Maybe Zhou Xiaoyun had been standing in front of the stall for too long, affecting the vendor's business. The woman in her 40s said kindly: "Little girl, let your parents take you to buy something."

  Zhou Xiaoyun knew this was a subtle hint for her to leave, she smiled and stood up again to continue strolling forward.

  Look at those people back then, how simple and honest they were. If it were the current shop owner with slightly lower quality, who knows, he might have already chased them away with harsh words.

  Zhou Xiaoyun suddenly remembered something that happened when she was 25 years old. At that time, she took her daughter to the mall and saw a cotton-padded jacket for girls. When she looked at the price tag, it was over 300 yuan. She didn't even try it on and hung the clothes back on the rack. The salesperson's disdainful gaze seemed to say "you can't afford such clothes", making her feel ashamed. It made her realize that poverty is not a mistake but a kind of humiliation that makes people unable to hold their heads up.

  Zhou Xiaoyun was unwilling to recall unpleasant past events and vowed that she would never again be a person who is looked down upon.

  Zhou Xiaoyun, lost in thought, was knocked to the ground by an old man and landed heavily on her buttocks. By the time Zhou Xiaoyun came to her senses, her buttocks hurt so much that she let out a loud "Ah!"

  He looked up and saw that it was nearly sixty-year-old Wang Lao from his own village.

  "Aiya, it hurts, right? It's all because of this careless old man who didn't watch his step, look at the child getting hurt."

  Wang Lao Die helped Zhou Xiao Yun up and blamed himself for being careless.

  "It's not your fault, it's all my own fault for not watching where I was going and falling down. I'm fine now, not hurt at all."

  Wang Lao Die saw that Zhou Xiao Yun was standing steadily and felt relieved. He reminded her to be careful on the road before leaving.

  People around are used to such things, not many people will come to pay attention to such a small matter. Pedestrians keep walking, those who stroll keep strolling, buyers keep buying, sellers keep selling, and no one is affected.

  Such a small episode did not affect Zhou Xiaoyun's mood for visiting the market, she liked people at this time. Everyone was simple and kind, without so many power struggles and selfishness, very warm human feelings.

  In the middle of the market, there was a stall surrounded by many children. Zhou Xiaoyun curiously walked over to take a look and found that it was a vendor selling picture books for kids. No wonder so many children were lingering in front of the stall.

  A man in his thirties who sells children's books is good-tempered and collects the books that have been turned upside down by the kids, putting them away neatly one by one.

  Zhou Xiaoyun lowered her head and squeezed in, squatting in front of the stall to see what kind of little people books were there.

  The books on the shelves are divided into several categories. The first row is for adults, including books like "Zhou Gong's Dream Interpretation", "I Ching" and couplets. The second row consists of martial arts novels. The third row is what kids love to read - picture books.

  At that time, the small books were about the size of a palm, with illustrations on top and stories below. Mythological stories were the most popular among children, with several kids gathering around to flip through them repeatedly. The books were mostly brand new, not expensive at all, only 20 cents each.

  Some children have already asked the adults standing behind them to buy one for themselves.

  Although many people are watching, few are buying. Who has the spare money to buy this for their kids? Many children were dragged away by adults, and they would still take a reluctant glance back before leaving.

  Zhou Xiaoyun picked up a copy of Journey to the West and was reading it with great interest, the story was familiar, and the monsters drawn in the illustrations were worth looking at. There weren't many kids like her who "snuck" peeks at books, but most of those who could understand the book were older kids around 8 or 9 years old, and it was hard to find another kid as young as her squatting there reading a book.

  The boss of the bookstall looked at Zhou Xiaoyun's serious expression and thought this little girl was quite interesting: "Hey, can you understand books? If you can, I'll give you one for free."

  Zhou Xiaoyun mischievously raised her head and deliberately put on a pretentious expression: "Of course, of course I can understand it."

  The children around her noticed and started teasing her, asking her to read two sentences.

  Zhou Xiaoyun pretended to be serious and refused to read.

  The man selling books became more and more convinced that she couldn't understand, saying that as long as she could read one page, he would give her this copy of Journey to the West.

  Zhou Xiaoyun asked him: "Do you count as speaking? Don't read it up and then regret not giving me the book."

  The man suppressed a smile: "I guarantee what I say counts, if you don't believe me, let those around us be the proof."

  Even some adults were attracted by this interesting scene.

  Zhou Xiaoyun's face was solemn, and she read out the first page of the Xiao Ren Shu in standard Mandarin with a serious tone.

  When she finished reading, there was a burst of applause around her, and the book vendor's eyes nearly popped out in surprise.

  "Alright, you said it yourself, this book now belongs to me."

  Zhou Xiaoyun took away the little book with a pleased expression and couldn't help but chuckle when she thought of what had just happened.

  The market was finally strolled around, and Zhou Xiaoyun went back to find her parents. When she arrived at Zhao Yuzhen's egg-selling place, the eggs in the basket were all sold out, and four duck eggs were left unsold.

  Zhao Yuzhen saw her daughter was sweating all over and took out a towel to wipe the sweat for her, then asked where the little book in her hand came from.

  Zhou Xiaoyun didn't dare tell the truth and only said she picked it up from the ground. Zhao Yuzhen had no suspicions and believed her.

  "His mother, we've had enough of these duck eggs. Let's go home and fry them for the kids at noon to satisfy their cravings."

  Then, at noon, a plate of scrambled duck eggs appeared on the table in Zhou's house. The duck eggs had some earthy smell and were not as delicious as chicken eggs, but to the four siblings in the Zhou family, they were already a rare delicacy, and everyone ate them with relish.