A Young Woman's Heart

She pulled her hand away from Hua Yinyin's chest and rolled it aside: "Okay, okay, stop fooling around... Don't we need to go to bed early tonight?"

"There's still plenty of time."

"It's already past seven o'clock..."

"How about we watch TV?"

"what ever……"

The television must have been purchased in recent years; it's a color TV, and quite large, much bigger than the small television in Mo Xueyao's home.

I don't know if the owner installed something in the TV, but I can still find North and South Korean TV channels here, but there are no subtitles, so I can't understand what they are saying at all.

Mo Xueyao even stumbled upon Russian television, where the people on the show were talking incoherently, as if they were performing a ritual, and the background music was eerie, like a paranormal program.

Although Hua Yinyin couldn't understand it, she still watched it with great interest.

The two beds had been pushed together, and Mo Xueyao leaned against the pile of pillows, feeling sleepy.

She turned her head slightly to look at Hua Yinyin, only to find that she had fallen asleep even earlier than herself.

The two girls lay sprawled on the large bed, the room so warm that they had kicked the blankets aside. The television screen flickered with light, creating a charming contrast with the occasional car lights that illuminated the street outside.

……

Night falls early, but the funeral home is still bustling with activity.

Many people choose to keep vigil for their loved ones, passing the time by chatting or playing cards.

If you listened with your eyes closed, you might think you had walked into a crowded card room.

The air was thick with the smell of smoke, which, along with the noisy sounds, dispelled the chill and fear that should have been present in the funeral home, making one feel that this was the world of the living rather than the world of the dead.

The deceased's body lay in a coffin in the next room, enjoying the last vestiges of human warmth.

"Smack!" Mo Wen slammed his cards onto the table. "Little Two! (Four Twos)!"

"You're so much bigger, so much bigger." The people sitting around the same table all said no.

"Should we go for a single six?"

"Little Second!"

"Four threes, nobody wants them, right? Hey, three of a kind with one, I'm done!"

"Ali is really good at playing cards."

"Of course, although I haven't played cards in a long time, my skills are still there." Mo Wenli smiled smugly and changed the subject, "Second Brother, how's your son doing now?"

"Him? He didn't get into university, so he went to an adult education college and just graduated last year. I don't even know what kind of job he can find right now!" Mo Wenli's second brother said of his son with a hint of disappointment. "Your son... is he a daughter, right?"

"Daughter, yes."

How is my daughter?

"She's doing very well academically, and she's even joined the school band now, so I don't need to worry about her at all." After finishing his cards first, Mo Wenli leisurely took a sip of strong tea.

"Sigh, your family has raised you well."

"It's alright, it's alright," the father said modestly with a smile. "I'm not very good at teaching children. We basically get along like friends. My daughter and I often call each other brothers."

The others laughed along, and the topic was steered elsewhere.

During the vigil, no one seemed too sad; it was just a rare family gathering where everyone chatted all night.

Even Mo Xueyao's grandfather's generation were playing mahjong at the table next to them, their sadness temporarily masked, allowing them to forget about tomorrow.

The women mostly sat in other empty spots folding gold ingots or similar items. Although their great-grandfather's will stated that his burial should not be so complicated, everyone still followed some Chinese customs.

The heating in the funeral home wasn't very strong, but with so many people gathered together, the sheer number of people made it warm enough; it just felt a bit stuffy after a while.

They played until 1 a.m., when Mo Wenli finally got tired and stood up to ask the others, "Anyone want to play? Let's switch players, I'm going to rest for a bit."

"I'll take over!" Someone took his place, and he pulled out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from his jacket with one hand, then staggered to the door.

The chill of the cold snowflakes and wind outside cleared his head considerably, giving him a sense of returning to reality.

"Ali, you're out smoking too?"

“Yes.” Mo Wenli turned his head and saw Hua Yinyin’s father, Hua Jiankai, walking over. He handed him a Zhonghua cigarette, but the latter waved his hand.

"I've recently quit smoking."

"Quit what? How can you quit smoking? Besides, without cigarettes, you probably won't last until dawn. You'll always be sleepy—ha—" he said, letting out a long yawn and wiping away the tears streaming from the corners of his eyes.

Smoking is bad for your health.

"Come on, my grandpa smoked his whole life, and he still lived to be a hundred before passing away peacefully in his sleep, didn't he?"

"Haha, that's not what you said..."

"Come on, let's draw!"

"...Alright then." Whether she couldn't resist the temptation of the cigarette or couldn't refuse Mo Wenli's kindness and hospitality, Hanami Kai finally took it, lit it skillfully, and put it in her mouth. "Phew...that feels good."

"Why don't we go check if there are any shops open nearby and get some late-night snacks? We're getting a bit hungry."

"Okay, let's go check out the hotel area. I saw some barbecue restaurants when I came here, and some of them should still be open now."

"Let's go, let's go." Mo Wenli put his arm around the other man's shoulder in a hearty manner, and the two middle-aged men walked out of the funeral home looking like 'good buddies'.

The road just outside had few lights, and the evergreen trees on both sides were dark and dense, looking as if they were about to fall over.

"Hey bro, do you know how to play mahjong (dialect)?" Mo Wenli took a drag of his cigarette, letting the smoke obscure his rough face.

"Playing mahjong? I can, but I'm terrible at it."

"Haha, it's okay, it's not like we're gambling."

"When doing business and socializing, I sometimes have to gamble with others, so I know most of the things, but my skills aren't very good."

"That's perfect, then we don't have to think about how to lose in a more convincing way."

"Hey, haha!" Hanami Kai grinned and laughed twice. "Sigh, so it's already decided, right? Cremation."

"Yes, my grandfather wrote in his own will that he requested cremation, so there's no need for any feudal superstitions."

"Hmm, that's fine too." Hanami flicked her cigarette ash. "Anyway, he's buried in a coffin, so there's no way we can dig him up to see him."

“That’s what grave robbers do, right? Ha…” Mo Wenli threw the empty cigarette butt into the snow beside him. “The cemetery has already been booked, but I don’t know how big it will be.”

"Anyway, it definitely won't fit the whole coffin, so it will have to be put away in a special small urn."

"Almost." Mo Wenli's eyes suddenly lit up, and he let go of Hua Jiankai's hand. "Oh, there are still stalls in the middle of the night. Let's go take a look and buy some late-night snacks. It would be great if they had grilled cold noodles or something."

"It really does look like grilled cold noodles."

"That's great."

The two grown men packed over twenty servings of grilled cold noodles, which were almost too much for their four hands to carry.

Mo Wenli originally wanted to buy some beer, but then she thought that it was a wake today and drinking beer wouldn't be appropriate, so she didn't buy any in the end. She just bought a few cans of hot milk to drink at home.

When we returned to the funeral home, the families of the other deceased had also bought some late-night snacks. For a moment, the aroma of various foods mingled together, making everyone's mouths water.

The funeral home at night is not as gloomy and terrifying as many people imagine. On the contrary, it is crowded with people, brightly lit, and there are even people cooking hot pot at the entrance.

Everyone is dispelling their sadness in their own way, which can be seen as optimism from the living—after all, life must go on, and we can't dwell on the past forever.

Once you're dead, you're dead. No one can be brought back to life.

"Come on, come on, I brought everyone some late-night snacks, grilled cold noodles, one serving for each person! I don't know if that's enough!" Mo Wenli said loudly as he walked into the room. Hua Jiankai followed behind him and helped distribute the food.

"Sigh, he called me the other day and said he also wanted to eat grilled cold noodles..." Mo Wenli's father sighed, and a sad atmosphere seemed to be spreading again.

Hanami quickly said, "It's alright, it's alright, we'll buy more tomorrow and cook it for him!"

"Will this thing catch fire if you put it in a fire?"

"Use paper, then."

"That works... Come on, let's all finish our grilled cold noodles, and then make some for the old man so he can eat on the way!"

"The old man isn't superstitious," someone joked with a laugh.

"Then let's eat on the way to Engels' house!"

Everyone laughed, and some people, while laughing, started to shed tears.

……

Chapter 147 Sending Off Great-Grandfather (Part 1)

"Beep beep, beep beep beep—beep beep beep beep—!" The alarm clock rang louder and louder. Mo Xueyao subconsciously reached out and patted the bedside table, only to find it empty.

The alarm clock actually went off from Hua Yinyin's phone.

"Ugh, ugh..." She fumbled and grabbed her Nokia phone, which was as hard as a brick. Her squinted eyes were stung by the bright light from the phone, and a few tears welled up in her eyes.

"Are you up?" Mo Xueyao turned over and almost pressed her face against Hua Yinyin's. The heating in the room was still on full blast, and both of their clothes were a little disheveled. Hua Yinyin, who was the worst sleeping person, even lifted up her clothes, revealing her round little belly button.

"Hmm... it's time to go..." Hua Yinyin yawned widely, scratched her butt, then her cheek, and then tried to put her hand on Mo Xueyao's lips.

"Then get up..." Mo Xueyao roused herself and sat up abruptly.

After all, she used to get up early every day when she was in school. Getting up at five o'clock was earlier than usual, but she didn't feel too uncomfortable.

Hua Yinyin was different. She usually didn't get up until around six o'clock, but now she was struggling in bed like a stranded dolphin.

Mo Xueyao went to the washroom to wash up first, and when she came out, she found that she had fallen asleep again.

"Yinyin—!"

"Huh?" Hua Yinyin suddenly woke up with a start. "I dreamt that I was already washing my face and brushing my teeth..."

"Get up quickly, we need to leave."

"Okay..." She wobbled as she climbed out of bed. Since there was heating, getting out of bed wasn't difficult.

Unlike in the south, where even at temperatures in the teens would feel cold in the room, I would wrap myself in the blankets and not want to get up at all.

The heating is great, but in such a warm room, putting on thick clothes becomes a bit difficult because you start sweating as soon as you put them on, making you want to take them off immediately...

Of course, this problem also exists in the south, but back then the clothes are so cold that you can't even put them on.