Also known as The Beloved Husband of the Butcher's Family. Pure farming life, no golden finger.
Xia Shi had been spoiled since childhood, but when his family fell into ruin, he had to return to his hometown. When a villain came knocking, he drove him away with a raised knife, then decided for himself that he would take a husband.
The butcher Zhou Di was one of the candidates. "I'm a rough man, and Master Xia once did me a kindness. If you're willing, I'll marry into your family."
Xia Shi looked at the tall, handsome man, whose coarse clothes were still stained with blood, and nodded.
Before they were even married, the villain tried to ruin Xia Shi's reputation. Zhou Di didn't say a word, just grabbed a weapon and charged straight at him.
At last they were married, but life was still full of rough patches for the educated young man and the illiterate butcher.
In the third month of spring, Xia Shi broke off a few blossoms to put in a vase. Zhou Di came in carrying half a pig carcass, stuffed some snacks into Xia Shi's hand, and asked if he wanted to stir-fry flowers today.
Didn't want to eat? Then it was time for bed. Zhou Di dropped the meat and scooped him up, carrying him to the bed.
In the scorching heat of midsummer, Xia Shi thought Zhou Di looked indecent with his shirt off. Zhou Di complained that it was hot, but quickly put his clothes on anyway. He picked Xia Shi up and carried him into the inner room, changing his undershirt with one hand and fanning him with the other. "If you're hot, don't stand outside. Go lie down for a nap."
Autumn harvest kept them busy. There was no waiting around when it came to work in the fields, but whenever Xia Shi said he wanted to go out and help, Zhou Di would pull him off to bed. It wasn't until the middle of the night that he finally let him go.
In the depths of winter, Xia Shi sat by the window watching the snow. As soon as Zhou Di came in, he bundled him up and stuffed him into bed. "Don't sit there in this freezing weather or you'll catch a chill. Go to sleep. Winter's the time to make a baby."
Xia Shi: "..." He turned and bit Zhou Di, grumbling under his breath. Fine, they could sleep. What a nuisance.
Though Zhou Di was a nuisance, Xia Shi still thought he was the best.
Time passed, and spring came around again. Zhou Di had just returned from the fields when he picked a handful of flowers and quietly put them in the vase by the window.
Xia Shi watched with his hands behind his back, then ran and leaped onto Zhou Di's back, wrapping his arms around him. "The flowers are so pretty!"
*
When Xia Shi first returned to the village, the gossips said that someone as spoiled as him would never make it there, and that any man willing to marry into his family had to be a good-for-nothing.
Two months later, Xia Shi had not only reclaimed his family's farmland, but had also become a benefactor praised by everyone in the village. The villain's whole family was disgraced.
Two years later, thanks to his education and skills, Xia Shi went from a roadside peddler to a prosperous shopkeeper in town.
Zhou Di, supposedly no good as a man, became the most famous butcher across the surrounding villages. He took care of every chore at home, big and small, and had eyes only for his husband. He talked about him every day, and made sure he had all the clothes, jewelry, snacks, and treats he could want.
A few years later, there was a little one in the family, tottering along while holding onto the walls. Xia Shi and Zhou Di moved back to the county seat with their family, opened a shop on the front street, and bought a house on the back street. Their life was thriving.
[Reading notes]
1. No golden finger. Domestic life, good food, and cozy farming.
2. A child is born in the middle and later parts.
Theme: Face hardship head-on.
