When storing the radishes in the cellar, Qiqige and Jiya were handed down. Bahu put the radishes in a sheepskin bag and handed them down with a hook, while the siblings in the cellar took out the radishes and stacked them on the ground.
“Dad, are there any more?” Jiya shouted.
“Yes, there are. Two more bags,” replied Bahu. However, the cellar was almost full. Bahu knelt down and pulled the two children up. The remaining two bags of radishes were placed upright for easy access when eating.
With the work done, it was time to settle the wages. Bahu patted the dirt off Qiqige and Jiya’s clothes. “Go find our steward to settle the bill. Dad doesn’t deal with money.”
Qiqige hesitated for a moment, then turned around and said pleasingly, “Dad, how about this? Let me manage the money for you. I can be the steward too.”
“Not good,” Bahu replied bluntly. He covered the cellar with a wooden board, brushed the dust off his hands, and nudged her head with the back of his hand before walking towards the front yard. “I’ll tell your mother that you want to take over her authority and let her deduct your wages.”
Upon hearing that her wages might be deducted, Qiqige’s enthusiasm waned. She pretended to laugh and said, “I was just joking. Can’t you see that I was kidding?”
“Joking?” Bahu raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, yeah,” the little girl nodded repeatedly.
Struggling to contain his laughter, Bahu went along with her joke. “Look at me, I almost believed you. Your joke wasn’t funny at all.”
Unable to hold back, Qiqige let out a light snort, shook off his hand, and hurriedly ran into the kitchen to wash her hands. She could hear Jiya’s voice from the bedroom, so she quickly dried her hands and rushed in, just in time to see her mother giving her a silver coin.
“Mama, what about mine?” Qiqige held out her hands eagerly.
“You both have some.” Mi Niang pointed to a piece similar in size to the one Jiya was holding and handed it to her daughter. “You both worked hard today, so Mama is giving you a little extra.”
“Is this a reward?” Jiya flipped the silver coin back and forth.
Mi Niang paused for a moment, then chuckled. “Yes, it’s a reward from the employer for your hard work. Keep it up, and there will be more in the future.”
“The employer said he doesn’t handle money, so it’s not from him.”
With the door open, Bahu, holding his son, chuckled at the conversation in the yard. He walked to the eaves and said, “Your mother is both the steward and the employer. Her words carry more weight than mine as the male head of the household.”
When Habul saw Mi Niang coming out and reaching out to hold him, she gently tapped his little hand and walked past the two of them into the kitchen. “How about cooking sheep tripe for lunch today?”
“I still want to eat sheep intestines, fresh ones,” Jiya said.
“Then you and Qiqige keep your little brother entertained. I’ll go stuff the sheep intestines.” Bahu put Habul on the Kang and instructed the two younger ones to entertain him.
Mi Niang took the sheep tripe to the riverbank to wash, while Bahu carried a tray of sheep intestines. The two of them squatted by the riverbank, chatting, while across the river, the Alse wolves lay sleeping in the grass.
“Stupid dog,” Bahu couldn’t help but curse when he saw it.
“In the afternoon, move all the felt and cushions from the doghouse to the kennel, and dismantle the kennels inside the house. Let’s see if they can adapt and sleep,” Mi Niang said.
“What about Da Huang? It’s supposed to guard you while you sleep,” Bahu’s words carried a hint of bitterness.
“Start by dismantling all of them. If Da Huang doesn’t want to go out, let it sleep under the eaves.” With so many dogs, the yard always smelled. Mi Niang had made up her mind to move all the dogs out. Even if they went out at night, they would still come back inside to sleep during the day.
Bahu nodded and brought up the matter of going into the mountains. “I plan to go into the mountains tomorrow or the day after to cut some trees and peel off some birch bark. I’ll take Big Spot and Little Spot with me, and leave Da Hu and Xiaom Mo at home.”
Mi Niang turned her head and glanced at him with determination, but remained silent as she continued to clean the sticky fluid off the sheep’s tripe.
Seeing her gaze, Bahu quickly added, “I heard that in the summer, they use trees from the mountains to build houses. I need to go and see what the situation is up there.”
“But you don’t live in the mountains. What does the situation up there have to do with you?” she retorted.
The man fell silent, and a basin of dirty water poured onto the ground, instantly absorbed by the dry yellow soil, without a drop flowing into the river. “I still have to go peel birch bark,” he insisted.
“Bahu said…”
“Okay,” Bahu interrupted her, no longer concealing his intentions. “I want to take Big Spot and Little Spot into the mountains to see. Maybe three or four other mountain wolves are waiting for them.”
Mi Niang snorted and glared at him. “I knew it.”
The man chuckled guiltily. “Anyway, there’s nothing urgent at home. I’ll just take a trip.”
“Suit yourself,” Mi Niang thought to herself, knowing well that he loved these things—dogs, cattle, sheep, horses, and camels—and later developed a fondness for mountain wolves. In his years of avoiding social interactions, he spent his days with these animals. Once he knew that two mountain wolves had visited before, he couldn’t resist the urge to bring the wild ones back home.
“I’m only giving you six days. Whether you find what you’re looking for or not, you have to come back. Bring a few more people with you,” she instructed.
“Alright,” Bahu agreed readily, happily flattering, “I knew you understand me.”
“I don’t understand, I understand squat,” Mi Niang retorted, rolling her eyes at him, then repeated his words expressionlessly, “I heard that the trees used for building houses are cut from the mountains, so I have to go to the mountains to see the situation.”
Outrageous to the extreme.
Bahu burst into laughter, picked up the basin, stood up, and walked towards home. As he passed by, he bumped into her lightly. “You’re no fun,” he teased.
Mi Niangng lifted her foot to kick him, but he quickly dodged, taking two steps back, avoiding her kick. She chased after him, but couldn’t catch up even when they reached the courtyard.
“It’s no fun to kick you anymore,” Mi Niang teased, poking him with her eyes, then took the basin from his hand and turned to enter the kitchen.
Inside, her in-laws were busy; one was cutting meat in the house, while the other was chopping meat in the courtyard. Making lamb stomachs wrapped with meat required cutting the lamb stomach into small pieces, wrapping them with layers of fatty and lean lamb meat, and tying them with sheepskin rope. This cooking method produced tender and flavorful meat, with every bite bursting with oil.
After preparing the lamb stomach and intestines, they threw rolled noodles into the lamb soup. Bahu then sliced the lamb intestines and arranged them neatly on a wooden plate, with a layer of clear soup oil at the bottom.
“Are your hands clean?” he asked.
Both Qiqige and Jiya extended their hands for inspection. “We’ve washed them with oil soap. They’re clean,” they said.
“Then eat with your hands. If it gets too greasy, dip it in some garlic chive sauce.”
With permission granted, the siblings immediately reached out. The lamb intestines were still a bit hot, but they couldn’t resist and kept sucking and blowing on them, reluctant to spit them out. “So tender, even more tender than the boiled lamb slices,” Qiqige said with a satisfied expression.
Bahu and Mi Niang also started eating. They ate a few pieces plain before dipping them in garlic chive sauce. As they finished the lamb intestines, the lamb stomach had cooled down a bit, making it easier to eat. With every bite, the juices flowed, making it a messy but delicious meal.
Eating lamb stomach doesn’t require drinking soup; the freshest soup is already contained within the lamb stomach.
“Do you still want noodles?” Mi Niang asked the two children.
Qiqige propped up her greasy fingers, frowned, and nodded, saying, “I can only eat a little more.”
“Then let’s skip it,” Mi Niang stood up and scooped hot water from the back pot for the siblings to wash their hands and mouths. “If you still want to eat later, come back inside.”
Bahu scooped out two bowls of noodles from the lamb soup, drained the excess broth, added two spoonfuls of garlic chive sauce, and topped it with a thick layer of lamb intestines.
“It’s scary, I’ve gotten used to the food in the Mobei, where every meal is meat and never greasy,” Mi Niang reminisced about the first year they arrived when she was pregnant with Qiqige and Jiya. They would have lamb for lunch, porridge for breakfast, and stir-fried vegetables for dinner. Even stir-frying vegetables with lamb fat felt greasy.
“Is there still about half of the vegetable oil we bought last year left?” she asked.
“About that,” Bahu said, offering her another piece of lamb stomach. “What’s so scary about it? Being able to eat is a blessing. Before, you didn’t want to eat this or touch that, it made me anxious. In the Mobei, with the strong wind and long winter, if you don’t eat fatty food, you won’t survive.” During the years without a Kang bed, when there was no meat to eat, eight out of ten people would freeze to death.
“Look at Da Huang and Alse Wolves. Our desert dogs have long and thick fur. Alse Wolves can stay outside all night in the snow and still be lively in the morning. Da Huang has short fur. If it goes out in the snow at night, it will have to shake for a quarter of an hour when it comes back.”
But when it comes to the least afraid of the cold at home, it’s the mountain ferrets. Big Spot and Little Spot can run in the snow for half a day in a big snowstorm, still lively, and even roll in the snowdrifts.
Mi Niang only ate a small portion of the noodles in the bowl before feeling full. She carried the bowl outside and emptied it into the trough. Just as the dogs were about to snatch the food, they heard the sound of the wagon wheels outside and dashed out. Mi Niang didn’t even have time to put down the bowl before following them outside.
“Auntie, Jiya, Qiqige, I’m back,” Ajima stepped out of the Lele cart and patted the dog wagging its tail at him.
The man driving the Lele cart nodded at Mi Niang. “Still having your meal? Ajima wanted to come back, so I brought him.”
He was Ajima’s brother-in-law, two years older than Mi Niang. Because Ajima called her “Auntie,” which he found awkward to call, he usually just greeted her and engaged in conversation whenever they met.
“Have you had your meal? Come in and have another bowl. The lamb intestines and stomach stewed for lunch took a bit longer, so it’s a bit late,” Mi Niang offered.
The man waved his hand. “I’ll have something later. I brought Ajima back after he ate. It’s busy at home, so I’ll head back now.” He then unloaded Ajima’s belongings from the Lele cart and instructed him, “If you want to visit again, let someone know to pass on the message. I’ll come pick you up, or your second brother-in-law can take you over.”
“Alright, take care on the road, and drive slowly,” Mi Niang cautioned.
Once the Lele cart had gone far, Ajima picked up his belongings from the ground and headed inside. “Auntie, is there still food? I’d like another bowl.”
“Yes, put your belongings inside first. By the way, did your eldest sister give birth to a boy or a girl?” He had gone to Mao County this time because his eldest sister had given birth.
“It’s a boy, born on the way here. He’s a bit weak and often feels unwell. He cries during the day and night,” Ajima replied as he placed his belongings in the backyard and changed into an outer robe. After washing his hands, he went to play with Habul, who was picking his toes on the small wooden bed. “Little brother, do you still recognize me?”
Habul glanced at him and turned away, avoiding him.
“I’m going into the mountains tomorrow. You help your Auntie coax him for a few days, and he’ll remember you again,” Bahu knew it was quite convenient for him to return, and compared to Uncle Muren, he felt more at ease with Ajima taking care of the child.
“Alright, storytelling and comforting children are my specialties,” Ajima said as he took over half a bowl of noodles. The lamb intestines on top were sticking out. He felt most comfortable eating and drinking in this household, without having to worry about anyone’s mood.
—
The next morning, Bahu and Big Spot returned covered in dew from outside before setting off. They tricked Big Spot into the Lele cart, leaving Da Hu and Xiao Mo at home, and took three servants with them in three horse-drawn Lele carts.
It was Da Hu and Xiao Mo’s first time leaving, and waking up to not see their mother and uncle, they became anxious, pacing around the yard and going into every room, howling at the closed gate.
“We’ll be back in a few days. Don’t make a fuss,” Mi Niang poured two bowls of milk and went out. The lynx had always had a rough voice since they were young, completely at odds with their fierce appearance. It was annoying to listen to but amusing to watch. “The master is taking Big Spot and Little Spot into the mountains to find their father and aunt for you. You two stay quietly in the house and don’t run around.”
Da Hu and Xiao Mo had been at home since birth and had no wild instincts toward people. Like dogs, they didn’t bare their teeth or growl at their owners. They drank the milk and then circled around. If there were puppies in the yard, they would play with them for a while, then sleep when tired, and continue playing after waking up.
Bao Yin brought people to buy honey. Mi Niang opened the door to let them in and then barred the door, instructing Qiqige and Jiya not to open it. “Don’t let Da Hu and Xiao Mo out.”
“What’s wrong? Where are your two lynxes?”
“They went into the mountains with Bahu,” Mi Niang led them into the house to scoop honey.
—
Bahu, who had already gone into the mountains, felt relieved and let Big Spot and Little Spot out. On the way there, Little Spot had tried to escape twice, wanting to go back home to find its cubs, so he wasn’t worried about them not wanting to come back from the mountains.
“Go, go take a look in the mountains, especially Big Spot. Look for your cubs. If they can’t find enough to eat, bring them back, and I’ll help you raise them,” Bahu tried to persuade him.
Originally planning to spend a few more days, he didn’t expect Big Spot and Little Spot to bring back five lynxes the next morning, two adults and three cubs. With all seven lynxes standing together, Big Spot and Little Spot were particularly eye-catching. They showed no signs of hostility towards people and had no aggressive intentions.
At this point, Bahu regretted it a bit. Bringing back these two adults and three cubs, would they steal his sheep at night? Stealing sheep was one thing, but would they harm people?
But it was his idea, and Big Spot and Little Spot were brought back by him. He could only grit his teeth and throw the three rabbits that hadn’t been cooked yet into the earthen jar, patting Big Spot’s back and praising her, “You’re still amazing, giving birth to three cubs in one litter.”
