But when it came to showing one's heartfelt sentiment, nothing compared to something made with one's own hands. Lin He realized she truly didn't have much she could personally craft. Those stuffed dolls were meant for the shop, too commercial, not right.

How about the dried sweet potatoes? Giving those to Uncle Wen didn't seem appropriate; those things weren't presentable. She truly had nothing else, which put her in a real bind.

Seeing Lin He's troubled expression, Mother Huang chuckled, tapped her head and said, "Even you, my clever girl, have times when you're stumped. Take your time and think it over. I won't interfere with this, but if you need money, just ask me. You must decide on a gift for Wen Shu for Laba yourself."

A few days later, when Lin Er Niu returned home in the evening, he and Mother Huang began discussing what gifts to give to relatives and friends for Laba, and whom they should include. Mother Huang tallied up the list and realized there were quite a few relatives and friends to consider—her own parents, brothers, and certainly those from her maiden family couldn't be omitted.

The Xu Auntie's household and Mr. Xu’s household both required gifts, as did some distant clan members; everyone warranted something, big or small. The question remained what exactly to give and how much would be appropriate.

In truth, gift-giving in this era wasn't overly complicated; generally, foodstuffs were the standard—things like pork, white flour, or pastries. It was mostly just those items, unlike the previous life where as long as one had money, anything could be bought as a gift.

Mother Huang and Er Niu whispered together for a long time before deciding: for her parents' side and the maternal grandparents, each household would receive a portion of pork, a bolt of cloth, five catties of white flour, two packets of pastries, and an additional two hundred large cash coins. For the brothers' side, they would receive one portion of pork, five catties of corn flour, and two packets of pastries.

As for Xu Auntie's family, they deserved more. In previous years, Xu Auntie had given them many things, and she hadn't properly reciprocated. This year, she determined to send something over—cured dried meat, along with two packets of pastries and some of their homemade dried sweet potatoes. For Mr. Xu, the offering could be the same as for the brothers.

For the other clan members, simply buying some corn flour and pork would suffice. And naturally, the gifts for the Clan Elder’s family could not be overlooked; they would probably need to be a bit more generous. That seemed to cover it, adding up to an estimated expense of one to two taels of silver.

Fortunately, in the preceding days, Lin He had overseen the family in producing most of the dried sweet potatoes. During this time, Lin Er Niu and Old Man Qin had sold the majority of them in town, bringing back nearly one tael of silver, which could help cover the costs. Lin He had mentioned that after the Laba Festival, the weather would grow much colder, sales on the streets would likely drop, and selling would become difficult, so they had rushed production.

Of course, other families would offer return gifts, but those were usually few. Considering their relatives and clan members, she doubted they would receive much back—another unavoidable expense.

Once the plan was settled, Mother Huang instructed Er Niu to take Da Bao by ox cart to purchase the necessary provisions. Laba was only a few days away, and the items needed to be ready soon; the meat had to be bought, and curing the preserved meat required several days. Lin He still hadn't settled on what to give Uncle Wen, so she announced she would also go into town to see if there was anything she could buy for him.

The next day, Lin He and Da Bao accompanied Er Niu to town early in the morning. Perhaps due to the impending Laba Festival, the town was exceptionally lively, crowded, and prices had risen—pork and other goods were starting to increase. By the time they finished purchasing everything the household needed, it was nearly noon. The good news was that Lin He had also managed to buy the specific items she needed, planning to make a small gift for Uncle Wen herself.

Returning home in the afternoon, Lin He immediately began crafting. Her inspiration struck after seeing people in town buying tangpaozi (hot water bottles) for warmth. The weather in this era was much colder than in her previous life, and while poor families wouldn't use tangpaozi, they were common among the wealthy.

The traditional ancient tangpaozi had an appearance somewhat like a flattened gourd—roundish, coming in various sizes. The large ones were placed at the foot of the bed at night for warmth; the smaller ones held charcoal inside, wrapped in a thicker layer of cloth, carried by hand for warmth. Lin He found them somewhat inconvenient to hold, and being smaller, they cooled down quickly.

Lin He recalled how in her modern times, many girls bought rechargeable hand warmers in winter; those were much more convenient to carry. They often had cute covers that could be slipped on, and smaller ones could even be worn around the neck by children—very practical and endearing.

But electricity didn't exist here, so the idea of charging was out. Lin He decided to use a sheepskin bladder inside to hold hot water, fitted with a stopper that sealed tightly to prevent leaks. On the outside, she planned to create an attractive, cartoon-themed cover to slip over the water bladder. Lin He remembered Uncle Wen had young children, making it an excellent gift for them.

Coincidentally, Lin He had spotted rabbit pelts for sale in the market, and they weren't expensive—one rabbit skin cost only twenty-five wen. She cut the rabbit skin to the precise size needed to fit the hot water bladder. This would help the water stay warm longer, eliminating the need to frequently worry about it cooling down. Plus, the bladder she made was larger than the traditional tangpaozi, meaning it should last for several hours without needing a refill.

Next, she planned to embroider a cute little bear onto the exterior of the rabbit fur. She also sewed on two small loops, making it easy to hold in hand or slip over the neck. Lin He worked through the afternoon and into the night until she finally completed the design for her hot water bottle.

Except for the lack of charging capability, it looked far better than modern versions. The covers for the water bags in modern times were often made from inferior faux fur with poor stitching. This, however, was genuine fur, and double-layered: the inner layer for insulation, and the outer layer purely for aesthetics.

And the craftsmanship was excellent. A bright red bear was stitched onto the snow-white fur on the outside—it looked exceptionally beautiful. Lin He couldn't manage the embroidery for the bear herself, so she asked Mother Huang to do it. When Little Bao and Lin Chen saw the item, they immediately grabbed it and refused to let go.

However, Lin He explained it was a gift for someone else and promised to make them one later. If she could find something like rare silver fox fur, it would be even more stunning, but silver fox pelts were too hard to find, and even if located, prohibitively expensive. Lin He couldn't afford it, so the rabbit skin would have to suffice for now.

Lin He was quite pleased with her masterpiece. Including the small sheepskin bladder and the rabbit fur, the cost was less than sixty wen, yet she had created such a fine gift—a true pleasant surprise, even if it wasn't an exotic item.

It was just that in ordinary farming households, people used bamboo tubes to carry water when going out. Lin He hadn't known about the existence of small sheepskin water bladders until she visited a shop that day and saw various kinds of water bags for sale, which sparked the idea for the hot water bottle.