Yun Tangyin blew on the hot soup spoon, and the bitterness of the shepherd's purse mixed with the sweetness of the tofu spread, warming her tongue until it tingled.
"It's fresher than what we make in the cafeteria," she pushed the food into Fu Yucheng's bowl. "You should drink more too, you must be tired from digging for vegetables."
Just as Fu Yucheng was about to pick up the spoon, Li Sao's loud voice came from outside the courtyard: "Is Yinyin home?"
Before the words were even finished, the person lifted the curtain and came in, carrying a blue cloth bag. "I just got this lace thread from the supply and marketing cooperative. Don't you think the color is bright?"
After Yun Tangyin nodded, she handed her a bowl of soup: "It's freshly stewed shepherd's purse soup, it'll help cut through the greasiness."
She picked up a piece of pink thread. "This color is perfect. It's just right for embroidering a bib for Director Wang's grandson."
As Li Sao sipped her soup, she glanced into the yard and saw the rabbit in the bamboo cage peering out from behind the bars. Suddenly, she burst out laughing: "This rabbit's become clever; it even knows how to observe the scenery!"
She slipped a piece of fabric into Yun Tangyin's hand, saying, "My husband got this from the regiment headquarters. He said it's for making swaddling clothes for the baby. Here, keep a soft piece for you."
Just then, Yu Xia came in carrying a porcelain bowl: "Yinyin, look at the locust flower cake I made, with brown sugar in it. Oh, Aunt Li is here too."
The pastries in the bowl were golden yellow and still steaming, and the sweet fragrance of locust blossoms mixed with the aroma of the soup filled the entire courtyard.
She slipped a pair of insoles into Fu Yucheng's hand. "They're freshly made. Try them on; they're thicker than those from the quartermaster's office."
Just as Fu Yucheng took the insoles, Zhou Desheng's wife came in holding a string of dried chilies: "These were sent by my mother. I'm hanging them up for you. Oh, we're all together today."
The red chili peppers swayed in her hand like a string of little lanterns. She glanced at the stove. "Are you making shepherd's purse soup? My family has pickled some sauerkraut. I'll bring you some later. You can stir-fry it to go with rice."
Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of locust flower cake into her hand: "By the way, how's the foundation for the bathhouse coming along? Fu Yucheng said the walls can be built by spring."
“It’s already leveled,” Zhou Desheng’s wife said, stuffing pastries into her pocket. “My husband said he wants to plant some ivy in the corner so it can provide shade next summer.”
She suddenly lowered her voice, "I heard that the regimental headquarters is going to issue tickets to military families, three feet per person."
After seeing everyone off, Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove: "I'll go chop firewood this afternoon, you stay home and rest."
He slipped a plush toy into Yun Tangyin's hand. "Xiao Lan just brought this over. She said it's for the kids to play with."
The plush toy is a rabbit with its head tilted to one side, and its eyes are sewn on with black beans, giving it a somewhat adorable appearance.
Yun Tangyin pinched the doll's long ears and laughed: "These black bean eyes are sewn so cleverly, just like the rabbit in my backyard."
She slipped a spool of thread into Fu Yucheng's hand. "Help me wind this ball of pink thread. I want to embroider a longevity lock for Director Wang's grandson this afternoon."
Just as Fu Yucheng finished winding the line, he saw the rabbit in the bamboo cage suddenly prick up its ears and its three-lobed mouth tremble incessantly.
From outside the courtyard came Old Zhang's shout: "Attention all military families! The regimental headquarters has delivered New Year's pictures. Go to the reception room to collect them!"
Yun Tangyin stuffed a cloth bag into Fu Yucheng's hand: "Go and get two tickets, the kind with chubby babies on them."
She added some greens to the cage, "and while I'm at it, I'll ask when the cloth ration coupons will be issued."
Fu Yucheng had just stepped out with his cloth bag when Aunt Li returned, carrying the child: "I forgot to mention, my husband brought back a packet of rouge from town. Would you like to try it?"
She opened a red paper package, inside which was a light peach-pink rouge. "It's said to be from Shanghai, and it will brighten your complexion."
Yun Tangyin slipped a piece of locust flower cake into the child's hand: "Keep it, I'm pregnant. By the way, what kind of New Year's picture do you want? I'll ask Fu Yucheng to get one for you."
"We need to bring the image of a carp leaping over the dragon gate," Aunt Li stuffed a piece of cake into the child's mouth, "for good luck. I'm going back now, my husband is waiting for me to mend his socks."
The flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, casting flickering light on the orchids on the windowsill.
Yun Tangyin picked up the embroidery hoop, and the pink thread moved across the red cloth, gradually outlining the shape of a lock.
Suddenly, a loud clanging sound was heard from the bamboo cage. The rabbit was scratching at the bars with its front paws, staring intently at the gate.
When Fu Yucheng came in carrying two New Year pictures, the tip of his nose was red from the cold.
“I got a chubby baby holding a carp,” he said as he pasted the New Year picture on the wall, the paste leaving a faint stain on the paper. “The cloth coupons will be issued the day after tomorrow. The head of the corps said that each family will get an extra two feet of blue cloth, enough to make a pair of trousers.”
Yun Tangyin shoved a hot water bottle into his hand: "Warm yourself up, you're freezing."
She pointed at the New Year picture and laughed, "The red bib on this doll is just like the one I embroidered, except the stitches aren't as even."
The afternoon sun slanted down onto the embroidery frame, and pink thread coiled into a lotus blossom on the red cloth.
Fu Yucheng was chopping firewood in the yard. The dull thud of the axe falling mixed with the crackling sound of the firewood splitting, startling the sparrows under the eaves into fluttering flight.
Yun Tangyin would occasionally glance up and see beads of sweat trickling down his chin.
"Take a break," she said, carrying a bowl of brown sugar water outside. "We've chopped enough to last five days."
Fu Yucheng took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp, the curve of his Adam's apple gilded by the sunlight.
"Chop two more bundles," he spat into his palm. "It's going to get colder tomorrow, so it's always good to have more firewood."
As the axe fell, splinters of wood splashed onto his military green cotton-padded coat.
As the sun climbed to the west window, Xiaolan ran in carrying a cloth bag: "Sister-in-law, look! I've finished sewing the shoe soles!"
The soles of the shoes in the cloth bag had crooked but dense stitches, and the edges were sealed with red thread.
“My mother said it’s better than the first one she made,” the little girl smiled, her red hair tie brushing against her ear. “You taught me how to make it, and I couldn’t wait to bring it to you as soon as I finished.”
Fu Yucheng put down the axe and smiled: "Really good."
He stuffed a roasted sweet potato into Xiaolan's hand, saying, "Have some, consider it a reward from your sister-in-law."
Xiao Lan ran towards the kitchen with a sweet potato in her hand, then suddenly turned back and stuffed a wild hawthorn into Yun Tangyin's pocket: "I picked it from the back mountain, it's sour and refreshing."
The hawthorns still had withered leaves clinging to them, mixed with the fresh scent of the mountains and fields.
For dinner, I stewed a pot of cabbage and glass noodles. The oil droplets gathered into small golden rings on the surface of the soup.
Yun Tangyin put a piece of sweet potato into Fu Yucheng's bowl: "It was steamed this afternoon, and it's sweeter than the ones in the cafeteria."
She suddenly remembered something, "It'll be colder tomorrow, so wear an extra sweater during training, don't catch a cold."
Fu Yucheng added a spoonful of vermicelli to her bowl: "Okay, I'll wear the vest you knitted for me."
He looked out the window; the sunset on the horizon was as red as fire. "Look at those clouds," he said, "tomorrow will definitely be a sunny day."
The wind picked up at night and howled against the windowpanes.
Yun Tangyin added a piece of coal to the stove, and flames shot up.
Clutching the warm hot water bottle, listening to the steady breathing of the person beside her, Yun Tangyin suddenly felt that these ordinary days were like the fire in the stove—not intense, but warm enough to permeate the entire cold winter.
In the distance, the footsteps of patrolmen changing shifts drifted over, mingling with the rustling of the wind through the woodpile, like a soothing lullaby, gently comforting the warm atmosphere of the courtyard.
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