A Young Woman's Heart

"We just finished renovating, and there are many expenses at home, so we need to be careful with our spending."

"If you know how to save money, you should quit smoking!" Yang Xiaoyu's voice came through coldly, but she was smiling.

"Quit smoking? Impossible, impossible. How can a man give up smoking and drinking? There's nothing interesting about living in this world, so we rely on these two." Uncle Xiong took the cigarette Mo Wenli offered, lit his own using the lit end of Mo Wenli's cigarette, and took a deep drag. "Okay, not bad, much better than my Hongmei!"

"Of course, even the worst one is still Double Happiness."

"How's business? It's so hot."

"It's alright."

"I'm still so free over there, damn it, I lost my dog."

"How did it get lost?"

"I don't know either. I went to sleep one night a few days ago and it was gone. It hasn't come back yet. I think it was probably stolen."

"Why would you steal it?"

"Let's eat dog meat."

"Wow, how much meat does your dog have? It's so ugly, how can you bring yourself to eat it?"

"Pah! Dog thieves don't care about anything!" Uncle Xiong spat at the passing vehicles outside the fruit shop. "Bad luck!"

"Forget it, it was a stray dog ​​to begin with. Maybe it got tired of staying here and went back to being a stray."

"That's fine too." Uncle Xiong looked around a few times. "Hey? Where are your two daughters? The one who drinks? Aren't you going out for a drink today? Some Shaoxing wine would be nice too."

"They both went to teach in rural areas."

"What the hell is a son?"

"Teaching in rural areas! Going to teach in the countryside."

"Damn, that's impressive! But why did you end up in the countryside?"

"School experiential activities."

"This school is good." Uncle Xiong gave a thumbs up, and soon the topic turned to which kind of wine tastes better.

……

Chapter 51 The Market on the Ship (Part 1)

2001 7 Month 22 Day.

Sunday.

The students and teachers at Hope Primary School are all on holiday.

At five o'clock in the morning, the alarm clock that had been set yesterday rang, the vibrations traveling through the headboard to the bed frame and then to Mo Xueyao's body.

A slight tremor made her open her eyes abruptly.

"Yinyin, get up!" Although it was a day off, she didn't plan to sleep in.

Because I heard there's a market today that you can't see on land—a sea market!

It is not located on a specific island, nor is it a single super-large ship, but rather a floating market composed of many ships.

It could also be described as a market on a ship.

Yesterday, Ye Wen told them that those who wanted to go with everyone could meet up, and those who didn't want to go could stay home or go by themselves.

In fact, when there is a sea market, there are many small boats at the island's dock. For a small fee, you can have them take you there, without having to go with everyone else.

These are considered part-time jobs. Some kids who can row and are good swimmers also take advantage of their spare time to earn this extra money.

Not having to act in a group suited Mo Xueyao just fine; otherwise, she would always be led around by a large group and wouldn't be able to enjoy herself to the fullest.

"No—I want to sleep a little longer..." Hua Yinyin rolled over, clutching her pillow. "Waaah, I don't want to get up..."

"Alright, you can go with Awen and the others later. I'll go call Wanyan." Mo Xueyao didn't insist any further. She sat up, her fair little feet groped around on the floor for a while, and then slipped on her slippers.

Unexpectedly, Hua Yinyin sat up abruptly and grabbed Mo Xueyao's arm tightly with one hand: "I'm getting up right now!!"

"What are you doing? What's wrong with you..." Mo Xueyao glanced at her sideways, somewhat speechless. "Let go, I need to wash up."

"Waaah, just the two of us!"

"Then hurry up!"

"Okay! Hehehe~ A date with Yaoyao~"

"What are you talking about?" She slapped her head. "You're the one making the bed today."

"Ugh, little Yaoyao is recklessly taking advantage of my love!"

This time she didn't answer, but just rolled her eyes at him.

Has this girl been watching too many weird things lately? She keeps saying "love" all the time. I know she's joking, but I still feel like it's a bit too frequent.

The school was still quiet at 5 a.m.

As I walked through the corridor, I could hear some rustling sounds coming from behind the door.

It seems some people got up very early just to visit the floating market.

The school playground was empty and quiet. In the basketball court, there was a basketball lying on the side. It was unclear whether it was still needed, intended to be thrown away, or simply forgotten.

It had only been a short while since dawn broke, and when Mo Xueyao and Hua Yinyin arrived at the school gate, the streetlight had just been turned off.

Mr. Xue, dressed in white, was half-squatting down, gently stroking the head of the big yellow dog.

Does this guy even know where his own home is?

It seems like it appears in the island's general stores less often than it appears in the school.

"Xiaoxue! You're up so early too!" Mo Xueyao shouted and waved, making the obediently lying big yellow dog unable to resist raising its head to look at her.

Then it twitched its ears and lay down again.

It seems like I haven't had enough sleep.

"Yes, I was just about to go to the sea market."

"Let's go together!" Mo Xueyao said, quickly walking to the school gate. "Let's go, didn't Awen say it started at 4:30?"

“Hmm, but there probably aren’t enough ships right now.” Mr. Xue dusted off his hands and stood up. “Let’s go over there first.”

“That’s right, it will take a while to get down the mountain!” Mo Xueyao put her elbow on his left shoulder.

"Let's go!" Hua Yinyin put her arm around his right shoulder.

The two girls didn't treat him like an outsider at all.

However, I only did it for a short while because it got hot to walk around, and it wasn't convenient to be so close.

The school on the mountain was as quiet as ever, but the further down you went, the more lively it became.

The islanders are up noticeably earlier than usual today. The gravel paths, which are usually deserted, are now bustling with people carrying their belongings toward the pier.

Some are fruits and vegetables grown in the fields, while others are things that are processed by hand, such as rice cakes, vermicelli, and dried rice noodles.

Some people go to sell hand-woven tools, such as baskets, straw hats, and straw sandals.

It is said that this market is held once a month, and the location is always in this area because it is the center of several large islands around it, and the travel time from each of the other islands is about the same.

—Because it might be set up at sea near another island.

The initiators were all owners of large ships.

Of course, the term "large ship" here is relative; compared to cargo ships, they can only be considered small boats.

These large ships bring in goods from the city or even further afield, mostly items that are not easily available on the islands.

The most common items are all kinds of daily necessities, such as pots and pans. Of course, there are far more than just these. Each large ship focuses on selling different things. When several ships are put together, the variety is so great that it's like shopping in a supermarket.

—These are all things I heard from Ye Wen; we'll have to see for ourselves to know for sure.

At the pier, there are many small boats that take islanders to the sea market. Some are chartered for a whole trip, which is very cheap, only 50 cents per person, but the goods are charged extra according to weight, but it will definitely not exceed five dollars.

"Come on—let's take a boat ride! It's only 50 cents per person! We'll drop you off and leave right away!"

"Two small speedboats, please! They're the fastest boats on the entire dock!!"

"Hurry, hurry, just one more seat needed! Last one! Two cents off! One quick!"

"Teacher!" From afar, it seemed as if someone was calling out.

Mo Xueyao turned her head and looked around in confusion, then Mr. Xue patted her on the shoulder: "Over there."

The already rudimentary dock was now filled with small boats. Jiang Tao, a fifth-grader, couldn't get a good spot, so he had to moor his wooden boat on the side. Since there was nowhere to tie the rope, he could only use a bamboo pole stuck into the water near the shore, holding it tightly with one hand, and easily maintaining his balance on the buoyant surface of the water.

"Jiang Tao? Are you boating here?"

"Yes, teacher! Are you going to the market?"

"Correct."

"Then come to me! I can book you for the whole day!"

"A full-day package?"

“Yeah, otherwise you’ll just be walking back and forth between boats. If you’re not skilled enough, you’ll fall into the water. Plus, some smaller boats won’t let you on, which is a real hassle,” Jiang Tao pitched. “It’s only ten yuan! I can take you around all day! And this boat is all yours, so there’s almost no chance of it being overloaded. You can go back whenever you want, it’s super convenient!”

"Your eloquence is pretty good, but why don't you answer questions in class?" Mo Xueyao teased.

Jiang Tao scratched his head without any embarrassment: "Hey teacher, it's a holiday today, let's talk about things other than studying, shall we? How about it, want to ride on my boat? I'll even provide tour guide service!"

"You little rascal... do you even know the way?"

"Of course! It's always pretty much the same spot, I know it like the back of my hand, and with so many boats, there's nothing to be afraid of even at night—"

"Continue tonight too?"

"Of course, it won't end until five o'clock tomorrow morning! During festivals, each family on our island will contribute some money to hire people to come by boat to perform operas. They will perform on the boat, and we will watch from the side."

"Thankfully the weather has been nice lately..." Mo Xueyao tilted her head and glanced at Mr. Xue, "Xiao Xue, how about boarding the boat?"

"Yes, it's a student's business, of course we should support it."

"Won't this boat capsize?" Hua Yinyin, who didn't grow up by the water, was a little worried. Although she had passed her swimming test, the feeling of swimming in a pool and swimming in the sea were completely different.