The young couple spent the whole night trying, but they couldn’t get the two children to call out “dad” or “mom” as they wished. Their mouths opened and closed repeatedly, but all they managed to do was tire out their cheeks. They had no choice but to give up.
“Considering the time, the cow should be calving soon,” Mi Niang lay in bed and asked.
“Yes, it’s about time. Several cows have stopped moving much. I estimate it’ll happen within the next couple of days,” Bahu thought about the ewes and lambs that the tenants had returned. He had decided last year that he wouldn’t raise any more lambs this year. He was planning to announce that the sheep would be leased out.
He also needed to castrate the young stallions and camels before they were released. Having too many males in the herd led to fights, and those who couldn’t win would end up becoming wild.
“Have you finished making those thick leather pants for me?”
Mi Niang got out of bed and took out the leather pants from the chest. She had used double-layered leather for the crotch area and stuffed thick cotton and wool inside.
“Take a look. Does this work?”
Bahu didn’t look, he even closed his eyes tightly. “Whether it works or not is up to you. It’s your need, not mine.” A smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, but it widened as he received a pinch.
“I have a wife, I have kids, what do I have to fear? I’m not afraid of anything,” he pretended nonchalantly, boasting, “I’ll be like my little uncle, I won’t have to shave every day because you nag me about it.”
Mi Niang chuckled, sitting on the edge of the bed she gave his private part a tap, and he instinctively lifted his leg to shield it. “You talk big, but you’re trembling. What are you shielding?” Her tone carried a hint of sarcasm.
The man slowly opened his eyes, lying flat on the bed, he even pulled the blanket aside. “Come on, give me another slap.”
Mi Niang could tell from the change in his eyes what he was thinking, so she calmly put on her shoes, hesitated for a moment, then lightly tapped his hand before swiftly darting out of the felt bundle before he could react.
Bahu missed his target, looking at the door, he decided to wait for her to come back. He sat cross-legged on the bed, amusedly watching her hesitant return.
Neither of them spoke, one rolling their eyes in exasperation, the other laughing without a care in the world. The only sound in the felt bundle was the friction of the soles of the shoes against the felt.
Bahu took a few punches, but in the end, he managed to catch the rabbit that had come to him. The blanket muffled the sounds of groans and laughter as they wrestled beneath it.
…
Bahu grabbed nothing, he looked outside and decided to wait patiently. He sat cross-legged on the bed, smiling as he watched her hesitantly come in.
Neither of them spoke. One rolled their eyes in irritation, the other laughed without reservation. The only sound in the felt was the rubbing of shoe soles against the wool.
Bahu took a few punches, but in the end, he managed to catch the rabbit brought to his bed. The blanket covered his head and ignored his bottom, weakening the stifled groans.
Except for Uncle Muren and Uncle Jinku, the other young and strong servants carried horsewhips and reins to drive the young stallions out of the herd. Bahu seized the opportunity to throw out the reins and catch the horse’s neck. There was a struggle between the two sides, and he was swept away by the horse in the open space, leaving behind billowing smoke and dust.
“Ma—” Qiqige was still bouncing in her arms, reaching out to touch her mother’s face, excitedly pointing and saying, “Horse, horse.”
“I know it’s a horse. Did your dad get dragged away by a horse?”
Qiqige ignored her, her eyes shining as she stared at the black and red horses tangled up and struggling. As the horses moaned in pain from having their testicles cut off, she furrowed her brows and covered her eyes, unable to watch.
The people were busy with various actions. Mi Niang looked at her son sitting on the felt with Ajima, while Jiya leaned forward, staring at the horse that had stumbled.
Mi Niang looked into the distance, only seeing rising dust clouds. She couldn’t make out the person being dragged away and couldn’t help but worry about the durability of the leather pants. Double-layered leather should be abrasion-resistant.
Bai Mei also came to look. She walked around the river and picked up Jiya, standing next to Mi Niang. “Quite lively, isn’t it?”
Indeed, it was lively. It took three to five people to control a single horse. There were those wielding knives to castrate the horses, those applying herbal medicine, and people shouting at the horses.
“Look at ChaoBao!” Mi Niang’s eyes widened as she saw ChaoBao slicing up and eating the horse eggs with leek sauce right after they were taken out.
“This… ” Bai Mei was shocked by what she heard but hadn’t seen. She had heard ChaoBao talk about eating horse eggs raw last night, saying it was nutritious, but seeing the bloody mess go straight into his mouth made her feel nauseous.
There were only seven stallions to be castrated, and with each person claiming one, they couldn’t divide them equally. Some even shouted to leave a piece for others, but in the end, they ended up fighting over them.
Mi Niang was speechless as she watched, not even noticing Bahu being dragged back by the horse. It was Jiya who cried out twice first, snapping her out of it to see the man covered in dirt and grime.
“Alright!” someone shouted loudly.
Mi Niang’s face also lit up with a smile as Bahu grabbed the reins and leaped onto the horseback with force. The chestnut horse lifted its hooves, trying to throw him off. He leaned forward, clutching the horse’s neck, squeezing his legs tightly around its belly. Without a saddle on the horse’s back and with the slippery horsehair and smooth leather, he nearly slipped off a few times.
Mi Niang also broke out in a cold sweat, unconsciously tightening her grip on the child she was holding. Bahu’s ferocious appearance was something she had never seen before, with his narrow eyes flashing with wildness, like a newly captured wild animal, alert yet driven by the desire to conquer.
After years of being wild and free, the tamed horse collapsed on the ground after Bahu dismounted, panting heavily with its mouth wide open. Dust and crushed grass flew up with each breath it exhaled.
Bahu was also exhausted. He took the blood-stained curved knife and, with someone holding the horse’s hind legs, personally castrated the chestnut horse. He sliced the extracted horse eggs, drizzled them with leek sauce, and fed them into his mouth in one gulp.
Mi Niang snapped out of her trance, staring at Bahu’s mouth, which was now opening and closing, unable to express her feelings. He could forget about touching her mouth for some time after this.
After feeding the horse eggs, Bahu handed out some sugar cubes. The young stallions chewed on the sugar cubes, swaying their hips as they trotted back to the herd. Bahu took off his stiff leather pants, wiped away the sweat, and said, “That’s enough for today. We’ll castrate the camels tomorrow.” He headed straight for the river, with sweat, dust, and crushed grass flying onto his face from the horse’s hooves.
“I’m leaving too,” Bai Mei said, placing Jiya back on the felt. She touched his slender arms. The children from the Mobei had bigger frames than those from the central plains. When they grew up, they would be excellent horsemen.
Bahu walked over briskly, carrying the ruggedness of horse training in his stride, but his eyes now held a warm glow. He lifted his son, who reached out to him for a hug, and said to Qiqige, who also wanted to be held, “Say ‘dad.'”
“What are you avoiding?” The man glanced away, staring directly at Mi Niang. He had noticed her distracted look when he dismounted, and it had stunned him.
“Eating random things.” Mi Niang rubbed her nose. “Did you rinse your mouth?”
Bahu hadn’t expected to be criticized for this. “You don’t understand, horse eggs are very nutritious,” he said, clearly disgruntled.
“If horse eggs are nutritious, then what about sheep eggs, camel eggs? Shouldn’t you eat those too? ‘Like cures like’? Then you don’t need to eat them,” she retorted.
The man’s discontent turned into smugness in an instant. Suppressing a smile, he stroked his chin and uttered a non-committal “Hmm,” before confirming, “Really don’t need to?”
Mi Niang nodded earnestly, her expression entirely genuine.
“Alright then, horse eggs are quite fishy anyway. I don’t like them either.” The man’s voice had a hint of whimsy. He ruffled his son’s hair, generously suggesting that from now on, he would let Bala eat them, as Bala needed them.
The young couple continued their intimate conversation, paying no attention to the eager Qiqige. With her legs wrapped around her mother’s waist and her upper body leaning towards her father, she even wanted to pull Jiya down.
Bahu took a step back and said to her, “Say ‘dad,’ or I won’t hold you.”
” This meant she wanted him to carry her to ride the horse.
Bahu didn’t believe he was no match for a horse. He stubbornly resisted, but Mi Niang took advantage of the situation. With the little girl clinging to her neck, choking back tears, she muttered incomprehensibly, “Mom.”
“Ah,” Mi Niang responded loudly, then gestured to Bahu with a raised eyebrow, silently mouthing, “You lost.”
With the argument settled Bahu whistled and called over the big black horse. He helped Jiya onto the horse first, still hopeful as he reached out to Qiqige, insisting, “Say ‘dad.'”
Qiqige squirmed anxiously in Mi Niang’s arms, reaching out to Bahu but unable to utter the word ‘dad.’
“Alright, don’t force her. She’ll say it sooner or later,” Bahu conceded. He realized that he was only in demand for these few years; when the kids grew up, they might reject his desire to carry them on horseback.
“Give a name to the chestnut horse you tamed today. When I’ve softened its temper, it’ll be yours,” she said, referring to the horse specifically trained for Mi Niang.
“How about calling it Xiaozao?”
“Xiaozao? It’s quite big and it’s a male.”
“Then let’s call it Dazao. It’s not exactly male, just like a ‘gonggong’.”
On the day the cow gave birth, Mi Niang was frying tofu skins on an iron plate, stuffing them with fried tofu and braised beef tendons. Dozens of children lined up with bowls and chopsticks, squatting at the doorstep to eat, making the seven puppies on the side drool in envy.
“Mi Niang, bring me two red ropes,” Bahu said as he rode back.
“Has the calf been born?” Mi Niang handed him the ropes. Earlier, he had told her that the first two calves born this year would be kept for their own use, reserved for Qiqige and Jiya to ride when they were older. Besides the calves, the two young camels brought back last year were also for Qiqige and Jiya. They shared the same milk with the camels, forging a bond that was beyond ordinary.
Bahu always had his two children in mind. Even though they couldn’t walk yet, the cattle and camels for travel were already prepared. He even mentioned cutting off the horse’s tail hair to make brushes when the children started school, so they wouldn’t need to buy brushes.
“Where are Qiqige and Jiya? Once the cow starts lactating, I’ll squeeze out the colostrum for them to drink, and you should have some too. I’ve heard that the first milk from cows, sheep, and camels is the best,” Bahu said, taking the red ropes and lingering at the door, hoping Mi Niang would bring him some fried tofu skins.
Mi Niang glanced at him sideways and refused, “I won’t drink it. It’s just a side benefit, and I don’t need that milk.”
The hand that poked him was a bit fierce, but Bahu reluctantly held onto his chopsticks, pondering over the word “again” in her sentence, unable to recall how he had “again” helped her. But this wasn’t something to argue about; just because he couldn’t remember didn’t mean Mi Niang didn’t keep track in her heart.
“Why aren’t you saying anything? Cat got your tongue?” Mi Niang gave him a sidelong glance.
“The tofu skins are crispy, and the beef tendons are tender and flavorful. Your cooking is really delicious, no wonder it attracted half the kids from Lingshan,” he brushed off the dust from his sleeves, feigning ignorance, “I still need to go watch over the cattle, so I won’t be accompanying you.”
Mi Niang wanted to say something more, but more children approached with bowls, so she focused on the oil patterns in the bottom of the bowl, “How many bowls is this now? You’re eating so much, are you skipping dinner tonight?”
“I only had half a bowl, and I fed half a bowl to the dog.”
“Really? Which dog?” Mi Niang asked, suspecting it was the troublemaker with one ear.
“This bowl is on the house, you eat it yourself, don’t feed it to the dog. They’ve been eating mutton and gnawing on lamb bones all morning,” Mi Niang lightly scooped a bowl for the young girl, “Take it out and eat.”
After the young girl left with the bowl, she poked her head back in and shouted, “Auntie, I left two coins under the table, my dad gave them to me. The one-eared dog lost its ear to a wolf bite, but it’s so brave. I’m paying for what it eats.”
No wonder the troublemaker is so arrogant every day, not only is it spoiled by the dogs, but it also gets to eat and drink first. Even among the children, it’s highly popular.
