Chapter 147 You always treat me like a child
Yun Tangyin smiled, "You're the one who's wearing out your eyes. The bamboo strips are so thin, they're more irritating than an embroidery needle."
She placed a cup of chrysanthemum tea next to him. "Freshly brewed, better than plain water to reduce internal heat."
Fu Yucheng, weaving a bamboo mat, replied, "My eyesight has been trained in the army. I can even see mosquitoes clearly when I'm on guard at night."
He suddenly held up the edge of the mat to show her, "Look at the pattern. I added a swastika pattern. It's more attractive than ordinary bamboo mats, and it's not uncomfortable to lay on."
Yun Tangyin touched the mat and said, "It's even more solid than what you get at the supply and marketing cooperative. With your skills, you should open a bamboo shop."
"How can it be more important than being with you?" Fu Yucheng put down the bamboo strips and stuffed a plum into her mouth. "When the baby is born, I will weave you a bamboo rocking chair. It will be more comfortable than the one mom has. You can hold the baby in the yard and bask in the sun. It will be more beautiful than anything else."
At lunchtime, Yuxia came in with a bamboo steamer. She opened the lid and the aroma of glutinous rice wafted out. "Yinyin, have some pearl dumplings! I added lotus seeds to them. They're less greasy than pure glutinous rice."
She also put two in Fu Yucheng's bowl and said, "You should eat more too. Weaving bamboo mats takes a lot of energy."
Fu Yucheng was about to give some to Yun Tangyin when she held his chopsticks down and said, "Eat it yourself. This bowl of mine is plenty."
She put a piece of braised pork into his bowl and said, "Eat more meat so you can have more energy to knit in the afternoon."
Yuxia looked at them and smiled: "Yesterday I saw Yuanshan's wife embroidering a tiger-head hat. She said it was for your child. The stitches were even finer than mine."
Yun Tangyin's eyes lit up: "Really? Second sister-in-law is really skillful."
Fu Yucheng chewed the dumplings and hummed, "I made a little bamboo hat for my child. It's cooler than the tiger-head hat and perfect for summer."
In the afternoon, Yun Tangyin sat under the shade of a bamboo tree, embroidering baby socks. Fu Yucheng squatted beside her, whittling bamboo strips. Suddenly, he held up a piece of bamboo strips and asked, "I want to weave a small bamboo basket for my child to put his diapers in. Do you think a double-layered one is better, or a single-layer one?"
"Let's put two layers," Yun Tangyin suggested, "one layer for the clean things, one layer for the dirty things. It's more convenient than mixing them together."
"As you say." He lowered his head and cut the bamboo strips. "Once the weaving is done, I'll install four small bamboo wheels on the bottom of the basket. Pushing it will be less labor-intensive than lifting it."
In the evening, Fu Yucheng went to the kitchen to cook rice. Yun Tangyin peeked through the door frame and saw him add a handful of red beans to the rice. "An old Chinese doctor said that red beans replenish qi and blood and are more nourishing than white rice. You should eat more."
Yun Tangyin leaned over and sniffed it: "It smells really good, even better than the red bean rice in the cafeteria."
She stuffed a piece of maltose into his hand and said, "I just exchanged it from Aunt Li. It's sweeter than white sugar."
Fu Yucheng took a bite of malt sugar and smiled: "You still love me, you know me better than my mother."
He suddenly added a bamboo stick to the stove. "This bamboo stick burns brightly, and the rice cooks faster. It saves time compared to burning firewood."
At dinner, Fu Yucheng poured a bowl of red bean rice into Yun Tangyin's bowl: "Look how soft the red beans are. They are sandier than last time."
There was only white rice in his own bowl, so Yun Tangyin poured half a spoonful of red bean rice into his bowl: "Don't just give it to me, you need to eat some too."
Fu Yucheng hurriedly started eating. Song Yushuang and Yu Xia smiled at each other. In the light of the bamboo lamp, the food on the table was steaming, just like the day, warming people's hearts.
At night, Yun Tangyin was lying on the kang. Fu Yucheng was massaging her waist when he suddenly said, "Tomorrow I'll go to town and buy you two pounds of red dates. I'll make you red date porridge. It's more nourishing than sugar porridge."
"You don't have to go so far. Aren't there jujube trees here?" Yun Tangyin touched his hand. "Just pick some and bring them back. They're fresher than the ones you buy."
"That won't work." Fu Yucheng lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "The dates in the yard are not fully ripe yet, so they are sourer than the ones you buy. I'll buy you ripe ones, they are very sweet."
Yun Tangyin tugged at his collar and laughed, "You always treat me like a child."
"You are my child." Fu Yucheng hugged her in his arms, "I love you more than my own child."
He suddenly stuffed a small bamboo box into her hand and said, "This is for you. I carved it while I was weaving the bamboo basket this afternoon."
The box was lined with tissue paper and contained a pair of silver earrings. The pendants were small apples that jingled when shaken. "They're lighter than the bell earrings I wore last time. They won't make me tired."
Just as Yun Tangyin was about to put it on, he held her hand back and said, "Wait until the baby is born. Don't strain your neck now."
He suddenly kissed her earlobe and said, "Keep it for me first."
The bamboo wind chimes outside the window rang twice, as if responding to the sweetness in the house.
Yun Tangyin touched the red agate on her wrist and listened to Fu Yucheng's heartbeat. She suddenly felt that these days were like the bamboo baskets he had woven. They looked simple, but were tightly wrapped with thin bamboo threads.
The next morning, Fu Yucheng came in holding a small bamboo gadget. "Do you like this little bamboo waterwheel? I added a small bell to the wheel. It makes a sound when it turns. It looks better than ordinary ones."
Yun Tangyin took it and spun it around, the bells jingling. "It's even more exquisite than the ones I buy in town. How come you can weave everything?"
She stuffed a piece of sesame candy into his mouth and said, "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 bamboo basket into her hand and said, "This is for you to store your embroidery thread. It's more convenient than your cloth bag."
There was a piece of blue printed cloth in the basket. Yun Tangyin touched the cloth and smiled: "You even thought of this. You are more careful than I am."
"If I don't care for you, who else should I care for?" Fu Yucheng hugged her in his arms, "My wife must be cared for by me."
As he was speaking, Song Yushuang called from the courtyard, "Yinyin, come quickly. Yuxia brought you some freshly steamed corn cakes. They're even more delicious 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 bamboo tray with a few steaming hot tortillas on it.
"Sister-in-law said they added soybean flour," Fu Yucheng stuffed a piece into her hand, "It's softer than pure corn flour."
Yun Tangyin took a bite, and the aroma of corn mixed with the aroma of beans filled the air. She suddenly stuffed half a piece into Fu Yucheng's mouth and said, "You eat it too. It will give you strength for weaving bamboo tools."
The sunlight shines through the bamboo window onto their faces, warm and cozy, just like the days in the yard, sweet and just right.
Song Yushuang was drying chili powder on a bamboo sieve. Hearing this, he smiled and tapped the sieve. "If you two keep being so affectionate, the chili powder will become sweet. Yinyin, come and help me turn it over. This stuff needs to be turned frequently. It's more laborious than drying sesame seeds."
Yun Tangyin ran over with a red face. Fu Yucheng stuck to her like a piece of rice cake, squatting beside her and holding the handle of the bamboo sieve. "I'll help you two shake it."
Song Yushuang stuffed a handful of chili powder into Yun Tangyin's hand and said, "Smell this newly ground chili powder. It's spicier than last year's. It's perfect for pickling vegetables in winter."
She suddenly patted Fu Yucheng on the back and said, "Go sweep up the broken bamboo strips in the bamboo workshop, don't let them prick Yinyin."
As soon as Fu Yucheng picked up the bamboo broom, Yun Tangyin chased after him: "Wear gloves to sweep, the bamboo strips are very sharp."
She stuffed a pair of coarse cloth gloves into his hands. "I sewed them overnight. They're stronger than your plain cloth gloves."
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