Fu Yucheng hurriedly supported Yun Tangyin's shoulder, the cuff of his military green cotton-padded jacket brushing against her cheek, carrying the smell of smoke from the stove.
"What's wrong?" His voice was strained as he touched the cold sweat on the back of her neck with his fingertips. "Did you catch a chill just now? I'll go get some hot water."
As he turned around, he knocked over the stool leg, and the wooden stool hit the ground with a dull thud, startling the rabbits in the bamboo cage.
Yun Tangyin waved her hand, clutching her chest to catch her breath: "It's an old problem. Mom said that all pregnant women are like this."
She glanced at the stove and saw that the leftover plum juice from the morning was still there. She reached out to grab it, but Fu Yucheng had already brought it over first. The temperature of the porcelain bowl scalded his fingertips.
"Drink slowly," he said, scooping soup into her mouth with a spoon. The sourness mixed with the sweetness of rock sugar spread, and Yun Tangyin's brows gradually relaxed. "Director Wang said that if you have severe morning sickness, you should eat more sour foods. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow to exchange for some hawthorn cakes."
Suddenly remembering something, I rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a glass jar containing hawthorn slices that Aunt Li had given me; the sugar frosting shimmered white under the light.
Yun Tangyin, with a slice of hawthorn in her mouth, felt tears welling up in her eyes from the sourness: "Don't make a fuss."
Fu Yucheng squatted down in front of her, gently placing his palm on her stomach, the warmth of his palm seeping through her sweater: "But I can't bear to see you suffer, even if it means taking half of your pain for you."
The moonlight outside the window suddenly brightened, making the snow look like it was covered with a layer of silver foil.
Song Yushuang's voice drifted in through the window, tinged with worry: "What's wrong with Yinyin? Are you feeling unwell?"
Fu Yucheng quickly replied, "It's nothing, Mom. It's just morning sickness. I felt much better after drinking plum juice."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the creaking sound of the door hinges turning was heard, and Song Yushuang came in wearing a cotton-padded coat, carrying a bowl of ginger tea. The aroma of ginger was so strong that it made one's nose sting.
"It's just been simmering on the stove," she said, shoving the bowl into Yun Tangyin's hands. The porcelain bowl was so hot it could warm her entire palm. "Sliced ginger with brown sugar, it'll help you stop vomiting."
She patted Yun Tangyin on the back, the pressure of her palm neither too light nor too heavy, "Pregnancy is always painful, just get through it."
As Yun Tangyin sipped her ginger tea, she suddenly noticed the faint white hairs at Song Yu's temples.
"Mom, go to sleep," she said, placing a hand warmer into Song Yu's hands. "It's cold, don't get cold."
Song Yushuang stuffed a packet of dried tangerine peel into her pocket: "Soaking it in water can help with digestion. I'll stew an old hen for you tomorrow too."
After seeing Song Yushuang off, Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove, and the flames leaped up, casting the shadows of the two people close together on the wall.
Yun Tangyin suddenly pointed at his military boots and laughed: "Look at the mud on your shoes, I'll clean it for you tomorrow."
Fu Yucheng looked down at his shoes, which were covered in mud and snow, looking messy. He kicked them off nonchalantly, saying, "Why bother cleaning them? They'll get muddy during training anyway. I'll wear new ones after the New Year."
He suddenly pulled out a pair of newly made cotton trousers from the closet. The dark blue corduroy fabric had thick loops of fleece sewn on it. "Mom made them this afternoon. She said you always kick off the covers at night, so these will keep you warm."
Yun Tangyin touched the fuzz on the hem of her trousers and suddenly noticed that the stitches were crooked, just like the way she used to embroider orchids. Her heart warmed: "Mom's eyesight isn't good, but she still stayed up all night to make this for me."
Fu Yucheng helped her change into her cotton trousers. His fingertips touched the coolness of her ankles. Suddenly, he ran to the kitchen and came back carrying a copper basin filled with boiling mugwort water.
“Soaking your feet will help you sleep better,” he said, squatting down to take off her shoes. The laces on her military boots were wrapped several times, and he spent a long time untying them, a thin layer of sweat beading on his nose. “Mom said that mugwort can calm the nerves, and you haven’t been sleeping well these past few days.”
As the warm water reached her ankles, Yun Tangyin suddenly laughed out loud: "Mom said you used to be too lazy to even wash your socks, but now you've learned to serve others."
Fu Yucheng rubbed his fingers on the back of her foot, the calluses on his palms tickling her: "Well, you haven't gotten married yet, have you? Now you know how to be considerate."
He sprinkled some Sichuan peppercorns into the water, and the numbing aroma mixed with the medicinal fragrance of mugwort filled the air, making the whole room feel warm and cozy.
The rabbit in the bamboo cage had fallen asleep again, curled up into a fluffy white ball, its three-lobed mouth twitching as if it were dreaming.
Yun Tangyin added some alfalfa to the cage and suddenly noticed that the rabbit's ear tips were covered with snow, probably from when she lifted the curtain earlier.
“Look how well it enjoys life,” she said with a smile, pointing to Fu Yucheng. “It can sleep even more than I can.”
As Fu Yucheng handed her the foot towel, he suddenly stared at her belly and laughed: "When the child grows up, let him play with rabbits, so he won't always bother you."
As the oil lamp gradually dimmed, the fragrance of winter plum blossoms mingled with the smell of coal smoke, filling the room with a warm mist.
Yun Tangyin nestled in Fu Yucheng's arms, listening to his heartbeat, which pounded against her heart like a drum.
The silver lock felt slightly warm against my chest, as if it were truly beating along with me, turning the wind and snow in the courtyard, the lanterns under the eaves, and the rabbits in the cage into an irresistible sweetness.
"What do you want to eat tomorrow?" Fu Yucheng's voice was nestled in her hair, a little sleepy. "I'll ask the cafeteria to save some for you."
Yun Tangyin snuggled closer to him, her nose brushing against the scent of soap on his woolen coat: "I want to eat the locust flower cake you make, with extra sugar."
Fu Yucheng chuckled and added the last piece of coal to the stove: "Okay, I'll make it for you first thing tomorrow morning, so you can eat your fill."
The snow started falling again outside the window, gently landing on the lanterns, making the red silk surface even brighter.
The rabbit in the bamboo cage yawned, and half of the winter plum blossom in the celadon vase bloomed again, filling the whole room with a faint fragrance, like a dream one doesn't want to wake up from.
Before dawn, Fu Yucheng trudged through the snow to the kitchen.
The firelight in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, casting his shadow on the wall, rising and falling like a jumping silhouette.
As he poured warm water into the basin, flour from his fingertips dripped down, piling up in small white heaps on the bluestone slab.
"It needs to rise a bit softer," he muttered to himself, pressing down on the dough with his palm. The dough bounced back like a ball of cotton, carrying the slightly sour smell of yeast.
When Yun Tangyin woke up, the room was filled with the sweet fragrance of locust blossoms.
Fu Yucheng was sprinkling brown sugar on the cake, and sugar granules from the rough porcelain bowl rolled onto the oil paper.
"Awake?" When he turned around, there was a bit of flour on the tip of his nose, and the front of his military green cotton-padded jacket was covered in white flour. "We can eat it in a little while. Mom said that steamed cakes need to be steamed for another 15 minutes after the steam comes up, so they will be soft and fluffy."
When the steamer was opened, white steam billowed up, filling the courtyard with the fragrance of locust blossoms.
Yun Tangyin reached out to grab it, but Fu Yucheng pressed her wrist down: "It's hot!"
He picked up a piece with his chopsticks, blew on it several times, and then put it in her mouth. The sweetness of the locust blossoms mixed with the honey of the brown sugar melted on her tongue.
She suddenly burst out laughing: "It tastes even better than the ones from the supply and marketing cooperative last year! How come you suddenly have such a bright idea?"
Fu Yucheng added a piece of firewood to the stove, the flames reflecting the smile in his eyes: "My sister-in-law taught me this. She said to add a spoonful of wine when making the dough, so that it will have a wine aroma after steaming and won't be greasy."
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