Chapter 217: Nian'an has so many clothes

Jiang Jianhua sat embroidering a handkerchief, listening to the conversation between the grandfather and grandson, and couldn't help laughing. "You teach very carefully, and Nian'an is also learning seriously. Maybe in no time he will be able to recognize all the flowers and plants in the yard."

Song Yushuang smiled and nodded: "Yes, this child is smart. He can remember some of what you teach him. However, he still can't speak clearly. When he is anxious, he always gestures."

As he was speaking, Nian An suddenly pointed at the sunflowers in the corner of the yard and shouted vaguely.

Song Yushuang and Jiang Jianhua both smiled in surprise. Song Yushuang quickly said, "Yes, it's a sunflower. When it bears seeds in the fall, grandma will fry them for you."

As it approached noon, the sun gradually became warmer. Song Yushuang carried Nian An to the shade of a tree to cool off, and then took a palm-leaf fan from the house and gently fanned Nian An.

Jiang Jianhua got up and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Just as she finished washing the rice, she heard Zhou Desheng's wife's voice coming from outside the yard: "Are you home? I brought some freshly steamed pumpkin cakes to Nian'an."

Jiang Jianhua quickly went out to greet him, took a cloth bag, and said with a smile, "You are so polite. You always bring us food."

Zhou Desheng's wife waved her hand: "We're all neighbors, why be so polite? Nian'an likes sweet food, I added a lot of brown sugar to this pumpkin pie, let him try it."

Jiang Jianhua put the pumpkin pie on the stone table. As soon as he took out a piece, Nian'an stretched out his little hand to eat it.

Song Yushuang quickly took it, broke off a small piece, blew it cool, and fed it to him: "Eat slowly, don't choke."

Nian'an's eyes lit up as he chewed the pumpkin pie, and he reached out for more after he finished eating, making everyone laugh.

Zhou Desheng's wife looked at Nian'an and said with a smile, "This child is really well-behaved, unlike the two in our family who always make noises during meals."

At lunch time, Fu Yuanshan came back from the fields with a bunch of fresh grapes in his hand. They were wild grapes from the back mountain. The grapes were small but purple.

"I saw these in the fields and brought them back for Nian'an to try." Fu Yuanshan placed the grapes on the table. "They're a little sour, but soak them in sugar water for a while, and they'll be sweet when you eat them later."

Song Yushuang quickly found a porcelain bowl, put the grapes in it, and added some sugar and warm water. "Marinate it like this for half an hour. It will have just the right sweet and sour taste. Nian'an will definitely like it."

In the afternoon, Fu Yucheng came back from town, carrying a lot of bags in his hands.

As soon as he walked into the yard, Nian An ran towards him, shouting "Tangtang".

Fu Yucheng smiled and squatted down, took out a string of candied haws from his pocket and handed it to Nian An: "Hurry up and take it, I just bought it, it's still covered with icing sugar."

Nian An took the candied haws and took a bite carefully. The sweetness made her squint her eyes. She did not forget to pass a bite to Song Yushuang: "Grandma, eat it."

Song Yushuang felt warm in her heart. She took a small bite and the sweetness slid down her throat and warmed her heart.

Fu Yucheng handed the colored thread he bought to Song Yushuang again: "The colored thread you asked for has red, yellow, and green, all colors are complete. It will definitely look good when you make a purse."

Song Yushuang took the colored thread and said with a smile, "Great! These colors are so bright. I'm going to make a purse embroidered with a tiger for Nian'an to bless him with peace and safety."

He also took out a piece of floral cloth from his bag and handed it to Jiang Jianhua: "Second sister-in-law, this cloth is new in town. The pattern is beautiful. It will definitely be suitable for making a small jacket for Nian'an."

Jiang Jianhua took the cloth, touched it, and said with a smile, "This cloth is really soft. I will make it for Nian'an tomorrow."

In the evening, Song Yushuang sat under the eaves making purses, while Jiang Jianhua was cutting flowered cloth beside her, preparing to make a small jacket for Nian'an.

Yun Tangyin leaned back in the rocking chair, watching Nian An and Fu Yuanshan playing with the wooden horse in the yard. Nian An sat on the horse, while Fu Yuanshan gently pushed it from behind. Their laughter filled the entire yard.

"Look at them, grandfather and grandson, how happy they are playing." Yun Tangyin said with a smile, "Nian'an is loved by so many people, he is such a blessed child."

At dinner, Fu Yucheng made mashed potatoes, which Nian'an liked, and stewed a pot of chicken soup to nourish Yun Tangyin.

Everyone sat around the table, eating and chatting. Nian An sat in Song Yushuang's arms, holding a small purse in her hand, and occasionally putting a mouthful of mashed potatoes into her mouth, her little face full of happiness.

Jiang Jianhua picked up a piece of chicken and gave it to Song Yushuang: "You should eat more to replenish your body. It's hard to take care of Nian'an every day."

Song Yushuang took it with a smile: "You should eat more too. You are exhausted from doing this and that for us every day."

At night, after Nian An fell asleep, Song Yushuang sat under the oil lamp and continued to make purses.

Yun Tangyin leaned against the headboard of the bed and looked at her, smiling and saying, "Mom, is your purse almost done? It looks really nice."

Song Yushuang nodded, her needlework still throbbing. "Almost done, just two more stitches and it'll be done. Look at the tiger's eyes, they'll look even more majestic with the black thread."

She looked out the window. Moonlight shone on the locust tree in the yard, and its shadow swayed. "Tomorrow the weather will be nice. Let's take out Nian'an's clothes and dry them out to dry. Then we can sweep the yard. It will look fresh."

Yun Tangyin smiled and agreed: "Okay, I'll help out tomorrow too. It's not comfortable to lie down all the time."

Song Yushuang stopped sewing and looked at Yun Tangyin: "Don't get too tired. If you feel uncomfortable, just take a rest. Jianhua and I are here for you."

Yun Tangyin nodded, her heart filled with warmth.

The next morning, Song Yushuang got up early to clean the yard, while Jiang Jianhua took out Nian'an's clothes and hung them on the bamboo rack to dry.

Yun Tangyin also got up and helped Song Yushuang wipe the table and put the chairs in place.

After waking up, Nian An saw everyone busy in the yard and started to get busy too. Although he was just randomly scratching the ground with a small broom, he learned it quite well and made everyone laugh.

Near noon, Aunt Zhang came over with a basket of fresh vegetables: "I picked some vegetables from the garden, they are just ripe, I brought some for you."

She looked at the small clothes drying in the yard and said with a smile, "Nian'an has so many clothes. Are they all made by you? They are even prettier than those bought in the city."

Song Yushuang smiled and nodded: "Yes, we made them all. Clothes made by ourselves are comfortable to wear and reassuring."

At lunch, Fu Yucheng made vegetable and tofu soup and fried eggs, both of which were Nian'an's favorites.

Everyone sat around the table, eating and chatting. The sunlight poured into the house through the window lattices, shining on everyone's face, full of warmth and happiness.

Song Yushuang looked at everything in front of her, her heart filled with joy. She knew that such ordinary and warm days would be like the old locust tree in the yard, evergreen year after year, and would remain forever in this small locust yard.

After lunch, the sunlight became softer. Song Yushuang held Nian An in her arms and sat in a rocking chair under the eaves. She held the newly embroidered tiger purse in her hand and waved it in front of Nian An.

"Nian'an, look, isn't the purse grandma made for you pretty? I'll hang it on you from now on to bless you to be safe and sound."

Nian An stretched out her little hand and grabbed the purse, put it to her mouth and bit it gently, then looked up at Song Yushuang.