Bahu snorted and swiftly moved the money box behind him. “Even the little shopkeeper can’t do it. You didn’t contribute to selling the honey, so those who don’t contribute can’t audit the accounts.”
This was the first time Qiqige had been refused. There was a moment of confusion on her face, and she believed her father’s words. She obediently withdrew her hand. “Then, how can I contribute?”
“The day after tomorrow, we’ll go to the capital to sell honey. By then, you…” Bahu glanced at Mi Niang’s belly, “…you and your brother will call out to customers. For every customer who buys honey, each of you will get one penny.”
As soon as they heard they could earn money, Qiqige and Jiya instantly beamed with smiles and readily agreed. The night before departure, they placed their big purses on the table by the kang. The next morning, when they were called awake, they quickly tied their belts and immediately grabbed their purses, tying them to their belts, afraid of forgetting them.
“Uncle, I’ve counted the cows and sheep. I brought two extra sheep just in case we encounter any accidents on the way, so we won’t be short of offerings,” Ajima said hurriedly as soon as she saw someone coming out.
“Good lad,” Bahu patted his shoulder. “More thoughtful than I expected.” Ajima was meticulous and capable. He was not even ten years old yet, but he could help manage various tasks around the house. When he grew up a little more, he would be even more remarkable.
“No matter what happens on the way, at noon, let your uncle sell the sheep and treat us to a big meal at the restaurant. I treated last year, so it’s his turn this year,” said Mi Niang. She waited for Bahu to lift the two children onto the Lele cart, gesturing for Ajima to join them. Today, they were still driving two Lele carts, with Dazao pulling the Lele cart carrying the honey jars behind.
In front of the Lele cart were cows and sheep, moving slowly. They set off just as dawn was breaking, and by the time they reached the capital, it was already midday. They first went to pay their offerings, and then sold the extra two sheep to the lamb soup noodle shop opposite the yamen.
After bouncing around in the Lele cart for half a day, when they arrived, Mi Niang took the three children to stretch their legs. Smelling the drifting aroma of meat, she pondered, “I wonder how they make the lamb soup here. It always seems tastier than what we cook at home.”
“Shall we come here for lunch?” Bahu asked as he approached, jingling the silver coin in his hand.
Mi Niang gave him a sidelong glance. Before she could respond, Qiqige and Jiya rejected the idea, insisting on going to the restaurant instead.
Bahu glanced down and then continued to ask Mi Niang for her opinion. “Are you hungry now? If you are, let’s go in for a bowl. It seems pretty crowded inside, so the food should be good.”
He added, “But let’s still go to the restaurant for lunch.” He could see her rolling her eyes, probably wanting to scold him for being stingy.
“Forget it, let’s just go sell the honey first.”
Bahu didn’t respond, he just turned and entered the restaurant. When he came out again, he was carrying a steaming bowl of noodle soup, topped with thick lamb offal. The lamb soup was creamy white, and just looking at it was appetizing.
“Eat in the Lele cart. If you can’t finish, I’ll eat it,” he said.
But it wasn’t his turn to finish. Qiqige and Jiya sat on the side, staring straight ahead, occasionally opening their mouths to take a bite. The lamb offal was tender and fragrant, and the lamb soup was rich. Bahu had instructed to use less noodles, and with two portions of lamb offal purchased, Mi Niang and the three children shared a bowl, and not a drop of soup was left.
Taking the bowl back, Bahu teased the children who were wiping their mouths, “You said you weren’t eating? Can you still eat at the restaurant for lunch?”
“Shout louder when you’re selling honey later, shout more and run more, you’ll get hungry faster,” Mi Niang encouraged them.
Arriving at last year’s spot, Bahu unloaded all the jars, leaving the honey jars stacked in the Lele cart. When someone came to buy, he handed them a jar.
As people came out of the alley, Mi Niang nudged Qiqige and Jiya. “Shout!”
The two children were a bit timid, shrinking back and unable to open their mouths. They looked back for help, saying, “How do we shout?”
Mi Niang looked at Ajima. “Can you shout? Come on, give it a try.”
Ajima mustered up his courage and recalled his sales pitch from last year’s honey-selling experience. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Honey for sale, sweeter than dates, better than brown sugar, um… and, and you can taste it for free. If you’re not satisfied, you don’t have to buy.” As he finished speaking, his face turned red, and he turned back hesitantly, asking, “Was that okay?”
Mi Niang glanced at the little sister-in-law who passed by the stall and nodded. “Okay.” Just soften the tone a bit, don’t sound like you’re selling human flesh with gritted teeth.
With Ajima leading the way, Qiqige and Jiya also shouted out loud, becoming more proficient the more they shouted. Mi Niang and Bahu sat on the stools like two overseers, watching.
“These two children are much better than you,” Mi Niang turned her head to glance at him. “If you shout once, I’ll give you two coins, whether customers come or not.”
Bahu acted as if he hadn’t heard, but when he saw a carriage coming down the street, the driver heading straight towards them, he stood up and walked to the front of the stall, initiating conversation. “Buying honey?”
“Are you from Lingshan? I was sent by Amul to help her take the honey jars back. Here’s the silver she gave me.”
Bahu nodded and took the jars with marks on them from the carriage. “I’ll carry them to your Lele cart.” There were two people inside the carriage, and he nodded to them, then turned back to ask, “Are you buying honey? You can taste it first, if you’re satisfied, you can buy it, if not, it’s okay, it won’t cost anything to taste.”
The man hesitated for a moment, said a few words to the woman in the carriage, and the people inside came out. “Then we’ll take a look.”
As Bahu walked back, he raised an eyebrow at Mi Niang. No matter how loud the shouting was, it was still up to him to make the sale.
“These three jars are autumn honey, and the others are summer honey. Summer honey is sweeter, while autumn honey has a fresher taste.” Bahu deftly lifted a spoon stirred in the honey, pulling up a thread and stirring it with chopsticks. “Try it, honey water is popular with children, just like butter tea, it’s good for digestion.”
Qiqige and Jiya looked on curiously, their eyes fixed on the other people’s mouths, eagerly asking, “Is it tasty?”
The woman smiled, “Then I’ll buy a jar.” This family was really interesting. She had just seen them in the carriage, with the two adults leisurely sitting in the back while the three children were out there drumming up business.
Bahu went to the Lele cart to get a jar. “Summer honey or autumn honey?”
“The same as what I bought from Amul.”
Just as Bahu was scooping honey from the jar, two more customers arrived. The three children repeated exactly what Bahu had said earlier. jima went to get the jar, Bahu squatted down to scoop honey, while Qiqige and Jiya held the money box to collect payment.
Mi Niang looked around, pleased with the tranquility. She moved a stool and sat behind Qiqige, able to see the copper coins and silver pieces handed over by the customers.
As the six customers left one by one, the stall became momentarily idle. Qiqige handed the money box to Mi Niang, indicating it was her turn.
“I got it,” Mi Niang counted the six coins handed to her, “You double-check.” She then handed six coins to Jiya and another six to Ajima.
Ajima didn’t expect such a good deal. Seeing Qiqige and Jiya’s happy expressions, he didn’t feel left out and quietly tucked the coins into the fabric pouch he had sewn.
“Did you forget something?” Bahu closed the jar and strode over, taking a seat next to Honey, and reached out, demanding, “Where’s mine?”
Mi Niang placed two copper coins in his palm. Seeing he didn’t pull his hand back, she wondered, “What’s up? You only brought in one customer.”
“I said if you shouted once, I’d give you two coins, regardless of whether customers came or not,” Bahu reminded her. “How many times did I speak?”
Mi Niang grabbed a handful of copper coins from the money box and placed them in his hand. “There’s extra for you.”
“Why do I only have six coins?” Qiqige pouted, feeling aggrieved. She had spoken quite a bit too, and someone even praised her cuteness.
“I don’t care. I’m giving you more,” she retorted.
“No, I only give your father this treatment. Neither you nor your brother can have it,” Mi Niang said, refusing to reason with her. “We agreed on this earlier. If you behave like this, I’ll fire you.”
Qiqige pouted and glanced at her sideways. Seeing a slap coming her way, she quickly straightened up, dissatisfied. “You’re biased.”
Mi Niang looked at Bahu, not denying it.
The man cleared his throat uncomfortably, his eyes filled with laughter. He turned his hand and poured the coins back into the money box.
“Not taking the money?”
Bahu stood up to fetch the jar from the car, waving his hand. “Consider it a favor to the shopkeeper.”
Mi Niang smirked, then glanced at Qiqige and Jiya. The siblings quickly turned their heads, tightly covering the pouches at their waists, pretending not to have seen anything.
“Oh, you’re finally here. We thought you wouldn’t come this year,” several women walked out of the alley, followed by a few children running behind them. “We’ve been sending children to check almost every day since winter started. Is this all you have? Will you come again next year?”
“Three jars were sold to someone from home, and just after we opened, someone took another jar. If you come later, we’ll be sold out,” Honey stood up to greet them. “As for next year, if there’s any left unsold, we’ll bring them to the capital. If more people come to buy from home, we won’t come here.”
“I’ll buy two jars, no, three jars,” the woman speaking only brought one jar, asking Bahu to fetch her two more. The people who hadn’t had their turn yet idled around, amusing the children. Someone asked Honey where her home was.
“At Wahu, a village not far from Wahu Lake, the easternmost village,” she replied.
“I know, it’s where the people first settled when they migrated back. So you’re at the forefront of the migration procession? That’s easy to find. I’ll come next year to buy fresh ones from you,” the woman passed the jar to Bahu. “I’ll just take one.”
Those who had bought two or three jars felt a bit regretful. During the summer, honey could attract insects. If it dripped onto the table and was forgotten to be wiped, it wouldn’t take long before ants covered it.
“If you don’t want to buy so much, you can return them, and I’ll refund you,” Mi Niang said. With honey selling well and no pressure on her part, she didn’t force them. “Do any of your neighbors want to buy? Please let them know. We only sell once a year, and once we’re sold out, we’ll be heading back.”
Soon, many people came out of the alley, surrounding the stall. Passersby hurried over upon seeing it, tiptoeing to ask, “What are you selling? Honey? Is it sweet? Good for digestion? Then I’ll buy some too.”
As the honey in the jars gradually diminished, the crowd around the stall became eager to pay. If it weren’t for Bahu’s sturdy build, the stall might have been overturned.
“We’re sold out, stop crowding! The jars are empty!” Bahu shouted loudly, sweat covering his body.
“When will you come again?” someone unaware asked.
“Not anymore, not anymore, just once a year,” a woman from the alley said. Seeing a thick layer of honey still clinging to the jars, she had a mischievous idea. “The weather is quite cold. I’ve boiled two pots of water at home. How about I bring them over to rinse the jars? Those who didn’t buy can taste it too and warm themselves up.”
Mi Niang waved her hand, signaling Bahu to move the jars back into the Lele cart. “I use honey too. I knead dough with honey and butter together, and the steamed buns come out sweet and chewy. You can also brush a layer of honey on the roasted lamb leg, preventing it from getting burnt. It turns out with a reddish-brown glossy color and tastes delicious. My children at home love it.” Honey can be used not only for soaking in water but also for cooking. The more people know about it, the more popular her honey will be in the future.
“We’re leaving,” Bahu had already turned the Lele cart around, calling for the three children to get on. It was already noon, and he was eager to go for lunch.
They had a dish of stewed lamb made with sour fruits at the restaurant, which both Qiqige and Jiya loved. After leaving the restaurant, Bahu rushed to buy dried fruits and even filled a basket with fresh fruits like pears and apples. They also bought fabric and hats, and Bahu went to a silver shop to buy pearl hairpins and earrings for Mi Niang. Seeing her mother wearing shiny earrings, Qiqige decided to pierce her ears on the spot and wore a pair of small silver earrings.
“Once you have pierced ears, you can’t go out to play in the winter. The cold wind will cause them to swell,” Mi Niang wrapped her head with a cloth.
Qiqige nodded repeatedly. As long as she could wear beautiful earrings, she wasn’t afraid of pain or cold. “Mom, when you get tired of wearing the earrings, can you give them to me?”
“Your father will buy you new ones in the future,” Bahu interjected from outside. “Your mother’s things belong to her. You can’t take them.”
Qiqige quickly agreed and asked when she would get them.
“Next year,” Bahu replied vaguely. He couldn’t understand why he had such a vain daughter. She was still young but already had so many preferences. She always wore her little silver bracelet when going out, made sure her purse matched her clothes, preferred dining at restaurants, and even envied her mother’s earrings.
However beautiful, she wanted to imitate it.
