A Young Woman's Heart

The counter inside was quite heavy, with a style reminiscent of an old-fashioned pub. There were no shelves; all the goods were either hung on the walls or placed on several completely different tables in the middle for sale.

There was even a desk mixed in, making Mo Xueyao seriously suspect that it wasn't something that had been smuggled out of the dilapidated Hope Primary School...

The snacks they sold were all from brands she had never heard of, and their shapes were incredibly diverse and creative.

She even saw a green spicy snack...

"What would you like to buy?" Sitting behind the counter was an old man smoking a pipe, but it didn't seem to contain any tobacco; he appeared to be just smelling it.

"Nothing, just looking..."

"Are you a teacher at that elementary school?"

"Ah...it's...temporary."

"So young." The old man nodded. "Just take a look around. We don't have anything good to eat here, just cheap stuff."

When he met people, the old man seemed to have endless things to say: "This used to be a tavern, but later there were fewer young people on the island, and not many people drank, so I turned it into a general store, selling snacks and toys for children..."

"Oh, oh..." Mo Xueyao's gaze finally fell on the small plastic jar on the counter. "How much is this?"

"Watermelon candy, two pieces for one cent."

"Like bubble gum?"

"Yes, would you like two?"

"Here... two, please." Mo Xueyao took out a coin from her pocket, but then thought it was too much trouble to get change, so she simply asked for a few different kinds of candy from the counter. The prices were all very cheap, with the most expensive lollipop costing only three cents each.

After spending the one yuan, Mo Xueyao put them all into her skirt pocket, and then couldn't wait to throw two watermelon candies directly into her mouth.

The cheap, inferior flavoring melted in her mouth, causing her to furrow her brow slightly.

"Haha, you don't like it? Is it too sweet?"

"It's...it's alright." Mo Xueyao chewed a few more times, but the taste quickly faded, and it tasted as bad as chewing a candle.

"Haha, come by again anytime! We get new stock every week!"

"New stock?"

"Some unusual snacks or other odds and ends." The old man seemed to treat her like a child, pointing to a box of pirated Barbie dolls hanging on the wall. "Look, this is what we got this time, brand new. Want to buy it? Ten yuan."

"...Ahem, I'm not interested in this..." Mo Xueyao thought of the BJD dolls at home that were a hundred times more exquisite than this, and shook her head helplessly.

"There don't seem to be many people on the island?"

"Yes, the young people have all gone to work outside and can't earn much money here. It's mostly elderly people, like me, who are just here to retire. There are also some children who are left here to be cared for by the elderly, because it's inconvenient for young people to take care of a child while they are working outside."

Like all poor and remote places, young people do not live in their hometowns, and there are many left-behind children in the village.

"Why haven't I seen many children?"

"Hey, it's summer vacation, everyone's sleeping in late at home!"

"oh oh……"

Mo Xueyao then realized that it was still very early, at most just past six o'clock. If she were at home, she would definitely be fast asleep right now.

During her recent holidays, she hasn't gotten up until 8 or 9 a.m.

After saying goodbye to the old man who ran the general store, Mo Xueyao walked along the asphalt road leading up the mountain toward the school.

Along the way, you'll also see some houses built on slopes, one or two wooden cabins, and the rest are brick and stone structures.

Every household has cultivated a plot of land in their yard to grow vegetables.

Some early-rising elderly people are carefully tending to them.

At first glance, all that could be seen was a lush green expanse. Mo Xueyao, who didn't know much about these plants, felt that they all looked the same. Unless they bore fruit, she couldn't tell what kind of vegetables they were.

Standing here, it feels no different from standing in an inland mountain village.

The higher you go, the fewer people there are. By the second half of the journey, you can't see a single household.

Fortunately, the somewhat desolate road wasn't long, only about ten minutes, before I reached the school gate.

There are actually some smaller paths leading up the mountain, but they are all too steep, so Mo Xueyao chose to take the flat main road instead.

Next to the school's security booth, there was a large iron bowl. The food that was not meant to be eaten yesterday was dumped here, and there was even a big yellow dog with its head buried in the bowl, 'huffing and puffing' as it ate it.

Mo Xueyao kept a considerable distance from it before cautiously walking inside.

The latter twitched his ears, glanced back at her, and then moved aside.

What does it mean?

It's like seeing a companion arrive, and naturally offering them a seat to eat together...

……

Chapter Eighteen: Auntie's Cooking Skills

When Mo Xueyao returned to the dormitory, only Li Wanyan had just woken up and was washing up.

Hua Yinyin was lying sideways, and Wang Jiale wasn't much better off; her toes were almost in the other person's mouth.

"Where did you go?" Li Wanyan wiped her face clean with a towel, looking beautiful and fresh, like a tender leaf covered in morning dew.

"Look, it's on that beach down there, but it's quite a detour to get there."

"Ah."

"I bought a bunch of candy, and they all seem to be of very poor quality... but the price is okay, that lollipop was only three cents." Mo Xueyao took the snacks out of her pocket and scattered them on the table, making a 'thump thump thump' sound.

"This Sanmao?"

"Yes."

"...one cent a stick in the urban village."

"what?"

"Exactly the same."

"It seems... to be more expensive than in the city."

"Hmm." Li Wanyan didn't say much, but went out in her pajamas and returned to her room. A short while later, she came out dressed in formal attire.

"Wanyan, where are we going?"

"kitchen."

"Oh, okay—are you making breakfast?"

"Ah."

"When I came up, I saw that Auntie was already there."

"Let's go take a look."

"it is good."

So the two closed the door again, and in the quiet environment, their footsteps sounded particularly crisp.

As soon as she pushed open the door to the kitchen on the first floor, a thick cloud of steam rushed out, causing Mo Xueyao to cough twice. She waved her hand gently, as if trying to move the steam away.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm cooking porridge." Xuan Anyi's voice came from the steam, but her face still looked a little blurry.

A 'clattering' sound came from the cutting board, as if something was being chopped.

Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan left the door open and walked straight through the thick steam to see what Xuan Anyi was doing.

She was slicing preserved eggs, cutting them into small pieces and putting them in a small bowl.

"You two got up so early?" Xuan Anyi turned around and asked with a smile, but her hands didn't stop moving, making Mo Xueyao a little worried that she might cut her hand.

"Wanyan and I came over to see if we need any help."

"Yes, if you'd like to help, you can make a variety of items."

"What are you planning to make? Century egg and lean pork congee?"

"It's not just that. I prepare the side dishes so that you can add the seasonings yourself."

"Oh, oh..." Mo Xueyao saw the stir-fried shredded meat in another small bowl. "It's a bit like mixed noodles. Can you put whatever you want to eat in the porridge?"

"OK."

"Then... is there anything I can help you with?" Mo Xueyao, who doesn't cook much, felt a little lost.

She usually cooks for herself, which is usually just boiling noodles or frying rice with eggs, unlike Xuan Anyi who looks so professional.

"Wash the scallions and chop them into scallion pieces. Also, the fish should be steamed. Take it out and cut it into pieces."

"Okay, leave it to me." She could do the simple tasks, since her mother would often ask her to help. As for the difficult tasks, Li Wanyan usually took care of them.

"Xuan Anyi, did you only cook porridge?"

“Yes, I just came downstairs and haven’t started making anything else yet.” Xuan Anyi turned around, opened the refrigerator, and then opened the storage cabinet, rummaging around for a while. “There’s flour here. We can make fried dough sticks or pancakes in the morning.”

“Let’s make fried dough sticks and pancakes.” Li Wanyan nodded.

"Okay, what does the class monitor plan to do?"

"What do you plan to do?" Li Wanyan asked in return.

"You need to let the dough rise before making fried dough sticks. Pancakes are simpler, but you still need to knead the dough. Let's start with the first step."

"Ah."

The kitchen immediately sprang into action.

After chopping the scallions and fish pieces, Mo Xueyao started helping to chop the minced meat.

Because there was only a whole piece of pork in the refrigerator, it had to be cut by hand.

This is simple, but it requires physical strength.

"Thump thump thump thump—" This was the sound of Mo Xueyao chopping minced meat on the cutting board, while the two people over there were still kneading dough. Xuan Anyi heated the oil in the pan and tried throwing in a small dough ball about the size of a thumb to fry.

The hollow part began to expand like an air pump, and the dough ball started to become very thin, growing from the size of a thumb to half the size of a palm. She picked it up with long chopsticks, let it cool slightly to remove the oil, and then took a bite with a 'crunch'.