The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 108

When Tian Xiaoman returned from Tian’s house, the little boy had cried himself to sleep. There were still traces of tears on his white, tender cheeks, and his little mouth looked aggrieved. He would sob occasionally in his sleep.

Tian Xiaoman was instantly distressed. 

This little boy was always so happy every day. Though he’d occasionally bump into things while being naughty, he had never cried so miserably.

“Amu, has he eaten yet?” Tian Xiaoman asked.

“No,” Li Amu replied. “He refused to eat, no matter what was brought to his mouth. He just kept crying… Xiaoman, you should take him with you next time. You could try wrapping him tightly in a quilt; it might help.” Li Amu had nearly cried along with him today.

Tian Xiaoman nodded, sighing. How could a baby, less than four months old, already be recognizing people?

“Woo woo woo…” A loud cry came from the bed. 

Tian Xiaoman immediately woke up and found the little boy crying with his eyes still closed.

He quickly picked him up, rocked him gently, hummed softly, and comforted him.

Perhaps the little boy smelled a familiar scent, because he slowly opened his eyes, saw Tian Xiaoman, and then snuggled into his arms.

“Are you hungry? Who told you not to drink your milk well? Amu only went out for a little while. Why are you so bad-tempered?” Tian Xiaoman muttered while feeding him.

The little boy hummed in dissatisfaction, raised his eyes to look at Tian Xiaoman, as if he thought that Tian Xiaoman was disturbing him while eating.

“Okay, okay, I won’t say anything.” Tian Xiaoman chuckled helplessly, watching the little boy bury his head and continue eating.

In the middle of the night, Li Amu woke up from the cold. He shivered and turned to Father Li.

“Do you feel how especially cold it is tonight?” he asked.

Father Li woke up after being nudged. “Maybe the brazier is out. I’ll go check.” 

He got out of bed, and immediately the cold air hit him, causing him to shiver uncontrollably.

Father Li hurriedly put on his clothes and left the room. Sure enough, the brazier had gone cold. There was still charcoal in the room, but the brazier had gone out. He would need to go to the kitchen to get something to restart the fire. 

Father Li opened the door and found that the water outside had frozen into a thick layer of ice, and the ground was frozen solid.

“Why is it so cold all of a sudden?” Father Li muttered to himself, shivering as he went to the kitchen to fetch some kindling.

After lighting the brazier, the room slowly warmed up. “Fortunately, Le ge’er! has been sleeping with Xiaoman these days; otherwise, he would have been frozen.” Li Amu said. Because of the baby in Tian Xiaoman’s room, the brazier was kept burning all day and night, and Le Ge’er had been sleeping with Tian Xiaoman recently.

“Yes, since we burned more charcoal this year, we should pile more in at night. Don’t save it, or you’ll be woken up by the cold again,” Father Li agreed as the warmth began to settle in, and he yawned before turning back to sleep.

Li Amu, however, had a bad feeling. The sudden coldness made him worried that some elderly villagers might suffer from the cold.

Suddenly, there was a quick knock on the door. 

“Bang, bang, bang!” 

It woke Li Amu from his sleep. He hurriedly put on his clothes and came out.

“I’m coming, who is it?” he called.

“Li Amu, it’s me, Jinzhu!” The one knocking was the second grand-uncle’s youngest grandson from the village.

Li Amu was a little concerned. He opened the door and asked, “Child, what’s wrong? Why are you here so early in the morning?”

Jin Zhu looked like he had been crying. “Li Amu, my third great-grandfather passed away last night. The village head asked me to notify every household. Whoever can help, please come help.”

In their village, it was customary for the villagers to help when an elder passed away, as there were many tasks to be done for the funeral. If you didn’t help now, others wouldn’t help when someone from your own family passed away.

“Why so suddenly…” Li Amu muttered. Just yesterday afternoon, he had seen the old man pass by with a bamboo basket on his back.

“He was found in the kitchen,” Jin Zhu said, his eyes red again. “It was too cold last night. He might have wanted to carry some firewood to start a fire…” Jin Zhu wiped his eyes. “Third Uncle passed away a long time ago, and Third Grandfather only had one son, but he’s been gone for many years and hasn’t returned. The villagers even said he might be dead too.”

Li Amu sighed. “Third Grandpa was 79 this year. They even asked him if he wanted to celebrate his 80th birthday…” He turned to Jin Zhu. “I’ll go later. You go inform the other families first.”

After Jin Zhu left, Li Amu returned to the room and told Father Li about it. The two of them quickly dressed and prepared to help. 

Before leaving, Li Amu went to Tian Xiaoman’s room and asked them to wake up early and cook, as he might not be back for a while.

Li Wenxuan had already gotten up. He was adding charcoal to the brazier under the bed. Hearing the sound, he immediately opened the door and came out. “Amu, what’s going on?”

“Third Grandpa passed away. Your father and I are going to help, so you go back to sleep for now. You young ones are not needed right now.” Li Amu gave him a few instructions before quickly leaving.

By the time they arrived, many people were already there. Several men from the family had bathed Third Grandpa and helped him change into burial clothes. The old man lay on the bed, his teeth clenched and his face full of pain. It was clear how he must have felt at the time.

The funeral materials had been prepared. Third Grandpa had saved up money for years to buy them, and he had always cherished them, reapplying tung oil to them every year.

As soon as Li Amu arrived, he was immediately pulled by familiar villagers to help with preparations. Father Li was called by the village chief to discuss the next steps.

“Everyone knows the situation with Third Uncle,” the village chief said, frowning. “His only son hasn’t been heard from for many years, and he’s likely gone. Only Second Uncle is still alive, but their family is struggling. So, my suggestion is that the village will cover the funeral costs, but each household should contribute a little more money for wreaths, paper people, and other items. We can at least help out as neighbors.” The village chief held a dry pipe in his hand, and the men around him nodded in agreement.

Once the plans were made, the group set off to the West Mountain to dig a grave. This was the traditional burial site for the elders of Liushupo village. 

The manpower and resources required for a funeral were significant, but fortunately, there hadn’t been any major events in the village in recent years.

Tian Xiaoman went to the funeral only on the day of the coffin sealing and burial. He stayed at home the rest of the time because Little Tuanzi was too small. The elders insisted he should stay home, as it was believed that children could see the deceased, so they advised against bringing him.

Since Third Grandpa’s passing, the weather had grown even colder, almost to the point where water was freezing. Fortunately, every household had stocked up on charcoal, otherwise, it would have been impossible to endure the cold.

Li Wenxuan had not slaughtered any pigs since the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month. These days, he had only been adding straw to the pigpen and checking the pigs, staying at home for the most part.

Tian Xiaoman felt much more relaxed. Taking care of a baby all day long was exhausting, especially when there were other things he wanted to do.

Li Wenxuan thought it was fine. He often played with Little Tuanzi until the boy was tired before letting him sleep. 

This method worked at first, but after a few days, Tian Xiaoman stopped it, because he found that if Little Tuanzi played too roughly during the day, he would talk in his sleep at night, chattering non-stop.

Due to the cold weather, they didn’t clean the house as thoroughly as last year. Instead, they just used a basin of hot water to wipe things down.

The weather was still gloomy, and a strong wind had picked up recently. The wind howled in front and behind the house. Whenever this happened, Tian Xiaoman would let Little Tuanzi listen to the wind outside and scare him, telling him that a tiger was coming. 

Little Tuanzi would calm down and snuggle into Tian Xiaoman’s arms, as if he was truly afraid of tigers.

The long stretch of freezing weather directly affected their New Year’s Eve dinner. There was nothing but meat on the table, no vegetables at all. Though Tian Xiaoman usually liked meat, he realized that he couldn’t eat too much without vegetables.

Le Ge’er was happy. Though his father hadn’t come back for the New Year, he had sent many things in advance, including several big red envelopes. 

Le Ge’er was beginning to understand the value of money, especially now that there were peddlers in the village. Rich children could buy toys and food they liked.

Little Tuanzi was also happy. At four and a half months old, he had finally graduated from only drinking milk. 

On New Year’s Day, he had his first bowl of egg custard, and from that moment on, he was amazed.