Mi Niang said, “What does it matter to you whether I talk a lot or a little?”
This question startled Bahu and before he could come up with a reason, he saw Mi Niang striding away. Glancing at the northern hillside, where the grass covered most of the sheep’s bodies but the green of the grass on their heads was still visible, Bahu snorted disdainfully. Without a guilty conscience, he walked back, choosing not to expose her plan of secretly raising a sheep in his flock.
The previous night, Mi Niang learned that there were guests at Bahu’s house when she went to fetch Da Huang She had no intention of running over to see it at noon today to avoid explanations if she bumped into someone.
“I’m back, and the meal is just ready. Come and eat quickly,” Pandi called.
“Coming.” Mi Niang took a bowl and sat down, asking, “Did you see the Lady of the Great Residence today?”
“We did, we were just talking about it,” Lan Niang said excitedly. “The Lady of the Great Residence has blue eyes. When she looked over, I almost couldn’t breathe. She’s too noble. I dare not make a sound in front of her, afraid of sullying her.”
“Before coming to the Northern Wastes, the most beautiful girl I had seen was the daughter of the county magistrate. Today, when I saw the Lady of the Great Residence, the daughter of the county magistrate can only carry her shoes,” Mu Xiang said. “Of course, if the Lady of the Great Residence is willing, I can also go and carry her shoes for her, without monthly pay.” After saying this, a blush appeared on her face.
Mi Niang couldn’t help but laugh. “Does she need you to carry her shoes? Dream on,” Pandi mocked Mu Xiang’s infatuation, gesturing for others to come closer and whispering, “I heard that the Lady of the Great Residence is unmarried, but the palace is full of handsome men. The Prime Minister and the General stationed in Gu Chuan are both her devoted subordinates. Do you remember the dark-clothed man who was by her side today, running errands? He is a favorite she keeps in front of others.”
“Nonsense,” Mu Xiang was displeased, her face stern. “Don’t listen to gossip, who knows who’s spreading rumors. The Lady of the Great Residence is such a noble person, how could she possibly…,” She hesitated for a moment, “My mother said, people who are obsessed with beauty, whether men or women are not respectable.”Old-fashioned. Lady of the Great Residence has wealth, power, influence, and status. Why would she marry into another family and suffer from a mother-in-law?” Lan Niang rolled her eyes. “Being so beautiful, she would be at a disadvantage no matter whom she marries. If I were her, I would keep a handsome lover during the day, my right-hand man, and at night, he’d warm my bed.”
Everyone, including Mi Niang, looked at her unbelievably, not expecting her to have such thoughts.
“Shameless,” Mu Xiang sneered at her.
Seeing that the two were about to quarrel again, Mi Niang quickly changed the topic. “I want to see the beauty of the Lady of the Great Residence. Has she left?”
“She’s gone. As soon as the sun reached its zenith, they packed up and left, and the caravan followed them.” Bai Mei, thinking about the fabric that Mi Niang had bought early in the morning, asked how much it was per foot.
“Thirteen cents and it’s still damaged by worms.” Talking about this, Mi Niang felt distressed. She suddenly lost interest in sneaking a peek at the beauty.
“I earned some money in the past ten days, but as soon as I spent it, it’s gone. I don’t even know if the fabric I bought can make two outfits.” She had considered buying cotton to make a quilt, but this morning, she didn’t dare to ask after spending all her money.
“Fortunately, I brought two outfits with me.” Ying Niang was relieved. She went out to find work with Pandi and Mu Xiang. People just looked at her size, and she didn’t even need to cut grass.
“By the way, Mi Niang, we also found some work. An old herder fell ill, and he couldn’t manage the chores at home, so he hired us to clean the sheepfold for him.” Pandi’s eyes were filled with joy, making her frequent help to the herders worthwhile. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have gotten this opportunity.
“Everyone’s going?” Mi Niang asked.
“Except for Ying Niang, the four of us are going.”
“Good news. We can all have a good life with meat and milk in the future.” Mi Niang rubbed Ying Niang’s hair and comforted her, saying, “You’re still young, doing heavy work won’t make you grow tall. In the future, when we come across lighter work, we’ll introduce it to you.”
Hearing this, Lan Niang couldn’t help but roll her eyes. She glanced at Mu Xiang with disdain. Mu Xiang, in turn, rolled her eyes at her, finished her meal in three or two bites, and said she would go back to the felt bag to take a nap.
“There’s still rice left for this meal. When Sister Pandi rationed the rice, did she also include the portion for Da Huang?” Bai Mei continued to eat the remaining rice from the pot while sitting on the doorstep, teasing, “Mi Niang, today you’re not working, but the host is still feeding Da Huang.”
“It has nothing to do with me. Da Huang is here to guard the master’s house, and it’s also working,” Mi Niang said somewhat guiltily.
At this moment, Bahu was holding a bowl of sheep bones and heading outside. Seeing that Da Huang’s water bowl was empty, he scooped a bowl of water from the river and placed it beside a wooden stake.
“Where did you get this dog? I saw a girl take away this scruffy dog last night. Isn’t it yours?” Bahu’s big brother stared at him, trying to find out, “Have you taken a liking to the dog’s owner?” They were far away last night, and he didn’t see the girl clearly, but she wasn’t short.
Bahu was a bit stunned by this question, and he slowly replied, “Just felt sorry for it.”
His gaze fell on Da Huang. It gnawed on the sheep bones, drank some water, and perhaps feeling tired, lazily sprawled on the ground with its four limbs bending. It pressed its two front paws on the sheep’s bones and continued gnawing. Sensing him watching, it casually wagged its tail three times.
Seemingly not as pitiful as he thought, just like its owner, thin and weak, too poor to afford a change of clothes. The shoe soles had fallen off, held together with a few threads to continue wearing. Yet, she dared to challenge him, held grudges, and dared to mix her sheep into his flock.
Every time he thought he had figured out her character, she managed to redefine his understanding of her.
“How about considering what I said?” Bahu’s big brother looked at him lost in thought and continued, “You’re my real brother. I’m bringing my new wife home. You can’t just not go back once; that’s disrespectful to me.”
“In the future, the number of times I come back will decrease, and the days for the family to gather will be fewer and fewer each year…”
“Fine, I’ll go back,” Bahu couldn’t be bothered to listen to his brother’s nagging. “Let’s set off tomorrow.”
Early the next day, Bahu went to the herd and chose three horses. Thinking about the awkward way his sister-in-law walked, he asked about the direction of camel movement, found the camel herd, and led a female camel back.
“Only two horses?” Mrs. Yin looked at her husband, raising an eyebrow in confusion. “Are we sharing one horse? Didn’t you say you had over a hundred horses at home? This doesn’t seem right.”
“Sister-in-law, you can ride the camel. Camels are more stable than horses when running. I saw you walking a bit uncomfortably and thought that riding a horse might hurt your legs, so I didn’t bring a horse for you.” Bahu had grievances against his big brother but he wouldn’t vent his anger on unrelated people.
Mrs. Yin blushed with embarrassment, glaring at her husband who was smirking. She regretted going along with his nonsense and felt embarrassed in front of her younger brother-in-law.
Fortunately, he seemed oblivious to such matters.
“Second Uncle, what kind of girl do you like? If I come across a suitable one, I can arrange a match for you.” Mrs. Yin thought Bahu was a good person; at nineteen, he still seemed so innocent.
“Quiet, trouble-free, not crying all the time, not overly attached to romance, and decisive in actions. For example, if I die, she should be decisive in remarrying. I don’t plan to leave the Desert North. If my sister-in-law finds a willing girl to come to the Desert North, I can go and get her. Whether or not there’s a dowry doesn’t matter. If you can’t bear to leave your parents, you can bring them over, but parents should be worry-free and not find trouble for themselves.” Bahu thought for a moment and added, “I’m not planning to leave the Desert North. Sister-in-law, if you find a girl willing to come here, I can go fetch her. Whether or not there’s a dowry is not important. If you can’t bear to leave your parents, you can bring them along, but it’s better if they don’t worry unnecessarily.”
“You can marry a mute girl, preferably an orphan.” Bahu’s elder brother glared at him irritably. “Or just don’t get married at all. With your demands, no one can stand you.”
Bahu didn’t bother to respond. He flicked the horsewhip in his hand and took the lead, charging ahead.
When the three arrived at Xushui, the late-rising herders were still cooking. Children sat on oxen and horses, nibbling on bread, with their schoolbags hanging from the heads of the animals.
“Second Brother! Why are you back at this time?” Sannan saw Bahu first. Riding a chestnut horse, she told her fellow students, “Help me tell the teacher that I need to take a break; something happened at my home.” Her second brother must have come back to pick a fight with her father.
“Nonsense, what happened to your family?” Sannan looked towards Bahu and screamed in disbelief, “Big Brother! Big Brother, you’re back! Why didn’t you send a message? I could have gone to pick you up.”
“Big sister! How noisy you are now that you’re a big sister.” The man rubbed his ears, introducing the woman on the camel to Sannan. “Sannan, this is your sister-in-law.”
“Hello, sister-in-law.” Yinshi smiled gently. “I’ve heard a lot about your lively younger sister from Anzhi. Today, I finally get to meet her.”
“Hello, sister-in-law.” Sannan was a bit stunned but managed to greet her. She then asked, “Did Anzhi, my big brother, not mention his name? He’s called Mandu Ratu.”
Bahu stared with interest at Mandu Ratu, twirling the horsewhip in his hand.
“Where’s your third brother? Let’s go back together.” Mandu Ratu spoke before Yinshi could, trying to forestall any words from her.
“Third brother is at home.” Sannan looked somewhat resentful, casting a meaningful glance at Yinshi and reminding her, “Dad got drunk last night.”
Upon hearing this, Bahu’s face immediately darkened. No wonder Sannan said something happened at home. It was indeed going to be troublesome.
“Bahu, don’t act recklessly. Give some face to your sister-in-law. It’s her first time visiting; don’t make a scene that looks bad.” Mandu Ratu, seeing Bahu’s expression, knew trouble was brewing and regretted bringing him back.
“You should go plead with your dad.” Bahu shook off the hand on his sleeve, spurred the horse, and rushed home.
“What’s going on?” Yinshi asked in confusion. When Bahu left, Sannan nervously followed.
“It’s okay. If anything happens later, don’t worry. My family is always like this.” Mandu Ratu hesitated, thinking of turning back to Lingshan, and followed slowly behind.
“Second, Second Young Master…” The male servant couldn’t stop him, helplessly watching as Bahu galloped straight towards Madam’s yurt.
Bahu kicked the door open and barged in. The commotion startled the woman lying on the bed. Her face was swollen, and her right eye, with a deep purple bruise, could only open a narrow slit. Seeing the intruder, she couldn’t help but shed tears. When he abruptly stopped and started to leave, she hastily called out, “Bahu, Bahu, you’re back…”
But it was too late. Bahu successively kicked open three yurts and grabbed the man who had passed out from sleep. He threw a punch at him, and then delivered a kick to his stomach, sending him crashing to the ground.
“You dare to come back; today, I’ll beat you to death!” The man on the ground was robust; even after taking a punch to the head, he just swayed a bit when standing up, then clenched his fist and aimed it at Bahu’s forehead.
Bahu gritted his teeth without uttering a word. He engaged in a brawl with the man, kicking and struggling. From the outside, the entire yurt was trembling, swaying as if it might collapse.
Mandu Ratu brought Yinshi inside and witnessed this scene. His sister and younger brother were preventing a limping woman from entering.
“Mom, I’m back.” He greeted.
“Elder son? Elder son, hurry in and pull Bahu away; he’s going to beat your dad to death.” The woman looked panicked, clutching the fabric of her clothes tightly to her chest, breathing rapidly.
Mandu Ratu smiled faintly, “I told you, my second brother is wasting his goodness, meddling in others’ affairs.”
Are you fattening them up?
