After leaving the silver shop, Bahu tucked the receipt into his pocket and calculated the time, saying, “It will take three days before we can come back to collect it. Let’s wait three days and make another trip, and also buy grains at that time. For now, let’s go to the dried fruit store and take a look around.”
Bahu passed by the dried fruit store many times, but this was the first time he went inside. He recognized only two or three items being sold.
“Look, what do you like? Let’s buy more to take back.” Bahu saw someone tasting, he picked up a pine nut and asked the attendant, “We’re buying a lot; can we taste all of them?”
“Sure, you first decide what you want, and I’ll pick them for you.” The attendant held a stack of wooden chips and followed behind Bahu, taking two of each dried fruit that he pointed to. This was to prevent anyone from taking advantage and eating without buying.
Bahu didn’t know many types of dried fruits, and neither did Mi Niang, as they had mostly consumed chestnuts, walnuts, and melon seeds common in Dakang.
The two of them silently tasted each piece in a corner, and all the flavors were good, without anything particularly unpleasant.
“Buy a bit more.” Bahu was afraid it might not be enough for Mi Niang. When the attendant asked, he had him add two more pounds.
Seeing the table filled up, Mi Niang quickly stopped him, “Enough, we’re not going to eat dried fruits as a meal.”
“Madam, you must have just moved to the north, right? You probably haven’t seen the winter in the north. When the snow is heavy, sometimes half a person tall, those who live outside the capital can’t buy anything the entire winter. That’s why we prepare more grains and vegetables for the winter; we need to have a surplus.” The attendant noticed her heavy accent and, being a person from the Central Plains, associated her with the refugees who migrated north in the summer. Seeing that the man was generous and caring for his wife, the attendant continued to persuade them, “The pine nuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts were all recently brought by a merchant caravan from Youzhou. They are large, with thin shells and a fragrant taste. Bringing them out during the New Year when entertaining guests will surely not lose face.”
Mi Naing glanced at Bahu, unsure if his mother and siblings would come over. It wasn’t appropriate to ask here, so she kept silent and didn’t try to stop him.
“We also have jujubes shipped from the Central Plains. If there’s a pregnant woman at home, eating these is the best for nourishing blood. The red dates we sell in the shop are the most popular. It’s not wrong to buy a few extra pounds for visiting women in labor.”
“A few more pounds of jujubes,” Bahu said.
“Alright,” the attendant couldn’t help but feel pleased. A customer who has money and listens to advice is not easy to find. His luck was good today, “The shop next door is also ours, selling hawthorn and Chinese dates. Pregnant women prefer to eat sour and sweet fruits…”
“We’ll check it out.” Bahu didn’t wait for the attendant to finish and pulled Mi Niang to the next shop.
“These two things can endure storage and are not afraid of freezing. They won’t spoil even if stored for two or three months.” The attendant followed them, still eager to introduce more. Fresh fruits are not easy to transport, and the selling price is relatively high. Usually, only wealthy households come to buy. Today, the shop has sold only two orders.
This was something Bahu had never tasted before. He picked up the bright red Chinese dates and asked Mi Niang if she had ever eaten them. Seeing her shake her head, he didn’t bother asking about the price; he just picked up a half-basket himself.
Seeing the attendant about to mention what pregnant women like to eat, Mi Niang spoke before he could, “Just these, we won’t buy more.”
“Alright, then I’ll take you to weigh and settle the bill.” The attendant also knew when to stop.
“For the first visit, I’ll round down, give ten taels of silver, and take good care of our business when you come more often in the future.”
Ten taels? Mi Niang watched as Bahu handed over the silver without blinking an eye. She counted the purchased items and asked about the total price.
“Is it fifty cents per pound for hawthorn and Chinese dates?” Mi Niang’s pupils contracted slightly. One pound of hawthorn could buy two and a half pounds of beef, and there were probably around one pound of Chinese dates in those two baskets.
Mi Niang wanted to suggest leaving half behind, but she was afraid of hurting the man’s pride. She could only purse her brows with a somewhat aggrieved expression, carrying the items to load them onto the cart.
A basket of dried fruits and a basket of hawthorn and Chinese dates directly filled the already crowded cart. Mi Niang sighed discreetly. There was no space left; Bahu couldn’t buy more.
“Anything else to buy? If not, let’s go home,” Bahu asked.
“No, let’s go.”
Bahu chuckled at the impatience in her words, “Buying things and still not happy?”
“It’s too expensive. We eat meat every day; there’s no need to spend so much money on these things.” The alkaline blocks in the cart were only three or four taels, enough for over a thousand livestock to lick for five or six months. In contrast, the two baskets of snacks cost ten taels of silver. Calculating it this way, it didn’t seem cost-effective.
“The shop attendant was trying to deceive you. When my mother was pregnant with my younger brother, she never ate hawthorn or Chinese dates. Hazelnuts and pine nuts were even more unheard of. Yet, my little brother was born chubby and healthy.” Mi Niang, with her beekeeping experience and her parent’s farming, had only a bit over ten taels in hand by the end of the year.
“In fact, I also wanted to eat. Today, I just borrowed your name. Before this, whenever I passed by the dried fruit store, I felt embarrassed to go in. I thought it seemed greedy for a big man to eat these things,” Bahu had long noticed that Mi Niang was quite thrifty. She wasn’t willing to spend much on food and clothing. When they first got married, every time he fed the three dogs with meat and milk, she wouldn’t stop him but couldn’t help showing a disapproving expression, looking somewhat distressed. Now, hearing her talk about home, he realized she didn’t have a particularly comfortable life in Dakang.
“Besides, the family doesn’t lack a bit of money to get by. It’s only the price of half a cow, and I can afford it, and you can afford to eat it too.” To prove his words were true when unloading the items at home, Bahu informed Chaolu and the others to come tomorrow to slaughter cows and sheep.
Early in the morning, Mi Niang was assigned to the stove to boil water, and she also cleaned eight large wooden basins. The cracks in the wooden basins were filled with dark residues. When half a bucket of boiling water was poured in, a smell of rust wafted up, and the water in the wooden basins turned black-red.
Mi Niang sprinkled some specially burned wood ash, rolled up her sleeves, and used a small knife to scrape off the rust and residues on the wooden basins. The fire in the pot was burning vigorously, and there was steam rising from the hot water in the wooden basins. When Bahu pushed open the door, he was hit in the face by the warm water vapor.
“Do you need a basin? There’s only one left to wash. The other basins outside are all clean. Take them out to use,” Mi Niang said, glancing up and then turning her eyes away to continue her work.
Washing so cleanly, Bahu felt embarrassed to just splash around casually. He hesitated and said, “I’ll take the bucket to collect the cow’s blood.”
“The bucket is already outside.”
Bahu was already holding two buckets in his hands. He scooped two ladles of boiling water into the buckets and said as he left, “Outside, we’re slaughtering cows. You better not go out; the smell is strong.” He still remembered when she watched him skin the wolf and got dizzy and vomited.
“Okay.” Today, all the servants came to slaughter the cow, and she didn’t need to help.
With a few sharp moos, the big yellow cow collapsed. Bahu placed the water bucket where the blood was flowing and waited for the cut to solidify. Then, he led the others to use knives to cut open the cow’s belly and back and peel off the cowhide. Four castrated bulls, just skinning them, made ten people work up a sweat. When it came time to remove the beef, for convenience, they all took off their thick outer clothes, wearing thin robes to wield knives and chop the cow bones.
“Mi Niang, bring out the ash flour; we need to wash the cow intestines.”
“Alright, coming.” Mi Niang brought a basin of ash flour out, seeing eight wooden basins lined up, each emitting hot steam with fresh beef inside.
“At noon, we’ll have a beef hotpot. Bring a few pieces of the cow’s spine in and cut them.” Bahu’s hands were dirty and smelly. He had Mi Niang place the basin on the ground and then left.
Mi Niang brought the cow’s spine inside, and later, she brought a bowl of hot water out. “Drink some water.”
“I’m not thirsty.” Bahu crouched down, “I’m dirty. Don’t touch me.” Covered in cow and sheep blood, with bone fragments and bits of meat splattered.
“The skin on your lips is drying up. Drink quickly; I’ll hold it for you.” Mi Niang took a step forward, blocking the view of people not far away, and handed the bowl to him.
Bahu lifted his eyelids and stared at her, leaning over to sip from the bowl’s edge. “After drinking water, when I need to pee later, what should I do? Washing these intestines won’t be done quickly.”
“If you don’t want to wash your hands and undo your belt, you can just pee in your pants.” Mi Niang suppressed a smile, walked forward, and pulled Bahu’s earlobe, “If you wet your pants, I’ll wash them for you.”
The man chuckled, hooked his hand, and said, “Come here, I’ll teach you an even easier way.”
“I don’t want to listen.” Mi Niang spat and turned to walk into the house. “Uncle Muren, do you want some water? I’ve boiled some hot water. Whoever’s thirsty can come in and pour a drink.”
“I don’t want plain water. Mi Niang, make a bucket of butter tea for me, and I’m hungry too,” Chaolu replied.
“Alright, I’ll start cooking now.” Mi Niang first made a bucket of butter tea and brought it out. She also started a fire in the pot to simmer the beef bones. After the beef butter was stewed, she scooped up half a pot of beef bone soup and placed it on the stove to keep warm. This clear bone soup could be enjoyed during the meal.
“Are you done being busy? Can we eat now?”
“Let’s have the meal first. I’m tired and hungry.” Bahu washed his hands, took off his dirty clothes, and directly put on a sheepskin jacket.
The beef bone soup in the iron pot bubbled and simmered. When Mi Niang and the others came in after washing their hands, she scooped the soup into copper basins and placed them on the stove. Two bowls of beef slices were also placed on the table. Eleven people crowded around the stove to cook the beef, making it a bit crowded but lively.
“After slaughtering the cattle and sheep, what else do we need to prepare?” Mi Niang asked Bahu during the meal.
“We need to catch fish. About an hour’s journey to the southwest, there is a large lake where we need to catch some fish after it freezes over in winter. But this isn’t urgent; we’ll have to see when it snows.” Bahu picked up a chopstick full of beef and added some to Mi Niang’s bowl. “Let’s eat first. I’m hungry too.”
“Then let’s eat first. I’m not hungry anymore.” Bahu washed his hands, took off his dirty clothes, and directly put on a sheepskin jacket.
On specific days, Mi Niang wasn’t sure. During that time, she was in a daze; one day passed, two days passed, and now thinking back, it felt like living in a dream.
“Probably about half a month. The trees in the mountains are very tall, and in some places, it’s pitch black even in broad daylight. You couldn’t see the moon at night.” She vaguely remembered that there were many cries at night during that time. They said that once they entered these mountains, even if they wanted to escape, they couldn’t go back. It was frightening.
“So, do you think living in the North is better or in the Central Plains?” Chaolu asked with narrowed eyes.
“Uh…” Mi Niang hesitated. She saw Bahu also looking at her curiously. After a moment of thought, she said, “I lived in Dakang for sixteen years. I’ll tell you the answer to this question sixteen years from now.”
Seeing that Bahu relaxed, Uncle Muren also smiled. Chaolu became the steward among the servants for a reason. Look at this; this is the power of the master’s words. The master was afraid that his wife might want to return to Dakang in the future, and it was just a thought he had, but Chaolu managed to bring it up first.
