A Young Woman's Heart

The sounds of vendors hawking their wares filled the air, and the entire market was filled with the aromas of various ingredients.

It smells fishy, ​​meaty, and has a hint of vegetable leaves.

Everything was so damp, especially the fish market area.

I really don't know how these people manage to keep buying groceries here all year round.

—Mo Xueyao felt uncomfortable all over just walking in the dirty and wet market.

How was the fish we had today?

"I don't want to eat crucian carp..." Mo Xueyao looked at the flat, swimming crucian carp and refused from the bottom of her heart.

"Tofu and crucian carp soup is delicious." Her mother didn't ask Mo Xueyao's opinion; she was just informing her. "Besides, if you don't want it, you can give it to Su Tang."

"...Ah, I'm buying sea bass!"

"It's too expensive; you could buy several crucian carp for that price."

"I can't eat crucian carp..." Mo Xueyao complained softly.

"Boss, how much is the sea bass?"

……

Chapter 177 Little Black Rabbit

At six o'clock on Sunday morning, Mo Zhuyou sat on the back of the bicycle, full of energy.

Although her sleep schedule was the same as usual, she wasn't sleepy at all today.

My sister told Duanmu Bi last night that she might be a little late for work today.

However, the burger shop wasn't very busy, so arriving a little late wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, the manager, Duanmu Bi, was very easy to talk to, so there were no difficulties in communicating with her.

The pink bicycle carried the two sisters across wheat fields filled with crops, across roads lined with trees on both sides, and through bustling city streets, until they arrived at Yinshan Square in Hangzhou.

Yinshan Square is located right next to West Lake, making it a true city center and the liveliest place all year round.

The two sisters parked their bicycles in the bicycle shed of Yinshan Square, where a little water on the ground reflected the somewhat hazy sky.

There had just been a rain shower at five o'clock, and the air was still filled with a moist and refreshing scent.

It was already past seven o'clock when we arrived.

There were already some tourists in the square, but not many; most of the people there were staff members dressed in various clothes.

Some of them were vendors on Hefang Street, some were employees of nearby shopping malls, and others were security personnel maintaining order in the area...

I didn't come here to play, of course; I came to Yinshan Flower and Bird City to buy rabbits.

This is the largest flower and bird market in Hangzhou, so the animals you buy from other small vendors are more reliable.

Well, of course... only relatively speaking.

"When was the last time we came to Hefang Street?" Mo Zhuyou asked her sister, pinching a strand of hair that fell beside her ear.

"Last time? About a year ago, right?" Mo Xiaoxiao was a little unsure.

They are either in school or working during the week. When they have time off, they wish they could sleep all day at home. They also rarely have weekends off. So even though they live in Hangzhou, they are still unfamiliar with many of the tourist attractions.

"Sister, there's a huge string of candied hawthorns for sale!" Mo Zhuyou shouted, pointing to a snack shop not far away.

"Do you want to buy a rabbit or some food?" Mo Xiaoxiao pinched her cheek.

"Okay, okay, let's buy a rabbit, let's buy a rabbit~!" Mo Zhuyou hopped and skipped along, grabbing her sister's wrist and walking forward. Although there were many things that she found novel and many things that she wanted to eat, she didn't buy any of them.

Sometimes, just watching is enough to be satisfying.

This is how the poor find satisfaction.

After they had looked around enough, the two of them went into the flower and bird market.

The first and second floors sell flowers, while only the basement sells various small animals. Perhaps this is to avoid the stench of animals gathered together, which would deter people from entering.

At least for now, the fragrance of flowers covers them up.

Mo Zhuyou looked left and right, seemingly completely uninterested in flowers, while her older sister couldn't help but stop and admire them, as if she were considering buying one.

Finally, she stopped in front of a plant that hadn't yet bloomed, half-squatted down, and asked, "Boss, what kind of flower is this?"

"Oh, this is a pure white lily. It will bloom around May. It already has buds. Would you like to buy a pot to grow at home? Don't worry, it's not difficult. Just water it often to keep the soil moist." The shop owner, who was carrying pots of flowers out to the walkway outside the shop to attract customers, answered enthusiastically.

"Lilies..." Mo Xiaoxiao seemed somewhat tempted. She gently touched the bud with her fingertips, as if feeling the softness emanating from it. "How much is a pot of these?"

"Ten yuan, there are four plants here, they will bloom into a large patch when they bloom."

"Five yuan, one yuan per plant, and one yuan for the flowerpot." Mo Xiaoxiao stood up, pretending to be uninterested.

"Haha, little girl, you must be joking. The cost price is more than that, and I haven't made much profit either."

Mo Xiaoxiao shook her head: "Then forget it."

"Hey, wait a minute, five yuan it is. I'll sell it to you for the first sale of the morning." The shopkeeper had a 'you got a good deal' look on his face as he put the flowerpot into a thick bag. "Here, hold on tight, don't break it."

"Thank you." Mo Xiaoxiao handed over the new five-yuan bill and picked up the bag with satisfaction.

"Sister's going to plant this?" Mo Zhuyou muttered. "Planting flowers seems so boring, you can't do anything..."

"Watching it slowly grow until it blooms is a very interesting thing, but it also requires a lot of patience," Mo Xiaoxiao said, patting her younger sister's head. "We happen to have a yard at home, so we can plant it outside."

"Plant them outside? Hmm, does Sister want to plant a huge field of lilies?"

"Maybe it will work." Mo Xiao smiled and winked. "Alright, let's go down to the basement to see the rabbit you want."

"Ok!"

The two walked down the steps to the bottom of the building, where the air was noticeably worse than upstairs.

A fishy, ​​pungent smell permeated the air.

Although there are many visible vents and numerous exhaust fans blowing in hidden places, the effect is still not very significant.

"Ugh—it smells awful." Mo Zhuyou pinched her nose.

"You'll get used to it." Mo Xiao smiled and looked to her right, where reptiles and fish were sold. "Shall we start by browsing from the right?"

Since we're here, we can't just head straight to our destination. We have to wander around a bit and satisfy our desire to see everything.

This is a common habit among girls. If Mo Xueyao were to come, she would probably head straight to her destination, buy a rabbit, and leave.

On the right are a large number of fish tanks, in which colorful tropical fish swim around, and some other species of fish that look expensive are swimming leisurely.

The fishmonger glanced at Mo Xiaoxiao and Mo Zhuyou before lowering his head again, clearly aware that the two sisters couldn't afford to buy any.

However, at the stalls selling cheap goldfish, the owners would call out to the two of them, urging them to come and buy a few.

However, Mo Zhuyou didn't like goldfish, mainly because they were too silly and there was no sense of interaction. Besides... girls really do prefer fluffy things!

I glanced at the fish and turtle vendors and then moved on, but I lingered for quite a while at the hamster vendor's stall.

And they even sell squirrels!

Those squirrels were quite lively, bouncing around energetically in their cage.

However, what Mo Zhuyou felt was a longing for freedom.

"Squirrels really should be jumping around in trees..." she muttered to herself.

Mo Xiaoxiao smiled and nodded, gently smoothing her long hair.

If you walk further on, you'll find the place that sells rabbits.

Rabbits of different colors and breeds were kept in cages, lying there contentedly, unlike the squirrels who wanted to see the outside world.

They exuded a lazy vibe; some rabbits were even taken out of their cages by the owner and placed directly on top of the other rabbits' cages, where they quietly lay down and slept.

When the shop owner saw the two sisters standing in front of the shop, he greeted them and said, "Are you here to buy a rabbit to raise? Rabbits are very easy to raise, they are well-behaved and clean, and they don't make a fuss. You can keep them even if you have a small house."

"Hmm, um." Mo Zhuyou admitted that she had come to buy rabbits, then pointed to a rabbit with drooping ears and asked, "What kind of rabbit is this?"

"Oh, this is a lop-eared rabbit, an imported breed. Its fur is quite long and feels very soft to the touch." The shopkeeper stroked a lop-eared rabbit placed outside its cage. "How about it, want to touch it?"

"Uh..." Mo Zhuyou hesitated for a moment, "Is it expensive?"

"Twenty yuan each," the shopkeeper replied with a broad smile.

Mo Zhuyou clicked her tongue and immediately gave up on it.

"These are just ordinary domestic rabbits, right?" Mo Xiao smiled as she looked at the rabbits in the cage. She spotted a pure white one and reached out to poke it, but the rabbit dodged her hand.

"Yes, these are all ordinary pet rabbits. If you raise them well, they can grow bigger than a cat," the shopkeeper said with a smile. "These are cheap, five yuan each, and you can choose any color."

“Ah, this is just pure black!” Mo Zhuyou said, pointing to a cage in the corner. It was so black that it almost blended into the shadows, which is why the two of them hadn’t noticed it earlier.

"Yes, the pure black one is also five yuan, and the black one looks very nice too."

"I feel like black is really unique." Mo Zhuyou looked at her sister with interest and gently bit her lip.

"Five yuan each, do you have cages?"

"Generally speaking, you would have to buy it, but since you two are students, I'll give you one as a gift, and I'll also give you the cage that holds it."

Mo Zhuyou nodded vigorously. If she had come alone, she would have already taken out her money to buy it.

But the older sister wasn't in a hurry; she just kept looking at the other rabbits, seemingly still undecided about what to buy: "How should I feed it?"

"Just feed them some vegetables, but remember to dry the vegetables thoroughly, otherwise they will get diarrhea. Or you can buy rabbit food or hay from me."

There's no need to worry about hay, because there are plenty of weeds near where the sisters live. As long as they're non-toxic, they can just pick them and dry them.

"Then, how much will it cost to buy some more hay and rabbit feed?" Mo Xiao asked, looking at the bags of hay and rabbit feed displayed on the counter.

"A bag of hay costs five yuan, and rabbit feed costs ten yuan."

"That's too expensive... Two bags of hay cost five yuan, and a bag of rabbit feed costs five yuan, which adds up to ten yuan. If we include the rabbit, then it'll be fifteen yuan."

"That won't work, there's no money to be made."

"...I haven't even tried to bargain yet. I think the price I've quoted is quite reasonable," Mo Xiaoxiao said earnestly.

Mo Zhuyou felt she could prove it.