A Young Woman's Heart

Whenever people talk about Karen Mok's family, they always say that he has two beautiful daughters and is very lucky.

"Yes, why are you so late today?"

"I slept in late last night, it's okay, the boss won't come anyway."

"You seem to have it easy."

"Ha, it's comfortable, but the salary is low."

"People who sweep floors get low wages and are unhappy about it."

"Haha, yes."

Mo Xueyao watched quietly, feeling incredibly relaxed.

This is the city I live in, these are the streets I live on. These ordinary people's lives, in all their different ways, are what make me feel the safest!

……

Chapter 130 Fatty Meat

At lunchtime, my mother was up to something again, seemingly trying out new dishes.

It took twice as long as usual to finish lunch.

Fortunately, it's hot in the summer, so I don't have much of an appetite. Eating an hour later or an hour earlier doesn't make a big difference.

"Dinner's ready!" the mother shouted, and everyone else started moving around as well.

"What are we eating today?"

"Food? What else is there?"

"Nonsense..." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "I'm asking what dishes we should eat."

"Can't you see it yourself?"

"Damn it, Mom, what's wrong with you? You're so angry today."

"They never help when I'm cooking, of course I get angry."

"Isn't Wanyan here to help you?"

"Yes, that's why I treat Yan Yan very well."

Mo Xueyao was speechless for a moment and could only look helplessly at her father.

"What are you doing? Don't make your mom angry. She's going through menopause. Can't you be a little more accommodating to her?"

"That's right, I'm going through menopause, you all have to give in to me!" Mother said, hands on her hips, with an air of self-righteousness. "Yaoyao, go serve the dishes!"

"knew--"

“I’ll help too.” The father ran over eagerly—it was unclear who he was trying to curry favor with.

Actually, this wasn't really an argument; it was just the usual bickering at home, purely for the sake of venting.

Moreover, such frequent bickering often occurs when family relationships are harmonious and parents are like friends.

Just like many people who like to tease each other when they are with their best friends.

The food was served quickly.

Actually, I don't have much of an appetite in the summer, maybe it's because it's too dry?

"Ha, ice-cold beer!" The father took out the beer he had frozen in the refrigerator and rubbed his hands together excitedly. "You really can't eat without beer in the summer!"

"Dad, I want one too!"

"Take it yourself."

“OK!” Mo Xueyao also took out a bottle.

She could drink much more than her father. For her, beer was just like a beverage, something to quench her thirst. No matter how much she drank, she would only feel bloated, but she wouldn't feel drunk.

This guy is quite different from his father, who blushes after just two bottles of beer and is often jokingly called a "man who disgraces Russian blood."

It is said that when Mo Xueyao was born, he got drunk after drinking three bottles of beer, staggered to the hospital, and returned home three days later, only to find that the door was not locked, but just ajar.

You know, that lasted a full three days!

Fortunately, the place I was living in was remote at the time. No one had moved into the entire building or any of the surrounding areas yet. Otherwise, when I came back three days later, I probably would have found that everything in my house was gone.

"When I was pregnant with my first child, the weather was just as hot," the mother suddenly said with a touch of emotion.

When Yang Xiaoyu was pregnant with her first child, she miscarried due to an accident. When she was pregnant with Mo Xueyao, she was in poor health and thought that the child would be weak and sickly, so she took birth control pills. Unexpectedly, she was still born.

"Was that in June?" the father asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, June was very hot that year too," the mother said casually, recalling the past. "After being discharged from the hospital, I couldn't stand staying at home, so I went to your godfather's house to escape the heat. At that time, your godfather didn't even have a girlfriend yet."

"Hey, your mom and I went together, so we got to ride on her coattails." The father looked at Mo Xueyao smugly, seemingly showing off something.

"You have the nerve to say that?" Mo Xueyao looked at him with disdain. "Taking your wife to someone else's house to escape the summer heat, aren't you ashamed?"

"What's the big deal? It's nothing to escape the heat at my brother's house," the father said smugly. "Others can't even get air conditioning here!"

"Was Godfather's family always here?"

"Yes, your godfather's family is very wealthy. After all, they can't be poor if they can raise a college student. They are a family of scholars. They bought him a house before he got married, and they only renovated it right before the wedding - just painted the walls and laid new floors and stuff."

"Oh—no wonder." Mo Xueyao nodded. "Where are your godfather and godmother now?"

“He doesn’t get along well with his family, so he doesn’t go back home often. Haven’t you noticed that he always goes back to your godmother’s house for Chinese New Year?”

"Oh, yes."

“We actually owe this house to him.” The mother picked up a piece of breadcrumbs and put it in her mouth, crunching it. “Actually, this house was allocated to him by his former workplace. After he worked there for a long time, it was given to him, and then he sold it to us as a gift.”

"Gift? Sale?" This sounds contradictory.

"Because gifts are tax-free, I heard they will be taxed in the future, but for now they are not."

"Oh……"

"It must have been around 1990, right? I bought it for 5,000 yuan."

"Ah, even ten years ago it was considered very cheap, right?"

"Yes, it's very cheap. It's practically like giving it to us for free. But after buying it, we didn't have much money for renovations. It's all your dad's fault. He's always gambling. Before, when we were selling seafood in the market, your dad bought up all the other stalls. We were the only ones selling seafood in that area. Business was incredibly good. Back in 1990, we could earn more than 500 yuan a month!"

"Wow—five hundred yuan in 1990!" Mo Xueyao's eyes widened. "How much is that in today's money?"

"It's definitely increased tenfold." The father also picked up a piece of fried food and put it in his mouth.

"It's funny to think about it now. Back then, when someone was selling something, they would sell it for three yuan a pound, and your dad would shout through a loudspeaker, 'Ten yuan for three pounds,' and then everyone would come to us to buy it."

"Mom, you've said this so many times already. Seriously, were people really that stupid back then?"

"It's probably because there were more uneducated people back then," the father chuckled, swallowing the fried food in his mouth.

"What exactly is this?" Mo Xueyao picked at the fried food with her chopsticks. "Fried meat?"

"You'll know once you try it."

"Oh..." She picked up a piece and put it in her mouth, but then felt a wave of nausea and quickly spat it out.

This is fried pork fat. To prevent the fat from turning into cracklings, it was steamed before frying. Although it retained the original flavor of the fat, it wasn't tasty at all.

Anyway, Mo Xueyao didn't like it.

If you render out a little more oil, she might like it.

But now... it's basically just fried breadcrumbs, right?

The outside is very crispy, but the inside is very greasy, so greasy that it makes you feel nauseous.

"What?! It's fatty meat! It tastes awful!" She gagged a few more times, then quickly grabbed a beer and gulped down several mouthfuls. "Ugh...it's so disgusting!"

"What a waste! Back in our time, we didn't even have fatty meat to eat. And this fatty meat is so delicious, how could it be bad?" My father said, eating a few more pieces. He has always liked fatty meat, but he doesn't really like lean meat. Perhaps it's because there was so little oil in those days.

"Pshaw, I don't like eating that. It makes me nauseous." She rubbed her stomach. "Besides, I've been exercising a lot lately, so it's better to avoid fatty meats, otherwise all my efforts will be wasted."

"Have you lost weight after exercising for so many days?" the mother asked with a smile.

"It can't be that fast. I feel like you've lost a little weight." Mo Xueyao touched her thigh. Although it was still as well-proportioned as ever, she felt that it had indeed lost some weight, whether it was psychological or not.

"It's alright, you're already thin enough, how much thinner do you want to get?" The father took several gulps of beer in a row. "Stop learning those unhealthy things. What's so attractive about being as thin as a bamboo pole?"

"Yes, I agree with what your dad said."

"Exercise is for your health, not necessarily to lose weight."

“That’s true, I feel much lighter lately, and I can run much faster than before.” Mo Xueyao crossed her legs, but her mother immediately slapped them down with a chopstick.

"Girls are not allowed to cross their legs."

"Why should I?"

"Unless you're not wearing a skirt."

"Tch!" She rolled her eyes, but still obediently put one leg down.

As we were talking, an old beggar leaning on a cane came staggering from a distance. He was holding a tattered rice bowl in his hands, which was empty.

He sat down on the steps below the fruit shop, seemingly wanting to rest for a while.

"What a beggar! Xiaoyao, why don't you give him fifty cents to send him away?" the father said casually.

"They don't seem to be here to ask for money, otherwise they would have come into the store."

When you open a shop, you will inevitably encounter some beggars. Usually, you give them a few cents and send them away, otherwise it is quite annoying if they stay there and refuse to leave.

But the old beggar didn't seem to be the type to pester people relentlessly; he sat on the steps simply wanting to rest for a while.

"How about we give him something to eat? It only costs a few cents to buy a steamed bun or something. If I finish eating, we can give him some leftovers."

"Yaoyao is right. Giving money is useless. Giving some leftovers is the best help."

How do you know if they want it or not?

“When begging for food, you have to eat first. If you only want money, then you're not a real beggar.” The mother stood up. “Does anyone else want food? If not, I'll serve it to him.”

"I'm full—" Mo Xueyao lazily finished the last sip of beer.