Sixty Yuan Dream

Old Wang Tou ran a small shop for recycling old items. The shop wasn't big, but it had a lot of things. He liked to put a rocking chair by the door, where he would bask in the sun and observe the passersby each day. Today, a little girl came, clutching a small cloth bag in her hand, standing timidly at the door.

"Little one, what do you want to sell?" Old Wang Tou squinted his eyes and asked with a smile.

The girl placed the cloth bag in front of him and slowly opened it, revealing a pile of shimmering things. Old Wang Tou was stunned for a moment. He had been in this business for decades and had seen all kinds of things, but he had never seen such shiny objects before. He picked up a ring and examined it carefully, "This is real gold, little one, where did you get it?"

The girl lowered her head and said softly, "It's my mom's. I took it to sell."

Old Wang Tou's heart skipped a beat. This must be some spoiled brat who had stolen treasures from home. "This... this can't be sold, little one. You should take it back quickly, don't let your mom find out."

The girl shook her head, tears shimmering in her big eyes, "I want to sell it for money, I want to buy lots and lots of candy."

Old Wang Tou felt somewhat helpless. This child really didn't understand, but seeing her pitiful appearance, his heart softened. He sighed and took out sixty yuan from the drawer, "Here, this is for you, enough to buy lots of candy. You take these things back."

The girl took the money, a smile appearing on her face. She carefully put the money in her pocket, and put the jewelry back into the cloth bag before skipping away.

Old Wang Tou watched the girl's back and shook his head. He thought to himself, kids these days are really... He took out the jewelry, examining each piece carefully. The more he looked, the more he felt something wasn't right. This wasn't just ordinary gold and silver jewelry. This was clearly… He picked up his phone, searched for something casually, and instantly gasped. The things in this child's hands, were they not worth millions?

He quickly called the police, who soon arrived and took away the jewelry. Old Wang Tou felt relieved. Luckily he had discovered it in time, or this child would have made a big mistake.

The next day, Old Wang Tou was sitting in his rocking chair again, basking in the sun. Just then, the little girl from yesterday came again, still holding the same cloth bag.

"Little one, you... why are you here again?" Old Wang Tou was a bit puzzled.

The girl walked up to him, opened the cloth bag, and it was still filled with the same shiny jewelry from yesterday. She looked up, speaking seriously, "Grandpa, I finished my candy. Can I exchange these for candy again?"

Old Wang Tou was stunned. Looking into the girl's innocent eyes, he suddenly felt like something had hit his chest hard. He understood. In the child's eyes, these priceless jewels were no different from the value of a bag of candy.

He slowly took out the sixty yuan from yesterday from the drawer, and handed it to the girl, "Of course, this money is enough to buy lots of candy."

The girl took the money, a bright smile returning to her face as she walked away happily.

Old Wang Tou watched her disappearing back, suddenly feeling that the world was truly ridiculous. The money and values that adults desperately pursued, were no match for the sweetness of a bag of candy in a child's eyes. Are the "values" we instill in children really what they need? Perhaps, what we have truly lost is this pure, unpolluted innocence. He suddenly remembered when he was a child, how he would have given anything for a beloved toy. Now, he sat in his rocking chair, looking at the shop full of old items, but could no longer find that simple, pure joy.

He picked up a ring that the girl had brought yesterday, the sunlight shining on it, emitting a dazzling light, but unable to illuminate the emptiness deep within his heart. He suddenly felt that he was not only recycling old items, but also dreams, and those once pure souls. He sighed, the rocking chair creaked, as if mocking this absurd world.