Chapter 145: Just the Right Sweetness
Fu Yucheng walked towards the fence, holding the bamboo sword. He looked back every two steps. Yun Tangyin laughed out loud when he saw her. "Go and fix it. When you're done, I'll make you some rose tea. The kind that my sister-in-law just dried."
Only then did his steps become lighter, and the bamboo sword made a crisp sound as it chopped the loose bamboo strips.
"Look at this bamboo stick," he shouted, holding up a new one. "It's stronger than the old one. It can last another three years."
Yun Tangyin sifted sesame seeds and replied, "In three years, you can weave a new one with patterns. It will look better than the current one."
Song Yushuang poured sesame seeds into the bamboo plaque: "He always listens to you. When I asked him to learn how to weave bamboo articles, he said he didn't like it. But now he can weave anything that looks good."
Fu Yucheng suddenly came over, holding a piece of bamboo thread in his hand: "Do you think this thread is thin? I can weave a small collar for the child. It's lighter than silver."
The bamboo thread bent into a small circle at his fingertips, shining like silver thread.
Just as Yun Tangyin was about to answer, Song Yushuang clapped her hands and said, "Ignore him. Tell him to fix the fence quickly."
She stuffed a piece of sesame candy into Yun Tangyin's hand and said, "It's freshly made. It's stickier than the ones sold in town."
Fu Yucheng finished repairing the fence and came in with a bunch of wild roses in his hand: "These are for you. I picked them from the back mountain. They are more fragrant than the roses in the yard."
Bamboo threads are wrapped around the branches to make a small bouquet.
Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of sesame candy into his hand and said, "It's covered with bamboo shavings. Wipe it off quickly."
She put the flowers in a bamboo vase, "They are more lively than the silk flowers bought from the supply and marketing cooperative."
At lunchtime, Yuxia came in with a bamboo steamer. She opened the lid and white steam rose from it. "Yinyin, come and eat the glutinous rice and lotus root. I added osmanthus honey. It's sweeter than the canned food you brought last time."
She also put a piece into Fu Yucheng's bowl and said, "Eat it too, it will nourish your brain."
Fu Yucheng was about to give some to Yun Tangyin when she held his chopsticks down and said, "Eat it yourself. My bowl is big enough."
She put a piece of pork ribs into his bowl and said, "Eat more meat so you can have more energy in the afternoon."
Yuxia looked at them and smiled: "Yesterday I saw Yuanshan carving something in the bamboo workshop."
Yun Tangyin's eyes lit up: "Second brother is really skillful, much better than the carpenter in town."
Fu Yucheng chewed the ribs without saying a word.
In the afternoon, Yun Tangyin sat under the shade of bamboo embroidering tiger-head shoes, while Fu Yucheng squatted beside her, cutting bamboo strips, preparing to weave a small bamboo basket.
Bamboo shavings fell on his shoulders. Yun Tangyin reached out to brush them off for him. Her fingertips touched his collar, which he grabbed with his backhand.
"Don't move," he bent down and kissed the back of her hand, "It's itchy."
He turned the bamboo knife in his hand, and the bamboo slices he cut out were as thin as paper. "Look at this bamboo slice, it can be used as a bookmark, it's stronger than paper."
Yun Tangyin took the bamboo slip and inserted it into the embroidery pattern: "It's even better than the ones I bought at the bookstore. It would be even better if there was a small peach blossom carved on it."
"That's not that difficult," Fu Yucheng took out a small knife and carved a peach blossom in just a few strokes. The petals were so thin that light could see through them. "Here, put it on the page you often read."
In the evening, Fu Yucheng went to the well to fetch water, and Yun Tangyin followed behind with a bamboo bucket.
He put the bucket into the well, turned the rope twice in his hand, and the water he drew up was crystal clear.
"Look at this water," he poured some into her palm, "it's cooler than the tap water in town. It's comfortable to wash your face with."
Yun Tangyin had just scooped up some water to wash when he pulled her into his arms: "Be careful not to catch a cold. I'll wring a towel for you."
He wiped the water off her hands with his sleeves, and the rough cloth made her palms itchy.
"You're more nagging than my mom," Yun Tangyin said, pushing him away with a smile. "I'm not made of paper."
Fu Yucheng pressed the wet towel on her face: "You are my precious baby, more precious than a bamboo treasure, you must protect it carefully."
At dinner, Fu Yucheng poured a spoonful of corn porridge into Yun Tangyin's bowl: "I added a little alkali, it's more fragrant than white porridge, try it."
There was only white porridge in his own bowl. Yun Tangyin poured half a spoonful of corn porridge into his bowl and said, "Don't be picky about food, or I won't repair your wristband."
Fu Yucheng hurriedly ate it up. Song Yushuang and Yu Xia smiled at each other. The bamboo oil lamp cast a warm yellow light on the table, stretching the shadows of the family members long.
At night, Yun Tangyin lay on the kang, listening to the sound of Fu Yucheng busying himself in the bamboo workshop. The light sound of the bamboo knife cutting bamboo strips sounded like he was humming a song.
She put on a piece of clothing and went over to see him installing a mechanism on a small bamboo cradle. The handle was wrapped with a red rope she had woven.
"Why aren't you sleeping yet?" She put a coat on his shoulders. "It's cold at night."
Fu Yucheng turned around and smiled: "Install a bell on the cradle so the baby can hear the sound when it is rocked. It's better than being muffled."
He put a small bamboo bell in her hand and said, "Listen, it's crisp."
Yun Tangyin pinched the bell and shook it. The crisp sound spread throughout the bamboo workshop, mixed with the bamboo fragrance on his body, like a gentle song.
"Go to sleep," she pulled his arm, "it's not too late to do it tomorrow."
Fu Yucheng blew out the bamboo lantern and led her into the house. The moonlight shone through the bamboo window lattice onto the ground, like a layer of silver frost.
"Do you think the child will look like you or me when it is born?" Yun Tangyin suddenly asked.
"Looking like you is the best," Fu Yucheng held her hand tightly, "You have round eyes and two dimples when you smile. You are prettier than the pomegranate flowers in the yard."
He suddenly lowered his head and whispered in her ear, "If he succeeds, I'll teach him how to weave bamboo and you'll teach him how to embroider. Then, as a family of three, our life will be sweeter than honey."
Yun Tangyin leaned on his shoulder and smiled, and the bamboo wind chimes jingled in the wind, as if responding to the expectations of the whole courtyard.
The next morning, Fu Yucheng came in holding a small bamboo gadget. "Do you like this bamboo dragonfly? I carved your name on the wings. You can see it when you turn it around."
Yun Tangyin took it and twisted it, and the wings spun rapidly, and indeed, the shadows of the two words "Yin Yin" were formed.
"It's much more exquisite than last time." She stuffed a piece of rice candy into his mouth. "My second sister-in-law gave it to me. Is it sweet?"
"Sweet," Fu Yucheng smiled as he chewed the candy, "sweeter than the fruit candies from the supply and marketing cooperative."
He suddenly stuffed a small box into her hand and said, "This is for you. I worked on it until midnight yesterday."
The box was lined with tissue paper and filled with some dried wild chrysanthemums, which had a refreshing fragrance.
"I'm filling your pillow," Fu Yucheng smiled. "It's cleaner than the ones I picked from the back mountain."
Yun Tangyin held the box and smiled: "How come you think of everything for me?"
"Because you are my wife," Fu Yucheng hugged her in his arms, "If I don't love you, who else should I love?"
As he was speaking, Song Yushuang called from the courtyard, "Yinyin, come quickly. Yuxia brought you some freshly steamed date cakes. They're even softer than last time."
Just as Yun Tangyin was about to stand up, Fu Yucheng held her back: "I'll get it, you sit down."
After a while, he ran out and came back with a plate with a few pieces of steaming hot date cakes on it.
"Sister-in-law said adding brown sugar," Fu Yucheng stuffed a piece into her hand, "is better for replenishing qi and blood than white sugar."
Yun Tangyin took a bite, and the aroma of dates mixed with the sweetness of brown sugar spread. She suddenly stuffed half a piece into Fu Yucheng's mouth: "You eat it too, to replenish your strength."
The sunlight shines through the bamboo window onto their faces, warm and cozy, just like the days in the yard, sweet and just right.
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