Chapter 198: The child also became greedy when he heard about eating dumplings

Yun Tangyin leaned against Fu Yucheng, gently shaking the silver bell in her hand. The crisp sound of "dingling" mixed with the children's laughter circled in the warm red lantern light.

She looked down at the remaining dumplings in the bowl, and suddenly remembered that at this time last year, Fu Yuanshan was still helping to chop firewood in the yard, and Jiang Jianhua was helping her knead dough in the kitchen. The two of them were chatting and laughing, just as lively as today.

"If my second brother and his wife were here, they would definitely say these shepherd's purse dumplings are even better than the shrimp dumplings in the city," she said softly, her fingertips touching the rim of the bowl. "My second sister-in-law even said last time that she wanted to learn how to make shepherd's purse dumplings from me when she came back in the spring."

Fu Yucheng held her hand and brought it to his palm. The thin calluses on his palm made her itch. "When they come back in the spring, we'll make dumplings every day so that Second Sister-in-law can eat as much as she wants. We'll also dig some shepherd's purse and dry it for her to take home. She can make dumplings whenever she wants."

He pointed outside the yard and said, "There's a lot of shepherd's purse on the back hill. Let Ming'erliang go with Lan Yatou to dig some. The children can also get more exercise, which is better than staying at home."

Zhou Desheng's wife was clearing the dishes when she heard this and smiled and said, "That's right. My two boys make trouble at home every day. If they could go to the back mountain to dig shepherd's purse, they would definitely behave themselves for a while."

She put the bowls and chopsticks into the basin and walked to the kitchen. "I'll go to town to buy some flour tomorrow. We can make more dumplings and freeze them in the cellar. When they come back, we can cook them anytime and save the trouble of making any last-minute preparations."

Aunt Zhang folded the knitted scarf neatly and put it in her cloth bag. She then took out a small stuffed animal from her pocket. It was a bunny knitted with navy blue wool, with small red beans on its ears. "This is for Jianhua. She told me last time that she wanted a woolen bunny to put on her bedside to make her happy."

She handed the doll to Yun Tangyin, "Keep it for me and give it to her when they come back. This girl is very considerate and will definitely like it."

Yun Tangyin took the doll, her fingertips touching the soft wool. The little rabbit's eyes were sewn with black buttons. "It's so beautiful. If my second sister-in-law received this, she would definitely hold it every day, just like Lan Yatou."

At night, the snow began to fall again, gently landing on the window paper, like countless gentle hands tapping.

Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove. The flames licked the bottom of the pot, making the room warm.

Yun Tangyin sat on the edge of the kang, holding the handkerchief embroidered for Jiang Jianhua in her hand. In the light of the oil lamp, she carefully embroidered the last bamboo leaf.

"Do you think my second sister-in-law would be reluctant to use the handkerchief after receiving it?" She suddenly spoke, her voice as soft as falling snow. "She always says my embroidery is beautiful. The last time I embroidered a purse for her, she wore it for half a year and was reluctant to replace it."

Fu Yucheng came over, hugged her from behind, and rested his chin on the top of her head: "I'm sure she won't let it go, but she'll keep it in her pocket every day and show it off to others, saying that it was embroidered by her sister-in-law and is more exquisite than the ones she buys in the city."

He stuffed a piece of rock candy into her mouth and said, "Moisten your throat with it. You must be tired after embroidering all afternoon."

Yun Tangyin leaned in his arms, holding a piece of rock sugar in her mouth, the sweet fragrance spreading in her mouth. Suddenly, she felt the little guy in her belly move, and it fell gently on her heart like a locust leaf.

"Look, the child is also looking forward to Uncle and Aunt coming back," she grabbed Fu Yucheng's hand and pressed it on her belly, "He moved several times just now. He must have heard us talking about dumplings and got cravings."

Fu Yucheng put his ear to her lower abdomen, listening to the movement inside, and the smile on his face became more gentle: "Wait until it comes out, and ask Uncle and Aunt to make shepherd's purse dumplings for it, so that I can taste the taste of home, which is more fragrant than milk powder."

The next morning, just after daybreak, Xiaolan came with a bamboo basket filled with steamed date buns made by her mother and a basket of fresh vegetables.

"Sister-in-law! Brother Fu! I'm here to feed the rabbits some vegetables!"

When she came in through the curtains, the tip of her nose was red from the cold, and her red hairband was still stained with snow foam. "My mother said the weather is good today, so she asked me to go with you to the back mountain to dig shepherd's purse. She also said that she would make shepherd's purse buns for us to eat!"

Fu Yucheng was chopping firewood in the yard. Seeing Xiaolan coming, he smiled and handed her a thin bamboo stick. "Warm your hands first, then go dig shepherd's purse later. The snow on the back mountain hasn't melted completely yet, so you need to wear something warm to avoid getting cold."

He stuffed a jujube bun into Xiaolan's hand and said, "Eat something quickly to fill your stomach. It's hard to dig shepherd's purse, and you can't do it on an empty stomach."

Yun Tangyin came out of the house, holding two old cotton-padded jackets in her hands: "These are for you and Ming'erliang'er. Wear them when you go to the back mountain. Don't get cold."

She handed the cotton-padded jacket to Xiaolan, "This is what I used to wear. Although it's old, it's warm. It's perfect for you."

Xiaolan took the cotton jacket and put it on quickly. Although the sleeves were a bit long, they wrapped her tightly and made her so warm that she grinned.

When Zhou Desheng brought Zhou Ming and Zhou Liang here, both of them were wearing newly made blue cotton-padded jackets, and were holding small shovels and bamboo baskets in their hands, preparing to go to the back mountain to dig shepherd's purse.

"Brother Fu, let's go quickly. Old Wang said there are a lot of shepherd's purse in the back mountain. If we go too late, others will dig them up!"

Zhou Desheng carried a shovel, his military boots making a crunching sound on the snow. "My wife even said that after we finish digging shepherd's purse, we can go to her house to eat steamed buns. She has already made the dough rise."

The group walked towards the back mountain, leaving a series of deep footprints on the snow. Xiaolan, Zhou Ming and Zhou Liang walked in front, jumping and skipping on the snow, bending down from time to time to pick up small stones on the ground, having a lot of fun.

"Uncle Fu, look at the stone I picked up! Does it look like a small ingot?" Zhou Ming excitedly shouted, holding up a round stone. Fu Yucheng smiled and nodded, "Yes! When we get home, I'll wash it and string it into a bracelet for you to wear."

There are indeed a lot of shepherd's purse on the back mountain, a green patch, emerging from the snow, so tender that you can squeeze out water from it.

Xiaolan squatted on the ground, carefully digging up the shepherd's purse with a small shovel, afraid of breaking the roots. "Sister-in-law, look how big this shepherd's purse is! It's even fresher than the one I dug yesterday!"

Yun Tangyin walked over and helped her brush off the dirt on the shepherd's purse: "Dig slowly, don't be in a hurry, we just need to dig enough to eat today, and leave the rest for tomorrow."

Zhou Desheng and Fu Yucheng dug the fastest, and soon they had dug a full basket. They sat on the rocks to rest and drank the hot water they brought.

When the sun rose to the top of the bamboo, everyone had finally dug enough shepherd's purse and walked back with full bamboo baskets.

Xiaolan walked at the end, holding a bunch of freshly picked wild flowers in her hand.

When he returned to the yard, Zhou Desheng's wife had already steamed the buns. As soon as he opened the steamer, the aroma of shepherd's purse buns filled the yard.

"Try it now," she handed a bun to each person, "it's freshly steamed, still hot, with some diced meat in it."

Yun Tangyin took a bite of the bun. The fragrance of shepherd's purse mixed with the freshness of the diced meat filled her mouth with the warmth of home.

She looked up at the scene in the yard. The children were feeding shepherd's purse around the rabbit cage, Aunt Zhang was sitting under the eaves knitting a sweater, Zhou Desheng and Fu Yucheng were chopping firewood in the yard, and the smoke from the cooking stove was rising, contrasting beautifully with the red lanterns in the yard.