After saddling the horse, Bahu went to the river for a quick wash. He had stayed up all night, slaughtering and skinning the cow, which was all physically demanding work. He had grown a circle of stubble on his jaw, and even he felt it prickly when he rubbed his face.
“I’m going to Xushui now.” He had wanted to ask her if she wanted to come along, but then he remembered they had a little one who needed breastfeeding. It wouldn’t be convenient for her to go to Xushui, so he swallowed his words.
Qiqige ran over, hugged her father’s leg, and said she wanted to go too. When he wasn’t looking, she wiped the oil from her mouth onto his clothes.
“Aren’t you disgusted?” Bahu took the handkerchief from Mi Niang, waved for Jiya to come over too, and wet the handkerchief to wash the faces of the siblings. He looked at Qiqige and said, “I sweated all night, got blood splattered from slaughtering the cow, got covered in ash from the fire, and even dripped a lot of oil while eating meat.”
The more Qiqige listened, the more she wrinkled her brow. Her eyes wandered over his clothes, seeing the bloodstains and oil drops, and she made a face as if she wanted to vomit, forcing a smile and joking, “You’re my dad, I won’t be disgusted by you.”
Bahu stifled a laugh until his chest hurt. “Okay, as long as you’re not disgusted.”
As he handed the handkerchief to Mi Niang, he glanced at Qiqige and proudly said, “I’m just a rough old man, yet I managed to raise such a sweet-talking daughter.”
“Are you admitting she’s your daughter now?” Mi Niang teased him with her eyes. “If she ever acts unreasonably and throws a tantrum, don’t come yelling at me, ‘Come and handle your daughter.'”
The man turned his face away, his shoulders shaking with laughter, and shamelessly said, “Let me borrow you for a day, I’ll return you tonight.”
Mi Niang scoffed at him, but seeing him smile and look better, she continued, “When you go sell the beef, take Qiqige and Jiya with you, and hire two people who can shout. Otherwise, if you take the whole Lele cart of meat over, you’ll only have half left when you come back tonight.”
Qiqige and Jiya were happy to go sell the meat, as they could count the coins and heard there were even wages to be earned. They climbed onto the Lele cart and were urged to leave.
After the three men left, Mi Niang carried Habul and walked to the side to urinate. After she finished, she was about to go back when she saw Uncle Muren holding a whip, driving away mosquitoes from the cow lying on the ground.
“Ah, such a good cow, what a pity,” the old man frowned, feeling the wound on the cow’s buttocks. It was too deep, beyond saving.
“You’ve been up all night, go back and rest. Old folks can’t handle staying up all night, don’t get sick again,” Mi Niang said, picking up a long stick from the side to drive away the flies from the two cows. “Go to the butcher’s house and see if he’ll take the cow, sell it to him.”
“What about the other one?”
“The other one will be slaughtered for our own consumption. With so many mouths to feed at home, we’ll finish any amount of meat,” said the man. With beef available, there was no need to slaughter sheep. Selling their own cows and then buying beef from the market would be foolish.
“Alright, I’ll head back now,” the old man said, getting up to leave.
Mi Niang called two other servants and instructed them to go back and bring the Lele cart over. “When the butcher slaughters the cow later, you two peel off the hide, cut it into pieces, and bring it back.”
“Okay.” The implication was clear to the two servants that they would keep the entire cow for themselves to eat. They immediately perked up at the thought of being able to eat beef regularly.
With the arrangements made, Mi Niang held the child in one hand and used a long stick to drive away the mosquitoes and flies buzzing around the cow.
The butcher and the servants arrived together. Mi Niang delegated the task to the servants. “Take note of the weight, and settle the bill when Bahu returns.” When it was time for Habul to breastfeed, he was fussing, wanting to lift his shirt. Mi Niang was anxious to leave.
“Also, when you go back, bring Habul’s little bed from his sleeping spot near the Lele cart.”
“Got it.”
As Mi Niang left, a string of dogs and raccoons followed behind. They had been here all night, and after Bahu slaughtered the cow, he made sure they were well-fed. Before leaving, he tossed them a few chunks of meat, and they all left with their bellies bulging. They only licked a few mouthfuls of water to moisten their throats, afraid to drink too much.
“This is the dog, its name is Da Huang, and this one is Bala,” she pointed to them while holding Habul, trying to distract him. “This one is Big Spot, see how big its ears are? And such a short tail… And this one is Da Hu, it’s already catching mice…”
As they walked and talked along the way, they finally reached home just before the chubby little one started crying. Mi Niang was exhausted, sweating profusely.
After taking care of the little one, she went to the kitchen to pour herself a drink of water. The old man was snoring loudly, the dogs were sprawled out in the yard, and Little Spot had two pups in her nest while Big Spot slept outside. As for Alse Wolves, it was lying across the river, flattening the grass along the riverbank.
“Everyone’s asleep. Are you going to sleep?” Mi Niang asked the chubby little one, who was smacking his lips. His crib hadn’t been brought back yet, and she didn’t want to leave him on the bed for fear he might roll-off, so she had to carry him wherever she went.
Just as she was about to coax him to sleep, one of the servants brought the crib back. “The cow was just slaughtered, so it will take a while. I thought the child might need it, so I brought the crib back first.”
“Thank you, thank you. It’s exactly what we need right now.”
The wooden crib was used by both Qiqige and Jiya when they were young. It was spacious enough for Habul to roll around in. Mi Niang placed him in the crib in the yard, grabbed a cutting board, and sat down outside. She chopped the peppers into pieces, ground the peppercorns, and mixed them with minced ginger. Finally, she mixed in coarse salt and scallion juice to marinate the meat. When the beef was brought back, Mi Niang used the marinade to marinate the four beef legs, while she washed the beef head and put it in a pot to stew.
“Da Huang, keep an eye on Habul. I’m going to the river to wash the beef intestines,” Mi Niang called out to Da Huang and pushed him to lie down next to the wooden crib.
Beef intestines needed to be washed repeatedly with ash and vinegar. Just as Mi Niang walked over with the basin, Alse Wolves, immediately opened its eyes and jumped up when it saw her. Seeing it was her, it wagged its tail, licked a few mouthfuls of water from the river, and then found another spot to continue sleeping.
Thirst seemed to spread like a contagion; after Alse Wolves finished drinking, all the dogs in the yard rushed out to drink water. They crowded around, jostling each other, with Big Spot intentionally squeezing up next to Mi Niang’s legs, leisurely lapping up the water.
“Do you want to be like Alse Wolves?” Mi Niang patted its butt, chubby and soft, with fine and silky fur. She loved its paw the most, Big and sturdy, almost as long as Qiqige and Jiya’s feet, with thick pads.
After Big Spot finished drinking, it sniffed at the edge of the basin, then opened its mouth in distaste, turned around, and walked away.
Just as picky as Qiqige.
The beef intestines were washed three times with ash and two times with vinegar, then rinsed twice more before being ready to cook. Mi Niang carried the basin into the yard and saw Da Huang sitting next to the wooden crib, its head drooping, looking pitiful. Despite being so tired, it still lifted its head to look at the pups in the wooden fence when it heard the sound.
Mi Niang cherished its appearance, squatting down to pat its nose. “Okay, I’m back. Go to sleep now.”
Habul leaned against the wooden crib, staring blankly at Da Huang as it dozed off. When Da Huang stood up and yawned, he giggled happily, reaching out from the fence to touch its nose.
Ignoring him, Mi Niang went into the house, poured the beef intestines into the pot, tasted it, and then added two scoops of salt. She added two lumps of cow dung to the stove, then brought out the beef brisket and beef, sitting next to Habul to start cutting, chopping, and making meatballs. Qiqige and Jiya liked to eat bouncy beef and fish balls.
Big Spot’s belly was still bulging, and when it smelled the meat, it lay down next to Mi Niang’s legs. Seeing minced meat splatter on the ground, it immediately got up and licked it into its mouth. Once one dog did it, the others followed suit.
Mi Niang glanced at the dogs eagerly staring at her, and with a hint of helplessness, she scolded, “Do you want to lose your share of meat? Come closer, if my knife slips, it’ll be one dog head for each chop.”
The banging of chopping meat bothered Alse Wolves, so it moved further away. However, Uncle Muren’s snoring remained unaffected, rising and falling rhythmically.
When Bahu returned with the two children driving the Lele cart, the dogs immediately jumped up and ran outside upon hearing his voice. Even before they reached the doorstep, the voices of Qiqige and Jiya calling the dogs could be heard.
“Smells delicious, shopkeeper, what have you cooked?” Bahu walked in first, followed by Big Spot, who was clinging to his leg.
“Stewed beef head and intestines,” Mi Niang said, seeing him all dusty, and immediately went to kiss her youngest son, complaining, “There’s hot water in the back pot, go take a bath first.”
“Nonsense, your daughter doesn’t mind my smell, why do you?” Bahu kissed him again and bit his ear, “I didn’t kiss you.”
So now he’s her daughter? How quickly the situation changed. After selling all the beef with the help of her children, he was already disowning them?
With just a glance, Bahu understood her meaning. He rubbed his fingers and said, “I’ll pay the wages.”
“I can’t be bothered to argue with you. Go and take a bath quickly. People buy beef because of the faces of my son and daughter.”
Qiqige and Jiya greeted each of the dogs and cats before running over to talk to their younger brother. “Little third one, you’re really chubby,” Qiqige said, and before the words had even landed, she planted loud kisses on his chubby cheeks.
“Wash your hands, wash your hands. Let your dad fetch water for you to wash your hands and face,” Mi Niang said, looking up at the silver pendant on Qiqige’s forehead and raising an eyebrow. “Did your dad buy this?”
“Yeah,” Qiqige said, grinning from ear to ear.
“And what did Jiya get from your dad?”
Jiya smiled and took out a beautifully crafted horsewhip from her pocket. “This, Dad gave it to me.”
Mi Niang clicked her tongue twice, realizing they had been duped. No wonder they changed their tune so quickly.
“Okay, next time I’ll help your dad sell meat at the stall,” she said, showing strong support.
Uncle Muren, hearing the commotion inside the house, woke up and the first thing he did was to wash his hands, face, and mouth in the river.
Bahu came out after bathing, and the dishes were already on the table. When Qiqige heard the door opening, she immediately shouted, “Dad, come quickly, we’ve been waiting for you. I’m starving.”
Splitting the cow’s head was Bahu’s job. His rough hands were not afraid of heat, and when he split the cow’s head, he also pulled off the meat from the head. The cow’s face meat was already stewed to perfection, with the oil seeping into the soup. A quick sip and it went straight into the stomach, without even needing any sauce.
The cow’s brains were for Qiqige and Jiya. They were served in a bowl with two spoonfuls of soup, mixed with chopped cow intestines and a small spoonful of sauce, which tasted delicious.
“Bahu, after dinner, hang the four cow legs up to dry. I bought some white gauze earlier. Hang it around the cow legs, and no flies will come to bite the meat. After draining the water, we can eat it on our journey,” Mi Niang instructed.
The beef balls were also to be dried. Mi Niang planned to cook them first and then dry the moisture in a bamboo basket. Since the weather was cool now, as they traveled northwest, it would get colder, and they could eat them for some time.
“Okay, I’ll hang them up after dinner,” Bahu said as he brought a chopstick of cow’s head meat to her bowl. “I didn’t eat much this morning, so I’ll eat more at noon.”
He then asked, “Do you want to eat? I’ll serve you.”
Mi Niang waved her hand. After staying up all night and being busy for half a day, her eye sockets had sunken in. “Don’t worry about me. After dinner and hanging the cow’s legs, I’ll go to sleep.”
Bahu took her bowl to the kitchen, and within a few steps, he came back out. “If I don’t take care of you, then who will?” It just naturally slipped out of his mouth.
“Cough, cough, cough.” The servant coughed forcefully, his face turning red as he grabbed his neck. “I choked on the meat.”
Might as well not explain.
Bahu sighed. This was why he didn’t want to eat with outsiders mixed in with the family, making a fuss over nothing.
Unripe melon and egg.
