“Mom, the caravan’s carts and horses are here,” Qiqige shouted from outside the door.
“You go with your brother first, I’ll bring the money right away,” Mi Niang replied. She filled her purse with copper coins and pinched a few silver coins. The spot where the caravan set up was to the west, near the yamen. Along the way, many people were rushing to the bustling area. But when they arrived, there were already quite a few people, mostly from the west of the river, hoping to snatch damaged, rain-soaked cloth, melted sugar, and crushed tea leaves.
Qiqige and Jiya were interested in nothing other than food and toys. Mi Niang went to the snack stalls first. As expected, the siblings squeezed into the children’s nest, standing on tiptoes to explore.
“What do you want to buy?” Mi Niang asked.
Qiqige and Jiya hadn’t decided yet, mainly waiting for the introduction of the sugar artist. They were familiar with cows, sheep, and horses, but they had never seen monkeys, tigers, foxes, or phoenixes. Next to the sugar artist’s stall was one selling sugar paintings. After buying paintings of monkeys and tigers, the siblings squeezed over there.
“Draw me a raccoon,” Jiya’s request was somewhat reasonable, while Qiqige directly asked for a drawing of a big-spotted and small-spotted one.
The people from the Central Plains didn’t know what raccoons or water raccoons were, and with so many customers, they didn’t bother with the two little kids.
Seeing how serious Qiqige and Jiya were, Mi Niang stuffed five copper coins into each of their hands. “Mom is going to buy seeds. If the money isn’t enough, come find me.”
“Okay,” Qiqige replied nonchalantly. This was the first time they had seen such rare toys.
After Mi Niang walked away, she could still hear her loudly asking why the sugar painting seller hadn’t come before. Indeed, many more merchants were coming to the Mobei this year, and they were selling many unfamiliar things that she couldn’t recognize or name.
Even at the stall where she usually bought seeds every year, there were many unfamiliar seeds this time. “Sister-in-law, these are seeds brought back from the Western Regions. There are only these. Would you like to buy some of each?”
Mi Niang bought her usual vegetable seeds and then asked, “What kind of seeds are these? What season are they for? Are they suitable for planting here?”
During seasons with many insects, the vegetable seedlings would be eaten as soon as they sprouted, leaving only the stems. Mi Niang planted her vegetables in wooden boxes nailed to the ground and kept them covered, but she still had to catch insects every other day.
“If they’re leafy greens, I won’t buy them. In my household, only I, old and young, eat vegetarian food, and the vegetables we grow are enough for me,” she added.
The vendor chuckled, “Then I won’t introduce them to you.” He didn’t expect to sell all the seeds he brought on the first day in the Mobei. His main customers were farmers around the capital who sold vegetables to noble families.
But Mi Niang didn’t leave either. She carefully looked at all the seeds but didn’t see the kind she bought in the capital last year. “Young man, let me ask you, have you ever seen a kind of yellow, flat seed? It’s planted in March, and seedlings sprout in half a month. In May, it blooms with small white flowers. After the flowers wilt, it bears fruit. The fruit is long and curved, green in color. When you break it open, it has a particularly pungent smell that makes your eyes water non-stop.”
She added, “The old man who sold them to me said they were also brought from the Western Regions.”
“Peppers? Bring them over, let me have a look. I’ve only heard of them but never seen them.”
“Alright.” Mi Niang hurried back home, intending to inform Qiqige and Jiya, but she didn’t see them at the sugar painting stall. After asking several children, she learned that the siblings had returned home.
She didn’t have time to worry about the two children and hurried home to dig up the thinnest and weakest seedlings, with the fewest results. Before she could reach the spot, she saw the market in chaos, with people sprawling everywhere, forming two groups, and there were rough, hoarse cries.
It was Big Spot and Little Spot.
Mi Niang rushed over, and the constable had already restored order. Qiqige and Jiya each held a mountain raccoon, hiding behind the constable, their faces red as they explained, “Our Big Spot and Little Spot doesn’t bite people. They only catch rabbits and mice. Everyone knows that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Qiqige echoed.
“What’s going on?” Mi Niang squeezed into the crowd, reaching her children. The siblings, who had just been making a fuss, began to cry when they saw her, with one of them clinging to her leg while still placing their hands on the raccoons, crying and stuttering as they complained, “Mom, they’re all bad people. They want to kill Big Spot and Little Spot.”
“Big sister, are these two animals yours?” a man whose stall had been overturned angrily asked. He pointed at the aggressive-looking animals and said, “Look at them. Who would believe they don’t bite people? Your children confidently led them in here.” He then turned to the constable, “These beasts that eat people walked right under your noses, and you just watched as if they were cats and dogs, without stopping them.”
“The mountain raccoons kept by Little Sister-in-law indeed don’t harm people. When their owner is not around, they don’t attack people, let alone when their owner is present,” the sturdy constable explained. “Just now, they were just protecting their owner.” The merchants from the Central Plains only came a few times a year, and even if they brought gifts, they wouldn’t reach the constables. But Bahu was different; he was highly regarded by Mr Hu and was a teacher as well, and offending him was not an option.
Mi Niang also understood, “Indeed, the mountain raccoons in our house don’t harm people. They haven’t harmed anyone in the neighborhood either. But those who don’t know will surely be afraid. It’s just that my children are ignorant. I apologize on their behalf. If any stalls were damaged or broken, I’ll buy them.”
With her words, the merchant who had been angered by the constable also calmed down. They all had families to support and were not big traders. They came to the Mobei risking dangers to make some money to support their families. If their stalls were overturned, it would surely incur losses. Who wouldn’t be anxious and angry about it?
“Little Sister-in-law is reasonable. Those two raccoons you raise indeed look fierce, resembling big insects. At first glance, they might even be mistaken for wild beasts.”
Sweet words were easy to say, but when it came to compensation, Mi Niang didn’t hesitate. She bought a pile of things after walking around, fortunately, the items on the periphery were not expensive. After using up all her silver coins, she borrowed another seven taels from Baoyin to settle the matter. With all the commotion, she didn’t have the mood to inspect the green seedlings suspected to be peppers anymore. Dragging a basket of things, she stood by the riverbank with her two children and two mountain raccoons, waiting for Bahu to come and pick them up.
“Mom, Big Spot and Little Spot really don’t bite people,” Qiqige was still angry, stubbornly insisting on proving Big Spot and Little Spot’s innocence.
Mi Niang opened Big Spot’s mouth, feeling its long and sharp teeth, sharper than a dog’s, and asked, “Do you think if Big Spot bit someone, there would be no blood?”
“It doesn’t bite,” not only was Qiqige stubborn, but she also dragged Jiya along, “Brother, you tell Mom.”
Jiya remained silent. He had just seen Big Spot and Little Spot baring its teeth and claws towards the people who threatened him and his sister. If he hadn’t held them tightly, Big Spot would have rushed out.
“Big Spot and Little Spot indeed haven’t bitten anyone, but they protect their owner. If someone threatens or harms you, they will attack,” Mi Niang rubbed the little girl’s head, thinking she might not understand. She changed her approach and asked, “Have you ever seen your dad fight with someone?”
Qiqige shook his head, protective of his father, “My dad never fights.” Even though he was young, he knew fighting was not good.
“Well, if you and your brother were beaten up by someone, made to cry and bleed, do you think your dad would fight back?”
“Um, um…” the little girl struggled to answer, stuttering for a while, then turned to hug Big Spot’s neck, “Big Spot will protect me and my brother like Dad.”
Mi Niang nodded, “That’s right, not only Big Spot and Little Spot but also Da Huang, Alse wolves, Bala, and all the puppies at home. They all protect their owner.”
Qiqige and Jiya’s worry turned into smiles. The tears on their faces hadn’t dried yet as they affectionately hugged Big Spot and Little Spot. The little girl even kissed Big Spot’s furry face, “I really like you guys.”
Even with a mouthful of fur, unable to wipe it off or spit it out, she wrinkled her face and went to the river to wash herself.
“Why did you and your sister call Big Spot and Little Spot over?” Big Spot and Little Spot hunted at night and slept during the day, usually in the doghouse, and wouldn’t come over on its own at this time.
“Sugar painting, paint Big Spot and Little Spot.”
Mi Niang remembered that Qiqige and Jiya had asked the owner of the sugar painting stall to paint Big Spot and Little Spot.
“Is the money still there?” she asked. Seeing Jiya fumble around and not find it, she handed him the purse. There were only twenty or thirty coins left in the purse. “You and your sister go find the sugar painting seller again and ask him to paint Big Spot and Little Spot. If he doesn’t know what Big Spot and Little Spot look like, wait until he has no customers and ask him to come out and take a look. Mom will wait for you here.”
Now the siblings were overjoyed. They grabbed Mi Niang’s arm and danced around, saying she was the best. Hand in hand, they rushed into the crowd. Big Spot and Little Spot wanted to follow, but Mi Niang called out, and the two reluctantly lay down on the ground, turning their heads to look into the crowd.
Bahu received Baoyin’s message and rode his horse directly over. Upon arrival, he lifted Baoyin off the horse. Along the way, he listened to Baoyin’s account and glanced at the scattered items, asking, “Where are Qiqige and Jiya?”
“They went to find the sugar painting vendor to paint Big Spot and Little Spot,” Mi Niang replied, patting Baoyin and letting her go play. “They cried for a while and were a bit scared, but they’re fine now.”
Bahu was protective, and hearing that the children had been frightened annoyed him a bit. He clicked his tongue but refrained from saying anything, although seeing how he encountered mountain lynxes in the mountains made him wary. Despite his silent thoughts, his expression soured slightly.
If Qiqige and Jiya were a couple of years older, Mi Niang would scold them in front of everyone for their mistakes. However, given the current understanding of these two siblings, they weren’t afraid of Big Spot and Little Spot, so they assumed that nobody else was afraid either.
“We haven’t taught Qiqige and Jiya well enough. They don’t understand these things,” she continued, seeing Bahu’s displeasure. “Just like when they wanted to take away the lamb in front of the ewe if we don’t teach them, they won’t know.”
The man’s lips moved a few times. “Baoyin told me that some people even drew their knives, and Qiqige and Jiya were screaming in fear.”
Mi Niang remained silent. Seeing the children cry when they saw her also pained her. Suddenly, Big Spot and Little Spot stood up behind them. The two of them looked over to see Qiqige and Jiya happily bringing out a man with a mustache. “This is Big Spot and Little Spot. They only bite and growl at bad people who are mean to us. Don’t be afraid, you’re a good person.”
Jiya didn’t have time to talk to his father; he ran over and opened Big Spot’s mouth, saying loudly, “I want to draw a fierce-looking Big Spot, with a mean expression.”
The man nodded to Bahu. “I vaguely saw a tiger in the mountains once. These two look somewhat similar to it, no wonder it caused a commotion.” He was speaking to his fellow merchants, being partial to them. “Aren’t you going to tie them up?”
“When the next caravan comes, I’ll drive them further away,” Bahu replied with some frustration.
After the two children followed the sugar painting vendor away, he touched Big Spot’s head. “With heads like theirs, how could they be mistaken for tigers?” People from Lingshan Big Spot and Little Spot came and went in front of his house, and they had never seen anyone afraid. Besides, Big Spot and Little Spot didn’t like to appear in front of people. They either stayed at home or followed the dogs to where the cattle and sheep grazed.
“Children are not allowed to take them to crowded places in the future,” Mi Niang said, especially strangers who don’t understand the situation.
