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

The three insulated containers were placed steadily on the round table.

The village chief called out to everyone, "Everyone, take a bowl and serve yourselves. You can choose any of the three types of porridge. One pot is for preserved egg and lean pork, one pot is for seafood, and the other is for red bean porridge. The red bean porridge is sweet, while the other two are savory."

"What kind of egg is a century egg?" Da Niu asked, examining each egg in his bowl.

"It's an egg pickled using a different method; it's black. Don't ask any more questions, it's just delicious."

Zhao Hu carried two bowls, first filling one bowl with seafood porridge, then running to the other side to fill it with preserved egg and lean pork porridge. Seeing Da Niu still hesitating between the three bowls, he nudged Da Niu with his elbow: "You fill two bowls too, one with the one you want to eat the most, and one with red bean porridge. We can take turns trying them later, so we can taste all three flavors."

"Tiger, you're so smart!" Da Niu's eyes lit up, and he immediately went to the stove and grabbed another bowl.

Ya Ya chose the preserved egg and lean pork congee. She had only tried a small piece when she bought it before, and she wasn't satisfied yet.

Grandma Liu chose red bean porridge, which was sweet, soft, and smooth.

Everyone gathered around the table, enjoying their porridge. Many people exclaimed in admiration as they ate, marveling at how many varieties of porridge there were in that place.

Ji Chuntao took a sip of seafood porridge, her eyes showing surprise: "Wow, so this is what seafood tastes like! The shrimp are much bigger than those from the river. The shrimp meat is so springy! And those bits inside are probably shellfish meat, right?"

She chewed it and nodded repeatedly: "The taste is really different. I can't quite put my finger on it. My mountain delicacies are quite different from real seafood. The freshness of seafood is really not the same as that of our mountain produce."

Grandpa Wang chewed slowly, frowning, and whispered to Grandma Wang, "I think it smells fishy, ​​I can't get used to this."

Upon hearing this, Grandma Wang moved the seafood porridge in front of her. "Old man, try this. It's century egg porridge. I just had a couple of sips and it's quite interesting, though I can't quite put my finger on it."

Yan Daya led Yan Erzhu and Yan Sanya, each holding a bowl, to the end of the porridge queue.

Yan Erzhu and Yan Sanya had already witnessed the abundance of food in Lotus Village yesterday, so they were somewhat prepared for the porridge this morning, which included everything from mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas. Only Yan Daya, holding her bowl, had a look of utter disbelief on her face.

Lotus Village is surrounded by deep mountains and forests, making it extremely difficult to even leave the mountains, let alone reach the sea. How come they're having hot porridge with meat and rare seafood for breakfast so early in the morning?

Even if she went out, she knew perfectly well what the town was like. It was arid and barren, with families selling wives and daughters everywhere, and the land was withered and many wheat crops had died.

Where does Lotus Village get food that's hard to find anywhere else? How come it smells so good?

The fragrance was so strong it seemed to be free, wafting straight into my nose.

Soon it was the three siblings' turn to scoop the porridge. Daya, with a head full of questions, hesitated for a moment but then mustered up her courage and scooped up a spoonful of seafood porridge and put it in her bowl.

Who cares? What's in the food is what matters, why think so much?

These shrimp are huge! They look delicious.

"Sanya, did you and Erzhu eat this well yesterday too?" After the three siblings finished serving the porridge and stepped aside, Daya turned her head and asked in a low voice.

Erzhu immediately perked up, holding a bowl in one hand and counting on his fingers with the other: "No, big sister, you don't know, we ate even better yesterday! Unadulterated rice with no added water, and the round table was piled high with dishes. There was this tomato and egg stir-fry—the tomato was so red and sweet and sour, Sanya even ate two bowls of rice with the soup! There was also braised pork with potatoes, all dishes we'd never heard of before. The potatoes were golden yellow and tasted like starch, so fragrant. The pieces of meat inside were huge! I even secretly counted—twelve dishes in total!"

And this big round table in front of us, do you see it? It's two-tiered, and the small round plates can even spin! As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and gestured very subtly in the air. "Just like that, it spins, and people don't need to get up. If you want to eat a dish, just turn it gently, and the plate will be right in front of you."

Da Ya was stunned.

"You two both ate several bowls of rice?"

"Yes, it smells so good, big sister." Sanya scooped up a spoonful of sweet red bean porridge, put it in her mouth, and nodded emphatically.

"Oh dear, how can that be? Eating so much is too much. We newcomers can only have a taste, not eat as much as we want. You two are really something. Food is so precious these days. It's already the best that the people in Lotus Village are willing to share with us. Why don't you save some? Next time, eat less and work more." Daya raised her eyebrows and glared at her younger brother and sister.

"It's not, eldest sister... I..." Erzhu said, feeling a little aggrieved, trying to explain. Lotus Village seemed ridiculously wealthy. It was definitely not a village where people couldn't afford to eat.

"Don't say anything, brother. Let sister see for herself from now on," Sanya whispered to Erzhu.

Everyone was eating, drinking, and having a lively time when Little Bean, sitting at the round table, held a bowl of seafood porridge and licked his lips as he stared at the large red shrimp covered in sticky, glistening rice grains.

Seeing how eager he was, Grandma Li reached out and peeled the shrimp for him, then placed the shrimp meat in front of Xiaodouzi: "Eat up. I don't know if this is how you peel them, but these are the whitest parts."

The little girl took a big bite, the shrimp meat was so bouncy and chewy, even more so than those pearls in milk tea! It tasted so fresh and sweet, so delicious!

Grandma Li watched as Xiaodouzi ate with great relish, and then she also slurped up a mouthful of the shrimp head she had left over from peeling the shrimp.

Little Bean finished eating a big shrimp and was about to ask Grandma to peel another one for him when he suddenly found his hands were incredibly itchy.

He put down the bowl and used one of his small hands to scratch his left arm repeatedly.

"Grandma, my arm itches!"

Upon hearing this, Grandma Li hurriedly bent down and lifted Xiaodouzi's sleeve. She saw that a large patch of light red rashes had suddenly appeared on Xiaodouzi's forearm, with large and small red spots swelling up.

Grandma Li panicked immediately, scooped up Xiaodouzi, and rushed to Dr. Chen's side: "Dr. Chen, Dr. Chen, please take a look now, what's wrong with Xiaodouzi! His arm was perfectly fine, but suddenly a bunch of rashes have appeared. Could this be some kind of serious illness?"

"What happened? You've got a rash?"

"Did you catch a chill?"

Dr. Chen put down his bowl. "Everyone, don't panic, eat in peace. You take Xiaodouzi and move a little away from the table, let me check on him."

Little Bean was so itchy that he grimaced, wanting to scratch but not daring to.

Dr. Chen reached out and gently touched the raised red rashes, then examined Xiaodouzi's other arm and neck.

"Keep an eye on Xiaodouzi and don't let him scratch it too hard, or it will easily become infected. What did he eat just now? Has he eaten anything else since last night?"

Grandma Li grabbed Xiaodouzi's hand, which was trying to scratch an itch. "I didn't eat anything else, not even porridge. I only ate a shrimp from the seafood porridge. I ate the shrimp head, and Xiaodouzi ate the meat. I didn't even get a rash!"

Upon hearing this, Dr. Chen frowned slightly, carefully recalling the medical books he had read, before his frown gradually relaxed.

"It must be because of the shrimp. Ancient books record that shrimp are a 'wind-inducing' food, and eating too much can cause sores and rashes. Some people who seem perfectly fine can't stand seafood, not because they've contracted any disease, and they won't pass it on to others."