A Young Woman's Heart

"Okay, do you want some meat?"

What kind of meat is there?

"Roast chicken, roast duck, roast goose, braised beef, that's all."

"Roast chicken...I probably can't eat a whole one."

"You can have a whole chicken leg, or half a chicken."

"Hmm... I'll have a chicken leg then."

"Okay!" The boss immediately went back to the kitchen behind the counter to get busy.

These things are readily available and won't take much time.

Soon, tea, fennel beans, and a roasted chicken leg were served.

Roast chicken is a type of food that is deep-fried and then braised, resulting in a slightly crispy texture. In southern China, roast chicken tends to be sweeter overall, somewhat resembling sweet and sour pork.

The roadside tea stall is not big; some of the tables and chairs have to be placed on the side of the street to fit, and cars have to go around it a bit to pass.

Cha Li leisurely sipped his tea and saw a burly man, still wearing only a thin shirt, carrying a large bag of rice as he walked by.

Since the town is very close to the city, not all young people go to the city to work.

Compared to those small towns where only elderly people remain, this place is actually quite lively.

Suddenly, Cha Li saw a familiar face walking towards her from a distance, leisurely eating a candied hawthorn.

"Xiaoxue!" Chali called out, and the latter looked up in a daze.

When Mr. Xue wore such an expression, it was quite amusing.

Soon, he saw Cha Li sitting in front of the tea stall drinking tea. His blank expression turned into a smile. Dressed in white shirt and black pants, Cha Li walked over and put his umbrella away.

"How did you end up here?" Cha Li asked with interest, then called the owner over, "Boss, another cup of tea, please."

"Just out for a stroll."

It's raining.

"It has a more artistic conception."

"Great minds think alike!" Cha Li chuckled. "Did you come out alone too?"

"Yes." Mr. Xue looked at the shopkeeper and brought him the same tea as Cha Li, and couldn't help but smile and say, "Cha Li, have some tea."

"what?"

"very funny."

Because of the name?

"Hmm." Mr. Xue took a sip of tea and, without any hesitation, took a pair of chopsticks from the chopstick holder next to him and picked up a fennel bean. "The rural charm is really nice."

“Yes.” Cha Li wanted to cross her legs, but found that her jeans seemed to have shrunk. Crossing her legs would make the pants feel tight and uncomfortable, so she put them down again.

"Would this guest like something to eat?" the owner asked solicitously from the side.

"Then let's have another roasted chicken leg."

"Haha, guest, what a pity, we're out of chicken legs."

"Do you have braised beef?" Mr. Xue asked in a refined manner, and Cha Li, sitting opposite him, couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course we have it," the owner replied, adding in a very appropriate tone, "Haha, just like in a period drama, how much braised beef?"

"Give me half a jin."

"Alright!" The boss was so happy that his mouth was crooked from smiling. "Actually, very few people order braised beef these days. Even if they do, they won't order half a pound. I usually only braise about two pounds of beef a day."

"Why?" Cha Li asked, somewhat curious.

"Beef is too expensive! And it's going up in price! If you have the money to buy beef, you might as well get a whole roast chicken, it's cheaper and more filling!" The owner responded loudly from the kitchen and soon brought out a plate of braised beef.

This ancient town makes one feel as if they have stepped into the era of the Water Margin. Cha Li couldn't help but think of Lu Zhishen's words when he asked for wine and meat.

Mr. Xue sat sipping tea, occasionally taking a bite of a thinly sliced ​​piece of beef. It must be said that the restaurant's knife skills were indeed excellent.

The once quiet streets are now suddenly filled with people, all carrying umbrellas and wearing suits. The person at the front doesn't even need an umbrella; he's surrounded by others, breaking the tranquility of the town and seeming out of place with the surrounding scenery.

"What are these people doing?" Cha Li asked with some curiosity.

"These are leaders who have come to inspect the area and plan for the future." The boss brought out a large iron basin filled with steaming ashes. "Is it cold on a rainy day? Come and warm yourself up."

"Hmm, this is good." Cha Li immediately placed her feet on either side of the iron basin.

The iron basin has wide footholds around its sides, and it is so heavy that there is no need to worry about tipping it over.

Mr. Xue watched with great interest as the leaders walked by outside the street, listening to their eloquent speeches.

He didn't say much of value; it was mostly flattery!

They stopped at this moment, and the leader was standing next to the tea stall.

"It's not bad to keep this place. Keep a few streets, turn it into a traditional-style town, and eventually develop it into a tourist area."

"That's a great idea! Very visionary!"

"Yes, it will also increase our income."

"As expected..."

The group gradually disappeared into the distance.

Cha Li rolled her eyes: "Tsk, disgusting."

"Haha, what's wrong?" Mr. Xue grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth.

"Flattery."

"It's like this everywhere."

"Can't people just be more honest with each other?" Before Mr. Xue could answer, Cha Li said again, "Although I know it's not possible, I still find it a little hard to accept."

Mr. Xue closed his mouth, which he was about to open, and smiled as he picked up another fennel bean.

The rain was light, a fine mist, like fog.

Several children, whose parents were unknown, were running around. One little boy fell into a puddle with a "plop," but instead of crying, he laughed and caught up with his friends. However, he was covered in mud and looked like a mud doll.

Cha Li and Mr. Xue were both so engrossed in watching that they didn't say a word for a long time.

They only smiled at each other knowingly after the street had emptied out and no one was passing by.

"Did Xiaoxue grow up in the city?"

"Yes, but I used to go back to the countryside often during summer and winter vacations."

“My home is in the city, both my maternal grandmother’s and my ancestral home are in the city,” Cha Li asked, resting her chin on her hand. “Are there any fun things to do when you go back to the countryside in winter?”

"You can catch birds, just like in Lu Xun's book."

"Haha!" The boss laughed and came over. "When I was a kid, I loved catching birds! I'd just put some rice husks in a bamboo basket, and when a bird flew by, I'd pull it down, and hey, then I could eat bird meat!"

"Is bird meat delicious?" Cha Li asked curiously. "Does it taste different from chicken?"

"It's similar, but firmer than chicken, with more bones and less meat."

"What's so good about that?"

"Back then, there wasn't much meat to eat!" The owner shook his head with a smile. "Life is so much better now. We can eat whatever we want. In our Jiangnan region, as long as we don't eat too much, having meat at every meal is no problem!"

“I’ve never tasted bird meat,” Mr. Xue chuckled. “I just like catching birds that look pretty. I wanted to keep them as pets when I was a child, but I found that most of them couldn’t be kept as pets.”

"Of course, wild birds are basically impossible to raise. They won't eat even if you try to feed them," the owner replied matter-of-factly. "Back in the day, there were even spores in the mountains! Occasionally, a hunter would catch one and eat it. The taste... tsk tsk... I only ate it when I was a kid."

"Leopards?" Chali asked in surprise. "Aren't they only found on the grasslands?"

"The boss must be talking about a deer."

"Yes, yes, it's that thing with horns on its head, it looks silly, it's also called a silly spore."

"That character is pronounced 'pao,' right..." Cha Li corrected helplessly.

"Yes, yes, roe deer! Hahaha, we pronounce it 'bao' here, it's kind of a local dialect!"

A little while later, more customers arrived, and the owner went off to work. After Mr. Xue and Cha Li finished their snacks, they strolled around the town together under their umbrellas.

……

Chapter 156 Loneliness in Dreams

This is a world covered in ice and snow.

Mo Xueyao stood alone here.

A long highway winds its way forward.

Next to it were pine trees covered with snow.

A deer walked through the nearby woods, seemingly unafraid of people. It looked at her with its curious eyes, and seeing that she remained motionless for a long time, it quietly walked away on its own.

This seems to be a place far removed from the world.

Only the clear white lines on that smooth asphalt road prove that it is still regularly maintained.

But compared to the boundless snow, the empty and long highway seems more like a human relic.

Do humans still exist in this world?

Mo Xueyao didn't know.

She walked forward somewhat blankly, wearing a thick coat and a linen felt hat on her head.

Without any prior cause or consequence, it simply appeared here abruptly, and had no idea where to go.

Standing on a high point, you can see the icy blue, cold rivers... or oceans nearby.

One island after another is connected by bridges.

She could see villas built by humans, but most of them were covered in snow.

Only the one on the distant mountaintop looked clean and tidy, as if it had just been swept.