The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 46

Once the dumplings were ready, they were quickly put into the pot because Le-ge’er had been patting his belly and repeatedly shouting, “Hungry, hungry, hungry!” for a while.

Seeing him holding his belly with a sad face, Li Amu hurriedly started another pot to boil water and cook the dumplings.

After adding water to the pot three times, the dumplings were finally cooked. The dough had been kneaded until perfectly elastic, so not a single one broke apart.

Li Amu mixed some seasonings in a bowl and scooped a serving for Le-ge’er, feeding him. He blew on a dumpling, then held it out for him to eat. 

Le-ge’er opened his small mouth wide, eager to swallow the dumpling in one bite.

“Just a small bite,” Li Amu stopped him, pulling the spoon back. 

Le-ge’er’s face immediately crumpled with impending tears.

“It’s no use pretending to be pitiful. You can only take a small bite!” 

Le-ge’er, looking disappointed, reluctantly took a small bite of the dumpling, but his eyes lit up. “Good! Grandmu more!”

“You can eat, but no big bites, okay?”

As Le-ge’er ate happily, Tian Xiaoman also served himself a bowl of dumplings and sat with Li Wenxuan to eat together.

Father Li, who had been forgotten in the excitement, smelled the delicious fragrance and walked into the kitchen to grab a bowl of dumplings. He wasn’t foolish enough to wait for someone to invite him.

After everyone finished the dumplings, they returned to their rooms to rest. The dumplings were considered lunch, while the chicken stewed with chestnuts and other dishes would be saved for dinner.

After a nice nap, Tian Xiaoman felt much less fatigued. He went out to fetch water to wash up, then went to the front hall. He found that Li Amu and the others had already woken up and were sitting there chatting.

When they saw him come in, they immediately greeted him, “Xiaoman, come quickly, we’re discussing what furniture to make for your wedding! Do you have any preferences?”

Tian Xiaoman blushed a little. Why ask him something like that? Didn’t they know it would embarrass him?

Tian Xiaoman muttered, “I’ll go check if the chestnuts in the kitchen have been peeled. You guys can chat first!”

The three of them laughed when they saw his reaction. In fact, they had already chosen the style but wanted to tease Tian Xiaoman. Who would really let an unwed son-in-law decide such things?

Tian Xiaoman didn’t realize this. He stood in the kitchen, his cheeks flushed, and he began to feel a little more excited about the possibility of marrying here. After spending a few days with Li Wenxuan’s family, he felt they were very kind and treated him well, almost like family. His intuition told him that he would be very happy here.

While Tian Xiaoman was still feeling shy, Li Wenxuan entered. “Xiaoman, what’s wrong with you?”

Tian Xiaoman lowered his hand from his cheek. “No, nothing. What are you doing here?”

“Father and the others went out to do something. I’m here to help you!” 

Li Wenxuan was eager to spend time alone with Tian Xiaoman. These past days, either his Amu or Le-ge’er, the little brat, had always been around, so he hadn’t had a chance to quietly enjoy his little chestnut.

“Oh, then let’s peel these chestnuts!” Tian Xiaoman said. When the chestnuts were cooked, they only had small holes cut in their shells. To use them in the chicken stew, they needed to be peeled entirely.

“Okay.” Li Wenxuan brought over two stools, and they sat by the stove to start peeling.

“Xiaoman, were you shy just now?” Li Wenxuan smiled as he asked.

“Who… who said that? I’m not shy at all, what’s there to be shy about?” Tian Xiaoman stubbornly refused to admit it.

“I see your face is red, though. Really not shy?”

“If I say no, it means no! I was just hot!” Tian Xiaoman pouted, clearly flustered.

“Okay, Xiaoman, you’re not shy at all. I’ll pretend I didn’t see your red face!” Li Wenxuan teased him further.

Sure enough, Tian Xiaoman became more upset. “I told you not to say it, but you still said it!” He threw a chestnut at Li Wenxuan and then rushed toward him.

Li Wenxuan couldn’t help but laugh. He had succeeded in teasing him. 

He opened his arms and caught Tian Xiaoman, easily trapping him in a tight embrace.

“Xiaoman, since you came here willingly, I won’t be polite!” he said, his fiery eyes showing his intentions as he kissed Tian Xiaoman.

Tian Xiaoman initially struggled but then slowly relaxed, allowing him to kiss. But Li Wenxuan was eager for more. It wasn’t enough just to kiss him—his hands wandered, and he touched Tian Xiaoman’s waist. 

Just as he was about to move lower, Tian Xiaoman noticed.

Startled, Tian Xiaoman pushed him away, stomped on his foot, and then fled from the kitchen, returning to the house.

Li Wenxuan smiled bitterly, looking at the chestnuts that still needed peeling. He sighed, knowing that he had gotten carried away. He could have kissed Tian Xiaoman for a while longer…

Back in the house, Tian Xiaoman buried his face in the pillow, trying to ignore the warm feeling he had when Li Wenxuan touched him. 

This was so embarrassing!

After some time, Tian Xiaoman suppressed his flustered expression and returned to the kitchen. He found that the chestnuts had been peeled and placed on the counter, and the chicken had been cut.

He put the chicken in boiling water to blanch it, skimmed off the blood foam, and set the chicken aside for later use. Then, he poured oil into the pot, heated it up, and stir-fried the chicken. After a few moments, he added onions, ginger, and garlic, frying until fragrant. He then added soy sauce, salt, cooking wine, a little sugar, the chestnuts, peppercorns, and star anise, followed by hot water to cover the chicken. He let it stew for over a quarter of an hour until the soup was absorbed.

The chestnut stewed chicken was ready quickly, so Tian Xiaoman decided to cook the rice as well, so they could eat once everyone returned.

Having finished preparing everything, Tian Xiaoman went out to see where the others had gone.

Just as he was about to head outside, he heard Le-ge’er crying from Li Amu’s room. 

Tian Xiaoman sighed. That little rascal had slept for so long today, and now he was crying.

He walked into the room, and Le-ge’er stopped crying as soon as he saw him. With tears in his eyes, he reached out for a hug.

Tian Xiaoman picked him up, put him on his lap, and helped him put on his clothes. 

Le-ge’er struggled to get off, muttering, “Go find Grandmu!”

Tian Xiaoman had no choice but to follow. “Okay, let’s go find Grandmu!”