A Young Woman's Heart

"Haha, Old Chen makes pork cracklings. Just tell him when you go."

"Okay!" Mo Xueyao hugged the sugar candy, turned around and went back into the noodle shop.

The noodle shop had the cheapest decor, but it looked clean and tidy, which was perhaps more appetizing than those glittering restaurants.

The store had just opened, and there wasn't much business yet. The lobby was empty and looked very deserted.

"Welcome—!" Old Chen's eyes lit up when he saw someone come in, but he was slightly disappointed when he realized it was Mo Xueyao and the others. "Oh, it's you guys."

"What's wrong? Are you so disappointed?" Mo Xueyao pouted. "You don't want to cook noodles for us?"

"Of course I'd like to eat something. Let's take a look at the menu."

"I want pork kidney noodles, with extra toppings!" Mo Xueyao shouted as she sat down near the door.

"Vegetable noodles".

"Lianlian, vegetable noodles and pork kidney noodles with fried pork cracklings," Old Chen called out into the room.

"Hmm!" Zhuang Lianlian nodded seriously, and the sound of spatulas clattering against pots and pans immediately came from the kitchen.

Su Tang was still wrapped in a towel, lying there obediently, occasionally turning her head to rub against Mo Xueyao's palm.

Its long whiskers gently tickled her wrist, making Mo Xueyao laugh out loud: "Pfft, Su Tang, don't move, your whiskers are so long."

Li Wanyan sat down next to Mo Xueyao, turned her head and stared at it: "Perhaps it wants to go down."

"That's right... I've been holding it for quite a while now." Mo Xueyao suddenly realized, then untied the towel and let it leave on its own.

But Su Tang used the towel as a blanket, lying comfortably on Mo Xueyao's lap, even showing her belly quite comfortably.

"Still not leaving, huh?" Mo Xueyao poked Su Tang's chubby cheeks, the plumpness making her want to pinch them a few more times. "I'm going to eat soon, are you planning to stay lying down forever?"

"Meow~" Su Tang's voice seemed to be answering, and considering that it didn't move at all, it really intended to just lie there.

"What a lazy cat..." Mo Xueyao chuckled as she stroked its fur, and the cat purred contentedly.

The noodle soup was very clean, unlike noodles from other places which can be cloudy.

However, the taste is not as complicated anymore, and it has become much simpler.

Mo Xueyao didn't mind too much; in fact, she preferred the clean and refreshing noodles.

Perhaps because there were customers in the shop, more and more people came in to have breakfast.

Most of them were young people. It was the National Day holiday, and they got up late and couldn't buy any breakfast, so they went to a noodle shop to have something simple to eat.

For a newly opened noodle shop, this is the best welcome ceremony.

Zhuang Lianlian also contributed ideas to the opening of this store; the "half portion" option on the menu was her suggestion.

It's mainly for city girls, because city girls either have small appetites or are very conscious of their figure. Even an adult man could usually eat nine-tenths full from the big bowl of noodles in the noodle shop, so it would be a waste to give it to them.

That's why we have this half-portion option. The price of a half-portion is, of course, half the price, but that might attract more potential customers.

Mo Xueyao had just finished eating her noodles, wiped her mouth, and was about to leave when she saw several slender girls walk into the shop.

"Wow, look, they have half portions here."

Really?

"Yes, I'll make it half price."

"That's great, it's perfect for us to eat."

It seems this idea does have its audience. Zhuang Lianlian probably came up with this suggestion from her own perspective.

Judging from this, the store's business will be good in the future, and its monthly net profit may even be higher than that of the fruit store!

For example, if a hospitalized patient feels that the food in the hospital cafeteria is too expensive and not tasty, they might ask their family to buy some noodles to take home.

Furthermore, patients may prefer easily digestible foods like noodles to regular meals such as rice.

"Uncle Chen, I'm leaving now!" Mo Xueyao waved to Old Chen and shouted.

"Oh, okay!" The real owner of this shop was Mo Xueyao's father, so of course he couldn't charge them. He just responded and went into the kitchen to bring out a bowl of noodles.

When it comes to doing business, it's always better to be busy.

"If you count it this way, my family has two shops now, right?" Mo Xueyao held Su Tang in her arm, gently stroking its fur with her other hand. "Slowly, life will get better and better..."

"Yes, Yaoyao, you don't need to worry about your future."

"Haha, Wanyan, don't worry. When my family becomes rich, supporting another one like you won't be a problem."

Li Wanyan simply smiled and did not answer.

As soon as the two entered the store, Lu Chengyuan came over from the fruit shop upstairs carrying several books.

"Xiaoyao, class monitor~!"

"Yo-ho~ Good morning." Mo Xueyao put the sugar candy on the ground—she was getting a little tired of holding it for too long.

"Let's do our homework together? I don't want to rush through my homework after we get back from the farm work trip... I'll just take a four-day break then!" Lu Chengyuan said, shaking the notebook she was holding.

Mo Xueyao moved the folding table outside. The weather was perfect today, and it was especially comfortable to sit outside, enjoy the breeze, and do her homework.

"Okay, that's good. We were just about to do our homework too. Actually, there wasn't much homework assigned this time."

"Not enough? You've only been resting for a short time..." Lu Chengyuan placed the homework on the small table that Mo Xueyao had just taken out, squatted down and started teasing Sutang, "I want to raise a cat at home too."

"Then let's raise it," Mo Xueyao said, then shouted to her father, "Dad, there's also a small stool!"

"That bench is broken, you can use the wooden crate as a makeshift seat!"

"I'm not sitting here! Those splinters are killing me!" Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes. "Isn't there any other alternative?"

"That's all! Go check the general store!"

"This is so annoying—who broke it?"

"I broke it, so what?"

"Tch—" Mo Xueyao hissed, "You broke the bench and you're so self-righteous about it. Besides, if you broke it, you should at least fix it or buy a new one, right?"

"We'll talk about it later. Why are you being as long-winded as your mother now?"

"Anyway, if I say something you don't want to hear, it's just nagging." Mo Xueyao rolled her eyes at him, turned around and ran out, returning a short while later with a small plastic stool.

"Five yuan, Dad, give me the money!"

Don't you have one yourself?

"No, that's my allowance."

"Oh dear, you really are stingy—" the father teased, taking out the money and slamming it on the table. "Here you go!"

"It's just five yuan, what's with the arrogance!"

"Since I paid for it, can't I be a little arrogant?"

"Okay, okay, okay—"

The father laughed and turned on the black-and-white television, which was broadcasting news about National Day.

Although there was no military parade, there were still many special programs that only happen on National Day.

Many of these are about defense forces, while others are journalists leading visitors on tours of weapons and bases...

"National Day is a day to commemorate victory, but we must also remember the unsung heroes..."

Amidst the news broadcasts, Mo Xueyao and her two friends began doing their homework.

……

Chapter Sixty-Two: "The Sugar Diary" - A Great Cat

My name is Su Tang, a name given to me by my owner.

Has this opening line been used far too many times?

I squatted down next to Xiaoyao's owner and saw her writing in her diary for me.

The very first sentence is the paragraph above.

What? You're asking me why I can understand Chinese characters?

Hehe, I'm a feline genius! I've been studying with my owner lately, and I've not only learned Chinese characters, but also some English!

For example, I can recite the twenty-eight letters backwards—wait, what are the twenty-odd ones again?

It's a pity my claws aren't as dexterous as human claws, otherwise I could count on my fingers.

Don't be fooled by my seemingly idle appearance lying here; I'm actually a big shot among cats who controls several streets.

When we go for a walk, all the other cats respectfully call me "Sugar Bro"!

My rule has recently stabilized, but I've started to contemplate the meaning of life as a cat.

These few territories are not enough for this cat; perhaps it's time to expand my territory.

A true man should conquer the world!

So I set a grand ideal: to unify the cat world of Hangzhou.

For us cats, this territory is big enough to establish a cat kingdom.

Then we'll designate this place where Xiaoyao's master lives as the capital, and the presidential palace will be located in the fruit shop...

Wait, the president?

Let me think about what system I should use when the time comes.

President or Chairman?

Or perhaps the emperor?

The emperor is no good. What era are we living in? Still indulging in feudalism? We cats also have ideals and aspirations. We will absolutely not do anything that turns back the clock of history.

Socialist system?

That won't work either. There needs to be a strict hierarchy among cats, otherwise it will be difficult to manage them.

I guess we should stick with a dictatorship!