As Qiqige and Jiya each held a sugar painting larger than their heads and ran over, Mi Niang got up from the stone, and Bahu carried the heavy basket. The family of four, along with Big Spot and Little Spot, walked leisurely behind the horse’s rear end. The sugar painting vendor’s craftsmanship was indeed excellent. He depicted the expressions of Big Spot and Little Spot vividly, even emphasizing the black spots on their legs with syrup. The two children didn’t even think about eating them, holding them up to show off whenever they saw someone.
Before they reached the door, the dogs sleeping in the kennel heard voices and rushed out excitedly, jumping up and down as if their owner had been away for a long time. Even if they just went out to wash clothes or fetch water, they would be like this. Stepping out and coming back, it was always a reunion.
“Mom, Mom, Mom!” The children, who were still proud a moment ago, quickly stepped back and handed the sugar paintings they were holding to her for safekeeping. “Mom, hold them higher so the dogs don’t ruin them.”
“I’ll stew a pot of big bones for the dogs tonight,” Mi Niang glanced at the children being surrounded by dogs as they walked home, feeling indignant. “It’s really like when there are too many dogs, they’re not valued anymore. Ten or so dogs treat the little masters like treasures, but when painting sugar paintings, they don’t think of them. And now that they’re back, they’re not even ashamed, acting as if they deserve this welcome.”
Finally, she muttered, “They’ve learned to be biased at such a young age.”
“You finally realize it,” Bahu placed the basket in the courtyard, watching Qiqige and Jiya half-heartedly deal with the dogs and then wash their hands in the dog’s water bowl. When they came running to ask for their sugar paintings, he said irritably, “I’ve been washing diapers for these siblings since they were young, scrubbing them until calluses formed on my hands. It was me who lifted them to pee at night, me who boiled milk for them. I’ve cooked countless meals and they’ve worn countless clothes. Now that they’re grown up and can run and talk, the first thing they say when they come back is: ‘Dad, where’s my mom?’ I’m like that stupid dog, always forgiving, with just one call of ‘Dad,’ I’m fooled into continuing to take care of the children.”
Whenever he harbored resentment, the children weren’t his anymore. Mi Niang chuckled and pinched him deliberately, teasing him, “Be content. At least they didn’t call someone else ‘Dad.'”
“When the dogs are mistreated, you know to stew a pot of big bones for them in the evening, but when it comes to me, you just dismiss me with a single sentence?” Bahu sat down beside her and started sorting through the broken and fragmented items in the basket. “Truly, you three women are biased from birth.”
“Then should I share the bones with you?” Mi Niang handed him a broken hairpin with a corner missing. “If one isn’t enough, this whole basket is yours. It’s all tokens of affection from your children.” After all, it was all spent with his money.
Bahu glanced at her. “I don’t want it,” he said, gesturing at the pile of rubbish.
“Then go settle the score with your biased ones,” Mi Niang replied. She picked out a few pairs of dirty cloth shoes that didn’t fit and tossed them under the eaves, waiting for the servant to return at noon and see who could wear them. The clay figurines and clay cats and dogs were all broken, so they had to be thrown away. The wooden hairpins were still usable, as were the torn pieces of cloth and bruised wild fruits.
After tidying up the things in the basket, and the cats and dogs in the house returned to their kennel to sleep, Mi Niang called over the children who had been licking the sugar paintings. “Have you spent all your money?”
Jiya took out the purse, and there was still one copper coin inside.
“These things,” Mi Niang held up a handful of broken pottery pieces, “the money spent on buying these could have bought a house full of sugar paintings. But because you took Big Spot and Little Spot with you and bumped into the vendor’s stall, the house full of sugar paintings is now gone, and all we got back are these broken pottery pieces.”
“The stall was knocked over by them, not us,” Qiqige insisted.
“If you didn’t take Big Spot and Little Spot with you, would they have been scared enough to knock over the stall?”
The little girl closed her mouth and stopped licking the sugar ears of Big Spot. The two kids hung their heads, listlessly poking the ground with the broken pottery pieces.
“Let it go, let it go. Qiqige and Jiya didn’t know they would scare people with Big Spot and Little Spot,” Bahu couldn’t bear to watch and was about to say that he could afford to buy another house full of sugar paintings, but he received a warning look. The words on the tip of his tongue retreated back, and he awkwardly said, “From now on, you can’t take Big Spot and Little Spot to crowded places. Remember that.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Jiya and Qiqige nodded. “We remember.”
“If there’s another time, I’ll spank your bottoms with a feather duster,” Mi Niang warned, tapping the heads of the two children, “If you’re not sure whether you can do something, come and ask me or your father.”
Qiqige and Jiya nodded repeatedly, seeing their mother’s mood improving, they immediately smiled again, holding hands and running outside.
“I’ll throw the broken pottery pieces into the river,” Bahu also wanted to slip away.
Mi Niang silently sized him up, “You’re truly a good person, quick to calm down, and don’t hold grudges. Your son and daughter aren’t biased towards you, and I feel unfair for you.”
The man chuckled, “Then you should feel unfair for me and call back those two little biased children to give them a beating. I’ll go fetch the feather duster for you.”
She didn’t buy into his sweet words. If it came to action, even before picking up the feather duster, someone would feel sorry for him.
Hearing voices next door, Mi Niang went into the house, counted out seven taels of silver, and grabbed a handful of copper coins. She first went to repay the silver she borrowed from Baoyin’s mother, then went to the butcher’s stall to buy back the beef and lamb leg bones, instructing the butcher not to clean the meat too thoroughly.
Seeing her quietly buying back the bones, Bahu clicked his tongue, “Swift and decisive, huh?” A big bias.
“Don’t worry, I’m thinking of you too. I specifically asked for two pieces with more meat.” She rinsed the bones and poured them into the pot, starting to cook lunch. She would stew them again for dinner, let the dogs gnaw on them in the grassland at night, and stay awake all night without dozing off.
For lunch, there was stewed dried beef and lamb intestines. After the lamb intestines were cooked, they were fried in butter. Each of Qiqige and Jiya ate two pieces and then drank a bowl of milk, feeling full.
“Mom, I want to sleep,” Jiya snuggled up on Mi Niang’s back and coaxed.
After crying for a while in the morning and being scared again, and now feeling relaxed after eating, they wanted to sleep. Mi Niang hugged Jiya and held him in her lap. Qiqige had already fallen asleep in her father’s arms.
Mi Niang and Bahu continued to eat while holding the children. After they were full, they put the children into the felt bag. Mi Niang sat by the bed and helped them take off their shoes and clothes, while Bahu went to fetch water to wash the faces and hands of the siblings.
When the two children woke up again, they found their mother sitting by the bed sewing clothes. A broken pottery jar, filled with mud, was placed on the table, and the sugar painting with the bitten ear was inserted into the jar.
“Awake?” Mi Niang bit off the thread and lifted the blanket. “If you’re awake, get up. The sun is about to set.”
Qiqige and Jiya were still groggy, humming and crawling up to cling to Mi Niang. “Mom, carry me outside,” the little girl coaxed.
“I can’t carry you. Get up and go find your father to carry you. He went to the sheep flock and hasn’t come back yet. Go find him and ask him to carry you back in the evening.” Mi Niang lifted the two children off the bed and stood them on the felt, then handed them small robes to put on.
The siblings ran out like released eagles, heading upstream to the river. The caravan had already left, and there was nothing lively to see. With two or three dogs in tow, they went east to find the sheep flock.
Mi Niang leisurely went to Baoyin’s house next door. Baoyin and her two older brothers went to the school by the river to study. Their house was quiet, and even from outside, one could hear the sound of sharpening knives.
“Sister-in-law, are you sharpening scissors?”
“Come in, it’s you.” Baoyin’s mother welcomed her in. “It’s time to shear the sheep again. The scissors were rusty, so I had them sharpened in advance.” After washing her hands, she brought out two chairs and asked about the morning’s events. “How are Qiqige and Jiya? Were they scared?”
“No, they’ve grown bold. They came back and can eat, drink, and sleep.” They might end up sleeping too much in the afternoon and playing late into the night again.
Not wanting to dwell on the morning’s events, Mi Niang leaned forward and said, “I forgot to ask when Wan’er got pregnant last year. It’s probably time for her to give birth, right? It’s almost July.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too. It should be any day now.” She waited every day for someone to come and share the good news. “If my younger brother comes to share the news, bring the children over to see.”
“Definitely.” Mi Niang had already bought bracelets for the children. They wouldn’t come to ask otherwise. The two of them continued to chat about other families’ affairs. Baoyin’s mother had many friends in Lingshan and heard a lot of news. They talked until dusk approached and it was time to prepare dinner.
For dinner, they had noodle soup made with stewed bone broth. The noodles were kneaded with eggs, and topped with braised beef tendon and blanched vegetables. Qiqige and Jiya, the two naive children, finished all the noodles and meat in their bowls, then complained that they couldn’t get up because they were too full.
“After I wash the dishes, let’s go out for a walk,” Mi Niang said to Bahu. The sky was not yet dark, and the scent of the sun-soaked air lingered in the wind.
Bahu agreed and lifted the stewed bones from the pot. He figured they could let them cool while they played.
“I won’t go, Uncle, Aunt. I need to fetch water and bathe the old horse,” Ajima said.
“Suit yourself.” Bahu closed the kitchen door and called out to the two children watching the dogs eat, “If you two aren’t going either, your mother and I will leave first.”
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Qiqige and Jiya stood up and ran. They hadn’t gone out to play in the evening before.
“Don’t run, walk slowly. Don’t run after just eating or you might vomit,” Mi Niang reminded them as she followed behind.
Usually, they walked eastward along the river, but tonight they headed north. Each alley was lined with houses, and the further north they went, the smaller and more dilapidated the felt tents became. In the dimming light, men carried felt bags and led dogs to their night watch duties, while others hurried back home on empty stomachs, shouting to their family members before even entering the house: “In the evening, a lamb wandered into someone else’s flock. I had to search with the mother ewe and almost got into a fight.”
Beyond the few northernmost households were the scattered sheep on the slopes. With sheepdogs around, Bahu and Mi Niang didn’t dare to get too close to the children. They took a different route westward, avoiding the riverbank and crossing over to the west side of the felt tents. They circled back around after passing behind the tents.
The dogs at home heard voices and immediately ran over, splashing water from the river as they ran. Mi Niang took a running start and climbed onto Bahu’s back, laughing, “Carry me back. I don’t want to get wet with dog water.”
Bahu hoisted her onto his back, avoiding the water sprayed by the two tails behind him as he walked quickly. “If you want me to carry you, you have to catch me first. Whoever catches up gets the ride.” He stayed a step ahead despite the children’s screams.
“Ah ah ah, I want a ride!” Qiqige chased after them, trying to push aside the dogs in her path. Her laughter echoed in the night, even catching the attention of the lurking tigers.
When they reached the riverbank, Bahu voluntarily stopped walking. “Hold onto my neck tightly,” he instructed Mi Niang. Releasing her legs, he lifted one child in each arm and stepped onto the wooden plank bridge, crossing the river in a few large strides, causing splashes of water to fly up again.
“Get down,” he said.
“No, we won’t,” Qiqige and Jiya hugged Bahu’s shoulders tightly, refusing to put their feet down.
“I won’t get down either,” Mi Niang chimed in, joining the fun, knowing that no one could see them in the dark.
“You’re all ganging up on me,” the man laughed, his mouth muscles sore from smiling. Carrying one and holding onto two, he briskly ran back to the courtyard, the crisp laughter accompanying each step as they squeezed into the dimly lit felt tent.
“Alright, all three of you bend over and take your punishment. You ganged up on me and now you’re being lazy,” came three slaps before the oil lamp was even lit.
The door to the kitchen opened, and the satisfied dogs, having finished their bones, left the house and ran east with their bones in their mouths.
…
Two days later, Mi Niang was still telling Bahu that Wan’er’s child was likely to be born around the same time as Qiqige and Jiya’s birthdays. In the afternoon, Asyl came to share the good news – it was a baby girl born on the morning of June 26th.
That day, Grandma Zhao went over with Asyl. Mi Niang and Baoyin’s families also went to celebrate, riding their respective camels, with the little camels obediently following behind their mothers.
“Oh, the child has grown so fast. Last time I came, he was still sitting in his father’s arms, and now he can ride the camel by himself.” Upon arrival, they ran into Asyl’s second uncle, who grinned as he looked at Qiqige and Jiya. “How old are these two children? Three years old? They used to look somewhat alike when they were younger, but the older they get, the less alike they look.”
“They will be two years old in a few days, almost eating the food of a three-year-old,” Mi Niang said as she took out four pancakes from her bag and handed them to the two children to feed the camels. Most of their candy paintings had been eaten by the four camels; just a few days ago, they couldn’t wait to stay indoors like dogs. Now, the bond between the camels and the children was strong, and the pancakes were requested by the siblings for the camels last night.
After the camels finished eating the pancakes, Mi Niang handed them a handkerchief to wipe off the crumbs from their hands. “Let’s go, let’s go inside and see the little sister. Uncle, let’s not chat for now. I’ll go in first to see Wan’er.”
“Sure,” he replied. Today, he was welcoming guests, so he led Bahu to the open space for the camels to graze.
The three-day-old child didn’t have much to see; she slept all day long. However, she had rich decorations on her hands and neck – gold bracelets and silver necklaces embedded with agate and red coral. Those that couldn’t fit were placed on the small blanket, which would all become her dowry when she grew up.
Compared to the newborn Wurina, Qiqige’s and Jiya’s gold and silver jewelry seemed insufficient. The day after they returned from Asyl’s house, Mi Niang and Bahu took the two children to the jewelry shop in Xushui to buy bracelets, one pair each. Since the siblings’ birthdays were in four days, they were allowed to choose the style themselves.
“We’re going to the clinic,” Mi Niang said as she stopped by the clinic while passing by.
“Has your menstrual period come this month already? Or are you feeling uncomfortable in other aspects?”
Mi Niang ignored him and walked in to let Doctor Zhao take her pulse. “Have I weakened my body by giving birth?”
Doctor Zhao withdrew his hand. “Your pulse is fine. As for what you’re worried about, it might just be that the time hasn’t come yet.” He glanced at the two children Bahu brought in. The Mobei people were strong meat and milk drinkers; their children grew up healthy. Considering the children were only two years old, they looked taller than Central Plains children who were three.
“It’s been a while since I last saw you. How are the bees you were raising?”
“They’re doing quite well; I have forty hives now.” Mi Niang could read between the lines and asked, “Have you run out of flower honey? I’ll be harvesting honey soon; I’ll have Bahu bring you a jar when the time comes.”
“Do you still have honey from the dryland lotus flowers? I prefer that kind.” Doctor Zhao gestured for Bahu to sit down. “Let me take your pulse too. If anything hurts or itches, don’t keep it from me.”
After they left with the children, Mi Niang suddenly said, “I forgot something. Wait for me outside.” She hurried back inside, but before she could speak, Doctor Zhao said, “Your mother-in-law hasn’t come to see your injury this year, is that what you want to ask about?”
Mi Niang smiled and retraced her right foot back over the threshold. “Then we’ll leave now.”
As the carriage at the door drove away, Doctor Zhao shook his head. “This confused person still has some luck. It’s rare to have someone genuinely care about her.”
