Chapter 116 Fu Yucheng is back
"Are you chopping so much wood so that Ah Cheng can come back and keep a fire going until next spring?"
Song Yushuang came out with a needle and thread basket, the needle tip gleaming in the sunlight, "Come and help me thread the needle."
Fu Yuanshan dropped the axe and used his rough fingers to poke the thread into the eye of the needle. It took him three tries before he finally got it through. "Prepare some more firewood so he doesn't get his hands frozen while writing reports at night."
Jiang Jianhua suddenly laughed out loud: "Are you thinking of Ah Cheng or the new soldier? He lives in a dormitory with heating, so why does he need to burn firewood?"
She called to the kitchen, "Sister-in-law, pour out that bag of new rice to dry in the sun. Ah Cheng likes to eat brown rice."
Yu Xia was wrapping the corners of her quilt with red thread. When she heard this, she poked her head out and said, "I've dried it long ago. I even mixed in a handful of red beans to replenish my blood."
She suddenly remembered something, "By the way, Yinyin, Doctor Zhang said the other day that you should eat more red beans, so I saved half a bag for you."
Yun Tangyin was placing wintersweets on the windowsill, and the snow flakes on the petals fell down. "I know, sister-in-law."
She turned around and saw Fu Yuanshan sharpening an axe. The edge of the blade was so bright that it could reflect a person's reflection. "Second brother, your axe is sharp enough to shave your beard."
Fu Yuanshan was silent for a moment: "I'm going to the back mountain to cut bamboo and make a cradle for the baby."
"Do we need to cut new ones?" Song Yushuang smiled. "The bamboo baskets I made last year are still in the warehouse. We can use them after some modification."
Suddenly, someone called out to a candy man seller outside the courtyard. Jiang Jianhua's eyes lit up: "Mom, I want to eat a candy man."
"You can't eat too much sweet food now." Song Yushuang pretended to be stern, but stuffed two dimes into Fu Yuanshan's hand, "Go buy a Little Tiger to satisfy Jianhua's craving."
As Fu Yuanshan reached the door, he saw Doctor Zhang come in with his medicine box on his back, his white coat stained with snow. "I'm here to do a routine checkup on your second sister-in-law, and bring some folic acid to Yinyin."
Jiang Jianhua quickly sat down on the kang. Doctor Zhang felt her belly and said, "The fetus is very strong. You just need to bend over less. Did you pickle vegetables again the other day?"
Yuxia was steaming buns on the stove. When she heard this, she turned around and said, "It's all my fault. I was busy making the sauce that day and didn't keep an eye on her."
"It's none of my sister-in-law's business." Jiang Jianhua smiled, clutching the corner of his clothes. "I just wanted to save some pickles for Ah Cheng, because I'm afraid he's always eating canned food in the army."
Doctor Zhang put the stethoscope into the medicine box. "He's so lucky! His family treats him like a treasure. Oh, and he won first-class merit this time. The military district will give his family a condolence fund. Remember to collect it."
Yun Tangyin suddenly stood up: "Can I change something?"
"Silly girl." Doctor Zhang smiled as he packed his medicine box. "You can spend the condolence money yourself. Buy whatever you want."
Fu Yuanshan came back carrying the candy man. The little tiger's tail was frozen stiff. "I just met the postman. He said Acheng will arrive early tomorrow morning and told us not to go to the station to pick him up."
"He must be trying to show up out of nowhere to scare us." Jiang Jianhua took a bite of the candy figurine, and the sugar residue fell on his clothes. "I'll get up early tomorrow to make millet porridge and put his favorite pumpkin in it."
Yu Xia poured yeast into the basin and said, "I'll steam two trays of meat buns so he can eat them when he comes back."
The next day, before dawn, fragrance wafted from the kitchen.
Jiang Jianhua was sitting on the kang picking vegetables, Fu Yuanshan was squatting in the yard weaving a bamboo basket, Song Yushuang was wearing reading glasses and embroidering shoes, and Yuxia was steaming buns, the steam covering the windows with white.
Yun Tangyin stood at the door and looked out. There was a string of fresh footprints on the snow, extending from the main road to the gate of the courtyard.
Just as she was about to call for help, she saw a figure in a military coat standing in the snow, with a canvas bag on his shoulder, smiling at her.
"Fu Yucheng!" Yun Tangyin rushed over, knocking him back half a step.
Fu Yucheng hugged her in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head: "I'm back."
Everyone in the room rushed out when they heard the noise. Yu Xia stuffed a hot bun into his hand and said, "Eat it while it's hot! It's still steaming."
Song Yushuang touched his military coat and said, "You've lost weight. Come inside and warm up."
Jiang Jianhua held up the freshly cooked millet porridge and said, "Try it now. I added your favorite pumpkin."
Fu Yuanshan was holding a bamboo basket in his hand: "I made it for the child."
Fu Yucheng looked at the people in the room and his eyes suddenly turned red.
He pulled out a red cloth bag from his canvas bag and opened it to reveal a golden military medal: "This is for our whole family."
Yun Tangyin suddenly blew a whistle, and the crisp sound echoed in the yard.
Fu Yucheng smiled and took her into his arms: "I knew you were waiting for me."
Steam from the kitchen wafted out, carrying the aroma of meat and rice, dyeing the morning light a warm yellow.
The snow was still falling, but the laughter filling the yard had already driven away the cold.
"Come in quickly." Yu Xia made way inside. "The buns will get cold if you don't eat them now."
Fu Yucheng held Yun Tangyin's hand and walked inside, his military boots squeaking on the snow.
He looked at everything that had hardly changed and suddenly stopped.
"Our family is so nice." Fu Yucheng's voice was a little hoarse, but with a smile.
Yun Tangyin looked up at him. The sunlight shone over his shoulders, stretching their shadows very long.
No matter how far he goes, there is always a home waiting for him and a group of people waiting for him. That is enough.
As soon as Fu Yucheng stepped over the threshold, his eyes were attracted by the award certificate on the wall. The red silk shone with tiny lights in the morning light.
He raised his hand and touched the edge of the paper, his fingertips rubbing against the unevenly spread paste: "This paste is rougher than the one I used to paste envelopes."
Fu Yuanshan added a piece of firewood to the stove, sparks flying to the ground: "If you think it's too rough, you can paste it again yourself. Mom and I had to paste it three times before we got it right."
Jiang Jianhua held the millet porridge and smiled: "Hurry up and sit down and have some porridge. The pumpkins are all the soft ones I picked, they are very sweet."
As soon as Fu Yucheng sat down, he saw Song Yushuang stuffing a pair of new socks into his pocket. The stitches were so dense that no trace of thread could be seen. "This is what Mom embroidered overnight."
"Mom, you have such skills that you can work as a craftsman in a bedding factory." Fu Yucheng smiled while pinching his socks, and suddenly took out a piece of canvas bag, "I brought you a bottle of vanishing cream, a new Shanghai brand, you can try it."
Song Yushuang held the vanishing cream in her hand. The mirror on the lid made her eyes sparkle. "Good, good, good."
Yu Xia came in with some meat buns. The moment she opened the steamer, the aroma of the meat filled the room. "Hurry up and eat the buns. They have dried bamboo shoots in them. They're the salty flavor you like."
Fu Yucheng took a big bite, and the crispness of the dried bamboo shoots mixed with the fragrance of the meat filling spread on his tongue: "Sister-in-law's cooking skills have improved."
"Of course." Yu Xia put a bun into Yun Tangyin's bowl. "Yinyin, eat more too. Doctor Zhang said the other day that you need to gain some weight."
Fu Yuanshan suddenly placed a bottle of wine on the table. The label was wrinkled from the cold. "This is the wine I asked someone to buy. I have to celebrate your success today."
"I can't drink." Fu Yucheng held the bottle. "Doctor Zhang said I need to take anti-inflammatory medicine."
"Then let's use tea instead of wine." Yun Tangyin poured hawthorn tea into his cup. "This is brewed by my sister-in-law. She added rock sugar. It's just the right amount of sour and sweet."
Fu Yucheng had just clinked his teacup when he heard a commotion outside the courtyard gate. It was comrades from the military district who came to deliver the good news.
The golden words on the red paper gleamed in the snow: "Comrade Fu Yucheng has been awarded first-class merit. Congratulations to his family!"
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