The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 105

The night of chaos passed quickly. Le Ge’er woke up to find that his grand-amu was not around. He climbed out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and went outside.

Li Amu was busy preparing breakfast when he saw Le Ge’er, his hair disheveled and only wearing a shirt.

 “Oh, why didn’t Le Ge’er call grand-amu?” he said, picking him up. He dressed him, tied his hair, and soon, a cute little ger appeared. 

Li Amu held Le Ge’er’s hand and led him out of the room, then went back to cooking.

Le Ge’er thought for a moment and decided to go see Tian Xiaoman. 

As soon as he arrived at the door, he heard a burst of crying. Surprised, he opened the door and walked in.

Because he was worried about the wind, Li Wenxuan had placed a large screen near the bed, almost dividing the room in half. The crying came from the bed. 

Le Ge’er poked his head out from behind the screen and saw the baby lying in the swaddle next to his Amu.

Tian Xiaoman was exhausted from yesterday, so even though the baby was crying, he did not wake up.

Le Ge’er walked over slowly and curiously examined the baby. The little face was wrinkled like a tiny old man’s, the tender little mouth opening and closing.

Le Ge’er rarely saw a child younger than him, and out of curiosity, he gently poked the baby’s face with a little finger. It was so soft to the touch, like the tofu pudding he ate during the Chinese New Year.

So Le Ge’er poked him again and again, and accidentally poked the baby’s mouth. The little one, hungry, immediately grabbed it with his mouth, sucking eagerly.

Seeing that the baby had stopped crying, Le Ge’er didn’t pull his hand away. He had just noticed that the baby had no teeth and couldn’t bite him at all.

Tian Xiaoman, now more relaxed because the noisy crying had stopped, furrowed his brows less.

Li Amu, worried that no one had eaten yet, finished preparing quickly. He served a bowl of porridge and called out for Le Ge’er, but no one responded. Turning around, he found that Le Ge’er, who was supposed to be sitting on the stool, was gone.

Not good! Li Amu hurried out of the kitchen and went to Tian Xiaoman’s room. 

Le Ge’er always liked to find Xiaoman. Sure enough, the door that was supposed to be closed was now slightly open, but there was no sound inside.

Li Amu walked over and smiled when he saw Le Ge’er, one hand poking the baby, while the other was held by the baby in his mouth. Le Ge’er was a very gentle child and wasn’t using much force to poke the baby.

Le Ge’er’s hand, held by the baby, became tired as it hung in the air. Just as he was about to give up, he saw Li Amu coming, so he pulled his hand away and happily ran over to call out for grand-amu.

The moment his hand was removed, the baby burst into tears. Before Li Amu could pick him up, Le Ge’er rushed back to place his hand on the baby again, stopping the crying.

Le Ge’er looked at Li Amu with an innocent expression, not understanding what was going on.

At this moment, Tian Xiaoman finally woke up and looked around, dazed. “Amu?”

“Xiaoman, you’re awake! Are you alright? Amu made chicken soup for you. Should I bring it to you?”

“Amu, where’s my husband?” He found it a bit strange that Li Wenxuan was not by his side.

“Wenxuan went to buy milk fruit. While he was at it, he went to bring your parents over to stay a few days.”

After hearing this, Tian Xiaoman looked at Le Ge’er and the baby and saw Le Ge’er taking care of his little cousin. “Le Ge’er is so good. He knows how to help Momo take care of his cousin.”

When Le Ge’er heard this, his eyes lit up with joy. He stretched out a hand and patted the baby’s chest like an adult trying to coax him to sleep, showing everyone that he really knew how to take care of his younger cousin.

This action made the adults laugh again.

…

After buying milk fruit, Li Wenxuan rushed to Xingtian Village. It was still early. Tian Amu and Father Tian had just gotten up and were chatting when they suddenly heard urgent knocking at the door.

“Wenxuan, why are you here so early? Is something wrong?” Tian Amu said, surprised but happy.

Li Wenxuan smiled. “Amu, it’s great news. Quickly pack up and come stay at my place with Father Tian for a few days. Xiaoman has given birth!”

“Amitabha, may the Bodhisattva bless you.” Tian Amu clasped his hands and chanted. “Did Xiaoman give birth to a boy or a ger? No, I thought there were still a few days left…”

“Yesterday was a festival. Xiaoman ate a bit too many moon cakes and then started having contractions. He gave birth to a big, fat boy!”

“That’s wonderful! Wait, I’ll pack up now!” Tian Amu said as he walked inside, instructing Father Tian to bring the chickens from the nest to bring to Xiaoman.

When the three returned home, Li Amu had already fed the children and was sitting in Tian Xiaoman’s room with the baby in his arms. 

Le Ge’er, who hadn’t gone outside to play, was sitting on a small bench, staring at the baby without blinking.

“Xiaoman, Tian Amu and Father Tian are here.”

Tian Xiaoman tried to sit up but was gently pushed back by Tian Amu. “Don’t get up, you’re still not fully recovered!”

Tian Xiaoman called out to his Amu, tears welling up in his eyes. 

Only by raising a child can one truly understand the kindness of parents and grandparents. He knew that his Amu must have gone through a life-and-death struggle to bring him into the world.

After talking with him, Tian Amu turned his attention to the baby. Wenxuan had already told him the baby’s name. 

Holding the baby, Tian Amu whispered, “Little Tuanzi, grand-amu is here to see you. Do you recognize me?”

Of course, the little Tuanzi didn’t respond, but Tian Amu spoke with joy. 

Li Amu stood up and took Le Ge’er out, giving them space to talk while he dealt with the milk fruit that had been brought back.

Li Wenxuan, unsure of what to do with the large milk fruit, saw Li Amu and felt relieved. “Amu, I’ll go check on Xiaoman. Please take care of this!” 

Li Amu smiled and nodded, allowing Li Wenxuan to run out.

With the help of the milk fruit, little Tuanzi quickly entered a life of eating whenever he wanted. Compared to his first couple of days after birth, it was blissful beyond measure.

After the villagers ate the red eggs from the Li household, they brought gifts over to visit. On the washing-third-day ceremony, the Li family naturally set up several large tables and invited everyone to celebrate.

During this time, Tian Xiaoman’s brothers, Yang Xiaoguo, and Anjing came to visit. 

Caught between all these pairs, Liu Sheng felt very uncomfortable, yet he still did not really want to get married.

In the first few days, Tian Xiaoman felt quite unwell. Later, once his body recovered, the discomfort shifted to other areas. 

The first was food. He had always liked strong flavors and felt miserable without spicy food for even one meal. Now, every meal was chicken soup, and aside from that, bland confinement food with no taste at all. He ate to the point of nearly vomiting.

The second issue was bathing. That day, he had sweated all over. Being sticky and greasy, he only wiped himself down. August weather was not cold, yet he stayed in bed all day and felt as if he were already turning sour. It was hard on Li Wenxuan, who still kept crawling into bed with him every day.

The third challenge was the baby. Tian Xiaoman never expected his own baby to cry so much. During the day, he slept just fine, but at night he cried nonstop—crying when he wanted to eat, crying when he needed to relieve himself, crying even for no reason at all. He had to be held and walked around the floor before he would stop.

Tian Xiaoman, having little experience with babies, was exhausted. Li Wenxuan stayed awake most of the nights at first, but later, Li Amu took over, caring for the baby during the first half of the night, giving Wenxuan a chance to rest.

Tian Xiaoman realized this wasn’t a solution, so he tried waking the baby during the day to help him sleep at night, but after the baby cried for over half an hour, he gave up.

One advantage, however, was that Tian Xiaoman didn’t gain much weight after giving birth and looked just as he did before.

On September 15th, the baby turned one month old, which meant Tian Xiaoman was no longer restricted.

Early that morning, Li Wenxuan boiled a large pot of water. Tian Xiaoman hadn’t taken a bath in a month, though he wiped himself every day. It wasn’t enough.

After three buckets of water, Tian Xiaoman felt rejuvenated. When he stood up, he felt like he had lost three or four pounds.

Li Wenxuan helped him dry his hair with a cloth towel, tied it into a bun, and placed a bamboo hairpin in it.

Tian Xiaoman put on a green robe. He looked refreshed, like a spring bamboo. Li Wenxuan, who had been abstinent for so long, almost couldn’t contain himself.

The third day of the lunar year was the most important for them, and the baby’s full month marked the family gathering for a meal.

A few days earlier, Little Tuanzi received a gift and a name from his uncle a few days earlier. His name was Li Yuelin. It carried Li Yiran’s deep expectations, taken from the meaning of a fish leaping through the Dragon Gate.

After hearing the explanation, Tian Xiaoman thought the name was perfect. At the same time, he could not help thinking—was Li Wenxuan’s own name not good? He just did not study.