Bahu and Asyl took the children to the lake to ice skate. They were gone for less than half an hour, and Qiqige and Jiya were carried back in Bahu’s wolf fur cloak.
“It’s so cold, so cold.” Qiqige huddled by the warm Kang, refusing to go out to play anymore.
Grandma Zhao brought a quilt and covered the three children with it. She sat beside, holding Habul, and looked at the two little girls, asking Mi Niang, “Wasn’t Qiqige taller than my girl when she was two?”
“It should be about the same, not much taller.” Mi Niang glanced at Wan’er rolling her eyes, feeling amused, and asked how long she had been pregnant.
“It’s almost four months. This baby in my belly is well-behaved. I only vomited for two or three days.” Wan’er touched her belly. “My grandmother said Pandi and Mu Xiang are building a new house? I can’t go to Wahu Lake this year. I can only wait until next year after the baby is born.”
“Yes, Pandi lives next door to my house.” Mi Niang thought that Grandma Zhao had come before the snow fell and didn’t know about Mu Xiang’s situation. She mentioned it voluntarily, “Mu Xiang’s husband died just a few days before Hu Wen Yin’s wedding. After he died, Mu Xiang took over as a scribe.”
Wan’er was surprised, “Such a young person, how did he suddenly die?” She then asked again, “What is Mu Xiang planning to do after that? She still has a child. And Pandi, she’s eighteen, right? Does she have any plans for marriage?”
Mi Niang had heard from Pandi that Mu Xiang had no intention of remarrying in recent years. Even before Zhong Xuwen’s seven-year mourning period was over, someone came to propose, but she refused them all. She spread the word that she would consider other matters after her child grew up.
As for Pandi, Mi Niang only said she was unsure of the situation, then changed the subject to Hu Wen Yin’s wedding. She mentioned that they had invited a theater troupe from the capital to perform for three consecutive days.
“If I had known Mrs. Hu was planning to invite a theater troupe, I would have come later. I haven’t heard any performances since coming to the Mobei.” Grandma Zhao lamented.
“This winter still has it, provided Hu Wen Yin performs well,” Bahu came in to call for dinner. When they were about to leave, he held Mi Niang under the eaves and said he wanted to go back after eating, “I can’t relax thinking about the sheep at home.”
“Okay, I’ll tell Asyl after dinner.”
At the dining table, Asyl heard Grandm Zhao mention wanting to watch a play and quickly said, “No need to wait for the Hu family to have a new child. When autumn comes, I’ll take you to the capital to listen. We’ll go every year. We’re not so poor that we can’t afford it.”
Grandma Zhao was satisfied with this and stopped nagging. She then busied herself again, picking out vegetables and removing fish bones for her great-granddaughter.
Seeing this, Wan’er complained to Mi Niang, “I don’t know if it’s because my grandmother is getting old, she’s just like the girls in our family, always nagging for something. And she’s petty too, always nitpicking.” She lowered her voice and continued, “Take this pregnancy of mine, as soon as there was news, she insisted it must be a boy. All the clothes and shoes she’s sewing are in boy’s colors. I said a few words and she got angry.”
Mi Niang glanced at the old lady, her hair graying, clearly showing her age. The climate of the desert was harsh, especially for older people.
She advised, “Just think of it as having raised another child. Let her nag, children are always talkative and restless all day long. Besides, your grandmother only stays with you during the winter months. If there’s something she says that you don’t want to hear, just keep your distance. There’s no need to argue with her, she won’t listen anyway. And it’s not just her, even my mother-in-law prefers Jiya over us.”
Seeing Wan’er frown and the fleeting distress on her face, Mi Niang couldn’t help but feel that it was right for Grandma Zhao not to accompany her to her husband’s family before marriage. Living together would only lead to more conflicts.
On the way back home, Mi Niang said to Bahu through the Lele cart door, “When our children grow up and get married, we’ll build separate houses for them and live separately. Just the two of us, we won’t squeeze with them.”
Bahu agreed with this idea. With children causing a ruckus, he wanted to do some intimate gestures with Mi Niang, but it felt like he was sneaking around with his own wife.
In the afternoon, only their family was rushing back home. Baoyin’s grandparents were at home, so they could stay a few more days at their parents’ house. After dinner, they started back home. By the time they arrived, it was already dark outside, and the fire in the stove had just been lit.
“If you go any slower, you’ll be traveling on the road at night. If there’s a next time, don’t rush back. Even if a hundred sheep freeze to death overnight, it’s not worth risking human lives.” Uncle Muren frowned as he walked out, “Once you’re back, I’ll go home.”
“Don’t go back, stay in the backyard tonight,” Bahu stopped him, “Once you’re asleep, you’ll sleep soundly. You wouldn’t even notice if there’s no fire in the stove at night. Move in with us, and I’ll get up at night to add firewood to the stove.” The old man was old, and one bout of cold sickness could take his life.
Without consulting the old man further, he told Mi Niang and then went out to persuade the old man, mentioning that he wouldn’t let him go to Lingshan in the spring. “Don’t bother yourself. Just stay home and enjoy life. Eat, drink, and chat with the old folks.”
Uncle Muren felt relieved in his heart but still insisted he could do more, “I can still help you look after the children. When Qiqige and Jiya start going to school, I can still bring them meals at noon on the rickshaw.”
“Anyone can bring meals, if you’re free at home, plant more radishes. In the autumn, go to the pasture for a stroll.”
The old man was quite old, and there wasn’t much valuable stuff in the house except for bedding, clothes for all seasons, and the horsehead fiddle, which was the only thing worth mentioning. Bahu didn’t plan on letting him move back after this time; he simply lifted the iron pot and took it away.
During dinner that evening, when they talked about this, Mi Niang turned her head and smiled, “Uncle Muren, I’ll buy a few piglets from the Central Plains. You can use swill mixed with rice bran to feed them at home. Raise them for a year, and next year when we come back, we’ll slaughter them for pork.”
The old man nodded, “Okay.”
The next day, Mi Niang brought the salted duck eggs Wan’er had sent to Pandi and Mu Xiang. Pandi was busy lighting a fire in the sheep pen, and her own sheep were all gathered there, crowding into one pen to keep warm.
As for Mu Xiang, she was too busy to be at home. Mi Niang had come up empty-handed during the day, so she went with Bahu in the evening. It was midnight, and she still hadn’t eaten, with a large blister forming on her mouth, both urgent and angry.
“Don’t be in a hurry. The coldest days come only once every few years, and even though they won’t freeze to death, every year there are herders who end up losing cattle and sheep due to other reasons.” Bahu gave some advice on taking care of the cattle and sheep, then said, “Mr. Hu is also clear in his heart. As long as he doesn’t blame you, the people below won’t be able to shake your position no matter how much they stir.”
Mu Xiang sighed. She had been too impatient, eager to make achievements to suppress those old-fashioned people.
“It’s cold, I won’t keep you here for long. Take it slow on your way back.” She escorted them out, “How’s Wan’er? Is she pregnant with her second child? That’s good, that’s good. We’re all doing fine.”
This winter persisted until mid-March before warming up. Bahu hung the woolen rope he had woven last year back onto the rafters. Qiqige and Jiya, along with their spotted calf and young colt, sat on cowhide sleds in the snow in front of the door.
“I reckon we won’t be able to set off for Lingshan until early April.”
“That means the cow will give birth on the way,” Mi Niang said, putting Habul on the ground to help him walk along the wall, “And our little youngest’s first birthday will also be on the road.”
Bahu squatted down, supporting his youngest son. Teaching Qiqige and Jiya how to walk was still fresh in his memory, and now their youngest was almost ready to run around everywhere.
“When we get to Lingshan, we’ll get him a gold collar.”
Mi Niang leaned against the wall, watching the restless behavior of the spotted calf, wondering, “Do you think the spotted calf will go into the mountains this year?” The young colt surely wouldn’t go; it wasn’t in heat this year.
Bahu couldn’t say for sure, but the five sturdy mountain otters kept in the doghouse should be let go soon. “Once we set off, we’ll release them.”
But this was just his wishful thinking. When the snow melted enough, he rode his horse, leading the five mountain otters southward with iron chains. Far from the village, he loosened the chains, saying, “Alright, go back to the mountains.”
After three or four months without free running, as soon as the chains were loosened, the five mountain otters rolled and frolicked in the snow. The snow on the ground was not even as long as their nails, and in no time, they had turned over the snow and exposed the earth underneath.
When Bahu saw them again, their brown-yellow fur was covered in black mud, their hair tangled and sticking up in strands.
“Hey” he saw them hurriedly running into the doghouse, squeezing in among the spotted calf and young colt to eat from the trough, muttering, “Aren’t you leaving? It’s spring now, and even the rabbits in the mountains are coming out of their holes.”
The five mountain otters had no intention of leaving. After eating, they leisurely went inside to sleep. At night, they would run out with the spotted calf, young colt, and young colt’s father to catch rabbits and mice coming out of their holes, then return to sleep at dawn. At mealtime, they would wake up to eat. They didn’t have any sense of obligation when it came to eating the host family’s food; at most, they would wag their tails when they saw people, but most of the time, they wouldn’t bother.
“Having five big fellows to feed?” Bahu felt aggrieved. He tried to drive them away, but as soon as he left one household, they would come back.
When they set off on April 8th, there were about twenty dogs, nine of which were mountain otters, leisurely following behind the flock of sheep. Both the father of the spotted calf and the young colt didn’t go into the mountains this year, enduring the urge to go and nothing bad happened in the end.
Bahu patted Bala, “Good job, you set a good example. Hopefully, the spotted calf will be like you, disciplined and well-behaved.”
