The family of four walked on the grassland where cattle and sheep had not trodden, their hair scattered. They found several grass nests made by wild chickens, but they were all empty, not even a single eggshell left. Bahu said that mice also eat chicken eggs. Once the wild chickens leave the nest, mice will nibble at the eggs, drink up the egg liquid, and even chew on the eggshells.
“Picking chicken eggs on the grassland requires luck.” He deftly tied up his dry hair with his fingers and then asked the two younger ones, “Do you want me to comb your hair?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t.”
Jiya leaned against Bahu’s knee and took out two red hair ties from her purse, slowly saying, “Dad, I want to tie my hair.”
Bahu was actually better at braiding. Taking advantage of Jiya not being able to see his movements, he first tied two bunches into three strands and then twisted them up. With the red hair ties wrapped around, it looked much better than braiding with horsehair.
“Now you look even more like your mother.” He held Jiya’s face and looked at it from side to side.
Jiya had originally frowned, but as soon as she heard his words, she immediately put down her hand that wanted to undo the braid, raised her eyes happily, and said, “I’ll tie it again tomorrow.”
Bahu chuckled and looked at Mi Niang, “Jiya is becoming more and more like a little girl, with a temperament as gentle as yours and a resemblance in appearance.”
Mi Niang smiled and flicked her dense braid behind her back, “Let’s go, it’s time to go back and check on the cattle and sheep.” As for Qiqige, who didn’t want to tie her hair, she stood on the hillside facing the wind, her shoulder-length hair lifted by the wind, with two sprigs of chives clipped on her ears. With her hands on her hips, she looked down at the people below the slope, pinched her voice coquettishly, and asked, “Am I beautiful, Miss?”
Mi Niang couldn’t help but chuckle and loudly praised, “Absolutely beautiful.”
Bahu’s face was so sore from laughing that he pretended to tease her, saying he couldn’t hear her because the wind was too strong. He turned around and walked briskly back, causing the “little beauty” to transform into a “little rascal” in an instant. With her hair flying wildly, she slid down the hillside, chasing after her father who was deafened by the wind, stubbornly asking him if she was beautiful.
…
The night was as deep as water, the star-studded sky obscured by dark clouds. Bahu picked up everything left outside and checked the lamp oil in the mats where the two children slept. He entered the house against the damp wind and saw Mi Niang sitting dazed by the bedpost. He walked over and asked, “Why haven’t you changed out of your clothes and lay down on the bed?” Remembering today was her day in the lunar calendar, he asked again, “Is your stomach not feeling well? Shall I make you some brown sugar water?”
Suppressing the surprised and anxious gaze that shifted onto the man, as if afraid of offending someone, her voice was soft and slow, yet clear as she said, “It hasn’t come, not this month yet.”
“It hasn’t come?” As the father of two children already, Bahu knew what that meant. Was their third child on the way? He looked at Mi Niang’s abdomen. “Let’s sleep first. Maybe it’ll come tomorrow morning.”
Mi Niang sighed slowly. Well, it wasn’t the first time this had happened. She kicked off her shoes and sat down in the blankets. When she gave birth to Qiqige and Jiya, Doctor Zhao mentioned that she was a bit weak. She had taken good care of herself these past two years but still felt uneasy.
“If I’m pregnant, it must be from that time on our journey.” Bahu leaned closer, looking at the person sitting, “If I’m pregnant, shall we name the child Yehuai or Qiulai?”
Mi Niang glanced at him, took off her jacket, and draped it over his face, saying, “Hang it on the bedpost for me.” As she got into bed, she couldn’t help but mutter, “How can we be so sure it was that night?” Ever since they started sleeping separately from the two children, it happened almost every night, except when they didn’t do it before bed, they would still do it after getting up at night to take the children to the bathroom or when they sweated too much in their sleep.
It was like missing one of the three meals a day; without it, it always felt like the stomach wasn’t full.
Outside, it started to rain. The raindrops hitting the felt roof were instantly absorbed, making almost no sound. Bahu leaned his hand on the edge of the bed and said, “I would like it to be that time. Yehuai or Qiulai, which one do you think sounds better?”
Not hearing a response, he leaned in closer. “Are you asleep? Really asleep?”
With breaths that were sometimes fast and sometimes slow, there was no sign of sleep. Pretending not to notice, he muttered to himself, “Let’s call the boy Yehuai and the girl Qiulai.” As he finished speaking, he received a kick under the covers.
“No, it’s not good, it sounds too different from Jiya and Qiqige’s names.” Mi Niang couldn’t help but speak out.
The couple wasn’t sure if their third child was in her belly yet. They didn’t say much aloud, but inside, they were excited and restless, tossing and turning in bed until the rain stopped. Bahu went out to call Qiqige and Jiya to come out and pee. When he returned, the person inside the bed was breathing steadily, finally truly asleep this time.
Bahu stood at the door for a while, feeling the breeze, then quietly returned to bed and looked again at the flat belly under the covers. Perhaps because Qiqige and Jiya were easy to raise and considerate, he felt more anticipation than when Mi Niang was pregnant with their first child. With something tangible now, there was also room for imagination.
As daylight broke, the two of them woke up one after the other, disturbed by the chatter of the two little ones next door. Even before it was fully light outside, Qiqige and Jiya were already awake. At that time, Mi Niang and Bahu were both so tired that they could barely keep their eyes open, so they instructed the two of them to speak softly in bed and not to go outside.
“Mom, are you awake?” Jiya’s ears were even sharper than Da Huang’s; as soon as the person on the bed turned over, she heard it.
“Yes, we’re awake. We’ll come and dress you and your sister.” Mi Niang lifted the covers and took a glance, then turned to the man facing her and shook her head. “If it doesn’t come tonight, it means there’s good news.”
While dressing the little brother and sister in the next room, Bahu couldn’t help but ask, “Qiqige, Jiya, if your mother has a little baby in her belly, would you like a little brother or a little sister?”
“A little brother,” Qiqige looked fiercely at Jiya. “I want to bully him.”
Jiya smiled and pursed her lips. “I already have a sister, I don’t want a sister anymore.”
Qiqige’s fur was smoothed out in an instant. This time, he willingly called him brother and, after putting on his shoes, they ran out hand in hand. Without waiting to wash their faces, they went straight to the damp ground to make mud figurines, completely unconcerned about whether they would have a little brother or sister.
Two more days passed without Mi Niang’s period coming, and the stones in their hearts were finally put down. The third child was on the way.
“If he’s sweet-talking and good at coaxing people, otherwise he’ll be bullied by your older brother and sister.” Bahu first passed on the message to the baby in Mi Niang’s belly.
Although Mi Niang felt fine herself, Bahu kept an eye on her. He took on the chores of tending to the cattle and sheep, making sure she didn’t overexert herself. Even though the coins in their purse were being spent quickly, flowing steadily into the pockets of the two little ones. Even Big Spot and Little Spot started earning money. During the day, they wore red strings around their necks with copper coins strung on them. They would earn a penny for each hare, wild goose, or wild chicken they caught. When they went out at night to hunt, Qiqige and Jiya took care of the string of coins. This was something the siblings had negotiated for the benefit of Big Spot and Little Spot.
“Don’t take advantage of Big Spot and Little Spot’s ignorance and pocket their coins.” Another rooster with plump autumn plumage, its feathers vibrant and glossy, was caught. Bahu took two copper coins from the purse and handed them to Qiqige and Jiya.
Upon hearing this, the siblings gave each other a glare and a hum, then they tied the red string with five copper coins onto the necks of Big Spot and Little Spot, who were waiting nearby. They exaggeratedly exclaimed, “Big Spot and Little Spot look so beautiful and amazing!” They had truly inherited Mi Niang’s flair.
The two ferrets shook their short tails and proudly followed their young masters, prancing along, the coins clinking with each step. As for Qiqige and Jiya, their purses were almost bursting, but they were reluctant to take any money out. Mi Niang offered to exchange their copper coins for silver coins, but they refused. They wouldn’t even accept a wooden box to keep their money in; they only took off their purses when they went to bed at night.
“We don’t care much about money, so how did we end up with these purses of coins? We learned how to make money before we even started studying,” Bahu muttered.
Mi Niang just smiled and didn’t respond. She had loved money when she was young too. Before she started beekeeping, she used to wander the streets with her grandfather, selling honey. She would call out to customers, and her grandfather would give her a copper coin.
As the days grew darker earlier, Qiqige and Jiya’s small purses filled with coins were replaced with larger ones. Their days at the Xia Ranch were coming to an end, and soon, the siblings would lose the opportunity to earn money by calling out to customers.
On the way back, they wore woolen raincoats and rode on the backs of camels. Jiya stared at the flock of sheep ahead, and whenever one lagged behind, he would shout and send the dog to herd it back. Then he turned to his father and asked for some coins.
“What for?” Bahu pretended not to understand.
“I called out, so give me money.” On the Xia Ranch, whenever there was a fight between cattle or sheep, he and Qiqige would call out, and their father would go to intervene. It’s just that this time, the role of the person intervening had changed to the dog.
Bahu shook his empty purse. “I don’t have any money left. I can’t afford to hire you two to work, and besides, I have a dog, so I don’t need you and your sister to remind me.”
Jiya wasn’t easily fooled. He remembered that there was money in his father’s purse yesterday. He stared at the man on the horse’s back and pouted. “Go ask Mom for money.”
Ah, how could hired workers ask their employer for work when there was none? Bahu repeated, “I’m not hiring workers.”
Mi Niang couldn’t stand it anymore. It was obvious that the two children were addicted to making money. How could they listen to him so much? “How can a father like you play dumb in front of your son? Jiya, come here and get your wages from me.”
Jiya happily patted the little camel and went to the side of the Lele cart. He received a penny through the window and sweetly praised, “Mom is the best.”
With such filial piety, Bahu approached and said sourly, “Once again, you’re making me out to be the bad guy.”
“The richer you are, the stingier you become.” Mi Niang glanced at him. “Do you really need that little bit of money?”
“Do you know how many sheep will fall behind on this road? And on the way back to the winter pasture, even if I prepare a sack full of copper coins, it won’t be enough. They’re just over two years old, why do they need to hold so much money? To wipe their butts?” Bahu had passed the phase of novelty and found it troublesome.
Mi Niang rolled her eyes at him and closed the car window with a flick of her hand. “They earned it by working hard calling out to customers. Whether it’s for wiping their butts or splashing water, it’s none of your business.”
Offending three people at once, Bahu glared at the car window for a moment, then knocked on the door with a dejected look. “Boss, can you spare some copper coins? I need to pay wages.”
“I’ll do it myself.” Mi Niang thought what he said made some sense. When Qiqige and Jiya came back, she would negotiate with them. They would get a copper coin for every three calls, and when they accumulated enough, they could knock on the car window, and she would pay them.
This way, they could earn four or five copper coins a day, and both sides were satisfied.
Returning to Lingshan, they coincidentally caught the last caravan of the year. Qiqige and Jiya were ecstatic, feeling like mice finding themselves in a rice jar, swaggering off to buy things.
“Mom, mom, mom!” Before even entering the house, they shouted loudly and rushed in, handing her a delicate pink lotus handkerchief and a wooden hairpin. “We got these for you, Mom.”
Mi Niang felt a bit choked up, her heart was as sweet as the sweetest honey. She immediately took off the silver hairpin on her head and replaced it with a wooden one. She folded the pink handkerchief neatly and placed it on her gray blouse. “I love it, thank you, Qiqige and Jiya.”
Qiqige shrugged nonchalantly and said, “No need to thank us.” Jiya was still a bit shy, “I’ll buy you more things in the future, Mom.”
Bahu stood at the door feeling sour. All the jealousy he had accumulated over the past twenty years couldn’t compare to what he felt now. He stood by the riverside as the two children stormed into the yard, not sparing him a glance.
“Where’s Dad?” Qiqige asked.
“I’m here,” Bahu replied loudly, even raising his hand, afraid that those inside might not see him. He pretended to ask casually, “What are you three talking about?”
“Dad, I bought you a hairpin,” Qiqige proudly announced.
“Oh, let me see,” his voice rose with excitement.
