Yun Tangyin quickly stepped between the two: "Second brother is drunk and talking nonsense, second sister-in-law, don't take it to heart. Acheng, let's help second brother home first."
Fu Yucheng nodded and half-supported, half-dragged Fu Yuanshan into the courtyard.
Fu Yuanshan was still struggling, babbling incoherently, "I'm not drunk... I'm perfectly sober... Jiang Jianhua, don't pretend to be wronged, I know you don't like me..."
Jiang Jianhua followed behind, tears finally falling and splashing onto the bluestone slab, leaving a small wet patch.
Once inside, Fu Yucheng tossed Fu Yuanshan onto the kang (a heated brick bed), rolled over, and muttered, "If you hadn't pestered me so relentlessly back then... I wouldn't have married you..."
Jiang Jianhua suddenly stopped in his tracks, his hand gripping the door frame so tightly it turned white.
Yun Tangyin quickly pulled her outside: "Second sister-in-law, his drunken words shouldn't be taken seriously."
"Drunken words are the true feelings." Jiang Jianhua smiled, a smile more painful than a grimace. "All these years I've been deceiving myself, that he still has feelings for me..."
When Fu Yucheng came out and heard this, he frowned: "Second sister-in-law, second brother is just stubborn. Last time you had a cold and fever, he went to find a military doctor in the middle of the night. He came back shivering from the cold, but he still insisted that he was just passing by."
Jiang Jianhua was stunned: "Really?"
"Why would I lie to you?" Fu Yucheng walked towards the kitchen. "I'm going to make some hangover soup."
Yun Tangyin pulled Jiang Jianhua to sit down: "Second sister-in-law, think about it, if second brother really didn't like you, would he have stayed with you for so many years? Men are sometimes like that, they are warm inside, but they have to pretend to be cold on the outside."
That's what they say, but Fu Yuanshan was good-looking and very popular with women.
Jiang Jianhua has been pretending not to see it all these years. Although she has tried her best to learn how to do makeup and dress up, no matter how she does it, her face is still very ordinary.
Just then, a "thump" came from inside the room, and Fu Yuanshan rolled off the kang (a heated brick bed).
Jiang Jianhua was so frightened that he rushed in and saw him lying on the ground, whimpering, "Water...water..."
She quickly poured him a glass of warm water, intending to help him up, but he grabbed her hand, his eyes brimming with tears: "I was wrong... please don't ignore me..."
The contrast before and after is too great.
Even though the two of them had once argued so fiercely that it felt like the sky was falling, Jiang Jianhua's heart softened instantly, and his eyes reddened again: "If you know you're wrong, get up. The ground is cold."
Fu Yuanshan, however, acted like a child, saying, "I'll only get up if you help me up."
Helpless, Jiang Jianhua had no choice but to laboriously help him onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
Fu Yucheng brought in the hangover soup and, seeing the scene, secretly winked at Yun Tangyin.
"Second brother, have some hangover soup." Fu Yucheng handed him the bowl.
Fu Yuanshan refused to take the food, pointing at Jiang Jianhua instead: "She has to feed me."
Jiang Jianhua glared at him, but still picked up the bowl and fed him spoonful by spoonful.
Fu Yuanshan obediently opened his mouth, and after drinking, he smacked his lips: "Sweet..."
Jiang Jianhua's face flushed red, and she said reproachfully, "You drink yours."
Fu Yucheng pulled Yun Tangyin out quietly. The moonlight in the courtyard was just right, and the cicadas were chirping, making it more lively than before.
"See, I told you so." Fu Yucheng hugged Yun Tangyin. "Second brother is just stubborn."
Yun Tangyin leaned on his shoulder: "If it were me, and my husband came home this drunk in the middle of the night, I would have thrown him on the ground long ago."
“You wouldn’t bear to throw me away.” Fu Yucheng pinched her cheek. “But if you’re really angry, I’ll definitely admit my mistake immediately, unlike my second brother who’s so stubborn.”
"That's more like it." Yun Tangyin laughed. "Go back to sleep. We still have to pick wild dates tomorrow."
The next morning, Yun Tangyin was awakened by the sound of chopping. When she opened the door, she saw Jiang Jianhua chopping jujube paste in the yard, while Fu Yuanshan was squatting next to him tending the fire. The two did not speak, but they worked together quite well.
"Good morning, Second Sister-in-law," Yun Tangyin greeted with a smile.
Jiang Jianhua turned around with a smile on his face: "Good morning, come and try the freshly steamed date buns."
Fu Yuanshan also raised his head, his ears turning slightly red: "I...I'll go fetch two buckets of water."
Looking at his slightly flustered back, Yun Tangyin couldn't help but laugh.
Fu Yucheng hugged her from behind: "What are you laughing at?"
“It’s funny how some people are tough on the outside but soft on the inside.” Yun Tangyin walked towards the kitchen. “I’ll help too. We’ll make jujube paste cakes for lunch.”
When Song Yushuang came out, she couldn't stop smiling at the sight: "It seems we don't need to pick wild dates today, the ready-made date buns are enough to eat."
"I'm going!" Yun Tangyin shouted, holding up a jujube bun. "I'll pick wild jujubes and make jujube paste cakes for Mom!"
Fu Yucheng nodded: "I'll go prepare the basket right away."
When Fu Yuanshan returned with water, he heard this and put the bucket on the ground: "I'll go too, more people means more help."
Jiang Jianhua quickly wiped his hands: "I'll go too! I know which patch of wild jujubes is the sweetest."
As the group walked up the mountain, sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering like golden beans.
Yun Tangyin and Fu Yucheng walked ahead, chatting and laughing from time to time; Fu Yuanshan and Jiang Jianhua followed behind, with Fu Yuanshan occasionally reaching out to help Jiang Jianhua, both of their faces flushed.
Halfway up the mountain, Yun Tangyin suddenly pointed ahead: "Look, so many wild jujubes!"
Fu Yucheng quickly put down his basket: "I'll go pick them. You stay here and don't move, be careful not to prick yourself."
Fu Yuanshan also put down his basket: "I'll go too, I'll go to the higher places."
Two men climbed up the jujube tree, while Yun Tangyin and Jiang Jianhua picked them up below.
Jiang Jianhua picked up a big, red one and stuffed it into Yun Tangyin's hand: "This one is sweet, you should try it."
Yun Tangyin took a bite, her eyes crinkling with sweetness: "Mmm, so sweet! Second sister-in-law, you should have some too."
Just then, Fu Yucheng threw down a handful of wild dates: "Catch!"
Jiang Jianhua reached out to catch it, but the wild jujubes rolled all over the ground.
Fu Yuanshan saw it clearly from the tree, jumped down, and squatted down to help her pick it up. His fingers accidentally touched the back of her hand, and the two of them quickly pulled their hands back as if they had been burned.
"I'll do it," Fu Yuanshan said in a low voice, putting the wild dates he had picked into the bamboo basket, his ears turning bright red.
Jiang Jianhua kicked at a pebble, head down: "Thanks."
Yun Tangyin watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh. She nudged Fu Yucheng with her elbow and said, "A grown man like you is more shy than a young girl."
Fu Yucheng chuckled: "That's all he's good for."
He popped a wild jujube into her mouth and asked, "Is it sweet?"
"Sweet!" Yun Tangyin chewed on a date, then suddenly pointed behind Fu Yuanshan, "Watch out, there are thorns!"
As soon as Fu Yuanshan turned around, his clothes were caught on a jujube branch. He tried to pull it off, but the branch only got tighter.
Jiang Jianhua couldn't help but laugh out loud and went over to help him: "Don't move, the more you move, the worse it will get."
Her fingers were very close to his back, her breath brushing against his neck, and Fu Yuanshan's body instantly stiffened, even his breathing became soft.
"Alright." Jiang Jianhua released his grip and took half a step back. "Be more careful next time."
Fu Yuanshan grunted in agreement, then turned and climbed back up the tree, but his movements were a bit clumsy than before, which made Yun Tangyin laugh.
By the time we had filled two baskets with wild dates, the sun was already high in the sky.
Fu Yucheng suggested, "Let's find some shade to rest for a while. I brought some dry food."
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