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

The 26th day of the twelfth lunar month

Mr. Yang hired someone to bring back the pig that the Yang family had ordered for the New Year.

Slaughtering a pig requires drawing blood, and to avoid offending Xiangxi, Yang's father specially had the pig bled and butchered at the butcher's place before bringing it back.

The large, fat pig, its hair completely removed, was cut into several large pieces and hung heavily on the cart, still steaming.

Yang's father directed the young man driving the cart to help carry the pork into the yard.

This was the first time Xiangxi had ever seen someone bring home a whole pig for the New Year.

"In previous years, buying half a pig was enough, but this year, since you're pregnant, we're buying a whole one so you can eat it during your postpartum period." Yang's mother was quite satisfied with this New Year's pig. The fat from just this pig's body alone could render several jars of lard.

Now that it's cold and frozen, pork can be stored for a long time, so there's no need to worry about having too much.

At noon, Xiangxi drank bone broth and ate boneless meat. She was full without even needing to eat a bite of noodles.

"Tie up Zhen Laifu this afternoon, I want to make sausages." Yang's mother is old and can't eat meat anymore, so she likes to eat cabbage cooked in meat broth.

"Okay, I'll chop the meat." Ming Le was quite familiar with this process.

"No need, let your father-in-law do the chopping. He wanders around all day. If we don't give him something to do, who knows where he'll wander off to."

Mr. Yang ate his meal in silence, pretending not to hear, and didn't argue with Mrs. Yang.

Xiangxi and Mingle exchanged glances, unable to suppress a chuckle, but dared not utter a word.

After finishing his meal, Mr. Yang drank a couple of sips of tea, then went out into the yard, placed the meat that Mrs. Yang had picked out for making sausages on the chopping board, and began chopping and mincing the meat.

Swallows were repeatedly cleaning the intestines.

The waiting time.

Xiangxi followed Yang's mother to learn how to marinate pork belly.

"Make sure to add enough salt, otherwise it won't soak through and will spoil." Mother Yang also told Xiangxi the proportions of the spices, which Xiangxi noted down.

The whole afternoon, Xiangxi learned from her mother-in-law how to marinate meat, how to make sausages, and many other things related to the Chinese New Year.

"Xiangxi, hang the sausages a little higher, lest wild cats steal them."

Yang's mother reminded Xiangxi.

"Okay." Xiangxi was busy all day but didn't feel tired at all; she just felt her heart was full.

So this is what the New Year's atmosphere is like.

The meat and vegetables at lunch were too tough, and the family really couldn't eat much for dinner, so we simply stewed some tofu.

Yang Tongchuan will be on night patrol tonight and won't be coming home for dinner.

Xiangxi left him a bowl of pork bone soup for lunch on the pot.

Rice cakes are hard to digest if eaten at night, so I'll reheat them and give them to him tomorrow morning.

While waiting for Yang Tongchuan in the house that evening, Xiangxi took out that pitiful purse again.

A gift like this was definitely not presentable, so Xiangxi had no choice but to take it apart and start sewing it again.

The brazier inside was burning brightly, so it wasn't cold at all.

Xiangxi patiently worked on the techniques Mingle had taught him, trying his best to make a presentable purse.

When Xiangxi heard Yang Tongchuan's footsteps outside the door, she hurriedly put the fabric away and hid it.

He was also afraid that Yang Tongchuan would laugh at his skills.

As the door opened, a wisp of cool air followed Yang Tongchuan inside.

"Why are you sitting here? You're still awake."

"I'm waiting for you. There's some pork rib soup keeping warm in the kitchen. I'll bring it over for you."

"No need, I'll get it and also get some hot water for washing up. Don't move."

As soon as Yang Tongchuan got home, he saw the sausages hanging in the yard.

Xiangxi must have had a busy day.

Upon entering the kitchen, besides the pork rib soup, I also saw rice cakes drying on the side.

Yang Tongchuan couldn't resist taking a few bites.

Why does this year's millet rice cake taste different from previous years? The filling isn't evenly distributed.

Yang Tongchuan didn't think much of it, and carried the pork rib soup and hot water back to the west wing.

"Come over and have a drink with us."

"I'm not drinking anymore. I've only eaten meat all day, and I'm already full."

Xiangxi sat and chatted with Yang Tongchuan.

"Did you see the rice cake in the kitchen? Mother said you love yellow millet noodles, so she specially asked me to sprinkle yellow millet on it." Xiangxi was very proud.

"I didn't notice, but I could taste it." Yang Tongchuan thought to himself, no wonder it wasn't sprinkled evenly, it turns out it was Xiangxi who did it.

"What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?"

"It's not bad, it's just not quite the same as my mother's. It tastes more like my daughter-in-law's cooking."

"You're just kidding me. If it doesn't taste good, it doesn't taste good."

"It's delicious, really delicious. There's nothing Xiangxi can't do in this world. Don't overthink it. I just sneaked a few pieces in the kitchen. Heat up a couple more for me tomorrow morning."

"Okay, if you like it, I'll make it for you often from now on."

"You'll have to take care of this little tyrant from now on, so you won't have time to sprinkle rice cakes for me." Yang Tongchuan had been working overtime and staying up all night to free up time during the first month of the lunar year to spend with Xiangxi and take care of the child.

After finishing his meal, Yang Tongchuan felt that his hands were no longer cold before he dared to reach out and touch Xiangxi's belly.

"No, you're important too. Hey, why is there a tear in your clothes?" Xiangxi noticed that there was a small tear in Yang Tongchuan's constable uniform hanging to the side.

"It was probably scratched during patrol tonight. We caught a petty thief on patrol today. That guy was dishonest; he stole things while carrying a knife."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, everything's fine. That petty thief, after we caught him, I kicked him to the ground, and he's in jail now. It's almost the end of the year, and there are a lot of petty thieves like that now. Luckily, we have a dog, and if there's any noise, Zhen Laifu can still bark a few times."

"Mother says there's been little rain and snow this year, so who knows how the crops will turn out next year?"

"Don't worry about this. Just rest quietly. Even if the sky falls, it's not your place to hold it up." Yang Tongchuan picked up Xiangxi and walked to the bedside.

"Are you crazy? The doctor said it's no use."

"What are you thinking about? I'm not going to do anything, just carry you to bed." Yang Tongchuan loved teasing Xiangxi.

"What? What else do you want to do?" Yang Tongchuan rubbed Xiangxi's face with the stubble on his chin.

"It pricks, I hate it."

"Okay, okay, I won't prick you. I'll shave you tomorrow morning."

In the middle of the night, Xiangxi's leg cramped up again.

Before Xiangxi could do anything, Yang Tongchuan woke up first.

"It's okay, relax, let me give you a massage."

Yang Tongchuan's body temperature was higher than Xiang Xi's, and his palms were burning hot.

"Hang in there for a few more days, it'll be fine after you give birth." Yang Tongchuan sat up, massaging Xiangxi's calves with one hand and placing the other hand on her back, gently comforting her.

"Hmm." After the sensation passed, Xiangxi fell into a deep sleep again.

Yang Tongchuan couldn't sleep.

In fact, Yang Tongchuan's sleep was worse than Xiangxi's during this period. He had too many things on his mind and would wake up before dawn every day.

The twenty-seventh day of the twelfth lunar month

The weather was gloomy that day, and it looked like it was going to snow.

Yang's mother called Mingle and Xiangxi into the room, and the group sat around the kang (a heated brick bed) cutting paper snowflakes.

As Yang's mother was getting old, she preferred to sleep on a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove). However, the two brothers, Yang Tongshan and Yang Tongchuan, were hot-tempered, so they didn't build a kang in their house and always used a small brazier instead.

"Mom, I want to buy some hawthorns tomorrow so I can make some candied hawthorns on the first day of the Lunar New Year and keep them at home for the children of relatives who come to visit."

"Okay, no need for tomorrow. If it doesn't snow this afternoon, I'll have Yanzi go buy it. Don't overwork yourself, just make a small amount."

"Um."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xiangxi felt a spasm in her stomach, as if she were experiencing urinary incontinence.