I bring bad luck to my husband, you bring bad luck to your wife.

After the Lunar New Year, on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, it was a rare occasion that both brothers, Yang Tongshan and Yang Tongchuan, were home.

I've finished all the dust-sweeping and cleaning today.

Two grown men work really fast.

It was cleaned up before lunch.

"Mother, I don't have anything to do this afternoon. I'd like to go for a walk with Xiangxi." Yang Tongchuan felt that Xiangxi hadn't been out for several days and must be feeling restless.

Yang Tongshan just got back from outside and isn't going out again. He'll spend the afternoon catching up on sleep at home with his wife.

"Go ahead, and buy some glutinous rice flour while you're at it, we'll steam rice cakes tomorrow." Mother Yang was tidying up the storeroom with Yanzi. This work was dusty and choking, so she didn't dare let Xiangxi do it.

"understood."

Yang Tongchuan led Xiangxi slowly toward the market in the west of the city, and they could conveniently stop by to check out Xiang Qiang's stall.

The market in the west of the city was less crowded in the afternoon than in the morning.

Yang Tongchuan carefully held Xiangxi close to his side, and when they encountered patrolling colleagues who greeted him, Yang Tongchuan made sure to hold Xiangxi's hand tightly.

When we arrived at Xiang Qiang's stall, it was past lunchtime. The stall wasn't busy, and Xiang Qiang and his wife had just finished eating.

"Sit here, by the stove, it'll be warm." The elder sister-in-law happily offered her a good spot.

"Thank you, sister-in-law. How are Bao'er and Gui'er doing lately?"

"He's doing great. Gui'er grows up fast, and the clothes that Bao'er had when he was little fit him perfectly."

When talking about her two children, the sister-in-law doesn't feel tired no matter how hard things are.

"I heard from my husband that my older brother and sister-in-law are moving to a new house. Have they found a suitable one yet?"

"Not yet. The matchmaker took me to see a few, but they were either in bad locations or ridiculously expensive. We're not in a rush, we'll take our time." The older sister-in-law's face had gained some weight, and she wasn't as thin and bony as before.

Houses with a front shop and a back yard are in short supply; it's really not easy to find a suitable one.

"I've asked my husband to keep an eye out for suitable ones too. He'll let you know when we find something suitable." Xiangxi sat at the stall for a while before leaving.

He smelled the freshly baked jujube cake and his mouth watered.

Xiang Qiang packed a bag of freshly roasted chestnuts for Xiang happy.

Yang Tongchuan didn't refuse and gave them all to Xiangxi.

As Yang Tongchuan approached the jujube cake shop, he noticed that Xiangxi's little nose was twitching constantly, and she was swallowing hard with longing.

"You're like a little pig now, you get hungry again right after eating." Yang Tongchuan said this, but he didn't delay buying the jujube cake at all.

"I don't know what's wrong with me. I was craving spicy food a while ago, but now I'm craving sweet food. The doctor won't let me eat too much of it." Xiangxi said, sounding aggrieved.

"A little bit won't hurt." Yang Tongchuan saw that Xiangxi was really unhappy, so he stopped teasing him. He took a piece of jujube cake and held it to Xiangxi's mouth.

"Let me hold it for you, it's a little hot. Eat slowly."

With a bite of the sweet jujube cake, Xiangxi forgot her grievances and wanted to have a second bite.

"Wait, let me blow on it for you, it's hot." Yang Tongchuan was afraid that the hot liquid inside would burn Xiangxi, so he didn't dare to feed it to Xiangxi's mouth without blowing it to cool it down.

Fortunately, there weren't many people at the market, otherwise it would have been quite embarrassing.

As the two passed by a small stall, Xiangxi took a fancy to a purse that was perfect for Yang Tongchuan's constable uniform.

They picked it up and placed it on Yang Tongchuan's body to compare.

"Buy it for me?"

"Hmm, is it pretty?"

"don't want."

"Why? What about this one?" Xiangxi picked up another one.

"No, other men's purses are embroidered by their wives, I want you to embroider one for me too, I don't want to buy one."

"I don't know how."

"You can learn if you don't know how. Your sister-in-law is quite good at needlework. You can ask her to teach you another day." Yang Tongchuan had been thinking about this for a long time.

The eldest brother changes his purse every now and then, and even matches different clothes with different styles, all of which are made by his sister-in-law.

Yang Tongchuan had been eyeing this for a long time, and now that he had the chance, he was determined to order one from Xiangxi.

Therefore, we also need to take Xiangxi to buy fabric.

"I don't need to buy fabric to make a purse, I have some at home." Xiangxi thought to herself, she shouldn't waste good fabric with her skills.

I'll go to my sister-in-law's place another day and find some scraps of fabric to practice with first.

On my way home after shopping, I ran into Ming Le looking for Xiang happy.

"These are swaddle blankets for the baby. Please check if the thickness is suitable." Mingle made two swaddle blankets, one thick and one thin.

The fabric and cotton were provided by her mother-in-law; Mingle only needed to do the handiwork, which was quick.

"Thank you, sister-in-law, it's so beautiful." Xiangxi touched the small swaddle blanket and casually mentioned to Mingle that she wanted some scraps of cloth to practice making sachets.

After hearing what had happened, Ming Le covered her mouth and laughed.

"Okay, I'll go find some for you right away. After steaming the rice cakes tomorrow, I'll teach you how to make sachets. It's simple, anyone can do it."

[My dear sister-in-law, please don't say that.] Xiangxi smiled bitterly to herself.

The 25th day of the twelfth lunar month

Today, Yang's mother taught Xiangxi how to steam rice cakes.

"Our mother-in-law's steamed rice cakes are the best around here, you should learn how to make them properly." Mingle said while cooking beans.

These red beans were soaked overnight.

"You're so sweet-talking; you always say everything I make is delicious," Yang's mother said to Mingle with a smile.

Xiangxi had never made rice cakes before, so she was really interested.

A steamer rack has already been placed on the largest pot in the house.

Yang's mother skillfully spread a layer of cooked red beans on the fire, and then asked Yanzi to watch the fire.

I taught Xiangxi how to knead the powder myself.

"Our family steams two kinds every year. Tongshan likes glutinous rice, and Tongchuan likes millet. The method is the same for both, just watch."

First, pour a little warm sugar water into the flour while kneading.

Continue until the moisture level of the entire pot of powder is such that it can be formed into a ball that crumbles easily when rubbed.

Just then, the big pot started steaming.

Xiangxi followed Yang's mother in sprinkling the first layer of flour.

The baby inside the belly probably felt the heat coming from outside the belly and kicked a few times restlessly.

Xiangxi sprinkled flour with one hand and gently stroked her belly with the other, comforting the baby inside.

After the first layer is applied, cover the container and wait for the gas to rise again before applying the second layer.

"The second layer is made with chopped dates, which were all cut in advance. After laying down a layer of dates, we sprinkle another layer of powder. Our big pot can hold three layers."

The rice cake is only finished when a thick layer of red beans is sprinkled on top of the third layer.

Cover and steam for half an hour.

"Do you understand now?"

"Understood."

"Okay, you take a break first. The next pot is millet, which Tongchuan likes to eat. You can make it for him."

"Yes, Mother."

While waiting for the rice cakes, Mingle took out the scraps of cloth she had found that could be used to make purses and gave them to Xiangxi to choose from.

Xiangxi chose a dark blue one.

"You have a good eye; this piece is indeed suitable for your second brother." Ming Le took out another piece of cloth and taught Xiang Xi how to cut the cloth and how to sew.

Xiangxi understood everything, but as soon as he started, the needle seemed to be deliberately working against him, with the stitches crooked and twisted like centipede legs.

"This is much harder than sprinkling rice cakes," Xiangxi said, making everyone laugh.