The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 6

Tian Amu and Yang Xiaoguo’s Amu, Lin Miao, sat in the small courtyard of their house, carefully sorting the apricots that the two gers had picked, dumping them from their backpacks into a large wooden basin.

Tian Xiaoman’s yard was in the southeast corner of the village. Since it was far from the village center, getting water was inconvenient. To solve this, his grandfather had dug a well at their home. This made it easier to wash things or water the vegetables, and the neighbors often came over to fetch water.

After sorting, Tian Amu hauled two buckets of water from the well, washing each apricot individually before placing them in a basket to let the water vapor evaporate.

“My Xiaoguo,” Yang Amu said, half scolding and half amused, “I was wondering why you dragged me here in such a rush. Turns out, it’s to make jam again.” He never understood how he had given birth to such a gluttonous ger. All day long he followed Xiaoman around, searching for something to eat.

The trouble was, he himself could never make jam properly. No matter how he tried, it always burned. So every year, he had to come to Shen Ying’s place and help the children make it together. Once it was done, he would take a jar home for her little glutton.

“Of course!” Tian Amu defended. “my Tian Xiaoman hasn’t even put his bowl down before talking about making jam. As parents we have to help. Otherwise, these two won’t be done until dark!”

Tian Amu and Lin Miao had gotten married in the same year, and the two gers got along well, making their bond stronger than most.

“Amu, you’re bad-mouthing me again!” Tian Xiaoman came out just in time to hear this, his movements quick and sudden.

“How could I bad-mouth you? If you tell your father later, he’ll surely get mad at me,” Tian Amu replied with a smile.

Tian Xiaoman ignored them and wandered around the apricot tree, picking any apricots that didn’t look good or weren’t quite ripe. His method of making jam was the same as others, but he had his own little trick. Along with the ripe apricots, he always added some unripe ones.

The apricots here were sweet, but if you only used the ripe ones, the jam would become too cloying after a while. Tian Xiaoman’s jam had a nice balance of sweetness and sourness, and Yang Xiaoguo could eat a whole bowl of it with steamed buns.

Though the family members later found out his little secret, none of them could make the jam quite like Xiaoman. It was simply a matter of talent.

Once the apricots were dried, the four of them sat in the yard, each holding a knife and removing the apricot kernels. After drying, they could knock out almonds. These apricots were sweet, so they could be eaten raw, but Tian Xiaoman didn’t like eating them that way. He preferred to fry them with some salt.

After removing the pits, they chopped the apricot flesh into small pieces and placed them into bowls. In no time, the two baskets of apricots they had picked were reduced to just the core.

Tian Amu had already washed the large pot for cooking, and Yang Xiaoguo eagerly brought a jar of maltose from his home, something he had worked hard to acquire. He would only take a little with chopsticks when he truly wanted to eat it.

“Perfect,” Tian Amu said. “I was just thinking that there wasn’t enough sugar at home. If you have this, we don’t need to add honey.”

“Honey?” Yang Xiaoguo’s eyes lit up, and he hesitated, “Xiaoman, I’m thirsty. Can I…”

“Just drink water. Don’t be polite! The well’s right outside,” Tian Xiaoman interrupted, knowing exactly what Yang Xiaoguo was thinking.

“Oh, Xiaoman, you’re so bad. I want… I want to drink that,” Yang Xiaoguo hesitated, too embarrassed to ask directly. His skin wasn’t as thick as Xiaoman’s.

“What’s that you want? Come on, tell me!” Tian Xiaoman laughed, pretending not to know.

“You little brat, stop teasing Xiaoguo,” Tian Amu chided, carrying in a tray with four bowls of honey water and white sugar cake that Tian Fu had brought from the county town.  “And you call yourself his Amu, just watching him get bullied?”

Lin Miao didn’t mind the teasing. He just enjoyed seeing his ger get a bit of comeuppance. Every time Xiaoman teased Yang Xiaoguo, he found it amusing.

Yang Xiaoguo didn’t care either. He was used to Xiaoman’s antics. As long as he got what he wanted in the end, nothing else mattered. 

Holding the honey water in one hand and the sugar cake in the other, he bit into the cake, savoring it with a satisfied smile.

The white sugar cake was something Tian Fu had bought in the morning. He had it brought back by someone in the village while it was still warm. However, due to the long journey, it had cooled by the time it reached their home. The key was that it wasn’t made with common maltose, but with refined, decolorized cane sugar—white as frost—hence the name “frost sugar cake.”

Tian Xiaoman didn’t care about the sugar cake; he just knew he had to eat it quickly or Yang Xiaoguo would finish it all.

Watching the two children eating with abandon, the adults smiled at each other, glad to see them enjoying the treat. Somehow, food always tasted better when you had to fight for it. Alone, neither of them would eat so eagerly.

Once they had eaten, it was time to get down to business and start making the jam. 

Tian Xiaoman pushed the adults into the yard to sit, rest, and chat, then took Yang Xiaoguo’s hand and led him to the kitchen.

Tian Xiaoman took food preparation very seriously. He first poured the apricots from the basin into the pot and asked Yang Xiaoguo to start the fire, cooking over high heat. His hands were busy stirring the pot, not even bothering to wipe the sweat that rolled down his forehead. 

Yang Xiaoguo was also sweating, but for the sake of good food, it didn’t matter. The foodie spirit within both of them was fully alive!

As the apricots softened and turned into a paste, Tian Xiaoman added the malt sugar and sour apricots he had set aside. 

“Low heat,” he instructed. If cooked on high heat, the jam would develop a burnt flavor. 

Yang Xiaoguo quickly adjusted the fire, turning the big flame into a small, steady one.

As the jam cooked slowly, the kitchen filled with the tempting aroma of sweet and sour apricots, making their mouths water. When the jam turned golden brown, Tian Xiaoman told Yang Xiaoguo to turn off the fire.

He found two large jars and shared the jam with Yang Xiaoguo, spooning it into each jar one serving at a time. In the end, there was only a spoonful left in the pot, which they both eagerly scooped into bowls. 

The apricot jam was the perfect balance of sour and sweet, not greasy, and not too sour to finish. When your appetite is poor in summer, a bowl of Xiaoman’s apricot jam can always make you crave an extra serving of rice.

“Xiaoman, the apricot jam you made is so delicious. What will I do if I can’t eat it after you get married?” Yang Xiaoguo said, looking worried as he chewed on his spoon. His little face scrunched up, indicating this had been troubling him for a while.

“What… what about getting married? What nonsense are you talking about?” Tian Xiaoman’s face turned red. He was an unmarried ger, and talking about marriage made him shy. 

He had, of course, forgotten that he used to say he liked Brother Zhang Bin.

“No?” Yang Xiaoguo tilted his head thoughtfully. “But my Amu said someone came to your house to propose, and Uncle Tian and Tian Amu already agreed.” 

He knew Xiaoman liked Zhang Bin, but he didn’t think it was realistic. In fact, he thought men who could cook were more likable than those who could read, like Brother Tian Fu.

“I haven’t agreed yet!” Tian Xiaoman said fiercely. 

The last time his parents mentioned it, he hadn’t paid attention. Now, all he knew was that the suitor’s surname was Li, from Willow Slope. 

Was that really enough reason for him to marry?

He had already let go of Zhang Bin. In the beginning, his sadness wasn’t from being rejected by him but from the collapse of his long-held belief in a noble, official marriage, along with Zhang Bin’s harsh dismissal of him. But that didn’t mean he would marry just anyone he barely knew!

“Oh,” Yang Xiaoguo nodded, not fully understanding. Wasn’t marriage something decided by your parents?

When dinner was almost ready, Yang Xiaoguo carried the jar of apricot jam back home to let his father try the day’s work.

Meanwhile, Tian Xiaoman lay on the bed, lost in thought, wondering what he should do…