A Young Woman's Heart

"See you next time." The old man lowered his head again and went to repair the more difficult piece of jewelry he had been working on.

"Wanyan, is this a birthday present for Xiaoyao?"

“No,” Li Wanyan glanced at Wang Jiale, “it’s only a part of it.”

"What else are you planning to buy?" Xuan Anyi seemed to want some advice from her.

Musical instruments.

"Musical instruments? I think I saw a musical instrument store when I came here..."

"A regular small music store will do."

"Small musical instruments?" Hua Yinyin had some impression of this place. "I remember there were some up ahead, specializing in selling all kinds of small musical instruments like harmonicas and flutes."

"Um--"

"Oh, there really is a pharmacy here." Aya Akimoto seemed determined to buy calcium supplements after all...

……

Chapter 144 The Great Cold

(One)

Deep in the mountain village, a rain with a few shards of ice was falling.

The sky was as dark as midnight.

The air was frozen solid like jelly, and a thin layer of fog formed on the windowpane. You could vaguely see the traces left by the water droplets as they slid across the window.

Mo Zhuyou opened her eyes groggily, picked up her phone from the bedside table, and glanced at the time.

The phone's dim light seemed somewhat hazy at this moment.

"6:12..." she mumbled as she turned over, opened her arms and legs, and hugged her sister—or rather, she was like the two halves of a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), completely enveloping her sister.

"Hmm... Youyou... It's hot..." Mo Xiaoxiao didn't open her eyes, but just groped around with her hands, and gently slapped her sister's cheek and pushed her to the side.

Mo Zhuyou raised her little face, but still insisted on getting closer to her older sister. The hand that was pushing her gradually softened, turning from pushing into a gentle caress.

Even though she was still dreaming, a slightly helpless smile appeared on her face.

She nestled her face against her sister's chest, and their hearts seemed to beat in unison.

"Gudong, gudong..."

Mo Xiaoxiao's body was very warm, and the fever made both of them feel extremely hot.

"Gurgle..."

Although it was raining outside, the bed was as hot as an oven.

Mo Zhuyou finally swallowed hard, forced to get out of bed, and groped her way downstairs, grabbing the handrail. In the living room, where she could barely make out the outline of the room, she found a teacup and took a big gulp.

The cold tea instantly cooled her parched throat, but it also made her shiver as if someone had stuffed ice cubes into her body.

Her sleepiness dissipated considerably as a result. She licked her still somewhat dry tongue, cleaning the last bit of moisture from the rim of the cup.

"Hmm—" She stretched lazily, as if she had made a decision and cheered herself up, "Okay—then... let's begin!"

She put on her somewhat worn cotton-padded coat, and then slipped on equally furry trousers.

The rabbit, Dark Chocolate, placed by the living room door, was curled up, looking like a fluffy big dumpling.

—The kind where the sesame filling leaks out.

Mo Zhuyou reached into the cage and gently scratched its head. The latter raised its head and rubbed its three-lobed mouth against her fingers. Seemingly because it couldn't smell any food, it lowered its head again without any interest.

"Are you hungry?" She poked Black Chocolate's head again, stuffed a handful of hay into it, along with some dried vegetables.

The latter acted as if he hadn't eaten in eight lifetimes and immediately started eating.

Rabbits seem to have a hard time stopping once they're full.

The crunching sound of dark chocolate chewing its food added a touch of life to the otherwise silent, deep mountain where only the sound of rain could be heard.

She went to the stove and lit a match with a 'whoosh'.

Using the dry pine needles as kindling, they rekindled a piece of wood that was half-burnt, and added some more firewood.

The room gradually became warmer.

She tiptoed to the stove in the kitchen, washed the Laba rice that she had prepared and soaked the day before, and poured it into the rice cooker.

"Click".

After pressing the switch, she looked around again: "Let's make an egg pancake... and add some of the wild vegetables I picked yesterday..."

The small room was instantly filled with the warmth of cooking.

The clanging and banging sounds coming from the kitchen finally woke Mo Xiaoxiao up.

"Youyou?" She rubbed her eyes as she walked downstairs, seemingly more tired than ever before.

It's almost seven o'clock now.

In the past, they would have almost arrived at school by now.

"Sis, you're up?"

"Hmm, making breakfast?" Mo Xiaoxiao sat down in front of the fireplace, still half asleep, and stretched her hands out to warm them by the fire.

"Yes."

"Leave it there, I'll do it after I wash up."

"No need, I'll do it today. Sister can rest."

"What's wrong today?"

"Hmm—it was probably just a whim?"

Mo Zhuyou muttered as she scooped out the cooked egg pancake and put it on a plate: "Egg pancakes seem a bit too plain, don't they? Today is Laba Festival, after all."

"Let's make some sizzling tofu."

"Sizzling tofu—okay, I'll make it!"

"Okay, I'll go wash up first, and then I'll see how Youyou's cooking skills are doing."

"Hmph, don't worry, although I can't eat as much as my sister, I can definitely eat!"

"Just being able to eat isn't enough."

"It's good enough that we can eat it."

"Pfft, be serious, don't waste food."

"Peace of mind and peace of mind~"

Life in the mountains begins anew on this dark morning.

……

(two)

"Ugh—I hate this porridge with all sorts of random stuff in it. Can't I just have plain porridge?" The rain was still falling, and the sky was only slightly bright. Mo Xueyao sat in a chair, gently swinging her legs. "This stuff is so awful."

"Today is Laba Festival, of course we have to drink Laba porridge!" The mother glared at Mo Xueyao, annoyed. "Honestly, I got up early this morning to cook porridge for you with good intentions, and you still complain about how good it is. This is much more nutritious than plain porridge!"

"Tch—I'd rather it be less nutritious," Mo Xueyao complained, resting her chin on her hand. The main problem was that none of the side dishes she liked this morning were any of them.

It's like reminiscing about the bitter past to appreciate the sweet present. Today's breakfast, apart from Laba porridge, consisted entirely of the things we ate during our poorest times.

For example, there's the preserved mustard greens that's been steamed countless times, the pancakes that don't even have eggs in them except for scallions, the deep-fried dumpling wrappers, and the small steamed buns bought from outside with just a little bit of red bean paste...

You can buy a big bag of this stuff for just 50 cents.

— She still likes to eat that little steamed bun a little; she's already tired of everything else.

Actually, upon closer reflection, the days of 'wealth' haven't been long, but they already feel like a distant past.

In the past, there wasn't even a choice. If you could have two kinds of food every morning, that would be a feast.

"Okay, Mom's gone to open the door. There are vegetables, noodles, and shredded meat in the fridge for lunch. You can cook noodles yourself, or you can stir-fry some vegetables. There are potatoes, green peppers, and water chestnuts. The vegetarian chicken is frozen; just take it out and thaw it before eating..."

"Mmm-hmm-hmm-hmm-I know, I know--" Mo Xueyao, clearly not planning to cook later, nodded impatiently, "I know, I know..."

"Yan Yan, thank you for taking care of Yao Yao."

"It's alright." Li Wanyan nodded gently.

My mother had already reached the door: "Remember to finish the Laba porridge, otherwise it will be a waste, do you hear me? Finish it all..."

"I heard you!"

Mo Xueyao dragged out her words in a sarcastic tone, and as soon as her mother closed the door, she immediately looked at Li Wanyan: "Wanyan, do you want some? I'll give you more? I don't want it so thick, it tastes awful."

"Yaoyao has become picky lately."

"I just don't like drinking this kind of mixed porridge. Don't you think the texture is weird? Especially the lotus seed stuff." Mo Xueyao pouted. "Red bean porridge is red bean porridge, lotus seed soup is lotus seed soup, and plain porridge is plain porridge. Mixing them together is just awful. I don't know who invented it..."

Li Wanyan shook her head helplessly: "Alright, give me the thicker part."

"Oh, right, Wanyan, I want to eat fried noodles for lunch—I don't want soup."

"it is good--"

……

(three)

"Hehehe, little Jiji, look, ta-da! How about it, isn't this packaging box pretty?" Fried chicken shops never open that early, so the Duanmu siblings are still at home right now.

Duanmu Bi held up the beautiful gift box tied with colorful ribbons in her hand and gently tapped her younger brother on the head.

"What's going on?" Duanmu Ji asked, puzzled. "What holiday?"

"Hmph—I heard the girl you like has her birthday tomorrow, right? I've got you covered, it's a gift for her, and it contains something I made myself!"

"...Huh?" Duanmu Ji looked at his sister with disgust. "What did you put in there...?"

"What's wrong with that? Anyway, it's good stuff, that's for sure! Honestly, humph."