?" Ji Chuntao unfolded a piece of clothing.

"Let me see, the Friendship Gathering Dance Troupe." Fang Tiesheng read it out word by word, pressing it against the fabric of his clothes.

"This style is a bit like our clothes, with drawstrings on the cuffs. It's really well made. Now I won't have to worry about my sleeves getting dirty when I'm working and picking up food."

Ji Chuntao put down the clothes and picked up the pants: "The pant legs are also tied up, with elastic bands sewn inside. This is a good idea!"

"The colors are nice too. Why don't you take some time to alter these smaller ones for the kids? Wouldn't it be faster to alter them with that sewing machine?" The village chief chimed in.

"Yes, you can sew a long piece of thread by yourself by stepping on the sewing machine. I'll go and modify it tomorrow."

"Aunt Chuntao, don't worry. Auntie said we little kids grow so fast, we change every month. These clothes are so thin, we can only wear them when they're warmer. You can alter them for us when they're warmer." Ya Ya patted the clothes.

"Oh dear, I'd completely forgotten what happened. Our little girl is more methodical in everything she does now than most adults!"

bud bud: ๐•ᴗ•๐

……

The next morning.

The soft morning light spills onto the paths between the houses in Lotus Village.

Ji Chuntao took out the mung bean powder that she had asked Daya to grind the night before from the cellar and stood by the stove.

Originally, they wanted Da Niu to help grind the flour in the morning, but they happened to run into the three of them coming over together. When Da Ya heard that they were going to grind the flour, she immediately rolled up her sleeves and was ready to work, and they couldn't stop her.

The petite girl was incredibly strong; she turned the old millstone at the village entrance into a spinning wheel, grinding several large earthenware jars of mung bean flour in one go.

This girl...

Ji Chuntao shook her head, smiled gently, and rolled up her sleeves.

First, pour water into the basin containing mung bean powder, then stir it continuously with a bamboo stick until it becomes a thick, smooth, milky-white paste. Then place the basin under the eaves in a shady place to let it settle.

Sanya stood by, handing over water and stabilizing the basin. Once the first basin was settled, Ji Chuntao stirred the second one.

One basin after another, the two of them worked together to mix three or four basins of mung bean powder into a paste, which they then placed under the eaves, waiting for the starch to settle.