“What does it have to do with you?” Bahu didn’t say yes or no. Whether it was or not, he wouldn’t openly reveal his intentions in front of everyone.
“Boss, your third brother is here, waiting for you at home, said there’s something urgent.” Suddenly, an old man spoke, breaking the standoff-like situation.
“You came at the right time. Later, go to the west side of the river and hire another twenty people to come to shear the sheep. Get the wool-cutting job done today.” Bahu pointed to the three women who had just caused trouble and said firmly, “Tell Chaolu to settle the wages today and don’t let those few women come again. I’m paying for labor, not looking for trouble.”
“Also, I don’t like listening to people gossip. If anyone is unlucky enough to cross paths with me, you better leave. Don’t come to work for me again.” Before leaving, Bahu quickly glanced at Mi Niang, nodded to the old servant, and walked away as if escaping.
Mi Niang took a deep breath, feeling extremely anxious, but strangely, she also felt a sense of relief inexplicably. She couldn’t clearly define what she was feeling, but she was sure that she had a favorable impression of Bahu. However, this liking was not enough to support her in establishing a relationship with him, let alone discussing marriage.
“I kept my sheep together with the master’s sheep without his knowledge. He only found out the day before yesterday when he discovered the sick sheep that it wasn’t his sheep.” Mi Niang explained calmly, “Tonight, I’ll take the sheep back. After this incident, I’m really scared. If my sheep die from the illness, it’s fine, but if it infects the master’s flock, I’ll end up selling myself into slavery.”
“You silly child, why didn’t you say it earlier? If you had spoken up earlier, we wouldn’t have blabbered nonsense in front of the master.” Aunt Li regretted intensely. The wages here with Bahu were among the best, and he treated people well. The wages were also paid on time. If she lost this job, she wouldn’t find another one with higher pay easily.
“I didn’t know you would make such a request.” smiled Mi Niang bitterly, “Aunt Li, have I offended you? As an innocent young girl with no parental orders from above and no matchmaker’s words from below, you keep associating me with an unrelated man at the drop of a hat. Isn’t this wanting to harm me? How can I get married in the future?”
“Tatars don’t care about these things. Widows who have been married two or three times also don’t lack men to marry.” Aunt Li hurriedly tried to amend, not having malicious intentions.
“The less said, the better. If any man talks about me in a derogatory way because of today’s incident, I’ll cut the rope and hang myself at your doorstep.” Bahu dismissed the three people, and they held grievances but couldn’t offend him, only picking on Mi Niang, those who had no backing. Mi Niang had to resort to making stern threats to prevent outsiders from spreading rumors to tarnish her reputation.
The old man, who had been listening on the side, figured out most of the situation. He glanced deeply at Mi Niang and sternly said to Aunt Li and the others, “Put down what you’re holding and come with me. You don’t need to work today.”
“The master didn’t say that!” Aunt Li shouted sharply.
“Then go find him.” The old man didn’t argue with her, standing with his hands behind his back. “If you want to work, fine, but you won’t get paid today.”
“You don’t want to work either? What time is it now? If you don’t want to work, go with those three.” The old man’s murky eyes swept over the others, and everyone, too busy to bother with the commotion, hurriedly went about catching the sheep.
Bahu slowed his pace as he moved away from the crowd as if he were too exhausted to walk any farther. He took a few quick breaths, and the pounding heartbeat in his chest gradually slowed down before he continued toward home.
“Second brother.” Agula heard the footsteps and stood up. He quickly scanned Bahu’s face. “Uncle Muren said you’ve been keeping watch for two nights straight. Did something happen to the livestock?”
Uncle Muren was the old man who had gone to call Bahu, a servant brought by Bahu’s mother, who had been with him since he was fourteen.
“Why are you here?” Bahu didn’t respond to his inquiry, sat down across from Agula, yawned lazily, and said, “Speak if you have something to say; I need to catch up on sleep.”
“Big brother asked me to come. He and his sister-in-law have been locked up by father.”
“Oh?” Bahu became alert, leaning forward and asking, “Is your father not planning to let the two of them leave the Northern Desert?”
“Maybe. Big brother wants to leave, so he asked me to bring you a message, asking you to come and save him.” Agula lowered his eyes, patted the wool stuck to his sleeves, and stood up. “I’ve delivered the message; I still need to go to the private school, so I’ll leave now.”
“Tell him he’s got the wrong person. I can’t save him. It’s better to ask you for help than to ask me.” Bahu leaned back, raised his leg, and his face turned cold. “It’s ridiculous. Whether it’s you or Sandan, just take advantage of the old man being drunk and release them. You even came here specifically to inform me. How can I save them? Should I go and fight with him again? Then my reputation gets worse, and if I accidentally beat him to death, I end up in prison. What about all my livestock? Who will take care of them?”
“I never thought about it that way,” Agula lifted his eyelids, his eyes filled with lifeless air. “As you know, I don’t do anything, and in the end, I’ll have no fewer livestock than you.”
“But you should also be aware of what Mandu Ratu’s intentions are in bringing back a new wife this time. It’s nothing more than taking away his share of the family property. Unfortunately, he miscalculated the old man’s mind, attempting to steal a chicken but losing the rice.” Bahu looked at his third brother, who seemed like an invisible person and said frankly, “The old man will never allocate his livestock to me. If the eldest brother leaves and Sandan marries in the future, what remains will fall into your hands.”
Agula’s eyebrows twitched, but he didn’t speak.
“See, you understand perfectly well in your heart but are unwilling to offend the old man by letting Mandu Ratu go. Agula wants more of the family property without contributing anything. Where in the world does such a good thing exist? Or do you think your second brother is a fool, a brute who only knows how to fight, and will rush back just because of a few words from you?” Bahu stood up, walked in front of Agula, slapped his tender face with his rough hand, chuckled, and said, “Third brother, you are clever but still a bit green.”
Agula frowned, watching him undress as if there were no one else around. He rubbed the slapped area vigorously, then walked out without saying a word.
“You little brat.” Bahu whistled, thinking about Mandu Ratu being locked up and still planning to escape. If he left like this, he would have no share of the family property in the future.
Getting a wife and having a small family had a considerable impact on a person. Bahu rested his hands behind his head, thinking about Mi Niang. His forehead furrowed, and he couldn’t figure it out even after falling asleep.
He slept until dusk, awakened by the sound of things being moved outside the felt bag. He put on his clothes and checked outside; it was Chaolu leading people to move the wool into the felt bag.
He subtly scanned the area and asked by the side of the ox cart, “Is it all sheared?”
“All done. Tomorrow we can pick and wash the wool. How many people do you want to hire this time? Considering the time, the trade caravan should be returning in about half a month.”
“You handle it. Keep the ones who are diligent and honest.” After saying this, Bahu prepared to find something to eat. However, he hadn’t taken a few steps when he heard the ferocious barking of the tethered big yellow dog. It had been with him for a while, and he had never heard it make a sound.
“What’s wrong? Does it smell bad, or is it ugly? Even its childhood companion despises it. You, this dog, are also biased. Grab it and bite it when you catch it.”Mi Niang didn’t expect Da Huang to suddenly show aggression. It had just broken free from its leash and was chasing after the fluffy little lambs. “Come back, come back, Da Huang, roll back here, don’t bark! Those are our sheep. Where are you chasing them?”
It was quite strange. The sheep that had recovered from illness seemed to have amnesia. After finishing her work and going to herd the sheep, the other three sheep would follow her with their bleats. However, the one that had been sick acted as if it didn’t recognize her, persistently running towards Bahu’s flock.
After a considerable effort to bring it back, it was now being frightened away by Da Huang.
“Hey, this dog needs a good beating. If it doesn’t feel pain, it will keep chasing and biting the sheep in the future.” A woman washing her hands by the river helped to block Da Huang for a moment. Mi Niang took advantage of this opportunity to grab the dog’s leash and gave its backside a couple of pats. Panting, she said, “Are you foolish? Don’t even recognize your sheep?”
Da Huang glanced at her with its tongue hanging out, then looked at the four sheep huddled together, lowering their head to drink water.
Bahu witnessed this chase and found it amusing. After Da Huang’s pursuit, the four sheep coincidentally gathered together. In a couple of days, once they got acquainted, Mi Niang would be even more surprised when he swapped the sheep.
Regarding Da Huang, he didn’t expect it to be so clever, still remembering the scent of its flock. Placing it in the pasture to watch the sheep turned out to be a good move.
“Why did you bring the sheep back?” Bahu walked out as if he were an innocent bystander, glanced at the person cleaning the wool by the river, and said with a smile, “Lend me Da Huang to watch the sheep, and you can let these sheep graze in my pasture.”
“Keeping watch in front of your house during the day and going to your pasture at night. If this continues for a while, Da Huang will become your dog.” Mi Niang spoke openly, “Your house doesn’t lack dogs; don’t have any ideas about Da Huang.” Bahu wasn’t interested in her, and she should keep some distance to avoid causing trouble for him.
“Alright, if you ever change your mind, you can come find me.” Bahu watched as Mi Niang led Da Huang and the sheep back, silently exhaling a breath of relief. Fortunately, Mi Niang wasn’t influenced by that gossiping woman, and her attitude towards him remained as usual.
