After finishing the conch, Lu Lin cleared the dishes and headed to the kitchen. As he turned around, he caught a glimpse of Gu Mingyue squatting by the table.

He held a patterned conch shell in his hand, turning it over and over to examine it, while his other hand quietly slipped a small box into the drawer.

"What are you hiding?" Lu Lin walked over and smiled as he took the box from her hand.

Upon opening it, she found several seashells she had collected already lying inside, and she was currently putting the conch shells she had just picked out back in.

Gu Mingyue blushed: "This shell is pretty, I'll keep it as a toy for the child."

Lu Lin didn't expose her little scheme and picked up a conch shell with a clear spiral pattern.

"The shell has snail meat residue stuck to it, so it needs to be washed and dried properly, otherwise it will spoil easily."

As they spoke, they brought over a basin of clean water. The two of them squatted in the yard, one gently brushing the fine sand off the shell with a small brush, and the other wiping away the water stains with a cotton cloth.

The sunlight made the conch shells translucent. Gu Mingyue held up a spotted shell to the light and suddenly laughed.

"Look at this pattern, doesn't it resemble the white shadows of the trees in the camp?"

Lu Lin leaned over to take a look and nodded in agreement: "Once they're dry, I'll nail together a small shelf for you to display these shells."

Two days later, Lu Lin found a scrap of wood from the army's logistics department.

During my lunch break, I spent most of the day tinkering with a saw and sandpaper.

When Gu Mingyue noticed, a small wooden shelf had already been placed on the desk in the study. The three shelves were polished smooth, and the edges were carefully rounded.

"You're really putting on airs!" Gu Mingyue leaned over and touched the wood; it still carried a faint scent of pine.

Lu Lin smiled and handed over the box containing conch shells and seashells: "Here, put your treasures out."

The two squatted in front of the shelf. Gu Mingyue picked out the largest spiral conch and placed it on the top shelf as the main attraction, while arranging the small, spotted seashells on the bottom shelf in a staggered manner.

Every now and then, it would adjust its position, muttering, "This side is a bit empty, it would be perfect to put a small seashell here."

Lu Lin handed her the things, and seeing her serious expression, he suddenly said, "When the child can crawl, he might reach for this shelf, so we'll have to put it up high then."

Gu Mingyue paused for a moment, then laughed: "He might even put the little sea snails in his mouth, so we need to wash the shells thoroughly and dry them in the sun beforehand."

After they finished setting them up, the two stood side by side looking at them. Gu Mingyue leaned on Lu Lin's shoulder and said, "When he's a little older, we'll tell him that these shells were picked up on the beach and that his dad made the frames himself."

Lu Lin held her hand, his fingertips tracing the wood grain along the edge of the shelf, his heart filled with anticipation for the days to come.

Gu Mingyue has been going to the beach a lot lately, and every time she comes back, her pockets are bulging with seashells she has collected.

After collecting a full basket, she found some cotton thread and needles at home and sat under the grape trellis in the yard to ponder them.

She plans to use these seashells to make some handicrafts, and will first select the evenly sized fan-shaped seashells to make a door curtain.

Drill small holes in the top of the shell with a needle, then thread light blue cotton thread through it, stringing one string every two fingers. After stringing a dozen or so strings, align and fix them to a thin wooden rod.

When the wind blows, the seashells collide and make a soft "tinkling" sound, and sunlight shines through the shells, casting dappled spots of light on the ground.

Hanging it at the doorway adds a touch of charm to the process of coming and going.

Next, she made wind chimes. She chose small spiral conches and patterned seashells, paired them with a few round pebbles, strung them into ropes of varying lengths, and tied the top to a round wooden ring.

When hung in front of the window, the wind chimes make a delicate and crisp sound as the wind blows through the corner of the curtain, like the gentle singing of waves on the beach.

When Lu Lin returned from training, he was immediately drawn to the curtain as soon as he entered the courtyard and reached out to touch the seashell.

"This craftsmanship is really good."

Gu Mingyue smiled and handed him a small seashell that she had just strung together: "When you have time, help me find some sturdy wooden poles, and I'll make two more strings to hang at the door. They'll definitely look nice."

A few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, Zhang Shouyi came to say goodbye to the couple with his luggage, saying that the younger generation in Beijing was looking forward to his return for a family reunion.

Upon hearing this, Gu Mingyue turned around and went into the house. A short while later, she came out with a bulging cloth bag, which was stuffed full.

"Uncle Zhang, this is dried seafood for the children, and some jujube paste cakes that I made. They can have them as snacks on the way."

As she spoke, she took out two more exquisite items.

One is a seashell wind chime strung with light blue cotton thread, with a spiral conch shell hanging in the middle; the other is a small seashell ornament with tassels woven from colorful rope.

"I made these two myself. The wind chimes hang by the window, making it lively when the wind blows, and the little ornaments are for the children to play with, which also brings a touch of seaside nostalgia."

Zhang Shouyi took the cloth bag, weighed its heavy weight, and then picked up the wind chime and shook it.

Hearing the crisp sound, her eyes welled up with tears: "You're such a thoughtful child. I'll come to see you again next spring and bring the child a rattle drum from Beijing."

Lu Lin helped carry the things to the door, and Gu Mingyue reminded him again, "Be careful on the road, and let us know when you arrive."

Watching Zhang Shouyi's figure disappear at the entrance of the family compound, Gu Mingyue felt a little reluctant to part with him.

Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and the kitchen is busiest before the festival.

Gu Mingyue cleaned the unused oven three days in advance, while Lu Lin ran around preparing all the ingredients.

Gu Mingyue planned to make mooncakes first, mixing lard and warm water into the flour and kneading it to make a soft and elastic dough.

I then kneaded the oil-based dough with pure lard, and let both doughs rest covered with a damp cloth.

Lu Lin was carefully peeling the salted egg yolks, soaking them in white wine to remove the fishy smell, and then sprinkling them with white sugar and cooked flour to mix the filling.

After the oil dough and oil shortening have rested, Gu Mingyue pinched off small portions, wrapped the oil dough with the oil dough, rolled it into long strips, and then rolled it up.

Repeat twice, wrap the filling in a thin dough, pinch out the edges, brush with egg wash and make a red mark, then put it in the oven.

Lu Lin stayed by the stove, adding charcoal and occasionally peeking through the stove door until the mooncakes were bulging with golden bellies and the aroma wafted out of the cracks in the pot.

Gu Mingyue also wanted to make egg yolk pastries. The method for making the pastry is similar to that for mooncakes, except that an extra spoonful of white sugar is added to the oil pastry.

Keep an eye on the heat while baking. Wait until the layers of the flaky pastry burst open like little flowers, and the inside is filled with smooth red bean paste and runny egg yolk. It's so delicious that it makes your mouth water as soon as it comes out of the oven.

Finally, there's the pork jerky. Lu Lin minced the pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, added soy sauce, cooking wine, sugar, and pepper, mixed it well, and marinated it for an hour.

Gu Mingyue greased the baking tray, spread the minced meat into a thin sheet, cut it into small pieces, brushed it with honey, and put it into the oven.

By the time all the food was prepared, the moonlight had already climbed onto the windowsill.

The two packed mooncakes and egg yolk pastries into a food box, setting aside a portion to send to their family in Beijing after the holiday.

They also set aside a small portion to distribute to several families in the residential compound who were on good terms with each other.

A few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival, the area under the big locust tree in the residential compound became lively as members of the Women's Federation went door-to-door calling out, "The compound is organizing mooncake making! We have ovens and ingredients, so let's all join in the fun!"