Chapter 114: Hearts Together
Jiang Jianhua had stood at the kitchen doorway at some point, clutching the packet of malted milk in his hand, the corner of the paper wrinkled. "Sister-in-law, there's no need to hide it. Yinyin will know about this sooner or later."
She placed a coarse porcelain bowl on the stove, and Yuxia quickly scooped a spoonful of the freshly made hawthorn jam. "It's freshly made. I added rock sugar, so it's not sour."
Jiang Jianhua stirred the sauce with a small spoon and suddenly laughed: "Before, I always thought Yuanshan was dull and not as caring as Acheng. It wasn't until he locked himself in the woodshed that I realized he was afraid."
Yun Tangyin added a piece of coal to the stove, and the flames made her eyelashes shine. "Second sister-in-law, let the past be the past. Now the important thing is to take good care of the baby."
"That's right." Yu Xia added a spoonful of brown sugar to Jiang Jianhua's bowl. "The other day I asked someone to bring you an old hen. I'll make you some soup tomorrow to nourish you."
When Fu Yuanshan came back from chopping firewood, his shoulders were covered with snow.
He was piling firewood into the corner and paused when he heard voices in the house.
Jiang Jianhua suddenly called him: "Yuanshan, come in and try some hawthorn jam."
When he walked in, his hands were still covered in sawdust. Jiang Jianhua scooped a spoonful of sauce and handed it to him: "Is it sweet?"
Fu Yuanshan's Adam's apple moved, and he said vaguely, "Sweet."
Song Yushuang came out from the inner room, holding a small cotton-padded jacket in her hand: "Look at my memory. I just made a small jacket. Tomorrow I will ask the clothing factory to make two according to the same pattern so that I can wear them alternately."
Jiang Jianhua touched the tiger-head pattern on his cotton-padded jacket and suddenly looked up at Fu Yuanshan: "If this child is born, will he look like you or me?"
"Look like me, it's good-looking." Fu Yuanshan blurted out, and when he saw her raise an eyebrow, he quickly added, "Look like you, too."
Yu Xia chuckled: "You finally know how to say something nice."
"Then we need to teach our child how to chop wood." Fu Yuanshan suddenly spoke up, leaning the axe in his hand against the wall. "Chopping wood can exercise the body, and he will have the strength to protect you in the future."
Jiang Jianhua rolled his eyes at him, but the corners of his mouth curled up high: "Isn't it vulgar? We need to teach him to study so that he can go to university in the future."
"Good luck getting into university." Song Yushuang placed a plate of peanuts on the table. "If my grandson can get into university in the future, I'll throw a three-day banquet for him."
As he was speaking, the sound of a bicycle bell was heard outside the courtyard gate. It was the postman delivering a telegram.
Yun Tangyin opened it and took a look, then suddenly jumped up: "Acheng said that he found the pregnancy-preserving injection in Shanghai and asked me to go to the train station to pick it up!"
Fu Yuanshan suddenly stuffed a note into her hand: "I'll go get it, you stay home with her."
"I'll go." Yu Xia wiped her hands. "You have to make millet porridge for my second brother and his wife at home. Don't forget to add the red dates."
Fu Yuanshan's ears turned red, and he moved closer to Jiang Jianhua: "Then... I'll go light the fire."
Jiang Jianhua watched him clumsily adding firewood to the stove and suddenly said to Yun Tangyin, "Look at him, he's still the same, dumb in words but warm-hearted."
Yun Tangyin thought of the copper whistle Fu Yucheng had given her before he left, and her heart warmed: "Men are like this, they don't say it, but they remember it in their hearts."
The chicken soup on the stove was bubbling, and the aroma filled the house.
Fu Yuanshan squatted in front of the stove, adding just the right amount of firewood, and the flames seemed to be frozen in time.
Jiang Jianhua leaned against the door frame and looked at him. Suddenly he called out, "Yuanshan, come with me to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow."
"What to buy?" Fu Yuanshan looked up, with sparks on his eyelashes.
"Buy a parenting guide." Jiang Jianhua said with a smile, "Doctor Zhang said that reading more books is the key to a healthy pregnancy."
Fu Yuanshan's face flushed red, and he added another piece of firewood to the stove: "Okay, I'll go with you."
Song Yushuang suddenly said, "By the way, bring me some embroidery thread. I'll embroider a pair of tiger-head shoes for the child to match Yinyin's pair."
Yun Tangyin touched the longevity lock in her pocket and suddenly felt that the room was unreasonably warm.
The snow was still falling, but the laughter, talking, and the aroma of chicken soup in the house had long driven away the cold.
When Yu Xia came back with the medicine, she was carrying a cloth bag. "This is some new floral cloth from the supply and marketing cooperative. I thought it looked nice, so I tore off a piece for the child. It's perfect for making a little jacket."
Jiang Jianhua unfolded the cloth and saw that it was a piece of coarse cloth with a blue background and white flowers, and small wild chrysanthemums were printed on it. "It's really beautiful, just like the one Yinyin embroidered."
Yun Tangyin suddenly thought of the little coat embroidered by Fu Yucheng and couldn't help laughing: "The wild chrysanthemums embroidered by Ah Cheng had crooked stitches, how could it be as beautiful as this."
Fu Yuanshan suddenly stood up and walked out the door: "I'm going to the bedding factory and ask Lao Zhang to make a few more small clothes according to this fabric pattern."
Jiang Jianhua looked at his back and suddenly said to Yun Tangyin, "Look, isn't he quite caring?"
Yun Tangyin added a piece of coal to the stove, and the flames leaped up: "Second sister-in-law, just wait and enjoy yourself. When the baby is born, the Fu family will be bustling."
I don't know when the snow outside the window stopped. The moonlight shone through the window lattice and fell on the hawthorn jam on the ground, which was as red as a ball of fire.
Jiang Jianhua touched his belly and listened to the laughter in the room. He suddenly felt that this life was like this hawthorn jam. After enduring the sourness, all that was left was sweetness.
When Fu Yuanshan came back from the bedding factory, he was holding a paper bag in his hand.
He handed it to Jiang Jianhua and said, "Old Zhang said this cloth is strong and can be used to make three small jackets and two pairs of pants for the children."
Jiang Jianhua opened it and saw that the stitches were fine and precise, even better than his own. He suddenly looked up at him and said, "What did you say to Lao Zhang? His craftsmanship is so good."
Fu Yuanshan looked away: "I... I gave him two kilograms of brown sugar."
Suddenly, a burst of laughter broke out in the room, startling the kettle on the stove to hum.
Yun Tangyin looked at this scene and suddenly remembered what Fu Yucheng said about "one family". Her heart felt like it was warmed by a heater.
This is probably what life is like, with quarrels and noises, crying and laughing, but as long as our hearts are together, no matter how difficult the obstacle is, we can overcome it.
Before the laughter died down, the kettle on the stove hummed even more happily.
Yu Xia quickly picked up the kettle and brewed tea. The tea leaves swirled in the glass. "Speaking of which, Mr. Zhang from the bedding factory is really honest. The other day, when I went to make a mattress, he insisted on stuffing it with two feet of extra cotton, saying that a softer mattress would be better for pregnant women."
Jiang Jianhua touched the small jacket he had just made and suddenly stuffed it into Fu Yuanshan's arms: "Try it on and see if it fits."
Fu Yuanshan's arms were stiff, and half of his face was covered by the small jacket. He said in a muffled voice: "How can I wear this?"
Song Yushuang laughed so hard that she slapped the edge of the kang. "I asked you to try out the tightness of the stitching. Who told you to wear it?"
She suddenly stuffed a red cloth bag into Jiang Jianhua's hand and said, "This is the egg coupons I saved. I'll cook two for you every day to supplement your protein."
Yun Tangyin suddenly remembered something and ran into the house. When she came back, she was holding a glass jar. "This is dried longan. Doctor Zhang said soaking it in water is good for pregnant women."
Jiang Jianhua was about to take it when Fu Yuanshan stopped him: "Let me try it first, don't let it be too sweet."
He picked one up and put it in his mouth, his cheeks puffed up like he was holding a date. "It's okay, not too sweet."
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