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FG Chapter 128

Are there any more roe deer?

Asyl’s family also had many large rooms. After lunch, Baoyin’s mother led Mi Niang to put things away. “This room was where my eldest brother lived before he got married. After he and my second brother got married, they each moved out separately. Their rooms have been empty for these years.” She pointed across. “The rooms for the three sisters are over there. If you need anything tonight, just call for me.”

 

Mi Niang agreed. The room was clean, and the stove was already burning. Bahu put the blankets on the Kang and asked Mi Niang if she wanted to rest for a while. “I want to take Big Spot and Little Spot to run around at the foot of the mountain.”

 

Mi Niang also wanted to go. She didn’t come all this way just to sit in a room and chat. “Sister-in-law, are you coming?” she turned around and asked.

 

Baoyin’s mother understood what she meant and nodded. “It’s been years since I went into the mountains. I’ll come along for a walk. Big Spot and Little Spot have become familiar with each other, so we can leave them at home to play. With Wan’er watching them, nothing should go wrong.”

 

There were many children today. Asyl had two older brothers and three sisters, with a total of sixteen children among the five families. Big Spot and Little Spot were the youngest and were twins. Everyone took care of them, and they were already deeply engrossed in playing, paying little attention when their parents spoke to them.

 

“Okay, let’s go then.” Mi Niang tied her cloak again.

 

“I’ll call Big Spot and Little Spot. Where’s Da Huang?”

“No need to call them, they’re already here,” Baoyin’s mother reminded them. The three animals were already waiting outside the door.

 

Afraid that Qiqige and Jiya would stick to them, Bahu and Mi Niang didn’t enter the house with Big Spot, Little Spot, and Da Huang. Instead, they asked Baoyin’s mother to inform Wan’er.

 

Before long, Asyl and his siblings came out, each of them carrying a bow and arrows.

 

“Big brother, you take this bow and arrows,” Asyl handed one over. “It’s what my old man uses.”

 

Thirteen people, accompanied by two mountain ferrets and a dog, marched out of the village. Along the way, whenever they encountered people, they would be curiously and cautiously inspected, especially the knee-high mountain ferrets. Asyl explained along the way that they were domesticated and wouldn’t bite.

 

Once out of the village, they were met with endless reed marshes, growing around the edge of the lake. It seemed that the reeds were cut down to prevent wild animals from hiding in them. Only stumps about a foot tall remained.

“Surely in the summer here, there must be plenty of waterfowl and wild ducks, right?” Mi Niang’s eyes swept over the surface of the lake as she spoke. “I met an old woman selling duck eggs when I was selling honey in the capital city before. She said there was a big lake near her home, and every autumn, the first thing she did when she returned was to pick wild duck eggs in the reeds. I guess it’s similar to what you have here.”

 

“What do they look like?” Asyl asked.

 

“Nothing particularly special, just round-faced. I even sold her a few pounds of honey.” She had forgotten how many pounds she sold her; who would remember such details?

 

“There were plenty of wild birds here every summer and fall when I was a kid living with my grandparents. I didn’t move with them back then. Whenever I got hungry, I’d come to the water’s edge to fish for bird eggs and roast them over a fire. I’ve figured out which bird eggs taste the best,” Asyl continued as the group walked across the ice after passing through the reeds. “During the summer, if the bird eggs haven’t hatched, they go bad. They crack easily when touched, and the smell is awful.”

 

Mi Niang listened with extreme envy. “Next autumn when we come back, Bahu and I will drive the Lele cart here first. We’ll bring the kids and a basket to pick eggs.” Just picking up duck eggs that had fallen into the water near the dam from someone else’s duck had made her happy for several days and bragging for years. Now, the thought of picking eggs with a basket made her itch inside.

 

“You’re just like Wan’er. She’s been craving them this year when she saw others picking them. But she had severe morning sickness then, lying at home all the time. I brought back half a basket for her. The family had enough to eat, but she still wanted to taste them from time to time. Duck eggs are strong-smelling and coarse, not very tasty.”

Baoyin pointed to the wild grass at the edge of the lake for Mi Niang. “Wild ducks usually lay eggs in places like this, with plenty of grass near the water and insects, fish, and shrimp underwater.”

 

The more Mi Niang listened, the more she itched inside, secretly determined to come back next autumn.

 

“We’ll skate over. It’s quite a distance to walk across the lake surface,” Asyl’s elder brother looked at Mi Niang. “Little sister-in-law, can you skate?”

 

“No problem, I can take her,” Bahu spoke up. “You guys go ahead.” He reached out and grabbed Mi Niang’s arm, his hand sliding down to her waist.

 

“Couldn’t go ice skating at Wali Lake, so today’s the chance to make up for it.”

 

“Yeah,” Mi Niang nodded. “What about Big Spot, Little Spot, and Da Huang?”

 

Indeed, they had forgotten about the ones who couldn’t speak.

 

“No worries, we’ll weave a mat. The dog can crawl on the mat, and we’ll pull them along.” Under the snow pile were reed stalks cut in autumn. As they dug through the snow and pulled the grass, a dozen people squatted on the ice, weaving in one direction, their laughter echoing and causing the accumulated snow on the bank to fall rustling down.

 

“Haven’t played like this in years,” Asyl’s second sister rubbed her hands together. “We used to fool around like this when we were kids, trying every trick to avoid being left out of the fun.”

 

Asyl clicked his tongue in annoyance. “All I remember is you guys trying every trick to ditch me.”

 

“Who asked you to be the youngest, always trailing behind,” she retorted.

Mi Niang exchanged a glance with Bahu. Neither of them had ever played such an interesting game when they were kids. Next year, no, not next year, but this autumn, they must bring Qiqige and Jiya to play.

 

With the mat woven to the height of one person and the width of another, Mi Niang and Bahu held the two cats and one dog lying on the mat. To soothe them, Mi Niang sat on it as well.

 

“Stay steady, off we go.” Long braids made of reed stalks were left on the front two corners. Twelve people, six on each side, pulled with all their might, gliding across the ice with one person and three animals.

 

Someone started singing a lively tune that Mi Niang couldn’t understand, echoing across the lake and through the surrounding forests. Facing the village, the village gradually receded from her sight. The closest point to the shore, where the scattered reed stalks on the ice slowly turned into a black dot, until they couldn’t be seen anymore.

Da Huang and Big Spot and Little Spot also changed from initial panic to enjoyment. They squinted and lifted their heads lazily. Big Spot moved its hind legs onto the ice, leaving intermittent white marks on the ice.

 

The speed gradually decreased, and they arrived at the foot of the mountain. The rush mats were still on the ice, and the dozen or so people went ashore. There were still footprints on the snow, indicating that they had just startled the patrolling people.

 

In the snowy area, it was the domain of the lynxes and the dog. Although it was their first time here, they charged ahead blindly. With one arm around her, Bahu walked at the back with Mi Niang, noticing her blushing face. He took off his sheepskin gloves and covered her hands.

 

“No need,” Mi Niang noticed someone snickering, her face flushing red, and she said softly, “I won’t feel cold after walking for a while.” She wasn’t cold now; her face was burning, and steam rose from her head.

 

Bahu also felt a little warm in the ears but still insisted on hugging her, guiding her step by step through the snow.

 

“That’s because the oil in the lunch was too heavy; the cold wind blew, and I didn’t feel comfortable.” Asyl sighed heavily, he was still a newlywed, and he admired others. He reminded them to add clothes, and he spent all the money from selling honey on shoes. Even the children followed behind the men, and they could still have fun together. If it weren’t for Mi Niang saying that she wanted to come, his three sisters and two sisters-in-law wouldn’t have come either.

 

He slowed down his pace and, with a thick-skinned face, asked, “Brother, you and my sister-in-law have been married for three years, right? How do you keep it sweet?”

“This, this doesn’t need any teaching, right?” Bahu couldn’t think of anything. He didn’t know. Anyway, when he was with Mi Niang, there was never a shortage of things to talk about. He also wanted to know, so he looked at Mi Niang and said, “You’re asking the wrong person if you ask me. I’m just like a draft animal pulling a Lele cart. Wherever the master directs me, I go.”

 

“Nonsense,” Mi Niang blushed and punched him. “When did I ever treat you like a draft animal? You’re not that obedient either.” They often bantered like this.

 

Asyl caught a glimpse of Bahu’s smile, he felt a sourness in his heart. This was a willing recipient of punishment. He pondered for a moment. Wan’er only showed her claws during intimate moments; the rest of the time, she was gentle and refined. He probably couldn’t emulate the relationship between Bahu and Mi Niang.

 

“Just bicker daily, occasionally bring gifts when you see something nice. It doesn’t have to be anything extravagant, like a handful of wildflowers, a bird’s egg, a rabbit, a strange-looking stone, or a mushroom. Everyone has their way of getting along. You and Wan’er have only been married for half a year. You don’t understand each other as well as Bahu and I do. Over time, you’ll learn to play and talk together.” Mi Niang glanced at Bahu sideways. In their first year of marriage, his stubbornness was as strong as a ram’s horn. Getting him to say something to cheer her up was harder than pulling out his teeth.

“Shh, don’t speak. Your ferrets have found prey,” the person in front warned. Seeing this, everyone took out their bows and arrows. Before the bowstrings were even drawn, Big Spot and Little Spot shot out like arrows. In the blink of an eye, they heard cries of pain and struggling. The men hurried to see, and Big Spot and Little Spot were already dragging a roe deer over, its long tail twitching. They learned that from dogs.

 

“Impressive, impressive,” Asyl exclaimed, “They don’t even protect their food, they know to give it to their master.” He wanted to take it, but was threatened with a snarl.

 

Bahu took the still-warm roe deer and patted the two ferrets. “Let’s go back and stew this roe deer meat for you.” This was their first time hunting roe deer since they grew up, and they were fast, accurate, and ruthless.

 

“Let’s continue into the mountains,” Big Brother Asyl said excitedly, looking at Big Spot and Little Spot. He stroked the arrow and said, “With Big Spot and Little Spot here today, let’s see if I can make this arrow taste blood.”

 

The people at the foot of the mountain could see the traces in the snow, and Asyl remembered that Mi Niang liked to raise pheasants. He pointed to the claw marks in the snow and said, “There are pheasants. Let’s go find them. If we catch any alive, you can take them back to raise.”

Mi Niang said they raised quite a few at home, giving Asyl the chance to catch some to take back. “Chicken soup nourishes the body. When a woman gives birth, chicken soup and fish soup are best. Lamb soup can make you feel too hot, both for adults and children.”

 

Upon hearing this, Asyl became even more eager, hoping his older brother and brother-in-law would help intercept them later.

The wild chickens in winter are thin and weak. With the mountains blocked by heavy snow, they can’t find food. Their feathers are damp, and they become foolish when people block their path. Unable to fly away, they are easily caught in groups, with nine in total, one male and eight females.

 

Later, Big Spot and Little Spot killed five more rabbits, and even Da Huang caught a gray-furred rabbit.

 

“Are there any more roe deer?” Asyl’s older brother still feels unsatisfied.

 

“Every day, there are people from the clan patrolling. Being able to catch so many is already lucky. Let’s go, it’s time to go back. It’s getting dark,” Asyl’s sister-in-law urged, taking advantage of the remaining daylight to follow the footprints down the mountain.

 

Mi Niang also agreed to go back. She and Bahu were too tired to carry anything, but Big Spot, Little Spot, and Da Huang didn’t allow others to help carry the prey. The elderly couple were panting heavily from exhaustion, and others were envious.

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