Fu Yucheng paused for a moment, his well-defined fingers tapping lightly on the chopsticks, before picking up a piece of spare rib that Yun Tangyin liked and putting it into her bowl: "Eat more, you must be hungry after going to the silversmith's shop this afternoon."
Yun Tangyin looked up and smiled at him. Just as she was about to open her mouth, she saw Fu Yuanshan's chopsticks clap against the rim of his bowl. He lowered his head to eat his rice, but his ears turned red.
Song Yushuang saw all of this, put down her chopsticks and coughed twice: "Who of you will come with me to the market tomorrow? Let's buy some meat and eggs to keep for Yinyin to nourish her body."
Fu Yuanshan quickly replied, "I'll go, Mom."
Jiang Jianhua objected: "Mom, isn't my sister-in-law in charge of the family money? Shouldn't we ask her for money to buy meat?"
She deliberately called out the words "younger brother and sister-in-law" loudly, as if to remind everyone who was in charge.
Yun Tangyin scooped up a spoonful of soup: "Second sister-in-law, don't worry, I won't skimp on the money that needs to be spent. But let me make this clear: if you dare to overstate the price of vegetables like last time, your food rations will be issued at the minimum standard from now on."
Jiang Jianhua wanted to say something, but Fu Yuanshan stomped on his foot under the table, forcing him to swallow his words.
Fu Yucheng glanced at Fu Yuanshan and slowly asked, "Second brother, have you been quite busy lately?"
Fu Yuanshan hummed in agreement: "It's alright, but the work is too varied. I still want to learn more technical skills in the workshop."
“That’s true.” Fu Yucheng nodded. “However, the workshop is greasy, and Second Brother will probably get dirty. He should stay away from the main room to avoid getting Mom’s new cushion dirty.”
This statement is ostensibly a reminder, but in reality, it's a warning.
Fu Yuanshan's face flushed red and then turned pale. He ate a couple of mouthfuls of rice and then stood up: "I'm full, I'm going back to my room."
Jiang Jianhua quickly put down his bowl and followed. When he reached the door, he heard Yun Tangyin say to Yu Xia with a smile, "Sister-in-law, come with me to find a tailor tomorrow and make that piece of floral fabric for Mom."
"Okay!" Yu Xia replied cheerfully, her voice full of joy.
Jiang Jianhua clenched his fists, cursing Fu Yuanshan a thousand times in his heart. If he hadn't been staring at Yun Tangyin just now, would Fu Yucheng have deliberately provoked him?
Back in the house, Fu Yuanshan looked displeased: "Why were you arguing with Yun Tangyin just now? Didn't you see Fu Yucheng protecting her?"
"I just wanted her to get more money, didn't I?" Jiang Jianhua retorted angrily. "My brother can't just eat pickled vegetables when he comes over, can he?"
"What we eat is up to Yun Tangyin!" Fu Yuanshan scratched his head in frustration. "If you upset her again, we won't even get to eat!"
Jiang Jianhua was stunned by his shout, then suddenly remembered the search of Yu Xia's house during the day, and became furious:
"Didn't you say you were sure you could find the job posting Yu Xia hid? Now look what's happened, we didn't catch anyone wrong, and instead, Yu Xia and Yun Tangyin are getting even closer!"
"How was I supposed to know Yu Xia hid the things so well?" Fu Yuanshan retorted angrily. "If you hadn't insisted on causing trouble and searching the house, would all this have happened?"
The two started arguing back and forth, their voices so loud that they could be heard even outside the courtyard.
Inside the main room, Yu Xia pursed her lips and chuckled to herself, "These two are arguing again."
Song Yushuang sighed: "Let them argue. They'll quiet down when they've had enough."
She looked at Yun Tangyin, "Yinyin, what are your plans?"
"What else can we arrange?" Yun Tangyin put down her bowl. "They're not from our Fu family. If they want to come, they can be guests. If they want to stay, let them stay in the east wing and eat the same food as us. If Xu Runli dares to be picky, let my second sister-in-law pay for her own meals."
Yu Xia clapped her hands: "That's how it should be! We can't let outsiders ride roughshod over us."
Fu Yucheng grasped Yun Tangyin's hand: "If Xu Runli dares to make excessive demands, you don't need to step in, I will handle it."
Yun Tangyin smiled and nodded, knowing that Fu Yucheng was backing her up.
With his words, I believe no one would dare to act recklessly.
The next morning, just as Yun Tangyin and Yu Xia were about to leave, they saw Fu Yuanshan squatting at the gate repairing a hoe. Seeing the cloth bag in their hands, he suddenly said, "Sister-in-law? I'll go with you. Didn't Mom say she wanted to give you some nourishing food?"
Yu Xia was about to refuse when Yun Tangyin stopped her with a look.
On the way, Fu Yuanshan deliberately walked next to Yun Tangyin and tried to strike up a conversation several times, but Yu Xia beat him to it each time.
"Yinyin, look! There's a candy vendor up ahead!"
"Yinyin, the color of this fabric is really beautiful. Mom will definitely look good in it."
Fu Yuanshan couldn't get a word in edgewise, so he could only follow behind, watching Yun Tangyin and Yu Xia chat and laugh, feeling a pang of discomfort in his heart.
When they arrived at the tailor shop, Yu Xia pulled Yun Tangyin to pick out buttons, deliberately leaving Fu Yuanshan at the door.
Fu Yuanshan stared at Yun Tangyin's retreating figure, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the industrial vouchers in his pocket.
He had specially exchanged it with a colleague, intending to give it to Yun Tangyin as a favor, but now he didn't even have the courage to hand it over.
"Second Brother, would you like to pick something out too?" Yun Tangyin walked over unnoticed, holding a piece of blue corduroy in her hand: "This piece of fabric would make nice pants."
Fu Yuanshan snapped out of his daze and hurriedly nodded: "Good...it's not bad, sturdy and durable."
"Then let the shop assistant cut three feet. I'll make a pair of trousers for Acheng too." Yun Tangyin handed the fabric to the tailor, then said to Yu Xia, "Sister-in-law, do you have anything you like?"
Yu Xia's eyes lit up, and she pointed to a piece of light gray plain weave fabric: "This is good! It'll make a jacket that won't get dirty easily, perfect for my husband to wear."
Just as Yun Tangyin was about to respond, Fu Yuanshan suddenly leaned over and said, "Light gray is too old-fashioned. Big brother is still young. Why don't you try this aquamarine?"
He reached for the fabric as he spoke, but the tailor raised his hand to stop him.
"Please make sure you're looking carefully before you move, so you don't wrinkle it." The tailor picked up the measuring tape and rolled it up casually. "Sir, if you're not busy, you should probably go outside. I have a lot of female customers here, so it's not convenient for you to be taking measurements."
Fu Yuanshan's hand froze in mid-air. He could only frown and reluctantly retreat to the door.
Yu Xia covered her mouth and chuckled, then leaned close to Yun Tangyin's ear and said, "He really thinks he's something special."
Yun Tangyin didn't reply. She asked the tailor to draw lines on Song Yushuang's fabric. Suddenly, she noticed Fu Yuanshan secretly glancing in her direction. She turned to Yu Xia and said, "Sister-in-law, I think that pink one is nice too. Should we cut two feet off?"
“Oh! That’s right!” Yu Xia immediately forgot about Fu Yuanshan and pulled the tailor to look at the fabric: “That’s the one we want, it’s soft, perfect for making a small vest.”
As Fu Yuanshan watched the two of them enthusiastically selecting fabrics, the industrial coupons in his pocket crumpled in his hand.
He had originally intended to win Yun Tangyin's favor by buying fabric, but unexpectedly, he couldn't even get a word in edgewise and instead seemed like a superfluous shadow.
After the tailor finished cutting the fabric, Yun Tangyin paid the money and turned to Fu Yuanshan, saying, "Second Brother, if you have nothing else to do, you should go back first. My sister-in-law and I still need to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things."
"I..." Fu Yuanshan was about to say that he would go together when he saw Yun Tangyin quickly catch up with Yu Xia. The sound of the two of them talking and laughing drifted over, like a fine needle, making his heart feel heavy.
He stood at the entrance of the tailor shop, watching the two figures turn into the alley, and suddenly stuffed the industrial coupons back into his pocket.
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