A Young Woman's Heart

"This recoil is already considered small."

"But it still feels like a firecracker exploding in my palm." Mo Xueyao shrank her neck.

"Oh ho~ You'll get used to it~" Nora patted Mo Xueyao on the shoulder, "Want to try again?"

"Of course!" Mo Xueyao just had that kind of competitive spirit.

……

Chapter Sixty-Two: Eating Military Rations in the Field

Everyone spent the morning at the shooting range. If Hua Yinyin and Li Wanyan hadn't been so uninterested in firearms, Mr. Xue and Mo Xueyao could probably have spent the whole day there.

But neither of them were selfish people who didn't care about other people's feelings, or stupid people who couldn't read the room at all. So when Nora asked at noon if they wanted to extend the time, they said they had had enough fun.

Next up was a part that Mo Xueyao didn't particularly like.

Yeah... that's right, just shopping.

Li Wanyan and Hua Yinyin were quite energetic, showing great curiosity about all sorts of novel buildings and Russian-style goods.

The afternoon passed in this way, and night fell.

"Alright, I should take you all back now. But how about we grab dinner on the way?" Nora distanced herself from the group, casually lit a cigarette, and put it in her mouth.

His handsome appearance even made Mo Xueyao want to try smoking one herself.

Of course, reason told her that smoking was wrong, not only because it was bad for her own health, but also because it would cause trouble for others.

"Why halfway?" Mr. Xue asked.

"Because along the way, there's a small lake, you should see it, right? Let's have dinner there!"

"Dinner in the wild when it gets dark? That sounds like a wilderness adventure." Mo Xueyao felt a strange surge of hormones coursing through her body. She loved these novel experiences. "Let's hurry up and set off! We can't stay out too late, or Mom and Dad will start nagging when they get back."

"Okay, let's go~" Nora twirled the keys in her hand and led everyone towards the parking area.

Because Nora knew she was picking up several people when she arrived in the morning, she didn't drive the pickup truck, but instead drove a minivan, which is common in the countryside.

Just like the car that took Mo Xueyao and the others to the town that day.

Apart from being dark black, they appear to be no different.

Moreover, there was no air conditioning in the car, so Hua Yinyin kept snuggling up to Mo Xueyao, claiming it was to keep warm together.

Of course, sitting inside the carriage is much more comfortable than sitting in the open cargo bed.

“This is my car.” Nora stubbed out her half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray inside the car. “Uh, sorry, I forgot you guys don’t smoke.”

"It's alright, it's alright." Although she didn't really like the smell of smoke, Mo Xueyao still waved her hand to show her magnanimity.

Hua Yinyin, who doesn't understand English very well, is the worst off. She can't join in everyone's conversations and can only deliberately cause trouble from time to time to make her presence known.

“This is my car, so I bought the most affordable one,” Nora said with a smile. “I saved up money from my part-time job to buy it.”

"Because...the economy isn't doing so well?" Li Wanyan asked as cautiously as possible.

Nora shook her head and turned the steering wheel slightly: "It's not entirely that... I just think that as long as a car can be driven, that's enough. There's no need for so many complicated functions, and there's no need to pursue such a good engine or anything like that. As long as it's sturdy, durable, and can carry a lot of things, that's enough."

"Speaking of which, what is Nora's part-time job?" Mo Xueyao pinched Hua Yinyin's neck to prevent her from moving. "I don't think I've heard you mention it before."

“Oh, didn’t I mention that? Well… my part-time job is as an assistant to professionals at the zoo, taking care of the animals. Although my major has nothing to do with this, I find it very interesting, so I’ve learned some related knowledge in my spare time—the most recent time was helping to take care of two brown bears.”

"Would you fight it?" Mr. Xue asked curiously, swinging his fist in a fighting stance.

"Haha—sometimes, but usually it's just playful fighting. Those guys can be quite naughty sometimes, and you have to give them a good beating before they'll behave."

“I thought zookeepers were all patient and communicative with the animals,” Li Wanyan said softly, imagining the scene of Nora fighting with the brown bear.

"Most of the time you have to be patient, but sometimes patience alone is not enough. After all, animals are still animals. If you don't make them respect you, they won't be able to communicate with you properly. If you anthropomorphize animals too much, that's not a good thing."

"That's true."

More than an hour later, the van left the highway and drove onto a side road, where it stopped a few minutes later.

This is in front of that small lake.

Although there are no streetlights here, it's snowing right now, and the clouds haven't obscured the starry sky. The brilliant starlight and the bright moonlight shine down, so you can still see the somewhat dark lake surface.

"Shall we eat in the car, or outside?" Nora asked.

"Let's stay in the car, it's too cold outside," Hua Yinyin said, shivering. "So, what are we going to eat?"

"Glimmer, did you receive the letter from last time?" Nora smiled slightly but did not answer directly.

"received."

"Do you remember I told you that I received a lot of military rations?"

"Huh—could it be that?"

“That’s right! Eating military rations at a time like this feels really special!” Nora snapped her fingers, climbed from the driver’s seat into the back of the vehicle, took out a folding low table, and then took out a large iron box from the side.

The metal box contained military rations in dark green packaging, each bag bulging and looking like it was packed with ingredients.

“I’ll open one of each flavor, that’s enough for five people, so everyone can choose whichever they like,” Nora said as she opened a package, took out the holder, and placed an alcohol sachet on it.

Once lit, it becomes a simple little stove.

Each package contained several hard biscuits, two large cans, and various small packets of seasoning, which seemed to be beverages, coffee, and white sugar.

"What's this?" Mo Xueyao opened a package and handed the can to Nora. "I can't read Russian."

“Hmm, this is… buckwheat beef rice.” Nora looked at it, first reading it aloud in Russian, and then translating it into English.

"Then I'll eat this."

"Okay, let me see what your side dish is, um... it's vegetable soup."

"Hurry up and cook it!" Mo Xueyao wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. "I feel hungry..."

Without saying a word, Nora lit the alcohol block: "Okay, leave it to me. But for safety reasons, let's heat it in two portions. Too much alcohol could easily cause a fire."

The opened cans began to emit an enticing aroma, and soon everyone's cans were warmed up.

Everyone is different.

However, it seems that only Mo Xueyao has soup, while the other people have other side dishes.

It was supposed to be vegetable soup, but it was really just tomato soup. She couldn't find anything else in it besides tomatoes, and she had no idea how much tomato was concentrated in it. It made her teeth ache...

"I've only ever eaten compressed biscuits, and compared to that, this is simply a delicacy," Mr. Xue commented. "However, it seems that our country also has military rations such as self-heating rice, but I've never been able to buy them."

"Hmm—Little Yaoyao~ Let's get a different one~" Hua Yinyin leaned closer with a cheeky grin. "I don't like the taste of liver pâté! Can we get a different one, please? Hehehe—"

“You’ve already taken several bites, can you switch with me…” Mo Xueyao helplessly handed over her vegetable soup. “Fine, then give me your coffee, otherwise I’m too thirsty.”

"No problem~" Hua Yinyin had a smug look on her face as she picked up the spoon from the vegetable soup, scooped a spoonful, and put it in her mouth.

"Wait a minute, I already used that spoon..."

"Hehehe, it's okay, it's okay~ It's only good if it's something that Xiaoyaoyao has used!" Hua Yinyin blinked, indicating that her reaction was really too slow.

"...Are you an idiot? What's so delicious about my saliva?" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes.

"It smells sweet and delicious."

Li Wanyan glanced at Hua Yinyin sideways; she seemed to be almost unable to bear it any longer.

Military rations taste pretty good when you're hungry.

Or rather, the first few flavors were all quite good.

But the more you eat, the worse it tastes.

For example, the buckwheat beef rice was too hard, and the coffee tasted really strange, with a bitter aftertaste.

On the contrary, the unflavored cookies were more palatable; at least Mo Xueyao ate several without getting tired of them.

The liver pâté had a very fishy smell and was extremely greasy.

Mr. Xue's braised beef was covered with a thick layer of oil, making me feel like I'd gain a lot of weight after eating it.

But no matter what, sitting in this small van, looking out at the starlit lake, eating not-so-delicious military rations, and enjoying the tranquility, felt pretty good.

After all, it was an experience I'd never had before.

"When are you going back?" Nora asked, wiping her mouth as she finished her meal.

"It's all the day after tomorrow."

"It seems we have to part ways."

“Yes, but it’s okay, we can keep in touch by letter!” Mo Xueyao smiled, dispelling her slight sadness. “There will be another chance to come next time—Nora, you can come to our country to visit too.”

"I'll definitely go if I have the chance." Nora nodded. "Well then, after you finish eating, I'll take you home."

"it is good."

We probably won't see each other again tomorrow, since I don't know what my parents' plans are.

Not only Mo Xueyao and Nora were reluctant to part, but everyone else was too.

—Oh, that might not include Hua Yinyin.

Afterwards, the van arrived at the entrance of the town, and the four of them reluctantly said goodbye to Nora.

The starlight draped over the van as it drove further and further away...

"Xiaoyao, where did you all run off to?" Her parents' voices came from behind.

"I already told my second grandfather that I was going out to play."

"We're in an unfamiliar place, so we have to be careful when we go out to play," the father said worriedly. He looked a little tired, but seemed to be in a good mood.

"Tch, you two sneaked out on your own to do whatever you wanted without telling us, and you're criticizing us?" Mo Xueyao retorted sarcastically.

"Haha—we're going to take care of some things, um, some important things." The father laughed to cover up his embarrassment.

"How did it go?"

"As things stand—not bad!"