Outside, the servants were carrying grain and corn to the backyard. Mi Niang looked at the bulging shape of the woolen bags and asked in puzzlement, “What did you buy? Why does it look like sticks?”
“Corn, but not the ground kind.” Bahu carried various beans into the kitchen, pulling Mi Niang to the backyard. The woolen bags were opened, revealing golden ears of corn. “The ground ones cost two cents per catties while the whole ones are only one cent. I thought since we have a grinding stone and people at home, I’d buy the cheaper ones.” Bahu picked some that weren’t moldy, saying he would tie them with ropes and hang them in the bedrooms and storerooms. The golden-orange color looked pleasing to the eyes.
People coming and going to move the goods, the two were squatting by the reed-woven granary, causing some obstruction. Every time they tried to say something, they were interrupted by heavy footsteps. Unable to continue, Bahu had to let go of Mi Niang’s hand and carry some corn ears to the front yard.
Mi Niang told them about Pandi’s request to borrow a Lele cart to haul grass. “Arrange for two people to accompany Ying Niang over later. Ying Niang will be picking up cow dung. Just call her when you’re ready.”
Bahu agreed and went out, looking northwest. The sky in the northwest was shrouded in dark clouds, indicating that winter snow was approaching.
He had been paying attention to the sky in the northwest, thinking about the days when he would drive the cattle and camels to the pasture to haul grass. When Bahu was at home, he brought back several baskets of fertile soil from the radish field. Mi Niang shoveled the soil into wooden frames and planted the roots of chives and sections of green onions in it, after soaking the vegetable seeds in warm water. Thinking of the ten seeds she bought for a couple of silvers, she poured them out of her purse into her hand. They were expensive seeds, costing two hundred taels each. She thought for a moment and threw two of them into the warm water.
She brought these two seeds into her sleeping quarters. “I’ll watch you day and night to see if you’re shy about sprouting.” The seeds planted by the old man hadn’t sprouted yet, but once hers did, she would make a profit.
That’s the only way to comfort herself.
With all the vegetable seeds planted, Mi Niang swept away the soil scattered on the ground with a broom. Seeing Ajima chasing spots in the grass on the other side of the river with Qiqige and Jiya, she shouted, “Ajima, go find your brother-in-law and have him catch a sheep. Tonight, the Mok-in uncles are coming back, so we’ll stew a pot of lamb soup and roast two lamb legs to treat them.”
“Okay, I’ll go now,” Ajima replied, stepping across the logs on the river.
Big Spots and Little Spots were also a year old now, with long limbs and still a short stump of a tail. They had excellent jumping ability. It was said that they chased after children, but in reality, it seemed more like the children were teasing the Lele cars. Whenever Qiqige and Jiya sat down, the two cats would leap over their heads in one bound. Sometimes when they returned from outside, with a running start, they would bounce off the door frame and fly over the children’s heads. Even Ajima had been leaped over by the marmots.
“Big Spots, Little Spots, come here,” Mi Niang called out, choosing a wider area of the river. Bending her body, she clapped her hands, and immediately Big Spots and Little Spots abandoned the two children. They showed off by jumping from one side of the river to the other. In Mi Niang’s continuous exclamations of amazement, they jumped back and forth across the river, their thick paws not even touching the water.
“Wow, that’s amazing, so amazing,” Mi Niang exclaimed as she hugged Little Spots. Little Spots was female and loved to be cuddled. She leaned against Mi Niang’s shoulder and purred softly.
“Mommy! I want a hug too!” Qiqige, being a little jealous, became anxious and started jumping up and down on the other side of the riverbank.
“How did you and your brother get over here?” There was only one log serving as a bridge over the river. While Qiqige and Jiya could walk and run on it, they couldn’t walk steadily in a straight line.
Mi Niang let go of Little Spots and walked over the log bridge to hug Qiqige. “Jiya, Mommy will hug your sister first, and then I’ll come back to hug you.” In an instant, she saw Little Spots and Big Spots standing one in front of the other on the log bridge, staring at the fish swimming in the water.
“Jump!” Qiqige pointed to the river as she hugged her mother’s neck, wanting to jump over the river like Big Spots and Little Spots.
Mi Niang chuckled. “Your mommy doesn’t have that ability.” She walked onto the log bridge, and the two marmots instinctively moved back. She put Qiqige down and turned to hug Jiya.
By the time Ajima and his brother-in-law came back with the lamb legs, Mi Niang was squatting on the log bridge, wearing a bamboo hat and already caught eight finger-length small fish. Big Spots and Little Spots were standing in the water with their mouths open, waiting to be fed.
“Why are their heads all wet?” Ajima walked over and squatted beside Jiya, asking.
Mi Niang glanced at the two dripping-wet cats. They saw her catching fish in the water and immediately buried their heads underwater, biting at anything that came close, causing splashes to soar high, not even touching the fish scales.
“It’s getting dark. Let’s go inside and cook.” Mi Niang handed the bamboo hat to Ajima and took one child by the hand, walking towards the house. She wasn’t worried about Qiqige and Jiya getting into the water. In this cold weather, anyone without fur wouldn’t dare touch cold water. Even a gust of wind would make their bones ache.
Moreover, there were so many guards in the house, practically walking with bodyguards.
Even when chopping the lamb meat, there were many guards around, lying in the yard, keeping watch. If one got fed, they all had to be fed, or else there would be complaints.
When chopping the meat, if any meat scraps fell to the ground, those with quick eyes and hands would snatch them up. Those who missed out would crowd around her legs and refuse to move, but they couldn’t even make a swallowing sound.
The meat from the sheep’s neck wasn’t tasty, it had a strong flavor when fried. The meat with sheep fat from the buttocks was also cut off, as well as sheep’s stomach… Mi Niang first divided the inedible and less tasty meat into thirteen portions, eleven for the dogs and two for the marmots, each one getting a taste of meat.
“That’s enough, just to keep them happy. The rest will be fed after dinner.” Mi Niang patted the meat residue off her hands and closed the door behind her as she entered the kitchen. The sheep head was stewing on the stove, the lamb ribs and scorpion stewing in a pot in front of the stove, the lamb stomach wrapped in meat and lamb liver also poured in after the water boiled, and two lamb forelegs were roasted for eating. The two hind legs of the lamb and the neck of the lamb were chopped into pieces by Xi Jil with a machete, along with various sheep hooves and lungs, all stewing in the back pot, for the dogs and the marmots.
When Bahu returned with the others, it was already pitch black outside. Those unloading grass were unloading, those washing their faces were washing, and those herding cattle and camels were busy shouting commands. He pushed open the door to the kitchen against a nose full of fragrance. The light from the stove illuminated half of the room, and the fresh aroma of food extinguished the darkness and cold behind him.
“What did you add to today’s lamb soup? It tastes a bit different,” he rubbed his hands and sat by the stove, then turned to Jiya, who was sitting on a chair gnawing on lamb ribs, and said, “Give Dad a bite.”
When Jiya and Qiqige were eating, they were protective of their food, but in front of their parents, they were generous. Smiling, they handed him the gnawed bones.
“Good son,” Bahu said without hesitation, taking a bite. Before he could swallow, another lamb bone was handed to him, this time by Qiqige. Regardless of preference, both siblings wanted to offer the same.
“Good daughter,” he praised again, even the gesture of pinching the corner of his mouth was the same, except Qiqige’s bone had no meat residue on it.
“Set the table, bring bowls and chopsticks, the lamb is almost stewed,” Honey ordered after they had enough father-son bonding time, directing Aijima to call people outside and instructing them to wash their hands before coming in.
As it was about to snow, the kitchen was the warmest place. One by one, they took off their cloaks and even their woolen jackets. Mi Niang brought a basin of lamb to the table and then opened the window.
“Is this the pickled vegetables you bought before?” Bahu drank a bowl of soup first. It was slightly sour, not from vinegar, but it was refreshing. He always felt that green vegetables had a bit of a grassy taste, whether they were stir-fried, braised, or stewed. That taste just couldn’t be removed. Today, the vegetable leaves dipped in lamb were slightly sour, but they also carried the flavor of the lamb soup, unlike regular greens.
“It’s alright, isn’t it?” Mi Niang held a bowl to feed the two children.
The man grunted in agreement, swallowing the lamb, and casually said, “There’s nothing wrong with the food you make.”
“Haha!” Mi Niang couldn’t help but chuckle. When she did, everyone else laughed too. It was rare to hear such flattering words from the master of the house.
Bahu felt a bit embarrassed by the laughter. He was used to eating with his family behind closed doors. He had just burned his tongue on the juice from the lamb, and his tongue twisted as he spoke.
Halfway through the meal, there was a crackling sound on the roof. One of the servants sitting near the door opened it to take a look. “It’s snowing heavily. Good thing we made it back.”
“It’s snowing heavily. Good thing we made it back.” Snowy nights without proper bedding could be deadly.
“Let’s all go back and get a good night’s sleep. We’ll slaughter cattle and sheep tomorrow.” Bahu lifted the lamb soup and raised his bowl. “It’s winter again. Let’s all drink together.”
“Cheers!” Uncle Mujin raised his bowl and clinked it against Uncle Jinku’s.
ChaoBao sat beside Bahu and tapped his bowl against Bahu. “Life is getting better and better.”
Xi Jil turned around to find Ajima. “Come, nephew.”
“Me me me!” Qiqige saw everyone clinking their bowls, so she also picked up an empty bowl and raised it. When she moved, Jiya moved too, holding her bowl high to clink with her mother’s.
“Dad will clink with you, our little shopkeeper.” Bahu reached out and tapped Qiqige’s bowl, then gestured to Mi Niang. The two bowls collided with a crisp sound, covering up a soft-spoken sentence.
