Bahu didn’t drink alcohol; instead, Saihan sat at the table with Baoyin’s father, Uncle Muren, and ChaoBao, drinking fermented mare’s milk. Bahu carved up the roasted whole lamb and brought it to the table, where the fragrant meat mingled with the sweet and sour taste of wild fruits, filling the air with an appetizing aroma. Plates of food were set on three tables.
The two shamans had their own separate tables. As they were halfway through their meal, they decided to leave. After settling the bill, Bahu poured the remaining food from their table to feed the dogs.
Saihan, feeling bloated from drinking, came out to relieve himself. Seeing this, he stood to the side and commented, “You’ve raised some good dogs at home.”
Bahu frowned at the smell of alcohol emanating from Saihan’s mouth. “Stop urging people to drink. Don’t get anyone drunk.” He detested seeing people stumbling around drunk, and he was worried that his younger brother might inherit their father’s habit of drinking too much.
“I’ve stopped. Everyone’s already eating,” Saihan replied, knowing full well that his attempts at persuasion were just for show. He tightened his belt and headed outside. Bahu placed the bowls and dishes in the kitchen. The felt covering didn’t muffle the sounds from inside, and the laughter and conversation were clearly audible. After washing his hands, he stepped outside and stood by the riverbank, waiting for Saihan to finish relieving himself.
“Waiting for me?”
Bahu nodded. The two men were of similar height, and when they faced each other, their eyes met. Despite their identical eye shapes, they reflected different emotions. Bahu asked coldly, “You’ve got what you wanted this time. Not only the people in Xushui but after today, everyone in Lingshan will know that you’re with my mother.”
“This is the truth, what’s there to hide?” Saihan chuckled. “You’ve misunderstood me. I came here today just because I like children. You’re my nephew, and in a way, you’re like my son too. I wanted to see your child’s first birthday celebration.”
Bahu sneered. He really couldn’t see his uncle’s fondness for children. None of them, brothers though they were, had been particularly fond of him when they were younger. He then asked if Saihan knew that there were rumors about him killing his older brother to take his wife. Seeing him nod, Bahu asked what he thought about it.
“What’s there to think about? Let people say what they want. Who has any evidence? Besides, our family is doing just fine,” Saihan replied casually. He didn’t care much about rumors. He had eliminated his enemy, acquired a woman for his backyard, and indirectly gained a son and grandson. He was content with that.
Bahu fell silent for a moment, glancing at Saihan’s crotch before speaking. “Rumors can also kill. You know very well how much disdain and humiliation you’ve faced since you lost your humanity. It’s impossible to say you haven’t been affected. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been clamoring for my mother on the day of the old man’s death, nor would you have paraded around with her so openly.”
Saihan refused to acknowledge it, his face changing color as he forced out a smile. “I just feel that the gossip from outside shouldn’t affect how we live our lives within our family…”
“I don’t care what you think,” Bahu interrupted. “My mother is in better spirits since she’s been with you, and I’m happy to see her living well. But honestly, I’m not keen on having too much interaction with you. My child is only one year old, at an age where they Mi Niang everything and get involved in all the excitement. I don’t want Qiqige and Jiya to go out and be stopped by people asking about your business, and I certainly don’t want them to come back and ask me if their uncle drowned their grandfather in the water trough.”
Bahu had tasted the bitterness of being ostracized by gossip before. Even if he and Mi Niang could support each other for their child, he didn’t want Qiqige and Jiya to suffer any influence.
Saihan could no longer keep up his smiling facade. He thought of the two years he had spent hiding at home, too afraid to step outside, even dismissing all the servants in the house. He nodded and said, “Alright, I understand.”
With a clear answer from Saihan, Bahu turned and walked back into the house. He glanced back at the man with a smile on his face and asked, “Who spread the news about you killing your brother to take his wife?”
In the Mobei, it wasn’t uncommon for a younger brother to marry his deceased brother’s widow. If it weren’t for the rumors of this seemingly true yet questionable romantic affair, not many people would be interested in peeking into the affairs of outsiders.
“I didn’t investigate, but it’s probably just people from our clan spreading it.”
“Are you sure you didn’t spread it yourself?” Bahu suspected. Initially, he thought it might have been Agula when he first heard the rumors, but seeing Saihan today made him doubt it was him. With over twenty years of deep-seated enmity, he didn’t have the chance to torment his enemies before they were buried, and he couldn’t be sure they would rest peacefully.
Saihan denied it, saying, “Do you think I’m crazy enough to stir up trouble for myself?”
Bahu remained silent on the matter and didn’t bring it up again when they entered the house. He took Qiqige in his arms and fed her egg soup.
Watching the lively children, Saihan’s eyes flashed with envy. If he had children, he also wanted to be a good father like Bahu, but unfortunately, he never had the chance in his lifetime.
As the meal came to an end, Saihan set down his chopsticks and raised his glass, saying, “We have the longest journey ahead of us, so we won’t stay and chat here. We’ll leave first, you can stay a bit longer.”
Some suggested they stay a bit longer since they had been drinking, but Saihan insisted they were fine and gestured towards the woman sitting opposite him, signaling her not to speak.
Since the host didn’t insist on them staying, and the guests only offered general pleasantries, seeing Saihan insist on leaving, everyone started to get up to see them off.
“No need for the formality, you all stay. Let Bahu and Mi Niang accompany us with the children,” Saihan held back Baoyin’s father and repeatedly said not to be too polite before leaving the yurt first.
Mi Niang didn’t ask anything and let Bahu do the talking when seeing the guests off. She had noticed something was amiss between the uncle and nephew when they entered together, so she assumed they had an argument.
“We’re leaving. When you have time, come to Xushui with the children for a meal and officially recognize the relationship.” Saihan brought the carriage and helped the person get on.
Under the gaze of her son and daughter-in-law, the woman’s face felt a bit warm. She didn’t extend her hand to him but stepped onto the carriage shaft. She had been quiet today, and even after getting on the carriage, she only glanced at Bahu and the two children.
“If you have any problems, come to me. I’m your mother, don’t keep things from me.”
She said this to Bahu, who glanced at her and nodded.
“Let’s go.” Saihan closed the carriage door and whistled at the two chubby children. Seeing them smile, a smile appeared in his eyes too.
As the carriage moved away, Bahu and Mi Niang went back inside to entertain the guests while on the other end, the person in the carriage pushed open the door and sat next to the man at the shaft. “You’re with Bahu?”
“Yes, he talked to me about something.” Saihan conveyed Bahu’s message to Arun. “He’s a good son and a good father.”
“I told you not to come, but you insisted.” She always felt timid in front of Bahu and was afraid of causing trouble for him.
“I had to come to see our next clan leader.”
She believed him, “With Bahu around, Jiya will definitely be fine.”
Before today, Saihan would have scoffed at such a statement, but now he believed it.
After seeing off the guests, Mi Niang and Bahu brought a chair outside and sat down. With their child turning one year old, they were as busy as dogs’ legs, feeling sore all over.
“Did your younger uncle leave so suddenly because of some disagreement with you?” Mi Niang tilted her head back, squinting at the drifting clouds. The cloud layer looked thick, and whenever she saw it, she felt like sinking into the clouds and lying still.
“He probably won’t come around much in the next few years. I told him I didn’t want too much interaction, fearing that outside rumors might affect Qiqige and Jiya,” Bahu replied.
Mi Niang shared the same concern. Since her younger uncle and her mother-in-law came into the house, people sitting inside would occasionally glance at them. Despite the teasing and probing gazes, they still exchanged food with each other, but Mi Niang couldn’t bear to look and felt awkward under the scrutiny of Baoyin.
“I won’t go visiting for the next month,” Mi Niang said as Bahu got up. She took off her shoes and propped her feet on the chair where he was sitting. She needed to rest for a while before grinding meat and stuffing sausages. Fortunately, the girls had helped her tidy up the kitchen, the child was fed and asleep, otherwise, there would be even more to do.
Bahu took a broom and started sweeping the floor, while the scent of grease permeated the open felt tent. “Don’t touch the meat for now. I’ll call someone over in a while to help chop it up. With more hands, it’ll be done faster.” After slaughtering the cow, there was still a large portion left, but not much lamb remained, mostly just the offal.
Mi Niang responded with an acknowledgment and took a brief rest before putting on her shoes. She then brought out all four legs of beef and went to the storeroom to scoop out coarse salt for the beef legs.
As the grassland had many insects, in the short time it took to apply the salt, clusters of beetles with a fishy smell flew over. Mi Niang called out to Bahu to burn some cow dung to smoke out the bugs. Hanging the beef legs inside the felt tent and stuffing some cow dung to smoke them also meant they couldn’t open the door; otherwise, more bugs would fly in.
“The beef legs will spoil if they’re left in there too long,” Bahu reminded Mi Niang once again, as he had mentioned when she proposed making preserved meat earlier.
Mi Niang frowned. She realized it now, even though she had initially doubted Bahu’s words. She had thought that with the strong winds on the grassland and the relatively low temperatures except for the midday heat, the meat wouldn’t spoil easily, especially with the wind blowing. But she hadn’t anticipated the abundance of flying insects preventing them from opening the door.
“Forget it. Let’s stew the meat tonight and tomorrow. We won’t make sausages either. We’ll just take the beef out and sell it,” Mi Niang decided. It seemed they would have to wait until winter to make sausages.
Seeing her give up, Bahu smiled. He was happy despite receiving a punch. He felt pained watching the meat go bad and rot.
They spread out a cowhide on the carriage and loaded all the pieces of dismantled beef onto it, along with the chopping knife, scales, and grass rope.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Wait a moment, I’ll wake up Qiqige and Jiya and bring them along,” Mi Niang said, always excited about selling things.
They placed a wicker basket at the back of the carriage, with one child sitting on each side. Bahu led the horse at the front, while Mi Niang walked behind, calling out to sell beef as they walked. Whenever they saw people, they would ask if they wanted to buy beef.
Qiqige and Jiya also joined in calling out to sell. They could only say two words at most, struggling to pronounce “beef” and letting saliva flow down their mouths.
Bahu was just in charge of chopping meat and weighing it, refusing to call out.
“Bringing the kids along to sell beef, you’re really working hard,” Baoyin’s mother said as she came out to buy a piece of meat. With the whole family united, the laborious task of pulling the cart and calling out to sell became more enjoyable.
“Bring Qiqige and Jiya out to play, so they don’t oversleep and have trouble sleeping at night,” Mi Niang turned her sleeves over, wiping away the saliva from the mouths of the two children. The children were easygoing like her, enjoying the lively atmosphere. They sat in the basket without causing any trouble, their eyes sparkling as they watched the people buying meat.
“Here, here’s some money for you two,” Baoyin’s mother threw a handful of copper coins into the wicker basket. “Your mother sells, your father cuts the meat, and you two handle the money. You’re all contributing.”
Mi Niang and Bahu also found this method effective. When someone came to buy meat, they would simply instruct them to give the money to the two little shopkeepers.
“Sister, your family is selling beef, wait here, I’ll go call my mother to buy some,” a little girl ran home and helped her advertise, “The sister who makes delicious food is selling beef… Yes, it’s the sister who raises bees… Today she’s selling fresh beef, not beef jerky…”
“Sister?” Bahu glanced at Mi Niang, “You already have two kids, and you’re still okay with people calling you sister?”
“I’m still young,” Mi Niang smiled proudly, feeling pleased when people called her. She knew what Bahu was concerned about. He had always been called uncle, even when standing next to her.
Sure enough, a seven or eight-year-old boy, barely reaching his waist, pointed to a piece of beef and said, “Uncle, cut this piece for me. My dad loves this piece of meat.”
Bahu felt uncomfortable, but he couldn’t bring himself to say that the boy was only eleven or twelve years younger than him, and he couldn’t be called uncle.
“How many years have you been studying?” he asked as he cut the meat.
“Two years,” the boy replied.
“Tsk, another one goofing off in school,” thought Bahu to himself. He and Mi Niang were from different generations. He pointed at Mi Niang and said, “This is my wife. If you call me uncle, you shouldn’t call her sister.”
The child didn’t bother to argue with him. He acted solely based on his mood, taking the beef and tossing the copper coins onto the chubby legs of the little shopkeeper. With his chin up, he said, “You’re not my parents, so don’t think you can boss me around.”
After he finished speaking, he didn’t stop there. He turned to the smiling Mi Niang and said, “Sister, wait a few more years for me. When I grow up, I’ll marry you. He looks so fierce, he’s not a good person. Don’t be with him.”
The women surrounding the cart burst into laughter upon hearing this, especially when they saw Bahu’s face turn dark, which made them laugh even harder.
Mi Niang also laughed, “That won’t work. You’re too late; I’ve already had children.”
