He opened it, revealing a few pieces of crystalline candy inside.
He shared them with Shen Ningning. The little girl took one to taste and was immediately captivated by the sweet flavor.
"It's so sweet!" she exclaimed, her bright, dark eyes widening.
Deng Fugui said proudly, "This is loquat candy. Our loquat tree used to be the best, bearing fruit so big and round we couldn't eat it all."
"My mom would cook the loquats down into candy. If you like it, you can have the rest."
"The drought is too severe now, so the loquat trees can't survive. When my family can plant them again in the future, I'll save all the loquat candy my mom makes for you."
As Shen Ningning listened to him, her lively eyes remained fixed on the pieces of candy.
She remembered her grandma saying something similar before.
The soil in Xiangyun Village wasn't actually very fertile. Before the drought, most families made a living by growing and selling loquats.
