Bahu stared at Mi Niang for a while, seeing that she didn’t seem to be lying. He decided to go along with her wishes and not bring it up again. He thought about the situation; if the frequency of her nightmares decreased, he would follow her lead and let her gradually forget.
“We’re almost to Língshan.” Bahu opened the car door. They were returning later than usual this year, coinciding with other herders on their way back. People were rushing from various directions, causing congestion among the flocks, and the speed had slowed considerably.
This scene was a rare sight, with sheep and goats surrounding them from all directions. It looked like a lively market, with people of all ages and genders—some selling, some bargaining. Those maintaining order on horseback were the bailiffs from the yamen, wielding knives.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Bahu wondered.
“Aren’t you supposed to check the cattle and sheep?”
“Right.” If she was fine, he would go attend to his duties.
They missed their mealtime and only saw the rows of yurts upon returning. Bahu took ChaoBao and Xi Jil to drive the cattle and sheep to the pasture, while Mi Niang drove the Lele cart back home.
“Madam, you’re back?”
“Uncle Jinku, just call me Mi Niang.” The one left in charge at home was an elderly man who had arrived this year. He had a good relationship with Uncle Muren, so Mi Niang felt at ease leaving him in charge of selling the hides to the trading caravan.
The old man’s name was Alatan Cang, meaning gold treasury. His Mongolian name was long and twisted, so everyone just called him Uncle Jinku. After almost half a year, not many people remembered his name.
Uncle Jinku helped Mi Niang bring down the small bed. While Mi Niang was moving the children onto the bed, Uncle Jinku lifted a hoe and dug into a jar buried in the damp soil beneath a leek flowerbed, making a cracking sound.
“Uncle, what are you doing?”
“The money from selling hides and wool. With you not at home, I was afraid it might get stolen, so I dug a hole and buried it underneath the leek flowerbed.” A corner of red cloth emerged, and the old man handed it to Mi Niang, a relieved smile on his face. “Ever since we sold the hides, my heart has been heavy. I worried during the day and kept thinking about it at night. Tonight, I can finally get a good night’s sleep.”
Mi Niang patted the dirt off the cloth and weighed it in her hands, and there should be silver notes inside. “If I had so much money at home, I wouldn’t feel at ease either.”
“Right, I’ve never held so much silver in my life.” The old man finally revealed a sincere smile, having worried about being laughed at. “Master’s tanned hides are intact and soft, and they fetch a high price. Let me explain: cowhide is four taels per piece, totaling five pieces; sheepskin is two cents and thirty-five cents per piece, totaling one hundred and fifty pieces. Coarse sheep wool is thirty cents per catty, fine sheep wool is sixty cents per catty, and sheep fleece is eighty cents per catty. Uncle Muren kept track of the weight, so when the master returns, you two can calculate the accounts.”
A rough estimate suggested that just from hides and wool, they had a yield of around four to five hundred taels. Considering the number of cattle and sheep at home, it was equivalent to a wealthy landlord owning over a thousand Dakang of fertile land. Selling grains and gaining four to five hundred taels a year wasn’t too shabby.
Mi Niang put the silver back into the felt bag, closed the door, and went to cook. Sitting in the kitchen with the door ajar, she occasionally glanced outside, afraid that someone might come in, weigh the silver, and run away. She only relaxed when she handed it over to Bahu.
Bahu counted, five silver notes and the rest were bits of silver coins. Seeing Mi Niang poking her head out, looking happy without a trace of sorrow, he pushed the money towards her, explaining in response to her puzzled gaze, “It’s in your hands now; you’re the mistress of the house.”
“No, don’t.” Mi Niang shook her head vigorously, resembling a tambourine. “There’s too much money; if I hold it, I won’t be able to sleep. If I bury it underground, I’ll find myself digging it up every few days.” Bahu provided everything for her needs, so she never worried about money matters.
“Really not?”
“Really not. If you give it to me, I won’t be able to sleep with so much money in my hands. If I bury it underground, I’ll keep digging it up every few days to check on it.” Mi Niang had never seen silver notes before. Even with this pile of silver coins on the table, she felt flustered. Having suddenly become wealthy, she felt uneasy, and her feet felt light.
“I don’t know you were so wealthy. Turns out the man I married is quite well-off!” Despite having a lot of cattle and sheep, Mi Niang didn’t feel the impact since they were not sold. She only thought that she would never run out of meat to eat.
She shifted her stool, leaned forward, and approached Bahu. In a low voice, she asked, “Give me an idea. How much silver have you saved?”
Bahu found it amusing, especially with Mi Niang’s eyes shining brightly. He couldn’t resist rubbing her head, and he lowered his voice, saying, “Not counting this year, it’s more than twelve hundred taels. Twelve hundred are stored in the Guchuan money shop.”
Mi Niang blinked her eyes; she realized she was incredible. She actually found twelve hundred taels somewhat insufficient. “Over five hundred taels a year, I thought you had two or three thousand taels.”
“The first year away from home, the hides and wool only covered salt for summer and alkaline for winter. In the second year, there was a surplus, but it was less than a hundred taels. The third year had a surplus of three to four hundred taels.” Bahu shook her green turquoise pendant around her neck. “Over seventy taels each.”
“Robbery?” Mi Niang tugged at the turquoise and examined it. It was clear and translucent, but it didn’t have any particularly unique shape.
“But the merchants from the Mobei say that a hairpin from Dakang is worth dozens of taels.” Bahu was puzzled; could he have been deceived?
Mi Niang looked at the emerald green pendant. The turquoise was as large as her thumbnail, especially dazzling in the sunlight. Hanging on her collar, it added a touch of color.
“It’s probably my lack of knowledge,” she awkwardly said. A green stone costing seventy to eighty taels sounded expensive, but compared to the hairpins she had seen on the rich ladies’ heads, it didn’t seem outrageous.
Bahu squeezed a handful of silver coins, spread them in his palm, and divided them into three piles. “Qiqige and Jiya each get a small silver bracelet with a bell, and you get a silver hairpin.”
Mi Niang wanted to say that a wooden hairpin would be sufficient, but when she caught sight of Bahu’s smiling face, she swallowed her words. She pushed two silver coins under the table, hooked her legs around the man’s feet, and looked at him with a teasing expression. “I want a silver bracelet with a bell too, for the ankle, a thin one.”
With a flick of her wrist, the silver coins in her palm clinked on the table, then bounced onto the floor, waking up the sleeping children. The infants began to wail before even opening their eyes.
The man sighed deeply. “Heard you. I know you’re awake. I’ll come and hold you right away.”
Troublesome spirits.
“Had a good sleep, and you woke me up. Now, you’re not allowed to cry, okay?” Mi Niang stood on her tiptoes, not moving until Bahu came back with both children in his arms. When she wiped their faces in front of Qiqige, not a trace of moisture was visible.
“Little girl, your crying doesn’t even intimidate your father.”
“But it does. See, I cried and got cuddled right away.” Bahu chuckled. When Mi Niang went to the kitchen to check on the fire, he swiftly kissed Qiqige on the cheek, and seeing Jiya watching, he lightly tapped her as well.
“Qiqige, let me make a deal with you. When we return to Guchuan, I’ll buy you a small bracelet with a bell. If you want to cry, you can shake the bell. Can you please not open your mouth to cry? A pretty girl like you, if you cry, your vocal cords will be exposed.”
…
Autumn nights fell early, and by the time dinner was ready, it was already dusk. Bahu, along with ChaoBao, Xi Jil, and Uncle Jinku, sat around the stove enjoying a pot of mutton hot pot, with golden pieces of tofu sticking to the sides of the pot. In the chilly evening breeze of autumn, the delightful aroma of mutton filled the air. Alongside, they sipped hot butter tea. After finishing, they would make a plate of hand-rolled noodles, breaking into a light sweat. As the autumn wind took away the lingering scent of meat, they would head back, climb into bed, and be ready for the upcoming migration.
Bahu planned to take ChaoBao to find the herd of grazing horses and camels. He hadn’t visited them much this year. Before leaving, he told Mi Niang that it was normal to return in two or three days, and even three to five days would be normal.
Mi Niang prepared a pot of steamed rice cakes for him in advance, this time without using camel milk. She replaced it with butter, resulting in a more fragrant and chewy rice cake. In addition to the rice cakes, she fried a batch of fragrant tofu skins on an iron plate. Two half-arm-length tofu skins were fried with butter to create a crispy crust. On top of the tofu skin, she laid a thin layer of rice, braised beef, crumbled tofu, mushroom particles, and chopped green onions. Finally, she folded the two tofu skins together for Bahu to take as a dish.
As Bahu had mentioned, he returned on the evening of the fifth day. He spent two days looking for the camel herd and then went on to find the horses.
“Next year, I plan to train the horses. They’ve become wild-tempered.” On the way back, there was even a horse kicking him, and luckily, he managed to avoid it; otherwise, he might have broken his leg.
“Train horses? What about the camels?”
“The camels are fine. Except for the male camels during their mating season, they are generally gentle. Camels are like cattle; they get a nose ring before adulthood, making them easier to control.” Speaking of horse training, Bahu pulled out his treasured cowhide trousers. The backside was worn and had thick patches applied. The crotch area was stuffed with cotton and coarse wool.
“Is this a pair of pants?” Mi Niang was astonished; it looked too peculiar.
Bahu grunted, “I have a cousin, a real cousin, born to my paternal grandparents just like my father. When he was seventeen or eighteen, he was training horses, didn’t clean the ground properly, and had some bad luck. He happened to land on a tree branch.” He pointed to his leg and frowned, “It’s right here. He survived but damaged his reproductive root. The future daughter-in-law about to marry him at that time also married someone else. Otherwise, my father wouldn’t have had a chance to become the clan leader. I heard that when my grandfather was still alive, he didn’t think highly of my cousin.”
“After that incident, we started wearing big-crotch cowhide parts for horse training, stuffing them with thick sheep’s wool and cotton.” It was okay if the backside was worn and revealed the buttocks; the front part had to be handled with care.
“Is your cousin still alive now?” A thought emerged in Mi Niang’s mind.
“He’s alive, raising quite a few livestock, and still living in Xushui.”
Alright, Mi Niang spat at herself; her thoughts were too dark.
She took the shabby pants from Bahu’s hand. “I’ll make a new pair for you. This worn-out one is not acceptable.”
Bahu understood her intention and teased, “Don’t worry; I have sons and daughters. Even if something happens, I’m not afraid of losing descendants.”
That won’t do, Mi Niang gave him a sidelong glance and made a kneading motion with her hand. “Take care of yourself; I still need to use it.”
