Because she needed to grill beef strips for the two children to teeth on, Mi Niang finally picked up the business of selling snacks. Grilling beef strips was both labor-intensive and time-consuming. It wasn’t cost-effective to grill only two, but grilling too many would result in leftovers.
So, she hung a wooden board outside the door with just one word written on it: “For sale.”
But her house was located at the far eastern end, and apart from the people who came to work, no one knew about her business. On the first day, Mi Niang carried a basket and went west with Ajima. Whenever she saw children playing outside, she would give them one.
“It’s sweet!”
“Yes, the outer layer is brushed with honey.” Mi Niang pointed to the house furthest east. “That’s my house. If you see a small wooden board hanging outside, it means I’m selling snacks that day. A grilled beef strip costs only three cents.”
“I’ll buy one now.” A boy directly took out a silver coin, eager to buy all the beef strips in the basket.
Mi Niang fell silent. Had she priced them too low? She said she wouldn’t sell today, only give away, and each person could only have one.
“I’ll go call my brothers and sisters.” Someone turned around and ran off, leaving Mi Niang uncertain whether to leave or stay. In the end, she decided to wait for them to come back. By the time they arrived at Baoyin’s house, there were only eight left, and she gave them all to her.
“Why do you have time to come today? Didn’t you bring the children? Is Bahu with them?” Baoyin’s mother welcomed Mi Niang into the house.
Children wouldn’t fuss if they had something to eat. While Bahu looked after the children, he could still scrape sheepskin. This allowed Mi Niang to free up some time. She told Baoyin’s mother about her plan to do a little business. “I have nothing else to do, just playing around. I don’t intend to make money.” The real money-maker that was also hassle-free was selling honey.
“I thought you had forgotten about it. You mentioned wanting to sell snacks last autumn. It’s already March, and you’re just now remembering. Will you do it tomorrow? I can help you with the business.”
“I’m going to do it. My two little ones love to eat, and they’ve started teething again. Their gums itch, so I want to roast beef jerky for them every day as a teething aid.” In addition, there’s honey mixed with yogurt and butter-fried sausage, all things that children love to eat.
It had been a while since the two had seen each other, and there was plenty to talk about. “Oh, I heard that your father-in-law drowned in a water tank when he was drunk?” Baoyin’s mother asked.
“In the dead of winter, and news travels this far? It’s true, he’s really gone.” Mi Niang didn’t hide anything. “Bahu went over on the day he died, but because the children were sick at home, he rushed back in the afternoon. The funeral arrangements were taken care of by my mother-in-law and younger uncle.”
“Ah, such a good person, gone just like that.” Baoyin’s mother expressed her regret before hesitantly asking about her mother-in-law’s situation. “Is Bahu’s mother living with her youngest son?”
“Why beat around the bush, sister-in-law? We’re family, no need to be indirect. My mother-in-law isn’t living with her son; she’s still living in the ancestral home.”
“Really with your younger uncle?” Baoyin’s mother was curious and asked directly.
“Two old folks keeping each other company, it’s not uncommon in the Mobei. Why are you so surprised, sister-in-law?” Mi Niang asked, tilting her head.
Baoyin’s mother sighed with a smile. “I won’t hide it from you. There’s talk outside that your father-in-law was murdered, supposedly over a dispute about your mother-in-law.” Though it wasn’t said explicitly, both of them understood who was being referred to.
Some people still had suspicions, but it was just idle talk. Without evidence, it was all baseless speculation. Besides, the people in the clan didn’t care whether Bahu’s father drowned in the water tank on his own or if someone drowned him there.
Mi Niang dismissed the rumors, stating that her mother-in-law, being the person she was, wouldn’t stay with someone who harmed her husband.
“My mother-in-law still has sons. If she didn’t want to stay, Bahu would bring her over. She’s just used to living here for over twenty years, and with my father-in-law’s presence lingering, she’s reluctant to leave. There’s no one in my younger uncle’s backyard, so the two of them keeping each other company isn’t unusual.”
“If you hear anyone talking badly about my mother-in-law again, please help us explain. To put it bluntly, with my younger uncle being the way he is, why would he kill his own brother over a woman? My mother-in-law is getting old, and she’s had a hard life already. We can’t let her be slandered like this.” It was absurd to suspect that Saihan killed his brother just for the position of clan leader or for personal reasons.
“My father-in-law and my younger uncle got along well. Every year during the White Festival, my younger uncle would celebrate with my in-laws.”
Baoyin’s mother nodded repeatedly. “I also think it’s just outsiders talking nonsense. Drunk people get thirsty at night and stumble around; falling into a water tank is nothing out of the ordinary.” Still, she couldn’t help but feel sorry for Bahu. His biological father had died, but he had only briefly shown his face. With the person gone, so should the grievances be dispersed.
Looking at Mi Niang, who hadn’t even had her mother-in-law help with her children, yet she actively defended her mother-in-law’s reputation, Baoyin’s mother sighed. She couldn’t help but think that good men ended up with bad wives, and bad men ended up with beautiful ones.
Mi Niang called for Ajima to go back. On the way back, she encountered some children who hadn’t gone home yet. They warmly called her “big sister.”
“I think I’m becoming the most popular person among all the children in Guchuan,” she announced when she entered the house.
Bahu glanced up, then returned to scraping the rotten meat off the sheepskin, snorting, “If someone gives me a sheep, I’ll warmly greet them when I see them on the road.”
Ignoring him, Mi Niang rolled up her sleeves and scooped up a bowl of yogurt, drizzling a spoonful of honey over it. She sat by the warm stove, eating the cold yogurt. The two children, whose mouths had been sealed shut, couldn’t help but cry out in excitement.
“Open your mouth.” She offered a trembling spoonful of yogurt to the man’s lips.
“I don’t want any. You eat it yourself.”
Mi Niang didn’t move. When he was about to open his mouth, she fed it to herself instead. “Do you want some? Shall I scoop another spoonful for you?”
“Don’t, I don’t want your saliva.” The man turned his face away, trying to keep a straight face, but his eyes were full of laughter. With her back, the whole house came alive, even in the dead of winter, it didn’t feel deserted.
Even livelier was the next day. Early in the morning, Mi Niang stuffed a dough made of butter and brown sugar into a pot. The dough had a thin film on it before being steamed. In another pot, there were lamb intestines in water, and strips of beef brushed with honey were also placed in a copper pot behind the one boiling water. The lid of the pot was covered with a lump of cow dung, with no visible fire, only sparks.
listened to the chatter, never finding the children so noisy before, even louder than a thousand sheep, making his temples throb. But Mi Niang, clearly delighted with the comings and goings of the children in the house, even Qiqige and Jiya, who rarely got excited, stared eagerly at the walking children and even wanted to give away the moist, unsalted, unsweetened beef strips they held in their mouths.
Unable to withstand it, Bahu had to follow the dogs in the house and hide in the sheep pen until it was time to cook lunch.
“Don’t look so downcast, I only sell for half a day every three days. If you find it noisy, you can hide away during that half day,” said Mi Niang, counting copper coins in her arms, eagerly asking, “Guess how much money I made?”
Bahu forced a smile, trying not to affect her mood, “Is it a couple of silver coins?”
“Thirty-seven cents plus one tael,” she grabbed a handful of copper coins and stuffed them into the man’s hand, “Don’t work too hard, I’ll support you in the future.”
This time Bahu truly smiled, thinking, let her be happy, her willingness is priceless.
“Next time I sell steamed buns, I’ll hire you to knead the dough.”
Mi Niang gave him another handful of copper coins, “Payment for hiring you to knead dough.”
Bahu readily agreed and specially asked her to lend him a purse to put them in.
From then on, kneading dough and hanging wooden boards became Bahu’s tasks, but he would also hide out of the house when guests arrived.
…
Five days before the migration, when Asyl came to the door, he was there to invite the matchmaker to accompany Grandma Zhao’s family’s descendants to his house. This time, he didn’t come empty-handed either, bringing along a deer that hadn’t yet breathed its last and four wild chickens with their claws tied.
“I came to your house during the New Year and saw the chickens your sister-in-law was raising. A few days ago, I encountered a few while hunting and caught four alive, all brought here for your sister-in-law to raise.” Asyl entered the house and immediately wanted to hug Jiya and Qiqige. “It’s been a while since I last saw you two, they’ve grown so much.”
“It seems like you want to become a father, you’ve come four times now, the first time you wanted to hold a baby.” Bahu teased him. “When are you planning to get married? In the summer? Autumn? Or winter?”
Asyl blushed a bit, a chubby baby sitting on his leg. “I definitely want it to happen as soon as possible, I’m just afraid Grandma Zhao won’t agree.”
At this moment, Mi Niang brought in butter tea. “It’s cold outside, have a bowl of hot tea to warm up.”
“Thank you, sister-in-law.” Asyl took it and asked about the customs of visiting the family on the Central Plains, so as not to offend Grandma Zhao.
In the Central Plains, filial piety is highly regarded. Bahu’s father had just passed away less than half a month ago, so according to Central Plains customs, he should still be wearing mourning clothes, which means he cannot attend joyous occasions like wedding banquets as it would be seen as disrespectful.
“I won’t go with Bahu this time. You take your sister-in-law to invite Grandma Zhao. She’ll understand,” said Mi Niang. “Old people are particular about these things. It’s fine for Wan’er to marry Asyl now, but if anything goes wrong, she might blame me.”
“Is there such a rule?” Asyl exclaimed, surprised but not insisting. After finishing the butter tea, he took his leave, saying he needed to discuss things with his sister-in-law.
Bahu asked if they could attend when Asyl and Wan’er got married. He was quite interested in visiting Asyl’s tribe.
“We’ll see when the time comes. It’s not certain,” Mi Niang replied. In fact, it hadn’t been three years since they came from Dakang to the Mobei. Whether it was her, Mu Xiang, Bai Mei, or Wan’er, they all still observed filial mourning for their parents. But in the face of survival and daily life, this matter hadn’t been brought up unanimously.
Shortly after Asyl left, another guest arrived. This time it was a rare visitor bringing a significant gift—a tea brick. Bahu wouldn’t need to buy tea for three years.
“Wen Yin, what’s this for?” Bahu asked, puzzled. But seeing his joyful demeanor, he guessed, “Is it something to do with your father? Did he get promoted?”
“It’s mostly thanks to my elder brother. My father couldn’t come, so I came on his behalf. Sister-in-law, please sit down, don’t rush. My father mentioned that this idea was yours,” said Wen Yin, unusually polite compared to the casual demeanor he had when coming to the house with his father.
Mi Niang brewed some tea and placed it beside him, sitting next to Bahu. “Have you asked where Huxian Cheng has been promoted to?”
“He’s still here. The Huxian Cheng received an appointment to the capital, so my father took over his position,” he said, pulling out a flat wooden box from his sleeve. “Before the Huxian Cheng left, he entrusted this to me to bring to you. Both my father’s and his promotions were attributed to Sister-in-law’s method of feeding corn to the sheep. I heard that in the winter, someone sued a shopkeeper because their sheep died from eating corn, so the government intends to stop growing corn next year.”
“Wasn’t Master on bad terms with the Hu Magistrate?” Bahu took the wooden box and handed it to Mi Niang. They didn’t feel guilty about accepting these things.
Huxian Cheng originally intended to bypass the Hu Magistrate and hand in the documents directly above, but it was Wen Yin who advised him not to offend his superior. Zhong Qi bypassed him and served directly under the Huxian Cheng. Both father and son of the Hu family remembered this, even though they didn’t say anything out loud. Moreover, whether a document from Huxian Cheng could be submitted was uncertain. Why offend the boss over something uncertain?
“Did your father reward you? You solved a difficult problem for him,” Bahu asked with a smile.
“My brother reminded me. I’ll go back and ask for it. I’m also an advisor,” Wen Yin replied without lingering. He clasped his fists to Bahu and left with his servants.
After they left, Mi Niang opened the wooden box in her hands, revealing a box of pearls, turquoise, and coral beads, as well as amber and agate.
“Isn’t this too precious?” Mi Niang was surprised.
Bahu took just one look and said they didn’t need to save up for Qiqige’s dowry. “We can hardly find good things like these. Officials have no shortage of them, and they don’t even need to spend money to buy them,” he said as he unpacked the gifts from the Hu family—a bundle of high-quality cotton cloth, a box of tea bricks, two packs of brown sugar, two pairs of golden bracelets for children, two silver hairpins, and a sharp short knife.
“These are all prepared by Wen Yin.” Bahu admired the sharpness of the knife. “Master is a bit stingy, but he’s also sentimental. Wen Yin values profits, and if he can buy it with money, he won’t owe anyone any favors.”
