The Butcher's Little Husband - Chapter 80

The second day of the Chinese New Year is the day for the married gers to go home. 

Li Wenxuan prepared the New Year gifts and drove back with Xiaoman early in the morning. Li Yiran and Le-ge’er were also in the cart. Since they had to pass through the county town to reach Tian Xiaoman’s house, Li Yiran and Le-ge’er would get off in the county town.

When they arrived outside the county town, Li Yiran ran into some problems while trying to carry Le-ge’er down. Le-ge’er wanted to stay with Tian Xiaoman and was still thinking about the grandfather who had made grasshoppers for him last time. But Li Yiran disagreed, saying Le-ge’er hadn’t been to his maternal family yet. 

After some persuasion, Le-ge’er reluctantly agreed.

Because they left early, it was only 9 o’clock when they arrived at Tian’s house. 

Tian Amu had been standing at the door talking to someone, occasionally looking into the distance. When the sound of horse hooves echoed, Tian Amu’s heart leapt. He looked around and saw it was indeed Li Wenxuan. 

He quickly jumped off the carriage and stood under the large tree outside, waiting.

Li Wenxuan pulled the reins, dismounted, and called out “Amu.” 

Tian Xiaoman, impatient as always, lifted the curtain and called out “Amu” too.

Tian Amu smiled and nodded, “Come down, come down, sit inside, it’s cold outside.”

As they entered, Tian Amu noticed something unusual. Normally, Tian Xiaoman acted like a little monkey, but this time, he didn’t jump down immediately. He waited for Li Wenxuan to help him down. 

Once off the carriage, Tian Xiaoman quickly ran to Tian Amu’s side and whispered in his ear, “Amu, you’re going to be a grand-Amu!”

“What?” Tian Amu was stunned, then suddenly shouted, “Really?”

Tian Xiaoman smiled and nodded. He didn’t feel shy around his Amu.

Tian Amu’s eyes moved to Tian Xiaoman’s flat stomach, and he suddenly became concerned, “You have to be careful! You were walking so fast just now!”

“I wanted to tell you earlier,” Tian Xiaoman muttered.

“I told you to go slower next time. Come inside quickly. Amu will make you whatever you want to eat!”

“Hehehe, Amu is the best…”

Watching them from behind, Li Wenxuan suddenly felt that once the next generation appeared, he would no longer be valued. Look at this—while the child was still in the belly, everyone’s attention had already shifted. 

He shook his head and followed inside.

Father Tian and Xiaoman’s two brothers were sitting inside, warming themselves by the fire. There were a few sweet potatoes and strings of rice cakes near the brazier. 

As soon as Tian Xiaoman walked in, he smelled the fragrance. “Wow, I love this the most!”

Seeing the excitement in his eyes, Tian Shou smiled, “I knew you’d be a little greedy. I baked these for you! Isn’t Second Brother good?”

“Good, good, good, thank you Second Brother!” Xiaoman cupped his hands at him happily and sat down to peel the sweet potato. But just after peeling one, he suddenly looked up and noticed Li Wenxuan sitting opposite him, looking sad.

“Husband, this is for you first!” Tian Xiaoman felt he had neglected him and generously handed the sweet potato to Li Wenxuan.

Li Wenxuan smiled, took a bite, and then gestured for Tian Xiaoman to take it back.

The two of them shared the sweet potato affectionately. 

The Tian family exchanged surprised glances. Tian Xiaoman, the youngest child of the family, had always been spoiled and a little selfish, especially when it came to food. No one, except for Tian Amu, could get anything from him. 

But now, he gave the first bite of the sweet potato to Li Wenxuan, which clearly showed how much he cared for him.

Tian Fu raised his eyebrows at Tian Shou, and the two brothers exchanged a knowing look, taking Li Wenxuan outside without a word. 

Tian Xiaoman wasn’t in a hurry. It wasn’t that he looked down on his brothers, but Li Wenxuan was truly impressive. Last time, he had helped the villagers slaughter a pig, single-handedly holding down a pig that weighed over 200 kilograms.

Father Tian looked at Tian Xiaoman. “That little baby from last time was so fun. Why didn’t you bring it back?”

“Father—” Tian Xiaoman stretched out his voice, “That’s someone else’s baby, it has to go back to its grand-Amu’s house!”

Father Tian looked a bit regretful, but when Tian Amu started talking about Tian Xiaoman, he brightened. Soon, there would be a little one calling him “Grandpa” sweetly.

Father Tian was lost in his happy thoughts while Tian Amu and Tian Xiaoman discussed their plans. “Your elder brother has finished his studies and won’t be going to the provincial capital next year. I plan to have him marry first, and then he can focus on development in the county.”

“Okay, then elder brother can come home often,” Tian Xiaoman had no objections. But then he asked, “Have you proposed marriage?”

“I told Xiaoguo’s Amu long ago. Before the new year I had your elder brother give Xiaoguo a hint, and he didn’t object.”

“No wonder Yang Xiaoguo hasn’t come to our house. He must be shy,” Xiaoman concluded confidently.

Tian’s Amu looked at him helplessly, “Xiaoguo and his Amu went to his grand-Amu’s house!” This silly child knew when to go back to his maternal family, but didn’t think to come back here.

Tian Xiaoman was reminded of his own situation—he didn’t have a grand-amu, but he had already made plans with his brothers to gather tomorrow. 

“That’s right, Xiaoman, now that you’re married, you should visit your elders alone this year. Have you thought about the New Year gifts?”

Tian Xiaoman stood there holding a sweet potato, wondering what to say. The New Year gifts he had prepared for his Amu had been taken care of by Li Wenxuan, so he wasn’t worried about it at all.

Seeing Tian Xiaoman hesitate and not answer, Tian’s Amu knew exactly what was going on. He tapped him on the head, “You should be paying more attention. Every family is run by a ger. Why are you letting Wenxuan do everything?”

Tian Xiaoman was annoyed. Why did it sound like he was useless? 

“I cook!” he argued back.

“That’s your only skill. Listen, this year I’ll let you be lazy this year. Later, call Wenxuan over and I’ll have a talk with him. But next year, you’re doing it yourself!”

Xiaoman nodded repeatedly, but secretly thought that once Wenxuan learned everything, he would make him bring it home and then they could match their statements. His Amu would never know. 

To him now, the Li family already felt like his own home.

Tian’s Amu must have known exactly what was going on in his mind, but he was too lazy to expose him. He turned to head into the kitchen, calling for Father Tian to come and help light the fire.

Tian Xiaoman, feeling bored, stood up. 

What was this? He was a guest, why was he being left alone?

He clapped his hands and went outside to find Li Wenxuan and his brothers.

When Tian Xiaoman arrived, Li Wenxuan was already deep in conversation with his two brothers. As expected of a businessman, Li Wenxuan’s sweet words made the two brothers very happy.

He was now advising Tian Fu, “Hey, if it were up to me, with your cooking skills, why work for someone else? I’ve tried all the small restaurants in the county, and only a few have decent cooking skills. If you opened a restaurant, served three meals a day, and ran it yourself, you’d do great.”

He wasn’t offering blind advice—he had indeed sampled all the local restaurants, and few compared to his brother-in-law’s skill. 

Though he had never tasted his brother-in-law’s cooking, Tian Xiaoman praised it often.

Tian Fu was starting to get interested. Though he had learned cooking from his master, and knew everything about restaurants, he had always kept the thought of opening his own one to himself. 

Hearing Li Wenxuan’s encouragement made him feel an impulse, “Wait, I’ll cook right away! Brother-in-law, wait for me!” Tian Fu rushed home, leaving everyone stunned.

Tian Xiaoman walked over, “Li Wenxuan, what did you do to my elder brother?” 

His brother, usually so lazy and always saying he didn’t want to cook, was suddenly eager to cook at home.

“Nothing,” Li Wenxuan said innocently. How could he know his brother-in-law was just full of potential?

Tian Shou smiled slyly. He felt he was the smartest one in the family while the others were too naïve, easily tricked by his brother-in-law’s honest appearance.

Tian Xiaoman didn’t pay them any mind. He went over to tell Li Wenxuan what Tian Amu had said. 

The moment Li Wenxuan heard his Amu-in-law calling him, he immediately went back. No hesitation—his Amu-in-law was the real head of the family.

Now that Xiaoman was alone with his second brother, he edged closer, whispering sneakily, “Second Brother, you and Anjing… eh?” He wiggled his brows suggestively.

Tian Shou slapped his hand over Tian Xiaoman’s face and pushed him away, “What nonsense. Children shouldn’t pry into adult matters.”

Tian Xiaoman struggled. He regretted letting Li Wenxuan go first. If he hadn’t, his second brother wouldn’t be bullying him like this! 

“Husband, come back soon…”