Chapter 184 The Rabbit Opens His Eyes

When it was dark, Aunt Zhang walked home with the locust flower cake that Yuntang had blocked, her cotton shoes making a slight "crunching" sound as they stepped on the snow.

"I'll bring the sewing machine here tomorrow," she said, turning back suddenly as she reached the gate. The light from the lantern made the white hair at her temples shine. "The little cotton-padded jacket needs to be sewn on the machine so it's strong enough that it won't get worn out even if the child climbs trees and rolls around in the spring."

Fu Yucheng was adding coal to the stove when he heard this and stood up and said, "Sorry to bother you, Aunt Zhang. I'll go to your house and move it tomorrow morning."

Mrs. Li said goodbye while holding her sleeping child in her arms. The child still had half a piece of uneaten millet cake in his arms, and there were osmanthus crumbs on the corners of his mouth.

"Yinyin, you should go to bed early too," she said as she lifted the cotton curtain, letting the cold air, wrapped in snow foam, drift in. "Don't stay up too late when you're pregnant. We'll take care of sewing your cotton-padded jacket."

Yun Tangyin stuffed a hand warmer into her hand: "Use it to warm your feet. The roads are slippery on snowy nights."

Xiaolan picked up the shredded cloth. The red hairband on her braid was stained with some cloth scraps, like a fallen little red flower.

"Brother Fu, sister-in-law, I'll come early tomorrow morning!" She skipped out, the army green gate creaking as she banged against it. "I'll bring some steamed jujube buns my mother made to nourish the rabbit!"

Fu Yucheng looked at her back as she disappeared into the alley and smiled: "This girl is more energetic than a little rabbit."

The yard finally became quiet, with only the faint sounds coming from the pine cage.

Yun Tangyin sat on the edge of the kang, watching Fu Yucheng wipe the dust off the cage bars with a fine cloth. His movements were extremely gentle, for fear of disturbing the little life in the cage.

"When do you think Snowball and the others will be able to open their eyes?" she suddenly asked, her fingertips gently stroking the unfinished tiger-head shoes. The black thread of the tiger's eyes had already embroidered a sharp outline.

When Fu Yucheng put down the towel and sat next to her, the snow on his military boots melted on the blue bricks, leaving small water marks.

"Aunt Zhang said she'll be able to open her eyes in seven or eight days," he reached out and gathered the loose hair on her temples, his palms bearing the residual warmth of the stove.

In the celadon vase on the stove, the fragrance of wintersweet became stronger. The thin frost on the tender yellow petals had not melted yet, and under the oil lamp, it looked like a layer of broken diamonds.

Fu Yucheng suddenly remembered something and pulled out a tin box from the top of the cabinet. Inside was some dried locust flowers. "I'll make you some steamed locust flower rice tomorrow with two spoonfuls of brown sugar. You said you wanted to eat it the other day."

Yun Tangyin picked up a piece of dried locust flower and smiled: "You care about my greed more than I do."

In the middle of the night, Yun Tangyin woke up and saw that Fu Yucheng was not around. When she got out of bed and put on her clothes, she saw him squatting in front of the rabbit cage, holding a piece of cotton cloth soaked in warm water in his hand, gently wiping the stains on the bottom of the cage.

The light from the oil lamp shone obliquely on him, and there was some cotton wool on the shoulders of his army green cotton-padded jacket, as if it was covered with snowflakes.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" She walked over and put an old cotton-padded jacket on him. "Be careful not to get cold."

When Fu Yucheng turned around, his eyelashes were slightly damp with moisture. "I heard Huaqiu humming. I was worried it would get cold, so I put some cotton in the cage."

He pointed into the cage and saw Huaqiu huddled in the gray rabbit's arms, its little paws scratching the rabbit's fur as if it were a hand warmer.

"Look at it," Fu Yucheng said in a very low voice with a hint of smile, "It's more delicate than Snowball and Coal Ball, and always likes to snuggle into the mother rabbit's arms."

Yun Tangyin squatted beside him, watching the three little rabbits gently rise and fall with the mother rabbit's breathing, and suddenly felt her heart as soft as a ball of cotton.

"Wait until spring," she said softly, "open the cage door and let them run around in the yard and bask in the sun."

Fu Yucheng held her hand, and the thin calluses on his fingertips made her itch: "Build a small nest under the old locust tree so that they can avoid the rain and smell the fragrance of the locust flowers."

When the sky was just getting light, Yun Tangyin was awakened by the noise in the kitchen. Fu Yucheng was squatting in front of the stove and making a fire. The sweet potato porridge in the pot was bubbling, and the sweet fragrance filled the room.

She walked over wearing her cotton jacket and saw a piece of rabbit hair stuck to his military cap. She couldn't help but reach out and take it off for him. "Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Yu Cheng added a handful of pine needles to the stove, and the fragrance of pine resin mixed with the aroma of porridge wafted over: "I want you to drink hot porridge when you wake up. Aunt Zhang said pregnant women need to eat on time."

Just as I poured the porridge into the bowl, Xiaolan's voice came from outside the yard, mixed with the sound of the bamboo basket shaking: "Sister-in-law! I brought some jujube buns!"

When she lifted the curtain and came in, the tip of her nose was red from the cold. The bamboo basket was filled with hot date buns. The red dates were embedded in the white flour, like red agates.

"My mother said that jujube buns replenish qi and blood, so I broke some off and soaked some in water for the female rabbit to drink." She peeked into the cage and saw Huaqiu napping on the white rabbit's back. She suddenly laughed, "Huaqiu is so lazy. She fell asleep again just after waking up."

Fu Yucheng stuffed a bowl of hot porridge into her hand: "Warm yourself up first. How can you feed the rabbit if you are frozen?"

Xiaolan squatted beside the cage with the porridge in her hands, drinking it in small sips, but her eyes were always glued to the little rabbit.

The gray rabbit seemed to recognize her. This time, she did not look up vigilantly, but just gently swept her tail across the ball's back, as if coaxing a child.

When the sun rose to the top of the bamboo, Aunt Zhang came as expected, carrying a sewing machine. Zhou Desheng's wife and Sister Li also followed, each holding something in their hands.

Zhou Desheng's wife carried a half-sack of freshly ground cornmeal and said, "Make some porridge for the rabbit. It's better for lactation than soybeans."

Mrs. Li held up a piece of pink cloth and said, "Make a small smock for the child. This cloth is soft and sticks to the skin without being prickly."

The yard suddenly became lively. Aunt Zhang was pedaling the sewing machine, making a "click-click" sound, and the blue cloth was flying in her hands.

Zhou Desheng's wife squatted in front of the stove cooking corn paste, and the aroma filled the yard.

Sister Li helped Yun Tangyin sort out the loose threads, and the red velvet in their hands soon piled up into a small mountain.

Fu Yucheng was chopping pine wood in the yard, intending to make a small wooden trough for feeding the rabbits. As the axe rose and fell, wood chips rustled in the sunlight.

Xiaolan was holding the jujube bun and breaking it into the basket when she suddenly exclaimed, "Sister-in-law! Snowball opened his eyes!"

Everyone gathered around immediately and saw Snowball squinting his eyes. His small black eyeballs were like two pieces of water-soaked obsidian, looking curiously outside the cage.

"It's really beautiful," Yun Tangyin's voice trembled a little, "brighter than its father's eyes."

Fu Yucheng put down his axe and came over, sawdust on his military boots. "Don't worry, the coal balls and flower balls will be ready soon."

Sure enough, not long after, Coal Ball and Flower Ball opened their eyes one after another. The three little rabbits huddled at the edge of the cage, their bright black eyes rolling around like three curious little balls of fur.

Zhou Desheng's wife poured corn paste into the cage, and the mother rabbit immediately came over to drink it. The little rabbits circled around her paws, rubbing their little heads against them from time to time, which made everyone laugh.

By the evening, the front of the little cotton-padded jacket had been sewn, and Aunt Zhang was embroidering a pattern on the collar, which was a small wintersweet. The tender yellow silk thread looked particularly vivid on the blue cloth.

"I'll be done sewing it tomorrow," she wiped the sweat from her forehead, "just in time to dress the baby before it gets warmer."

Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of locust flower cake into her hand and said, "Thank you for your hard work. This cake is freshly steamed and is still warm."