A Young Woman's Heart

“You can put your clothes here—hmm, this wardrobe is quite big,” Mo Xueyao said, opening the wardrobe. “I’ve also wiped the inside.”

"Um……"

"What are those two little girls doing sneaking around in that little room? Dinner's ready!" the father's shout came from outside.

By this time, the sun had completely set, and next to the counter in the store was a simple folding table with several boxed fast food meals on it.

In this era when even smartphones haven't yet become a thing of the past, let alone any apps for ordering food.

The only way to order takeout is to call the restaurant.

Before officially opening the shop, my father had also strolled around the neighborhood and copied down the phone numbers of many restaurants, which came in handy now.

“Three fast food meals, each with different dishes, you can choose first.” The father had just picked up his chopsticks, but after seeing the guests walk in, he put them back on the table. “What would you like to buy? Bananas are cheap today, and apples are two yuan and twenty cents a pound—the one you see is the pink one.”

The term "powder" doesn't refer to color, but rather to its sandy texture.

Some people prefer crisp apples, while others prefer mealy apples. The prices of these two types of apples also differ; sometimes mealy apples are more expensive, and sometimes crisp apples are more expensive.

"Let's eat first." Mo Xueyao's family never had the habit of waiting for others to eat together. Once it was time to eat, they would just eat by themselves.

Unless it's a holiday and the three of them need to gather at the table to eat, they will wait for everyone else to be seated before they start eating.

"I'll have this one," Li Wanyan said, taking one of the fast food meals.

The fast food consists of three meals, each containing two boxes of vegetables and two boxes of rice, all of which are two vegetarian and two meat dishes.

The shopkeeper also stuffed a business card with a price list into the plastic bag for advertising purposes.

There was no complicated menu or a wide variety of dishes; it simply listed the prices for different combinations.

"One meat dish and one vegetable dish: 2.5 yuan"

"Two meat dishes and one vegetable dish: 3.5 yuan"

"Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes: 5 yuan"

The father clearly ordered the most expensive one.

What does the class monitor usually eat at home?

"Stir-fried greens, stir-fried cabbage, etc., usually without meat," Li Wanyan replied softly, taking a small bite of the braised lion's head meatball.

It looks like it was bitten by a mouse, but it really was just a tiny bit.

"Eat more, and if you're not full, ask Dad to order more." Mo Xueyao plopped down, crossed her legs, and picked up a boxed lunch. "I always feel uncomfortable using styrofoam boxes. The sound of chopsticks scraping against them is so unpleasant."

"Yes, some places do use paper."

“But that’s not right…maybe the paper kind is more expensive.” Mo Xueyao picked up a piece of popcorn chicken and ate it leisurely. “Wanyan, do you want some popcorn chicken? I have some here.”

"No need, you can eat it."

"It's alright, feel free to take whatever you want from my side, I can't eat too much anyway." Mo Xueyao waved her hand casually and said, "No need to be so polite, just be casual."

"it is good……"

My father finished one business deal and then another one came in.

However, this person wasn't there to buy fruit; they were there to buy chewing gum.

Adhering to the principle of not letting go of anything that can make money, the fruit shop my father ran sold a little bit of everything except fresh flowers and fruits.

For example, there are chewing gum, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and other snacks sold on the counter.

Although Grandma Jin's shop below is just a general store, it's possible that some people might buy it while they're buying fruit.

Moreover, fruit shops are open-plan, so you can see what they sell at a glance. Some people might just see it on their way and decide to buy something.

When it comes to doing business, Mo Xueyao's father is indeed very shrewd.

Having worked as a company employee for many years, I've become accustomed to a stable life and can never bring myself to open a shop and make money.

Now look what's happened; I've been laid off and am forced to work hard at other things.

Moreover, people who have been laid off may have a fear of going back to work.

Who knows if the boss is reliable? What if I get laid off again?

In contrast, although there are always risks in doing business, at least the future is in your own hands.

It makes people feel much more at ease, no matter what.

During dinner time, there were even more customers coming in, many of whom were coming from the hospital to eat and buy some fruit to take home.

Not many are bought as gifts; most are bought for one's own family members.

So they mainly choose inexpensive fruits.

The brittle was also brought here today.

After all, the original purpose of buying it was to catch mice in the store.

Su Tang, who had just arrived in her new environment, seemed completely unafraid and darted around, having been grabbed by the scruff of her neck and pulled off the fruit stand countless times by her father.

"That silly cat, it keeps jumping on the fruit," the father said, both amused and exasperated.

"Sutang! Come here, don't run around." Mo Xueyao put on a stern face and hugged Sutang. "If you run around again, I'll stew you and make cat meat hot pot, you believe me?"

As if it understood, Su Tang shook its head, its ears twitching as if it wasn't listening at all.

"If you run off again, I'll eat you up!" Mo Xueyao threatened again, pulling its ear.

The latter seemed to sense Mo Xueyao's aggressive aura and immediately lay down like a wilted cucumber, no longer running around.

"Does it really understand?" Li Wanyan asked, pinching Su Tang's little face.

"I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I should be able to read their expressions." Mo Xueyao stretched and stood up. "Alright, it's getting late, time to go home. Oh right, isn't the school sports meet tomorrow?"

"Yes, Ms. Ye Wen has already bought the cheerleading outfits."

"Huh—no way? You really have to wear it!?"

……

Chapter Seventy-Six: The Companionship of Midnight Crisps

"Splash—"

Midnight.

The fruit shop, which had been open all day, was finally closing.

Mo Wen used a crowbar to pull down the roller shutter door, and the fruit shop was dimly lit with only one light on.

"Wanyan! I'm going home now. If I'm not here when you go to school, you can just go out through the small roller shutter door next to it. The key is on the table."

"Okay, goodbye, Uncle."

"Aren't you scared sleeping alone?" Mo Wenli asked jokingly. "Should we call Xiaoyao over to keep you company?"

"It's alright, Uncle, you should go home early too, it's already very late."

"Okay, by the way, if you don't have money for breakfast tomorrow morning, just take it from the cash register," Mo Wenli said meaningfully, then pulled the roller shutter door down completely.

These words stunned Li Wanyan for several seconds.

Just now, she even felt as if the other person was her father.

Isn't that a rather casual and easy way of saying it?

Just like a father wouldn't worry about his daughter taking all the money from his cash drawer.

Just now, he didn't seem to have such concerns about Li Wanyan.

Is this what trust is?

But...she's only been in this family for a short time, so how could she trust them so much?

Or is this just his personality?

If you employ someone, trust them; if you doubt someone, don't employ them.

Li Wanyan felt a sense of gratitude.

She walked hesitantly to the cash register, opened the unlocked drawer, and saw neatly arranged banknotes and change inside.

Although all the hundred-dollar bills were taken, there was still a considerable amount of change left.

Li Wanyan glanced at them and saw that there were more than a dozen ten-yuan notes, more than a dozen twenty-yuan notes, three or four fifty-yuan notes, and a whole stack of five-yuan notes.

In addition, there were small bamboo baskets filled with coins and a pile of two-yuan and one-yuan banknotes.

If Li Wanyan took some banknotes and some coins, and put them together to take away ten or twenty yuan, it would be almost impossible to detect.

Everyone has desires.

It's just that some people can control themselves, while others cannot.

The drawer full of money was indeed tempting, but Li Wanyan knew very well that it wasn't her money.

Besides, she already had three hundred yuan in bills to use, so there was no need to take them from the drawer.

Before you run out of money, try not to use other people's money if possible.

Li Wanyan suppressed the slight restlessness in her heart, closed the drawer, and turned back to the small room.

Crispy candy followed.

Instead of stopping it, she picked it up and placed it on the bedside table.

Although Su Tang likes to sleep in bed, the bedside table is also nice, so it immediately lay down, its eyes unfocused, as if it was also sleepy.

"Meow—" Sure enough, it yawned a big yawn, then curled up its whole body, squinting its eyes as if it had already fallen asleep.

Li Wanyan gently stroked its head, then relaxed completely and collapsed onto the bed.

The fatigue I've accumulated over such a long time has finally been released at this moment.

She finally has a stable life, and there are people willing to accept her.

Although they weren't her relatives, in some ways they were closer than family.