“Bahu, you have to help me, big brother.” Mandu Ratu supported Yinshi and walked over. “When it gets light, Father will come looking for us. Find a place for us to hide.”
“Leave tonight, and he won’t catch up.” Bahu sniffed disdainfully, keeping his distance from the two. This is no way to treat a son, worse than treating livestock.
“It’s not possible to leave. Your sister-in-law is pregnant and can’t endure the bumps. We came from Xushui to Lingshan.” Mandu Ratu’s eyes were sunken from exhaustion. Holding Bahu’s arm, he pleaded, “As brothers, I beg you to help us. It’s my fault that I turned a blind eye when Father beat you. Big brother apologizes to you.”
Bahu stepped back. “If he wants to find you, the first place he’ll look tomorrow is here. And there’s the Assistant Magistrate in the government office; he’ll definitely side with the old man. Besides, I’m leaving tomorrow…”
“Then, could you go check on my sheep? Leave tonight. As for my sister-in-law, I’ll find a place for her to hide for a couple of days, and then I’ll send her to you.” Bahu’s mind stirred.
“Okay, your sister-in-law is having trouble with her pregnancy. Take good care of her.” Mandu Ratu had no other choice; he could only listen to Bahu. Taking advantage of the late night when everyone was asleep, Mandu Ratu took Muren, who had met him, to Xia Ranch.
“People living here are all from Dakang, with a dense population. You won’t stand out if you mix in. I’ll introduce you to someone familiar, and during the day, you can sleep in the felt bag to stabilize the pregnancy. There are not many people who have seen you, so it won’t be easy to be discovered.” Bahu led Yinshi towards the felt bag where Mi Niang lived. He warned with a low voice before approaching Da Huang.
“Hush, Da Huang, it’s me.” Bahu scolded in a low voice. Hearing some movement in the felt bag, he knocked on the wooden fence and whispered, “Please help wake up Mi Niang. I’m Bahu, and I urgently need her help.”
“Just a moment.” The one who woke up was Mi Niang.
“What’s happening?” Pandi sat up upon hearing the commotion.
“I’m not sure. I’ll go out and take a look. You go back to sleep,” Mi Niang said as she put on her clothes and prepared to open the door.
“Wait, I’ll go with you.” Pandi also dressed and walked to the door, saying, “Open it.”
It was the middle of the month, and the moonlit grassland was brightly illuminated. Mi Niang saw Bahu and the woman cowering behind him.
“This is my sister-in-law. She’s from your Dakang, but my father forbids my brother from marrying her. He kept them locked up for over a month, and they only escaped tonight.” Bahu felt his clothes being tugged, but he ignored it and continued, “My father is a scoundrel, but not my brother. They are fond of each other. If it weren’t for her being pregnant, they would have left the northern desert tonight.” Bahu explained the situation. “I had no choice. Can you let her hide here for a couple of days until my brother comes to pick her up? During these days, she’ll stay here, and I’ll bring meat every day, free of charge.”
Bahu kept his eyes on Mi Niang and, after a moment of thought, added, “In the future, my family will hire workers, and you can all come over.”
“Okay.” Mi Niang nodded. She noticed Bahu’s gaze and didn’t hide her annoyance, rolling her eyes. “But we don’t have extra felt here…”
“I’ll bring some.”
“At night, we live with the sheep, and the smell inside is a bit unpleasant.” Mi Niang looked at Yinshi.
“Send her to my place. I’ll have someone watch over her,” Bahu interjected again.
“Young lady, you’re worrying too much. I don’t mind,” Yinshi spoke softly. “Second uncle, let’s keep it low-key. I’m afraid we might be discovered if there’s too much commotion.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.” Bahu glanced at Mi Niang again.
“Come in first, don’t disturb others.” Mi Niang pulled Pandi aside, allowing Yinshi to enter first. She then looked at Bahu and ordered coldly, “Go get a felt blanket for your sister-in-law. If there are clothes, bring a set for her to change into.”
“I don’t have clothes for her to wear at my home.” Bahu’s eyes rolled. “I see you’re about the same height as her. You lend her your clothes, and when she leaves, I’ll go tear a couple of pieces of cloth to compensate you? Otherwise, if I suddenly go to the cloth shop to tear cloth and make clothes, anyone with a mind will know that I’ve hidden my sister-in-law.” He tried to create opportunities to interact with others.
“My clothes have poor fabric.”
“She likes wearing clothes with poor fabric.”
Yinshi: “… Is he making this up?”
While Bahu went back to fetch the felt blanket, Mi Niang and Pandi woke up the four sleeping people. Without hiding anything, they briefly introduced Yinshi’s situation, emphasizing Bahu’s promise to hire workers.
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Madame, you can rest assured and nurture your pregnancy here. If you need anything, just ask,” Mu Xiang nodded first. Bahu’s family pays well for hired workers, with this promise, she won’t have to beg for jobs with a forced smile in the future.
“I’m surnamed Yinshi, a few years older than you. Just call me Sister Yinshi, don’t say anything like Madame. I can’t bear the title,” Yinshi said softly.
“Sister Yinshi, you can rest assured. We definitely won’t let that old scoundrel take you away. Just stay in the felt bag and nurture your pregnancy,” Lan Niang said angrily. “Our Dakang girls are not inferior. Why would you find a man from the northern desert who doesn’t even have a roof over his head?”
Yinshi smiled awkwardly without explaining that Mandu Ratu was married into the Yin family.
“The felt blanket is here.” Outside the door, Bahu knocked on the wooden door.
No one inside the room moved, all looking at Mi Niang, especially Yinshi. The felt bag was dim, and Yinshi could only vaguely see Mi Niang’s general figure.
Mi Niang went to the door in silence, and when she took the felt blanket, her hand accidentally touched the man’s chin. They both paused, one retracting her hand, and the other turning his face away.
“It’s a bit heavy. I’ll carry it in for you. Don’t worry, it’s dark inside, and I can’t see anything.” Bahu stepped over the threshold with one foot, looking for any objections before stepping over with the other.
“Just leave it at the door; there’s no room inside.” The further inside, the stronger the smell of sheep, and Mi Niang remembered that when her mother was pregnant with her little brother, she couldn’t stand the smell. She worried that Yinshi might feel nauseous sleeping inside.
“Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go back?” The question was directed at Yinshi, but Bahu looked towards Mi Niang.
“Uncle, thank you for tonight. You should go back and rest early.” Yinshi spoke, urging him to leave. It was the middle of the night, and if a man entered and exited a girl’s felt bag, it could tarnish the reputations of the young ladies.
Bahu didn’t move and asked again, “When should I bring the meat tomorrow?”
“You don’t need to come; Ying Niang will come to pick it up.” Mi Niang walked to the door, holding onto the door frame. “We’re going to sleep, so if you have nothing else, please leave.”
Indeed, they had been arguing. Lan Niang tightly grasped the hand of the person beside her. After Bahu left, she whispered, “Mi Niang, weren’t you supposed to buy meat tonight?” She had been wanting to ask since Mi Niang came back in an angry huff.
“The price was too high, so I didn’t buy it.” Mi Niang bent down to spread the felt and said, “It’s late; Sister Yinshi, come and sleep.”
Speaking of which, this was the first time she had seen a quilt in her time in the northern desert, and it felt warm to touch.
The night passed quietly. The next day, Yinshi sat up abruptly upon hearing the creaking sound of the door opening. She looked startled, and upon seeing the person who opened the door, she realized that she had indeed escaped.
“Did you have a nightmare?” Pandi, seeing that Yinshi was already awake, opened the door and said, “Sister Yinshi, excuse me. I’ll drive the sheep out first. You can sleep after we leave.”
“Oh, okay.” Yinshi saw that the nearby felt had already been rolled up, and she also bundled the quilt and pillow into the felt, stacking them by the wooden fence. It was only at this moment that she could see the environment inside the felt bag. The small felt bag was divided into two, and the sheep had left, revealing a ground mixed with sheep dung and urine. She blinked and, following the open door, glanced outside. Several girls outside seemed to be busy with something.
“Sister Yinshi, these are my clothes, cleaned. If you want, you can change into them,” Mi Niang brought in a patched garment when she heard the commotion. “Don’t mind the patches. The more worn out it looks, the less conspicuous you’ll be here.”
Yinshi discreetly glanced at her and said with a hint of apology, “Could you please trouble yourself to bring me a basin of hot water? I want to freshen up.”
“Sure, just wait a moment.” Mi Niang put the clothes down and went out for a while, returning with a basin of steaming water. “Be careful not to spill too much when you wash. It’ll be troublesome if it doesn’t dry well at night.” After saying this, Mi Niang went out, closing the door and squatting at the entrance, shielding herself from the wind.
“A fight broke out! Hurry, let’s go and see the excitement.” Not far away, a man excitedly shouted, “I heard that the son is fighting with his father. Let’s go and watch.”
Upon hearing this, Mi Niang speculated that it was likely Bahu’s father who had come. She listened to the sound of water in the felt bag, suppressed her eagerness, and stayed put.
“It’s Bahu fighting with his father. Mi Niang, quickly go and see.” Pandi ran back, panting, “I’ll stay here, you go.”
Bahu could be quite ruthless, and marrying a man like him might not be easy.
“Okay, you be careful not to let her show up.” Mi Niang hurriedly instructed and then ran down the river. By the time she arrived, the two fighters had already been separated, and Bahu was leaning against the door with slightly swollen eyes.
“Did you find anyone? Ang Qin, you’re over forty years old. How can you just hit someone indiscriminately? Bahu is a grown man. He has no face left.” The Assistant Magistrate was also angry; he was having a peaceful meal, but now he was covered in oil due to this incident.
“That woman from Dakang is pregnant, and Mandu Ratu, without a horse or a carriage, can’t take her away. Surely, Bahu is helping to hide her.” The old man, reeking of alcohol, swung his whip aggressively. The crowd’s attention fueled his desire to show off and strike Bahu a few times.
“I sent her away overnight. She’s probably already left the grassland and is about to enter the mountains. You won’t catch up.” Bahu laughed indifferently, continuing to provoke him, “Mandu Ratu said he would never set foot on the northern grassland again. You can consider him as if he was never born.”
“Beast.” Ang Qin lashed out with his riding crop. He spewed out a stream of vulgar curses that were far from a fatherly tone.
Bahu caught the riding crop with his bare hands, coiled it close, and, using both hands, swung it towards the old man. The whip struck him, and his arms hung down limply.
“You see, I wasn’t lying, right? He has no weapon in his hands now. If he had a knife, he might have stabbed his father.” He, who had somehow come over to Mi Niang’s side, spoke with a serious expression. Seeing her grave expression, he continued, “But it’s not like he hasn’t stabbed before. At fourteen, he stabbed his father twice before being kicked out. Like father, like son; if things don’t go their way, they resort to violence. By the way, his father likes to beat women when he’s drunk. Bahu has always abstained from alcohol outside; I wonder if he’s afraid of turning out like his father when he’s drunk.”
“Do you drink?” The old and the young were pulled apart again, and Mi Niang turned her face slightly to ask.
“Yes, men from the northern desert never don’t drink. But when I get drunk, I just go to sleep, very honest.” He felt that Mi Niang’s words were suggesting something about him. He was full of pride, thinking, “Bahu, the woman you fancy, I might just snatch her away.”
“I can’t stand the smell of alcohol. It seems I’ll have to marry a man from Dakang in the future.” The two fighters were taken away by the Assistant Magistrate, and Mi Niang was ready to leave as well. “Sure, we won’t be buying meat for the next few days. Don’t save it for us.”
“Why not buy?” She quickly caught up.
“Tired of it. Want to eat something light for a few days.”
However, at noon, when he went to his brother’s house for a meal, he saw Ying Niang coming out of Bahu’s house with a large lump of meat.
