A Young Woman's Heart

Turning around, I saw Wang Jiale with her hair in pigtails, her face beaming with excitement, like a primary school student going on a school field trip: "You guys come here to buy too!"

"Hey Lele, did Wen tell you?"

"Hmm! I'll handle the English! Together with Cha Li!" She rummaged through Mo Xueyao's shopping cart, "Let's see what you're buying... Hmm! Floral water, where is it again?"

"It's over there, just come in, can't you see it?"

"I didn't look closely when I came in," Wang Jiale said, picking up a stack of shiny stickers from her shopping cart. Some had simple geometric patterns, while others had fancy designs like Transformers and Barbie dolls.

Mo Xueyao poked her cheek and squinted her eyes in confusion: "Why buy these?"

"As for the prizes for the students, I'm wondering if we'll have enough stickers. I'm also planning to buy some stationery and toys!"

"As expected of the English class representative, she's just like Teacher Qianyu..." Mo Xueyao was speechless.

……

Chapter 8 Preparations Before Departure (Part 2)

In an ordinary dormitory building—in fact, it hasn't been like that for five years.

These are the houses the factory assigned to the workers.

The fourth floor, a floor that is neither too high nor too low.

A corner unit located at the end of a corridor.

Inside the dark green iron gate, the wooden door was open, revealing a floor painted green and walls covered with green paint up to a meter high.

There is little wooden furniture; most of the furniture consists of metal products.

It looks a bit like a factory that hasn't been renovated much.

However, the various pieces of furniture with thoughtful touches still made the place feel very cozy.

Xuan Anyi lives here.

With my parents.

Neither of them is of retirement age yet.

Since the factory was privatized, working hours have become irregular, and I often have to work the night shift.

Evening is a time for most people to rest, but the two of them had just gotten up to prepare for work.

There is no kitchen in the house; each family has moved their kitchen to the semi-open corridor outside their door. The end of the corridor is much more comfortable here, as you won't have to make way for others while cooking.

The support frame was made of scrap metal, the countertop was a single piece of marble, a small gas cylinder was placed next to it, and a simple stove was burning brightly, with fumes mixed with the smell of chili being blown around by the wind.

"Cough cough, cough cough—" Xuan Anyi coughed a few times to the side, then lifted the pot and shook it violently. All the vegetables inside flipped over, and the fire suddenly burned into the pot, as if it were about to set the whole pot on fire.

However, once she put the pot down, the fire returned to normal.

The aroma of chili peppers and meat became even more intense.

She deftly poured the vegetables into a plate with a spatula and then placed it temporarily on a small low table next to her.

Then, he scooped some warm water from the side, made a circle in the pot, and started stir-frying the tomatoes and eggs. After a few moments, he immediately poured in boiling water, covered the pot, and simmered it over low heat.

"Dad, Mom, are you up? Dinner will be ready soon."

"What are we eating today?" Xuan Anyi's father was a short, chubby man. He was brushing his teeth at the door of the small washroom, still looking a little sleepy.

He didn't get off work until noon today and has been sleeping until now.

I went to work at the factory at 11 p.m. last night.

What time do you start work today?

"I'll still go at eleven, your mom at eight."

Xuan Anyi looked up at the clock hanging in the living room, both the hour and minute hands pointing to the six: "There's not much time left."

"It's her fault for not sleeping in the morning."

"You brat, what did you say?" Xuan Anyi's mother glared at him, broom in hand. "Wasn't I cleaning and doing laundry all morning?"

"Oh, it's okay, just leave it there. Yiyi's on vacation, she'll wash it herself."

"Don't you need to be busy with anything else, daughter? By the way, Yiyi, have you packed your luggage?"

Xuan Anyi returned to the stove in the corridor and ladled the cooked soup into a large bowl: "It's all done. I'll just check it again later."

"You can rest assured that your Yiyi is capable of doing things."

“Of course, unlike you,” Xuan Anyi’s mother said sarcastically.

Dinner was served on the iron table in the living room. The glass panel on top was added later to make it look a little nicer.

It's clear that this isn't store-bought furniture, but rather furniture that was modified by the owner.

In fact, her parents both worked in a steel factory, so it wasn't too unusual for them to occasionally bring back scraps.

—Just make sure you get along well with the person in charge of handling the waste.

Before it was completely dark, the chirping of crickets and cicadas filled the air.

"You'll be gone for over a month, so take good care of yourself." Her father picked up a piece of dried tofu and urged her to eat more meat, saying that she wouldn't be able to get any in those poor rural areas.

"How many students from your class went?" That's what the mother asked.

"Seven or eight, I guess."

"Oh, that's quite a lot."

Hearing that there were so many people, her parents were completely relieved.

"That's pretty good. You're planning to study to become a teacher in the future, so this is your internship. If you can't handle it, you still have a chance to back out."

"Mm." Xuan Anyi smiled, her eyes narrowed. "I'm going out for a bit later to buy some things at the night market."

"Okay, what should I buy?"

"I mainly want to buy a radio and headphones."

"Let's just buy it at the store."

"It's okay, we can just buy some cheaper ones."

Xuan Anyi's father nodded after hearing this, and then asked, "By the way, here's twenty yuan for you. Take it to buy things later, and take the rest with you when you go there."

“Your old man is so stingy,” the mother said sarcastically. “Then I’ll give you thirty, to make it fifty yuan, ten yuan more than him.”

"Didn't I give you all this money...?" the father muttered under his breath.

Seeing his aggrieved look, Xuan Anyi couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh.

Her family wasn't wealthy, but they were doing quite well, and they never had to worry too much about money.

My parents have always had a good relationship and rarely argue. Even when they do argue, my father is usually the first to give in.

"Buy a better one, otherwise people will laugh at us. Let's go to the store," the mother said, bringing the topic back to the present.

"Let's see." Xuan Anyi did not completely reject her mother's suggestion. She took the loose change from her parents and put it into her soft little wallet, sorting it out.

"I'm finished eating, so I'll head out now. You can leave the dishes here; I'll wash them when I get back."

"It's okay, your dad's going to work late, let him do the washing."

"I still want to watch the game..."

"What's so interesting about those domestic football games that are just going around in circles? Besides, washing a dish won't take up much of your time."

Xuan Anyi didn't reply. She smiled, washed her face, took off the hair that she had tied up at the back of her head for cooking convenience, and left with her not-so-smooth long hair hanging down.

It only rained a little this morning, and the rest of the day and night were sunny.

The bright moon, accompanied by a few stars, hung leisurely in the sky.

Numerous street stalls have been set up along both sides of the street, making it slightly difficult for vehicles to pass.

However, the locations where the stalls are set up are generally not on main roads, so the impact is not too great.

The dazzling array of goods is almost overwhelming, and most items are very cheap. Here, you can even buy a small radio for only five yuan.

As for the signal... well, don't even think about it.

It might be okay in the city, but in the countryside, you probably won't receive anything.

It's unrealistic to expect something that's both small and high-quality.

Therefore, Xuan An Yi plans to buy a larger one.

We need to buy a few more rechargeable batteries.

While regular batteries are convenient, it can be troublesome if you can't find a replacement when the time comes.

"Boss, how much is this radio?" Xuan Anyi asked, pointing to a square, black radio about the size of two blocks of tofu.

"This one? Forty-five."

"May I take a look?"

"Row!"

Xuan Anyi immediately picked it up and first looked at the length of the telescopic antenna: it was twice as long as the body, which meant the signal would be better—even if it was just a placebo effect.

"Thirty, I guess."

"Thirty is impossible, my purchase price is already thirty."

"Okay." She nodded, calmly put the radio down, and prepared to go check out the rechargeable battery stall first.

"Hey, wait a minute, thirty-five, at least let me make some profit, okay, consider it as shipping fee."

"Thirty-five, plus the matching rechargeable batteries, how about that?"

"Impossible, impossible, that would be a loss."

Xuan Anyi nodded without the slightest hesitation and turned to leave.

The boss didn't stop her; this development was somewhat different from what she had imagined.

But just as she had given up and was about to look for other stalls, the owner's voice suddenly came from afar: "Alright, alright, take it! I just made my first sale, so I'll give you a discount!"