Suddenly, the cotton thread in Yun Tangyin's hand got tangled. She lowered her head and slowly untied it, pinching the soft cotton thread between her fingertips as if she were handling a rare treasure.
Fu Yucheng stopped the bamboo stick in his hand, looked up at her, and the light of the oil lamp fell on her temples, making a few strands of hair appear light yellow.
He put down the bamboo stick and went over to help her untie the cotton thread. The calluses on his fingertips brushed against the back of her hand, carrying a faint scent of pine: "Don't struggle with the cotton thread. Take a break if you're tired."
Yun Tangyin leaned on his shoulder and laughed: "This cotton-padded coat was bought for me when you first married me. I was reluctant to wear it back then, but now I'm going to take it apart to make a nest for the rabbits."
Fu Yucheng kissed the top of her head: "Out with the old, in with the new. When spring comes, I'll get you a piece of new cloth and make you a cotton-padded jacket that's even prettier than this."
The sweet potato porridge on the stove was still warm. Fu Yucheng ladled out a bowl and brought it over. The red dates floating on the surface of the porridge were translucent from the stewing.
"Hurry up and drink some porridge," he said, handing her the bowl. "It's too much work to take apart your cotton-padded coat, don't go hungry."
Yun Tangyin took the bowl, sipped the water, and the sweet fragrance spread in her mouth.
"Do you remember the porridge you burned when you were in the army?" Yun Tangyin put down the bowl, her eyes full of laughter. "Back then, you were stubborn and said you deliberately burned it, saying it would taste better that way."
Fu Yucheng scratched his head, his ear tips turning slightly red: "That was when I was just learning to cook. Unlike now, I can not only cook porridge, but also make locust flower cakes."
He picked up a polished bamboo strip and said, “Look, I learned this from Aunt Zhang. She said that if you want to keep your wife’s heart, you have to keep her stomach first, and you also have to know some cooking skills to make her happy.”
Yun Tangyin couldn't help but laugh out loud, and gently pinched his cheek: "Then you've firmly captured my heart now."
She suddenly felt the little one in her belly move, and quickly grabbed Fu Yucheng's hand and pressed it on her lower abdomen: "Look, the baby is smiling too, it must think you're right."
Fu Yucheng held his breath, his palm pressed against her warm belly, feeling the subtle fetal movements. His smile grew even gentler: "When it comes out, I'll cook sweet potato porridge for it every day, teach it to weave bamboo baskets, and make it just like you, happy every day."
In the latter half of the night, the snow began to fall again, gently landing on the window paper like countless tender hands tapping softly.
When Yun Tangyin woke up from the cold, she found that Fu Yucheng was not beside her. She put on her clothes and got out of bed, and saw him squatting in front of the rabbit cage, holding a piece of cotton wool in his hand, gently spreading it into the new nest. The light of the oil lamp slanted onto him, and some snowflakes fell on the shoulders of his military green cotton-padded jacket, like a layer of white sugar.
"Why are you up again?" Yun Tangyin walked over and draped an old coat over him. "Be careful not to catch a cold; it's easy to get chilled in the snow."
Fu Yucheng turned around, a smile in his eyes: "I heard Snowball whimpering in its nest, so I added some cotton wool to it because I was worried it was cold."
He pointed into the cage, where Snowball was curled up next to the mother rabbit, its little paws pawing at the cotton wool as if it were holding a hand warmer. "Look how delicate it is, it's even more afraid of the cold than Flower Ball and Coal Ball."
Yun Tangyin squatted down beside him, watching the three little rabbits huddled in their mother's arms, their breathing rising and falling gently. Suddenly, she felt a sense of peace and security.
"With you here, whether it's me, the children, or these rabbits, everything is taken very well."
She whispered, "Being able to marry you in this life is truly my greatest blessing." Fu Yucheng held her hand and pulled it closer to his palm: "Being able to marry you is my greatest blessing."
The two of them squatted in front of the rabbit cage, watching the rabbits sleep, listening to the sound of snow falling outside the window, and the crackling of the oil lamp inside the room, making everything seem especially warm and cozy.
“When spring comes,” Fu Yucheng suddenly said, “we’ll move the rabbit cage to the old locust tree, and then set up a small table under the tree. When you’re tired from embroidery, you can sit at the table and drink tea, and I’ll play with the children and the rabbits, okay?”
Yun Tangyin nodded, her eyes full of anticipation: "Okay, we also need to plant some vegetables under the locust tree, specifically for the rabbits to eat, so we don't have to keep going to the back mountain to pick them."
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xiao Lan's voice came from outside the courtyard, mixed with the creaking sound of the bamboo basket: "Sister-in-law! Brother Fu! I'm here!"
When she lifted the curtain and came in, the tip of her nose was red from the cold. Her bamboo basket contained steaming hot red bean buns and a stack of washed green vegetable leaves.
“My mother says red bean buns are good for replenishing qi and blood, here you go, sister-in-law,” she said, putting the bamboo basket on the stone table and running to the rabbit cage. “Let me see Snowball! Did it sleep well in its new nest last night?”
Fu Yucheng was boiling eggs in the kitchen when he heard the noise. He poked his head out and smiled, "Don't rush, have a bowl of hot porridge to warm yourself up first, or your stomach will hurt."
He handed Xiaolan an enamel bowl, the porridge inside still steaming. "I added red dates to it, you should have some too, look how red your face is from the cold."
Xiao Lan took the bowl and sipped the porridge, but her eyes remained glued to the rabbit cage. When she saw Xueqiu munching on a leafy green, she immediately burst out laughing: "Look how much it can eat! It can even steal more than Huaqiu!"
Yun Tangyin took out the unpacked cotton wadding, preparing to add it to the rabbit hutch. She squatted by the cage, carefully spreading the cotton wadding along the edge of the new hutch. The mother rabbit immediately came over, using her nose to scoop the cotton wadding into the hutch, afraid of messing it up.
“Look at how it protects its nest,” Yun Tangyin said to Xiao Lan with a smile, “It’s like it’s protecting its own child. It’s so caring.”
Xiaolan put down her porridge bowl and helped hand over some cotton wool: "My mother said that mother rabbits are very protective of their babies. They'll get angry if anyone touches their babies, so we have to be careful."
When Zhou Desheng carried the straw into the yard, he saw the three of them busy adding cotton wool to the rabbit hutch. He immediately put down the straw and came over: "Let me help you. The cotton wool needs to be spread out evenly, otherwise the rabbits won't be comfortable sleeping."
He reached out and gently smoothed out the cotton wadding in the corner of the bed. "When my two boys were little, I made their beds like this too, just to make sure they weren't hurt."
Fu Yucheng stuffed a red bean bun into his hand: "Try it quickly, it's made by Lan's mother, it's even more fragrant than the white flour buns in the cafeteria."
By the time the sun reached the top of the bamboo, the rabbit burrow was finally ready.
The newly laid cotton made the pink cloth stand out even more, and the mother rabbit and her three babies huddled together in the nest, looking warm and cozy like little balls of fluff.
Xiao Lan sat on a small stool in the yard, learning to weave the sides of a bamboo basket from Fu Yucheng. The bamboo strips gradually became more obedient in her hands. Although they were still a bit crooked, she was much more skilled than yesterday.
"Brother Fu, look! I've woven a border!" she exclaimed excitedly, holding up the bottom of the bamboo basket, her eyes shining like stars.
Yun Tangyin sat under the eaves embroidering tiger-head shoes. Her stitches moved across the blue cloth, quickly outlining the shape of tiger claws.
She looked up at the scene in the courtyard. Fu Yucheng patiently taught Xiaolan how to weave bamboo baskets, while Zhou Desheng helped tend the fire in the kitchen. Wisps of smoke rose from the chimney, creating a charming contrast with the branches of the locust tree in the courtyard.
The little one in her belly suddenly kicked, as gently as a locust leaf falling on her heart, and Yun Tangyin couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Such days, filled with the warmth and everyday life, are the best times she can imagine.
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