After dinner, Fu Yucheng boiled water for Yun Tangyin to soak her feet. He sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), gently massaging her swollen ankles with his fingertips, his movements as tender as if he were afraid of breaking a precious treasure.
"You spent the whole afternoon embroidering a tiger-head pillow. Are you tired?" Fu Yucheng looked up and asked, his gaze falling on her slightly reddened eyes. "If you're tired, do less embroidery in the future. Don't push yourself too hard."
Yun Tangyin shook her head and took her feet out of the hot water. Fu Yucheng quickly dried them with a cloth and put soft cotton socks on her.
"I'm not tired. Just thinking about making things for the baby makes me feel at ease." She touched her belly, and the little one moved gently again. "Look, he's fussing again. He must know the tiger head pillow is almost finished and he's happy."
Fu Yucheng lowered his head and gently pressed his hand against her belly. The warm touch made the little one seem to sense it and kick again.
“This child is so lively,” Fu Yucheng said with a smile. “When he is born, he will definitely be a capable boy.”
In the next room, Jiang Jianhua was tidying up her embroidery by the light of an oil lamp. Fu Yuanshan came in with a cup of warm honey water and placed it beside her: "Don't stare at the embroidery for too long, your eyes must be tired. Drink some honey water to soothe your throat."
Jiang Jianhua took the cup, took a sip, and the sweetness slid down his throat, warming his heart.
“I found the fabric I used to make a bib for the baby,” Jiang Jianhua said, pointing to the red cloth in the bamboo basket. “I bought this fabric last year; it’s soft and thick, perfect for embroidering ‘Longevity’ on it.”
Fu Yuanshan leaned over to take a look and said with a smile, "The color of this fabric is so festive. After you finish embroidering it, I'll sew a small tie on the bib so it won't chafe the baby."
Jiang Jianhua looked up at him. The light from the oil lamp illuminated Fu Yuanshan's face, making the few strands of white hair at his temples particularly noticeable.
She reached out and smoothed his hair, saying softly, "You've been tired these past few days. Don't keep working so hard, take a break too."
Fu Yuanshan held her hand, his palm rough but warm: "I'm not tired. As long as you're okay, that's more important than anything else."
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Aunt Zhang went to town with her basket.
She was concerned about Jiang Jianhua's health and wanted to buy her some fresh crucian carp to make fish soup to replenish her blood and energy.
The town's morning market was bustling. Aunt Zhang spent a long time picking out the two freshest crucian carp from the fish stall, and also bought some red dates and longans before slowly walking back.
When they returned home, the aroma of millet porridge filled the courtyard. Fu Yucheng was helping Yun Tangyin take a walk in the yard, while Jiang Jianhua was drying an embroidered tiger-head pillow under the eaves.
"Aunt Zhang, you're back!" Jiang Jianhua greeted her with a smile, taking the basket from her hands. "You bought so much stuff, is it to nourish me again?"
Aunt Zhang smiled and nodded: "I'll make you some fish soup to replenish your blood and energy. Once you're healthier, you can have another baby sooner." She put the crucian carp into the basin of water. "This fish is fresh. I'll make it for lunch so Yinyin can have some too. It's good for the baby."
Yun Tangyin walked over, looked at the crucian carp in the basin, and said with a smile, "Aunt Zhang, you are so thoughtful. With you here, we don't have to worry about anything."
Aunt Zhang patted her hand: "Silly child, we are all family, it is only right to take care of each other."
In the morning, Jiang Jianhua and Yun Tangyin started making bellybands.
Jiang Jianhua took a red cloth, drew the words "long life" on it, and then gently traced them out with pink thread to make it easier to embroider.
“These four characters need to be embroidered with gold thread to make them stand out,” Jiang Jianhua said, taking out gold thread from the embroidery basket. “I bought this gold thread when I was making my dowry. I’ve never been willing to use it. It’s perfect for making a bib for the child.”
Yun Tangyin took the gold thread, threaded it through the fine needle, and carefully began to embroider along the pink thread.
Her hands trembled a little in the later stages of her pregnancy, so she embroidered slowly, but her stitches were very even.
"That's really good," Jiang Jianhua said with a smile, looking at the character "长" she had embroidered. "It's much better than the first time I embroidered it. If you practice more, you'll definitely embroider it even better than me."
Fu Yuanshan and Fu Yucheng were applying varnish to the cradle in the yard. Fu Yuanshan took a brush and carefully applied varnish to every part of the cradle, including the carved locust flower patterns.
"Make sure to apply the varnish evenly, otherwise there will be color differences after it dries," Fu Yuanshan said as he brushed. "After this coat dries, apply another coat; this will make it more durable."
Fu Yucheng helped by handing over paint buckets and occasionally sanding the edges of the cradle to make sure there were no burrs.
"Second brother, look how shiny this cradle looks after being coated with varnish!" Fu Yucheng pointed to the cradle's railing. "It will definitely look even better once it dries."
Around noon, Aunt Zhang's crucian carp soup was ready.
The casserole was served, and when the lid was lifted, the milky white fish soup steamed and the fresh aroma wafted out.
Aunt Zhang served Jiang Jianhua a bowl and then served Yun Tangyin a bowl: "Try it quickly. It's been stewing all morning, and even the fish bones are soft. Don't worry about drinking it."
Jiang Jianhua took a sip of the fish soup, his eyes squinting with delight at its deliciousness: "So fresh! Aunt Zhang, your cooking is amazing, even better than the fish soup in city restaurants."
Yun Tangyin nodded in agreement: "Yes, this fish soup is so fresh and not fishy at all. I'll have to drink two more bowls."
In the afternoon, the sun was shining warmly, and Jiang Jianhua sat with Yun Tangyin under the eaves embroidering a bellyband.
Fu Yuanshan and Fu Yucheng built a grape trellis in the yard, planning to plant grapes next year so that when their child is born, they can enjoy the shade and eat grapes under the trellis.
“This grape trellis is really sturdy,” Fu Yucheng patted the trellis. “It will look beautiful when the grapes grow and the trellis is full of them next year.”
Fu Yuanshan said with a smile, "When the time comes, we'll let the child sit in the cradle, and we can eat and chat under the grape trellis. How comfortable that will be."
Jiang Jianhua looked up at the grape trellis, then down at the baby bib in his hand, and said with a smile, "After the baby is born, we'll hold a banquet under the grape trellis and invite all the neighbors to come and celebrate."
Yun Tangyin nodded: "Okay, when the time comes, let the child wear the tiger head pillow and bib we made, he will definitely be the most handsome little baby."
By evening, the bib was finally finished.
On the red cloth, the four golden characters for "long life" stand out. Jiang Jianhua also embroidered some small locust flowers on the corners of the bib, making it even more exquisite.
"It's so beautiful!" Yun Tangyin held the bellyband in her hands. "When the baby is born, he will wear it and he will surely live a long and healthy life."
Jiang Jianhua looked at the bellyband and felt a surge of joy.
Although she lost her own child, seeing Yun Tangyin's child about to be born, and seeing everyone busy and happy for the child, the pain in her heart gradually faded.
She knew that things would gradually get better, just like the old locust tree in the yard, which, after enduring the cold winter, would always sprout new buds and bloom with new hope in the spring.
At dinner, everyone sat around the table, eating the crucian carp and tofu soup made by Aunt Zhang, chatting about the baby's one-month celebration, and laughter filled the entire Huai Courtyard.
The moonlight spilled into the courtyard, bathing everything in a gentle glow, as if offering the most beautiful blessings to the new life that was about to arrive.
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