“What did you forget?” Bahu asked as he helped her into the car.
Mi Niang didn’t hide anything from him and told him. He remained silent all the way after hearing it.
“What’s wrong?” Mi Niang asked when they got home, leaning towards him. He turned his face away, and she followed his gaze until he couldn’t help but smile. She smiled along, “You’re such a scoundrel.”
Bahu put his arm around her shoulder, and the two sat side by side on the stone in front of the felt bag. Three chubby yellow-haired dogs ran over. He picked one up and put it on his lap, “Is Alse wolves also not doing well? Da Huang’s dogs seem to be getting fewer every year.”
“Are you not feeding the lamb eggs to Bala and Alse wolves this year?” There are only Bala and Alse wolves in the house, as for the two litters of puppies Da Huang gave birth to, all the male dogs were castrated by him.
Bala has been eating lamb and beef eggs since last year, but what’s the result? This year’s three puppies still don’t have its breed. Bahu feels like it’s a waste to feed it to them.
“Lamb eggs might not be useful for dogs, but if Da Huang’s puppies are fewer, it will suffer less.” In the first year, Da Huang gave birth to eight puppies. When they were breastfeeding, they were fed with milk and meat every meal, and Da Huang even lost some weight. This year, she’s been chubby just like last year.
Mi +*-Niang leaned on her chin and looked at him scratching the puppies, “Hey, what’s the meaning of staying silent all the way?” She was sure he wasn’t angry because she inquired about things from Doctor Zhao.
Bahu remained silent, put the puppies down, squinted his eyes and frowned, looking at the sparkling river surface, “Can’t really say, it’s quite complicated.” He hadn’t planned to intervene in his mother’s affairs anymore, unless it directly affected him in the future. He never thought about indirectly inquiring about her situation.
“Besides appreciating and admiring you, there’s nothing else to say.” She had a conscience and kindness.
“Do you feel like marrying me is causing trouble for your ancestors?” Mi Niang joked, leaning on his shoulder.
Bahu pondered over the words “ancestral grave,” “More than that, it’s on fire.”
After saying that, they both laughed. It’s likely that the ancestors of his family wouldn’t even be able to find their burial ground anymore.
…
On the day of Qiqige and Jiya’s birthdays, Mi Niang decided to take the siblings with her to harvest honey. She sewed two sets of clothes for them from top to bottom, matching her own outfit and hat. In the morning, they each had a long noodle, and a fried egg was placed on top. This was the longevity noodles for the two birthday stars.
With the big black horse pulling the Lele cart, the family of four rode their camels separately. Bahu brought his bow and arrow, and whether they would have lunch on time or not depended on him.
“Ah—”
“Ah ah—”
Halfway there, they heard familiar hoarse cries. The four of them looked in the direction of the sound and saw Big Spot and Little Spot coming towards them. They had just arrived home when the family left.
“Why did you two come running over here instead of sleeping at home?” Mi Niang muttered. Despite not having slept all night, she was energetic and sprightly, taking large steps almost as if she were flying over the grass.
Big Spot and Little Spot bounced around the camels ridden by Qiqige and Jiya, not knowing whether they wanted to ride on the camels’ backs or play with the young masters. Bahu frowned when he saw this. He urged the mother camel forward, lifted the two children from their mounts, and handed Qiqige over to Mi Niang.
“I can’t take my eyes off them for a moment; they shouldn’t try to tease Big Spot and Little Spot and end up falling down.” After lifting Qiqige and Jiya from the young camels, Big Spot and Little Spot stopped bouncing around them. Instead, they acted as if they were escorting them, running alongside the camels.
Mi Niang glanced at him, “We don’t rely on you for lunch, so we won’t go hungry.”
The man chuckled, showing no interest in competing with a badger.
When they arrived at the first spot to collect honey, Mi Niang wrapped her face with cloth, put on a straw hat, and wore sheepskin gloves on her hands. “Put some on Qiqige and Jiya too. I’ll take them with me to assist.”
“What about me?”
“Keep an eye on the horse, the camels, and the badger, especially Big Spot and Little Spot. Don’t let them follow us.” She picked up a bucket and took the two children with her. The beehive was located under a rock. Before opening the hive, she reminded Qiqige and Jiya not to take off their gloves or remove the veil from their hats.
As soon as the hive was opened, a large swarm of bees flew out. Mi Niang swiftly cut half of the honeycomb with a knife. “Now, pour it into the bucket.”
“It doesn’t look good.” Qiqige frowned at the uneven and dark substance. It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing, and it was also black in color, which she found ugly.
“What?” Mi Niang doubted if she had misheard, “This is honey, sweet.” She had hoped that Qiqige would learn beekeeping from her, but she never expected her to find it unattractive!
“Ugly.” The little girl disdainfully dumped the honey into the bucket and turned her head away, refusing to look at it anymore. When it came time to collect honey from the second hive, she refused to go at all, clinging to Bahu’s leg and sitting on his feet. “The bees are noisy, and the honey is ugly.”
“Have you never stepped on sheep dung or cow dung?” Honeycombs are so beautiful, each one filled with honey, like a farmer looking at crops or a shepherd looking at a flock of lambs and calves, it just brings joy.
But Qiqige refused to go. When Mi Niang took Jiya away, she secretly told Bahu that the honeycombs, one nest after another, were terrifying.
Tsk, the fearless girl finally found something to fear? “So you won’t drink sweet water or eat honey-roasted meat anymore?”
Qiqige remained silent again.
Beekeeping is easier than raising cows and sheep, and it’s faster in reproduction too. Bahu certainly hoped that Qiqige would learn her mother’s skills. In the future, when she gets married, having a few boxes of bees would not be a problem for her household consumption or as gifts to others, which would also be good for her reputation.
“Forget it, when you get married, I’ll give you more dowry.” Bahu rubbed her head, “Come, let me teach you hunting.”
By midday, they had collected most of the honey. The eight buckets on the Lele cart were already half full. After catching rabbits and mice to fill their stomachs, Big Spot and Little Spot slept under the Lele cart.
“Can we eat now?” Mi Niang covered her stomach, growling from the enticing smell. When it came to roasting the rabbit, Bahu asked her not to do anything; he would take care of the entire meal for lunch.
Bahu took the charred rabbit meat off the fire. “You three go ahead and eat; I’ll continue roasting.” He soaked them in a mixture of salt, scallions, and oil, then stuck them back into the flames, crackling as the golden oil dripped into the fire, making the flames leap higher.
“Hmph!” The young camel suddenly jumped, causing the burning cow dung in the pit to scatter. Bahu quickly stood up, whistled for the big black horse to pull the Lele cart farther away.
The restless young camel ran into the river, submerging its nose in the water while nervously stamping its hooves. Stones in the river were kicked out, and Mi Niang quickly led Qiqige and Jiya away, still holding onto her plate.
“It’s stung by bees,” she said. She remembered closing the car door tightly; the bees shouldn’t have been able to escape. Besides, there was honey in the bucket, so the bees wouldn’t leave the honey behind.
Bahu recalled the first glance he took when he heard the noise. Big Spot and Little Spots quickly slipped out from under the Lele cart, while the young camel was standing next to the Lele cart.
“It’s probably because it liked the taste and decided to explore while nobody was paying attention.”
“…Greedy?” Was it just being gluttonous? Wanting to taste everything?
The water in the river was stirred up. The young camel, under the call of its mother, walked onto the shore with its nose covered in mud, still making distressed grunting noises. By the afternoon, its nose, covered in mud, had swollen, but after swelling, it calmed down.
Mi Niang watched the two badgers running ahead and then looked at Qiqige and Jiya. After collecting the honey, she broke off two pieces and handed them to Big Spot and Little Spot. “Do you two want some honey? Da Huang loves it.”
Big Spot and Little Spot sniffed it, tentatively tasted it, then chewed a few times before suddenly collapsing to the ground.
“Is it poisonous?” Mi Niang was startled. She fed them flower honey from the wildflowers; it should have been safe for humans to eat.
Little Spot shook off the dirt and got up from the ground. Opening its mouth wide, it approached again, wanting to eat more. Unable to swallow the honeycomb it had bitten, the honey mixed with saliva dripped onto the grass. It swallowed the honeycomb that Qiqige found ugly and even nibbled on the grass dripping with honey.
“Is this delicious?” Mi Niang fed a lump of honey to Big Spot again. They had never seen them enjoy eating meat this much.
Bahu was also startled just now. They collapsed so quickly; it’s likely they were poisoned.
“Do Big Spot and Little Spot know the way? Are they going to sneak over at night to steal honey?” He was a bit worried. The reason they hadn’t planned to harvest honey during the day was because they were concerned about the authorities, but the badgers had no such concerns.
“If they dare to come steal honey, they’ll end up just like the camels, with their faces swollen.” Ming Niang placed the buckets in the Lele cart. With that, there was no chance for the camels to come closer and ask for food. Even Big Spot and Little Spot dared not approach.
After bringing back seven buckets of honey, before they even opened the door, Da Huang came running over, attracted by the smell. It circled around the Lele cart, its tail thumping against the wood, seemingly unaware of any pain.
“What kind of creatures do we raise at home? They eat meat and vegetables, salty and sweet, peanuts and melon seeds, fruits and grass. They eat whatever humans eat, and even what humans don’t eat.” Bahu was puzzled.
It’s really strange. Dogs following people for meals is understandable, as are camels and horses. They eat whatever is given to them, as if they’re about to pull up a chair and join the table. Now there are two more badgers. He remembered Qiqige and Jiya eating snacks, and the two badgers lying on the ground beside their feet, watching.
He looked at Da Huang, chewing on honey, and gave it a guilty look — it’s all because of its bad influence.
