Fu Yucheng's palm covered Yun Tangyin's hand as she drew his eyebrows and eyes, the calluses on his palm making her fingertips itch.
"Can't sleep?" His voice was hoarse from just waking up, like charcoal that hadn't burned through in the stove. "Is the kang (heated brick bed) too hard? I'll put some cotton quilt on it for you."
Yun Tangyin shook her head, her fingertips sliding down his jawline to his Adam's apple: "I find it strange to hear rabbits munching on vegetables."
The rustling inside the bamboo cage had stopped sometime ago, and only moonlight shone through the window paper, casting a hazy white glow on the ground. "Do you think this rabbit is intelligent? It knew the yard was lively today."
Fu Yucheng sat up and added a piece of charcoal to the stove.
The flames suddenly shot up, illuminating the moonlight falling on his shoulders, like a layer of fine snow.
“I’ll get it a bigger cage tomorrow,” he said, pulling a piece of coarse cloth from the cupboard. “Do you think this cloth is enough? I’ll put a thicker layer at the bottom of the cage so it won’t hurt it.”
Yun Tangyin tugged at his sleeve: "Stop fussing, it's almost dawn."
She snuggled closer to him, her nose brushing against the buttons on his cotton-padded jacket. "I remember the wooden basin you gave me when I first married into the family. It looks like it's about to fall apart."
“That basin should have been replaced a long time ago,” Fu Yucheng laughed, the vibration of his chest coming through his clothes. “Once the bathhouse is repaired, we’ll buy an enamel basin, big and smooth.”
He suddenly slipped something hard into her hand. In the moonlight, she saw it was a gleaming copper coin. "I found it while cleaning the stage today."
Yun Tangyin held the copper coin in her palm, the warm touch mingling with his body temperature.
"Do you think the child will look like you?" she asked softly, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of his clothes. "If it's a boy, I'll let him learn to shoot a gun like you. If it's a girl, I'll teach her to embroider."
Fu Yucheng kissed her temple, the stubble tickling her: "You're like me, with big eyes, unlike me who always glares at people. Mom always says I look fierce."
He looked out the window; the sky was already turning a pale white. "Time to get up. I'll go fetch water. You heat up the steamed cake and take two pieces to Old Zhang."
As the water buckets in the yard made a crisp sound, Yun Tangyin was adding vegetables to the cage.
The rabbit pricked up its ears and came closer, its three-lobed mouth chewing rapidly. Dewdrops from the vegetable leaves splashed onto the bamboo strips, glistening.
"Eat slowly," she teased with a smile, "when the cabbages are planted in the spring, you can eat your fill."
The flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, and the sweet aroma of steamed cakes filled the courtyard.
Yun Tangyin ladled two bowls of porridge into a bowl and was about to take them out when she saw Fu Yucheng carrying water in. Beads of sweat dripped down his chin, glistening in the morning light.
“There’s a thin layer of ice on the edge of the well,” he said, putting down the bucket and splashing water onto the flagstones. “I’ve laid a burlap sack over it, so you don’t need to go there.”
Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of steamed cake into his hand: "It's freshly heated, have some to tide you over."
She wiped his sweat with a cloth, her fingertips touching his burning skin. "Don't go to training today, take a day off. You look exhausted."
“No way,” Fu Yucheng laughed, biting into a steamed cake. “We’re practicing assassination today, so I have to keep an eye on it.”
He stuffed a cloth bag into her hand. "This is brown sugar I just got from the mess hall. Make some water with it."
The cloth bag still had some stove ash on it, indicating that it had just been retrieved from the stove.
Just then, Xiaolan ran in carrying a rag doll. The rabbit's ears had been sewn straight, and a small flower was crookedly embroidered on them.
"Look, sister-in-law!" She held it high, the red ribbon on her braid swaying back and forth. "My mother said my embroidery is beautiful!"
Yun Tangyin took the doll and praised, "This flower is really well embroidered, better than the first one I made."
She slipped a piece of steamed cake into Xiaolan's hand, saying, "Eat it while it's hot."
Xiao Lan ran into the yard while munching on a steamed cake, then suddenly turned back and stuffed a wild jujube into Yun Tangyin's pocket: "I picked it on the back mountain, it's so sweet."
The wild jujubes were still covered in fuzz, and they were warm and childlike.
As Fu Yucheng was carrying water out, he bumped into Zhou Desheng carrying a hoe as he came in.
"Brother Fu, want to go to the back mountain?" His voice was loud and clear, startling the sparrows under the eaves into fluttering flight. "I'm going to dig up some wild vegetables, you can make soup for your wife."
“Go,” Fu Yucheng put down the bucket, “wait for me to change my clothes.”
He slipped a key into Yun Tangyin's hand. "Lock the door. I'll be back around noon."
Yun Tangyin leaned against the door frame, watching them walk towards the back mountain.
Fu Yucheng's military green cotton-padded jacket stood out in the morning light, while Zhou Desheng's blue cloth jacket followed behind. Their laughter drifted over on the wind, mingling with the distant bugle calls, like a reassuring melody.
The fire in the stove gradually died down, and Yun Tangyin added a ladle of water to the pot, preparing to soak some brown sugar.
The rabbit outside the window is gnawing on its bamboo cage again, its three-lobed mouth moving rapidly, as if counting down the hours to wait for someone to return.
She touched her belly and smiled. These ordinary days were like the fire in the stove—not fierce, but warm enough to make one's heart burn.
As the sun climbed to its zenith, Yun Tangyin was teaching Xiao Lanna how to make shoe soles.
The needle tip pierced through the thick cotton cloth, making a soft "plop" sound, like a silkworm eating mulberry leaves.
"The stitches must be even," she demonstrated, holding Xiaolan's hand. "That way it will be sturdy and last all winter."
Xiaolan pricked her finger, sucked her lips and dared not make a sound, but still gripped the needle and thread tightly, her eyes showing a seriousness.
Familiar footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Yun Tangyin looked up and saw Fu Yucheng carrying firewood in, with a bamboo basket on his back filled with half a basket of shepherd's purse, which was green and glistening with dew.
"I dug up some tender ones," he said, putting down the bamboo basket, the fresh scent of shepherd's purse wafting out. "I'll make you shepherd's purse and tofu soup."
Xiao Lan skipped and hopped out: "I'm going home to tell my mom to go dig too!"
Fu Yucheng slipped a wildflower into Yun Tangyin's hand; it was bright yellow and had thorns on its stem.
"I picked them on the back hill," he said a little embarrassedly. "I just picked them because they looked nice."
The dew on the petals fell into her palm, feeling cool and refreshing.
Yun Tangyin placed the flowers in an empty vase on the windowsill and suddenly laughed out loud: "You roughneck, you can even pick flowers."
She slipped a pair of cloth shoes into his hand. "They're freshly made. Try them on and see if they fit."
A simple orchid was embroidered on the shoe, which she had done last night by moonlight.
Fu Yucheng put on his cloth shoes and took a few steps. The soles were soft and warm.
“Perfect,” he said with a smile as he twirled around, “more comfortable than what the quartermaster provides.”
He added firewood to the stove. "I'm going to make soup. You go and rest."
The shepherd's purse tumbled in the pot, releasing tiny green fragments, while tofu cubes floated and sank in the soup.
Yun Tangyin leaned against the door frame, watching Fu Yucheng clumsily stir the spatula, his army green sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms.
Sunlight streamed through the window and fell on him, gilding him with gold, making even the white hair at his temples clearly visible.
"It'll be ready soon," Fu Yucheng ladled a spoonful of soup into her bowl, "Have a taste."
The steam blurred his features, but it couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.
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