Chapter 165 Such an Ordinary Day
Fu Yucheng's palm covered Yun Tangyin's hand that was tracing his eyebrows and eyes, and the thin calluses on the palm of his hand made her fingertips itchy.
"Can't sleep?" His voice was hoarse from just waking up, like half-burned charcoal in the stove. "Is the kang too hard? I'll put some quilt under the bed for you."
Yun Tangyin shook her head, her fingertips sliding along his jawline to his Adam's apple: "It's like listening to a rabbit chewing vegetables. I find it rare."
The noises in the bamboo cage stopped at some point, leaving only the moonlight filtering through the window paper, casting a hazy white hue on the ground. "Do you think this rabbit understands human nature? It knows how lively the courtyard is today."
Fu Yucheng turned over and sat up, adding a piece of charcoal to the stove.
The fire suddenly jumped up, illuminating the moonlight falling on his shoulders, like a layer of fine snow.
"I'll get him a bigger cage tomorrow," he said, pulling out a piece of coarse cloth from the cupboard. "Do you think this is enough? I'll make the bottom of the cage thicker so it doesn't get hurt."
Yun Tangyin grabbed the corner of his clothes and said, "Stop struggling. It's almost dawn."
She shrank into his arms, her nose brushing against the buttons on his cotton-padded jacket. "I remember the wooden basin you gave me when I first got married. It seems to be falling apart."
"That basin should have been replaced long ago," Fu Yucheng laughed, the vibration of his chest coming through his clothes. "When the bathhouse is repaired, we'll buy an enamel basin. It's big and smooth."
He suddenly stuffed a hard object into her hand. In the moonlight, she saw that it was a shiny copper coin. "I found it when I was cleaning the stage today."
Yun Tangyin held the copper coin in her palm, the warm touch mixed with his body temperature.
"Do you think the child will look like you?" she asked softly, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the corner of his clothes. "If it's a boy, I'll let him learn how to shoot a gun from you. If it's a girl, I'll teach her embroidery."
Fu Yucheng kissed her temple, his stubble tickling her: "He looks like you, with big eyes, unlike me who always glares at people. Mom always thinks I look fierce."
He looked out the window and saw the sky was already turning pale. "It's time to get up. I'll go get some water. You heat up the steamed cakes and give two to Old Zhang."
When the water buckets in the yard collided with each other, making crisp sounds, Yun Tangyin was adding vegetables to the cage.
The rabbit came over with its ears erect, chewing quickly with its three-lobed mouth. The dew on the leaves splashed onto the bamboo sticks, making them sparkle.
"Eat slowly," she teased it with a smile, "when the cabbage is planted in the spring, you can eat as much as you want."
The flames in the stove licked the bottom of the pot, and the sweet aroma of steamed cakes filled the yard.
Yun Tangyin filled two bowls of porridge and was about to take them out when she saw Fu Yucheng coming in carrying water. Beads of sweat on his forehead dripped down his jawline, glistening in the morning light.
"There's a thin layer of ice on the edge of the well," he put down the bucket, splashing water on the bluestone slabs, "I found a sack to cover it, so you don't have to go in there."
Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of steamed cake into his hand: "It's freshly heated, to cushion the pain."
She wiped his sweat with a cloth, her fingertips touching his hot skin, "Don't go to training today, take a day off, you look tired."
"No way," Fu Yucheng smiled while biting the steamed cake, "We have to practice assassination today, I have to watch over it."
He stuffed a cloth bag into her hand and said, "I just got some brown sugar from the kitchen. Soak it in water and drink it."
There was still some stove ash on the cloth bag, which was just taken from the stove.
As she was speaking, Xiaolan ran in holding a rag doll. The rabbit's ears had been sewn straight, and a small flower was embroidered crookedly on it.
"Look, sister-in-law!" She held it high, the red string on her braid dangling back and forth, "My mother said my embroidery was beautiful!"
Yun Tangyin took the doll and praised it: "This flower is embroidered very well, better than the first time I did it."
She stuffed a piece of steamed cake into Xiaolan's hand and said, "Eat it while it's hot."
Xiaolan ran to the yard while chewing on a steamed cake. Suddenly, she turned back and stuffed a wild date into Yun Tangyin's pocket: "I picked it in the back mountain. It's so sweet."
The wild dates were still covered with fuzz, mixed with a childish warmth.
When Fu Yucheng was carrying water out, he ran into Zhou Desheng coming in carrying a hoe.
"Brother Fu, do you want to go to the back mountain?" He asked in a loud voice, startling the sparrows under the eaves and making them flutter and fly away. "I'm going to dig some wild vegetables, and you can make soup for my sister-in-law."
"Go," Fu Yucheng put down the bucket, "wait for me to change my clothes."
He stuffed a key into Yun Tangyin's hand and said, "Lock the door. I'll be back at noon."
Yun Tangyin leaned against the door frame and watched them walk towards the back mountain.
Fu Yucheng's army green cotton jacket was particularly conspicuous in the morning light, followed by Zhou Desheng's blue cloth jacket. The laughter of the two drifted over with the wind, mixed with the sound of military bugles in the distance, like a down-to-earth song.
The fire in the stove gradually died down, and Yun Tangyin added a ladle of water to the pot, preparing to soak some brown sugar.
The rabbit outside the window was gnawing at the bamboo cage again, its three-lobed mouth moving rapidly, as if it was counting the hours waiting for someone to come back.
She touched her belly and smiled. This ordinary day was like the fire in the stove, not strong, but warm enough to make people's hearts burn.
When the sun reached the top of the head, Yun Tangyin was teaching Xiao Lanna how to make shoe soles.
The needle tip pierced through the thick cotton cloth, making a slight "puff" sound, like a spring silkworm eating mulberry leaves.
"The stitches must be even," she demonstrated, holding Xiaolan's hand. "That way it will be strong enough to wear all winter."
Xiaolan's finger was pricked. She sucked her lips and dared not make a sound, but she still clenched the needle and thread, with a serious look in her eyes.
Familiar footsteps were heard outside the yard. Yun Tangyin looked up and saw Fu Yucheng coming in carrying firewood. On his back was a bamboo basket filled with half a basket of shepherd's purse, which was green and covered with dew.
"I dug up some tender ones," he put down the bamboo basket, and the fragrance of shepherd's purse spread out, "I'll make you shepherd's purse and tofu soup."
Xiaolan jumped out and said, "I'll go home and tell my mom to go dig too!"
Fu Yucheng stuffed a wild flower into Yun Tangyin's hand. It was bright yellow and had thorns on its stem.
"I picked it in the back hill," he said a little embarrassedly, "because it looked nice."
The dew on the petals fell into her palm, feeling cool.
Yun Tangyin put the flowers in the empty vase on the windowsill and suddenly laughed out loud: "You rough guy, you know how to pick flowers."
She stuffed a pair of cloth shoes into his hands and said, "They're freshly made. Try them on and see if they fit."
There was a simple orchid embroidered on the shoe upper, which she had embroidered last night in the moonlight.
Fu Yucheng put on his cloth shoes and took two steps. The soles were soft and a little warm.
"Just right," he smiled and spun around, "It's more comfortable than the ones issued by the Quartermaster Department."
He added more firewood to the stove and said, "I'm going to make soup. You go and take a rest."
The shepherd's purse rolled in the pot, turning into fine green pieces, and the tofu cubes floated in the soup.
Yun Tangyin leaned against the door frame, watching Fu Yucheng stir the pot clumsily with the spatula, his army green sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his strong forearms.
The sunlight shone through the window lattice onto him, giving him a golden edge, so that even the white hair on his temples could be seen clearly.
"It's almost ready," Fu Yucheng poured a spoonful of soup into her bowl, "Try it."
The heat blurred his eyebrows, but it couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
