Chapter 174: Morning Sickness is Severe

Fu Yucheng hurriedly held Yun Tangyin's shoulders, and the cuffs of his army green cotton jacket brushed against her cheek, carrying the smell of stove smoke.

"What's wrong?" His voice was tense, and his fingertips touched the cold sweat on the back of her neck. "Did you catch a cold just now? I'll go get some hot water."

When he turned around, he knocked over the stool leg. The dull thud of the wooden stool hitting the ground startled the rabbit in the bamboo cage, making it jump.

Yun Tangyin waved her hands, clutching her chest as she took a deep breath. "It's an old problem. Didn't Mom say it's always like this when I'm pregnant?"

She glanced at the stove and saw the leftover sour plum soup from the morning was still there. She reached out to grab it, but Fu Yucheng had already brought it to her. The temperature of the edge of the porcelain bowl burned his fingertips red.

"Drink slowly," he spooned the soup into her mouth. The sour aroma mixed with the sweetness of rock sugar spread, and Yun Tangyin's brows gradually relaxed. "Director Wang said that if morning sickness is severe, you should eat more sour food. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to exchange for some hawthorn cakes."

Suddenly remembering something, he took out a glass jar from the cupboard. Inside was the hawthorn slices given by Mrs. Li. The icing sugar was shining white under the light.

Yun Tangyin held a piece of hawthorn in her mouth, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes as she felt the pain: "Don't make a fuss."

Fu Yucheng squatted in front of her, his palm gently placed on her stomach, the warmth of his palm seeping through her fleece: "But I can't bear to see you suffer, even if it's just half for you."

The moonlight outside the window suddenly brightened, illuminating the snow as if it were covered with a layer of silver foil.

Song Yushuang's voice drifted in through the window, a little worried: "What's wrong with Yinyin? Are you feeling unwell?"

Fu Yucheng quickly responded, "It's okay, Mom. It's just morning sickness. I'm much better after drinking sour plum soup."

Just as he finished speaking, he heard the creaking sound of the door hinge turning. Song Yushuang came in wearing a cotton-padded jacket, holding a bowl of ginger tea in her hand. The aroma of ginger made his nose sore.

"I just cooked it on the stove," she said, pressing the bowl into Yun Tangyin's hand. The bowl was so hot it could warm her palm. "Add sliced ​​ginger and brown sugar. Drinking it can help stop vomiting."

She patted Yun Tangyin's back, the force of her palm neither too light nor too heavy. "Even carrying a baby is painful, just get through it."

Yun Tangyin was drinking ginger tea when she suddenly noticed some white hair on Song Yu's temples.

"Mom, go to bed quickly," she put a hand warmer in Song Yu's hands, "It's cold, don't catch a cold."

Song Yushuang stuffed a bag of dried tangerine peel into her pocket and said, "Drinking it in water can also relieve gas. I'll stew an old hen for you tomorrow."

After seeing Song Yushuang off, Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove. The flames leaped up, casting the shadows of the two people closely together on the wall.

Yun Tangyin suddenly pointed at his military boots and laughed: "Look at the mud on your shoes, I'll clean them for you tomorrow."

Fu Yucheng looked down and saw the mud and snow on his shoes, making them a mess. He kicked them away without caring, "Why are you brushing them? They'll still get muddy during training. I'll wear new ones after the New Year."

He suddenly pulled out a pair of newly made cotton trousers from the cupboard. They were navy blue corduroy with thick loops of fleece sewn on them. "Mom made these this afternoon. She said you always kick off the quilt at night, so these will keep you warm."

Yun Tangyin touched the fuzz on the hem of her trousers and suddenly found that the stitches were crooked, just like the craftsmanship she used to embroider orchids. Her heart warmed: "Mom has poor eyesight, but she still stayed up late to make this for me."

Fu Yucheng helped her change into her cotton pants. His fingertips touched the coolness of her ankles, and he suddenly ran to the kitchen. When he came back, he was holding a copper basin filled with boiling mugwort water.

"Soaking your feet can help you sleep soundly." He squatted down to take off her shoes. The laces of her military boots were tangled several times, and he spent a long time untying them. A thin layer of sweat seeped out of the tip of his nose. "Mom said that mugwort can calm the mind. You haven't been able to sleep well these days."

When the warm water reached her ankles, Yun Tangyin suddenly laughed out loud: "Mom said you were too lazy to even wash your socks before, but now you've learned to serve others."

Fu Yucheng rubbed his fingers on the back of her feet, and the calluses on his palms made her itch: "Isn't that because you haven't married yet? Now you know how to care for others."

He sprinkled a handful of peppercorns into the water, and the aroma of pepper mixed with the medicinal fragrance of mugwort spread, filling the room with the warm and cozy air.

The rabbit in the bamboo cage had fallen asleep again at some point, curled up into a white fluffy ball, its three-lobed mouth moving as if it was dreaming.

Yun Tangyin added a handful of alfalfa to the cage and suddenly found that there was some snow on the tip of the rabbit's ears, probably because it floated in when she lifted the curtain just now.

"Look how well it enjoys itself," she pointed at Fu Yucheng with a smile, "It can sleep better than me."

When Fu Yucheng handed her the foot cloth, he suddenly stared at her belly and smiled: "When the child grows up, let him play with the rabbit so that he won't have to pester you all the time."

The oil lamp gradually dimmed, and the fragrance of wintersweet mixed with the smell of coal smoke filled the room like a warm mist.

Yun Tangyin nestled in Fu Yucheng's arms, listening to his heartbeat, which was beating like a drum against her heart.

The silver lock felt slightly warm against his chest, as if it was really beating along with the rhythm of the dance, transforming the snow and wind in the yard, the lanterns under the eaves, and the rabbits in the cages into an indelible sweetness.

"What do you want to eat tomorrow?" Fu Yucheng's voice was buried in her hair, a little sleepy. "I'll ask the cafeteria to save some for you."

Yun Tangyin shrank into his arms, her nose nuzzling the scent of soapberries on his fleece coat: "I want to eat the locust flower cake you made. Put more sugar in it."

Fu Yucheng chuckled and added the last piece of coal to the stove: "Okay, I'll make it for you tomorrow morning so you can eat your fill."

The snow started falling outside the window again, landing lightly on the lanterns, making the red silk surface look even brighter against the snow.

The rabbit in the bamboo cage yawned, and the wintersweet in the celadon vase opened half its flower again. The whole house was immersed in a faint fragrance, like a dream that one didn't want to wake up from.

Before daybreak, Fu Yucheng walked on the snow to the kitchen.

The fire in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, casting his shadow on the wall, sometimes high and sometimes low like a jumping silhouette.

As he poured warm water into the basin, the flour on his fingertips fell down and formed small white piles on the bluestone slabs.

"It needs to be let rise a little more," he muttered to himself while talking to the dough. When he pressed his palm down, the dough bounced back like a ball of cotton, with a slightly sour smell of yeast.

When Yun Tangyin woke up, the room was filled with the sweet fragrance of locust flowers.

Fu Yucheng was sprinkling brown sugar on the cake, and the sugar grains in the coarse porcelain bowl rolled onto the oil paper.

"Awake?" When he turned around, the tip of his nose was stained with flour, and the front of his army green cotton jacket rubbed against the white flour. "We can eat it in a while. Mom said that the steamed cake needs to be simmered for another quarter of an hour after the steam is on, so that it is soft enough."

When the steamer was opened, white steam rose up, and the fragrance of locust flowers filled the whole yard.

Yun Tangyin reached out to grab it, but Fu Yucheng held her wrist down and said, "It's hot!"

He picked up a piece with chopsticks, blew on it again and again before putting it into her mouth. The sweetness of the locust flowers mixed with the honey of the brown sugar melted on the tip of her tongue.

She suddenly laughed out loud: "It tastes better than the one from the supply and marketing cooperative last year. What made you suddenly come to your senses?"

Fu Yucheng added a piece of firewood to the stove, and the flames reflected the smile in his eyes: "My sister-in-law taught me. She said to add a spoonful of wine when the dough is rising, so that it will have a hint of wine aroma when steamed and not be greasy."