Fu Yucheng repeated the two names three times on his tongue, then suddenly sat up, took out a pen from the bedside table, and wrote them down on a piece of paper.
“Fu Yutong, Fu Chengyu…” He paused on the last stroke of the character “Yu”, “This character “Cheng” is good, it carries the Fu family’s legacy and also our shared memories.”
Yun Tangyin tugged at his sleeve: "Lie down quickly, be careful not to catch a cold."
As my fingertips brushed the edge of the cigarette box, I saw a crooked little figure drawn on the back, wearing a military cap and holding a small wooden fish.
"Is this Chengyu or Yutong?" she asked with a smile, holding the cigarette pack.
“Yes, all of them.” Fu Yucheng pulled her into his arms. “We’ll teach the boys to shoot and the girls to ride horses. Anyway, we can use the military training grounds whenever we want.”
"Do you treat children like your soldiers?" Yun Tangyin pinched his arm.
He suddenly grabbed her hand and pressed it to his forehead: "What's wrong? I'll protect you."
The wind outside the window swirled snowflakes against the glass, while the electric slow cooker's keep-warm light shone a warm yellow.
Remembering something, Yun Tangyin threw off the covers and ran to the camphor wood chest. When she returned, she was carrying a small tiger-head hat with the words "Peace" embroidered in gold thread on the velvet.
"I learned how to make this from Aunt Zhang the other day, and the stitches are really rough." She held it up to his head and said, "It's too small for you to wear, but it will be just right when the baby is a month old."
Fu Yucheng chuckled, pinching the pom-pom on the brim of his hat. "The tiger's eyes are embroidered like copper bells, just like yours. It's most spirited when it's glaring at people."
"Who glared at you?" Yun Tangyin stuffed the hat into his arms. "Tomorrow I'll ask Old Zhang from the clothing factory to take a look and see if he can make two more hats in this style so we can alternate wearing them."
When the rooster crowed for the second time, Yun Tangyin was awakened by the sound of him turning over and saw him counting the ends of her hair by the moonlight.
"Can't sleep?" She snuggled closer to his neck. "Are you thinking about the baby again?"
"Thinking about when you got pregnant..." He twirled a strand of her hair with his fingertips, "Mom's millet porridge is the most nourishing. Thank you for making it for you every day."
Yun Tangyin couldn't help but laugh when she thought of her mother-in-law Song Yushuang's exquisite appearance. "Then the whole compound will probably know that a new baby is coming."
"It's good that you know." Fu Yucheng suddenly shoved something into her hand. "This is for you."
It was a polished bronze whistle with a red string attached.
"I blew this during training exercises; the sound can be heard for miles." He stuffed the whistle into her pajama pocket. "If you're not feeling well at night, just blow this; I can hear it even on the training field."
Yun Tangyin held the cold copper whistle and nodded.
But while she said that, she wouldn't dare boast.
“Oh, right,” she suddenly sat up, “Dr. Zhang said that you have to take folic acid before you get pregnant. I asked the guard to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to ask, and they said it was out of stock.”
"I'll have the logistics department send it to Shanghai." Fu Yucheng took out his notebook and wrote it down. "Anything else? Write it all down."
"We also need to stock up on brown sugar, Yunnan's old-fashioned brown sugar," Yun Tangyin counted on her fingers. "And diapers, they have to be fine cotton cloth, I asked someone to buy some in Suzhou..."
“No need for that.” He suddenly closed the notebook. “I’ll ask the clothing factory to reserve some for us, using the best cotton yarn, better than that from Suzhou.”
As dawn approached, Yun Tangyin vaguely heard him making a phone call.
"Yes, those maternity pants with elastic waistbands... I need the largest size, just in case I'm carrying twins..."
She rolled over, and a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
This idiot, yesterday he said the probability of twins was low, and today he's already preparing double the things.
What's even more outrageous is that there's still no sign of it!
She simply went along with his suggestion, and Fu Yucheng treated her as if she were pregnant.
At breakfast, Fu Yucheng served two bowls of red date porridge, with six red dates buried in each bowl.
"May all your wishes come true." He scooped another spoonful of brown sugar into her bowl. "Eat more."
Just as Yun Tangyin scooped up a spoonful, she saw guard Xiao Chen peeking in from the doorway.
"Come in." Fu Yucheng put down his bowl of porridge.
"The clothing factory has delivered what you requested." Xiao Chen came in carrying a large box, which was full of baby supplies: socks, gloves, and two small quilts embroidered with dragon and phoenix patterns.
"Old Zhang is quick on the uptake." Fu Yucheng picked up a pair of small socks and held them up to her feet. "Look, they match your tiger-head shoes perfectly."
Yun Tangyin's face flushed red, and she stuffed the socks into the box: "Who said I wanted these? You're in such a hurry!"
"We'll have to use it sooner or later." Fu Yucheng smiled. "By the way, I had them add a small railing next to the crib to prevent you from rolling over onto the baby while you're sleeping at night."
"I didn't..." Yun Tangyin's words were interrupted by his sudden hug.
“Yinyin,” he said, his chin resting on the top of her head, his voice tight, “I’ll come back and stay with you every day after the baby is born.”
"What nonsense are you talking about?" She punched him on the back. "You're not pregnant yet."
He didn't say anything, he just hugged her tighter.
The snow started falling again outside the window, pattering softly on the windowsill.
Yun Tangyin almost choked from his tightness, and reached out to scratch his waist: "Let go quickly, or the porridge will get cold."
Fu Yucheng then let go of her hand, but casually put another red date into her bowl: "Eat more, it will replenish your qi and blood."
He didn't touch any of the red dates in his own bowl, but gave them all to her.
"You should eat too." Yun Tangyin scooped some red dates into his bowl. "You keep stuffing me with food, do you think I'm your granary?"
"I don't like sweets." He lowered his head to drink his porridge, but his ears were quietly turning red.
Xiao Chen coughed lightly twice at the door: "The meeting is at ten o'clock in the morning..."
"I know." Fu Yucheng didn't even look up. "I'll be there on time. I'm busy right now."
Yun Tangyin glared at him: "Important matters are at hand, don't waste time on trivial things."
"I still have time to eat with you." He put down his porridge bowl, suddenly got up and walked into the house, returning with a small piece of clothing in his hand.
The collar was embroidered with a nearly worn-out five-pointed star, the stitches crooked and uneven. "My mom embroidered this for me when I was little."
Fu Yucheng pointed to the five-pointed star and said, "Look at these stitches, they're much rougher than your tiger-head hat."
Yun Tangyin touched the worn-out fabric and laughed: "This shows that you've been tough since you were little, wearing your clothes out like this."
“When our child grows up, we’ll embroider something for him too.” He suddenly grasped her hand. “We’ll protect you, you and your son.”
"Who needs your protection?" Yun Tangyin withdrew her hand to clear the dishes. "I can protect myself."
Fu Yucheng smiled as he watched her retreating figure, then suddenly remembered something and called out to the door, "Xiao Chen, bring in my box of hawthorns."
Just as Yun Tangyin put the bowl into the sink, Xiao Chen came in carrying a large cardboard box, which was piled high with bright red hawthorns.
"You actually bought two cases?" She frowned. "That'll last until next spring."
"If we can't finish them, we'll make candied hawthorns." Fu Yucheng picked up a hawthorn and held it to her lips. "Try it, is it sour?"
The moment the hawthorn touched her lips, Yun Tangyin recoiled, exclaiming, "It's so sour!"
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