Yun Tangyin was embroidering a tiger's paw on a bib when she suddenly heard the sound of a bamboo basket falling to the ground at the courtyard gate.
Looking up, I saw Yu Xia standing outside the fence, her bamboo basket askew on the ground, the vegetables inside scattered all over the ground.
"What's wrong, sister-in-law?" Yun Tangyin quickly got up, and Fu Yucheng had already gone over to help her. "Did you slip?"
Yu Xia waved her hand, her fingertips pinching the edge of the bamboo basket until they turned white: "No, it's nothing, I just tripped over a stone."
Her gaze fell on Yun Tangyin's lower abdomen, her Adam's apple bobbing. "Yuanshan said you...are pregnant?"
"Mm." Yun Tangyin slipped a handkerchief into her hand. "Come in and sit down. I'll make you some brown sugar tea."
Yu Xia didn't move, staring blankly at the green vegetables on the ground.
Just then, Jiang Jianhua came out of the east wing carrying a bamboo winnowing basket. Seeing this scene, he laughed and said, "Why are you standing there in a daze, sister-in-law? I just steamed some pumpkin cakes. Come and have a taste."
She flexed her slightly protruding belly and said, "Yesterday, the old Chinese medicine doctor said that this pregnancy seems very stable, and I'm stronger than with my first pregnancy."
These words were like a needle, pricking Yu Xia so much that she clenched the handkerchief in her hand tightly, but a smile still appeared on her lips.
Fu Yucheng quickly smoothed things over: "Sister-in-law, come inside quickly. Yinyin embroidered a tiger head handkerchief. Take a look and see if the stitches are okay."
After entering the room and sitting down, Yu Xia held her teacup but didn't drink it, her eyes fixed on the bamboo crib in the corner.
It was made by Fu Yucheng a few days ago; the bed rails were tied with red rope, and you could hear the bells ringing when you shook it.
“It’s so beautiful,” she suddenly said, her voice hoarse. “Much more exquisite.”
Jiang Jianhua smiled as he ate a pumpkin cake: "Acheng is getting better and better at weaving bamboo ware now. When my child is born, I'll have him weave a little wooden horse to match Erzhuzi."
Yu Xia traced circles on the rim of her teacup with her finger and suddenly asked, "Does Yin Yin have a bad taste? I heard someone always wants to eat sour apricots and had to run all over the mountains to pick half a basketful."
"It's alright, I just like eating some preserved plums." Yun Tangyin put a piece of cake on her plate. "Sister-in-law, try this. It has osmanthus sugar on it."
Yu Xia didn't answer, and suddenly got up and said she had to go back to feed the chickens.
As Fu Yucheng saw her to the door, he heard her ask in a low voice, "Acheng, do you think... it's because my health isn't good enough?"
"Sister-in-law, don't overthink it." Fu Yucheng picked up the vegetables from the ground and put them into her bamboo basket. "You and your brother are still young, take it slow."
Yu Xia didn't speak. Her back, carrying a bamboo basket, was somewhat hunched, and the sound of the basket clattering together was much deeper than usual.
In the afternoon, Yun Tangyin was sewing the soles of baby shoes when Jiang Jianhua came over to embroider the shoe uppers: "Look how strange my sister-in-law is today? I just mentioned that I was going to make a patchwork garment for the child, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears."
"Perhaps she's exhausted." Yun Tangyin stitched the last needle. "I saw her going to the temple a few days ago, saying she was praying to Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, for a child."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Yu Xia came in carrying a bamboo food box containing two bowls of red date soup.
"I just stewed this, you two should have some to nourish yourselves." Her hands trembled slightly as she placed the bowl on the table. "I heard from the monks at the temple that eating more red dates can help with pregnancy."
Just as Jiang Jianhua was about to thank her, he saw Yu Xia turn to leave. The handle of the bamboo food box caught on the tablecloth, causing the sewing basket to fall to the ground, and the bamboo thimble and scissors inside rolled all over the floor.
"Oh dear!" Jiang Jianhua rushed to pick it up, but Yu Xia beat him to it.
As she squatted down to pick up the thimble, her shoulders swayed slightly, and she didn't even notice that the bamboo thimble was digging into her palms until they turned red.
"Sister-in-law," Yun Tangyin pressed her hand, "Let me do it."
Yu Xia abruptly pulled her hand back, wiped her face, and stood up: "I'm going back. There's still corn drying in the sun at home."
She walked to the door and stopped, turning her back to me, and said, "If you need anything, just let me know."
After she had walked away, Jiang Jianhua frowned and said, "Do you think my sister-in-law is unhappy? My pregnancy and Yinyin's happened to be at the same time, and she..."
Yun Tangyin sighed, touching the lotus petal in her hand: "I'll go see my sister-in-law tomorrow and give her a peace charm that I embroidered."
The next morning, as soon as Yun Tangyin reached the courtyard gate, she heard the sound of bamboo knives chopping inside.
Pushing open the door, I saw Yu Xia squatting in the yard chopping firewood. The bamboo strips were breaking into pieces in her hands, and her hands were red from the effort.
"Sister-in-law, take a break." Yun Tangyin snatched the bamboo knife from her hand. "How can I let you do this work? Where is my brother?"
"I went shopping." Yu Xia said with her head down. "I was thinking of making a bamboo cradle cover for your child to keep out mosquitoes."
Yun Tangyin slipped a bamboo handguard into her hand: "Fu Yucheng made this. Try it; it won't hurt your hands."
She suddenly grabbed Yu Xia's hand and led her into the house, saying, "I'll show you something."
He took out a small bamboo tag from the cloth bag, which had the words "May you have a son soon" engraved on it, with red string tied around the corner.
“I asked the master at the temple to carve this for me, saying that wearing it would bring good fortune.”
Yu Xia's tears fell "plop" onto the sign, landing on the bamboo pattern of the character "贵" (gui, meaning expensive).
"Yinyin, am I useless?" she choked up. "Jiang Jianhua is already pregnant with her second child, but my belly is still not showing any signs. Yuanzheng doesn't say anything, but he always tosses and turns at night and can't sleep."
"How can you say that?" Yun Tangyin wiped away her tears. "How much suffering have you endured? Take it slow now, there's no rush."
She suddenly smiled, "I was embroidering a bellyband the other day, and I felt like something was missing. Could you help me see if the color scheme is right?"
Pulling Yu Xia to sit on the kang (a heated brick bed), Yun Tangyin spread out the embroidery thread: "Look at the tiger's eyes, should we use gold thread or silver thread?"
Yu Xia ran her fingertips along the silk thread and suddenly said, "Gold thread, like the golden Buddha statue in the temple, it's auspicious."
As the two of them huddled together to pick out the thread, Yu Xia's fingers gradually stopped trembling.
Taking the opportunity, Yun Tangyin said, "Sister-in-law, you're so skillful. Could you help me sew the hem of my undergarment? I can never sew it straight."
Yu Xia picked up the needle and thread, and twirled the bamboo thimble between her fingers. The stitches were indeed neater than Yun Tangyin's.
"Your needle is too fine, you need to use mine."
She took out a bamboo syringe from her pocket, which contained silver needles of varying lengths.
Just then, Fu Yuan came in carrying a bundle of bamboo strips. He was taken aback when he saw the scene and asked, "Why are you all together?"
Yu Xia held up the bib in her hand and laughed: "Yinyin's tiger embroidery is beautiful, I helped her hem it."
Fu Yuanzheng put down the bamboo strips and stuffed an oil paper package into Yu Xia's hand: "These are the pickled plums I bought for you, from Li's shop in town. They're sweeter than the ones from the mountains."
Yu Xia's face suddenly turned red, and she pinched a sour plum and stuffed it into Yun Tangyin's hand: "You're pregnant, you eat it."
Yun Tangyin smiled and pushed it back: "Sister-in-law, eat it. I still have a big bag."
When I left Yu Xia's house, Fu Yucheng was squatting outside the fence weaving bamboo dragonflies.
Seeing Yun Tangyin come out, she held up the dragonfly and laughed: "Look at these wings, aren't they even? They can fly better than Erzhuzi's."
Yun Tangyin touched the dragonfly's wings: "Sister-in-law feels much better now. She was just saying she was going to prepare a gift for the child."
Fu Yucheng tucked the dragonfly into her hair: "I knew my sister-in-law wasn't that petty." He suddenly leaned closer, "Once our child is born, she'll definitely dote on the baby."
A bamboo dragonfly swayed in her hair, and sunlight shone through its wings onto Yun Tangyin's face, warm and comforting.
In the distance came the sound of Yu Xia's laughter, mixed with the soft sound of splitting bamboo strips, like a bamboo weaving slowly unfolding, with fine marks but revealing its resilience.
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