A Young Woman's Heart

"Sister, you're awake so early?" Mo Zhuyou rolled off the bed and lazily leaned on the railing, asking.

"Okay, wake up, come and have breakfast."

"Oh~ Are you going out today?"

"I went out to buy candles, but I don't know if the shops are open yet."

"The power's still not back on?" My sister rubbed her eyes. "We didn't have dinner last night because there was no power."

"Well, so I cooked some noodles with gas today. Luckily, we had some flour at home." My sister smiled and brought out a chair. "Go wash up, and then go out and see if you can buy some candles."

"Is it unnecessary to buy it? Maybe it'll arrive soon?"

Just in case.

"Okay, okay~"

This is a morning when the two sisters don't have to go to work or school.

This made the two of them feel exceptionally relaxed.

It was still early after breakfast.

The sky was overcast, and the sun did not rise immediately.

However, the rain has indeed stopped, and the wind is just the right amount, making people feel cool without feeling uncomfortable.

"Come on, Youyou, put on your rain boots."

"Oh~! I'm wearing rain boots!" My sister excitedly put on her shoes, or rather, rain boots, the kind that won't get your feet wet even if you walk on slightly puddled roads.

It's more convenient to wear rain boots when navigating this muddy country road.

Because rain boots generally don't get wet inside, you can just wipe them clean. Unlike other shoes, if you wear them outside, even if you wash them, it will take several days to dry them unless it's a very sunny day!

Both of them were wearing plain black rain boots, which looked rather ugly, but now was not the time to look good.

Moreover, Mo Zhuyou quite likes wearing rain boots because that way she can freely step into puddles without worrying about getting her shoes wet.

"Okay, even if you're wearing rain boots, don't deliberately step into puddles. Have you forgotten what happened when you were little?"

"What's wrong?" The younger sister stomped her foot at the door and picked up an old umbrella with crooked ribs. "Sister, hurry up!"

"You wore rain boots that time and deliberately stepped in puddles, splashing water all over your skirt, don't you remember?"

"Heh heh, how could I possibly remember something like that?"

"Pretending to be stupid again." Mo Xiao chuckled and gently pinched her cute little nose. "Alright, let's go."

"Hmm~!"

Walking with a bouncy gait seems to be a privilege only children can enjoy.

However, this is a country road, so it's perfectly fine to walk like this.

"Youyou—don't walk like that, you'll get mud all over your skirt."

"Huh? Is there? Is there?"

"Not yet, but it will be available soon."

"Hey, sister's lying~" Mo Zhuyou took her sister's arm. "Then how about we walk slowly like this?"

"Yes, slow down, it's not easy to walk here after the rain."

"Phew, I suddenly remembered we have to walk back later."

"Yes."

"So far away..."

"You think it's far already?" Mo Xiaoxiao tapped her forehead. "You're just lazy."

"Hmph, laziness is human nature! People live to be lazy!"

"Where did you get this twisted logic from?" Mo Xiaoxiao shook her head helplessly.

The two finally managed to get out of the country lane, only to find that the city roads were even more severely flooded, with the water on the ground almost reaching above their shoes.

Yellow emergency vehicles can often be seen speeding by, heading to various parts of the city.

Power may be restored in most areas by tonight, but it's hard to say for the villages. After all, power restoration usually starts in the city first, then in the villages.

Mo Zhuyou stepped on the puddles with her toes, making a 'tap-tap' sound: "Sister, look, doesn't it look like stepping on the drum pedal~!"

"Go back and practice some more, don't step in the water."

"It's rare to wear rain boots here, so of course we should put them on and let them sit for a bit. Plus, we can wash the boots with water!"

Mo Xiaoxiao shook her head helplessly and had no choice but to let her sister do as she pleased.

In the commercial street next to the station, most of the shops were still closed, with only occasional people entering and exiting the supermarket entrance, indicating that it had already opened.

Unless absolutely necessary, supermarkets rarely close.

Even during the Spring Festival, it's only a half-day holiday.

Upon entering the supermarket, I was surprised to find it was surprisingly crowded.

It seems that quite a few people didn't prepare supplies in advance.

On the first pile of goods at the entrance is a type of flashlight that can generate electricity by hand-cranking.

This thing usually seems useless, but people who have experienced a whole day of power outage, or whose homes still haven't had their power restored, will realize its usefulness.

Mo Zhuyou quickly tossed one into her shopping cart.

"What's wrong?" her sister asked helplessly.

"Just in case, let's buy one too? And it seems to be on sale, only two yuan each."

"...Fine, I'll buy it then."

Mo Zhuyou laughed happily and immediately picked up the flashlight and shook it a few times.

Although this is just very simple scientific knowledge, it still feels quite novel when you put it into practice.

Clearly, the supermarket staff knew what people needed at this time, and they didn't need to look for them specifically; they could see all kinds of candles placed on the promotional display.

The cheapest are those small candles that cost just a few cents each. The more expensive ones come with a glass, which means you don't have to worry about the wax dripping everywhere.

However, you can actually make it yourself using a glass cup if you're willing to do it, all you need is an extra candle wick.

"Sister, which one should we buy?"

"The cheapest one." Mo Xiaoxiao didn't hesitate at all about this. She took a whole bundle of white candles and put them in the car.

These candles are the cheapest; the other colors cost five cents more each.

With candles, there's no need to worry about the house being completely dark during a power outage.

As long as you burn it in a glass, it is relatively safe to use.

Since they were already at the supermarket, it wasn't feasible to walk that far just to buy some candles. So the older sister bought some groceries, and then, at her younger sister's urging, she bought some cheap loose snacks, the most expensive of which was the canned potato chips.

When we came, the road didn't seem far, but when we were carrying our things back, it felt like a long journey.

"Why haven't we arrived yet...?"

"Youyou, you've asked this several times already."

"Hmm, it just feels so long... The road is so far, I never felt that way when I was riding a bicycle."

"We're almost there, just hang on a little longer, can't you carry it anymore?"

"Thank goodness... I'll carry it for a little while longer..."

"If you really can't do it, then just carry it for me."

"I should be able to, I'll try my best... Sister, you're so strong!"

"It's alright." Mo Xiaoxiao switched the bag to her other hand. "Let's hurry up."

"Uh-huh."

The two sisters got home quite early, but the electricity didn't come back on until evening.

Mo Xiaoxiao prepared dinner while it was still a little light.

After it got completely dark, the two sat down at the table and started eating the stew.

Two candles were placed in two glasses on the side, emitting a dim light.

There were all sorts of foods in the pot, and because it was hard to see them clearly, each time I scooped one out with a spoon it felt like I was playing the lottery.

"Ugh—potato chips again."

"What does Youyou want to eat?"

"I want to eat dried bean curd sticks!"

"Tofu skin is too expensive, so I didn't put in much." Mo Xiaoxiao raised a cup of candle and looked at it, then put a few pieces of tofu skin floating on the soup into her sister's bowl. "Here, that should be all."

"Hey, the dried bean curd sticks are super delicious~!"

"Really."

"Haven't you tried it, sister?"

"I tasted it when the soup was being simmered."

"Oh, then I'll enjoy it to my heart's content!"

Eat more.

The soup was steaming, and its aroma filled the entire room.

The dim light of candles doesn't illuminate the room, but it allows one's senses to focus more on the food itself.

"The soup tastes especially good today!" The little sister scooped up a big spoonful of soup. "Mmm, delicious~ Sister, is the rice cooked yet?"

"Of course it's burned! I'll go get it for you."

"I'll go by myself!"

"Be careful in the pot, don't slip and fall."

"Know it."