A Young Woman's Heart

"Um... I didn't realize it just now..."

"It's been several seconds already!"

Mo Xueyao finally covered her cheeks and burst into laughter: "Pfft, hahaha—that butt looks so familiar…!"

I don't know if Bao Gong didn't like wearing a belt, or if his pants were too loose. His winter cotton pants had slipped down because of his fall, revealing half of his dark buttocks.

That scene is too memorable, because he was gored by a bull back then...

"Cough cough cough!!" Bao Gong hurriedly pulled up his pants and got up, patted the snow water off his body, and coughed awkwardly several times.

"Your clothes are wet... Hahaha... No, it's okay... Hahaha...?" Mo Xueyao asked with a gloating laugh.

“If you really cared about me, you wouldn’t be smiling, okay? You’re just being hypocritical.” Bao Cheng shook his head speechlessly and replied in his local dialect, “It’s alright, I’ll wash it off tonight.”

"Let's go!"

"Where to?" he asked.

“I’m asking you!” Mo Xueyao replied matter-of-factly.

"Damn." Bao Cheng raised a middle finger, but then realized it wasn't appropriate to do that in front of a girl, especially a pretty one, so he immediately lowered it.

Mo Xueyao tilted her head and thought for a moment, then asked, "Then... let's see which parts of the village have changed?"

"What changes could possibly happen to this lousy place? It's always been the same. Oh, right, the Wang family built a new building, it's... really tall, five stories high!"

In this mountain village, a five-story house is indeed quite tall.

"Go and see?"

“Let’s go, walk along this road, turn the corner, and we’ll arrive.” Although he spoke Mandarin, he grew up in the countryside, so he would occasionally slip in a few words of local dialect.

"Hmm! Uh, aren't you going to use an umbrella?"

“Why would you need an umbrella when it’s snowing?” Bao Cheng shook his head. “You’re not some delicate city princess.”

"Tch, we're not young ladies..." Mo Xueyao pursed her lips, it was unclear which aspect of the statement she was negating.

Li Wanyan glanced around slightly, the withered ivy on the wall seemed to evoke many memories in her heart.

……

Chapter Thirty-Three: Minor Changes

The paths in the mountain village were extremely narrow, and the dilapidated eaves of the houses on both sides, which were clearly quite old, blocked most of the falling snowflakes. The few that did fall did not accumulate much and melted quickly.

The path became damp as a result, and occasionally you could see a few clumps of chicken droppings that had been dried for a long time or were still quite fresh. If you didn't want your shoes to get a mess, it was best to watch where you were going...

Time seems to move slower here than in the outside world; many things have remained unchanged since I was a child.

Unlike living in a big city, where you might get lost in a constantly changing city if you don't leave your usual area for six months.

Some places I rarely visit, when I happen to go there at the end of the year, feel completely different from what I remember.

"Pat-pat, pat-pat..." The three people's footsteps sounded as uniform as if they had been trained.

Bao Cheng, with his dark skin, walked ahead, but Mo Xueyao suddenly stopped, startling the old hen that was walking past her. It clucked and jumped into a shallow ditch.

"Huh, I remember buying popsicles here before...?" Mo Xueyao pointed to a house on the left that looked no different from an ordinary farmhouse and asked uncertainly.

"Oh, yes, even now that it's summer, everyone still buys from her, because she's the only one in the whole village with a refrigerator!"

"Hmm! I remember they were five cents or ten cents back then?"

“It’s two cents now,” Bao Cheng replied with a smile. “It’s a pity it’s winter, otherwise I could treat you two to one each.”

In my memory, there was only one type of popsicle available here, which was quite different from the wide variety of frozen treats in city grocery stores, but many children still flocked to it.

The popsicles were wrapped in small pieces of oil paper, with no trademarks or product descriptions on them, and the workmanship was rather rough.

But the taste is exceptionally good—the refreshing mint flavor is accompanied by subtle hints of sweetness.

For a while, the weather was particularly hot, so the owner brought back a type of salt water popsicle, which also had a mint flavor.

Mo Xueyao couldn't help but open her mouth and taste the snow falling from the sky.

She didn't actually taste anything, but she could smell the aroma of mint.

Across from the popsicle stand, there used to be a chicken coop. It used to be full of poultry, but as the Lunar New Year approached, it became quiet—perhaps it had been replaced by whole preserved chickens, ducks, and geese hanging under the eaves…

"Nothing has changed," Mo Xueyao couldn't help but mutter.

"Haha, what changes could there be in this run-down place? It's not like your big city," Bao Cheng said jokingly, but she felt that a slight distance had formed between them in that instant.

Perhaps it's because of her status, perhaps because of her appearance, or perhaps both...

Suddenly, Mo Xueyao seemed to see the traces of time passing.

Yes, they've both grown up.

She's almost an adult, and Bao Cheng is already in his twenties.

Time always changes many things.

This is especially true for children in rural areas.

A 20-year-old man in the city may still be considered a teenager, but in the countryside, he is the pillar of a family.

"How have you been lately?" Mo Xueyao quickly thought of a way to break the ice. She ran over and bumped Bao Cheng's arm hard, laughing as she asked, "You should be in college by now, right?"

"University?" Bao Cheng scratched his head and smiled sheepishly, "I didn't go to university after graduating from high school..."

"Hey, why aren't you reading it?"

“I don’t think I’m cut out for studying, so after graduation I helped my family with farm work. Later I found a job working on a construction site in the county and came home once or twice a month.”

“No wonder you’re darker than before…” Mo Xueyao patted his arm hard, and even through his winter clothes, she could feel the firmness of his muscles.

—Or perhaps it's because he was dressed too lightly?

Memories welled up in my mind.

The three of them walked along the simple mountain village path.

Climb up the stairs.

From afar, you can see that five-story 'high-rise'.

For a mountain village, it is indeed very high, and it stands near the top of the small hill, making it even more conspicuous.

The exterior of the building is painted a pale yellow, and a character for "Buddha" hangs at the highest point. But if you turn to the side, you'll see a yin-yang symbol painted on the wall...

In this simple village, there is no clear boundary between Buddhism and Taoism; in fact, many rural people consider them to be the same thing.

"Whose house is this?" Mo Xue looked into the distance. The dog in the yard sensed someone approaching and yanked its chain, making a 'clanging' sound. Although the three of them couldn't even see it, they could already hear its 'woofing' echoing in their ears.

"It's the family that used to keep bees."

"Oh, that guy... the one who dips his steamed buns in honey?" Mo Xueyao remembered that the little boy was about her age, or if there was a difference, it wouldn't be too much.

"Yeah, haha, isn't that the guy? He got married last year!"

"Huh? He got married last year? How old is he?!"

"Just turned 18."

"Isn't that illegal?"

"It's okay, we can get the certificate later," Bao Cheng replied casually, seemingly unsurprised.

Having grown up in the city and coming from a modest background, Mo Xueyao is more accustomed to doing things according to established rules.

But clearly, many rules simply don't apply here...

"She had twins in the summer, she's lucky, a boy and a girl!"

"Oh..." Mo Xueyao felt that time and space were somewhat disordered.

They were almost the same age, but that guy was already married with children.

But she's still in high school.

Is it because I'm getting old, or are they just growing up too fast?

Although she always says that she has grown up, she still subconsciously believes that she is still a child who has not grown up.

It is precisely because they are children that they can be willful at times.

Moreover, as she grew older, she knew that she wouldn't have much time left to be willful, and sometimes she became even more willful than when she was a child.

"Oh right, are you married or not?" Mo Xueyao suddenly remembered something and quickly asked.

"Me? Haha, I haven't yet, I haven't looked yet... I guess I'll have to go back to the nearby villages to look." Bao Cheng scratched his head, a little embarrassed, and said, "If possible, I'd still like to marry a girl from the county town, and then we can live there..."

"Oh..." Mo Xueyao felt relieved. If he had also said that he was already married, she would have felt that there was a generational gap between them.

"My parents are actually pressuring me quite a bit, so I should probably try to find someone next year."

"You talk like you're doing business," Mo Xueyao couldn't help but chuckle.

"The troubles of growing up." Li Wanyan nodded gently, seemingly understanding him even better than Mo Xueyao.

"Sigh, that's pretty much it. Meeting two people who like each other is just good luck," Bao Cheng sighed. "By the way, shall we go inside and take a look?"

"No, I don't think so...we don't feel very familiar with each other anymore..."

"Hahaha, you're not holding a grudge, are you? You lost the most marbles to that kid when we were kids!"

"How is this possible... cough cough!"

Just as she was hesitating whether to go in, a young woman came out. Her hands were relatively rough and large, and she was carrying two large bags. Through the gaps, she could see that the bags contained glass jars of honey.

Judging from her appearance, she didn't seem to feel burdened at all; her expression was exceptionally relaxed.

"Bao Cheng, you're here? Are you here to get honey? Who are they?"

"Hehe, guess which one is my girlfriend?" Bao Cheng joked.

Mo Xueyao smiled slightly, while Li Wanyan's lips twitched down as she looked away.

"Which one is...? Uh, um..." The young woman looked around and finally pointed at Li Wanyan, "This one? Really? You're so lucky? These two beautiful girls, even the county magistrate's son couldn't marry them, right?"

"Haha, it's neither of them!"