Zhao’s grandmother had already woken up when she saw the two girls hurriedly pushing the door open. She sat up and asked, “What’s going on?”
“It seems like there are wolves outside.” Mi Niang felt a bit guilty. Zhao’s grandmother had cautioned them not to go out at night. “Mi Niang and I were just sitting at the doorway, not going far,” she explained in a hushed voice.
“Yeah, I heard it.” Zhao’s grandmother lay back down and said, “Lock the door, go to sleep, and don’t go outside.”
Mi Niang moved her mouth, wanting to say something but didn’t. She pulled Da Huang beside her, had it lie down at her feet, and then lay down herself.
The barking of dogs outside became more urgent, and there were faint shouts from people. Da Huang stood up, and went to the door, pawing at it, wanting to go out. Mi Niang pulled it back, afraid that it might make noise and wake up the sleeping people. She even used her hand to cover its muzzle.
She was afraid that if Da Huang made noise and woke up others, they might be driven out. If it kept barking loudly, it could attract wolves and endanger its own life.
After some time, the commotion outside quieted down, and the rustling sound of the wind blowing over the grassland returned. Mi Niang’s tense nerves relaxed, and she fell asleep at some point. Before falling asleep, she had even thought about getting up early to let Da Huang out to do its business.
She woke up again to the scratching of Da Huang. Mi Niang sat up and, seeing Da Huang with its tail tucked, knew what it wanted. She hadn’t taken off her clothes when she slept last night, which made things convenient now. She opened the door after putting on her shoes.
“Whoosh—” Having spent a long time inside the felt tent, Mi Niang didn’t feel it, but as she stepped outside, she realized the tent was stuffy and smelly.
It was still early, and Mi Niang took a pottery jar to the riverbank to fetch water. When she arrived, she found someone who had risen even earlier, washing clothes by the river at dawn.
Bahu was not an early riser; he hadn’t slept all night. After shooting the wolf, he spent the night skinning it and removing its bones. Since the weather was warm, and the meat wouldn’t last, he salted it for preservation and hung it up to dry. After tidying up, it was already dawn, so he came to wash the blood-stained clothes.
“Woof!” Da Huang, smelling the bloody scent, looked alertly across the river.
“Leave, it’s not inviting you.” Mi Niang blushed a bit, apologetically nodded at the man, and pulled Da Huang to walk upstream.
Bahu glanced at the girl and the dog, then lowered his head to continue scrubbing clothes. After washing the clothes, he pulled a wolf skin from the grass behind him and soaked it in the water, using a knife to scrape off the bits of meat clinging to the fur. Thinking of the skinny and bony appearance of the yellow dog, Bahu’s hand that was throwing away the meat paused, and he placed it beside him.
Mi Niang fetched some clear water and vaguely saw Bahu still washing clothes. Afraid that Da Huang might bark at him again, she pulled it around a bend back to the felt tent. She lit a fire to cook the rice and, in the process, opened the felt tent’s door to let out the smell. She also chased the sheep out to graze.
“Mi Niang, why are you up so early?” Wan’er was awakened by the sheep’s noise, and with Mi Niang speaking, the others woke up too.
“Yeah, the rice is already cooking. Hurry up and get up. After eating, we’ll clean up the felt tent. The twenty-eight sheep spent the night in the felt tent, and the floor was covered in sheep dung and urine. The smell is overwhelming; it’s not fit for people to stay in.”
On the other side, Bahu had only scraped half of the wolf’s skin when he didn’t hear the footsteps that should have passed by. Thinking of the wolf that escaped last night, he was startled. He held the scraper and ran upstream without waiting for anyone. There was no one there, not even a trace of dog paw prints.
“Did it take a detour back?” Bahu wiped his sweat, forgetting the meat oil on his hands, and touched his face, smearing it with the scent of meat.
“Was I that scary?” When washing his face, he looked at his reflection in the river. It shouldn’t be like this. With thick eyebrows and big eyes, a face full of righteousness, it shouldn’t be enough to scare someone away with just one glance.
…
“No, we can’t let the sheep stay in the felt tent overnight. Their urine has soaked through the soil, and the smell is unbearable.” They had scraped off a layer of soil inside the felt tent, but the smell of the sheep still lingered. Wan’er couldn’t help but jump up.
Wan’er glanced at her and said, “There was a wolf last night.” Compared to having the sheep bitten to death by a wolf, she felt that they could endure the smell of the sheep.
“A real wolf?” Wan’er exclaimed as she hadn’t heard any noise last night.
“Yeah, ask your grandmother if you don’t believe me. She knows too.” Wan’er shoveled soil from outside and spread it over the ground, which still had remnants of sheep urine.
“I thought they were just trying to scare us,” Wan’er said with an embarrassed smile, no longer insisting on driving the sheep out.
Mi Niang sighed. The smell of sheep was one thing, but fleas on the sheep? If they jumped onto people, how could anyone sleep? If it weren’t for the strong wind at night, she would have considered dragging the felt pad and sleeping outside. After all, during the escape, they never cared much about gender separation.
“Goat herding, goat herding, don’t talk about useless things,” Zhao’s grandmother returned from the neighboring felt tent and said, “You go herd the goats, and I’ll go across the river to see if there’s any work to earn some money. We can’t rely solely on the goats. We lack many things, and we need money to buy them.”
“Hey, is it okay to leave the main gate open like this? What’s inside is all our food.” Wan’er asked.
“Let Ying Niang stay at home to guard, and the rest of us will go herd the goats,” Mi Niang suggested.
Zhao’s grandmother glanced at Mi Niang and nodded, saying, “That’s the plan.”
The grass near where people lived was not growing well. In the distance, where the grass was lush and near the water, there were already cattle and sheep. Even the raised hillsides were scattered with white-haired sheep.
“Mi Niang, where should we herd the goats?” Wan’er, feeling a bit timid without her grandma, seemed to rely on Mi Niang’s calm demeanor, and Mi Niang had always been the one giving instructions after they left the felt tent.
“Walk along the river. I remember there were no cattle or sheep on the way here. Let’s call a few more people and find a place with abundant water and grass to herd the goats together,” Mi Niang said. She asked Wan’er to find people, knowing that with her grandma around, she had interacted and spoken with many people, understanding who was easy to get along with.
“Okay.” Wan’er ran out and soon brought five people, all older than them.
The river flowed windingly and endlessly, with no visible source, and they didn’t know where it would eventually flow. The lambs grazed intermittently, and eleven people walked slowly behind the sheep. Looking at the old cows lying and grazing, the neighing herd of horses, and the flock of sheep running with the lead sheep, the people standing among the animals didn’t stand out at all. They even took on the shape of cattle and sheep if you blinked.
“I never thought I would live such a life,” a middle-aged man sighed with a complex expression. The flood had ruined his family’s business, and he had expected to spend the latter half of his life like an old beggar. Now it seemed okay. He had a new family business, and life felt somewhat easier than before.
“Old Li, do you plan to return to your hometown in the future?” Another man asked.
“Why bother going back? Everyone I knew is dead, and even the family graves have been washed away. Going back won’t make a difference; the people there are all strangers now,” Old Li said, rubbing his mouth. “I heard that there’s a caravan passing through here every month. You can buy whatever you want. We need to find some work to do. Come New Year, we can buy new clothes for the wife and kids.”
He suggested forming a group to look for work together.
Mi Niang looked down at her feet. She was still wearing the pair of shoes with half the sole missing. The right big toe had pushed through, breaking the shoe tip, and half of the toe was exposed.
She needed to find a job to earn some money, maybe enough to buy a new pair of shoes. Unexpectedly, even shoes had their temper. Just as she thought about replacing them, the sole of her right shoe flew off.
The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.
Mi Niang scratched her neck, pretending to be calm as she picked up the sole of her shoe and started weaving grass into a rope.
“You should go back and sew it up with a needle and thread. I’ll help you take care of your sheep,” Lan, suddenly bursting with ideas, suggested, “In the future, let’s not all go out to herd sheep at once. Pair up and take turns, so we can free up some people to do other things.”
“Sure, I’ll help you herd sheep tomorrow.” Mi Niang squatted on the ground without getting up. The grass was tender in the summer, and the prairie had no thistles, so a couple of grasses rubbed together would easily break.
“Let’s discuss it when we get back.” Privately, Lan wanted to herd sheep with Mi Niang. Perhaps it was because of the heartfelt conversation from the night before that made her feel more comfortable with Mi Niang than with others.
Once everyone had walked away, Mi Niang squatted down on the grass, picked up the sole of her shoe, and looked at it. The sole was so worn that it was almost transparent. She didn’t feel like going back for the moment, so she lay back on the ground, smelling the fragrance of the grass and watching the clouds move in the sky.
From a distance, Bahu saw a familiar dog. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. He had been unnecessarily worried, fearing that someone might be dragged away by a lone wolf. But this person, carefree, lay in a place far from the felt bag, sunbathing and sleeping.
Not afraid of being trampled by the frolicking cattle and horses.
“Woof, woof.”
Mi Niang opened her eyes and sat up, seeing him. She frowned slightly, not too pleased. “What’s the matter?”
He walked straight towards her, definitely coming for her. Or maybe it was for Da Huang.
“If you want to sleep, go back and sleep. Be careful not to be trampled by cows and horses,” Bahu’s voice was somewhat stiff.
“I didn’t sleep, and Da Huang is watching over me.” Mi Niang glanced at the man. What trampled? His words were so unpleasant, even though he was trying to give a well-intentioned reminder. When it came from his mouth, it carried a hint of malice.
“Where are your sheep? Did the shepherd lose them?” As soon as the words came out, Bahu regretted opening his mouth. It had nothing to do with him. He quickly changed the subject, “Do you want to sell your dog to me? I can see it’s suffering following you. It’s so skinny; its ribs are sticking out, and it still has to run around with you.”
Bahu’s eyes glanced at the dog’s paw pressing down the shoe sole, then looked at the girl’s feet. He averted his gaze and said, “Name your price.”
Indeed, he came for her Da Huang. Mi Niang looked at him expressionlessly, glanced at the shoe sole she picked up, stood up, and walked away, pulling the dog.
“Hey, it can eat meat with me, and I’ll take good care of it.” Bahu quickly called after her.
Mi Niang paused her steps, turned around, and said, “No one can be more devoted to it than I am. As long as it doesn’t abandon me, I won’t leave it behind.”
Having said that, she continued walking.
Bahu sighed, and sat in place, occasionally looking at the girl and the dog. He only chuckled when they were completely out of sight.
Interesting. He had heard many dog lovers say they didn’t mind dogs being dirty, eating and excreting, or barking, but this was the first time he had seen someone put a dog ahead of themselves.
