The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 25

As the saying goes: One autumn rain brings a chill; after ten, it’s time to wear cotton.

But it’s still early autumn. The heavy rain from the day before yesterday didn’t make the weather cold—instead, it brought a welcome coolness to the otherwise stifling heat.

Tian Xiaoman loves the weather after rain. Mushrooms often pop up in the forest right after a shower.

Their group left the baskets under a large tree and headed toward the pine woods.

Up ahead, a winding path led to the pine forest. The soil along the way was dry, but the closer they got to the woods, the more humid the air became. By the time they reached the forest edge, they were stepping on thick pine needles that blanketed the ground like a carpet, and the moisture in the air was even heavier.

pine mushrooms thrive in these kinds of places—damp and shady.

These guys were all used to coming to the mountains to forage for mushrooms. Even Liu Sheng, before moving to the city, used to hang out with Tian Xiaoman and the rest in the mountains all day.

Without a word, everyone split up, each finding their own spot to search.

Tian Xiaoman bent over, head down, carefully scanning the ground. He reached a pine tree, the base of which was covered in a thick layer of pine needles mixed with dampness and a faintly musty smell.

He gently pushed aside the needles and was pleasantly surprised to find a cluster of pine mushrooms hidden underneath. They looked like tiny umbrellas, yellowish-brown in color—extremely flavorful!

He reached down and carefully picked them from the base. In no time, he had a small handful. He glanced at the shallow pit, decided to leave the smaller mushrooms alone, and covered them back up with pine needles. If it rained again soon, there’d be a whole new crop growing there.

From time to time, he could hear his friends shouting excitedly nearby. It sounded like they were having a pretty good haul too. Tian Xiaoman smiled and continued his search.

The harvest brought joy—but then came the problem. When they gathered everything they’d picked, they were left awkwardly standing there. Their baskets were already filled with nianzi—no way were they giving those up! 

But carrying the pine mushrooms in their hands? That wasn’t an option either. There was way too much.

Just as they were all struggling with what to do, a voice called out from beyond the trees, shouting Tian Xiaoman’s name.

Tian Xiaoman perked up instantly—he knew exactly who it was! He dropped the mushrooms and dashed off.

Liu Sheng watched him bolt like a mad rabbit and couldn’t help asking, “Who’s calling him? Why’s Xiaoman in such a rush?”

Yang Xiaoguo paused, then said, “Probably Xiaoman’s husband!”

Sure enough, it was Tian Xiaoman’s future husband—Li Wenxuan. It had been seven or eight days since they last saw each other. Li Wenxuan had been thinking about him constantly, even dreaming of him. The moment he had a break, he rode over on horseback.

When he arrived at Tian Xiaoman’s house, Tian Amu was pleasantly surprised. Without saying a word, he went to the kitchen and boiled a few eggs for him—with sugar on top!

Li Wenxuan held back his urge to see Xiaoman, quickly ate the eggs, and chatted a bit with Tian Amu. He smiled at him as they talked, but his eyes kept darting to the doorway.

Eventually, Tian Amu gave up teasing him. “Wenxuan! Xiaoman’s not home. He and Xiaoguo went up the mountain!”

“Huh? Then I’ll go find him—maybe I’ll hunt something while I’m at it!” Li Wenxuan jumped up right away.

“Alright, go on.” Tian Amu replied kindly. He couldn’t be happier to see how much his future son-in-law cared about his Xiaoman.

Once Tian Amu gave his blessing, Li Wenxuan hurried out the door. On his way out, he grabbed a large basket sitting near the entrance—figuring he could use it to carry game later. He didn’t bring a bow, but his slingshot skills were nothing to scoff at!

He made his way quickly along the only trail up the mountain. Before long, he spotted several baskets under a big tree by the path. One look at one of them, with its red string tied to the handle, and he knew it was Tian Xiaoman’s.

Li Wenxuan figured they were nearby. 

After surveying the area, he took a side path and started calling out Tian Xiaoman’s name.

“How did you know I was here?” Tian Xiaoman ran out, panting.

Li Wenxuan walked over and patted his back. “Don’t run like that next time. I’m not going anywhere,” he teased.

“Who says I ran because of you? Don’t flatter yourself!” Tian Xiaoman rolled his eyes at him.

“Alright, alright—maybe it wasn’t for me. But still, don’t run like that again, okay?” Li Wenxuan looked at him with a gentle smile.

“Fine! But you still haven’t said how you knew I was here!”

“Your Amu said you were up the mountain, so I came looking. When I saw your basket under the tree, I figured you were close by. But didn’t you come with Yang Xiaoguo? Why are there so many baskets under the tree?” Li Wenxuan counted—there were five!

“Oh right, let me introduce someone to you!” Hearing that reminded Tian Xiaoman of Liu Sheng’s curiosity earlier. He figured now was a good chance to make introductions—and see what Liu Sheng thought of Li Wenxuan. When it came to judging people, Liu Sheng was a lot more reliable than Xiaoguo!

Without thinking, Tian Xiaoman grabbed Li Wenxuan’s hand and pulled him toward the woods. Li Wenxuan noticed and followed with a smug grin.

Liu Sheng and the others waited a while before seeing Tian Xiaoman return hand-in-hand with a man. He looked decent, though rugged—very different from the delicate pretty boys Xiaoman used to like.

Could this be Tian Xiaoman’s fiancé? If he was this kind of butcher, then… maybe he was acceptable.

Sure enough, Tian Xiaoman came over proudly and said, “Liu Sheng, didn’t you want to meet him? He came to see me!” Then he turned to Li Wenxuan and said, “Li Wenxuan, this is my good friend Liu Sheng. You already know Xiaoguo. These two are Liu Sheng’s cousins.”

Li Wenxuan didn’t dare look directly at the others. He gave a quick glance, greeted them, then turned to Xiaoman. “Let them stay for dinner tonight. I’ll go catch some pheasants or rabbits!”

“Oh—alright. Leave the basket, though. We need it for the mushrooms,” Tian Xiaoman said, a little confused, but still agreed.

After Li Wenxuan left, Tian Xiaoman asked Liu Sheng what he thought of him.

“I think your husband is really decent! Looks good too—very masculine! He’s not as bad as you made him sound!” Liu Sheng had seen plenty of men who ogled pretty gers shamelessly, but this Li Wenxuan even knew to keep his eyes away and clearly knew how to be respectful—it showed that he only had eyes for Xiaoman.

“You really think so highly of him?” Tian Xiaoman was pleased by the praise, but also a little jealous. He suddenly wanted to hide Li Wenxuan away.

“Oh, Xiaoman, are you getting jealous? Upset because I complimented your man too much?” Liu Sheng chuckled, teasing him.

“Hmph, why would I be mad? Look all you want!” Tian Xiaoman tried to act generous.

But his expression only made Liu Sheng want to tease him more. “Then I’ll go hunting with him? I’ve been wanting to hunt for ages!”

Tian Xiaoman pouted, clearly annoyed. When he saw Liu Sheng’s sly smile, he pounced on him. “You wicked ger! You just like teasing me, don’t you? Xiaoguo, come help me tickle him!”

Yang Xiaoguo wasn’t sure what was going on, but when he heard Xiaoman call, he quickly joined in. 

Liu Sheng’s two little cousins saw their cousin getting “bullied” and jumped in as well.

The once-quiet pine forest was now full of laughter and noise, startling the squirrels in the trees. They scurried back to their nests—only peeking out with curious eyes to watch the scene below…