Xiao Lan's voice was like a pebble thrown into the morning silence, startling a few snowflakes from the eaves as they fell with a soft rustling sound.
Her hand, holding the greens, froze in mid-air. Snowflakes from the red ribbon landed on her nose, making her shiver, but she couldn't bear to look away, staring intently at the three little fluffy balls in the cage.
"Keep your voice down," Fu Yucheng placed a piece of freshly steamed locust flower cake into her hand, the steam rising from her frozen, red palm. "The mother rabbit has just given birth and can't be frightened."
His military green cotton-padded jacket had some soot on the shoulder from the stove, which he had rubbed off while guarding the rabbits late at night, adding a touch of rustic charm.
Xiao Lan squatted by the cage, holding a cake, taking small bites, but her eyes remained glued to the little rabbit.
The gray mother rabbit suddenly raised her head, her red eyes scanning her warily before lowering her head to lick her cubs, her fluffy tail making a soft rustling sound as it swept across the cotton wool.
“They haven’t even opened their eyes yet,” Xiaolan’s voice was barely audible, her fingertips almost touching the cage bars before she abruptly pulled back. “They look just like my kittens when they were born.”
Yun Tangyin brought over a cup of warm water and noticed a snowflake stuck to Xiaolan's braid. She reached out and brushed it off for her, saying, "Come inside and warm up. You'll catch a cold if you stand in the yard."
She added a handful of soybeans to the cage, and the white rabbit immediately came over, chewing rapidly with its three-lobed mouth, its ear tips still covered in cotton wool.
“Look how well-behaved it is,” Yun Tangyin said with a smile, pointing to Xiao Lan. “It knows to give way to the mother rabbit and only eats soybeans itself.”
Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove, the firelight making the outline of his profile even clearer: "Aunt Zhang said that the male rabbit would help take care of the baby, and it seems that she was right."
He suddenly remembered something, rummaged through the cabinet and pulled out a wooden box containing some scraps of cloth. "Xiao Lan, help me cut these pieces into small pieces. We'll use them to line the rabbit's burrow later; they'll be soft."
Xiao Lan immediately jumped up, the red ribbon on her braid swinging in the morning light in a red arc: "I can cut! My mother taught me how to cut shoe patterns!"
She held the scraps of cloth and sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). The scissors made a "snip" sound on the cloth, and the scraps of cloth landed on the kang like a flock of colorful butterflies.
"Brother Fu, what do you think we should name the little rascal?" She held up a piece of blue cloth and laughed. "I think the white one should be called Snowball, and the gray one should be called Coal Ball. They'd make a perfect pair!"
Yun Tangyin was embroidering the tiger's eyes on the tiger-head shoes when she heard this. She looked up and smiled, "What about the third one? It's gray and white."
Xiaolan chewed on the scissors and thought for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands: "A flower ball! My mom says anything with patterns is lucky!"
Fu Yucheng threw a cabbage leaf into the cage, and the white rabbit immediately picked it up and dragged it to the pile of cotton, as if it were storing food for its cubs: "This name is good, it sounds invigorating."
Aunt Zhang's loud voice came from outside the courtyard, mixed with the creaking sound of a bamboo basket: "Yinyin! I've brought the cotton wadding!"
When she lifted the curtain and came in, the bamboo basket was half full of old cotton wadding that had been taken apart. It was wrapped in a blue cloth and was still warm from the sun. "It's a cotton-padded jacket that was just taken apart. The cotton wadding inside is white and even softer than new ones."
Seeing the baby rabbits in the cage, she suddenly smiled, her eyes crinkling with wrinkles. "Oh my, these three little things really know how to pick their time. They were born on a sunny day, so they're sure to grow up strong and healthy."
Fu Yucheng handed her a bowl of hot sweet potato porridge: "Drink it while it's hot, thank you for making the special trip."
Aunt Zhang sipped her porridge and glanced at the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She saw Xiao Lan cutting scraps of cloth and suddenly said, "Lan is so skillful. The pieces of cloth she cuts are so neat and square. She's much better than my son."
She stuffed a cloth bag into Yun Tangyin's hand. "It's a little bib for the child, made of red silk. I embroidered it overnight with a qilin delivering a child. I guarantee it will ward off evil spirits."
As the sun climbed to the window frame, Zhou Desheng came to sweep the snow with a broom, his military boots making a "crunching" sound in the yard.
"Brother Fu, I heard the rabbits gave birth?" He glanced into the cage, then suddenly scratched his head and laughed, "They're much cuter than my chicks. My chicks looked like little vultures when they first hatched."
Fu Yucheng stuffed a piece of locust flower cake into his hand: "Here, share in the good fortune, may your chickens lay more eggs in the spring."
Zhou Desheng's wife followed him in carrying a ceramic jar filled with freshly pickled radish strips, the aroma of sourness mixed with garlic filling the air: "I brought you some pickled vegetables, they'll go perfectly with sweet potato porridge."
She added a handful of alfalfa to the cage and suddenly said, "My sister-in-law said that female rabbits need to drink brown sugar water after giving birth, just like women during postpartum confinement. I'll go home and get some for you now."
Yun Tangyin couldn't stop her even if she wanted to; she had already run far away through the snow, her blue cotton-padded jacket casting a shadow on the snow like a blooming February orchid.
When Aunt Li came to visit, she was carrying a child. The child was clutching a red cloth tiger, which Yun Tangyin had embroidered for him.
“Look at this child, he’s clinging to the tiger and won’t let go,” Aunt Li said with a smile as she sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). The child immediately stretched out his arm to grab the rabbit in the cage. “He just learned to say ‘rabbit,’ and he’s already coming for the rabbit.”
Yun Tangyin stuffed a cookie into the child's hand, and he immediately threw away the tiger, clutching the cookie in his little hand and stuffing it into his mouth, with cookie crumbs stuck to the corners of his mouth, like a little kitten stealing food.
The afternoon sun shone through the frost-covered windows, weaving a shimmering net on the ground.
Fu Yucheng squatted in the yard, laying out new cotton batting for the pine cage, while Xiao Lan squatted beside him, helping to hand him scraps of cloth. Their shadows stretched long on the snow, like a heartwarming painting.
Yun Tangyin sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), watching Aunt Zhang help cut a small cotton-padded jacket. The blue cloth was folded into neat pleats in her hands, and when the scissors "snipped" down, it was as if she was cutting out a piece of warm time.
“This cloth is really thick,” Aunt Zhang said with a smile, touching the blue cloth. “Zhou Desheng’s wife really knows how to pick. This cloth is perfect for making cotton-padded jackets. It’s windproof and not heavy.”
She shoved a piece of chalk into Yun Tangyin's hand. "Draw a pattern, and I'll cut it to fit perfectly." Yun Tangyin drew with the chalk, her fingertips leaving faint white marks on the fabric, as if sketching a soft dream.
Suddenly, the flower ball in the bamboo cage emerged from the pile of cotton wool and wobbled toward the white rabbit. Before its short legs could even steady itself, it stumbled, making everyone laugh.
"Look how anxious it is," Xiaolan added some soybean powder to the cage, "it's already looking for food."
Fu Yucheng threw a piece of carrot into the cage, and the white rabbit immediately picked it up and brought it to the flower ball's mouth, its red eyes seeming to be smiling.
In the evening, Zhou Desheng's wife came with brown sugar and millet cakes made by her mother, which were golden yellow and sprinkled with osmanthus flowers.
"Make some brown sugar water for the mother rabbit," she said, scooping brown sugar into a bowl. "My mother says this method is sure to work and will guarantee plenty of milk."
Fu Yucheng added a piece of coal to the stove, and the firelight made the brown sugar gradually dissolve in the water, like a blooming red rose.
When Yun Tangyin poured brown sugar water into the cage, the gray mother rabbit watched her warily until she smelled the sweetness before coming over to drink. The little ones huddled in her arms, their eyes closed, looking for milk, like three moving little pearls.
"That's really interesting," Aunt Zhang said with a smile. "It's just like a baby nursing; you can find it even with your eyes closed."
Aunt Li held the child and moved closer to the cage. The child reached out to touch it, but Aunt Li gently pressed her hand down, saying, "Be gentle, don't scare them."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com