As soon as they entered the courtyard, Jiang Jianhua came over and pointed at the candied hawthorn in Yun Tangyin's hand, laughing, "What's so delicious about this sour thing?"
Fu Yucheng put the cloth bag on the table: "If Second Sister-in-law wants to eat, I'll bring back a couple of skewers tomorrow."
He turned to Yun Tangyin and winked, "But I have to ask my wife if she agrees first."
Yun Tangyin stuffed the remaining two candied hawthorns into Jiang Jianhua's hand: "Since they're sour, Second Sister-in-law, eat more; they'll whet your appetite."
She glanced at the newly made shoe soles on the table. "Were these made for my second brother? The stitches are so neat."
Jiang Jianhua blushed: "It's just a haphazard stitch, how can it compare to the plum blossoms you embroidered?"
She suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, Aunt Wang from the tailor shop said she's coming to pick up the fabric sample tomorrow, should I have her take your measurements first?"
“No need to trouble Aunt Wang.” Fu Yucheng rolled up his sleeves. “I’ll take the measurements, I guarantee they’ll be accurate to the last cent.”
He took the measuring tape and wrapped it around Yun Tangyin's waist, deliberately tickling her side with his fingertips, making her shiver and run away.
"Stop fooling around." Yun Tangyin slapped his hand away, took her own measurements, and wrote them down on a piece of paper. "Is this alright now?"
Fu Yucheng looked at the numbers on the paper and suddenly chuckled: "A waist of 1.9 feet? Even thinner than when you first married into the family."
"If you keep talking nonsense, I won't make new clothes." Yun Tangyin pretended to tear the paper, but he grabbed her hand.
“Yes, we must do it.” He carefully folded the paper. “Not only will we make cheongsams, but also cotton-padded jackets, lined jackets, and overcoats. We need to prepare them for all four seasons.”
At dinner, Song Yushuang frowned as she looked at the hawthorn water on the table: "Hawthorn water again? I don't like things that are too sour."
Yun Tangyin scooped up a spoonful and handed it over: "Mom, try it. Fu Yucheng specially made this for me, and he added rock sugar."
Song Yushuang smacked her lips: "Hmm, this time it's really not bad."
She glanced at Fu Yucheng and said, "You little rascal, you couldn't even cook porridge properly before, but now you know how to take care of people."
Fu Yucheng put a piece of spare rib on Yun Tangyin's plate: "My wife taught her well."
At night, Yun Tangyin was embroidering the collar of her cheongsam by the light of an oil lamp, while Fu Yucheng leaned over to watch: "This plum blossom embroidery is much better than the earthworm-like stitches from last time."
"If you mention earthworms again, I'll prick you." Yun Tangyin held up the embroidery needle and waved it, the tip of the needle gleaming faintly under the light.
He suddenly grabbed her wrist and pressed it against his chest: "Poke it, poke it here, close to the heart."
Yun Tangyin's face flushed red, and she quickly poked the needle into the cloth: "You're being so serious, we have to get up early tomorrow."
The next morning, Fu Yucheng indeed took the fabric sample to the tailor shop.
Yun Tangyin was airing out her quilts in the yard when Yu Xia came in carrying a bamboo basket: "Yinyin, would you like to use the stone mill? I want to grind some cornmeal."
"Take it and use it." Yun Tangyin helped her move the millstone. "Is Sister-in-law making cornbread?"
"Hmm, Yuanzheng said he wants to eat." Yu Xia poured corn kernels into the mill. "It's strange, I used to always complain that his simple meals were unfair to me, but now I think cornbread is more delicious than braised pork."
Yun Tangyin smiled and helped her grind the grain: "That's just how life is."
Just then, Fu Yucheng returned, carrying a paper package: "Aunt Wang said that cheongsams look better with gold thread embroidery, so I bought two spools of it."
Yun Tangyin opened the paper package, the gold thread shimmering in the sunlight: "This must have cost a lot of money, right?"
"The money is for my wife." He flicked her nose. "By the way, the regimental headquarters announced that there will be a military-civilian gala the day after tomorrow, and military families are asked to put on a performance as well."
"I can't sing or dance," Yun Tangyin waved her hands repeatedly.
Yu Xia pushed the millstone and laughed: "Who told you to perform a grand opera? Just act out how the two of you usually live your lives. You mend Acheng's clothes, he picks wildflowers for you, and you stand on the stage. That's better than anything else."
Yun Tangyin was still hesitant, but Fu Yucheng had already squatted down to help push the millstone: "Just act out the scene where we're fishing on the Songhua River. I'll carry the fishing rod, and you carry the fish basket. We don't even need any lines."
"Wouldn't that be like putting on a monkey show?" Yun Tangyin poked his arm. "Besides, I don't know how to act."
“No need to act.” Fu Yucheng smiled, his eyes crinkling. “Just imagine the audience is full of fish in the river, staring at you with wide eyes.”
Just then, Jiang Jianhua came over with a sewing basket: "I heard about it, Yinyin, if you don't mind, I can lend you a hand?"
Yun Tangyin's heart skipped a beat, and she was about to agree when Fu Yucheng spoke first: "No, my wife can only act with me."
This amused Yu Xia so much that she slapped her thigh and exclaimed, "You jealous bastard! You're even jealous of your second sister-in-law!"
That afternoon, Fu Yucheng borrowed a huqin from somewhere and sat in the courtyard, playing it like he was sawing wood.
Yun Tangyin covered her ears and laughed: "You're not playing the violin, you're scaring away all the sparrows in the yard."
"You'll get used to it with practice." He put down his erhu and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "I composed a little tune."
He cleared his throat and began to sing: "Lake blue cloth, tailored into a cheongsam, my wife looks like a fairy in it..."
"It sounds awful." Yun Tangyin reached out to cover his mouth, but he held her hand down.
"I'll be playing the violin tomorrow, and you'll just stand there and smile." Fu Yucheng pinched her cheek. "When you smile, the audience will definitely be mesmerized."
Yun Tangyin looked at Fu Yucheng with a helpless expression.
Is this still the same serious and unsmiling Fu Yucheng?
On the day of the party, Fu Yucheng wore a crisp military uniform and slung his erhu over his shoulder, looking quite dashing.
Yun Tangyin was wearing a newly made moon-white shirt, clutching the river stone bracelet in her hand, her palms sweating with nervousness.
"Don't be afraid." Fu Yucheng leaned close to her ear. "If you forget your lines, just shout 'Fu Yucheng, you rascal!' and you'll be right."
The erhu began to play, its melody distorted yet lively. Fu Yucheng started singing: "The flowered fabrics at the supply and marketing cooperative are so fresh, I'll buy three bolts for my wife..."
Yun Tangyin wanted to sing along, but the laughter from the audience made her forget the lyrics. She could only blush and glare at him, saying, "Fu Yucheng, you rascal!"
This made the audience laugh even harder. Fu Yucheng responded naturally, "My wife says I'm not serious, but I dare to act silly because I love you..."
After finishing the song, Fu Yucheng suddenly put down his erhu, bowed to Yun Tangyin, and said, "From now on, I'll pay for the fabric and hand you the thread for the embroidery. I'll just live this life without any seriousness."
Yun Tangyin's face was burning hot, and she pulled him off the stage.
As soon as I arrived backstage, I saw Yu Xia waiting there with candied hawthorns in her hand: "Here, this is a reward for you two!"
Fu Yucheng took it and first put one in Yun Tangyin's mouth: "Is it sour?"
"It's so sour." Yun Tangyin said, her eyes sparkling as she sucked on a candy.
"Sour is good." Fu Yucheng helped her tidy her wind-blown hair. "You only know how precious sweet is after you've experienced sourness."
The evening breeze drifted through the stage curtains, carrying the scent of locust blossoms and echoing the laughter of the two performers far away.
Yun Tangyin suddenly realized that no matter if she sang off-key or acted clumsily, as long as he was by her side, life would always be lively and sweet.
That's the change...
It seems that, subtly and gradually, Yun Tangyin has almost forgotten what Fu Yucheng was like in the original book.
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