Mo Jinchen left his home early the next morning to climb the mountain to the location he uses as hunting grounds. Lin Yue was still asleep in their bed. He smiled at the memory of their shared bath the night before. A growl drew his attention. The wolf was waiting for him as he expected. He gave the animal a nod and he followed the wolf up the path to the area that the prey was plentiful. But instead of leading him to the prey, the wolf led him to a litter of wolf pups. The pile of grey and black fur on the ground gave Mo Jinchen hope for his comrade. "Congratulations my friend. If all goes well, I will have my own pups with my new wife." The black wolf reached into the pile and pulled out a snow white pup that looked weak and smaller than it's siblings. The wolf moved to Mo Jinchen and placed the pup at his feet. Mo Jinchen was shocked, he didn't expect his comrade to give him such a precious gift. Mo Jinchen gently lifted the weak pup into his arms. "Thank you, my friend. My wife will raise him well. This I am sure of." Mo Jinchen said this because in the animal kingdom, females raised the young. Mo Jinchen placed the pup in the basket he brought with him and lined it with fur from the den to make it softer for his new son. Then he followed the wolf to catch prey for his wife and new pup. This time, he didn't skin the prey and leave behind the furs, he left them whole and decided to treat the furs so his wife could make clothes for them to wear this winter. He was able to catch three deer and several rabbits. The furs would make a beautiful warm blanket for their bed.
Lin Yue woke up not long after Mo Jinchen left. She washed up quickly and dressed in a simple light blue cheongsam and put a cherry wood pin in her hair. She walked to the brigade building for the meeting with the ladies in the brigade. Mo Long had set up an outside kitchen with everything she would need to demonstrate how to preserve food. The group of ladies who decided to learn all stood around outside stove to examine the pressure pot. The lid of the pot had locks to seal in the steam. Lin Yue smiled as she moved to stand on the platform. "Good morning ladies, I am Mo Jinchen's wife, Lin Yue. Today I have both good and bad news. The bad news is that due to the previous accountant in charge of the grain and produce, we will have a very lean winter. The good news is that Captain Mo and I have come up with a solution to help the brigade. I will be instructing you all on how to preserve food so it can last the winter and longer if possible." Lin Yue did not give the women a chance to chatter about the leanness of the harvest. She went right into the lesson while Feng Dai and a few more soldiers handed out the printed recipe book. "We will do a quick recipe today. Pickled eggs. Go to a station and we will begin." The stoves each had a pot and enough eggs to make ten jars as well as the ingredients to make them. Lin Yue instructed the women to boil the eggs in the water with the seasonings list in their books. While the eggs boiled she went over the different things that can be preserved.
Mo Jinchen returned to their house and put the pup in their room then went to the brigade to see how Lin Yue was doing with the lesson. He arrived in time to watch the women giggling as the peeled and placed eggs in the jars provided to them. "As a gift for our first lesson, you can each keep the pots and jars used for use at your homes to try out the other recipes in the books we provided. As women of the Tensu Brigade we should stand united with our men in the coming hard times." The women, all surrounding Lin Yue, began to ask her questions about her recipes and the technique for each one. Lin Yue was gentle and kind as she answered each question with ease and gave detailed instructions on her techniques for the preservation process. Mo Jinchen smiled to himself, his little wife was quite extraordinary. He noticed Li Xue standing outside the courtyard with a look of hatred on her delicate face. He narrowed his eyes slightly, yet he said nothing. He would have to have Li Xue watched. She had far to much interest in his wife.
Lin Yue had walked the women through the process of peeling and putting the eggs in the jars, then poured the seasoned water with a mix of vinegar over them. She then had them placed in the pressure pots to finish sealing the jars. The women began to gossip about their families and their husbands. Lin Yue was now a married woman and was allowed in on the conversations. "Mrs. Lin, you are so lucky to have such a handsome husband. Does the rest of him match his face?" Lin Yue blushed and the women giggled. "Ooh, I bet you were so tired yesterday after your first night. He looks so strong and energetic." Lin Yue gasped in shock. "Is this what I missed out on before my marriage, shameless women!" She teased, giggling with them. The women didn't mind her teasing and only laughed harder at her embarrassment. "We should bet on how quickly you get pregnant! I don't think he will let you rest until you are!" One particularly loud woman said happily. Lin blushed even harder at the images that flooded her mind. She still bit back. "Knowing how 'lucky' I am, I might give him multiple children at once." The women cackled at her comment.
Mo Jinchen appeared as they were laughing so hard. "What has the women of the Brigade so happy this afternoon?" They stopped laughing and looked at each other before roaring with laughter even harder.
As soon as the women were calmed down, they began to place their sealed jars of pickled eggs into their own baskets and then kept their new pressure pots. The women laughed openly and left the courtyard, giving Lin Yue suggestive looks and smiles. Mo Jinchen smiled softly at his wife who was blushing and laughing with the women. He was glad his little wife was so loved by the people in the brigade.
As the couple walked home, several more people greeted Lin Yue. Jinchen realized how loved his gentle wife truly was. The children would run up and she would stop and listen to them chatter to her about their day. Then she would give them candy and send them off to their parents. "Do you like children?" Jinchen generally wanted to know because he saw children in their future together. "I love children. I hope to have my own some day." Mo Jinchen smiled at his wife. "If that is what you wish, I don't mind helping you." Lin Yue blushed at his words.