Chapter 191: Happy Everyday

The cotton thread in Yun Tangyin's hand suddenly got tangled. She lowered her head and slowly untied it, pinching the soft cotton thread with her fingertips as if she was fiddling with a rare treasure.

Fu Yucheng stopped the bamboo stick in his hand and looked up at her. The light from the oil lamp fell on her temples, and a few strands of hair were reflected in them, making them look light yellow.

He put down the bamboo stick and walked over to help her untie the cotton thread. The thin calluses on his fingertips rubbed against the back of her hand, with a hint of pine wood fragrance: "Don't fight with the cotton thread. Take a break when you are tired."

Yun Tangyin leaned on his shoulder and smiled: "This cotton-padded jacket was bought for me when you first married me. I was reluctant to wear it at that time, but I didn't expect that I would have to tear it apart to make a nest for rabbits now."

Fu Yucheng kissed the top of her head: "If the old doesn't go away, the new won't come. When spring comes, I'll buy you a new piece of cloth and make you a cotton-padded jacket that's even more beautiful than this."

The sweet potato porridge on the stove was still warm. Fu Yucheng filled a bowl and brought it over. The red dates floating on the surface of the porridge were stewed until they were translucent.

"Have some porridge quickly," he handed the bowl to her. "It takes a lot of effort to take off the cotton-padded jacket. Don't go hungry."

Yun Tangyin took the bowl, took small sips, and the sweet fragrance spread in her mouth.

"Do you still remember the porridge you cooked when you were in the army?" Yun Tangyin put down the bowl, her eyes full of smiles. "At that time, you were stubborn and said that you cooked it on purpose because it tasted better that way."

Fu Yucheng scratched his head, the tip of his ear reddened a little: "That was when I just learned to cook. It's not like now, I can not only cook porridge, but also make locust flower cake."

He picked up a piece of polished bamboo and said, "Look, I learned this from Aunt Zhang. She said that if you want to keep your wife's heart, you have to keep her stomach first. You also have to have some skills to make her happy."

Yun Tangyin couldn't help laughing, and reached out to gently pinch his cheek: "Then you have firmly held my heart now."

She suddenly felt the little one in her belly move, and quickly grabbed Fu Yucheng's hand and pressed it on her belly: "Look, the child is smiling too. He must think you are right."

Fu Yucheng held his breath, his palm against her warm belly, feeling the subtle fetal movements, and the smile on his face became more gentle: "When it comes out, I will cook sweet potato porridge for it every day and teach it to weave bamboo baskets, so that it can be as happy as you are every day."

In the second half of the night, the snow began to fall again, gently falling on the window paper, like countless gentle hands tapping.

Yun Tangyin woke from the cold and found Fu Yucheng not around. She threw on her clothes and got out of bed to find him squatting in front of the rabbit cage, holding a piece of cotton wool in his hand, gently spreading it on the new nest. The light from the oil lamp shone obliquely on him, and the shoulders of his army green cotton jacket were covered with snow foam, like a layer of white sugar.

"Why are you up again?" Yun Tangyin walked over and put an old coat on him. "Be careful not to get cold. It's easiest to catch a cold in the snow."

Fu Yucheng turned around with a smile in his eyes: "I heard Snowball humming in the nest. I was worried that he would be cold, so I added some cotton wool to him."

He pointed into the cage. Snowball was curled up next to the mother rabbit, his little paws digging into the cotton wool like a hand warmer. "Look how delicate he is! He's even more afraid of the cold than Flower Ball and Coal Ball."

Yun Tangyin squatted beside him, looking at the three little rabbits huddled in the mother rabbit's arms, their breathing rising and falling gently, and suddenly felt at ease in her heart.

"With you here, whether it's me, the children, or these rabbits, they are all taken care of perfectly,"

She whispered, "It is my greatest blessing to marry you in this life." Fu Yucheng held her hand and pulled it into his palm: "It is my greatest blessing to marry you."

The two of them squatted in front of the rabbit cage, looking at the sleeping faces of the rabbits, listening to the sound of falling snow outside the window, and the crackling of the oil lamp in the house, making everything seem particularly warm.

"Wait until spring," Fu Yucheng suddenly said, "let's move the rabbit cage under the old locust tree and set up a small table underneath. When you get tired of embroidery, you can sit at the table and drink tea. I'll take the children to play with the rabbits, okay?"

Yun Tangyin nodded, her eyes full of anticipation: "Okay, and we'll also plant some vegetables under the locust tree, specifically for the rabbits to eat, so we don't have to go to the back mountain to pick them all the time."

The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, Xiaolan's voice could be heard from outside the yard, mixed with the creaking sound of the bamboo basket shaking: "Sister-in-law! Brother Fu! I'm here!"

When she lifted the curtain and came in, the tip of her nose was red from the cold. In the bamboo basket were steaming red bean paste buns and a stack of washed green vegetable leaves.

"My mother said that red bean paste buns are good for replenishing qi and blood. I'm giving them to you, sister-in-law." She put the bamboo basket on the stone table and ran to the rabbit cage. "Let me see Snowball! Did he sleep soundly in his new nest last night?"

Fu Yucheng was boiling eggs in the kitchen. He heard the noise and poked his head out, smiling: "Don't worry, drink a bowl of hot porridge to warm yourself up first, otherwise your stomach will hurt."

He handed Xiaolan the enamel bowl with steaming porridge in it. "I added red dates to it. You should eat some tonic. Look at your face, it's red from the cold."

Xiaolan took the bowl and sipped the porridge, but her eyes were always glued to the rabbit cage. Seeing Snowball nibbling on some green leaves, she immediately laughed out loud, "Look how much it eats! It's even more greedy than Flowerball!"

Yun Tangyin took out the unpacked cotton and prepared to add it to the rabbit's nest. She squatted beside the cage and carefully spread the cotton around the edge of the new nest. The mother rabbit immediately came over and used her nose to push the cotton into the nest, afraid of making a mess.

"Look at the way it's protecting its nest," Yun Tangyin said to Xiaolan with a smile, "It's like it's protecting its own child. It really cares about it."

Xiaolan put down the porridge bowl and helped pass the cotton wool: "My mother said that mother rabbits are the most protective of their cubs. They will get angry at anyone who touches their cubs. We have to be gentle."

When Zhou Desheng walked into the yard carrying straw, he saw three people busy adding cotton wool to the rabbit nest. He immediately put down the straw and came over: "Let me help you. The cotton wool needs to be spread evenly, otherwise the rabbit will not be able to sleep comfortably."

He reached out and smoothed the cotton wool in the corner of the bed, his movements very gentle. "When my two boys were young, I made their beds this way too, for fear that they would get hurt."

Fu Yucheng stuffed a red bean paste bun into his hand and said, "Try it now. Lan's mother made it. It's more delicious than the white flour buns in the cafeteria."

When the sun rose to the top of the bamboo, the rabbit hive was finally cleaned up.

The newly laid cotton makes the pink cloth look brighter. The mother rabbit and her three cubs huddle in the nest, warm and cozy like little balls of fluff.

Xiaolan sat on a small bench in the yard and followed Fu Yucheng to learn how to weave the side walls of a bamboo basket. The bamboo strips gradually became obedient in her hands. Although they were still a little crooked, she was much more skilled than yesterday.

"Brother Fu, look! I've woven a border!" She shouted excitedly while holding up the bottom of the bamboo basket, her eyes shining like stars.

Yun Tangyin sat under the eaves embroidering tiger-head shoes. The stitches moved across the blue cloth, quickly outlining the outline of a tiger's claws.

She looked up at the scene in the yard. Fu Yucheng was patiently teaching Xiaolan how to weave a bamboo basket, while Zhou Desheng was helping to light a fire in the kitchen. The smoke rising from the kitchen was in stark contrast to the branches of the locust trees in the yard.

The little guy in her belly suddenly kicked, and it was as light as a locust leaf falling on her heart. Yun Tangyin couldn't help laughing out loud.

Days like this, full of fireworks and warmth, are the best times she can think of.