Chapter 150: Pick Some Sour Jujubes
Yun Tangyin's ears were tickled by his blowing, and she shrank into his arms: "It's up to you, so you don't have to fight with me for the hawthorns."
She suddenly pinched his cheek and said, "Did you like sour food when you were a child? Look at how sour you look."
Fu Yucheng grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth, then took a bite of it. "When I was little, I loved sweets. I could eat more candy than anyone else."
He nuzzled into the crook of her neck, "But now I like to eat whatever you feed me, sour or sweet."
The bamboo wind chimes swayed outside the window, and Fu Yucheng suddenly sat up: "By the way, I also made a small bamboo rattle for the child, the kind wrapped with red string. It's lighter than the wooden ones. Do you want to see it?"
Yun Tangyin pulled him back and stopped him from moving: "What are you looking at in the dark? Wait until tomorrow."
She snuggled into his arms and said, "Go to sleep, it's better than anything else."
Fu Yucheng got up and lit the bamboo lantern: "Just take a look, it's better than holding it in."
He took out a small cloth bag from the bamboo cabinet, and when he opened it, he revealed a bamboo rattle with a red rope wrapped around the handle and small patterns engraved on it.
Yun Tangyin touched the drumhead and found it was indeed very delicate. "It's even more exquisite than the ones I buy in town. You can make a living with this craftsmanship."
She suddenly stuffed a candied fruit into his mouth and said, "Go to sleep quickly. It's better than tossing and turning until dawn."
The next morning, Yun Tangyin had just finished combing her hair when Fu Yucheng came in holding a small bamboo gadget. "I'm giving you this comb. I've polished it until it's smooth and doesn't catch your hair. It's perfect for when you have morning sickness and lack the energy."
Yun Tangyin combed the hair twice, and it was indeed smooth. "It's more comfortable than a horn comb. How come you can braid anything?"
She stuffed a piece of mung bean cake into his mouth and said, "Here."
Fu Yucheng chewed his cake and looked into the yard: "Where's Mom? I made a bamboo spice rack that can hold more than your wooden one. I want her to try it."
"I'm steaming locust flower cakes in the kitchen," Yun Tangyin pulled him out, "They're softer than last year's. She said she'd make them for your breakfast."
The kitchen was filled with the aroma of locust flowers. Song Yushuang was sprinkling osmanthus flowers into the bamboo drawer. "Look at these locust flowers. They're even fresher than the ones sold at the supply and marketing cooperative."
She stuffed a piece of freshly steamed food into Fu Yucheng's hand and said, "It's hot."
Fu Yucheng was about to pass it to Yun Tangyin's mouth when she waved her hand away: "It smells a bit stuffy, you guys eat it."
Fu Yucheng quickly put the locust flower cake back on the bamboo plate: "Let's not touch it. I'll go buy you some sugar cakes. They're even crispier than the ones in the sweet shop."
Yu Xia came in with a bamboo basket to take out the trash. Upon hearing this, she smiled and said, "I have some sesame paste. It's better for the stomach than sugar-coated fire cakes. Yinyin, take some and drink it."
She stuffed a bag into Yun Tangyin's hand and said, "Freshly ground ones are more fragrant than aged ones."
Yun Tangyin smiled as she pinched the sesame paste: "Sister-in-law still understands me."
Fu Yucheng was squatting beside him, whittling bamboo strips. Suddenly, he held up a piece of bamboo strips and asked, "Shall I weave a small bamboo table for you? The kind you can put next to your bed. It's more stable than your wooden stool, so you don't have to get out of bed to eat snacks."
"No need to go to so much trouble," Yun Tangyin smiled as she touched the bamboo slips. "Just sitting with me in the yard is better than anything else."
Fu Yucheng quickly brought over a bamboo recliner and covered it with a cotton pad. "It's softer than lying down directly. You'll feel comfortable leaning against it."
He suddenly stuffed a small fan into her hand and said, "Wave it for fun. It's lighter than a palm-leaf fan."
The bamboo fan spun with the wind. Yun Tangyin touched the patterns on the fan ribs and smiled, "It's more beautiful than the ones I bought in town. The orchids you carved are more realistic than the paintings."
"That's right," Fu Yucheng moved closer to her, "what my wife likes must be the best."
He suddenly stuffed a plum candy into her pocket and said, "It's better to suck it in your mouth than to sit there."
At lunchtime, Yu Xia came in with a bamboo tray containing a bowl of Tremella fuciformis soup. "Hurry up and drink it, Yinyin! It's made with lily bulbs, making it more hydrating than Tremella fuciformis alone, and perfect for cooling down internal heat."
She also scooped a spoonful into Fu Yucheng's bowl and said, "Drink some too. Your eyes are redder than a rabbit's."
Fu Yucheng was about to put the lily into Yun Tangyin's bowl when she held his chopsticks down and said, "I don't like sticky food. Eat it yourself."
She put a piece of tofu into his bowl and said, "It's better to eat more vegetarian food than meat all the time."
Yuxia covered her mouth and laughed: "The other day I saw Yuanshan weaving a bamboo bathtub, saying it was for the baby after it was born. I'll give you one when the time comes, so it won't be hard for you two to carry it."
Yun Tangyin's eyes lit up: "He is really careful."
Fu Yucheng lowered his head: "His bathtub is shallow. I'll get the child a deeper one. It can hold more water than his and will be more comfortable to bathe in."
In the evening, Fu Yucheng went to the kitchen to cook noodles. Yun Tangyin peeked through the door frame and saw him add a handful of spinach to the pot. "The old Chinese doctor said that spinach is good for iron and more nutritious than cabbage. You should eat more."
Yun Tangyin leaned over and sniffed it: "It smells really good, even better than the Yangchun noodles in the cafeteria."
She stuffed a piece of brown sugar into his hand and said, "Add some when kneading the dough. It's sweeter than without sugar."
Fu Yucheng bit the candy and smiled: "You really know how to eat. It's more appetizing than what my mom cooks."
He suddenly added a bamboo stick to the stove. "This bamboo stick burns steadily and cooks the noodles evenly. It's better than firewood."
At dinner, Fu Yucheng poured a bowl of spinach noodles into Yun Tangyin's bowl: "Look how thin these noodles are. They are softer than last time. Try it."
There was only white noodles in his own bowl. Yun Tangyin poured half a spoonful into his bowl and said, "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 legs when he suddenly said, "Tomorrow I'll go to town and buy you two kilograms of grapes. They're sweeter than hawthorns and not as sour. I'm sure you'll like them."
"No need to go so far," Yun Tangyin touched his hand, "Aunt Li's at the entrance of the village grows some, and they're fresher than the ones in town."
"That won't work," Fu Yucheng lowered his head and kissed her on the knee, "Her family's sour ones, I'll buy you the sweetest ones."
Yun Tangyin tugged at his collar and laughed, "Aren't you afraid of choking me?"
"How can that be possible?" Fu Yucheng hugged her in his arms, "I'm just worried that you'll get sour food all the time."
Fu Yucheng suddenly stuffed a small bamboo fruit plate into her hand. The edge of the plate was woven with twined branches. "Put the grapes you buy tomorrow here. It's lighter than a porcelain plate, so it won't be hard for you to carry."
He ran his fingertips across the bottom of the plate. "I specially made patterns to allow water to drain. When washing grapes, the water drains faster than on ordinary plates."
Yun Tangyin spun the fruit plate around and said, "It's even more exquisite than the wooden plates made by the carpenters in town. Your craftsmanship should be passed on to others."
She suddenly stuffed a plum into his mouth. "Is it sour? It's more sour than grapes."
Fu Yucheng squinted his eyes in sourness, but smiled and leaned close to her cheek: "No matter how sour it is, it's not as sour as you. You just said you don't want grapes, and now you're thinking about plums."
Yun Tangyin shrank into his arms: "Having you here is warmer than anything else."
She suddenly remembered something, "Oh, my second sister-in-law said the sour dates in the back mountain are ripe. How about we pick some tomorrow?"
Fu Yucheng quickly held her down and said, "The mountain road is very steep, harder to walk on than a ladder. I'll go by myself if you want to go. You wait at home."
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