A Young Woman's Heart

"Splash—"

Mo Wenli yanked the roller shutter down, then threw the crowbar into the store, and finally pulled the last roller shutter all the way down.

The rusty lock turned slowly. The father tried to pull it again, and only after confirming that he couldn't open it did he stand up straight.

He picked up a cigarette, shielded it with his hand, and lit it by striking the lighter several times.

Amidst the swirling smoke, his face was filled with a satisfied expression.

"Phew, go home and go to bed early tonight!" The father cracked his neck, making a popping sound.

When he's not busy in the afternoon, he usually takes a nap and lets his mother manage the shop.

But that kind of sleep can never compare to the feeling of sleeping soundly in bed.

The mother was standing at the store entrance, carrying a bag and drinking a packet of warm milk.

This is heated in a kettle.

Seeing Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan approach, he gave them the other two bags.

The father finished his cigarette in one go, threw the butt down the drain, then slammed into the driver's seat of the van and started the engine.

He skillfully backed the car out and parked it on the narrow road.

The mother sat in the passenger seat, while Mo Xueyao and Li Wanyan opened the car door and got into the back seat.

The van smelled of fresh flowers and fruits, but it didn't smell fresh; it wasn't particularly pleasant, but it wasn't unpleasant either.

Li Wanyan rolled down the window and waved gently to her mother in the shop again.

The van then slowly started moving.

The streets were wide but deserted, somewhat empty.

It seems a bit wasteful to have only one minivan driving on such a main road.

Along the roadside, several children dressed in strange costumes made of cardboard and plastic were going from shop to shop asking for candy.

"Trick or treat!" they shouted.

However, many shop owners don't even understand what's going on.

After all, this was a foreign holiday that was not well-known in China at the time.

"Ah, it's Halloween today." The van stopped at the traffic light, and Mo Xueyao's eyes were fixed on the few mischievous kids.

Two of them looked somewhat familiar to her.

Although I've grown quite a bit taller, but...

That looks like Jiang Ting and Bai Hao, right?

It had been a while since I'd seen them, and they all seemed to have matured quite a bit, especially Jiang Ting, whose features had become more defined and who was developing into a young man.

Bai Hao, on the other hand, hasn't changed much; his face still has some baby fat.

"Halloween?" Mother seemed to have never heard of it.

"It's a kind of activity where children dress up as ghosts and monsters to ask for candy. If you give them candy, the ghosts won't come back to your house.

"Foreign holidays are really interesting," the mother laughed.

"Tsk, I think it's just that our festivals haven't been developed, or they're too rigid."

"Perhaps," the mother said casually, showing no intention of continuing the conversation.

The light turned green, and the van slowly started moving again.

The autumn wind of the night brushed against Mo Xueyao's face, making her involuntarily shrink her neck in the cold.

"It already feels like winter..."

"No, it's still a few days until the start of winter." My father, who knows a lot about the solar terms, shook his head. "It's still a long way from getting cold! I heard this winter is the coldest in recent years."

"Sigh, prices have risen so fast this year."

"Yes, ten yuan used to buy a lot of vegetables, now it costs thirty or forty."

"Is it really that exaggerated?" Mo Xueyao asked, resting her chin on her hand.

"Otherwise, how could you say it's rising so fast? If you have to pay back Liang next year, he'll definitely lose a fortune."

"The money has indeed depreciated a lot this year. Sigh, currency depreciation. Back in the 1960s and 70s, five cents could last a week. Now, five cents isn't worth that much."

The mother shook her head and leaned back in her chair: "The price increase is particularly large this year. I think we need to prepare our New Year's goods in advance, otherwise we'll end up paying exorbitant prices and it will be a huge loss."

"Then let's buy it. What do you want to buy?" The father turned the steering wheel, still looking into the distance.

"Those that can be stored away safely, like ham, cured meat, red dates, melon seeds, and some clothes and shoes to wear for the New Year."

"Hey, why don't we buy some fireworks in advance too?"

"We'll see when the time comes. It's not necessary. We can buy it during the Chinese New Year. Besides, there's nowhere to buy it now."

"Okay, okay, okay..."

"The sewing machine at home hasn't been used since the renovation. I think I can buy some fabric so that if prices rise too fast, I can make some clothes myself."

"Whatever you want." The father lazily picked up an unlit cigarette and sipped it. "Two or three thousand should be enough, right?"

"Not necessarily, we'll have to see. It's best to buy enough New Year's goods to last two or three months."

Mo Xueyao was getting a little tired of listening to the everyday chatter in the carriage.

After all, similar topics are repeated many times.

She yawned, and Li Wanyan next to her followed suit.

Li Wanyan rested her head on Mo Xueyao's shoulder, her soft body swaying gently with the car.

"Is Wanyan sleepy?"

"some."

"Go back and shower first." Mo Xueyao raised her watch and glanced at the time under the dim streetlights outside the car window. "We said we'd be back early, but it's almost nine o'clock..."

Yes, that's right.

"Wanyan, hurry up and wash today, I think I'm a little sleepy too."

"Shall we shower together?"

"Oh dear, Wanyan, you've caught Yinyin's crap too?"

Li Wanyan gently brushed the hair behind her ear, but did not answer.

……

Chapter Seventy: Beginning of Winter

2001 11 Month 7 Day.

The father tore off a page from the calendar on the wall, revealing the two large characters "Beginning of Winter" below the date.

This means that the Year of the Snake is not far from coming to an end.

The Year of the Horse is approaching.

The father, who hadn't felt cold before, instinctively shivered when he saw those two large characters.

It felt as if I had already stepped outside and was feeling the cold wind on my face.

Because we now have a van, we no longer need to get up before 4 a.m. to prepare for buying wholesale fruits and flowers like we used to.

But it's still very early, only around 4:30.

Mo Xueyao rubbed her eyes, got out of bed, and swayed as she walked into the living room.

Her thin clothing couldn't keep out the cold air, causing her teeth to chatter and make a 'crunching' sound.

She rushed into the bathroom, slammed the sliding door shut, and a muffled voice came from inside: "Dad, you're up."

"Yes, I was just about to wash my face and brush my teeth."

"I'll be done soon... Ouch—" Mo Xueyao felt as if her buttocks had been frozen by the cold cushion, an experience she had never had before in previous winters.

After all, people used to use squat toilets; there were no Western-style toilets.

Before Mo Xueyao had even come out, Li Wanyan, also looking sleepy, rubbed her eyes, gently smoothed her messy hair, and waited at the bathroom door.

"Haha, you two even have to go to the bathroom together?"

"What?" Mo Xueyao, who was in the washroom, didn't understand.

The sound of water and the rustling of toilet paper being torn could be heard from inside.

Then came an even louder sound of running water.

"Whoosh—" Mo Xueyao suddenly pulled open the sliding door, and was genuinely startled when she saw Li Wanyan's face appear behind it.

Her hair was hanging down in a mess, giving her a bit of a ghostly feel from a horror movie.

This scare brought Mo Xueyao to her senses.

"Phew... Wanyan, you're going to the bathroom too?"

"Hmm..." Li Wanyan looked like she hadn't woken up yet, and swayed into the bathroom.

"I should have gotten up five minutes earlier. I would have left by now." The father smiled helplessly and leaned against the snow-white wall behind him.

Although she had been living in her new home for several months, Mo Xueyao still felt that the place was somewhat unfamiliar to her.

Especially when you're half asleep or half awake.

I always feel like there are many doodles I left on the walls when I was a child with crayons. I always feel like the walls are yellowish, and there are also some footprints or cigarette butt marks on them...

However, upon closer inspection, it was found to be truly snow-white, flawlessly white.

It is said that out with the old, in with the new, but old things carry too much time and memories, and are not so easy to forget.

"Wanyan and I are both up, so why don't you take us to school today?"

"You wish! I still need to go to the wholesale market first."