From outside the courtyard came Director Wang's wife's voice, mixed with the rustling sound of a broom sweeping snow: "Is Yinyin home?"

When Yun Tangyin lifted the curtain, she saw that she was holding a cloth bag in her arms. The frost flowers on her blue cloth jacket shimmered with gold in the morning light. "I just made a tiger-head hat for the child. I have an extra piece of red velvet. I'll save it for your child to embroider the toes of his shoes."

She peered into the bamboo cage and saw two rabbits huddled together in a pile of cotton wool, dozing off. Suddenly, she laughed and said, "These two little things really know how to enjoy life. They're even lazier than my husband."

Fu Yucheng stuffed a piece of locust flower cake into her hand: "Try this freshly made one, I added some osmanthus sugar."

Director Wang's wife, munching on a cake, glanced into the kitchen and saw half-embroidered tiger-head shoes by Yun Tangyin on the cutting board. Suddenly, she clapped her hands and said, "The stitches are much finer than last year. It seems she put in a lot of effort."

Yun Tangyin stuffed a handful of roasted pumpkin seeds into her pocket: "Take these home and eat them. You said you were craving them last time."

Director Wang's wife was walking out with a bag of melon seeds when she suddenly turned back and called out, "The regiment is distributing New Year pictures this afternoon. Remember to pick them up. The new ones are 'May you have abundance year after year,' which are perfect for your house."

Fu Yucheng responded and added a piece of coal to the stove. The flames leaped up, making the old New Year pictures on the wall even more vivid.

As the sun climbed to the window frame, Fu Yucheng moved pine wood out to build a rabbit cage in the yard.

He used a plane to sand the wooden board, and sawdust fell in the sunlight like a handful of snowflakes.

Yun Tangyin moved a small stool and sat down next to her, sewing shoe soles with her hands, the needle tip pricking neat little holes in the blue cloth: "Slow down, don't cut your hands."

Fu Yucheng suddenly stopped and put a rock candy in her mouth: "Hold it to soothe your throat."

As the rock sugar melted on her tongue, Yun Tangyin noticed a speck of wood on the tip of his nose, like a small black mole.

“Your skills are almost as good as a carpenter’s,” she said, wiping away the sawdust for him. “When spring comes, I’ll have Director Wang promote you and ask you to repair furniture for everyone.”

The rabbit in the bamboo cage must have smelled the fragrance of pine wood, because it suddenly started hopping and pawing at the bars.

Fu Yucheng tossed a pine shaving into the cage, and the white rabbit grabbed it and burrowed into the pile of cotton wool, as if hiding a treasure. "Look how clever it is," he remarked.

Yun Tangyin smiled and added a handful of alfalfa to the cage, "When it has puppies, they'll definitely be just as smart as it."

Zhou Desheng passed by carrying a bundle of firewood, his military boots leaving deep marks on the snow: "Brother Fu! You really made a fine rabbit cage!"

He glanced into the yard and saw Fu Yucheng applying tung oil to the wooden boards. He suddenly laughed and said, "After applying tung oil, they won't be afraid of dampness. Are you planning to let them live for a lifetime?"

Fu Yucheng stuffed a piece of locust flower cake into his hand: "Take this and eat it. I'll give you the fattest baby when it's born in the spring."

Zhou Desheng peeked into the cage while biting into a cake. He saw the gray mother rabbit snatching carrot chips from the white rabbit and suddenly said, "Just like my husband. He only tastes good when he fights for everything."

Yun Tangyin stuffed a handful of brown sugar into his pocket: "Make some water for your sister-in-law to drink. She said she was feeling dizzy last time."

Zhou Desheng was walking out with brown sugar in his pocket when he suddenly turned back and called out, "The cafeteria is making dumplings tonight, remember to get your flour!"

By evening, the new rabbit cage was finally finished. Fu Yucheng laid a layer of straw inside, then added an old cotton quilt, making it look like a soft bed.

When he carried the two rabbits inside, the gray mother rabbit suddenly darted to the innermost part, and the white rabbit followed closely behind, its tail making a slight rustling sound as it swept across the cotton wool.

“This is much more spacious,” Yun Tangyin tossed a cabbage leaf into the cage. “We don’t have to squeeze into the bamboo cage anymore.”

Fu Yucheng hugged her from behind, gently stroking her lower abdomen with his palm: "After the baby is born in the spring, we'll use this cage as a nursery, and then build a bigger one as an activity area."

The clay pot on the stove was bubbling away, emitting the aroma of angelica root stewed chicken soup.

Yun Tangyin ladled a bowl and handed it to Fu Yucheng. Oil floated on the surface of the soup like a thin layer of gold leaf: "Drink it quickly to replenish your energy. You've been busy all day."

The moonlight was exceptionally bright at night, weaving a silver net on the ground through the frost-covered window.

Yun Tangyin leaned against Fu Yucheng's chest, listening to him talk about raiding bird nests when he was a child. Suddenly, the little one in her belly kicked her, as gently as a feather brushing against her heart.

“Look,” Yun Tangyin said, holding Fu Yucheng’s hand and pressing it against his lower abdomen. Her fingertips could clearly feel the slight tremor, like a little fish leaping in spring water. “It’s listening too. Maybe it’s wondering just how high the bird’s nest you dug up when you were a kid really was.”

Fu Yucheng held his breath, his palm pressed against her warm fleece, the cuffs of his military green cotton-padded jacket brushing against her waist.

After waiting for a while, the little guy kicked again, this time with more force, as if he was greeting him.

He suddenly chuckled softly, his voice trembling slightly: "Is he complaining that I'm speaking too slowly?"

The rabbit in the bamboo cage had woken up sometime earlier. The gray mother rabbit was lying on the back of the white rabbit, and her two red eyes shone like two cherries in the moonlight.

Yun Tangyin added a handful of dry straw to the cage, the rustling sound startling the rabbit, who twitched its ears: "Do you think they're whispering to each other right now?"

Fu Yucheng hugged her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head. The scent of soap mixed with the aroma of straw filled the air: "Maybe they're discussing having a few babies in the spring so they can keep our child company."

The fragrance of wintersweet in the celadon vase on the stove grew stronger, and a thin layer of dew clung to the tender yellow petals, shimmering like pearls in the moonlight.

Yun Tangyin suddenly remembered the red velvet cloth that Director Wang's wife had given her. It was as red as a small flame, perfect for embroidering a majestic tiger claw on the tiger-head shoes: "I'll find the red velvet cloth tomorrow and add some spirit to the toes of the children's shoes."

Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove, sparks flying onto the blue bricks. "Let me help you thread the needle, so you don't prick your hand."

A thin layer of snow fell in the latter half of the night, rustling against the window paper.

When Yun Tangyin woke up from the cold, she found that Fu Yucheng was not beside her, but there was a faint light in the kitchen.

She put on her coat and went over, and saw him squatting in front of the new rabbit cage, stuffing a piece of cotton into the cage, with a few snowflakes on the shoulders of his military green cotton-padded coat.

"Why are you awake?" When he turned around, the frost on his eyelashes glistened in the light. "I heard the rabbits scratching at their cages, and I was worried they'd get cold."

Yun Tangyin draped an old cotton-padded jacket over him, her fingertips touching his cold ear: "You care about them even more than you do about me. I should never have let you find them companions in the first place."

Fu Yucheng grabbed her hand and breathed on it, the warmth of his palm tickling her: "You are the apple of my eye, and these are your little treasures to keep you company, so you have to cherish them."

The next morning, just as Yun Tangyin put the locust flower cakes into the steamer, Xiao Lan's loud voice came from outside the courtyard: "Sister-in-law! Have you brought back the New Year pictures yet? My mother said the new ones with the 'May you have abundance year after year' painting are really beautiful!"

When she lifted the curtain, she saw Xiaolan running into the yard with two New Year pictures in her hands. The snowflakes on the red ribbon fell onto the pictures, making the carp in the chubby baby's arms look even redder.

"Brother Fu's new rabbit cage is so beautiful!" Xiao Lan pasted the New Year picture on the wall, but her eyes were fixed on the pine cage. "It's even sturdier than my chicken coop, and this pine wood smells so good."

Fu Yucheng was adding firewood to the stove when he heard this and turned around and smiled: "When spring comes, I'll make a new cage for your chickens too, made of cedar wood, which is more moisture-resistant than pine."