Chapter 167 This is the first snow of the year
Before daybreak, a layer of frost formed on the window paper.
As soon as Yun Tangyin opened her eyes, she saw Fu Yucheng adding coal to the stove, and the fire cast a flickering shadow on his profile.
"Awake?" He turned around and smiled, holding a white porcelain bowl in his hand. "Freshly cooked millet porridge. I've been cooking it for two hours. Try it and see if it's thick enough."
A layer of rice oil floats on the surface of the porridge, and the sweet aroma mixed with brown sugar fills the air.
Fu Yucheng had just taken two sips when Yun Tangyin took out a newly made cotton vest from the cabinet: "I asked my sister-in-law to help me alter it. Try it to see if it's tight."
A crooked orchid is embroidered on the navy blue corduroy. Although the stitches are sparse, you can see that it was carefully crafted.
"I didn't give it to you before because I always felt that I didn't make it well. Now I don't think too much about it." Yun Tangyin smiled while touching the fur on her collar. "If you dare to dislike it, I won't make anything for you anymore."
Fu Yucheng smiled and shook his head, stuffing a cloth bag into her hand: "The kitchen team just distributed some eggs. I boiled six of them. You can eat two in the morning."
He suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Director Wang said there are wild walnuts growing in the back hills, which are good for the fetus's brain. I'll go pick some at noon."
As he was speaking, the rabbit in the bamboo cage suddenly jumped up from the bars.
Yun Tangyin added a handful of alfalfa into the cage, and the white fluffy ball immediately curled up into a ball, its three-petal mouth moving rapidly.
"Look how greedy it is," she teased the rabbit with a smile, "when I pick the walnuts, I'll give you half of it depending on my mood."
Just as Fu Yucheng picked up his gun and was about to go for training, Mrs. Li came in, holding the child in her arms and lifting the curtain, with a bamboo basket slung over her arm.
"Freshly steamed egg custard with sesame oil," she put the bowl on the table, the porcelain bowl jingling against the surface. "My husband got a bag of milk powder from the regiment headquarters and made you a bowl. Drink it while it's hot."
Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of candy into the child's hand: "I just exchanged it from the supply and marketing cooperative. Try it."
Mrs. Li nodded and suddenly stuffed a bag of hawthorn slices into her pocket. "My parents sent them. They're sour. I'm sure you'll love them while you're pregnant."
The child kicked his legs in her arms, his little hands clutching the corner of Yun Tangyin's clothes, his saliva dripping down his chin onto the cloth, leaving a small wet mark.
After seeing Mrs. Li off, Yun Tangyin sat in front of the embroidery frame, and used pink thread to draw the outline of a longevity lock on the red cloth, and then began to embroider seriously.
The sunlight shines through the ice-flowered window, casting tiny spots of light on the cloth.
The rabbit in the bamboo cage also yawned, and suddenly pricked up its ears. Xiaolan ran in holding a rag doll, and the red hairband on her braid turned into small flames in the wind.
"Sister-in-law, I'm here again!" The little girl held up a cloth tiger with its ears sewn sideways. "My mother said the tiger's eyes should be embroidered fiercely to ward off evil spirits."
She stuffed a wild apple into Yun Tangyin's hand and said, "I picked it in the back mountain. It's a little sour. Mom said it's perfect for you since you're pregnant."
Yun Tangyin took the cloth tiger and smiled, "The tiger claws are embroidered really well, much better than the first time I did it."
She held Xiaolan's hand and taught her to embroider the tiger's eyes more roundly.
When the sun reached the top of his head, Fu Yucheng came back carrying half a basket of wild walnuts, his army green cotton jacket stained with grass debris.
"The walnut tree on the back hill is too tall," he said, pouring walnuts onto the table, the shells still sticking to their fresh green skins. "I climbed up to pick them."
Yun Tangyin stuffed a piece of locust flower cake into his hand: "Hurry up and eat it."
She touched the scratch on the back of his hand and frowned, "Why did you break it again? I told you not to climb trees."
"It's okay," Fu Yucheng smeared some lard on the wound. "It's just a minor injury. I asked the kitchen staff to make a pot of chicken soup with red dates to nourish you."
As the chicken soup was bubbling in the pot, Zhou Desheng's wife came in with a bowl of pickled cucumbers: "I heard you had chicken soup at home? These cucumbers are just right for you to help you get rid of the greasiness."
She glanced at the stove and saw the rabbit in the bamboo cage chewing walnut shells. She smiled, squatted down and started teasing the rabbit.
Yun Tangyin stuffed a pair of baby socks into her hands. "I just knitted them. Keep them for your child. By the way, have the cloth coupons been distributed yet?"
"It'll be sent tomorrow," Zhou Desheng's wife said as she put the socks in her pocket. "My wife said she'd leave you two feet of floral fabric, perfect for swaddling clothes."
She suddenly lowered her voice, "The regiment is going to give out brown sugar to the military families, two kilograms per person, enough for you to drink until you die."
When the evening wind blew snowflakes and knocked on the window, Fu Yucheng was massaging Yun Tangyin's legs.
His palms were broad and carried the warmth of firewood smoke. He rubbed up along the calves, relieving the soreness and swelling.
"During training today," he suddenly laughed, "Zhou Desheng said that when his wife was pregnant, she could eat three steamed breads in one meal. You should eat more too." Yun Tangyin stuffed a walnut into his mouth: "What? I can eat five in one meal? Are you satisfied?"
She pointed at the New Year pictures on the wall and laughed, "Look at this fat baby. His face is as round as yours, but his eyes are not as big as mine."
Fu Yucheng hugged her in his arms, and the charcoal brazier at his feet was glowing red.
"After the baby is born," he said softly, caressing her belly, "I'll go to the logistics department and apply to make chicken soup for you every day."
The snow outside the window was falling heavier and heavier, covering the firewood pile in the corner of the yard with white, but the warmth in the house was accumulating thicker and thicker, like a bowl of millet porridge that had been cooked all night, too thick to dissolve.
At night, Yun Tangyin was awakened by thirst. When she was about to go get some water in the dark, Fu Yucheng suddenly sat up and said, "I'll go."
He turned on the light, and in the dim light, his shadow was stretched out very long. He poured warm water into the enamel cup and added a spoonful of brown sugar.
"Drink slowly," he handed over the cup, "Don't burn yourself."
Yun Tangyin was drinking sugar water when she saw him add a piece of coal to the stove. The light from the fire made his eyelashes look like they were covered with gold powder.
"Who do you think the child will look like?" she suddenly asked, drawing circles on the back of his hand with her fingertips.
"Like you," Fu Yucheng put her hand in his arms to warm it, "big eyes and fair skin."
The oil lamp flickered on the desk, casting the shadows of the two people on the wall, like a painting soaked in warmth.
The rabbit in the bamboo cage sneezed, and the walnut shells rolled to the ground, making a crackling sound.
Yun Tangyin leaned on Fu Yucheng's shoulder and fell asleep listening to his steady heartbeat.
The next morning, the snow stopped and the sun illuminated the yard.
This is the first snow of the year.
Yun Tangyin opened the window, and cold air wrapped in the freshness of snow rushed in. The firewood pile in the corner of the yard was covered with a thick layer of snow, like a white quilt.
The rabbit in the bamboo cage had opened the cage door at some point and was squatting in the snow, chewing cabbage leaves, with snowflakes stuck to its fur falling down.
"Look at this little thing," she called back with a smile. Fu Yucheng was adding coal to the stove when he heard the sound and came over. He followed her gaze and suddenly turned around to pick up a piece of coarse cloth. "I'll fix the cage door. Don't let it run out so often and get cold."
Yun Tangyin placed a coarse porcelain bowl on the stove. Inside was crushed walnuts mixed with a little brown sugar. "I just ground it. I kneaded the dough and steamed it for you to keep in your pocket while you train. Eat a few bites when you're hungry."
She stuffed a pair of cotton gloves into Fu Yucheng's hands so that he could reinforce the rabbit cage to keep it warm.
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