The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 107

It still hadn’t snowed this winter, and the weather was colder than last year. Li Amu pulled the charcoal from his home and found that it wasn’t enough.

Now that there was a little one at home, the charcoal basin had to stay lit all day, or the diapers wouldn’t dry. 

Li Amu spoke to Father Li, who picked up his tools and prepared to cut firewood.

When Li Wenxuan saw this, he changed into work clothes and went with him. After all, most of the charcoal was for his son.

The two worked hard on the mountain all day, cutting two or three carts of firewood, and stacked it on the hillside. They made the charcoal themselves, and the kiln was built on the back slope.

Li Wenxuan opened the kiln, removed some of the ash from the previous year, and added the fresh firewood. Father Li sat beside him, chopping the larger pieces of wood. Together, they filled the charcoal kiln.

Li Wenxuan lit the fire, and the firewood began to burn. The blazing flames illuminated the surroundings brightly and warmly. After adjusting the firewood, Li Wenxuan checked on it again and found it was nearly done, so he sealed the kiln. In a day or two, the charcoal would be ready.

There was more than one kiln, so they repeated the process with the other firewood. Once all the kilns were sealed, they went down the mountain.

By the time they returned, it was already dark. 

Li Wenxuan jumped over the yard wall and opened the door to let Father Li in. They tried not to wake anyone, but when they entered, they saw the main room still lit.

Li Amu and Tian Xiaoman were sitting in the main room, while Le Ge’er and Little Tuanzi were sleeping in the small bed. Since the brazier was lit, the room was very warm.

Seeing them come back, Tian Xiaoman immediately got up to warm up the food in the kitchen, while Li Amu took off their outer coats and urged them to warm by the fire.

Le Ge’er also sat up when he heard the noise. He rubbed his eyes and, upon seeing his grandfather and uncle, immediately cheered happily.

Father Li hurried over and pushed Le Ge’er back into bed. How could he be out in the cold at this hour?

Soon, Tian Xiaoman brought the food, and the two of them ate heartily. They had baked buns that day and didn’t bother with hunting any pheasants or rabbits—they were too lazy to deal with it.

After dinner, they sat together and chatted for a while before going back to their rooms.

…

Two days later, Li Wenxuan and Father Li went up the mountain, opened the charcoal kilns, and found some residual heat inside. After the heat dissipated, they started pulling out the charcoal.

This year’s charcoal burned well, with mostly whole pieces and only a few broken ones. They had to make three trips to carry the charcoal back from two kilns.

“That’s a lot of charcoal. What do you think about selling some?” Li Amu suggested as he looked at the charcoal piled up in the yard.

Li Wenxuan thought for a moment and then replied, “It’s probably better not to sell it. We have that empty house, and the weather this year is strange. Let’s keep it.”

Li Amu nodded. It hadn’t rained since September, and now it had been more than three months without a drop of water. The weather had been so cold that they started using the brazier almost a month earlier than usual.

He turned to Li Wenxuan, who was moving charcoal, and said, “Wenxuan, go to your father-in-law’s house tomorrow and ask him to burn more charcoal this year. Also, don’t sell this year’s grain. Save it for now.”

Li Wenxuan nodded seriously. The weather this year was indeed unusual. Every time he passed the river, he noticed it was much shallower than before.

The next day, Li Wenxuan got into the carriage to head for Xingtian Village. 

When Tian Xiaoman saw this, he said he wanted to go too. He hadn’t seen his parents in a while.

But the Little Tuanzi was still too young and couldn’t endure the bumps. What should they do? Finally, Li Wenxuan had a solution. He told Tian Xiaoman to feed the Little Tuanzi and leave some milk behind at home. Since they’d be back soon, it wouldn’t be long.

When Tian Xiaoman arrived at the Tian family’s house, he found that his father, Tian Amu, and both his older and younger brother were there. 

Li Wenxuan spoke to Tian’s father about the charcoal, and they discussed the strange weather.

Tian Xiaoman spoke with Tian Amu and learned some important news: his eldest and second brothers had decided to get married on the same day, the eighth day of the first lunar month.

He knew his eldest brother had a good relationship with Yang Xiaoguo, but he was surprised by the news about his second brother and An Jing. However, Tian Xiaoman had noticed a bit of affection between them during their last meeting.

Tian Amu also asked about the Little Tuanzi. 

When Tian Xiaoman had visited before, the child was still small and soft. Now, Tian Xiaoman couldn’t wait to tell him how much the baby had grown.

Tian Xiaoman complained about how difficult it was to care for the little one. 

Tian Amu, watching his ger’s frustration, chuckled and said, “You were just as hard to raise when you were a child. Your son looks just like you and has a temper just like yours.”

Tian Xiaoman was unconvinced. He thought he had been an obedient child, but how could the Little Tuanzi be the same as him? 

However, after being away for so long, would the little one cry for him? He wondered if there would be enough milk left for him to drink…

Meanwhile, the Little Tuanzi woke up and realized his Amu was gone. 

Li Amu couldn’t calm him down, and the poor child cried until his voice grew hoarse. It was strange how he had suddenly started recognizing people.