The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 71

On the 26th, cut the big meat, and on the 27th, slaughter the rooster.

On the 26th, Li Wenxuan slaughtered the last three pigs of the year. This day, even the poorest people had to buy some meat to take home for the festival.

He went early in the morning, but Tian Xiaoman didn’t go with him because Li Amu said he wanted to fry meatballs today and asked Tian Xiaoman to help.

Li Yiran took Le-ge’er to play in the yard. Over the past couple of days, he had been getting closer to Le-ge’er whenever he had the chance, and Le-ge’er had become a little more familiar with him.

As for his husband, he stayed in the room every day and didn’t come out to eat. It was hard to believe how someone could stay in bed for so long!

Li Yiran initially took Le-ge’er to the room but every time they went in, they came right back out. 

Meanwhile, Lian Meng felt more and more lethargic lately and lacked the energy to interact with Le-ge’er. So, Le-ge’er still had a bad impression of him.

They were playing on one side, while Tian Xiaoman and Li Amu were preparing the stuffing to make meatballs.

They were making two kinds: meatballs and vegetable balls.

The meatballs were, of course, made from pure meat. Li Amu had already taken out the chopping board and placed it on the stone table in the yard. The sun was out, and it felt warm working outside.

He first cut a large piece of meat into several smaller pieces, then sliced the meat before starting to chop it with a knife. He also cut some ginger to remove the fishy smell.

On the other hand, Tian Xiaoman had more ingredients, including carrots, white radish, taro, fungus, and mushrooms.

He took a large wooden basin, placed a slightly smaller chopping board at the bottom, and then poured in the shredded radish, taro, fungus, mushrooms, and other ingredients. Holding a kitchen knife in one hand, he began chopping.

Soon, everything was chopped into small pieces and mixed together, creating a beautiful blend of colors. After finishing the chopping, Tian Xiaoman added salt, dried chili, and sesame oil, then continued chopping.

After he finished chopping on that side, the other side was also ready. The next step in making the meatballs was to add starch.

This was a technical job. If too much starch was added, the meatballs would turn out hard. If too little was added, they would fall apart quickly and wouldn’t hold together when fried.

Li Amu’s other meatballs weren’t particularly good, but the ones he made had the perfect balance of softness and firmness, and they were delicious.

He brought over the bag of starch, looked at the amount of each meatball mixture, and scooped a few spoonfuls into the mixture. He then squeezed them together with his hands, noticing that the texture was a bit hard. So, he added some water, and soon the mixture turned into a paste.

Tian Xiaoman brought out the pot, set it on the new stove in the yard, lit the fire, and poured in a small pot of oil.

Once the oil was heated, Li Amu came over with the basin, scooped some of the mixture with his hands, and rubbed it a few times. A round meatball formed in his palm.

The vegetable meatballs were fried first.

As soon as they were placed in the oil, the meatballs began to sizzle. 

Li Amu continued to knead more meatballs. When the pot was nearly half full, he stopped and used a strainer to stir them. When they turned golden, he quickly scooped them out and placed them in a basket to drain the oil.

Tian Xiaoman couldn’t resist the temptation. Fried food was always so crispy. 

He smiled at Li Amu, who took a chopstick and skewered three meatballs on it.

“This kind of thing causes heat, so don’t eat too many. Just these three!” Li Amu warned before handing it over. 

Tian Xiaoman was good in most respects, but he was always unrestrained when it came to eating. It wasn’t that Li Amu didn’t want to let him eat—but eating too much really wasn’t good.

Tian Xiaoman didn’t protest. Li Amu and his Amu were the same. His Amu had always stopped him from eating too much in previous years. 

Meanwhile, Le-ge’er was playing games and didn’t notice when they started frying the meatballs. But as soon as he saw Tian Xiaoman eating, he immediately left Li Yiran and ran to Li Amu to ask for food.

In Xingtian Village

Tian Amu was also frying meatballs, but this year, he made more than he usually did. 

Tian Shou sat in the yard, planing wood. He and his brother had returned a few days ago. With some free time on his hands, he decided to add something to the family.

Seeing that Tian Amu had fried so many meatballs, he was a bit curious and asked, “Amu, can we eat all these meatballs?”

“Ah, Xiaoman likes the meatballs I fry the most. This year, he didn’t ask for food from me. It feels like something is missing,” Tian Amu didn’t directly answer his question but talked about Tian Xiaoman instead.

“Then feed me one, Amu. If Xiaoman isn’t here, feeding me is the same,” Tian Shou joked, afraid his Amu would get sad thinking about Xiaoman.

Tian Amu felt a little uncomfortable. He had always thought that Xiaoman would stay with them for a long time, but suddenly, he married someone else.

“If you want to eat, go ahead and take it yourself. Why should I feed you? You’re so old!” As expected, Tian Amu’s mood seemed to improve.

“Well, it’s really delicious!” Tian Shou washed his hands and came over. He skewered one with chopsticks and put it in his mouth. It was so good that he ate several more.

“Hey, hey, hey, eat less! It’s just out of the frying pan; it’ll irritate you!” Tian Amu slapped his hand away in annoyance.

“Hey hey hey! Don’t eat too much, they’re fresh out of the fryer—it’ll cause heat!” Tian Amu swatted his hand away.

“You made so many this year, Amu! What’s wrong with me eating a few more? I’m not afraid of getting heat!”

“I’m saving some for Xiaoman! When he comes back for New Year greetings, I’ll give them to him so he can take some back.” Tian Amu finally revealed his reason.

“Aiya, Amu… doesn’t every household fry meatballs? Why bother saving him some?” Tian Shou thought it unnecessary.

But Tian Amu shot him a glare. “What do you know? No matter how good other people’s are, they’re not mine.”

In his heart, Xiaoman would always prefer the ones he made.

Tian Shou shrugged. He didn’t argue. 

His Amu missed Xiaoman so much he was practically obsessed. Maybe he should go visit tomorrow? 

But before the idea fully formed, Tian Amu rejected it instantly—New Year was approaching. Visiting relatives at this time was improper. If people saw, they’d laugh at Xiaoman’s family for not knowing etiquette.