The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 29

Tian Xiaoman bought some fruits and other things for the little monkey,  then quickly lost interest in staying on the street. Li Wenxuan had run out of money, so the two of them retrieved their horse and headed home.

Li Wenxuan felt a little embarrassed. “Hey, I said I’d take you for a good walk around the county town. I’ll definitely take you out to have fun next time!”

“It’s fine, I still have my little monkey.” Tian Xiaoman sat in front holding the monkey, completely focused on it. His whole heart was wrapped around the little creature, so he answered indifferently.

Li Wenxuan glared at the ugly monkey with jealousy. It was skinny and small, not cute at all. Its temperament wasn’t lively like other monkeys either. From the moment he saw it until now, it had been dull and dazed—not like a monkey at all! He really didn’t understand why Tian Xiaoman liked it so much.

After sending Tian Xiaoman home, Li Wenxuan rode his horse back again. He hadn’t opened his stall all day and had to work today.

Tian Amu heard the commotion and came out to check. “Xiaoman? Why did you bring a monkey back? Where did it come from?”

Tian Xiaoman lifted the monkey with a proud look. “A street performer gave it to me!”

“Why would he give you a monkey?” Tian Amu was confused. 

How could a street performer be willing to give away his means of earning a living?

“I don’t know either. I’m going to feed the little monkey.” Tian Xiaoman carried the monkey into the house, opened the bag, and handed it a peach.

The little monkey was thin, with yellow fur all over its body. Its big eyes looked especially pitiful on its heart-shaped face. It took the peach with its two little paws and nestled at the foot of the bed to eat.

Tian Xiaoman tied a rope loosely around the monkey’s legs. He had to go out and find a little nest for it so it could sleep well at night.

“Amu, do we have anything the monkey can sleep in?” Tian Xiaoman looked around but didn’t find anything, so he asked his Amu.

“Of course not! We haven’t raised a dog in years.” At the thought of their old dog Xiaohei, who was born the same year as Xiaoman and had lived with them nearly ten years, Tian Amu still felt sad. One day it ran off and never returned—people said someone had eaten it. Since then, the family had never kept another animal. “Hey, your father made a chicken coop a few days ago but hasn’t put the chickens in yet. How about putting the monkey in there?” Tian Amu suddenly suggested.

“What? Use the chicken coop?” Xiaoman looked reluctant.

“What’s wrong with that? We’ve never kept chickens in it! I even stuffed straw inside.” Thinking this was a great idea, Tian Amu ran to the utility room and brought out the brand-new coop, handing it to Tian Xiaoman.

“…” Tian Xiaoman took the chicken coop and returned to his room helplessly. “Little monkey, sorry about this. You’ll have to make do for tonight!” He thought for a moment, then added, “When Li Wenxuan comes, I’ll ask him to build you a big house!”

He put the little monkey into the coop. 

The monkey didn’t struggle and stayed inside obediently. 

Seeing how well-behaved it was, Tian Xiaoman was overjoyed and went out to play with his friends and show off his new pet.

After playing outside all afternoon, Tian Xiaoman came home. The first thing he did was check on the monkey. It was still obediently inside the chicken coop. 

He opened the cage door, put some fruit inside, and then went to eat dinner.

After dinner, Tian Xiaoman quickly washed up and went to bed. He’d gone to the county town and played all afternoon—he was exhausted!

In a half-asleep state, he vaguely heard some faint sounds. He thought it was a mouse, so he mimicked a cat’s meow to scare it away. Once the sound quieted down, Tian Xiaoman tilted his head and fell asleep again.

The next morning, Tian Xiaoman woke up feeling completely refreshed, full of energy.

He sat up and stretched, ready to check if the little monkey had slept well. But when he casually glanced under the bed, he was shocked to find the chicken coop door wide open, some straw scattered outside. The rope tied to the bedpost was still there, but the monkey tied to the other end had vanished without a trace! One of the windows was also half open, letting fresh air into the room.

“Amu! Come quick! Amu!” Tian Xiaoman shouted from his bed.

Tian Amu hurried in from the kitchen. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Amu! My little monkey is gone!” Tian Xiaoman pointed at the mess on the floor.

“Oh, it really ran off!” Tian Amu was surprised. “Did you tie it tightly last night?”

“I did… but maybe not tight enough…” Tian Xiaoman hadn’t expected the monkey to be so clever—otherwise, he would’ve tied it more securely!

“Those little mountain creatures are smart. Just forget about it. Tomorrow, Amu will bring you a puppy to raise,” he said casually. But seeing how sad Tian Xiaoman looked, he still tried to comfort him.

Tian Xiaoman frowned. Thankfully, he hadn’t mentioned yesterday that Li Wenxuan had exchanged more than 20 taels of silver for the monkey, or Amu would’ve eaten him alive!

But what was he going to say to Li Wenxuan? The monkey had only stayed for one night before running away! It was all his fault—he’d slept too soundly and couldn’t even tell the difference between a monkey and a mouse!

But the monkey was already gone. There was no point in saying anything more. 

Tian Xiaoman was in a bad mood all day and couldn’t muster up any energy.

That evening, someone knocked on their door. When Tian Xiaoman opened it, he saw it was his uncle. He immediately invited him in and shouted, “Father, Mother! Uncle’s here!”

His parents, who were just about to eat dinner, quickly came out.

“Brother-in-law!”

“Brother!”

They spoke at the same time and looked at each other, both surprised. 

Why did he show up now? Did something happen back home?

Tian Amu quickly asked, “Brother, did something happen at home?” He was too anxious to notice the joy hidden on Shen Gu’s face.

“Something did happen, but it’s a great thing! My husband gave birth this afternoon—a big, white, plump boy. I borrowed the neighbor’s ox cart to inform our relatives. Come to my house for a drink on the third day after the baby’s birth!”

“That’s great! Don’t worry, Brother, we’ll definitely be there early that day!” Tian Amu said, delighted.

Shen Gu had two sons, both already married. The year before last, his eldest son Shen Tao married a ger named Wang Xiaoping. He was a great person—diligent, kind, and widely praised by the family. But as time passed, everyone noticed that Wang’s belly wasn’t growing at all.

Logically, the couple had been married for over half a year and got along well—there should’ve been some news by now. Not wanting to put pressure on the pair, the family kept their concerns to themselves.

Unexpectedly, Wang Xiaoping felt he might have a health issue and couldn’t bear children. He wanted to get a divorce so he wouldn’t burden his husband.

Shen Tao was furious but couldn’t bring himself to scold him too harshly. He simply told everyone that even if Wang Xiaoping couldn’t conceive for life, he’d never abandon him or marry anyone else.

Their parents had no choice but to sigh and accept their fate, turning their attention to Shen Tao’s younger brother Shen He.

After that, Wang Xiaoping became more open-minded. The family still treated him well, and he stopped dwelling on it.

But the world is strange—flowers planted intentionally don’t bloom, but willows planted by chance grow into shade.

Late last year, Wang Xiaoping started feeling unwell. After a few days, he went to see a doctor. The doctor checked his pulse and said it was a “happy pulse”—he was pregnant! 

The whole family was overjoyed, and Tian Amu even brought over two old hens to make soup for him.

After sending off his cheerful elder brother, Tian Amu decided that the whole family would go to Uncle Shen’s house the day after tomorrow to share in the good fortune. With Tian Xiaoman about to get married, it was a great omen!

Tian Xiaoman felt helpless when he heard this. He hadn’t even gotten married yet, and now his Amu had to start thinking about this already?