“Let’s go home.”
Hearing someone shouting ahead, Jiya swung his whip into the air without understanding and shouted along, “Let’s go home.”
For him, wherever his parents were home. But for the people migrating on the grasslands, the stationary brick houses that could shield them from wind, rain, and cold, and provide warmth were their homes. Every winter migration was the liveliest time of the year during the annual transition.
Just as they set off, the night before, the army behind caught up and took over the responsibility of protecting people and livestock along the way.
“Hey, we meet again.” The newcomer approached in the dark and, upon seeing Qiqige and Jiya, asked, “Little ones, do you still remember me?”
Seeing the little girl quickly looking at the side where the otter was eating meat, he knew she recognized him. “It seems you still remember. Here, I brought some pastries for you from Dakang.”
Qiqige and Jiya didn’t dare to reach out. Their actions couldn’t be hidden because they were small, and their resistance was evident on their faces. It was Bahu who took it and handed it to the siblings, gesturing, “The adults are thinking of you. Why don’t you thank him?”
“Thank you, sir,” Jiya spoke first, holding the pastry but not eating.
With their parents beside them, Qiqige calmed down, and her courage grew. She pinched the pastry and said, “If the sir doesn’t take away our big and small spots, I’ll accept your pastry.”
“Haha, alright, give it a try.” He noticed that there were two more small otters under the mother otter’s leg and, seeing Qiqige offering the pastry, he took the chance to ask, “Oh, did the otter have pups?”
“It’s also mine, no stealing allowed.” Qiqige immediately took the pastry away from her lips as if to salvage something. She licked the sweetness off her lips and said loudly, “I haven’t eaten the pastry yet.”
“The adult is just teasing you, stop shouting,” Bahu passed over a stool. “It’s cold at night, let the adult warm up by the fire.” He still remembered what the official said last year, not to eat anything from outside.
The man took the stool and sat down, glanced at the wary little girl, and stopped teasing her. “You go ahead and eat. I won’t take your otter. I have two at home too.”
He sniffed again and asked, “What’s stewing in the pot? Smells good.”
“It’s beef leg. If the adult likes it, I’ll bring two beef legs later. I have extras at home,” Bahu said.
Mi Niang didn’t usually interrupt at times like this. She lifted the lid of the pot, pierced the beef leg with chopsticks, then turned around and poured the soaked mushrooms from the basket into it.
“Little sister-in-law’s cooking skills are good. I’ll taste the soup when it’s done,” the man said.
“Huh? Uh…” Mi Niang agreed, still somewhat incredulous. Looking at Bahu, he seemed a little dazed too. Only Qiqige and Jiya were very pleased with his words. Little Qiqige praised how delicious her cooking and stewed meat were, and in the end, she added, “It’s the first time we’ve eaten beef leg that’s been marinated and dried.” Meaning her mother made this dish exceptionally delicious for the first time.
The man chuckled lightly and then turned to ask Bahu how he tamed the otters. “The two at my place were caught when I went into the mountains last year. I’ve been raising them for almost half a year now. They’re not as obedient as yours.”
“Were they big or small when you caught them?”
“Not too big, not too small, about the same size as these two at your place. They were about half a year old. Otters only give birth once a year, so the ones caught in winter are usually half-grown. Aren’t yours the same?”
“They’re all the same.” Bahu didn’t look at Mi Niang, speaking naturally. “I caught mine in winter too. When I found them, the mother was already dead. The two little ones were quite frightened. It took me all winter to dare to untie them.”
The otters only go into heat in March in spring, but when they encountered the big and small spots, they weren’t even a month old yet. The otters were active in the mountains, and with the mother dead by the lake, it was certainly abnormal. Bahu didn’t want to meddle further, so he covered it up. Naturally, he spoke more about the childhood of the big and small spots. “They were raised in a house with a warm kang. They stayed with us during the day, perhaps hearing people talk a lot, coming in and out with people, they gradually accepted it.”
The mushrooms were cooked, and Mi Niang lifted the lid of the pot and asked the man, “Sir, the bowls we use at home are all black pottery bowls. Do you want me to go back and get the bowls you need?”
“Just a moment.” He whistled, and a handsome big black horse came running. When it stood there, Bahu’s big black horse looked noticeably shorter, and its shiny coat lost its luster.
The man took a bundle from the horse’s back, containing his bowls and chopsticks, silver bowls and chopsticks. “I trouble you, little sister-in-law.”
“Not a bother.” Mi Niang took the bowls and secretly weighed them. When she scooped the soup, she curiously looked at the color of the bowls. Hmm, they didn’t turn black, they weren’t poisoned.
“Sir, would you like some beef? Shall I serve you a piece?”
“Sure.”
Bahu got up and circled around the military horses. Seeing it snort and bare its teeth, he scoffed, “Quite temperamental.” The man loved his horse. Even when it gave him a sour face, Bahu kept scrutinizing the big black horse while eating.
This nameless official ate the meal without saying a word, washed the bowls himself, put them back in the bundle, and threw them onto the horse’s back. “Rest early, we’ll keep watch at night.”
“What do you think he meant? Didn’t he say last year that we shouldn’t eat food from outside?” Mi Niang asked Bahu puzzledly while washing the pots and dishes. Wen Yin didn’t even dine with the servants, but this man from the capital seemed entirely unconcerned.
“Well, as you said, that was last year. Maybe he’s considering us familiar now. It’s alright, just cook our own food. If he wants to eat, he’ll eat; if not, then so be it.” Bahu scooped two basins of water and called Qiqige and Jiya to wash their faces and feet. He lifted Habul out of the small wooden bed and helped him freshen up.
Compared to his siblings, the youngest was really easy to care for. As long as his belly wasn’t empty, he wouldn’t cry or fuss, and he could put himself to sleep.
“Little chubby.” Qiqige leaned over again to squeeze his hand and kiss his face, getting her face smeared with his drool. But he didn’t hurry or get annoyed; he just looked at her with pursed lips.
The more he acted like this, the more people wanted to cuddle him. Jiyayang reached over to rub his head too. “Dad, let me hold Habul. You wash his bottom.” He was so chubby and comfortable to hold.
“Alright, but if you drop him, your mother will come to spank you, and I won’t stop her.” Bahu handed the little chubby boy to him. The two older ones were completely crazy about him. When he wasn’t holding the baby, they didn’t say they wanted to comfort their brother. But as soon as he picked him up, it was as if they suddenly remembered they had a brother. They would kiss and cuddle him for a while and then run off.
At night, the family of five slept in one felt bag. The washed ones went in first to lie down, and Bahu squeezed the little one in before placing the older siblings in the middle. “Don’t make him cry. If he cries, you two have to soothe him.”
It was the first time the three siblings slept together, and it was quite novel. Qiqige and Jiya were full of satisfaction, thinking of teaching Habul to crawl on the bedding as a surprise for their parents.
When Mi Niang and Bahu got into the felt bag, before they could even sit down, Qiqige came holding Habul to complain, saying he was too clumsy. “No matter how we teach him, he just won’t crawl.”
“You couldn’t crawl when you were as small as him either.” Mi Niang took off her outer robe and piled it on the chair, then scooped up her youngest son into her arms. “Don’t believe it? Ask your dad if you could crawl when you were five months old.”
“I remember it was around seven or eight months when I started crawling.” Bahu shook the bunched-up blanket. “Get into bed quickly. It’s cold at night. Don’t catch a cold.”
Qiqige and Jiya immediately crawled in. The felt bag was low, and with five people sleeping inside, adding two chairs would make it crowded. Despite its small size, the two children loved it. They felt too warm and comfortable tucked inside the blanket.
“If only it could rain outside,” Jiya suddenly said.
“And if there were strong winds,” Qiqige continued, and as soon as the words were spoken, they clapped their hands and laughed, happy to have thought of it together.
Bahu couldn’t understand their peculiarities and poured cold water on their enthusiasm. “If it rains tonight, both of you will have to sit in the Lele cart on the way back and can’t come out.”
Mi Niang chuckled at his words, then leaned over him and said to the two children, “Ignore him. He doesn’t understand. He’s just a poor kid.” Children playing house always loved having a small, narrow place to hide. It could be a tree hollow or a hole dug out of a haystack.
“Who are you siding with?” Bahu turned around. “Who’s the poor kid?”
Mi Niang wasn’t intimidated by his threat. She spoke firmly, “I stand with whoever is right. Don’t talk to me about forming alliances. That’s not the right way.”
Taking advantage of the situation, Qiqige and Jiya rebelled, crawling out of the blanket and onto Bahu’s body, giggling and laughing, wanting to ride the big horse.
Bahu bent over, carrying the two little ones on his back, shouting, “Your old man’s worn out, I’m telling you. If I collapse from exhaustion, your mother will find you a stepfather… Ow!” Caught off guard by a kick, the man lunged forward, and the little radish on his back toppled onto the blanket. The three of them turned to see who kicked.
“No good words, always talking nonsense,” Mi Niang grabbed a sock and threw it at the man. “What nonsense are you babbling about at this late hour? If I hear it again, I’ll use my shoe to shut your big mouth.”
Truly fierce, truly powerful, but Bahu was delighted. He bent over like a grandfather to his grandchildren, responding promptly and neatly, “Keep talking nonsense, and I’ll give you a shoe to shut your mouth.”
He then urged the two children, “Quick, go to sleep. It’s dark now.”
Qiqige and Jiya didn’t want to sleep, but they didn’t dare provoke any further trouble. They obediently lay down in the blanket. Jiya handed her father the socks from her pillow, and Bahu held them in his hand, fumbling to put them on his feet inside the blanket. He chuckled even as he got kicked again, not saying a word.
Qiqige and Jiya glanced at each other, quickly closed their eyes, and listened to the sounds around them, lulled to sleep by the low mooing of cattle, sheep, and horses outside the felt bag, along with the occasional sound of hooves.
When daylight came, Qiqige and Jiya saw their parents had made up again, so they forgot about the events of the previous night. They just didn’t dare to trouble their father to act as a horse again, afraid they might be kicked next time.
…
After traveling for half a month, they stopped to cook at noon. Mi Niang heard scattered hoofbeats behind the caravan and curiously asked, “What’s happening?”
Some soldiers had already gone to check, and soon an official came asking, “Which house belongs to the beekeeper near the mountain? Come forward.”
Mi Niang called Uncle Muren to watch the fire first. Seeing people gathering around, she chose a woman who looked somewhat familiar and asked, “Buying honey?”
“Yes, last year we talked about it. I’ll take a jar. I’ve found a spot this year, so I’ll come directly next year.” The person brought a jar. “Is the price the same as last year?”
“Yes.” Mi Niang weighed the jar and asked Bahu to bring two jars of honey from the Lele cart behind. Seeing people from Xushui Street also joining in, she called Qiqige and Jiya to help attract more customers.
The people who came were all from the alley where the stalls were set up, not too many. Together with the seven or eight people from Xushui Street, there was still some honey left in the two jars. Seeing many children gathered around, Mi Niang scooped a bowl of honey onto the table. “If you want to eat, go back and get chopsticks to dip and eat. You can also drink it with water, or pour it over yogurt.”
Thanks to these children, she sold out another jar by evening.
Qiqige and Jiya sat by the stove, happily counting the money in the box. Five or twenty copper coins were strung together. Seeing the big and small spots preparing to go out at night, Qiqige blurted out, “Catch a rabbit and come back! The whole family can enjoy honey.”
Last year, they were dedicated to helping the big and small spots earn copper coins, but this year they started selling honey themselves.
