“After Bahu left, the only ones left at home for the meal were Mi Niang and Da Huang. When she got up, she found that the kettle on the stove had already boiled water. It seemed that Bahu had been up for a while.”
“Butter tea brewed with roasted barley, each person had two bowls, and the rest was all given to Da Huang. Marrying Bahu, not to mention her, even Da Huang’s meals were much better than before.
‘Mi Niang, you’re up.’ With a mistress in the main house, it was no longer as convenient for male servants like Chaolu to come and go as before. When they heard movement inside, they would first shout a couple of times outside to give a warning.
‘I’m up. Chaolu, have you eaten?’ Mi Niang had just finished bathing, and Da Huang was tied at the door, guarding her.
‘Bahu has something to do at Xia Ranch. He left in a hurry and didn’t have time to say much. You guys figure out what needs to be done on your own.’ Mi Niang mainly spoke to Chaolu; she wasn’t very familiar with the other male servants.
‘Alright, just spinning ropes.’ The male servant opened the warehouse and moved a bag of wool from inside, all filled with coarse wool. The ropes made from it were sturdy.”
Mi Niang watched as they carried the bag of wool on their shoulders and walked outside. Chaolu lifted a box, and inside the box was sheep tail oil, with a strong and lingering smell that couldn’t be washed away.
“Where are you guys taking this?” Mi Niang followed behind.
“We’re going to the sheep pen first, let the cows and sheep out, and then go to the pasture to watch the livestock while spinning ropes,” Chaolu smiled, extending a pair of hands covered in calluses. “If you spin sheep wool ropes all day long, in less than three days, your palms will be rubbed until they bleed.”
Mi Niang wanted to go along, too. Since she arrived in the northern desert, she didn’t understand anything related to herding. She had no chance or leisure to learn before, and now if she didn’t learn, she didn’t dare to speak up when scolded or disliked by others.
“This job is not easy; it hurts the hands badly. The master probably wouldn’t want you to do this kind of work,” Chaolu glanced up and down, observing Mi Niang, who was now dressed in new clothes, with a turquoise pendant hanging around her neck. These were all good things. With Bahu’s peculiar personality, he seemed to genuinely like her.
“I married him to start a family and live a life, not to enjoy a comfortable life relying on him,” Mi Niang said casually, earning her a higher regard from the onlookers. Chaolu and the other workers, led by him, had seen Mi Niang in tattered clothes struggling for survival. Now that she had become the mistress of the household, if she held a high and mighty attitude, they might not say anything on the surface, but who knows how they would criticize and scorn her behind her back.
The cows and sheep in the sheep pen started calling out as soon as they heard people. When the sheep pen door opened, they eagerly rushed out. Da Huang barked immediately, struggling to charge in and discipline this group of disorderly sheep.
Before, the twenty-four little lambs that Mi Niang had hoped for had been frightened by Da Huang. Day by day, it seemed that it regarded itself as the boss of the sheep, displaying quite an imposing manner.
Mi Niang removed the rope from its neck and shouted a command, and Da Huang immediately spread its paws and rushed into the sheep pen.
“Oh heavens, why did the dog run over?” The servant herding the sheep glimpsed Da Huang baring its teeth and lunging towards the flock. He shouted incessantly, trying to intervene, “Cows and sheep can’t stand being scared. Mistress, quickly call your dog away.”
“Da Huang knows what it’s doing,” Mi Niang said only this much. She stood outside the sheep pen, observing. The cows and sheep with red ropes tied to their horns were quite conspicuous. Their numbers were not many, and they were not very bold. They hesitated at the back, afraid to push into the flock. She counted and noticed one sheep missing, but as Da Huang lunged into the flock, a ram with a red line on its head slipped out stealthily.
“Well, this dog has some skills.” The sheep, previously huddled together, scattered as Da Huang drove them apart. The agitated emotions from earlier were suppressed under Da Huang’s threatening growls, and the sheep stood in place, waiting for the leading ones to go out first.
“Do ewes remember the lambs they gave birth to, even if they have been separated for two months?” Mi Niang asked with a smile, looking at the male servant nearby. “If I separate a ewe and her lamb for two or three months and then reunite them, will the lamb still recognize its mother?”
“Definitely remember, not just sheep, but also cattle, horses, and camels. In the northern desert, there is a burial custom. After a person dies, they are placed on the roof of a Lelé cart. Wherever they fall off, that’s where they are buried. The burial site is sprinkled with lamb’s blood. In the following year, when ewes pass by, they will smell it and find the burial site.” All the sheep had come out, and the calmly-natured cattle walked at the end. The male servant saw Da Huang, a dog running around here and there, gathering the sheep together. He saved himself from going back and explained to Mi Niang while walking beside her, “Cattle, horses, and camels are the same. They can smell and recognize their offspring. During mating and pairing, they will actively avoid, but if the bloodline is distant, they won’t be able to smell it.”
Mi Niang’s face blushed, and she looked at the speaker. The way he casually mentioned mating and pairing seemed no different from talking about eating and drinking. She awkwardly smiled and didn’t interrupt him.
What embarrassed her even more came later. When they arrived at the pasture, Mi Niang, following Chaolu’s lead, rubbed a thick layer of sheep tail oil on her hands. Before she could even start spinning the wool, Da Huang, who was mingling in the flock, began to bark angrily.
“What’s going on?” Mi Niang hurriedly ran over with the two male servants, but halfway there, she stopped. It turned out the Rams were fighting. The victorious ram was riding on top of an ewe, and Da Huang, the foolish dog, stood on the side, angrily trying to separate the two sheep. The ewe moved anxiously, and the ram’s hind legs kept kicking.
“Da Huang, come back.” Not seeing the ram getting really mad, only a step away from using its horns to shove the dog.
But Da Huang didn’t listen. Helpless, Mi Niang had to separate the 21 sheep with red ropes from the flock and then send Da Huang away.
“Has Da Huang sired any pups?” Chaolu chuckled. This dog loved meddling too much.
“No, it was born last summer, just one year ago.”
“If it doesn’t change its behavior, it might be difficult to take it to Xia Ranch. Cattle and sheep are often in heat from July to September. There are many livestock at Xia Ranch, and if we take Da Huang there, it might meddle so much that it breaks its legs. If it’s unlucky enough to encounter a temperamental bull, it might stomp out its intestines,” Chaolu said. Seeing Mi Niang looking somewhat uncomfortable, he pondered for a moment and figured it out. Just then, the sound of camel bells came, and he took the opportunity to change the subject, “It’s the Feng Cang Merchant Caravan. They’ve left. In a few days, the Kai Shun Merchant Caravan will come over. I remember you asked a peddler to bring you honeycombs. I wonder if he still remembers.”
Mi Niang had also been thinking about this matter. It was almost mid-July now, and she heard that winter comes early in the northern desert. Early September is already deep into autumn. If she attracts bees now, the honey they produce might not be enough for them to survive the winter.
“I and Bahu might leave the day after tomorrow. When the caravan arrives, help me find that peddler. If he brought the honeycombs, buy them. If you forget, remind him to bring them next time,” she said.
“What are you buying that thing for?” Chaolu observed Mi Niang’s slow movements and noticed that the ropes she was making lacked strength. In a few days, they might just fall apart. “Alright, stop doing this. It’s not something you can learn in a day or two. Don’t waste the wool. If you rub your palms until they bleed, the master will blame me.”
“My ancestors raised bees for honey, and the prairie has many wildflowers. I plan to pick up this skill,” Mi Niang explained.
“You can domesticate wild bees?”
“Yes.” Mi Niang took pride in this aspect. Her grandfather had personally acknowledged her prowess in beekeeping; she was better at it than he was.
“That’s good. With a skill like that, you won’t be afraid of going hungry anytime. People from the Central Plains are clever and can do everything from blacksmithing to tofu-making, building houses, and farming. There’s nothing you can’t do. We folks from the northern desert only know how to raise livestock, and we rely on luck for our meals.”
“It’s all about whether the heavens give us a chance to live. Even farming depends on the weather. If there’s a drought, flood, or pest infestation, we might have to sell our children. People who migrated north like us say that life here is good. There probably won’t be many people returning to their hometowns. On the other hand, not many nomadic herders from the northern desert go to Dakang, and if they do, they’ll likely come back,” Mi Niang compared the experiences of the migrating people.
Chaolu chuckled, “Big Brother Bahu went to settle in Dakang. In recent years, quite a few people have left, especially from the big families.”
Speaking of Mandu Ratu, Mi Niang thought of Bahu. She didn’t know which direction Xia Ranch was, and the caravan had already left Lingshan. She wondered if Mandu Ratu and the Yin family would be able to catch up with the caravan.
But Bahu didn’t come back for two consecutive days. On the first night, Mi Niang was delighted because no one bothered her with those matters, and she happily rolled around in bed. As the second night fell and there was still no sign of Bahu, she couldn’t sit still. She took Da Huang and went to find Chaolu. Hearing him say that Bahu sometimes came back in the middle of the night, she lit a lamp, took Da Huang, and sat in the felt bag, waiting for him for half the night.
The first rays of morning light penetrated through the felt roof and spilled onto the table where the woman was sleeping in a different position. The fingers hanging under the table gradually lost their dark red color. Mi Niang opened her eyes only after the numbness in her hands and feet subsided, and Dahuang was still curled up sleeping beside her legs. As she moved, it stood up as well.
Bahu had encountered some trouble.
Mi Niang buried her face in the wooden basin while washing, and when she raised her face, her eye sockets were red, with bloodshot eyes. While wiping her face, she remembered Zhao’s grandmother’s words; she might indeed be a widow.
” Chaolu, do you know where Bahu’s Xia Ranch is? Ride over and take a look; I think Bahu must have encountered something.” Before it was time to start work, Mi Niang led a horse and knocked on Chaolu’s felt bag.
“Did he tell you why he was going there?” Chaolu quickly dressed and combed his hair, and his wife accompanied him as they opened the door.
“His elder brother and sister-in-law are hiding there to avoid his father. They planned to wait for the caravan to return to Dakang together. Two days ago, Bahu heard the sound of camel bells and hurried to inform Mandu Ratu.” Mi Niang didn’t hide anything this time. She was even thinking about whether to go to Xushui to find Bahu’s parents. Besides these two people, she didn’t know who else had dealings with Bahu.
Chaolu widened his eyes; a biological father knows his son best. Bahu’s father went to his son and received a few unjust beatings.
“It seems he’s in trouble. I’ll take some people to check it out,” Chaolu said. Seeing Mi Niang’s pale face, he asked his wife to accompany her and said as he left, “We don’t know the situation yet. Don’t go to Bahu’s parents for now. His father is quite unreasonable. If he finds out that Bahu has hidden Mandu Ratu and his wife, you won’t have peace for a long time.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to Chaolu.” Mi Niang forced a smile. When Bahu returned safely, she would ask him to teach her how to ride a horse. At least in the future, if something happened, she wouldn’t have to worry about being a burden and waiting at home, feeling useless.
“Don’t worry, nothing major will happen. There are many people from Lingshan at Xia Ranch. It’s probably just some disagreement between brothers causing a delay,” Chaolu’s wife, a woman with a few white hairs, reassured Mi Niang.
“Thanks for your kind words. What I’m most afraid of is that something might happen on his way back. I told him before to stay there if it gets dark, but I don’t know if he listened,” Mi Niang said, her heart beating faster as she spoke. She patted her chest, took a deep breath, and continued, “Auntie, you’re busy; you don’t have to worry about me. I just remembered that I haven’t let my sheep out yet. I’ll go back first.”
“How about I accompany you?”
“No need, really.” Mi Niang led Da Huang outside. Even if she didn’t know the situation, even if Bahu had really encountered something, she had to live well.
As Mi Niang approached home, she saw Pandi and Mu Xiang on the west side of the river, looking like they were looking for her.
“Mi Niang, where did you go so early in the morning?” Pandi noticed Mi Niang and hurriedly walked across the river, holding Mu Xiang’s hand. “You don’t look good. Are you sick?”
“I didn’t sleep well last night.” Mi Niang pinched her throbbing forehead and, perking up, asked, “Why did you come to me at this time? Is there something wrong?”
Pandi exchanged a glance with Mu Xiang and awkwardly said, “The sheep we’re raising seem a bit off, looking like…,” she gestured with her fingers, “you know what I mean?”
“In heat?”
“Yes, yes, exactly that.” Those words sounded awkward, almost like a taboo, making them both embarrassed. However, Mi Niang spoke about it openly, and Pandi, suppressing her discomfort, continued, “I heard there’s a good ram breed. A ewe from that breed may give birth to two or three lambs in one pregnancy. So, we thought of asking you to borrow two or three rams.”
“Sure.” It happened that Mi Niang wanted to find something to keep herself busy. She took the two women to the sheep pen, selected three large and strong rams, and had Pandi and Mu Xiang drive them away.
“Have you noticed that Mi Niang’s mood seems a bit off?” When they were far away, Mu Xiang looked back. Mi Niang was dragging her steps, walking in the direction opposite to the sheep, “She just got married not long ago. Shouldn’t she be happily in love? Could it be that Bahu mistreated her?”
“It shouldn’t be.” Pandi also felt that Mi Niang’s mood was off. She said she didn’t sleep well last night, but then she left early in the morning, and there was no sign of Bahu at home.
“I’ll go over and ask her.” Mu Xiang turned around, ready to go, but was stopped by Pandi, who looked at her with confusion.
“Don’t go. If she doesn’t want to say, it means she doesn’t want us to know. If you ask, won’t it make her lose face?” Pandi discouraged her. Domestic issues should not be exposed, and many women suffer at home but put on a brave face when they go out.
“Mi Niang isn’t that kind of person. If you don’t go, I’ll go.” Mu Xiang broke free from Pandi’s arm. “If she got beaten by Bahu, it’s better to leave him before having children.” With these words, she lifted her foot and ran.
“Hey!” Pandi stomped her foot.
Mi Niang saw Da Huang looking back, and she turned around. She saw Mu Xiang striding toward her, running out of breath as she stood in front of her within a couple of breaths.
“Mi Niang, tell me honestly, did Bahu hit you?” She said and rolled up Mi Niang’s sleeve. The arm was fair and smooth, without any marks.
“Mi Niang isn’t that kind of person. If you don’t go, I’ll go.” Mu Xiang broke free from Pandi’s arm. “If she really got beaten by Bahuhu, it’s better to leave him before having children.” With these words, she lifted her foot and ran.
“Hey!” Pandi stomped her foot.
Mi Niang saw Da Huang looking back, and she turned around. She saw Mu Xiang striding toward her, running out of breath as she stood in front of her within a couple of breaths.
“Mi Niang, tell me honestly, did Bahu hit you?” She said and rolled up Mi Niang’s sleeve. The arm was fair and smooth, without any marks.
“Surely nothing will happen. He has traveled that road back and forth countless times; how could anything go wrong?” Mu Xiang embraced Mi Niang, waving towards the distance. “Stop crying; we’ll wait for him together today.”
“I’m afraid he’ll rush back at night for my sake, and there are many wolves in the wilderness at night.” This was the situation Mi Niang feared the most. Surviving had already taken a toll on her, and she couldn’t bear any additional burden.
“You’re overthinking it. He just got married and is being cautious. He might be back by noon.” Mu Xiang awkwardly patted Mi Niang’s back. When Pandi ran over, Mu Xiang couldn’t help but pout at her, but fortunately, she came over.
Mi Niang went to herd sheep together. Later, a male servant joined them, and the three of them, along with Da Huang, found a vantage point on a hill to sit and gaze into the distance. However, until noon, there was still no sign of Bahu.
Later, Bai Mei and Ying Niang noticed that the two of them hadn’t returned for lunch, so they came over as well. The five of them accompanied Mi Niang, sitting on the hill, waiting for Bahu to return.
“Look at those people. Are they the ones?” Lan Niang suddenly spoke out. Because she had conflicts with Mi Niang before, she had been sitting uncomfortably. She had walked a bit farther and was the first to see the figures.
To be honest, they were too far away, and Mi Niang couldn’t tell if it was Bahu and Chaolu. But at least there was hope. She stood up and ran forward.
“It’s him, it’s Bahu.” As they approached, Mi Niang recognized the person. Overjoyed, she tightly held the hand of the person beside her.
“Um, did you perhaps mistake the person?” Lan Niang tried to pull her hand away but couldn’t. She spoke uneasily.
Only now did Mi Niang see the person clearly. Her face turned red, and she released the hand, saying awkwardly, “Thank you for coming to accompany me today.”
“I had nothing else to do.” Lan Niang wiped the sweat from her palms. She was not accustomed to this situation and turned her head, saying, “Your man is here; we’ll leave first.”
“Thank you all for today.” Mi Niang smiled and, passing by Lan Niang, whispered, “It doesn’t count as mistaking the person.”
“Sorry for making you worry; I’m fine.” At this moment, Bahu walked over. Seeing Pandi and the others leaving, he didn’t greet them but turned to Chaolu and said, “You’ve worked hard today. Rest in the afternoon; no need to work. Come back tomorrow.”
“We’ll talk about it when we get back.” Bahu lifted Mi Niang onto the horse. Seeing Da Huang wanting to run, he picked it up and carried it under his armpit. By the time it stiffened with its legs almost cramping, they had arrived home.
“Your elder brother poured drugs into Mushen and Mong’en, and then drove away half of the livestock?” Mi Niang exclaimed, “You helped the two of them, and in return, they actually stole from your family? Isn’t he your older brother?” How could an older brother do such a thing? This was repaying kindness with enmity.
“I have no more ties with him from now on; my good intentions have been wasted.” Bahu rummaged through some small items on his person. There were silver coins in a pouch, two jade pendants, and two delicate gold bracelets, all of which he had confiscated from the two thieves.
Bahu was fortunate that when he arrived two days ago, it was at noon. Mushen and another servant, Mong’en, were tied up like zongzi and thrown into a felt bag, their mouths stuffed with cloth. He untied them, and they didn’t understand the situation. When Bahu arrived, the two had just regained consciousness.
“Mandu Ratu and the Yin family are not around, and the carts and horses I left for them are gone too. I suspected Mandu Ratu was up to something, so I immediately went to the area where the cattle and sheep were grazing. More than half of them were missing. Later, I took Mong’en and searched for other herders from Xia Ranch. We formed three teams and followed the path the caravan took. We found them before nightfall. He didn’t expect me to suddenly show up, and he didn’t leave quickly enough.” Bahu recounted as if he had lost half of his spirit. “I’ve never mistreated him. I can’t understand why he would do this to me. These hundreds of livestock took me five years to accumulate. He showed no signs, just suddenly took away a large portion.”
“I even suspect that he had set his sights on me from the first day he arrived in the Desert North.” Bahu held Mi Niang’s hand, saying with a dazed expression, “The human heart can be really frightening.”
“Can we stop associating with him from now on?” Mi Niang held the man’s hand in return. “Let’s live a good life, regardless of your siblings. Don’t exhaust yourself over their matters.”
Bahu nodded.
“As for your father, as long as he doesn’t harm me, you don’t have to fight with him either.” Mi Niang carefully observed the man’s expression, seeing that his demeanor remained unchanged. She continued, “Fighting with him leaves you half-dead with anger. I don’t want our children to grow up watching their father fighting and cursing with their grandfather.”
“Okay.” Bahu nodded again.
