The crying stopped, but both Mi Niang and Bahu’s ears were still buzzing. Dogs could run, and Qiqige and Jiya could hide, but their biological parents couldn’t hide or run away.
“Let’s eat, the food’s ready.” Bahu scooped the chicken from the pot into a basin, leaving the chicken soup for noodles. “I added some water again. When it boils, throw the noodles in. I’ll go call the three little ones.”
“Alright.”
As the door opened and closed, a cold wind rushed in. Bahu closed the door and looked up at the sky. The sparse stars were visible. He muttered, “It probably won’t snow tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll butcher the cow.”
Not wanting to disturb the crybaby sleeping in the house, he stepped out, stepping on the snow and circling around the courtyard to the newly built third courtyard. There was a door on the west side of the outer wall. Inside were two spacious rooms, one used as a kitchen, and the other had a heated Kang bed. Qiqige, Jiya, and Ajima were lying on the warm Kang bed, with Da Huang lying beside it, his head resting on his shoes.
Bahu didn’t enter, he knocked on the door. “Come back for dinner.”
Qiqige sat up. “Is my brother still sleeping?”
“If he’s awake, won’t you come back? Come on, hurry up, the noodles will be overcooked.”
The first to come out was Da Huang. He went into the kitchen, followed by Bahu, who asked the two old men, “What did you feed the dogs at noon? Is there any left?”
“As you instructed, we cooked lamb and rice.” Uncle Muren, the old man, lifted the lid of the pot. “There’s some left, enough for them to eat again tonight.”
Bahu fetched a bucket and asked him to scoop some into it. “I’ll feed them on my way back. It’s dark now, and the snow is thick on the ground. Be careful when you two go back. If it’s really bad, bring two quilts and sleep next door tonight.”
He then asked the wrinkled-faced old man who was covering his forehead, “Uncle Muren, have you considered what I said to you a few days ago? Moving over to sleep next to Ajima, and the backyard will be just for you two.”
Uncle Muren shook his head. “In a couple of years, I’m not old enough to need someone to take care of me.”
After Bahu left with the dog food and the three children, Uncle Muren scooped water to wash the pot and asked him, “Yesterday, you mentioned you were planning to move over in a few days. Why did you change your mind?”
“Forget it, his little son cries too much. I can hear his crying even with my eyes closed now. It’s more unbearable than strong liquor. I’m old, I can’t stand it.” Afraid of freezing the child, he spent most of the day today holding the chubby boy in the house, his head and arms ached. A few more times like this, and he would have a splitting headache.
Uncle Muren laughed, and Habul seemed like a lukewarm person. He didn’t expect him to be so noisy when crying, with a loud voice that lasted the whole day without getting hoarse, clear, and full of vigor.
…
Bahu went to the dog house to feed the dogs. When he didn’t see Big Spot, Little Spot, Da Hu, and Xiao Mo, he knocked on the bucket and called out a couple of times. They all ran back from the snowy ground, covered in snow.
“I wonder if those five have returned to the mountain,” he muttered to himself, looking south.
“They must have returned.”
Bahu glanced at Qiqige. “How do you know?”
“I can figure things out. There’s nothing I don’t know.” Qiqige held Jiya’s hand, walking briskly ahead, pretending to gesture, “I calculated that we’ll be eating chicken soup with noodles tonight.”
“You’re surprisingly accurate.” Inside the house, Bahu closed the door, following the scent into the warm room.
…
After washing off the fishy smell, Mi Niang sat in the bed and said to the man tidying up, “Later, take both your and my outer robes outside and leave them in the snow. Tomorrow morning, we can shake off the snow and let them warm on the heated bed.”
“It probably won’t snow tonight.” Bahu only propped Mi Niang’s robe onto the roof with a stick, while his own hung on the door latch. “I’ll need it tomorrow when I butcher the cow, so I won’t change it now.”
Mi Niang watched the baby sleeping soundly for a while, estimating that he had been asleep for about an hour. She lifted the blanket and handed him over to the man standing on the ground. “Change his diaper.”
The man took the baby with a pounding heart. It was so rare, the last time he felt this nervous was when Qiqige and Jiya were just born. Fortunately, the crybaby just pursed his lips when he peed, without waking up.
After blowing out the oil lamp, the room returned to silence. Bahu suddenly sighed, covering both of them with the blanket, and whispered, “Aren’t you tired?”
Mi Niang took another bite, drawing circles on the damp spot where her saliva landed. She was satisfied with the trembling of his muscles underneath. “Thinking of something pleasant? I’m seeking revenge.”
She lightly pinched with her fingernails, hearing his heavy breathing. Then she tapped behind his ear and withdrew her hand. “Let’s sleep, I’m tired.”
Bahu rubbed his ears vigorously. His ears were the most troublesome, always turning red at the slightest provocation. No matter how much he rubbed, he couldn’t get rid of the warm, moist sensation, itching persistently in his heart. He glanced at the peacefully breathing person, sighed, and stretched one leg out of the blanket to cool down.
She really held grudges.
The night passed without wind or snow. Even when Habul woke up hungry in the middle of the night and drank milk, he behaved as obediently as usual, not crying or fussing. After drinking milk and peeing, he turned over and slept again, the night quiet until dawn.
The first thing Bahu did upon waking up was to open the door and check if it had snowed. “We can butcher the cow today.”
Roasting the cow’s hoof was just a passing mention when he passed by a restaurant in the capital city. However, because of the snow, it had been delayed for five or six days. The more he thought about it, the more he longed for it, day after day, yearning for that roasted cow’s hoof.
As he boiled the porridge in the pot, he pulled down the snow-covered robes from the roof and went outside to find a clean pile of snow. Wearing gloves, he pressed them into the snow and rubbed them, focusing on the cuffs and the front lapel.
With a loud noise, Bahu looked up angrily ahead. Before he could react, Little Spot also leaped over his head, showering him with snow. He immediately stood up, but Da Hu, who had already jumped up from behind, crashed heavily into his back, causing Bahu to stumble forward.
“Ouch!” Da Hu fell into the snow, covering his head with his paws.
“You guys have some nerve, daring to bounce around on my head.” Bahu grabbed Little Spot, who was looking at the child, and slapped its chubby buttocks a few times.
“Big Spot, it’s your turn to get punished.”
Big Spot raised his head arrogantly, snorted, and then turned and ran away.
Bahu grabbed two snowballs and threw them at Big Spot, but unfortunately, with its keen hearing, it twisted its body and dodged them.
Moreover, it seemed to enjoy the game of dodging the snowballs he threw. Whenever he bent down to rub his robe, it would come hopping over to provoke him. When he looked up, it would run away, standing not far away, grinning at him.
“Just wait, I’ll call your little master to play with you.” Bahu was amused by its silly antics and didn’t take it seriously.
This went on for half a day. Ajima was battling against Little Spot, Big Spot, Qiqige, and Jiya when he was butchering the cow. When Bahu went inside to bring in the cow’s hoof, he also joined in, grabbing snowballs and throwing them. He even taught the two younger ones, “Focus on one target, aim for the Big Spot. If it can dodge one, can it dodge three or four at once?”
After a while, they heard Big Spot’s hoarse howls. It couldn’t handle the game anymore and fled after being besieged for a long time.
“Qiqige, call your father in,” Mi Niang dug the cow’s hoof out of the fire and threw it into cold water. When Bahu came in, she handed him the knife. “The hair has burned off. Clean the burnt skin.”
She went inside to prepare the seasoning. Passing by the crib, she teased the baby with her tongue, and he responded with a smile, obedient and completely different from the crying bundle he was yesterday.
With the cow’s hoof marinated, Mi Niang carried Habul and went next door to visit Pandi’s house. When she arrived, Ying Niang was also there. The two squeezed into the kitchen to handle the cow’s blood. There was also half a basin of sheep intestines in the nearby basin.
“How is it? Is it ready?”
“Mi Niang, you’re here? Get yourself a stool to sit on. I’ve got blood all over my hands, I can’t serve you properly.” Pandi put the sheep intestines on the cow horn and held it while Ying Niang poured the cow blood into the horn. “I don’t know if it’ll turn out right, but luckily it’s blood from your family’s cow, and the sheep intestines are my own. Even if it fails, it won’t be too much trouble. Have all your cows been slaughtered?”
“We’re skinning them. I roasted the cow’s hoof at noon, when it’s done, I’ll have Ajima bring one over for you two to taste. Don’t make too much food for lunch.”
“Even if we make too much, it won’t go to waste.” Pandi rolled up her sleeves and extended her hand for Mi Niang to roll them up. “You probably don’t know yet, your dogs often come to my house. As soon as the food is ready, they scratch the door. They even took away the bones I gnawed on.”
Mi Niang was genuinely unaware. “They still go to other people’s houses? I’ll have Bahu pay attention. It’s fine if they come to your house, but I’m afraid they’ll go to other people’s houses if they get a taste for it.” Sometimes when people had conflicts with others, they would take it out on the dogs. I hope they won’t poison them again.
Pandi nodded, agreeing that what she said made sense. “Do you still want some pickled vegetables? I’ll get you a bowl.”
Mi Niang thought for a moment. Pandi probably felt uncomfortable eating other people’s food for free, so she nodded. “Sure, get me a bowl. I’ll make sour fish soup for lunch tomorrow.”
After chatting for a while longer, she figured it was time to leave. She picked up the pickled vegetables and carried her child, stepping on the snow to go home.
“Pandi sister, you really don’t plan on getting married?” Ying Niang asked quietly.
Pandi glanced at her. “Don’t meddle in other people’s business, you live your life, and I’ll live mine. Don’t follow me just because you’re feeling impulsive. Look at your sister, Mi Niang, her life is much happier than mine.”
Ying Niang stuck out her tongue and muttered, “Oh, okay, I was just asking.”
“There’s nothing to ask about. Don’t ask again in the future. Whether I get married or not doesn’t matter now. No matter how much you ask, it won’t change anything. Tonight I may say I won’t get married, but tomorrow morning I may change my mind.” Pandi didn’t give her a definite answer, deciding to interact less with Ying Niang in the future. She was just an eleven-year-old girl, mixing with people like them who were thinking about getting married and having children all day and night wasn’t good.
…
After returning home, Mi Niang sat Habul back in the crib. She brought out the marinated cow’s hoof, picked off the green onions and ginger slices on top, and placed it on the copper wire rack over the fire. Only five could be cooked at a time.
After roasting the cowhide until it softened, she brushed it with chili oil mixed with garlic chives, and honey. The sweetness of the honey diluted the spiciness of the pepper, while still retaining the unique pungent taste of the garlic chives. When Bahu came in and smelled the aroma, he praised generously, “Shopkeeper, you’ve got skills. The sauce today is made well. Did you add garlic chives sauce?”
“Garlic chive honey.” Brushing garlic chive sauce on the cow’s hoof will burn it and make it bitter.
Bahu suddenly remembered that there was still garlic chive honey at home. “Let’s not sell the leftovers. Let’s keep them for ourselves.”
Mi Niang also agreed with this idea, so she nodded and took a knife to slice off a piece to taste. The cowhide was soft and chewy, with not too much fat underneath, making it not greasy on the palate. She made a few cuts on the cow’s hoof, brushed the sauce onto the cuts, and continued roasting to expose the tendons.
Qiqige and Jiya smelled the aroma and ran in. After playing with Big Spot and Little Spot in the snow for half a day, their noses were sweaty. Mi Niang had Ajima carry a cow’s hoof to Pandi and then sent them to sit in the kitchen. She chopped up a cow’s hoof for them to gnaw on.
“Your sweat has dried up, and your clothes have dried. Come out when they’re dry,” she instructed.
“Mom, the cow’s hoof you roasted is so delicious!” Qiqige started flattering again. “I want to eat another one, one for each person.”
“Sure, eat as many as you want, as long as you can handle it,” Mi Niang said as she went out. “Your stomachs are small, but your eyes are big.”
Bahu had big eyes and a big belly. Out of the five cows, he roasted ten hooves and left ten for Pandi. The three children shared them, and when he finished his work and came back inside, there were still seven left.
Mi Niang was full after nibbling on the second one, but Bahu managed to eat five, saying he was about to burst, but still took the ones she hadn’t finished, brushed them with sauce again, reheated them, and ate them again.
“My dad can really eat,” Jiya admired. If he couldn’t finish, he would sit next to Bahu and watch him eat. Watching him eat was as good as eating for himself.
“If you like it, I’ll roast more for you tomorrow.” Mi Niang was pleased that her family liked her cooking. It was worth the effort. “When we slaughter the sheep, I’ll set aside the sheep hooves separately. If we have a lot, we can try roasting them.”
Bahu picked up the butter tea and took a small sip, clearing his throat before setting down the bowl. “Let’s roast more in a few days. Let me take a break.”
His appearance reminded Mi Niang of the day in autumn when the bulls fought and five cows were slaughtered. The dogs and wild cats at home were also bloated, only daring to wet their tongues when drinking water.
Dogs follow their master, and wild cats do too.
