A Young Woman's Heart

"So now it's just a regular plush bear? Haha, no wonder it's so fluffy."

"Ah."

Have you thought about giving it a name?

Tian Tingchan tilted her head and looked at Zhou Yong: "I'm not a little girl."

"Well, this has nothing to do with being a little girl or not, it's more like... uh, the romance of life?"

"Then let's call it pork floss."

The cicadas listened without hesitation.

……

The two eventually left together.

The destination was the flower and bird market.

That place is quite close to Gao Yuan's house.

Zhou Yong planned to go visit Gao Yuan after they parted ways.

I wonder if he bought any new game discs this week.

"Actually, I originally wanted to buy it for you directly, haha, consider it a surprise." On the way, Zhou Yong started a conversation, scratching his head and laughing.

"Then why didn't you just buy it directly?"

"I'm just afraid you won't like it. A surprise has to be something the other person likes to be a real surprise, right? After all, being rejected is a very upsetting thing."

Tian Tingchan blinked and turned her head to look at him for several seconds.

Zhou Yong felt a little uneasy under her gaze: "Cough...w-what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Tian Tingchan shook her head. "No one likes to be rejected. It would be great if we knew whether we would succeed before doing anything."

"Yes."

The two of them suddenly fell silent.

But the atmosphere wasn't awkward.

Zhou Yong, in particular, had grown accustomed to Tian Tingchan's frequent silences.

After all, the two of them might not necessarily have that much to talk about.

If you insist on finding topics to talk about, wouldn't that just make things awkward?

Stepping into the flower and bird market is like entering a forest within the city.

This wasn't a flower and bird market inside a building; it was more like a marketplace, with stalls selling things directly on the ground and shops lining both sides of the alleyways. The scent of flowers and plants couldn't mask the animal odor, but at least it made it less unpleasant.

And over time, you'll naturally get used to the taste.

"Haha, look at this, Chan-ge! There's actually a piece of wood growing inside this potted plant, hahaha..."

"That's not ordinary wood, it's called Brazilian wood. You can grow it without soil, it's perfect for the home, it's clean, and all you need is some water and sunlight." The shopkeeper glanced at him sideways. "Young man, want to buy one to grow at home? It's very easy to care for, these things almost never die."

"...Just a single piece of wood?"

"Silly boy, it will sprout." The shop owner pointed to another potted plant on the steps in the shop. It was made of the same wood, but it had already grown two fleshy leaves.

The sight of leaves sprouting from a broken piece of wood gives one the feeling of a withered tree coming back to life.

"Wow, so that's how it is..."

How much is this?

"It's not expensive, just fifty yuan. It would take one or two years to grow this leaf to be this good."

"Uh, that's expensive..."

"It's really not expensive, and it's imported. Buy it and take it home; your parents will definitely love it."

"My mom likes practical things," Zhou Yong said, making up an excuse.

"Then this, mint, ten yuan a pot, can be used to make tea, and it's also very easy to grow, you can just plant one and it will grow into a big patch."

"Uh, let's take another look..." Zhou Yong coughed twice and took a few steps forward awkwardly.

"Come on, young man, which one do you like? I'll sell it to you cheap! This Brazilian wood is twenty!"

Zhou Yong wasn't haggling; he was simply saying, "Really, it's not necessary..."

……

Chapter Ninety-One: Stealing Half a Day of Leisure

(One)

As you venture deeper into the area, you'll find more shops selling animals.

Inside the transparent glass tank, all sorts of brightly colored fish are swimming leisurely, like ribbons of colorful silk.

Dozens of hamsters were kept in a large, uncovered box filled with wood shavings. Perhaps because it was cold, the hamsters, which looked like little mochi balls, were huddled together and looked especially cute.

There were many very quiet rabbits in the cage next to them. Even though they weren't in cages, they showed no intention of escaping.

There were even squirrels for sale. These little guys clearly longed for freedom, always jumping around in their cages, but they just couldn't escape.

Tian Tingchan's gaze was immediately drawn to the group of little hamsters.

The shop owner immediately greeted them warmly: "How about it, want to buy one? It's only two yuan, and if you buy two, I'll give you a turtle box to keep the hamsters in."

"...Is it easy to raise?" Tian Tingchan couldn't help but move closer.

She opened her deep brown eyes wide, reached out and gently poked a small yellow hamster, which seemed completely unconcerned, continuing to munch on the sunflower seeds in its hand.

"They're easy to care for, but it gets quite cold in winter, so just make sure they're kept warm. You can buy some sawdust from me!" The shopkeeper took out a bag of fluffy sawdust in a sealed container. "It's only one yuan a bag, very cheap. One bag like this is enough for a week, and it won't smell! I suggest buying two, so they can keep each other company."

"Ah, no need, one is enough." Zhou Yong didn't forget what Mo Xueyao had told him.

"Sure, whatever you want. One is easier to raise, a small cage will do."

"Shall we pick one?" Zhou Yong himself was actually a little tempted. If his family didn't forbid keeping pets, he definitely would have bought one and taken it home.

No matter how difficult it may be to raise in the future, at least for now, this little fluffy creature is simply irresistible.

"Hmm..." Perhaps because of the low price, Tian Tingchan did not refuse the gift he gave her. "Take this yellow one, it looks more docile."

"Alright, is this it? Do you want to buy a cage? We have all kinds of cages here, and our shop has the most complete selection in the entire flower and bird market." The shop owner was very enthusiastic, clearly indicating that selling a hamster wasn't very profitable; he mainly relied on selling related products for profit.

These cages are not as cheap as hamsters.

Even a random one costs ten yuan.

Those who look pretty are even older, in their forties and fifties.

Tian Tingchan took a liking to a small cage that was almost entirely made of plastic.

Its bottom is so deep that it can bury a hamster completely and still have room to spare.

The upper part is relatively high and has a small running wheel.

The raised floor is our little nest, beautiful and cozy.

It reminded her of where she was living now.

"How much is this?"

"thirty!"

The boss offered a very high price.

Zhou Yong and Tian Tingchan were clearly not good at bargaining.

In the end, I gritted my teeth and paid 25, and also asked the shop owner to give me a lot of bags of wood shavings and hamster food.

"Actually, you can just feed him rice or something, coarse grains, or leftovers, anything is fine, just don't add any seasonings." The shopkeeper smiled and waved his hand, handing Zhou Yong the change.

Tian Tingchan looked down at the hamster in the cage. The owner had just filled the cage with wood shavings for free, and the hamster was now sniffing around curiously before sticking its rear end up high and trying to burrow down.

"Thank you."

"Ah? Ah... It's nothing. I just saw you were looking a bit bored, so I thought I'd buy you a present. Christmas is coming up soon, after all."

"Christmas is still a long way off." She pursed her lips, straightened up, and shook the cage in her hand.

The little hamster suddenly lost its balance and rolled half a circle in the small cage.

"Consider it an early delivery..."

"Then I'll give you one for Christmas too."

"Ah, okay... thank you."

"It hasn't been delivered yet."

"Thank you in advance."

……

(two)

On a sunny day, it would be a shame not to soak up some sun.

On the flat roof of the fruit shop.

Mo Xueyao swayed leisurely in her bamboo chair. The crates and foam boxes around her were now empty, leaving only grayish-brown dirt.

There are things to plant in winter, but the seeds have just been sown and haven't sprouted yet.

On a flattened burlap sack, a large pile of sliced ​​sweet potatoes and peanuts still covered in dirt were drying.

These are all the fruits that my mother harvested after planting them.

The rooftop plot may not look big, but quite a few things have been grown there.

Planting year-round can save your family at least a few hundred yuan.

In front of her was a small table that looked like a tree stump, which Uncle Xiong had brought. There was another, larger one, which he used as a dining table at the entrance of his warehouse.

The wooden stakes are very heavy, which makes them exceptionally stable.