On the first night of being allocated rooms, Qiqige and Jiya insisted on washing their faces and soaking their feet with their parents. They sat still on chairs, chatting away about trivial matters.
“Mother, tomorrow we’re going to see the cow give birth, are you coming?”
“Mother, Father said you like to drink sour milk, I’ll squeeze some for you tomorrow.”
“Mother, do you think there will be two calves born?”
Mi Niang sat in front of the bronze mirror applying makeup. She glanced at the man leaning against the door, about to suggest sleeping with their parents for another night, but then heard Bahu knock on the door and say, “I’m closing up.”
The repetitive calls of “mother” finally stopped. Qiqige pouted, hanging her head without responding. Jiya also wore a solemn expression but glanced at their parents, slowly putting on their shoes but not getting up.
“Jiya, take your sister to the next room,” Bahu instructed directly.
“Oh,” Jiya reluctantly got up, slowly took Qiqige’s hand, and the two children sluggishly moved towards the door.
Bahu glanced down and asked Mi Niang not to leave. “I’ll go check,” he said, not convinced of her firmness, as if he hadn’t noticed just now.
The door next door opened, and Mi Niang stood up and sat on the bed. Her footsteps mixed with those from the next room. Bahu’s gentle voice came through two layers of felt, “You heard the sound of your mother’s footsteps, right? If you cough in this room, both she and I can hear it. Whether dreaming, waking up, or extinguishing the oil lamp, if you call out ‘father,’ I’ll be here in no time. Or are you two afraid to sleep?”
“We’re not afraid,” the siblings replied in unison. They were both strong-willed and concerned about their image. Accustomed to their parents praising their bravery, they wouldn’t admit to being afraid even if they were.
Bahu intentionally continued, “I also believe you two aren’t afraid. What’s there to be afraid of? At night, Da Huang sleeps outside the felt, and Big Spot and Little Spot come back during the night. Your mother and I sleep next door, while Grandfather and Ajima sleep outside. Even if you can’t sleep, you can go out and sit in the courtyard to look at the moon with the dogs and people.”
“Father, you can go back. My sister and I want to sleep,” Jiya’s courage suddenly swelled. She took off her shoes, stepped onto the felt beside the bed, and climbed onto it. “Sister, come up.”
Bahu chuckled and left as he said, checking the oil lamp before going out to ensure it could burn until dawn.
“I won’t lock the doors of both felt tents. If you wake up at night, you can go out to pee by yourselves, and Da Huang will sleep at your door.”
“Okay,” Qiqige replied listlessly.
As Bahu sat on the bed, he heard the neighbors pounding on the fence posts in the earth. “Father, Mother, can you hear us?”
“Mm, I heard,” Mi Niang responded. “Cover yourselves with the blanket, close your eyes, and go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, I’ll wait for you to wake me up to cook.”
“I want to eat egg pancakes.”
“Okay.”
“I want to eat meat pancakes, two of them, bigger than my hand,” Qiqige’s enthusiasm was sparked.
Before Mi Niang could speak, Bahu lowered his voice and said, “Close your eyes and sleep, even Da Huang is asleep.” He pulled up the blanket and said in a muffled voice, “The bed feels spacious tonight.” It had been a long time since he felt this way.
“Father, are you talking to me?” Qiqige called out.
Bahu ignored her.
After two more calls from the side, Mi Niang and Bahu lay in bed, not moving or speaking. They only heard Jiya telling Qiqige that their parents were asleep and asking her to come back to sleep.
After a while, there was finally no more noise from the next room.
In the middle of the night, Mi Niang, half asleep and half awake, habitually reached out to touch the children in the bed. Feeling nothing, she was startled and sat up abruptly, only then remembering that Qiqige and Jiya had moved out. Looking outside the bed, there was no one there, but the spot where someone had been lying was still warm.
As she got out of bed, Da Huang squeezed through the door crack and came in, wagging his tail happily.
“You’re awake too,” Bahu heard the sound from the next room and whispered, “Go back to sleep. The siblings wake up to pee and then go back to sleep.” He woke up at the same time every day, even before they started sleeping separately, he used to wake Qiqige and Jiya up at this time to pee.
For the next few days, both adults and children became accustomed to sleeping in separate beds and tents. However, Qiqige and Jiya used this as an excuse to act spoiled, pitifully begging for this and that. Hearing others outside say that roasted lamb was delicious, tender, and not greasy, they followed along and hugged a lamb that was less than two months old and hadn’t been weaned yet, clamoring to slaughter it. The mother sheep bleated anxiously on the side, afraid to approach due to Da Huang’s sharp teeth.
Before the lamb is weaned, the mother sheep fiercely protects her offspring, always keeping the lamb close by. If the lamb goes missing, the mother sheep can bleat for two or three days until her voice becomes hoarse, and her milk dries up. Only when the lamb still doesn’t return do they accept the outcome that the lamb is lost or dead.
“Let go of the little lamb,” Mi Niang shouted from the side, coaxing, “Let go of the little lamb, mother will take you both to ride horses.”
“We want to eat roasted lamb.” The two children still insisted on dragging the little lamb back, while the mother sheep followed behind, crying pitifully, and the lamb looked even more miserable, kneeling on the ground with its limbs and looking back for help.
“Jiya, Qiqige, I’ll say it again, let go of the little lamb,” Mi Niang’s expression turned cold. In their household, they only slaughtered robust sheep that had been weaned. Lambs that hadn’t been weaned wouldn’t be slaughtered unless they were injured.
Qiqige could be stubborn at times, but she also knew when to read the mood. As soon as she noticed her mother’s displeased expression, she immediately let go. Jiya had already stood up before her, wearing a puzzled expression as she glanced at her mother’s face.
Once the little lamb was free, it immediately bleated and ran towards its mother. The two, big and small, nuzzled affectionately, while the mother sheep watched warily before leading the little lamb back into the flock.
“Come here,” Mi Niang squatted down. “Lambs still nursing can’t be slaughtered, and neither can their mothers. Remember this; it’s also considered the compassion of herdsmen.”
“But Jiya’s mother said roasted lamb is delicious,” Qiqige was still conflicted, her eyes darting towards the lively lamb.
Mi Niang didn’t argue with the siblings, she simply asked, “Do you listen to me or to what others say?” Children are innocent and emotionally detached unless it directly affects them. They don’t understand the depth of emotions like separation or the bond between mother and child, let alone the concept of compassion.
But they would unconditionally trust their parents in any matter. Qiqige’s eyes finally shifted away from the lamb, and she hugged Mi Niang’s leg, acting coquettishly, “I’ll listen to you.”
Bahu approached just in time to hear this statement. He had just come over after hearing the bleating of the mother sheep. Having raised cattle and sheep for a long time, he could decipher their sounds.
“Who was causing trouble just now? Why did I hear sheep bleating?” he asked intentionally.
Jiya and Qiqige felt a bit guilty because they only realized they had done something wrong after being scolded. They tried to evade the topic by saying, “Big Spot and Little Spot are sunbathing and sleeping.”
Mi Niang didn’t hide anything from them. “I heard outside that roasted lamb is delicious, so you went and hugged a lamb in front of its mother, saying you wanted to slaughter it.”
“The mother sheep didn’t push you away?” Bahu dragged a ewe from the flock over and grabbed Qiqige’s hand, pressing it against the sheep’s horn. “Jiya, come here. If you dare to eat a lamb, you’ll have to wait for the mother sheep to seek revenge. If a horn goes into your stomach, it’ll make a hole, and you’ll bleed profusely…” He paused as he got kicked in the butt, then continued, “Once your stomach is pierced, everything you eat will leak out through the hole, and you won’t grow.”
As soon as Bahu mentioned stomach piercing, Jiya withdrew her hand and backed away, while Qiqige, still being held, couldn’t escape and felt her hand getting increasingly painful. With a “waa,” she started crying, looking to her mother for help and yelling that her father was going to poke a hole in her hand.
Bahu couldn’t bear to see her cry, so he picked her up, wiped away her tears with his rough hands, and comforted her despite the pain she felt.
“Do you still want to eat lamb?”
“No, no more,” they wouldn’t eat lamb even if it was mixed with sheep dung.
After the crying spell, they calmed down. Seeing the dogs playing around, Qiqige struggled to get down to join Jiya in playing with the dogs.
Mi Niang and Bahu stood watching the two children running around the flock. Mi Niang chuckled, “They’re learning their lesson, but I wonder how long they’ll remember.” There were some aggressive mother sheep; when threatened, they would charge. For adults, it wasn’t a big deal, maybe just a scratch and a little blood. But for kids like Qiqige and Jiya, being rammed by a sheep could hit their chest or neck.
With dogs as guards at home, Qiqige and Jiya never hesitated among the flock. They fed the sheep and milked the cows, and in this grassland, they were like the bosses, while their parents were the leaders. So, they dared to snatch lambs from their mothers.
“I think they’ll remember for about six months. When it comes to eating, Qiqige and Jiya have better memories than anyone else.” The sun was just right, and Bahu imitated the two marmots lying on the hill. He bent his legs, lay on the ground, and patted the grass beside him, calling out, “Come and sunbathe too, you look too pale next to me.”
Mi Niang gave him a sideways glance and replied with a “hmph,” then chose a spot without sheep dung eggs to sit down. “It’s easier now that the kids are independent.”
Indeed, Bahu agreed. He lifted his head and moved to rest on her lap, squinting against the glare. Tilting his head towards her abdomen, he said, “It’s summer now. In a couple of days, I’ll uncover the felt tent, and we’ll apply sheep oil to those two little ones first.” Taking care of the old and the young came first before themselves.
“Should we apply it to them while they’re still so young?”
“The younger they are, the more important it is to apply and sunbathe. Children’s bones are still growing and have gaps, making them more susceptible to cold.”
Mi Niang didn’t quite understand, but she agreed with his confident tone. After applying the sheep oil and sitting in the sunny spot, she did feel much more relaxed after washing it off.
Two days later, when Ajima was taking a break, Bahu lifted the felt covering the sleeping area of Uncle Muren. “You two help each other, bring the sheep oil and the tub inside,” he instructed.
“But didn’t you apply it for me?” The old man seemed a bit disappointed.
“Is mine scent better?” Bahu snorted. “I’ll go look after your grandchildren.” The old man always liked to hear that.
“Ah, ah,” the old man chuckled, his eyes narrowing with joy. He loved to hear Bahu acknowledge the two children as his grandchildren. He quickly changed his tune, “You go do your thing, don’t mind me.”
In another felt tent, Mi Niang had already undressed the two children, tied up their hair, and grabbed a lump of sheep oil to rub and apply it to Qiqige’s arms and legs.
“It stinks,” the little girl wrinkled her nose, and upon lifting her arm to smell, she even gagged.
It wasn’t a bad smell, but sheep oil had a strong odor, especially sheep tail oil.
“After applying sheep oil and sunbathing, you and your brother will grow taller next year. Then you won’t need me or your dad to carry you to ride a horse,” Mi Niang fabricated.
But someone took it seriously. Jiya grabbed a handful from the jar and started applying it to her legs. He was even shorter than his sister, and sometimes, when their parents weren’t around, Qiqige would call him “brother” instead of “sister,” and he couldn’t argue back or fight back.
“Oh, my son is so obedient?” Bahu came in and glanced around. Qiqige pinched her nose but didn’t move, and Jiya, while applying the oil, tilted her head back, looking as if she wished she could cut off her nose.
Even in this situation, when he took over, he was instructed to apply more and thicker.
“Dad, grab more,” Jiya leaned over and pointed out.
Any more, and they’d need a knife to wash it off.
