My Lucky Little Husband

An adorable crybaby bottom and a quiet, rugged top

When Fu Bao'er was fifteen, famine struck his hometown, and his older brother sold him for next to nothing.

The woman who bought him, Auntie Li, asked if he was willing to be her daughter-in-law. Fu Bao'er blushed bright red with shyness and gave a small nod.

Auntie Li's son was called Lei Yunshan. He was a quiet man who spent most of the year hunting in the mountains and rarely came home. Fu Bao'er had been there for a whole month before he finally saw him.

The man was tall and handsome, but he always wore a cold expression and never smiled. When he found out that he had suddenly acquired a little husband, he threw a huge tantrum at home.

Fu Bao'er was a little afraid of him, but he still loved trailing after him like a little shadow.

The man didn't want him to follow and told him to go away. Fu Bao'er would stand outside the courtyard and cry, until the man's heart softened. With a cold face, he would take Fu Bao'er's hand and walk home with him.

*

Lei Yunshan was the pillar of his family. A penniless man like him would never have dared to seek a wife, afraid she would suffer with him. Yet his mother had secretly bought him a little husband!

The little husband was fair, tender, and adorable. The moment Lei Yunshan saw him, his heart began to pound, but he didn't dare let himself fall for the boy. He could only speak coldly to him, hoping to scare him away.

But the little husband just stared at him timidly, the corners of his eyes red. He stood there like a child being punished, and no amount of coaxing could move him.

Helpless, Lei Yunshan had to go and fetch him himself.

*

Someone in the village took a liking to Fu Bao'er and tried to persuade Lei Yunshan in private: "You don't like him anyway. Why not sell him to me? That would ease your family's burden, and the money you get could help you marry another wife you actually like. What do you say?"

Fu Bao'er heard them from outside. Tears streamed down his face as he silently went inside to pack his things.

Lei Yunshan panicked when he saw him, but didn't know what to do. He still asked coldly, "Where are you going?"

"Making room for your new wife," Fu Bao'er replied angrily. He slung his bundle over his back and started to leave. Lei Yunshan instinctively caught his hand. Staring at his back, he blurted out, "Then will you be my new wife?"

"Uh... I mean, let's get married."

Fu Bao'er turned around and asked, tears in his eyes, "Really?"

Lei Yunshan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded. A blush showed on his dark face as he vowed softly, "I won't chase you away again. Stay, and I'll treat you well for the rest of my life."

*

A promise, a flatbread broken in half, and a bowl of thin porridge with the bottom showing. That's how little Fu Bao'er and Lei Yunshan scraped by, but they were content.

When spring rain drizzled, they carried little bamboo baskets into the mountains to pick mushrooms. Under the blazing summer sun, they made and sold jelly along the streets. In the crisp autumn air, they climbed trees to pick fruit. When snow blanketed the world, they simmered a pot of pig's trotter soup and watched the little ones build snowmen outside the window...

They lived a quiet life like that, free from illness and disaster, happy to the end of their days.

1. Everyday family life, very calm

2. Fu Bao'er is a little crybaby who cries a lot

3. Childbirth

4. There's no buying or selling, okay? There's more to it

5. Second draft of the blurb, 2024.12.4

Premise: Create a better life with your own hands.