The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 10

After eating the glutinous rice balls, Tian Xiaoman’s mood improved. After resting for a while, he decided to clean the two rabbits and cook them for dinner. That way, Li Wenxuan could set off early tomorrow morning, and he would have no more excuses to stay!

The rabbit skins had already been removed by Father Tian, washed clean, and placed in a basin.

Tian Xiaoman decided to stew one and braise the other.

He chopped the rabbit meat into pieces, filled a pot with water, and brought it to a boil. He added the rabbit meat, skimmed off the floating foam, and boiled it again. Afterward, he drained the meat in a colander.

Once the meat was drained, Tian Xiaoman poured oil into the pot. Since there was a lot of rabbit meat, he needed more oil. He felt happy about having meat for dinner but also a little sorry for using up so much oil. Still, there was no choice—if the oil wasn’t enough, the rabbit wouldn’t taste good when stir-fried.

“It’s fine,” he told himself. “After all, the rabbit is free.”

Tian Xiaoman’s frugality wasn’t surprising. His family had only recently begun living more comfortably. His grandfather had been poor, and when the land was divided among the families, each family received only a few acres. After paying land taxes, population taxes, and other miscellaneous expenses, there was barely anything left. His two older brothers had to study and work hard year-round just to get by.

Life only began to improve when they grew up and were able to help out. Although the family no longer had to be as strict about food, the frugality passed down through generations still lingered.

Once the oil was heated, Tian Xiaoman added a few slices of ginger, cloves of garlic, and dried red peppers from the beam. He had planted a lot of peppers in the field, as his family loved spicy food. Except for his Amu, who could only eat a little spice, nearly every dish was made spicy. His father also planted a lot of peppers.

As he added the peppers, Tian Xiaoman wondered if Li Wenxuan could handle the spice. He quickly decided it didn’t matter—if Li Wenxuan couldn’t eat spicy food, he’d just eat more himself. Plus, there was rabbit soup, so he could always drink that later.

Lost in his thoughts, Tian Xiaoman quickly added the rabbit meat to the pot, stirring it constantly. Once the meat changed color, he added salt, homemade rice wine, soy jam, and a bit of maltose to create the braised color. The aroma of the rabbit filled the air, and Tian Xiaoman couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.

He reminded himself that good food was worth the wait. He ladled some water from the jar, poured it into the pot, and covered it with the lid.

Now he just needed to lower the heat and let it simmer for an hour. Once done, the meat would fall off the bone with just a gentle touch of chopsticks.

He imagined the taste and swallowed again, almost salivating.

Turning around, he jumped in fright.

“You’re a ghost, aren’t you! Standing there without a sound! Want to scare me to death so you can marry me sooner?” Xiaoman glared at him with round eyes, his little mouth unrelenting in its scolding.

Li Wenxuan had appeared behind him without a sound, staring at him with a burning gaze, like a tiger eyeing its prey. Tian Xiaoman ranted angrily, but he didn’t realize that in his words, he had already considered himself Li Wenxuan’s “husband.”

In the countryside, people were simple and straightforward—once a marriage proposal was exchanged and horoscopes matched, the marriage was basically set.

Though Tian Xiaoman didn’t notice, Li Wenxuan was quick to pick up on it.

“Xiaoman,” he said, “what you cooked smells amazing. I’ve never smelled anything so delicious!” His praise might have been exaggerated—let’s not even talk about the meals at Mr. Jiang’s house in the capital, even the restaurants in their county could make dishes like this—but it was clear that he meant it.

To Xiaoman, it was immensely gratifying. He thought to himself that he was amazing! Especially since Father never praised him—only Amu’s cooking. Now, for the first time, a man was complimenting him like this. But still, he put on an aloof face.

“Even if you’re flattering me, I can’t let you eat it—it’s not done yet!” he said, trying to hide his pride. “But I’ll admit, although you’re not the most handsome, at least you’ve got good taste!”

Li Wenxuan smiled bitterly, feeling a bit self-conscious. If only I could crawl back into my mother’s womb and be remade again! he thought, somewhat envious of the delicate, scholarly types people often preferred. As much as he appreciated his own strong, martial prowess, he couldn’t help but feel a little bitter that his little “husband” didn’t appreciate his powerful physique at all.

Tian Xiaoman paid him no further mind. There was still another dish to make—the smaller rabbit, which he wanted to stew into soup. Before braising, he had already chopped this one into pieces and left them soaking in water. It had been nearly half an hour. Now, when he pulled the meat out, the clear water had turned red and murky. He set up another pot, boiled water, blanched the rabbit pieces again to draw out the remaining impurities, then lifted them out.

Wenxuan watched his smooth, practiced movements and thought to himself: This family is so meticulous. When he and his fellows ate rabbit, they just dunked it in water, rinsed quickly, and roasted it straight over the fire.

Tian Xiaoman took a small clay pot from the cupboard, put the rabbit meat inside, added some ginger slices, and poured in enough water to cover the meat. He heated the pot on high until it boiled, then reduced the heat and simmered it slowly. After about half an hour, he added some goji berries and continued simmering for another half hour.

Judging by the timing, both the soup and the braised rabbit would finish around the same time.

He then thought of the family vegetable plot—he could pick some greens for dinner. Meat was tasty, but eat too much and one got tired quickly. A bit of vegetables to cut the grease made it easier to eat more meat again.

Tian Xiaoman was very thoughtful when it came to food.

Seeing Tian Xiaoman grab a basket and head out, Li Wenxuan hurriedly followed. He needed to show off his skills!

Tian Xiaoman’s garden was right behind their small courtyard. After walking out the front door, he just had to go around the back. It was early June, and the sun wasn’t too harsh, casting a warm glow on the flourishing vegetable patch. It was a peaceful, satisfying sight, giving a sense of contentment. There weren’t many types of vegetables—some fresh cucumbers climbing on racks, bitter gourds creeping beside them, and big, plump winter melons lying on the ground. The whole garden was filled with gourds.

Tian Xiaoman looked around and decided to pick some cucumbers and bitter gourds. The cucumbers could be used to make a refreshing cold dish, and the bitter gourd could be stir-fried with some cured meat and red chilies—it would go perfectly with rice.

As he picked a cucumber, Li Wenxuan stepped up with a proud grin, holding a large one. “Look, Xiaoman, I found this huge cucumber!” he said.

Tian Xiaoman knew this was an old cucumber his Amu had meant to keep for seeds. “That’s not for eating! It’s for planting!” he snapped, trying to control his irritation for the sake of the food. “Don’t bother. Go back and rest!”

Li Wenxuan, noticing Tian Xiaoman’s displeasure, misunderstood. He thought Xiaoman must have found the cucumber too old to eat. He quickly found a smaller cucumber and offered it to Tian Xiaoman like a treasure. “How about this one? It’s so tender!”

Tian Xiaoman gritted his teeth. “Yes, it’s tender… because it hasn’t even grown yet!”

He couldn’t shake the feeling that Li Wenxuan was just trying to annoy him, picking either the old cucumbers meant for seeds or the young ones that hadn’t matured. “Go away! You’re useless! If people didn’t know any better, they’d think you were some rich young master who can’t even do farm work!”

Driven out in disgrace, Wenxuan rubbed his nose, feeling wronged.

How could Xiaoman say he didn’t know how to do anything? Hadn’t he just chopped firewood? And it wasn’t his fault he was clumsy in the garden. His father was a hunter, and their family had little land, so he never had reason to learn farming. Besides, he had spent his childhood training in martial arts. His skills in fighting and guarding a household were unmatched!

If Tian Xiaoman had heard his thoughts, he would have snorted in disdain. Good at guarding the house? That was no different from Yang Xiaoguo’s dog, Wangcai! (Wangcai was a big yellow dog that barked loudly whenever it saw strangers.)

Tian Xiaoman picked three cucumbers and two bitter gourds and headed back to the house with a full basket.

He rinsed the vegetables and took out a knife to smash the cucumbers. He also cut the bitter gourd into strips, marinated it with salt, and squeezed out the bitter water. This way, it wouldn’t be too bitter.

With the vegetables prepared, Tian Xiaoman opened the lid of the pot. A mouthwatering aroma of meat and chili filled the air, and Tian Xiaoman couldn’t resist picking up a piece of rabbit meat with his chopsticks. But just as he was about to eat, a gust of wind blew past, and the meat disappeared from his chopsticks.

“Hiss… it’s so hot, but so good!” Li Wenxuan mumbled with a mouthful of rabbit meat.

“You owe me that meat!” Tian Xiaoman stormed forward and kicked him.

How dare he snatch food from his mouth!

Li Wenxuan dodged and quickly swallowed the meat. “Don’t be mad, Xiaoman. I’ll give you four rabbits on the day of our engagement!”

But Xiaoman had no such long-term vision. All he knew was that the very first piece of meat out of the pot, the one that was just about to enter his mouth, had been stolen by this damned man! He launched another furious attack.

Wenxuan pretended to dodge in panic, but inside he was delighted. He didn’t even know why he suddenly felt so childish, always wanting to tease Xiaoman. Just seeing his little husband’s face display expressions he’d never seen before made him happier than hunting down a tiger.