A Young Woman's Heart

"I heard that many rural areas have become deserted recently," Hua Yinyin said sentimentally, gently touching the yellowing leaves of the ivy. "If this place hadn't been transformed into an agricultural learning base, it might have been abandoned too."

"I doubt it?" Mo Xueyao shook her head. "This place is quite close to the main road; it's impossible for it to have been abandoned so easily."

“Places without any use will either become farmland or wasteland.” Hua Yinyin gently swayed the swing, and the rusty chains creaked. The mere swaying seemed to have already made it unable to bear the weight.

If someone were to sit on it, it would probably really collapse.

Did Xiaoyao bring a camera?

"Where would I get a camera?"

"Huh? No? ...I was thinking of taking a picture here, it feels very atmospheric."

"You haven't painted that beautiful sunset scene yet, have you?"

"Oh dear, let's draw it tonight!" Hua Yinyin pinched Mo Xueyao's cheek. "When did little Yaoyao become so fond of finding fault with people?"

"Do you think that's a weakness... mmm... stop pinching...!" Mo Xueyao pried her small hands away. "Are there any small shops around here?"

"There should be, right? Besides us agricultural students, there are probably tourists who come to visit sometimes too," Hua Yinyin muttered uncertainly.

The agricultural learning base actually has many rural-style buildings, but because they are too deliberate, they have lost their natural charm.

Just like those houses on Hefang Street in Hangzhou that look like wooden houses but are actually made of cement.

Many ancient buildings in Hangzhou have been demolished and then rebuilt in identical new structures, which are then aged using special decoration techniques.

It's ostensibly about protecting ancient buildings, but it feels like nothing has been protected at all.

It's just a facade project.

The same applies to agricultural learning bases.

Too many modern elements have caused this place to lose the simplicity that the countryside should have.

However, in truly simple rural areas, there are only one or two-story tiled houses everywhere, with walls plastered with mud and straw, which are completely unattractive and would hardly attract any tourists.

After all, such a large piece of land has been transformed into an agricultural learning base; it has to make money eventually...

In a commercialized world, preserving the original flavor is a very difficult thing.

The only thing that looks authentic is the small shop at the agricultural training base.

The convenience store was housed in a real mill.

The huge blades overhead have stopped turning, and this windmill has long since lost its original function.

It has now been transformed into a small, somewhat crowded shop.

The small space contained four rows of shelves.

The range is extensive, from food to household goods.

Even items like nail clippers or wrenches, which tourists at the agricultural learning base don't usually need, are sold here.

However, the abandoned mill in this corner was so hard to find that when Mo Xueyao and her group entered the shop, they found it incredibly deserted, and apart from them, they didn't see a single other student.

The owner was an elderly man with gray hair, except for a few stubborn black strands that disrupted the original harmony.

"Boss, boss?"

"Hmm...? What do you want to buy?" The old man slowly woke up from his slumber, one eye open and the other still closed, looking as if he might fall asleep again at any moment. "...When did this young man arrive?"

"All the students from the whole grade came today, didn't you know?" Hua Yinyin's gaze fell on several packets of ginger candy in the shop window. The packaging of those ginger candies was covered in dust, making her really hesitant to buy them.

Who knows how long it's been sitting there?

It might already be expired...

Some counterfeit snacks sold in rural areas don't even have production dates printed on them.

"Oh...it's agricultural training again. Which...school is it?"

"A school?" Hua Yinyin looked at Li Wanyan. "Does that mean a school?"

"Probably." Li Wanyan's answer indicated that she was not familiar with the local dialect either.

"It's from Yukong High School." Hua Yinyin shook the two braids on her head. "Does Grandpa know?"

"Rainy Sky...High School...that school that only has Nini?"

“…A girl?” Hua Yinyin tried to translate again.

"Yes... in Mandarin it means... that way."

"That was a long time ago, wasn't it?"

"Oh...has it been a long time?" The old man seemed a little dazed. "Back then, I was thinking of sending my daughter...to school."

"Yukong High School?"

Yes, yes.

"and after?"

"And then..." The old man fell into deep thought, as if he couldn't remember what happened afterward.

Just then, a lean, middle-aged man walked in; he was Mo Xueyao's class instructor.

"Dad, oh... a student has come to buy something."

"Hey, instructor?" Mo Xueyao waved at him. "Is this your family's shop?"

"Yes, hahaha, my family used to be full of intellectuals. My dad was a middle school student during the War of Resistance against Japan!"

"Oh...no wonder his Mandarin is pretty standard," Hua Yinyin muttered to herself.

"Boss, how much is this?" Mo Xueyao shook a loose bread without any label. It looked sweet, but she didn't know if it had any filling inside.

"Oh, that's a sweet cake, it costs two cents each."

"Wow, that's cheap."

"Haha, right? It's much cheaper than things in the city."

“But there’s not even a sign…” Mo Xueyao said with some worry.

"It's alright, I eat this bread all the time, no need to worry about it expiring." The uncle said, opening a package and eating it himself. "It's really delicious, do you want to try some?"

"No, no." Mo Xueyao quickly shook her head; she just wanted to confirm the average price of most of the goods.

In fact, all the goods are very cheap.

For example, you could buy ten of those Coca-Cola candies for just one cent, which was much cheaper than in the city.

It tastes a bit sweeter, but the cola flavor is also stronger.

"What about this? It's sticky, is it a marshmallow?"

"That, that's a gummy candy, not a marshmallow. It's quite sweet, so you might not like it."

Hua Yinyin hesitated for a moment, but seeing the cheap price, she still bought it.

In the end, everyone picked out a whole bunch of snacks, enough to fill a large bag, and it only cost ten yuan.

Many things cost only one or two cents, and some were even cheaper, like loose fried rice, which cost only one dollar and fifty cents per pound.

The taste was pretty good.

You should know that a pound of fried rice is a lot; even if it's for three people, it can last for several nights.

This is absolutely the most cost-effective snack, bar none.

Hua Yinyin was the one who paid in the end, and Mo Xueyao naturally took on the job of 'laborer'.

On the way back, they happened to run into Gao Yuan and the others.

"Where did you buy all these snacks? Wow, so many! How much did they cost? You bought fifty yuan worth?"

"...Ten yuan."

"Really?" Gao Yuan took a half step back, frowning as she asked, "Is it edible?"

"Of course you can eat them! Don't look down on rural snacks!" Mo Xueyao said, defending the shop owner. "The windmill hut over there is a small shop; you can go and take a look."

It's foreseeable that with Gao Yuan's big mouth around, the fact that the windmill hut is a convenience store will probably spread throughout the entire grade.

That's not bad either; at least it allows the boss to make more money!

……

Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Antenna on the Television Set

The small living room is actually about the size of a family kitchen.

The sofa and TV cabinet take up almost all the space, leaving only some aisles for people to walk through as 'blank space'.

This is the apartment room we stayed in.

However, students from other schools who come to study agriculture all stay in dormitories. Some of them don't even share small dormitories with a few people, but rather a large room with half a class sleeping together.

Yukong High School already provides very good conditions for its students.

As soon as Mo Xueyao returned, she rushed to the bathroom and took a shower. Now it's Hua Yinyin's turn to shower.

Li Wanyan always seemed to habitually let others go first, which for some reason reminded Mo Xueyao of her own father. Every time they ate, he would deliberately eat the slowest and then finish off the food that others had picked out but didn't want to eat.

She may seem difficult to get along with, but she is actually showing her gentleness all the time.

The sound of running water and Hua Yinyin humming a song came from the washroom.

Without listening closely, Mo Xueyao knew it was the tune of "Fallen Leaves Are Like Potato Chips".

"Hey, isn't this Yin Yin's pipa? When did you bring it? I don't think I saw it in the car." Mo Xueyao lay comfortably on the sofa, her short hair slightly tilted to one side. Although she had dried it with a towel, water droplets still rolled off it.

When the weather is cool, she prefers to let her hair air dry rather than waste time blow-drying it.

Yes, for her, drying her hair is a waste of time.

If it weren't for the fact that long hair is hard to dry, or that the weather is bad and her hair is always wet, she probably wouldn't use a hairdryer.

Her motivation is completely different from other girls who blow-dry their hair for better care.

Of course, sometimes Li Wanyan couldn't bear to see her like that, so she would take out a hairdryer to help her dry her hair.