The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 106

After Tian Xiaoman finished his confinement period, he felt like a fish released into water. The room could no longer hold him. He preferred to wash clothes and cook rather than take care of that stinky baby.

But Li Amu believed Tian Xiaoman should stay close to the child, so his task was still to care for the little Tuanzi.

Tian Xiaoman sat in the yard with the Little Tuanzi, basking in the warm sun. The sunlight made him feel incredibly comfortable. Suddenly, he noticed an odd movement in the Little Tuanzi’s body. Tian Xiaoman’s face changed instantly. Before the baby could start crying, he quickly lifted the quilt wrapped around him.

A foul smell hit him. The little one had pooped again! Tian Xiaoman couldn’t understand how a baby who only drank milk all day could have such stinky poop!

“Le Ge’er, come here.” Tian Xiaoman stretched out his hand to call Le Ge’er.

Le Ge’er, who was playing in the yard, immediately ran over.

“Can you get me the diapers hanging on the bamboo pole?” Tian Xiaoman asked.

Le Ge’er nodded, ran to the bamboo pole, touched each diaper one by one, and finally grabbed a dry one.

Tian Xiaoman turned little Tuanzi over as he lay there whining, wiped his butt, changed him into a fresh diaper, and received one “shameless” smile in return.

Tian Xiaoman tossed the dirty diaper into a basin beside him and waited for Li Wenxuan to come back and wash it. 

He glanced at the row of diapers fluttering on the bamboo pole and sighed in despair, wondering what he would do when winter came. With no sun, the clothes wouldn’t dry, and he might just have to throw this troublesome child on the potty.

Tian Xiaoman had considered helping the baby pee, but every time he tried, the little one would lift his legs and cry. The child’s desperate struggles often made Tian Xiaoman wonder if he was unintentionally hurting him.

Yet, nearly every time after putting on the diaper, the Little Tuanzi would poop! Once, Tian Xiaoman was so frustrated he wanted to spank his little bottom, but Li Wenxuan stopped him, taking over the diaper duty from that point forward.

“Xiaoman, I’m back!” Li Wenxuan drove into the yard, first giving Le Ge’er two big meat buns to share with Liu Xilin, before rushing over to Tian Xiaoman and taking the Little Tuanzi away.

Watching the father and son interact, Tian Xiaoman couldn’t help but feel jealous. The Little Tuanzi seemed to favor Li Wenxuan. Every time Li Wenxuan held him, he was calm, and the baby even let him carry him to the toilet!

Still, during the day little Tuanzi was actually fairly well-behaved, because his hands were wrapped tightly in the blanket. But at night, once his clothes were off and he was put on the bed, it was a different story. His little claws flailed wildly. Sometimes he even yanked Tian Xiaoman’s hair into a complete mess. It made Tian Xiaoman so mad he could neither hit nor scold him. In the end, he still had to carefully untangle the hair from the baby’s tender little fingers, afraid it might cut into him.

Sometimes the baby would even scratch himself. Once, Tian Xiaoman put him on the bed and went out to pour water. When he returned, he heard loud wailing and thought something terrible had happened. But when he looked, it turned out the baby had scratched his own face and broken the skin with his nails.

Tian Xiaoman was both annoyed and amused. This little demon even harmed himself. But seeing him cry so miserably, Tian Xiaoman could not help feeling heartache and picked him up to comfort him. The next day, Li Amu also noticed little Tuanzi had become a little flower-faced baby, and at noon she trimmed his nails. Seeing the huge scissors next to those delicate little fingers, Tian Xiaoman did not even dare look, afraid that one slip would accidentally cut the baby’s delicate fingers.

After two months, the Little Tuanzi had settled into a routine. He no longer fussed all night, waking up to eat three or four times before going back to sleep. His activity time during the day also increased.

As autumn turned into winter, the Little Tuanzi slowly grew. The most encouraging progress was that he learned to roll over. Although the process was frustrating for Tian Xiaoman, it was a milestone.

One day, after the Little Tuanzi wet another diaper, Tian Xiaoman casually placed the wet diaper on the edge of the bed and went out to find a dry one. Since Le Ge’er had gone out to play, Tian Xiaoman was alone.

It was cold, and diapers were scarce. Tian Xiaoman searched by the brazier for a long time before finding a dry one. When he returned, he saw that the Little Tuanzi, who should have been lying in the middle of the bed, was on the edge, reaching for the red diaper and trying to shove it into his mouth.

Tian Xiaoman rushed over and tossed the diaper off the bed. 

The little thing even let out an unhappy “ah.” 

“You little brat. You should be made to taste your own pee!” Tian Xiaoman scolded as he pinned little Tuanzi across his leg and fastened the diaper on him.

The Little Tuanzi stretched his head like a turtle and let out a wail as if arguing with Tian Xiaoman. 

Once the baby was back on the bed, he immediately rolled over onto his stomach again, using all his strength.

Tian Xiaoman couldn’t help but be pleased. People say, “Three turns, six sits, nine crawls.” The Little Tuanzi had finally learned to roll over at almost three and a half months old!

Tian Xiaoman beamed, picked him up, and kissed him twice. Little Tuanzi did not know why he suddenly got Amu’s affection, but he smiled too.

Li Wenxuan happened to return from the county town at that moment. Seeing the two of them smiling happily, he asked what was going on. Tian Xiaoman proudly told him that little Tuanzi could roll over now.

Right then, the two of them put little Tuanzi back on the bed and stared at him. 

Little Tuanzi was very cooperative and rolled over, lying on his stomach and lifting his head, babbling “ah-ah” at them.

With a mischievous smile, Li Wenxuan turned the baby back, and they watched him struggle to roll over again. After several attempts, the Little Tuanzi was flipped back onto his stomach, and his little face twisted as he began to wail loudly.

“See? You made him cry!” Tian Xiaoman exclaimed, quickly picking the baby up to comfort him and blaming Li Wenxuan.

Li Wenxuan protested, “Why is it always my fault?” Tian Xiaoman had been happily laughing just a moment ago.

“What’s going on? Why is he crying like this?” Li Amu walked in when he heard the noise and saw the Little Tuanzi’s heartbreaking expression. “Grand-amu will hold you, don’t mind them!” 

Li Amu took the little one from Tian Xiaoman and watched the couple storm out in frustration.

Seeing the two of them come out, Le Ge’er sighed like a little adult. Uncle and Momo had made little Tuanzi cry again. Why were they so naughty?

In February, the Li family brought the piglets home and raised them for ten months. During this period, the three sows went into heat, but there was no boar for breeding, so Li Wenxuan had to send them to other people’s farms for mating.

Two of the sows were successfully bred, and they would likely have piglets by March next year. Thus, the family would need to buy some piglets this year.

With over twenty pigs, Li Wenxuan slowly began to slaughter them, keeping the largest one for the New Year. This way, neither his family nor his father-in-law’s family would need to buy meat.

It was Laba Festival again. Tian Xiaoman still vividly remembered last year’s scene. This year, it was their Le Ge’er’s turn to go to other households to ask for the new husbands’ Laba porridge to drink.

Willow Tree Slope had married in two new little husbands this year. They were all married when Tian Xiaoman was in confinement, and he regretted missing such a lively event.

Looking at the Little Tuanzi, who was lying on the bed and biting the cloth tiger, Tian Xiaoman sighed. It was all because of him! 

The Little Tuanzi, sensing his gaze, happily flashed a toothless smile at Tian Xiaoman.

The Little Tuanzi was spoiled with toys. His father had bought him many, and his older cousin had given him his favorite ones. So, when he lay on the bed, he was always surrounded by toys.

Additionally, there was a circle of quilts around the edge of the bed, to prevent the little one from falling off while rolling over. 

This idea came after the Little Tuanzi fell off the bed for the first time and had a large bump on his head.

The baby had cried for days afterward. 

Tian Xiaoman felt guilty, blaming himself for not taking better care of him.

Although he often complained about the baby, deep down, Tian Xiaoman loved him the most.