A Young Woman's Heart

“This mooncake is square,” Li Wanyan said softly, looking at the mooncake in her hand.

“Yes, square ones seem to be less common. They’re usually round to be appropriate for the occasion!” Mo Xueyao held up the half-eaten mooncake and compared it to the moon in the sky.

Tonight is the perfect night for moon gazing.

The autumn wind has blown away all the clouds in the sky, leaving only an exceptionally bright moon hanging high in the air.

The moonlight shone on the ground like water, creating a shimmering effect.

"By the way, Wanyan, didn't Awen give you the letter your mother sent you today?"

"Ah."

"Don't you want to take a look? Maybe she's reading your letter while admiring the moon right now!"

Li Wanyan took the envelope out of her pocket, carefully opened it, and then spread it out to read it silently.

Mo Xueyao and Lu Chengyuan also curiously went over to take a look, but the letter was almost entirely filled with everyday stories. For the person involved, it was a very touching letter, but for outsiders, it seemed quite ordinary.

After reading the letters several times, Li Wanyan carefully put them away, seemingly intending to keep them as a keepsake and show them to her mother three years later, as a kind of memento.

Looking at the bright moon, Li Wanyan couldn't help but wonder if her mother was also looking at it, sending her longing thoughts to it.

However, we will eventually be able to meet, and the time is getting closer and closer.

She will be able to meet her mother around the time she graduates from high school.

Every time she thinks about this, she feels a rare sense of melancholy and confusion.

"By the way, next year we'll be seniors in high school, and then we'll have to fill out college applications. Has everyone decided what to apply for?" Lu Chengyuan asked, bringing up this question that everyone occasionally talks about.

"It's still early, isn't it? We'll talk about it later~" Mo Xueyao waved her hand.

"How's the class monitor doing?"

"Finance or law." Li Wanyan took a small bite of the mooncake, then frowned at the fishy smell.

"Huh? They all seem like science majors," Lu Chengyuan muttered.

"Are lawyers considered science majors?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously.

"Could it be humanities... Hmm, I'm not quite sure either."

"So, which school does Cheng Yuan plan to attend, and what major will she choose?"

"Me? Well... I'll have to pass the exam first. As for the major I want to study, um, I'd like to study tour guiding?"

"Oh, that's great. You can travel everywhere and make money at the same time."

"It's not that easy! When you actually work as a tour guide, you lose interest in tourism!" Lu Chengyuan shrugged. "Hmm, but I still want to give it a try."

"It's pretty good."

"Also, teachers can do it too."

"Want to be a teacher? Hangzhou Normal University or Zhejiang Normal University?"

“Hangzhou Normal University, right? I doubt I can get in from Zhejiang.” Lu Chengyuan leaned back a little more. “Besides, that school is in J City. Hangzhou is better, then I won’t have to leave home.”

"Hmm, if I had to choose, I'd definitely choose a school in another city! It's a rare opportunity, so of course I should venture out from home and explore the world!"

"...Yeah, that makes sense. Is it another kind of experience? Well, it's too early to talk about these things now. At least we should wait until the end of the second year of high school before thinking about these things."

"Hmm." Mo Xueyao stared at Lu Chengyuan, and sure enough, the next second, she exclaimed and fell backward. Just as she was about to fall to the ground, Mo Xueyao caught her. "I knew it."

"Huh? Whew...that scared me to death, I thought I was going to fall to the ground." Lu Chengyuan patted her chest, still shaken. "Xiaoyao, thank you so much."

“I knew this would happen when I saw you leaning back.” Mo Xueyao said with the air of someone who had been there. “I used to lean back like that all the time, especially on chairs with backs. Usually, I would fall to the ground, chair and all.”

"Pfft, that reminds me of Gao Yuan. Didn't he fall like that several times?"

"Yeah, it's pretty dangerous to fall here. Even though it's far from the edge, it would be bad if you suddenly fell down."

"Yaoyao—aren't you going to take a bath?" The mother's voice came from downstairs, interrupting the three's conversation.

"Okay—I'm coming down now!!" Mo Xueyao shrugged helplessly at Lu Chengyuan. "We're going to take a shower first."

"Okay, let's go together! On the way back, we can also take a look at my little room."

"What are the rooms like in your fruit shop?"

"It's amazing! It's divided into two levels. The first level is higher, and the second level is lower. I sleep on the second level, which is all mine. It's very comfortable, and I can roll around on it."

"Oh—not a bad design, huh?"

……

Chapter Thirty-Eight Taking Over the Noodle Shop

On Wednesday morning, Mo Wenli drove his van back to the store, unloaded the fruit and flowers, and parked the van in a small open space behind the store.

"Are the girls all off?" He swung his keys in one hand, and with the other hand, he smoothly took out a cigarette, pulled one out, put it in his mouth, and lit it with a lighter.

"They must have gone to school a long time ago; it's almost seven o'clock now."

"Oh, that must have been hard work."

"Everyone's in the same boat." Yang Xiaoyu brought breakfast to the table. "Have some breakfast and rest for a bit."

"Here you go, let me finish this cigarette."

"Smoking, smoking, all he does all day long is smoke."

"I feel uncomfortable if I don't smoke for a day."

"If you have drug addiction, go to a drug rehabilitation center."

"Alas, what a pity, it's legal."

"I think cigarettes should be banned as drugs."

"Haha, that's impossible!" Mo Wenli chuckled twice, took a cigarette, and walked to the street. He planned to stroll around the street before finishing his cigarette.

The grocery store in front has already opened. The goods in the grocery store are all delivered by the manufacturers themselves, and many of them don't even require delivery fees, so it's quite quiet every day.

Of course, the profits are definitely not as high as those of a fruit shop.

After all, the prices of goods in general stores are basically fixed, and the price of each item is the same in different general stores, so the difference is not too big.

But fruit shops are different; they can set prices and sell for whatever they want, all depending on their own abilities.

If you're skilled enough, you can even earn ten times the profit.

Of course, Mo Wenli wouldn't do that kind of thing. After all, business is about repeat customers, and this place isn't like a tourist attraction where you can just rip people off once and be done with it.

"Aunt Jin, has the noodle shop been rented out yet?" Mo Wenli turned his head, blew the smoke aside, and then asked her.

Not yet.

"Why hasn't anyone rented it yet?"

"The main reason is that the rental period is not long. Some people have inquired about it, but in the end, we did not choose to rent it."

"Rent it out as soon as possible to earn rent."

"Hehe, the rent for such a small storefront is no problem." Grandma Jin smiled as she walked to the noodle shop behind the grocery store. "So, Ali, do you want to rent it?"

"How could I possibly manage two stores?"

"Just find someone else to work."

“It’s not that easy… um…” Mo Wenli suddenly paused for a moment, then chuckled, “Sigh, I have to pay off debts. I don’t have much money to rent this shop, and even if I do, should I open a noodle shop? Or do some other business?”

“You can open a noodle shop or a restaurant.” Grandma Jin took out her keys, opened the roller shutter door of the noodle shop, and went in first.

Mo Wenli followed closely behind, tossed his cigarette butt at the door, and then waved to disperse the dust that had settled in the shop.

"Oh, some things are still here."

"Yes, the refrigerator and some stoves that are not easy to move are still there. They asked me if I wanted them, so I bought them at a low price."

"Oh... this way it'll be easier to rent some out."

"Interested?" Grandma Jin opened the window to ventilate the shop. "Don't worry about the rent."

"Haha, if this keeps up, will I be able to rent all the shops on this street and open my own?"

"Then it depends on your ability."

As Mo Wenli looked around, he pondered, "How about paying the rent monthly?"

"Ali, you really dare to say that."

"Haha... I knew it wouldn't work, did I?"

"It's alright, of course you can do it," Grandma Jin said with a smile. "Take it over and run it well. I don't need the rent for this shop."

“No, we still have to pay.” Mo Wenli said righteously, “This shop isn’t actually that small. It might not be able to fit many tables as a restaurant, but as a noodle shop… since everyone gets their own bowl anyway, we can design the tables in a simple shape, and we can even install tabletops in the area along the side, like the seating in a convenience store. It’s just right for one person to eat…”

"Have you already thought about it?"

"Hmm, how about... we give it a try?" Mo Wenli thought of Old Chen, who was working on construction sites every day. It sounded like he was making a lot of money, but at the end of the year, he didn't actually get much money from his boss.

That's how construction site bosses operate: they give out a small living allowance each month, and then pay the remaining wages at the end of the year.

And most of them like to delay payment. It's normal for them to delay for one or two years, but there are countless cases where they delay for five or ten years and then just let it go.

News of migrant workers demanding payment is commonplace, yet this issue has never been truly resolved.

So, instead of working on a construction site, it's better to work for him; at least he won't delay your wages.

If Lao Chen also contributes money, then it's acceptable to split the profits according to the amount contributed.

Even if you don't bring your own capital to open a shop, you can split the costs: one person contributes the labor, and the other contributes the money.

"Technology as equity..." Mo Wenli thought of this professional term.

"What's wrong, Ali?"

"Hmm, I'll go back and think about it. I'll discuss it with my wife and see if we can take over the shop. After all, it's good to keep the profits in the family!"

"Hehe!" Grandma Jin was very happy, perhaps because Mo Wenli treated her like family. "It's really nice. Seeing you, I feel like I'm seeing them when they were young..."

"Ha...is that so?"