Chapter 189: Weaving a Basket for Rabbits

Yun Tangyin pinched the egg in the cloth bag. Her fingertips touched the warmth of the eggshell, and her heart also felt warm.

"I'm so embarrassed to always let you spend money," she pushed the cloth bag to Zhou Desheng's wife, but she smiled and pushed it back, "We're just neighbors, why are you being so polite? You're pregnant, you need to take good care of yourself so that the baby can be strong in the future."

Zhou Desheng chimed in, "That's right, Yinyin, just take it. My two kids can't finish it, and it won't be fresh if it's kept for too long."

After seeing them off, Fu Yucheng placed the eggs in a clay pot in the kitchen, padding them with wheat bran. "This way they can be stored longer. I'll cook one for you every day to nourish your body."

Yun Tangyin leaned against the kitchen door frame, watching him carefully fiddling with the eggs. She suddenly remembered that he did the same when she first got married, keeping all her things neatly organized, even arranging her embroidery needles and threads neatly by color.

"When did you become so good at living?" she asked with a smile. Fu Yucheng turned around and said, "I learned it from Aunt Zhang. She said that if you want to live a good life, you have to be careful and meticulous."

Xiaolan was still squatting beside the cage, watching the rabbits sleeping in the small bamboo basket, her fingers gently touching the cage bars, afraid of disturbing them.

"Brother Fu, this bamboo basket is so soft," she said, looking up, her eyes shining like stars. "When I learn how to do it, I'll weave one for my kittens so they can have such a comfortable nest too."

Fu Yucheng walked over and touched her head: "Okay, next time I braid it, I'll call you and we'll braid a bigger one for the kitten together."

As the sky gradually darkened, the snow began to fall again, gently landing on the old locust tree in the yard, and a thin layer of snow soon accumulated on the branches.

Yun Tangyin sent Xiaolan out the door and stuffed a piece of locust flower cake into her hand: "Go slowly on the road."

Xiaolan took the cake and skipped towards the alley entrance. Her red hairband looked like a dancing flame in the snowy night. "Don't worry, sister-in-law! I'll come early tomorrow morning to learn how to weave bamboo baskets from Brother Fu!"

When he returned to the house, Fu Yucheng had already added coal to the stove. The flames were licking the bottom of the pot, making the sweet potato porridge in the pot bubbling loudly.

He stuffed a hand warmer into Yun Tangyin's hand and said, "Warm your hands quickly. It's snowing heavily outside. It's not good to get cold."

Yun Tangyin held the hand warmer, leaned against him, and looked at the rabbit in the cage.

In the small bamboo basket, three little rabbits were huddled in the mother rabbit's arms, sleeping soundly. Flower Ball's little paws were resting on the mother rabbit's back, like a spoiled child.

"Do you think they'll have sweet dreams?" Yun Tangyin asked softly. Fu Yucheng poured a spoonful of sweet potato porridge into her bowl. "Of course they will. They'll dream of mountains of green grass and carrots, and the little bamboo baskets we made for them."

He suddenly remembered something and took out a wooden box from the cabinet, which contained the little toys he had prepared for the children.

There are little tigers carved from peach wood, small rattles woven from bamboo, and small locust flower purses embroidered by him.

"I'll give these to the baby when it's born," Fu Yucheng said with a smile, his eyes full of anticipation. "I learned all of this from a book. I don't know if the baby will like it."

Yun Tangyin picked up the small rattle and shook it gently. The "dong dong" sound was crisp and gentle.

"Of course I like it," she put the rattle to her ear and listened. "Look at how finely crafted it is. It's even more exquisite than the ones sold at the supply and marketing cooperative."

Suddenly, she felt the little guy in her belly move, as if to say "I like it", and she couldn't help laughing: "Look, the child likes it too."

Fu Yucheng put his ear to her lower abdomen, listening to the movement inside, the smile on his face became more gentle: "If it likes it, I will do more for it."

In the second half of the night, Yun Tangyin woke up and saw that Fu Yucheng was not around again. She knew in her heart that he must have gone to see the rabbits again.

She put on her clothes and got out of bed, and sure enough, she saw him squatting in front of the rabbit cage, holding a piece of cotton cloth in his hand, gently covering the rabbit in the small bamboo basket.

The light from the oil lamp fell on him, and the cotton wool on his army green cotton-padded jacket was like a layer of moonlight, so gentle.

"Why are you up again?" Yun Tangyin walked over and put an old cotton-padded jacket on him, "Be careful not to get cold."

Fu Yucheng turned around with a smile in his eyes: "I heard Huaqiu humming. I was worried that it was cold, so I covered it with something."

He pointed into the cage, where Huaqiu was burying her head in the mother rabbit's arms, her little body rising and falling gently. "Look, she stopped whimpering now that she's covered with cotton. She's like a child, needing to be coaxed."

Yun Tangyin squatted beside him, looking at the sleeping faces of the rabbits, and suddenly felt at ease.

With Fu Yucheng around, whether it was her, the children, or the rabbits, they were all taken care of well.

"What do you think about moving the rabbit cages under the old locust tree after spring?" Yun Tangyin asked softly, "Let them bask in the sun and smell the fragrance of the locust flowers. They'll definitely be very happy."

Fu Yucheng held her hand and brought it to his palm: "Okay, I'll build a small shed for them so they can hide from the rain and bask in the sun when it's sunny."

He suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I need to build a swing under the locust tree. You can't swing while you're pregnant. When the baby is born, we can swing with him and let him see what spring is like."

Yun Tangyin leaned on Fu Yucheng's shoulder, listening to him describe the days after the spring, her heart full of anticipation.

She seemed to have seen the swing swaying gently under the old locust tree, her holding her child sitting on the swing, Fu Yucheng pushing it from behind, the rabbits sleeping in the nest next to them, Xiaolan chasing the kittens in the yard, the neighbors chatting and laughing at the door, and the sun shining on everyone.

The next morning, just after dawn, Xiaolan came with a bamboo basket filled with steamed date buns made by her mother and the pieces of cloth she had cut overnight.

They are all used as small cushions for rabbits.

"Brother Fu! Sister-in-law! I'm here to learn how to weave bamboo baskets!" She shouted as soon as she entered the yard, her voice full of excitement. "I also brought some jujube buns. Let you and Rabbit have some!"

Fu Yucheng was splitting bamboo strips in the yard. Seeing Xiaolan coming, he smiled and handed her a thin bamboo strip: "Try this first. You need thinner bamboo strips to weave bamboo baskets. They are softer."

Xiaolan took the bamboo stick and followed Fu Yucheng's example, twisting the stick around clumsily but always making mistakes. "Brother Fu, this is so difficult,"

Xiaolan was a little discouraged, but Fu Yucheng patiently taught her: "Don't be impatient, take your time, first arrange the bamboo strips neatly, then wind them one by one, just like you cut pieces of cloth, you have to be patient."

Yun Tangyin came out with hot water. Seeing Xiaolan studying seriously, she couldn't help but smile: "Don't worry, little Lan."

After hearing this, Xiaolan plucked up her courage and continued to learn how to weave bamboo strips from Fu Yucheng.

When the sun rose to the top of the bamboo, Xiaolan finally managed to weave a small bamboo basket base, although it was a little crooked.

"Sister-in-law! Look at what I made!" She shouted excitedly, holding up the base of the bamboo basket. Yun Tangyin walked over and touched the base of the bamboo basket: "It's really good. Lan girl is really smart. She can learn it quickly."

Fu Yucheng also smiled and said, "It's much better than my first time. Let's practice it again."