The shimmering water surface reflected the bright moon, and the tinkling sound of flowing water echoed with the chirping of insects in the grass. Four children ran ahead, with Habul being pulled by Ajima. He occasionally struggled to reach out and grab the dog’s ears or tail, annoying the dogs that accompanied them, causing them to walk around him.
Bahu slowed down his pace, letting the distance between them grow longer. He gestured to Mi Niang quietly, bending his knees like a thief to carry her on his back.
“Am I heavy?” Mi Niang hugged his neck and whispered close to him.
The warm breath sprayed on her ear, and the man straightened his head, leaning his ear away from her face and rubbing it against her cheek. “Don’t talk into my ear.”
Mi Niang deliberately exhaled and pressed her face against his, teasingly saying, “It’s hot enough to fry an egg.”
“Are you trying to make me fall?”
“Are your legs getting weak too?”
“… “
Bahu remained silent, while Mi Niang chuckled smugly, playing coy after getting her way. “Stop changing the subject, am I heavy?”
“Not heavy at all, I could lift you up with one hand.”
Bluffing, but Mi Niang still comfortably lay on his back, her eyes fixed on the children ahead, listening to the sound of the man’s footsteps, feeling the breeze with the scent of grass on her face, occasionally turning her head to say something.
“Mom? You guys are walking so slowly!” Qiqige turned around, struggling to get down, but her hand holding onto his bent leg was firm. She moved a few times, only sliding down a bit, but the children who turned back saw her.
Rarely did they not join in the fun but still wanted a piggyback ride, only urging them to go faster. Mi Niang asked the person in front of her in confusion, “Did you bribe them with money? They’re unusually sensible tonight.”
“You’re insulting my son and daughter, my kids have always been obedient,” Bahu said, unable to hold back a laugh at his own words, and added, “They’re growing up, they have more sense now.”
The couple continued to walk slowly. After crossing the river, Mi Niang got down from his back and held his hand, looking at the sky, the earth, and the people. “When I was a child, my grandmother said that pointing at the moon would get your ears cut off.”
Bahu looked up. “I never met my grandmother, I heard she passed away early.”
“Qiqige and Jiya are growing up fast. Once they turn four, they’ll be five-year-old big kids,” Mi Niang said as she stepped around the cow dung on the ground, then turned and walked backwards. “Help me watch the road, don’t let me step on cow dung or sheep droppings.”
This was indeed troublesome. Cow dung could still be seen, but sheep droppings were scattered in the grass, invisible even during the daytime. Bahu nodded with a smile. “If your shoes get dirty, I’ll wash them for you. I’m not afraid of getting dirty; I’m just a big, rough guy with a unique and fragrant smell.”
Noticing her wandering gaze, he flicked his clothes corner and wondered, “Why aren’t you talking again?” What did it mean to keep staring at him like that? He didn’t say anything wrong, did he?
“Bahu you’ve gotten stronger again.” Compared to when they got married, his waist, hips, arms, and back were much stronger, and he looked more robust overall. If he used to be a young cock with his comb not fully developed, now he was a mature rooster with glossy feathers, sharp beak, and a striking appearance.
He had reached the prime age for a man.
Bahu suddenly realized, he just shrugged and smiled calmly, “Well, I didn’t eat all that meat for nothing.”
Under the moonlight, the man was more dazzling than the stars in the sky. Mi Niang stared at him fascinated, not paying attention to a trip in the grass. Before she could fall, she was supported, and her lips were grazed by the rough fingertips, her dry voice murmuring lowly, “Don’t look at me like that.”
Mi Niang smiled, and as she spoke, her teeth grazed against his fingertips, sometimes lightly, sometimes heavily, blocking his words, “Don’t look at me like that.” Unable to withstand his intoxicating gaze, she finished speaking and turned to run.
Bahu stayed in place for a few moments, seeing her run faster and faster, he laughed loudly, “What are you running for? If you’re brave, don’t run.”
Mi Niang glanced back, her hair and skirt swaying in the wind, and before she knew it, she was held back by the flying hem of her skirt by the child who came to hug her legs.
“Mom.”
“Hmm?”
“Mom, hug.”
“Go find your dad.” Mi Niang bent down to support the youngest child and turned around, pointing to the man striding over, “Go let your dad hug you.”
As Bahu bent down to pick up the youngest child, the other two children also rushed over laughing and tried to climb onto his back.
“So we fell into their trap.” He squatted down, one hand holding the youngest child and the other grabbing the children’s clothes behind, “Hold tight, I’m getting up.”
“Hold tight,” Qiqige shouted loudly, holding onto her dad’s ears, “Let’s go home.”
A tall and robust father always gave his children endless courage. With just one arm across his waist, he dared to let go of his hands and touch the higher winds without any worry of falling down.
In the courtyard, there were rows of beehives. Mi Niang carried a bowl of melted beeswax and brushed it inside the beehives. Behind her trailed a mischievous tail, passing by the beehives and clapping his hands as if drumming. No one paid him any attention, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.
“Habul, your hands don’t hurt?” Bahu carried the beehive and placed it on the Lele cart. As he passed by the discarded tambourine on the ground, he kicked it aside. Sensing the unfriendly gaze, he quickly put on a smile, lifted two fingers, and flicked the stool placed aside.
Mi Niang snorted lightly, turned her head, and continued to work.
“What are you snorting about?” The man put down the beehive and walked over, refusing to let it go. “Were you cursing me in your heart again? I used my feet because my hands were occupied. You owe me an apology. The way you looked like you wanted to bite me just now scared me.”
Have you no shame? Mi Niang glanced at him, feeling both helpless and annoyed, laughing weakly and twisting her waist to push him away. “Get lost, don’t distract me.”
“Did you curse at me or not?”
“No” she elongated the tone, “Injustice, I didn’t even dare to make a sound.”
Bahu carried two beehives away, still pestering as he walked, “I knew it, you cursed at me in your heart.”
“Yes, yes, yes, you tyrant, stinky rogue, you’re just asking for it.”
“Asking for it!”
Both of them turned around in unison, only to see Habul with his hands on his hips, muttering angrily, “Asking for it!”
“Oh, my son is starting to talk in phrases!” Mi Niang exclaimed with joy. Previously, the youngest could only repeat words, call his siblings, and address his parents, but adding another pronunciation would leave his tongue twisted. For instance, Jiya was called “chicken” once, which earned him a good scolding and made him tongue-tied for a while.
Bahu came over and rubbed his head, lifting him up and giving him a playful shake. “You naughty boy, always learning the wrong things.”
“More, higher,” Habul laughed loudly.
Mi Niang finished wiping the last beehive, allowing the father and son to play around while she carried the beehive to stack it onto the Lele cart, preparing to place them out tomorrow.
With the beehives sorted, it was time to prepare lunch. Seeing Xi Jill returning with a basin of eggs, she tossed a jar of chili powder over. “Is it done?”
“It’s done. Only the horses and camels are left. We can finish tidying up this afternoon.” Seeing Habul sitting obediently on the stool, chubby and round, Xi Jil had the urge to pinch him, but with blood still on his hands, he squatted down to playfully tease, “Uncle, am I smelly?”
The little chubby shook his head. “Not smelly, Dad… not smelly.”
“He means sometimes his dad smells of blood, but he doesn’t find it stinky,” Mi Niang explained, finding the boy’s words easily misunderstood.
Xi Jil stood up with a smile, sighing, “Habul is growing up so well, chubby and well-behaved. Unlike my son, always throwing tantrums at the slightest wrong.”
“He’ll grow out of it,” Mi Niang said as she took the basin outside to wash the vegetables. As soon as she left, Habul followed, standing by the riverbank and looking southward. Upon hearing familiar voices, he immediately burst into laughter – it was his siblings returning home with their earnings.
“Sister!” he shouted as he ran, more affectionate than Da Huang.
“Yeah.”
Qiqige and Jiya also quickly ran over, grabbing the chubby little brother and rubbing him affectionately. “Little brother, do you miss me at home?”
Mi Niang chuckled at the words. It had been a while since they’d seen each other, and suddenly everything was fine again. But it wouldn’t be long before they couldn’t stand each other and started fighting. As expected, Jiya asked with a hint of sourness, “Little crybaby, why do you only call for sister and not for brother?”
Habul puffed up his cheeks, taking a moment to prepare before loudly pronouncing, “Jiya!”
“My brother can say two words now?” Qiqige was even more excited than Mi Niang, asking Habul to say it again.
Habul remained silent, but once they reached home, he turned around and hid behind Mi Niang, peeking out and softly saying, “Jiya?”
Seeing Jiya rolling up her sleeves, ready to hug her mom and fake cry, hiding behind her mom and calling for help, Mi Niang intervened. “Stop, don’t rush to hit him. Let me go in and start cooking first.”
As soon as the vegetables hit the pan with a sizzle, there was a burst of screams in the courtyard. Before long, Habul came crying inside to complain.
Mi Niang saw him holding his bottom, but didn’t pay much attention, just shifting her gaze slightly. He dared to provoke his older brother at such a young age. It was like a mouse jumping into the mouth of an eagle, thinking it hadn’t bounced high enough.
During dinner, Bahu mentioned that when he returned after placing the beehives, he would teach Qiqige and Jiya how to tame horses. He pointed out that the young foals born the same year as them had grown into full-grown horses. “Since you two will have birthdays this year, your mother and I will give you each a saddle. Once the horses are tamed and saddled, you two can learn to ride.”
The news was so exciting that the two children hardly ate anything. In the afternoon, they ran back to eat the leftovers and chew on dried beef, their cheeks sore from chewing. They didn’t find the beef bones stewed the previous night satisfying. The next morning, they woke up hungry again, immediately demanding meat.
There was leftover meat from the previous night, so after boiling it in water, the three children each grabbed a beef bone stick and squatted outside the door, gnawing on them while watching the servants churn butter by the river.
Inside the house, Mi Niang and Bahu were also having their meal. After the freshly slaughtered lamb meat was brought in, Bahu deboned a leg and rubbed it with seasoning. “We won’t be home for lunch. You two prepare food for the dogs and the minks. Cook the rabbits that the minks bring back to feed them,” he instructed Uncle Jinku, the butler.
“Okay, I understand,” Uncle Jinku replied, watching the four Lele carts leave, he sighed heavily.
“Tired again? Why the sigh?” Xi Jil asked.
“Uncle Muren is a few years younger than me, yet he enjoys a better life than I do.” Providing three meals a day at home was already considered benevolent treatment from the master, but people always compare themselves.
Xi Jil understood his meaning, continuing to churn butter without stopping, shaking his head. “Encountering a master with a conscience and kindness is even harder than having a capable son.”
“You’re right.” If his son were more capable, he wouldn’t have to serve as a servant at his age.
…
Both chestnut horses had been gelded and were somewhat gentle in nature, having grown up grazing with the herd in the wild. They remained calm when the reins were put on, and they didn’t resist when hitched to the Lele carts. But the moment someone tried to mount them, the horses went wild, galloping without direction, exerting all their strength to shake off the rider.
Qiqige and Jiya were nervously trembling on the side, clenching their fists and staring at the silhouette moving on the horseback.
“My dad, mom, my dad…” The little girl muttered uneasily.
“It’s okay, your dad is skilled,” Mi Niang also noticed the sweat on her husband’s brow.
After circling back, the horse still refused to be tamed and kicked its hooves. Bahu dismounted, but his thick leather pants hindered his movements, and his forehead was covered in fine sweat. He held the horse-taming rod and followed the horse, leaving endless tracks in the grass. Exhausted, both the horse and Bahu were worn out.
Having tamed the two horses, Bahu took off his leather pants, his inner pants soaked with sweat clinging to his legs. He joked, “Innkeeper, my pants are worn out. I’ll need you to make me a new pair next year.”
“I’ll make them for you,” Mi Niang handed him a handkerchief. “Wipe off the sweat.”
Bahu particularly enjoyed her compliance, waving her hand dismissively, “It’s just a little sweat, no need to wipe it. Qiqige and Jiya, come over, dad will help you onto the horses.”
“Are we getting on the horses now?” The two children looked to Mi Niang for help, panicked.
“Go ahead, I’ll come over too.”
As the eldest, Jiya was the first to try riding. With a rope tied around the horse’s neck, Bahu held the horse-taming rod and taught Jiya how to sit and hold the reins. “Keep your legs tight against the horse’s sides, and don’t let go of the reins.”
“Don’t be afraid, dad is watching.” Bahu followed closely, running alongside the horse, giving instructions to Jiya. “Hold tight with your legs, don’t let go of the reins, lean forward, like that.”
Once Jiya began to relax, Bahu whistled and called another horse over, effortlessly mounting it. The two horses ran, one in front of the other.
Gradually, Bahu secretly let go, watching his son’s excited face and tense expression on the horse’s back, feeling proud. His son was growing up step by step.
