A Young Woman's Heart

She glanced at Li Wanyan furtively, and seeing that the latter had no reaction, she quickly handed over ten yuan and bought a 'Desert Eagle' painted with silver paint.

The boss immediately handed over a bottle of bullets, mostly round yellow pellets, but some white ones were mixed in.

Children like to call the white ones armor-piercing bullets—but in reality, they are no different in power.

"Thank you!" Mo Xueyao was overjoyed after paying. As she picked up the box, several children nearby cast envious glances at her.

They were still clutching their measly coins in their pockets, pondering what would be the most cost-effective purchase!

After buying what she wanted, Mo Xueyao lost most of her desire to continue strolling around, but she still accompanied Li Wanyan to look at various trinkets that were not easy to find in the city.

"Wanyan, aren't you going to buy anything? You seemed to really like that little desk lamp from before?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously. She hadn't opened the 'Desert Eagle' in her hand yet, so she still held onto that anticipation, making her want to hurry back to the car and open it to take a look.

“We already have a desk lamp at home,” Li Wanyan shook her head.

"How about that moving dog toy from earlier?"

Li Wanyan seemed to find Mo Xueyao's childishness adorable, and she couldn't help but smile: "No need, we have some shortbread at home."

"Oh, right, that guy Su Tang seems to be sleeping in the car. He's amazing, completely unmoved even in such a noisy place..."

The two chatted as they walked back. Although it was the way back, the shops they saw were on the other side, making for a fresh experience.

Some stalls sell all kinds of lanterns, while others sell all kinds of "福" (good fortune) characters...

There are even handwritten couplets.

It's the kind that's written on the spot.

Li Wanyan couldn't help but stop and watch as the person skillfully wrote one painting after another with a brush, then placed them aside to dry.

He knows several different fonts, which can be clearly distinguished from machine-printed ones.

However, it only makes it seem a little more ceremonial.

"How long will it take to finish writing this?" someone asked.

"It'll dry in three minutes, and you can take it right away!"

"Can I write it myself?" Li Wanyan leaned closer, but the boss ignored her, so she raised her voice and asked again.

"Write it yourself? Sure, sure." The shopkeeper looked up and answered, holding a brush dipped in ink. "There are brushes, ink, and paper next to you. Just write it yourself. It's five cents a set."

Obviously, some people will choose to write it themselves, because it shows more 'sincerity' and is also cheaper than buying pen and ink.

"Want to write it down?" Mo Xueyao asked, tilting her head.

"Hmm." Li Wanyan released her hand and walked to the empty table next to her.

Her handwriting seemed slightly worse than the boss's, who wrote couplets year-round, but not by much.

Even her calligraphy is elegant and dignified; judging from her pen-holding posture, it seems she has practiced.

“I participated in competitions when I was in elementary and middle school,” Li Wanyan said calmly after noticing Mo Xueyao’s gaze. “...For the prize money.”

"Oh--"

After familiarizing herself with the scraps of paper nearby, Li Wanyan took a deep breath and picked up her pen to write the couplet.

On the left is: "Snowflakes flutter as the New Year arrives," while on the right is: "Words convey joy and congratulations on the New Year."

Then, she handed the brush to Mo Xueyao: "Yaoyao, write the horizontal scroll."

"Huh? Huh? Me? Ah... but my handwriting..."

"It's ok."

Mo Xueyao immediately started scratching her head in frustration. She looked into Li Wanyan's eyes several times, and after confirming the seriousness in the other's eyes, she finally put down her pen.

So, a crooked horizontal inscription was written: "Returning home late from a long journey".

"Um, is this... okay...?"

……

Chapter Thirty-One: Arriving at Grandma's House

"Pfft..." Even the usually serious Li Wanyan couldn't help but cover her mouth and glare at Mo Xueyao. "How can you write a horizontal scroll like that? It's too unlucky."

“I think this is a better match!” Mo Xueyao pointed to the first two characters of the couplet. “Look, these are Xue and Yan, both of our names. The horizontal scroll should definitely include the other one of our names too!”

Li Wanyan's gaze suddenly showed some surprise, but she quickly concealed it.

She generally assumed that Mo Xueyao would not notice this at all, and even if she discovered something, she would never investigate it further.

Thinking about it too much, her little face turned slightly red.

Three minutes passed, and her face returned to its snow-white color. After paying the shopkeeper a dollar, he used a cheap, colorful cable tie to bind the banner and couplets together, making them look like a long red stick.

"Hey, Wanyan." The two walked towards the van, and Mo Xueyao finally couldn't help but nudge her arm.

"Ah."

"Why have you been so quiet since just now?"

"nothing."

"People usually say that because they have something on their mind! Are you missing your mom?"

Perhaps Li Wanyan hadn't thought about it before, but now that she brought it up, she couldn't help but think about it, and her eyes were filled with a touch of sadness and longing.

"Ah...right, if Yinyin or Lele were here, they would definitely ask us to write the couplets in their names too. If it were me and Yinyin or Lele, what should we say...?" Mo Xueyao quickly changed the subject, "A silver-clad world welcomes the New Year, joyfully celebrating the New Year, the horizontal scroll...A silver-clad festival?"

"Not bad." Li Wanyan nodded lightly, her tone somewhat perfunctory.

"Wanyan, have you ever gone back home for the Chinese New Year before?"

“Yes, but I haven’t been back since my grandmother passed away.” Li Wanyan pinched the cylindrical couplet in her hand. “I lived at my grandmother’s house until I started elementary school.”

"Is Wanyan's maternal grandmother's house fun?"

Li Wanyan opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to describe her childhood memories, but after holding it in for a long time, she could only utter the word "It's okay".

The van was locked, with only a small crack left in the driver's side window.

I don't know when Su Tang woke up, but she was lying on the steering wheel—such a big cat, it must have been hard on that seemingly flimsy steering wheel.

The cat, Su Tang, lay there with its mouth wide open and yawned widely. It seemed completely uninterested in the snowy exterior of the car; it just wanted to know where everyone inside had gone.

"Sugar Meow!" Mo Xueyao knocked on the car window, and the latter casually wagged its fluffy tail in response.

After such a long car ride, it only just got up; it doesn't seem like it needs to relieve itself.

She and Li Wanyan waited by the car for a while, and then they saw her mother and father walking over carrying two red plastic bags.

"What did you buy?"

"You don't need the country-style pastries," my mother said, but she still rattled off a list of names: "Chicken cake, sesame cake, sesame brittle..."

"I want to eat sesame candy!" Mo Xueyao suddenly remembered why she named the candy that. Wasn't it because she liked to eat sesame candy during that period?

However, the sesame candy in the city is nowhere near as delicious as the kind from the countryside.

Perhaps they used traditional methods, or perhaps they simply used more high-quality ingredients.

The van door was opened, and Su Tang darted out with a "whoosh." She sniffed under the tree, ran a few steps into the woods, and soon darted back as if fleeing a flood or a ferocious beast, leaving plum blossom-shaped footprints on the boxes containing New Year's goods with her snow-covered little paws.

It originally wanted to lie on Mo Xueyao, but she was wearing clean clothes today, the kind that are not easy to wash, so naturally she wouldn't allow this fat cat who doesn't like to take baths to lie on her.

So it went back to the spot where it had been curled up to sleep, seemingly planning to take another nap.

The van started with a 'rumble' sound, and the crowd slowly parted to both sides like a tide, following the tractor loaded with firewood in front, and finally drove away from here.

The road ahead gradually became empty again, with only the occasional car heading towards the market from the opposite direction.

Today we traveled from the provincial capital to the city, then from the city to the county seat, and finally from the county seat to the small town.

The market we just visited is located at the border between the town and the countryside.

Then, the car drove to the 'village'.

This is the real countryside, but we haven't reached our destination yet.

What followed was a rural dirt road without even cement.

The van drove along the road, bumping and swaying.

Every now and then a bicycle or motorcycle would suddenly appear, and occasionally one or two oxen would cross the field—when there were oncoming vehicles, you had to find a way to pass or give way... This made it impossible for the van to drive fast; it could only move forward at a leisurely pace.

Fortunately, the road was passable by car, and the van eventually made it into the village. From there, it would be necessary to walk.

So my father parked the car in front of this small square—or rather, the small open space in front of the low house where funerals were held in the village.

Fortunately, not many people in the village owned cars at that time. There were two tractors and a car parked here, leaving just enough space for a minivan to squeeze in.

Because the car has sliding doors, there's no need to worry about bumping into the car next to you when you open the door.

A middle-aged woman carrying a washbasin walked by, stood behind the van and glanced at it a few times, especially focusing on Mo Xueyao's mother.

"Oh my, Ayu!" she greeted excitedly, like an old friend she hadn't seen in years.

"Oh!" Mother greeted her, but having not used her hometown dialect in a long time, she was a little confused when she first spoke, "What's that Chaozi you've been to?"

Mo Xueyao didn't quite understand what was said next.

Actually, I don't go back to my maternal grandmother's house very often, so it's normal that I only have a superficial understanding of the local dialect.

In comparison, it's easier to understand the language spoken back home—not Russian, of course, but the Northeastern Mandarin spoken there with a strong local accent.

People who rarely return always attract more attention.

So some people, whether they were familiar with each other or not, came over to join in the fun and say hello.

In those days, a minivan was something only bosses could afford, so they joked that their family had made a fortune and was returning home in glory.

Of course, they weren't using idioms; Mo Xueyao was simply translating what they said.

Someone brought a tricycle that could navigate the village alleys, and in two trips, we easily and effortlessly moved all our things to Grandma's house.

The rest were just small talk between adults, and Mo Xueyao was glad that she was still a 'child' and didn't have to get involved.

Mo Xueyao felt a little uneasy because she didn't know how her parents would explain that their original 'son' had become a daughter.

Fortunately, the family only comes back once a year for Chinese New Year, and sometimes they don't even come home for Chinese New Year. Mo Xueyao has little contact with most people.