A Young Woman's Heart

The girl giggled and playfully punched the boy's back a few times with her small fists.

Grandma Jin stood at the entrance of the grocery store, watching the boys and girls run past with a smile. Her gaze seemed to transcend the barriers of time, allowing her to see her past self.

The sun finally rose, and its warm and gentle rays shone on the earth.

An electric scooter drove up from a distance and came to a steady stop in front of the grocery store. A boy lifted the girl off the back seat and gently stroked her long hair.

"Lianlian, you're here." Grandma Jin greeted her with a smile.

"Ah."

"I'm going out in a bit, so you take good care of the shop."

"Okay." Zhuang Lianlian nodded and walked steadily through the shop, taking advantage of the fact that there were few customers in the morning to take stock of the goods.

Chen Cheng, who had brought her there, turned around and rode his electric bike towards the school.

Grandma Jin wrapped a scarf around her neck, put on gloves, and went out.

The weather isn't hot enough for young people to be bundled up like this, but for her, she felt she needed to wear so many layers to feel warm.

The destination wasn't far away; it wasn't too quiet or too lively. There was a primary school nearby, and when she arrived, the school hadn't officially started classes yet, and children would occasionally walk into the school gate.

Next to the school is a comprehensive outdoor activity center, surrounded by an iron fence, with the inside divided into sections by lines or fences.

There are basketball courts, mini soccer fields, badminton courts, billiards courts, and even a gateball court.

Gateball was introduced to China in the 1930s and 40s, and its most popular era has passed. However, many people still play it, but fewer and fewer young people are joining.

It's very simple to play; you just use a mallet to hit the ball through the iron ring gate. To the untrained eye, it looks a bit like a mini soccer game played by hand, or a larger billiards game.

The edge of the activity area was covered with withered grass, and several cats came out of their dens early in the morning, leisurely strolling in the sunlight.

The outermost edge of the venue wasn't wasted either; a running track was built around it, enclosing all the smaller areas inside.

An elderly man wearing a white vest and a towel around his neck was doing his morning run, a routine he had maintained for many years.

"You're here." The old man greeted Grandma Jin, slowing his pace a little.

"Yes, Lao Zhang, aren't you cold?"

"It's alright, it warms up when I run." The old man, known as Old Zhang, laughed heartily and quickened his pace to run forward again.

"The others haven't arrived yet," Grandma Jin said as she walked into the gateball court, greeting the elderly people who were already there exercising.

"It's alright, this is a good warm-up—those guys are busy taking care of their grandchildren, they definitely won't be here so soon."

"Yes." Grandma Jin nodded with a smile and sat down on the wooden bench next to the wire fence.

A large, white cat with long fur suddenly jumped onto the chair and started meowing.

"You've come begging for food again?" Grandma Jin smiled kindly, patted its head with the back of her hand, and then slowly took out a transparent plastic bag from her coat pocket, took out a small, unsalted dried fish, and placed it in front of it.

"Meow—" The big white cat licked it first, then couldn't wait to start munching on it. It quickly finished the piece and then looked at her longingly.

“No, there’s only one cat. If you eat them all, what will happen to the others?” Grandma Jin shook her head seriously, as if she were lecturing a child.

The big white cat rubbed against her lap and acted affectionately, but she still refused to give it to him no matter what.

Finally, it simply lay down nearby and took a nap in the increasingly bright sunshine.

The other cats also came out and got a small dried fish from Grandma Jin.

Those who didn't receive any weren't in a hurry, because other elderly people also brought snacks.

"What's wrong? Not eating a steamed bun?" An elderly woman with a full head of white hair, still sporting a perm, held out a piece of steamed bun in her hand. "You're quite picky, aren't you?"

"It's not that it doesn't like meat," Grandma Jin said with a smile. "Look, I brought some dried fish."

"It's all because of you guys, feeding them too well, making them so picky eaters," another old man joked with a laugh.

Before long, the other old folks arrived, and the group started playing gateball—a great sport for the elderly, as it exercises their muscles and bones without being too strenuous. Playing like this all day, getting some sweat, is good for their health.

Of course, there are also some old guys who are still going strong. On the basketball court next door, four old men are divided into two sides and are playing a defensive game. Don't be fooled by how thin they look in their clothes; once they take their clothes off, you can see that they are all made up of solid muscles.

"This kid liked to bump into us when he was young, and he still likes to bump into us now that he's old. You're something else, haha!"

"When he was young? Isn't he still young now?" An old man, after shooting a three-pointer, turned to ask the person next to him.

“Back then he was only thirty-something, but now look at him, he’s over fifty.”

"Fifty-something is still young!" the old man who had just shot a three-pointer said, stretching his arms. "We're all over sixty!"

"It's okay, we're all still young."

"Yes, we've only lived a little over half of our lives!"

Older people play basketball at a leisurely pace, much like these lazy and relaxed cats, as if time passes very slowly for them.

Or perhaps it's the elderly who have influenced the cats, making them seem slow and unhurried about everything.

Grandma Jin played croquet for a while, then got tired and picked up her stylish pink and white handbag to go to the billiards area.

There's a roof over the billiards area, mainly to prevent the tables from getting wet when it rains, as they're not easy to dry then.

"Hey, Xiao Jin, you're here." A slightly hunched old man greeted her. His face was covered with wrinkles, and he had lost most of his hair.

"You're here. Are there any new friends playing ball today?" Grandma Jin asked with a smile.

"Yes, look, it's lively again." The old man turned to the people beside him, "You guys are all from the 1930s, right?"

"Yes, I am."

Yes, all of them.

"Then you're all younger than me, haha, you have to call me 'brother'."

"Haha, okay, bro!"

"Hey, I'm twenty." The old man smiled proudly, then called to Grandma Jin, "Little Jin, want to come over and play a couple of rounds?"

"I'm tired from playing, so I'm here to rest for a bit. I'll just watch you guys play."

So everyone started playing ball again.

A curious kitten stood on the table, watching the billiard balls go back and forth.

The elderly people didn't bother with it. It seemed quite intelligent, avoiding the balls as they came and not deliberately poking at them, like a passionate fan who rushed onto the field but didn't disrupt the game.

"Hey, let's go through it."

"Oh? You won."

With a soft "thump," the white ball struck the black ball, knocking it into the bag.

Around noon, some elderly people brought their own lunchboxes, while others went home to eat. Grandma Jin, on the other hand, wasn't so particular and ordered several meals from the fast food restaurant next door—the extras were for other people to eat.

There are always people who forget to bring their lunchbox and are too lazy to go home.

The sun's temperature peaked at midday and then gradually decreased—the area exposed to sunlight also became less and less over time.

The stray cats followed the sunlight, and by evening, a large group of cats huddled together in a spot where the setting sun shone, forming a ball that looked like a bunch of different colored sweet potatoes.

It's getting late, and night is approaching.

Someone brought over a large rice cooker, which was full of cooked rice and some steamed fish. Most of the fish bones had been removed, and the fish meat was mixed with the rice and poured into small bowls, which were then neatly arranged in a row.

"Dinner's ready!" The old man tapped on the rice cooker, calling the cats over.

These big, fat cats strolled over leisurely, as if taking a walk, and ate in front of their respective bowls without fighting or grabbing.

"Hey, a new one's here today. You're new here, right? Newcomers have to know the rules. Don't snatch food from other people's bowls. Come here, come over here, I'll give you a new bowl."

The sun slowly sank below the horizon, and the last rays of its rays were about to disappear.

Grandma Jin packed her bag, said goodbye to her old friends, and headed home.

Students ran past on the road, and several children they had never seen before became new friends with each other.

"How old are you?" a boy asked a girl.

"Me? I'm thirteen."

"Haha, I'm fourteen, older than you!"

"Tch, you're not even as tall as me."

"How come I'm not as tall as you?" the boy protested, but when he stood on tiptoe in front of the girl, he was still shorter than her, which made him feel a little embarrassed. "I just haven't started growing taller yet!"

What grade are you in?

"Sixth grade."

"I'm in the first year of junior high, you're definitely not fourteen."

"There are some!"

"No means no~ Hurry up and call me sister."

"I won't call!" The boy ran off like the wind, though perhaps he never imagined that he might never see this girl again.

In life, there will always be many such fleeting passersby.

Grandma Jin smiled and sighed as she watched her dog run out of the shop to greet her.

……

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P.S.: I realized I hadn't written about the daily life of Grandma Kim, an important character, so I wrote one specifically for that purpose.

Chapter 175 Vegetable Glutinous Rice Balls

On Tuesday morning, Mo Xueyao rubbed her eyes sleepily as she went out. Li Wanyan, unusually, got up later than her today, but when she reached the door, she was startled.

A large group of cats and dogs had gathered outside the door, and Su Tang stood on the highest step, looking down at the cats and dogs below.

It was like a grand military parade of the animal kingdom.

She even thought she was still half asleep and hadn't fully woken up yet.

She washed her face, closed her eyes, shook her head, and when she opened her eyes again, she found that the cats and dogs were gone, as if they had never been there.

"So you were still half asleep when you woke up this morning?" She yawned, squatted down and rubbed her hands together with Su Tang. "Su Tang~? Come here."