❶sth cheap but useful; ❷worthless trifles ❍ 他是个细心人，～到了他手里也能变成有用的东西。He is a good craftsman. Even odds and ends can be turned into useful things in his hands.
牛溲马勃niú sōu mǎ bó
牛溲：车前草；马勃：马屁菌。这两个都是极便宜的普通中草药。比喻微贱但有用的事物。worthless trifles, sth. cheap but useful, trivial and useless things