In the summer, the robes were washed, dried, and stored in boxes. The sheepskin that Bahu had worked on was also air-dried and ready to be packed into the leather bag for selling to the caravan when they returned to Lingshan. On this day, Mi Niang didn’t go to the pasture. Instead, she heated water and washed her hair. She casually cleaned the pots and pans on the stove, and even the churn for making butter was boiled in hot water.
After the ewes and cows gave birth to their offspring, the milk naturally dried up. According to Bahu, they would have to wait until March of next year, when the ewes gave birth again, to enjoy fresh milk. Until then, they would have to use the stored butter to make butter tea.
“Bark, bark, bark!”
Hearing Da Huang’s barking, Mi Niang stood up and went outside. When she stepped out, she saw a man driving a cart coming from a distance. This was the first time in over a month that she had seen a stranger coming here.
“Little sister-in-law, watch your dog. I’ve come to sell beef. Interested in buying some beef?”
“How is it sold?” Mi Niang shouted to Da Huang but remained cautious and didn’t lock the dog inside the felt yurt. As soon as Da Huang stopped barking, Bala and Alse wolves quietly emerged from behind the yurt, their faces tensed, silently observing the person and the cart not far away.
“Twenty cents per kilogram. Do you want to buy? If not, I’ll leave,” the man said, a bit startled to see so many dogs in the house.
Buying beef at this time was a rare opportunity. Mi Niang took the money and approached. Bala and Alse wolves silently followed. Da Huang, intimidated by the two, abandoned his usual tail-wagging and stuck close to the door, tail between its legs.
“How come you’re slaughtering cattle at this time? It doesn’t seem profitable.” Mi Niang made her selection, choosing a leg of beef and taking the remaining steak and rib bones, each neatly wrapped. She also cut about seven or eight pounds of brisket and rib meat. After weighing the meat, she handed it over to the man. Bala and Alse wolves, who usually ignored her, suddenly emerged today, undoubtedly attracted by the scent of meat.
“Who wouldn’t know it’s not profitable? They fought for the cows and this one got its belly pierced. It was beyond recovery, so we had to slaughter it. Luckily, it’s a bull. If it were a cow, it would have broken my heart,” the man explained, handing over the meat. He glanced at the four felt yurts, “Little sister-in-law, you seem unfamiliar. What’s your husband’s name? I might know him.”
“We’re from Lingshan, you probably know him. My husband’s name is Bahu.”
“Oh, if it’s Bahu, I know him. I didn’t expect him to get married. Your wife looks quite impressive.”
“Do you still have sisters at home, little sister-in-law?” The man made a few more cuts and threw the meat on the ground for the dogs. “I’m still a single man. If you can help me find a match, I’ll bring two sheep as a gift.”
Why did everyone want her to play matchmaker? Mi Niang shook her head with a smile. “I’ve only recently come to the Northern Desert. Before that, I lived on the west side of the river.”
The man pondered for a moment. The warmth on his face froze instantly. Refugees, indeed. It didn’t seem like it at first glance. “You’re busy; I need to go elsewhere.” He didn’t mention matchmaking anymore.
Mi Niang was somewhat puzzled by his sudden change of attitude. When Bahu returned, she explained the situation to him and asked what was going on.
“In the Northern Desert, when local girls get married, their families prepare a substantial dowry for them. Families with daughters start accumulating various jewels and precious items from an early age. When they marry, these items are used to create their dowry, including headwear and accessories. Additionally, livestock is often part of the dowry. As long as the family isn’t too poor to afford it, they’ll contribute some livestock. For example, my sister had at least a few hundred head of livestock when she got married,” Bahu explained while kneading dough. He continued, “Recently, there were quite a few older men marrying refugee girls from the Central Plains. The girls’ parents kept all the betrothal gifts, leaving the girls with nothing but a groom. It didn’t earn them a good reputation.”
“Do girls from the Central Plains not bring dowries when they marry in your region?” Bahu asked.
“Not exactly. My parents have been saving a dowry for me since I was born. However, some families are too poor, and their daughters might only take a few sets of clothes when they get married,” Mi Niang replied, concentrating on stir-frying the meat filling. However, most of the groom’s betrothal gifts would stay at her parents’ house. If her parents were still alive, she wouldn’t be able to take all the livestock Bahu offered, even if there were hundreds.
Mi Niang now understood why the man had changed his attitude earlier that day. Considering the dowry aspect, local men in the Northern Desert preferred marrying local girls.
Given Bahu’s financial situation, if he had a better relationship with his family, Mi Niang wouldn’t have been able to marry him. Even if she did enter his household, she might end up like Yinshi, locked up upon her first arrival.
Bahu was skillful with needlework, but when it came to rolling out dumpling wrappers, his hands were clumsy. He either tore the dough or left the filling exposed. Mi Niang had to roll out the wrappers and assemble the dumplings herself.
“How about making another batch in the evening? Or I can knead the dough.” After the dumplings were cooked, Bahu alone had five bowls and drank all the soup and water. He usually drank butter tea after meals, but he didn’t mention it today.
“No need to make more. Both you and Mong En eat too much. I spent the whole morning rolling wrappers, frying the filling, and then making dumplings. You two managed to devour everything in one meal,” Mi Niang refused. She even joked that if Bahu learned to roll out the wrappers, she’d consider making more.
“Let me try? Maybe I can roll out the wrappers,” Mong En suggested, seizing the opportunity.
“Go away, it’s none of your business.” Before Mi Niang could respond, Bahu promptly chased Mong En away as if swatting a fly. “If you’re full, go to sleep. If you can’t sleep, go to the pasture and check on the cattle and sheep.”
Turning back, he spoke in a friendly tone, “It’s just dumpling wrappers. Can’t I learn to roll them thin and small? Just wait, I’ll learn in three or two days.”
However, after three days, he didn’t mention it again. For three consecutive days, they had flour-based food. First, it was steamed dumplings with beef and green onions, which turned into a dough that couldn’t be rolled thin enough for dumpling wrappers. Although the fillings were the same, the texture of steamed dumplings made with thick dough was poor. Then, with more leftover dough, Bahu rolled it into noodles, and they had beef noodles for two days.
Perhaps because Bahu started heavy work at a young age, his fingers were somewhat thick, and the joints were slightly large. When rolling out dumpling wrappers, the rolling pin often hit his fingers.
“Do you want dumplings with lamb filling?” Mi Niang couldn’t stand watching and asked when Bahu was kneading the dough again.
Bahu hesitated. He wanted to eat them, but he still hadn’t learned to roll out the wrappers.
“Slaughter a lamb. I’ll roll out the wrappers,” Mi Niang took the rolling pin. In a couple of days, they would return to Lingshan, so she wanted to butcher a lamb and fry some meat cakes to take on the road. They also planned to spend a night on the way, and the three dogs had to carry a heavy load, so they needed to reward them in advance.
Bala and Alse wolves are large and eat a lot. If they only eat meat, a dog would barely fill its stomach by gnawing on a lamb leg. Raising the two of them is equivalent to raising two people.
As the last rib of lamb entered Da Huang’s mouth, Mi Niang spent over a month’s felt bag was lifted. Bahu and Mong En each stood on the ground and climbed onto the top of the felt bag. The ground was littered with wooden strips. The felt and wooden strip fence was dismantled and tied to the backs of camels and horses. The wooden bed was dismantled, the stove was also dismantled, and the pots and pans, along with the wooden boxes containing three people’s robes, were piled into the Lele cart.
With many cattle and camels, there was no shortage of space for luggage, even if there was a lot. However, it was laborious during loading and unloading, and it also slowed down the speed during the journey.
Mi Niang didn’t know the way, and when it got dark, she asked Bahu how much longer it would take to reach Lingshan.
“We’ve only walked half the distance. We should be able to get home by tomorrow evening,” Bahu said, busy unloading the felt and wooden strips from the backs of camels. He and Mong En would sleep outside at night, guarding the cattle and sheep to prevent wolves from stealing them. However, Mi Niang couldn’t manage, so he hastily set up a crude small felt bag for her to sleep in for the night.
“Let’s not bother. I’ll sleep on the grass with you. At most, we’ll add another layer of felt,” Mi Niang found it troublesome. She had set up camp for the night, and in the morning, she would have to take it down again.
“That won’t do. On autumn nights, the dew is heavy, and the wind is cold. Men like them are robust, enduring a night of wind and dew might give them a headache at most. They can go back and have a good night’s sleep,” said Mi Niang.
“What’s the trouble? You won’t say that once we return to Guchuan. From Lingshan to Guchuan, it takes almost half a month to drive the cattle and sheep. We’re used to setting up felt bags at night and packing them up in the morning. No big deal,” Bahu said as he threw a roll of felt onto the felt roof. “Stand back a bit; I’m afraid I might accidentally step on you.”
“I’ll go pick up some cow dung to make a fire and boil water,” said Mi Niang. Along the way, the cattle and sheep walked and left behind dried cow dung from the summer. Taking advantage of the remaining daylight, Mi Niang took a pair of fire tongs and a sheepskin bag and walked along the path to find dried cow dung. When she returned with half a bag, the felt bag was already set up, standing tall and straight, indeed as Bahu had said, practice makes perfect.
In the morning, Mi Niang chopped lamb leg meat, kneaded dough, and fried a basin of pies, preparing food for the journey. After the fire was lit on the stove, the pies, soaked in lamb fat, were placed on the iron plate. With a sizzle, the fragrance spread.
“Time to eat!” Mi Niang shouted outside the felt bag. The sky had already turned pitch black, and the stove inside the felt bag became the only light in this grassy field.
“Let’s eat first, then we can deal with other things,” Bahu said, rubbing his stomach to Mong En. Once the aroma of the pies wafted out, his stomach hadn’t stopped rumbling.
The two went to the water’s edge to wash their hands and faces. Following the sounds of the cattle and sheep’s alternating calls, they walked in the direction of the firelight.
“Boss, it’s better to have a wife,” said the person sharing the same felt bag and the same place. With a woman added, this year felt livelier compared to the previous one.
Bahu ignored him, and Mong En didn’t mind. He continued, “Boss, I’m thinking of renting eighty sheep and ten cows from you next year. What do you think?”
“Renting so many?” Bahu frowned.
“Seeing you getting married and having a home, I feel inspired too. I want to work hard for two years, get a wife, and have a bunch of children. Wherever I go, they’ll follow me,” Mong En said, patting the approaching Da Huang dog. He added, “And I’ll raise two dogs. They should remember my voice and footsteps, running from afar to welcome me when I return late.”
“Let’s talk about it later,” Bahu didn’t immediately agree. Eighty sheep and ten cows – if something went wrong, and Mong En couldn’t return them on time due to disease or other issues, Bahu would have to sell himself to the household for another five years. After calculating, Bahu realized he would be the one at a loss.
Mong En wanted to try to persuade further, but the woman from the felt bag had already walked out upon hearing their conversation. He opened his mouth but didn’t make a sound.
“What are you talking about? Did something happen to the livestock?” she asked.
“No, nothing, we weren’t talking about anything,” Mong En hurriedly replied. He didn’t want to expose his destitute situation in front of her. Though he was only a year younger than Bahu, one was the master, and the other was a servant without freedom.
Bahu paused and stood at the doorway, scrutinizing Mong En under the firelight. Noticing Mi Niang looking in his direction, he stepped inside after a moment, subtly squeezing her hand.
“Eat more; you must be hungry,” Mi Niang brought a warm pie to Bahu. “Hurry and eat; it’ll cool down in a while.”
“Have you eaten?” Bahu, seeing her holding a milk bucket making butter tea, walked over with a pie in her mouth. He took the wooden mallet, pounded it fiercely several times, and the butter in the bucket melted.
Mi Niang had already eaten during the hot pie-making process. She sat beside Bahu, holding a bowl of butter tea, sipping slowly. Outside, the calls of cattle and sheep mingled with the wind, blending into the night. People could hear it, and wolves could sense it even more.
That night, Mi Niang heard the distant howls of wolves, the barks of dogs, the rapid footsteps of people running, and the sound of arrows piercing the wind and hitting flesh up close.
As the night retreated, Mi Niang stood at the doorway, hearing the chaotic footsteps. Opening the door and looking out, Bahu and Mong En each dragged two wolves, with blood-stained fur around the mouths of three dogs. Finally, Da Huang was no longer afraid of Bara and Alse wolves. The three dogs walked side by side with their tails raised.
“Two sheep died, one male and one female. We killed four wolves and made a profit,” Bahu smiled, “We might arrive home a bit late today; we’ll skin the wolf and sheep hides before setting off again.”
“Has it always been like this?” Mi Niang asked softly.
“It’s always been like this. People raise sheep, wolves steal sheep, people kill wolves, and wolves kill people,” Bahu’s hands were dirty, making it impossible to pat Mi Niang. He could only dryly say, “Scared? It’s okay, you’ll get used to it.”
