On the westward journey, they encountered numerous groups along the road. Sometimes they had to abruptly halt when the path ahead was blocked, or when people from the north or south passed by, they also had to stop to arrange the order. There were times when they had to stop five times a day, greatly slowing down their travel speed.
The carriage Mi Niang rode in had a flag with the word “honey” embroidered in red thread tied to a long pole, waving high in the cold wind. Whenever they stopped for the night to rest, people would follow the flag to buy honey. Qiqige and Jiya were busy then, one holding the money box to collect payment while the other held the scale, waiting on the side.
As for Habul, he spent the whole day on the Lele cart. Whenever they stopped, he would be like a released bird, hopping around by Bahu’s legs, patting the cows and sheep, or running with the dogs to sit on a hill, watching foxes running into the distance under the setting sun.
One day, as they approached a swampy area by a Wahu lake before the cattle and horses could get close, a large group of ducks flew up from the half-dried water grass by the Wahu lake, densely packed like mosquitoes in midsummer.
“Dad! Get the arrows quickly,” Jiya exclaimed.
Without needing his reminder, Bahu had already brought his bow to the front upon hearing the commotion. Arrows from the quiver flew out, breaking the shimmering water surface as they struck the ducks, staining the clear lake water with blood.
“Bala, go.” Bahu whistled, and Bala, with two dogs, splashed into the water. Other dogs from nearby households also followed them into the water. They all smelled the scent of the arrows on their own, each carrying a dead duck with their paws back to their owners’ homes.
“Ducks! Eating ducks!” Habul, sitting in the carriage, shouted excitedly, leaning out of the window like a pitiful creature, barely showing half of his face.
Bahu wiped the duck blood off the arrows, put them back in the quiver, and then walked over and threw the ducks onto the shaft of the Lele cart. He glanced inside through the window, his eyes fixed on Mi Niang, teasing his son, “Am I amazing?”
“Amazing!” Habul replied loudly, his eyes sparkling.
Seeing this, Bahu felt pleased all over. He thought his son was too ignorant. If he saw him kill a wild wolf, he would be so impressed that he’d call him father even in his dreams.
“When you grow up, I’ll teach you archery.” He tapped on the Lele cart and asked Mi Niang how she wanted to cook the ducks. “I checked them out. Both are drakes, fat, and oily. Shall we stew one in old duck soup? Stew it with old ginger? And fry the other?”
“Alright, will you cook or shall I?” It was cold, and Mi Niang didn’t want to pluck the feathers against the cold wind. It was already early October, and frost had begun to form at night, making it particularly cold without the sun in the morning and evening.
“I’ll do it.” With the dogs taking over the job of herding the sheep, and with the help of servants, Bahu was mostly free. Cooking was mostly his responsibility.
As they were just discussing who would cook, Qiqige and Jiya slid down from the back of the cow onto its neck and then jumped down, running to climb onto the Lele cart shaft. Once inside the carriage, they rubbed their hands together and exhaled, complaining about how cold it was.
Mi Niang took the hands of her two children and glanced at the chubby little one who also wanted to join in the fun. She mischievously pulled his clothes, saying, “Put your hands under your little brother’s coat to keep them warm.”
Chubby wasn’t afraid of the cold with his plump body, and he was also straightforward, unaware that his mother was teasing him. He generously let his siblings put their hands in his embrace and even advised, “It’s cold, don’t go outside. If you catch a cold, you’ll have to drink bitter soup.”
He repeated Mi Niang’s words which scared him every day.
Qiqige wanted to pinch him just looking at his serious expression. Without further thought, she pinched his soft cheek, feeling how nice it was to touch. Then, she turned to Mi Niang and said, “Mom, isn’t it boring when my little brother gets serious?” She was an honest person, unable to discern subtle teasing.
Mi Niang nodded with a smile, hugged her youngest son, and kissed him, saying, “Silly boy has silly luck.”
“My brother isn’t silly,” Qiqige defended again, pouting with annoyance. She could criticize her brother all she wanted, but if she heard others doing it, she would immediately protest. Not even her own mother could.
“Brother, come here, sit on big sister’s lap, big sister will hold you.” She grabbed the youngest and squeezed him between herself and Jiya.
Mi Niang smiled discreetly. She was glad to have someone help her soothe the children. Seeing smoke rising from the front Lele cart, she stood up, saying, “I’ll go help your father cook. You three stay in the carriage. If it gets cold or you get sleepy, pull the blanket down and cover yourselves.”
After getting off the carriage and tightening her clothes, she ran a few steps to catch up with the front carriage. Although the grasslands in late autumn were a common sight every year, these days they still filled her with amazement. The endless golden grass, winding rivers, and low-lying areas that formed lakes – in autumn, the water receded, leaving shallow pools reflecting the clouds in the sky, birds passing by, curled dry grass, and scattered feathers.
The two migrations each year, in spring and late autumn, were the best times for hunting wild game. The wild birds from the north rushed back to their southern territories just before the onset of severe winter. Along the way, there were always wild chickens and ducks from home, and whenever Bahu saw them, he would shoot them with arrows. In the evenings, they would also catch large and small foxes to exchange for honey. The ones they couldn’t finish eating would have their feathers plucked and hung outside the carriage to dry. Once the blood had drained, they would be hung inside the carriage. Eventually, the last carriage would be filled with chickens, ducks, and rabbits.
When the caravan stopped, the old ducks in the pot were already stewed tender. Mi Niang took over the task of frying the duck meat, while Bah got off to tie up the felt bundles, and the servants busied themselves unloading the luggage from the backs of the cattle.
“Mom, is there enough cow dung for the fire?” Jiya came over to ask.
Mi Niang threw down the sheepskin bag from the carriage. “You can pick up some more, but don’t wander too far.”
“Okay.” All three children were familiar with this task. When they passed through in the spring, they had left behind a lot of cow dung along the way. Now that it was dry, as dry as it could be, even though some had already been picked up by those who passed by first, there was still plenty left behind. While picking up cow dung, they ran into Pandi and Ying Niang. They warmly greeted them, “Auntie, is the felt bundle ready?”
“Are you picking up cow dung too? Where’s your mother? Cooking?” Pandi saw the big yellow dog not too far behind the three children and thought that Mi Niang had made the right decision to bring it along when she first came to the Mobei, considering how adaptable and loyal it had become.
“We’re staying in the carriage this year, so we didn’t bother with the felt bundle. Have you finished yours?” When they returned, Pandi and Ying Niang each rented two carriages, with three used for luggage and one for sleeping. They didn’t need to tie up felt bundles or ask for help. They even had extra time to pick up more cow dung along the way to bring back.
“When we left, my father was in the middle of setting it up,” Qiqige mentioned that they would be having duck soup and fried duck tonight and warmly invited the two Auntie to dinner at her house.
Pandi and Ying Niang both waved their hands, falsely claiming that they had already cooked the meal before they left.
There was plenty of dry cow dung along the road, and each lump was quite large. Seven or eight lumps could fill up most of a bag. Qiqige and Jiya dragged the bags, while Habul followed behind, carrying another lump. With Da Huang tagging along, they chatted happily as they walked back.
“Pandi Auntie, Ying Niang Auntie, we’re heading back now.” Qiqige turned around and waved.
The two women nodded in acknowledgment and continued searching for cow dung. When the children’s voices faded into the distance, they both looked back. The scene of Mi Niang’s wedding was still fresh in their minds, and now her youngest child could follow behind his siblings and help with the household chores.
Pandi walked to the riverbank and bent down to look at the reflection of the young girl in the water. “Is it because you’re always with her? I still feel like I’m a young girl.”
She hadn’t yet reached the age of marriage when she arrived, but now she was in her twenties.
“Without the responsibility of children, what’s the difference between twenty, thirty, and forty?” Ying Niang squatted down beside her, stirring the calm water. “Women and girls are just separated by marriage. If you don’t marry, you’ll always be a girl. As for being young or old, I think it’s all relative.”
Pandi’s words were just a fleeting moment of emotional turmoil, and she didn’t really need comforting. Hearing Ying Niang’s wise words, she patted her head and said, “That doesn’t sound like something you’d say at your age.” She, at Ying Niang’s age, was still naive and clueless. She even once spoke ill of Mu Xiang in front of Bahu’s cousin.
Ying Niang widened her eyes, took a step back, and complained with a pained expression, “You haven’t even washed your hands after picking up cow dung! You’ve dirtied my hair!”
Pandi laughed heartily, dragging the sheepskin bag and continuing on her way. That’s how a young girl should behave.
…
Another half month passed, and they finally reached the long-awaited turning point. They had set off on September 25th and arrived on November 6th. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the sky darkened, indicating that snow was imminent.
“Shall we head back first?” Mi Niang pushed open the carriage door and spoke to Bahu. “Take Bala and Alse Wolves with you. I’ll take the other dogs and drive the sheep back first. Leave someone behind with me.”
Bahu glanced at Xi Jil. Before he could speak, Xi Jil eagerly said he wanted to hurry back to see his wife and little nephew. He pointed to the young man who had asked him for felt at the Xia Ranch and said, “You go back with the lady of the house.”
“Okay.” The young man responded, riding his horse and using a long pole to stop the sheep.
Mi Niang had already turned the carriage around. She got off and called Da Huang over. Da Huang was the flock’s leader, and once it moved, the rest of the sheep followed suit.
“Let’s go. Come back soon,” Mi Niang waved to the man on horseback and then turned around, sitting comfortably on the carriage shaft, leisurely looking back at the road home.
Jiya leaned out of the carriage window and looked back. When she couldn’t see her father anymore, she pulled her head back in and pressed against the window, peering outside. It took a while before she spotted the crooked-neck tree they had seen last year. Pointing to it, she asked, “Mom, is that the tree we saw last year?”
“Yes.” Seeing the crooked-neck tree meant they were almost home. The distant mist seemed tinged with indigo, and behind the green smoke lay the brick and tile houses.
“We’re almost home then.” In the vast grasslands of the Mobei, where directions and distances were often unclear, Jiya didn’t have many landmarks in her memory, but the crooked-neck tree was one of them. She leaned out again and looked outside. “Grandpa probably doesn’t know we’re coming back today. We brought him a piglet; he’ll be happy to see it. I wonder if he’s at home or not. The radishes probably haven’t been harvested yet.”
Uncle Muren was already waiting on the hill to the east of the village. Ten days ago, he had heard the sound of hooves in the distance, indicating that people from the south were returning. That day, he started warming up the Kang bed and came to wait every day after dinner. Today, he heard the hoofbeats again. Listening closely, he could tell that it was Bahu’s family returning.
As the carriage and horse broke through the thick fog, the old man strode forward eagerly. Leading the way were the officials, followed by those from the relief institution. Seeing Pandi riding on the back of a cow, he hopped a few steps and waved, loudly asking, “Is Mi Niang and the children back?”
“In the back.” Pandi pointed casually, and the old man happily made his way through the crowd. The first person he saw was Mi Niang, and he waved his hand to signal her. “Was the journey smooth?”
“Smooth, except for the extra time spent on the road. We didn’t encounter any other dangers.” Mi Niang heard the voices of the two children calling for Grandpa from inside the carriage. She jumped down, opened the door, and Qiqige and Jiya squeezed out. They reached out to the old man for a hug. Having followed the old man since they were young, they couldn’t help but miss him after six months of separation.
“You sit on the shaft of the carriage.” She gestured for the old man to sit in the carriage while she walked beside it.
Uncle Muren hugged the two children close and glanced curiously at the child inside the carriage who was staring at him. “Oh my,” he exclaimed, “the little one looks so much like his father when he was young.”
Habul suppressed a smile and obediently called out “Grandpa” as Qiqige instructed.
“Oh, the little crybaby has grown up.” The old man felt a twinge of sadness, thinking that he should have gone to Lingshan. The children didn’t even recognize him anymore.
“Is everything alright at home? Is there enough food for the sheep I left for you?” Mi Niang asked.
“Everything’s fine. There’s plenty of food,” the old man snapped out of his reverie and continued, “After you left, I planted some radishes and dug a cellar in the back storeroom. Now all the radishes are harvested. I’ve also aired out the quilts under the sun for three days. They’ve been airing out since the weather was good, so they’ll be ready for you when you get back. I’ve also started up the Kang bed, cleaned the dust off the doors and windows, and opened up the storeroom to let the moisture out. When I heard you were coming back, I started stewing mutton soup. When we get home, I’ll slice up two radishes and add them in. After a while, it’ll be ready to eat.”
Everything was arranged well. The pot was already heating up with hot water. After dinner, they could wash their hair and take a bath.
“It’s really good to have an elder at home. With you here, we don’t have to worry about anything.” Mi Niang felt relieved listening to this. After traveling for over a month, all she wanted was to take a good bath and sleep soundly on the Kang bed.
“It’s so nice to be home.” Mi Niang looked at the brick and tile houses getting closer and asked the old man if he had visited the capital to see a doctor in the past six months.
“Why would I need to see a doctor when I’m perfectly fine? My health is excellent, I can live another twenty years,” the old man said, a hint of guilt on his face.
Mi Niang didn’t press further. “When we go to the capital, you should come too. Or let Bahu take you to Mao County to see a doctor and have your pulse checked.”
The old man relented at this suggestion, feeling content as he held a child in each arm.
Upon arriving home, Mi Niang went to graze the sheep while the old man scooped out four bowls of mutton soup to cool down. He washed the radishes and cut them into pieces, adding them to the fragrant pot.
“Did you stew meat for the dogs?” Mi Niang asked while drinking the soup.
“Yes, I did. It’s stewing in the backyard.” There was more than one stove burning in the kitchen, and he had used a pot from his house to stew the mutton for the dogs and foxes.
After filling their stomachs, Mi Niang scooped water for the children to bathe first. The old man carried a bucket of meat outside to feed the dogs and didn’t come back in afterward, saying he needed to check on the sheep. He instructed Mi Niang to bar the door from the inside if she wanted to sleep.
The old man, being tactful, knew when to leave the house when Bahu wasn’t around and Mi Niang needed to bathe, finding a reasonable excuse to step out.
Mi Niang and the four children bathed together and slept on the Kang bed until Bahu returned. It was another round of busy activities, keeping them occupied until dark when everything in the house was finally settled.
From Lingshan to Wahu Lake, the whole family slept in the same felt tent along the way. Tonight, when they returned home to sleep, Habul happily followed his siblings into the room.
“Mom?” Jiya looked puzzled at the extra person in the room.
Bahu had already walked in and picked up Habul. “You’ll sleep with Mom and Dad. Your brother and sister will sleep here, and we’ll be in the next room.”
“No!” Little Chubby clung to the doorframe, crying and insisting on sleeping with his siblings.
“This…” Bahu felt secretly amused but put on a hesitant expression, looking at Mi Niang. “Should we let him sleep here first? Once he’s asleep, I can carry him over?”
“No way, I don’t want to sleep with you!” Habul struggled even more upon hearing this.
Mi Niang shot Bahu a glare. “Let him sleep here.” Once he’s asleep, they could do as they pleased.
The three children had napped in the afternoon, so they weren’t sleepy despite the darkness. Mi Niang and Bahu could even hear the giggles and laughter from the next room as they carried out their secret activities.
“Why are you so tense? Relax a bit,” Bahu said.
Mi Niang furrowed her brow, worried that the three little monkeys might jump around too much and collapse on the Kang bed. There were fire sparks under the Kang bed, after all.
Once everything was settled, Bahu lay on the Kang bed with a relaxed expression, feeling annoyed by the noise from the next room. “If they keep making a fuss, I’ll send them all to sleep in the backyard.”
As soon as he finished speaking, they heard footsteps approaching, and Mi Niang instinctively pulled up the blanket to cover herself. It was only then that she remembered the door was barred from the inside.
“What’s wrong?” Bahu didn’t move.
“Dad, can you scoop water for us to wash our feet? They’re dirty,” it was Jiya outside the door, still muttering about why the door was barred.
“How did they get dirty? Did you walk barefoot?” Bahu finally got up and asked him to go back first. “I’ll fetch water for you.” He agreed readily, without a hint of the disdain he had just shown.
He quickly put on his clothes and shoes, went to the kitchen, and soon came out with a basin of hot water. With a kick, he opened the door of the room, seeing them standing barefoot on the ground, feeling content in both body and mind, he didn’t scold them. “Soak your feet, scrub the dirt off the soles, I’ll come back to check later.”
He took the other basin of water to the next room, closed the door, and the two quickly washed themselves, changed the bed sheets, and opened the door and window. One of them picked up the blanket from the Kang bed while the other changed the sheets.
“I’ll go carry Habul, you stay inside,” Bahu said, clutching the dirty sheets with his dirty clothes.
“Okay.” Mi Niang saw him about to close the window and hurriedly said, “Don’t close it, wait until you bring the child in before closing it.”
With a light laugh, the man walked out leisurely. Just as he was about to leave, he heard something wrong in what Qiqige said. He slowed down and went over, peeking through the crack in the door. He saw Qiqige and Jiya sitting on chairs like gentlemen, while the naive Habul sat on a stool, diligently rubbing his siblings’ feet.
“Clean now.” Habul lifted Qiqige’s foot and inspected it, then grabbed a towel to dry the water off, and even helped put on her shoes.
What an obedient little lad!
Bahu waited until Qiqige put on her shoes before pushing the door open and standing silently at the doorway, admiring the surprised and flustered expressions on Qiqige and Jiya’s faces.
“Ahem.” Jiya snatched the towel from Habul’s hand. Seeing him still dazed, afraid he might say something alarming, she quickly wiped their feet and put on their shoes, then squatted down to take off the shoes from the youngest son and put his clean feet back into the water.
Qiqige also realized what was happening and grabbed a foot from her brother, jokingly saying, “Look, my little brother didn’t wash the dirt from between his toes properly, so I have to do it.”
“We were taking turns washing,” Jiya added, pondering whether their father had seen everything.
Bahu still didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what to say. Regardless of whether he understood or not, the three siblings seemed quite cheerful, and the one attending to them seemed to enjoy doing it. The actions of wiping their feet and putting on their shoes were too natural.
“Habul will sleep with you tonight. Take care of him,” he said after a moment’s thought, then turned and left. With the warm Kang bed in the room, he wasn’t worried about the children catching a cold.
Just as he closed the door, he pushed it open again and poured the basin of water into the chamber pot, seeing the puzzled expressions on the two children’s faces. “If you need to pee, come down from the Kang bed and do it yourself.”
“Okay,” Qiqige and Jiya obediently responded, and even Habul, the foot-rubbing brother, nodded vigorously.
Silly boy, showing filial piety to the wrong person!
Bahu wanted to laugh, but there was also a hint of sourness in his heart.
