When they returned from the river, Erzhuzi was squatting at the gate of the courtyard weaving bamboo frogs. When he saw them, he held up a frog and jumped up, saying, "Look! It jumps as soon as you press it!"
A piece of bamboo was stuffed into the frog's belly, and sure enough, it croaked when pressed.
Yun Tangyin stuffed a handful of dried mulberries into his pocket: "They're even better than the ones in the toy shops in the county town. By the way, the little duck you made is swimming in the river, go check if it's sunk."
Erzhuzi took off running, but Fu Yucheng suddenly grabbed Yun Tangyin's hand: "Let's go check too, don't let him fall into the water."
In the reeds by the river, Erzhuzi was using a bamboo pole to scoop up ducklings when Fu Yucheng suddenly pulled him up from behind: "Watch your footing, you might slip."
He shoved the child into Yun Tangyin's arms and said, "Keep an eye on him. I'm going to get the ducks out."
The bamboo ducks look even more exquisite when wet, and the red silk cloth floats in the water like a flower.
Yun Tangyin stroked the duck's wing and laughed: "I'll sew a little cloth bag for the duck later, so it can hold peanuts."
Erzhuzi suddenly pointed to the water and said, "Brother Fu, look! There are fish over there! Can you make a fishing net for the little brother?"
"We'll talk about it after you learn how to weave bamboo baskets." Fu Yucheng flicked his nose. "Come on, let's go home and have pumpkin soup for a midnight snack."
During the late-night snack, Yu Xia brought in a bowl of black bean porridge: "Yinyin, try this quickly. I added brown sugar to warm you up."
She glanced at the dragon and phoenix pattern on the wall. "Yuanshan said he wants to paint the bamboo screen with clear varnish. What color do you think would be best?"
"Just apply clear varnish." Yun Tangyin scooped up some porridge and smiled. "The natural color of bamboo best shows off its grain, and it goes perfectly with gold thread."
She suddenly remembered something, "Tomorrow I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy a jar of gold powder and use it to outline the dragon scales with gold."
Fu Yucheng put a piece of pumpkin in her bowl: "I'll go, you stay home and embroider pillowcases."
While Yun Tangyin was embroidering pillowcases at night, Fu Yucheng was assembling wheels for the bamboo horse beside her. The bamboo wheels were wrapped with red rope and spun silently.
"Look how flexible these wheels are!" he asked, holding up the bamboo horse. "The child won't fall off when he rides it."
Yun Tangyin leaned closer to look: "Wrap another blue strip of cloth around it to match the little tiger jacket."
She suddenly yawned. "The old Chinese medicine doctor said we should go to bed early, let's rest."
Just as Fu Yucheng put the bamboo horse down, he saw Yun Tangyin crawling into the quilt: "You smell of bamboo, go wash your hands."
"I've washed." He pulled back the covers and lay down. "I used the osmanthus soap you gave me. Does it smell nice?"
Yun Tangyin leaned closer to him: "It smells like incense offered in a temple."
The next morning, just as Fu Yucheng was about to go to the supply and marketing cooperative, Zhou Mingniang came in carrying a bamboo sewing basket: "Yinyin, do you like this basket? I made one for you with a drawer, so you can put scissors in it."
The wicker basket has a woven floral pattern along its edge, and a small ring is drilled into the drawer to serve as a handle.
Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of almond pastry into Zhou Mingniang's hand: "It's a hundred times better than my old basket. I'll embroider a cloth mat for you later."
Fu Yucheng suddenly remembered something: "Aunt Zhou, do you know how to weave a small bamboo medicine box? I want to put some medicine in Yinyin's chest."
“Of course I can!” Zhou Mingniang patted her chest and laughed. “I’ll weave it tomorrow, and I guarantee it won’t leak.”
Inside the supply and marketing cooperative, Fu Yucheng had just picked up the gold powder jar when Director Wang came in holding a bamboo lampshade: "Comrade Fu, do you think this lampshade is well woven? The department store wants to order fifty of them."
The lampshade is woven from thin bamboo strips and covered with gauze paper so that the pattern can be seen through.
Fu Yucheng touched the edge of the lampshade: "Perfect for a kerosene lamp."
He suddenly winked at Director Wang, "Let my wife embroider some flowers on the gauze paper, it'll be a hot seller."
Director Wang's eyes lit up: "That's great! I'll go take the measurements right away."
When she got home, Yun Tangyin was tying a red string to the bamboo wine cup.
She arranged the wine glasses in the shape of the Chinese character for "double happiness," and tied a red string into a bow on the handle of each glass. "How does this look as a gift for a wedding banquet?" she asked, holding up the glass.
Fu Yucheng popped a candy into her mouth: "It's more presentable than the enamel mugs in the city. By the way, Director Wang wants to order embroidered lampshades, what design do you want to embroider?"
"Let's embroider bamboo branches," Yun Tangyin said, picking up her needle and thread. "To match our crib."
In the afternoon, Fu Yuanshan came to deliver the bamboo rice spoon. When he saw the lampshade paper, he smiled and said, "I'll brush a layer of clear varnish on the bamboo frame. When you embroider, I guarantee the ink won't seep in."
He slipped a small bamboo clip into Fu Yucheng's hand, "To hold the baby's diapers in place."
Yun Tangyin slipped a piece of sesame candy into his pocket: "Second brother, how come you thought of everything?"
“Isn’t this because I’m looking forward to my nephew?” Fu Yuanshan laughed. “By the way, Reporter Li said the magazine will be printed at the beginning of next month and asked us to pick up a sample copy.”
Lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) at night, Yun Tangyin touched Fu Yucheng's chest and asked, "Do you think the photos in the magazine make me look fat?"
"You look better when you're a little chubby." He snuggled closer to her. "Like the goddess of fertility in a temple."
Yun Tangyin pinched his arm: "If you keep talking nonsense, I won't sew your socks anymore."
"No, no, no!" Fu Yucheng quickly begged for mercy, "My wife is the most beautiful, even more beautiful than the movie stars in the magazines."
Yun Tangyin couldn't help but laugh: "You're so sweet-talking. By the way, when you go to the army base tomorrow to deliver pillowcases, ask Commander Zhang's daughter what color backpack she likes."
“No need to ask.” Fu Yucheng patted his chest. “I’ve seen the backpack she was carrying. It’s military green. We’ll embroider a green one with a five-pointed star inlaid with silver thread.”
The moonlight outside the window fell on the bamboo railings of the crib, casting dappled shadows.
Yun Tangyin suddenly felt that such days were like a bamboo net, seemingly simple, yet turning the mundane necessities of life into sweetness.
The next day, after delivering the pillowcases, Commander Zhang insisted that they stay for dinner.
At the dinner table, Sister Zhang held up a pillowcase and laughed, "These mandarin ducks are embroidered so realistically! They're even better than the quilt covers I bought in the county town."
She slipped a piece of cured meat into Yun Tangyin's hand, saying, "This is to help you recover; it was sent from my family."
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com