Chapter 188
After eating milk fruit at noon, little Lingjun fell asleep. Since it was windy outside and not suitable to sit in the yard, Lu Gu and Shen Yan gathered around the brazier in the main hall to do needlework.
The New Year was just a month away, and unlike last year, their family now had an additional baby. During Shen Xuanqing’s last trip to town, Lu Gu had asked him to buy some good fabric to make new clothes, shoes, and a tiger-head hat. Since this was Lingjun’s first New Year, of course he needed a brand-new outfit from head to toe.
After winter arrived, Guaizi often stayed at the old house. Nowadays, Shen Xuanqing only hunted in the front mountains and would return after at most a day away.
Originally, Guaizi had been sleeping on a gunny sack in the corner, but after the brazier was lit, he dragged the sack over with his teeth and lay down beside it. Worried that the flames might singe the fur on his head, Lu Gu pulled both the dog and the sack a little further back.
"Not light at all," Lu Gu said with a laugh as he straightened up.
Shen Yan glanced at Guaizi and remarked, "With all that fat, of course he’s heavy."
Guaizi let out a low, threatening growl from his throat, as if he understood her words, but he remained lazily sprawled on the ground, clearly just bluffing.
"Lazybones," Shen Yan teased again, her almond-shaped eyes crinkling with amusement.
As they chatted and laughed, Guaizi’s ears suddenly perked up, and he stood up barking toward the outside. Lu Gu looked toward the door and saw that Shen Xuanqing had returned, carrying a bamboo basket.
"Second Brother," Shen Yan called out without getting up, then bent her head to bite off the embroidery thread in her hand.
Lu Gu set down his needlework. The wind outside was strong, and Shen Xuanqing walked quickly, so he merely stood up without going out.
"Asleep?" Shen Xuanqing asked.
Lu Gu knew exactly who he was asking about and nodded with a smile. "Just fell asleep. Have you eaten? There’s food left in the pot."
Shen Xuanqing set the bamboo basket on the ground and said, "I wanted to hurry back, so I only ate two crispy oil cakes in town."
"I’ll go get some for you. It should still be warm." Lu Gu headed toward the kitchen as he spoke.
Shen Yan examined her embroidery hoop - today’s colorful butterfly had turned out well, before setting it down and asking, "Second Brother, what did you buy?"
Hearing this, Shen Xuanqing moved the basket toward her. On top was a bundle wrapped in coarse cloth. He took it out and unfolded it, revealing a pile of brightly colored silk flowers and hair ribbons. "Everything’s here, the silk flowers you wanted, plus pears and roast chicken. I also bought winter pears. These two flowers are for Ling ger. The rest of the silk flowers, you can divide between yourselves."
He took out the two small silk flowers from the bundle. Shen Yan looked at them and smiled. "They’ll look lovely on him. Too bad Ling ger’s hair is still short, we can’t tie it into little buns. If we clip them on his ears, he’ll just pull them off. Last time, he snatched the silk flower right off my head and even yanked out a few strands of my hair. How about this, I’ll cut two strips of soft cloth and sew the flowers onto them, then tie them around Ling ger’s head like a headband. What do you think?"
Shen Xuanqing thought of how their little Lingjun loved grabbing things. Not just Shen Yan—sometimes, if they didn’t tuck the baby’s arms into the swaddle, he’d tug at whatever he could reach, whether it was an adult’s hair or sleeves. So he nodded and said, "That sounds perfect."
Shen Yan had always been enthusiastic about dressing up her little nephew and immediately went to rummage through fabric scraps in the room.
When Lu Gu returned with the food, he saw the two silk flowers in Shen Xuanqing’s hand meant for little Lingjun and couldn’t help but smile brightly. Their Lingjun was the prettiest baby, so it was only right to dress him up nicely.
"Is Mother not here?" Shen Xuanqing asked casually as he sat down to eat.
"She’s over there washing Zhaor’s clothes, he drenched them again," Lu Gu replied as he took things out of the bamboo basket. They’d save the roast chicken for dinner. Another oil-paper package contained crispy oil cakes, but when he touched them, they were cold. "If you want the cakes now, I can heat them up for you."
Shen Xuanqing, holding a soft white steamed bun in his hand, said, "No need. I ate two while they were still warm on the way back. I bought ten in total, the rest are for you."
Shen Yan came out of the room with the soft fabric she’d picked. Since the silk flowers were for little Lingjun, Lu Gu washed his hands, which had gotten a little greasy before joining her to work on them. If it were just for himself, he wouldn’t have bothered over a tiny bit of dirt. Chopping firewood and carrying water in winter were no easy tasks, so he saved effort where he could.
The two strips of soft fabric they cut were plain-colored and pale yellow, matching the two silk flowers perfectly. He and Shen Yan each took one and sewed the flowers onto them.
Right now, little Lingjun was still asleep, so they couldn’t fuss with him. If they woke him and he started crying, the whole family would suffer.
After the baby woke up, Lu Gu cuddled and soothed him, then fed him another milk fruit before sitting by the bed and calling Shen Yan in to tie the headband on him.
The two adults were full of enthusiasm, while little Lingjun blinked his big, dark eyes, unaware of what was happening. The headband made him uncomfortable, and he squirmed a little, trying to reach up and grab at whatever was on his head.
"So pretty," Shen Yan said, admiring the pale yellow silk flower on the side of little Ling ger’s head. Silk flowers were usually worn on the side rather than the center.
Even Shen Xuanqing leaned in to look. Being tall and standing, he didn’t need to squeeze closer.
The baby, so young and having barely been in the sun, had fair, tender skin. With the little silk flower, he looked both beautiful and adorable. His father, amu, and aunt all smiled as they gazed at little Lingjun.
"Oh, don’t want to wear it?" Lu Gu tried to stop Lingjun from grabbing at the headband, but when the baby kept fussing and even let out a cry, he had no choice but to take it off.
"Was it tied too tight? Let’s try loosening it," Shen Yan said, holding the lilac silk flower. Once her little nephew stopped squirming, she gently tried tying it again.
She hadn’t tied it tightly the first time, but little Lingjun wasn’t used to wearing anything on his head and naturally wanted to pull it off.
No comments:
Post a Comment