Yun Tangyin leaned against Fu Yucheng, gently shaking the silver bell in her hand. The crisp "ding-a-ling" sound mingled with the children's laughter, circling in the warm red lantern light.
She looked down at the remaining dumplings in her bowl and suddenly remembered that at this time last year, Fu Yuanshan was helping her chop firewood in the yard, while Jiang Jianhua was helping her knead dough in the kitchen. The two of them were chatting and laughing, just like today.
“If my second brother and sister-in-law were here, they would definitely say that these shepherd’s purse dumplings are even fresher than the shrimp dumplings in the city,” she said softly, her fingertips touching the rim of the bowl. “My second sister-in-law said last time that when she comes back in the spring, she wants to learn how to make shepherd’s purse dumplings from me.”
Fu Yucheng held her hand and pulled it into his palm, the calluses on his palm tickling her: "When they come back in the spring, we'll make them every day so Second Sister-in-law can eat her fill. We'll also dig up some shepherd's purse, dry it, and let her take it back so she can make them whenever she wants."
He pointed outside the courtyard, "There are plenty of shepherd's purse on the back hill. We can have Ming'er and Liang'er go dig them with Lan'er. It'll be better for the children to get some exercise than to stay at home."
As Zhou Desheng's wife was clearing away the dishes, she heard this and laughed as she chimed in, "That's right! My two boys are always causing trouble at home. If they could go to the back mountain to dig for shepherd's purse, they would definitely behave for half a day."
She put the bowls and chopsticks into the basin and walked towards the kitchen. "I'll go to town tomorrow to buy some flour. We'll make more dumplings and freeze them in the cellar so they can cook them whenever they come back, saving us from having to scramble to make them at the last minute."
Aunt Zhang folded the knitted scarf neatly and put it into the cloth bag. Then she took out a small cloth doll from her pocket. It was a little rabbit knitted with dark blue yarn, with a small red bean on its ear. "This is for Jianhua. She mentioned to me last time that she wanted a knitted rabbit to put on her bedside table so she would be happy."
She handed the doll to Yun Tangyin, saying, "Keep this for me and give it to her when they come back. This girl is thoughtful; she'll definitely like it."
Yun Tangyin took the doll, her fingertips touching the soft yarn. The little rabbit's eyes were sewn with black buttons: "It's so pretty. If Second Sister-in-law received this, she would definitely hug it every day, just like Lan'er."
At night, the snow started falling again, gently landing on the window paper like countless tender hands tapping softly.
Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove, and the flames licked the bottom of the pot, making the room warm and cozy.
Yun Tangyin sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), holding the handkerchief she had embroidered for Jiang Jianhua. By the light of the oil lamp, she carefully embroidered the last bamboo leaf.
"Do you think Second Sister-in-law will be reluctant to use the handkerchief she received?" she suddenly asked, her voice as soft as falling snow. "She always says that the things I embroider are beautiful. The purse I embroidered for her last time, she wore for half a year and couldn't bear to change it."
Fu Yucheng walked over, hugged her from behind, and rested his chin on the top of her head: "She will definitely be reluctant to part with it, but she will carry 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 those bought in the city."
He popped a rock candy into her mouth, "Hold it in your mouth to soothe your throat. You must be tired after embroidering all afternoon."
Yun Tangyin leaned against him, a rock candy in her mouth, its sweet fragrance spreading in her mouth. Suddenly, she felt the little one in her belly move, as gently as a locust leaf falling on her heart.
“Look, the child is also looking forward to Uncle and Aunt’s return,” she said, holding Fu Yucheng’s hand and pressing it against her lower abdomen. “He moved several times just now, he must have heard us talking about dumplings and is craving them.”
Fu Yucheng pressed his ear against her lower abdomen, listening to the sounds inside, his smile growing even gentler: "When it comes out, have your second uncle and aunt make some shepherd's purse dumplings so it can taste the flavors of home, even better than milk powder."
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xiaolan arrived carrying a bamboo basket containing jujube buns steamed by her mother and a basket of fresh green vegetables.
"Sister-in-law! Brother Fu! I've come to feed the rabbits some vegetables!"
When she lifted the curtain and came in, the tip of her nose was red from the cold, and there were still some snowflakes on her red hair tie. "My mother said the weather is nice today, so she wants me to go with you to the back mountain to dig shepherd's purse. She also said that she will make shepherd's purse buns for us after we bring them back!"
Fu Yucheng was chopping firewood in the yard when he saw Xiaolan arrive. He smiled and handed her a thin bamboo stick: "Warm your hands first, then we'll go dig for shepherd's purse later. The snow on the back mountain hasn't melted completely yet, so wear something thicker so you don't get cold."
He stuffed a date bun into Xiaolan's hand, saying, "Eat something to fill your stomach. Digging for shepherd's purse is hard work, 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'er and Liang'er. Wear them when you go to the back mountain so you don't get cold."
She handed the cotton-padded coat to Xiaolan, saying, "This is what I used to wear. It's old, but it's warm. It'll fit you both perfectly."
Xiao Lan took the cotton-padded coat and quickly put it on. Although the sleeves were a bit long, it wrapped her up tightly and kept her warm, making her grin from ear to ear.
When Zhou Desheng brought Zhou Ming and Zhou Liang, both of them were wearing newly made blue cotton-padded jackets and carrying small shovels and bamboo baskets, preparing to go to the back mountain to dig shepherd's purse.
"Brother Fu, let's hurry up! Old Wang said there's a lot of shepherd's purse on the back hill. If we go too late, someone else will have dug it all up!"
Zhou Desheng carried a shovel, his military boots crunching on the snow. "My wife said that after we finished digging shepherd's purse, we should go to her house for steamed buns. She had already started preparing the dough."
The group walked towards the back of the mountain, leaving a deep trail of footprints in the snow. Xiao Lan, Zhou Ming, and Zhou Liang walked in front, skipping and hopping through the snow, occasionally bending down to pick up small stones, having a great time.
"Uncle Fu, look at the pebble I picked up! Doesn't it look like a little gold ingot?" Zhou Ming held up a round pebble and shouted excitedly. Fu Yucheng smiled and nodded: "It does! When we get back, I'll wash it clean and string it into a bracelet for you to wear."
There was indeed a lot of shepherd's purse on the back hill. It was a lush green patch, sprouting from the snow, so tender that you could squeeze water out of it.
Xiao Lan 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 ones we dug up yesterday!"
Yun Tangyin walked over and helped her brush the dirt off the shepherd's purse: "Dig slowly, don't rush. We'll just dig enough to eat today, and we can dig the rest tomorrow."
Zhou Desheng and Fu Yucheng dug the fastest, and soon their baskets were full. The two sat on a rock to rest and drank the hot water they had brought.
As the sun rose above the bamboo tips, the group finally finished digging up enough shepherd's purse and headed back with their full bamboo baskets.
Xiao Lan walked at the back, holding a bunch of freshly picked wildflowers in her hand.
Back in the courtyard, Zhou Desheng's wife had already steamed the buns. As soon as the steamer was opened, the aroma of shepherd's purse buns filled the entire courtyard.
"Try it," she said, handing a steamed bun to everyone. "It's freshly steamed and still warm, with some diced meat inside."
Yun Tangyin took a bite of the steamed bun. The fragrance of shepherd's purse mixed with the freshness of the diced meat, filling her mouth with the warmth of home cooking.
She looked up at the scene in the courtyard. Children were feeding shepherd's purse around the rabbit cage, Aunt Zhang was knitting a sweater under the eaves, Zhou Desheng and Fu Yucheng were chopping firewood in the courtyard, and wisps of smoke were rising from the chimney, which complemented the red lanterns in the courtyard.
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