A Young Woman's Heart

"We'll close at midnight tonight," the father said. "Sigh, the 1990s are finally coming to an end. Time flies..."

"I'm getting old again." The mother gazed at the stars in the sky, perhaps thinking of herself when she was young.

"Tch, so pretentious," Mo Xueyao retorted.

"Haha! You'll feel the same way when you're in your thirties," the father laughed.

"A new life." Li Wanyan took a deep breath, a hint of happiness in her eyes.

Mo Xueyao held Su Tang and gently scratched its chin. This was the fastest growth period for a kitten. Over the past few months, it had gradually grown bigger and longer.

However, it remains as lazy as it was when it was a puppy, and seems listless all day.

But cats are nocturnal animals, so it's normal for them to be lethargic during the day.

Several times when Li Wanyan went out, she saw it excitedly carrying a dead mouse in its mouth to show off its accomplishment.

It's competent at catching mice, and that's enough.

After all, my father raised it so that it could catch mice in the fruit shop.

"Ah, right, cross-stitch." Mo Xueyao suddenly remembered something, put the candy on the ground, and ran to the cabinet in the small room to rummage through it, finding the cross-stitch she had half-finished last time.

For a long period of time, it was forgotten.

Sometimes when I think about it, I don't feel like doing embroidery.

Because I felt it was just too difficult and troublesome.

The embroidery process was far from smooth, and the painful experience made her never want to go through it again.

But today I unexpectedly felt full of energy, so I took it out again.

At first I was a little clumsy, but I gradually became more skilled and got the hang of it.

Amidst the flurry of needlework, the remaining half was completed in just one hour.

Mo Xueyao placed the fabric in the plastic box and then closed it tightly, completing her homemade cross-stitch keychain.

She felt a great sense of accomplishment after completing this task.

That puts a small worry to rest.

Perhaps, on the last night of 1999, taking out the cross-stitch and finishing the remaining half was because I didn't want to leave this year's tasks for next year.

Perhaps, in a sense, this is her trying to sever ties with the past?

No, it shouldn't be called cutting off, but rather letting go.

"Yaoyao, the sweet potatoes you put in the ashes should be ready by now, right?" her mother reminded her as she cleaned the fruit shop.

"Sweet potato? Ah, right!" Mo Xueyao suddenly remembered the sweet potato she had thrown into the ashes earlier. She quickly used tongs to rummage through it and picked it out. "Whoosh, it's so hot!"

"Be careful, let it cool down a bit before you eat it," the mother said helplessly.

The roasted sweet potato tastes sweet and soft, just like the taste of happiness.

Mo Xueyao shared half of her food with Li Wanyan, who then ate it in small bites.

"Why don't I have any?" the father asked, feigning exaggeration.

"Bake it yourself if you want!"

"Sigh, my daughter is all grown up and still doesn't care about her father at all. It would be so much better if she baked one for me as a midnight snack. If she bakes it now, it will be too late when it's cooked." The father sighed dramatically.

"Alright, alright, I'll share some with you, okay?" Mo Xueyao held up half of the sweet potato in her hand.

"Tsk, it's all your saliva that you bit into, I don't want it." The father said this, but walked to Mo Xueyao's side.

"Eat it or don't, it's up to you." She rolled her eyes.

"Then I'll reluctantly take a bite."

"Still trying to force me? I'm not giving it to you!"

"Hey, wait, wait, just one bite, one bite at a time," the father quickly said ingratiatingly. "I know Yaoyao is the best girl."

“Even you call me ‘Yaoyao,’ how disgusting!” Mo Xueyao, with her eyelids drooping, held the sweet potato to her father’s mouth. He opened his mouth wide and took a big bite, and the sweet potato, which was already half full, was now half gone.

That means only a quarter remains.

"Mmm, delicious!"

"You only ate one bite!" Mo Xueyao complained irritably, "You almost ate it all!"

"This is just a small bite. If I took a big bite, it would all be gone."

"How dare you say that..." Mo Xueyao said angrily, "You old bastard, he only left me half, I'm so angry."

"You brat, you stingy little thing, drink cold water!" The father also made a face in a very childlike manner.

"Pfft...cough cough." Li Wanyan couldn't help but laugh, almost spitting out the sweet potato from her mouth. Fortunately, she immediately covered it with her hand, but she still coughed violently.

"I'm not going to tease you anymore. I'm telling you, we might be going to Russia for the Chinese New Year, so you should go to the Entry-Exit Administration Bureau tomorrow to apply for passports. Your uncle will help you with the visas."

Mo Xueyao's eldest uncle is naturally her father's eldest brother.

"Oh...we're going to Russia for the New Year?" Mo Xueyao said in surprise. "This is the first time I've ever been to Russia."

“In a sense, it’s like going back to our hometown, um… but we’re going back for the Lunar New Year, and they don’t celebrate our New Year there. They’re already celebrating the New Year there now.” The father said, then looked at Li Wanyan, “Wanyan, why don’t you come along too?”

“Okay.” Li Wanyan had no reason to refuse.

"We're going to Russia for Chinese New Year?" Mo Xueyao asked, somewhat excited.

“Actually, your great-grandfather’s hometown is in what is now Ukraine, but he got married in what is now Russia. There’s a village there where many people’s descendants are Chinese. They all go back together for the New Year, so it’s still somewhat like the New Year atmosphere here.” The father stroked his stubble. “You should have applied for the visa a little earlier, but since your uncle works at the Russian consulate, this is no big deal. You just need to get your passports ready.”

"Does Father have one?"

"Me? Of course I have. I went back a few times when I was young, but I haven't done it since."

“Speaking of which, February of 2000 was your great-grandfather’s 100th birthday,” his mother reminded him.

"Oh? One hundred years old! My great-grandfather is that old?"

"Then we can't say you'll live to be a hundred years old," Li Wanyan said with a faint smile.

“Yes, you should say he’ll live to be two hundred!” the father joked.

"That's too deliberate!" Mo Xueyao mimicked Li Wanyan, taking small bites of the remaining sweet potato. "So our family is... four generations living under one roof?"

"Five generations under one roof," the father said. "Your eldest uncle's son is married and has children; they're in elementary school now."

"Is Uncle really that old?" Mo Xueyao didn't have much of an impression of her uncle.

"He's not that much older than your grandfather, maybe only seven or eight years younger. Don't you remember your uncle?"

"When did I ever see her? I don't remember at all!" Mo Xueyao said matter-of-factly. "I don't have any memories of my childhood!"

"Xiaoyao, do you want more sweet potatoes?" Li Wanyan asked when she saw Mo Xueyao eating such small bites.

"Oh? Never mind, Wanyan, you eat. I'll savor the taste slowly." Mo Xueyao said, picking up a glass of warm water and taking a sip. "So, are we going to fly there?"

"Why take a plane? Do we have that much money?" Her father glanced at her sideways. "Unless there are cheap tickets, of course we should take the train, a sleeper berth."

"How many days will it take?"

“I don’t quite remember, but we have to leave a week in advance,” the father explained. “We have to take the train to Beijing first, and we might also take a plane—because your godfather is also going to Beijing, so we’ll go together then.”

Mo Xueyao interrupted her father, "Is it another invitation from Godfather?"

“That won’t do. We’ll have to pay for it ourselves then,” the father said seriously. “But he definitely has a way to get cheaper tickets. We should hear from him in the next few days.”

"Oh……"

“Let me put it another way. We have to get to Beijing first, then take a sleeper train to Russia. We’ll get off in Moscow, and someone will come to pick us up and take us to the countryside,” the father said nostalgically. “If I remember correctly, the train to Russia should be number 019 or 020… I heard they’re going to speed it up next year, and then it’ll be called K19 and K20.”

Who will pay for the speed increase?

"Of course it's our country. Russia is too busy taking care of itself right now, how can it have the time to increase the speed of the car?" the father said with a wry smile.

If you look closely, your father's eyes also have a hint of blue, but they are a deep blue. Unless you look very closely, you would only see that they are black and you wouldn't be able to see the blue in them.

Upon hearing this, Mo Xueyao suddenly felt somewhat fortunate that her great-grandfather had chosen to settle in China.

Otherwise, living in that country that has collapsed and is now in great chaos, I don't know how difficult life would be.

Although she still has some attachment to her hometown, for Mo Xueyao, it is more like her country that feels like her hometown, after all, she is already a fourth-generation Chinese and can be said to be a true Chinese.

"Speaking of which, where is Wanyan's hometown?"

"Me? I don't know either, because I've never been back."

"I see." Mo Xueyao sensed a hint of melancholy in Li Wanyan's tone, so she didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she stuffed the last bite of sweet potato into her mouth, picked up the candy, and held it high above her head. "Dad, what time is it?"

"Around nine o'clock."

Will there be fireworks at midnight?

"It will happen."

Sure enough, at midnight, a few firecrackers and fireworks were set off sporadically throughout the city.

A small number of people are celebrating the arrival of the new Gregorian calendar year in the traditional way.

Although Chinese people generally celebrate festivals according to the lunar calendar, the Gregorian calendar is, after all, a calendar used by people all over the world.

It's a new year, and there's absolutely no problem with that.

"Happy New Year!" Mo Xueyao shouted amidst the fireworks.

"Happy New Year," Li Wanyan said with a smile. "I hope next year will be just as good..."

“It will get better!” Mo Xueyao interrupted her and said.

……

Volume Two: The First Chapter of a Young Girl's Life - Nora

In the early morning of May 2000, 1.

This was destined to be a sleepless night for many Russians.

Because on the night of December 31, 1999, Yeltsin suddenly announced his resignation.