The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 109

Little Tuanzi, dressed up like a red envelope, successfully received countless kisses and hugs at his grand-Amu’s house. His little face turned red from being kissed by everyone.

It was still very cold outside. Fortunately, after Li Wenxuan mentioned it, the three Tian family fathers and sons went to the mountain to cut some trees and burned a lot of charcoal.

Everyone sat around the big brazier, teasing the Little Tuanzi. 

Le Ge’er leaned obediently against Father Tian and ate the candy given by everyone.

This year, Le Ge’er finally got his wish and could come along with Uncle and Momo. He remembered this grandpa very well, and Father Tian also liked the soft and sweet little ge’er, so old and young quickly started playing together.

Little Tuanzi had been passed around so much that he was already unhappy. He stretched his short, thick arms toward Tian Xiaoman, wanting his Amu to hold him back.

But his second uncle insisted on teasing him. After taking little Tuanzi, he rubbed his face against him. 

Little Tuanzi’s anger flared, and he shouted furiously, “Yiyiyaya aaah!”

Everyone: “……”

When little Tuanzi saw that he still would not put him down, he squeezed his eyes shut, pouted, kicked up his little legs, and wailed, “Aaah… wuwuwu aaah…”

Tian Shou immediately threw little Tuanzi back into Tian Xiaoman’s arms as if he had been scalded. “Little brother, why is your son so fierce?”

Tian Xiaoman rolled his eyes at him. “Who told you to poke him on purpose with your beard?” 

His little Tuanzi was not fierce at all. Look, his face was clean—where was there any trace of tears? He did not know when it started, but little Tuanzi had learned to fake-cry. The moment something displeased him, he would howl. Of course, he did not dare do it to his Amu, because if he faked it again, it would turn into real crying.

At noon, Tian Amu prepared a generous table of food to treat them. Of course, little Tuanzi’s steamed egg custard was indispensable.

He still could not sit on his own, so Tian Xiaoman held him and fed him spoonful by spoonful.

He was an impatient baby. He swallowed a spoonful of egg custard after moving it a couple of times, then opened his mouth wide to wait. Sometimes Tian Xiaoman would exchange a few words with someone, and he would get so anxious that he babbled “ah-ah,” reaching out to hook Tian Xiaoman with his hand.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the Li family came to the Tian family together because Tian Fu and Tian Shou were getting married that day. 

Little Tuanzi and Le Ge’er were placed on two wedding beds, and they were allowed to roll around.

Li Wenxuan was responsible for looking after the two children while Tian Xiaoman went to see them off. 

Yang Xiaoguo and Anjing were both his good friends. Yang Xiaoguo’s family lived in the village, while Anjing and his family had temporarily rented a house in the county town to get married. So, Tian Xiaoman went to Yang Xiaoguo’s place.

“Xiaoguo, do you still remember this?” Tian Xiaoman smiled wickedly and took out the book hidden in his arms. 

This was the book Liu Sheng gave him when he got married. He had read it with Li Wenxuan and even tried out some of the actions in it. He thought it was pretty good, so he brought the book to Yang Xiaoguo to help him and his brother have a good wedding night.

Tian Xiaoman thought Yang Xiaoguo would still be confused as before, but he blushed as soon as he saw it. 

“You… you and my eldest brother… hm?” Tian Xiaoman asked suspiciously, eyebrows raised as he stared at Yang Xiaoguo with ill intentions.

“Xiaoman, don’t say it, it’s so embarrassing…” Yang Xiaoguo covered his red cheeks and was too embarrassed to look at Tian Xiaoman. 

Looking at his reaction, what else could Tian Xiaoman not understand? He never expected it—pure, innocent Yang Xiaoguo was actually that bold.

However, Tian Xiaoman knew that his brother must be to blame for this. A single man and a single ger had been engaged for a long time and were in the same room. His brother must have been unable to resist. Luckily, back then he had not been alone with Li Wenxuan like that, otherwise he definitely would have been tricked too.

Tian Xiaoman stretched out his hand to Yang Xiaoguo’s belly and said seriously, “Let me see if there is my nephew in here.” 

Yang Xiaoguo was startled by his action, then reacted by tickling Tian Xiaoman. “Xiaoman, you’re awful!” 

The two gers started playing around, and suddenly they heard firecrackers outside, signaling that his eldest brother had come to pick them up.

Tian Fu was actually very happy inside. He and his second younger brother chose to marry on the same day, separating the two troublemakers, Xiaoman and Liu Sheng. Otherwise, if those two got together, they would definitely come up with many bad ideas. Compared to his second younger brother, he was even happier, because no matter what, Xiaoman was family, but when Liu Sheng messed with people, he recognized neither kin nor friendship.

Tian Fu’s plan was beautiful, but he did not know that Tian Xiaoman and Liu Sheng had already met beforehand and decided exactly how they would cause trouble.

After going through a stretch of agony, the brothers Tian Fu and Tian Shou finally managed to get the new husbands onto the carts. Both let out a breath at the same time. They had finally passed the hurdle.

The county town was far away, so Tian Fu had to circle around the village a few times before they arrived together.

If Tian Xiaoman hadn’t gone with them, and he hadn’t gone home, the little devil would have made a scene. 

Sure enough, when he got home, the Little Tuanzi had been crying for a while. When he saw Tian Xiaoman, he immediately opened his arms for a hug and pressed his chubby head tightly against Tian Xiaoman’s neck, making Li Wenxuan, who had been carrying him for so long, feel a bit jealous. 

He cursed, calling him a little flatterer.

Tian Xiaoman smiled smugly. Only you’re allowed to kiss him and he isn’t allowed to kiss me?

After a while, firecrackers sounded at the door. The two couples got off the carriage at the same time, stepped over the fire basin together, and worshiped heaven and earth with the help of the matchmaker. 

Father Tian and Tian Amu had always been cheerful. No one had ever enjoyed such a blessing. This was double happiness.

In fact, Tian Xiaoman wanted to participate in the wedding night, but Li Wenxuan had been repeatedly urged by the two brothers-in-law not to let Xiaoman meddle, so Tian Xiaoman was tripped up by little Tuanzi and could not go.

Father Li and Li Amu took Le Ge’er home after the banquet yesterday. Tian Xiaoman, born as the son of the Tian family, had to stay for the important event of adding a new member to the family.

When they served tea the next day, little Tuanzi became the biggest winner. No matter how much gift money his Amu gave out, he earned it all back intact—there was even extra.

Tian Xiaoman grinned from ear to ear and proudly showed off to Yang Xiaoguo and Anjing, “Two good brothers-in-law, please give birth to a child for my family as soon as possible. When the time comes, I, your momo, will definitely give you a gift.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Xiaoguo and Anjing attacked him, pressing him on the couch so he couldn’t get up. 

The feeling of being tickled all over made Tian Xiaoman shout repeatedly, “Amu, come here, your ger is going to be bullied to death by your sons-in-law!”

Tian Amu passed by and said it served him right. Even little Tuanzi at the side giggled, giving his Amu no face at all.

Tian Xiaoman wept “broad noodles” tears. What was this feeling of losing favor?

(Translator’s Note: “Broad noodles’ tears” (宽面条的泪) — A Chinese internet meme meaning exaggerated or melodramatic crying. The “tears” are likened to long, flat strands like broad noodles, implying over-the-top sorrow, mock lamentation, or humorous self-pity rather than genuine grief.)

This winter was particularly cold, so when spring came, everyone was very happy. 

But the good times didn’t last long. As February neared its end and there wasn’t a drop of rain in the sky, people’s moods became heavy.

It would soon be time to sow and raise seedlings, but the fields were so dry that you could pinch out mud residue, nothing like the spring plowing of previous years.

The water level in the river had dropped again. In the past, they had to worry about flooding in the spring, but now they didn’t have to worry about it at all.

For this reason, the village chief called everyone together to discuss what to do. Should they dig the river deeper or dig two wells beside the fields?

Both methods were rejected. One reason was that the drop in water level wasn’t due to the river being too shallow, but because the water level in the upstream lake had also dropped.

Second, digging a well was not a trivial matter. To dig a good well, they needed to ask a master to come and assess the land. They couldn’t help with the digging afterward, and the cost was about two or three taels of silver. 

The most important thing was, whose field should the well be dug on?

Everyone argued about this issue endlessly, and there was no conclusion for a long time. 

The village chief could only ask everyone to go back and discuss it with their families first.

Neither the father and son of the Li family depended on the land for their livelihood, so this incident didn’t have a big impact on them. However, from what Father Li saw when he went up the mountain these days, there were indeed fewer animals on the mountain, and it seemed that they had migrated to other places.

After thinking it over, Li Wenxuan decided not to buy piglets this year. At the same time, he also told several familiar people who often sold pigs to him to keep fewer piglets this year.

He often went to the county town these days and even went to the provincial capital. 

After coming back two days later, he shared some bad news. It wasn’t just their Anyang County, but also a dozen counties bordering the provincial capital, experiencing the same situation.

After hearing Li Wenxuan’s news, the village chief gathered the young and old men in the village and asked them to plant more drought-resistant crops this year. Rice, which requires a lot of water, should be planted with caution.

For a time, the room was silent. Everyone frowned deeply. They had only lived a few good years—how could drought suddenly strike again? 

In truth, signs had appeared long ago. Their area usually had snow every year, but last year and the year before, it suddenly did not. Last year’s rainfall was also far less than usual.

The village chief saw that everyone was silent, so he cheered up and said, “It’s okay. Maybe it will rain soon? It’s not that bad. Anyway, we should make the necessary preparations first. Even if there is a drought, the court won’t ignore us.”

After hearing what the village chief said, everyone felt a little better and dispersed.

Things didn’t go as everyone expected. 

By the beginning of April, the rain still hadn’t fallen. Those who planted rice didn’t give up; they had to carry several loads of water from the river every day to irrigate. If they didn’t irrigate for a day, it would turn yellow.

The water in the river was getting shallower and shallower. A child couldn’t even reach his knees if he stood in it. Fortunately, there were many wells in the village, so no one was worried about drinking water for a while.

The local officials had already reported the matter to the higher authorities. Not long ago, they were notified that the taxes for the dozen or so counties nearby would be reduced by half compared to previous years. People were relieved, meaning the court hadn’t ignored them.

The Li family did not grow vegetables in the valley this year but opened several vegetable plots in the backyard and drew water from the well every day for irrigation. Their well was an old one, dug very deep back then, and the water had always been sufficient.

Little Tuanzi had grown from a soft little fat boy to a slightly more flexible little fat boy. He was now more than seven months old and could sit steadily. 

His second uncle had someone bring him a chair from the provincial capital, made high enough for Little Tuanzi to use when eating.

He could eat a lot of things now and basically ate everything except some too heavy ones. 

But Tian Xiaoman also discovered that this little guy was a carnivore. If you put some vegetables in his mouth, he would spit them out. He loved eating meat floss. 

Li Wenxuan had asked his friend to bring back some meat floss from the west, which was just right for children without teeth. In fact, Little Tuanzi already had four teeth, so he could slowly grind away anything that came into his mouth.