Uncle Muren and Old Jinku were working on building a kang (a traditional Chinese heated bed) in the side room. Qiqige and Jiya heard the noises and couldn’t sit still, tightly frowning as if on the verge of crying. When they saw someone, they waved their hands to hit them. Mi Niang, who had just come in after hanging the clothes, happened to witness Qiqige fiercely pulling Ajima’s hair. She walked over and slapped Qiqige’s hand, staring at her with a stern face. “Are you silly? Your brother is telling you a story, and you’re pulling his hair.”
Now it stirred up a hornet’s nest. Qiqige pouted and cried, tears falling one by one, and even nasal bubbles appeared.
“Don’t go and comfort her,” Mi Niang held Ajima, grabbed a stool, sat down beside the small bed, and said, “Let her cry. Whenever she cries, you console her. She uses crying as a threat.” She glanced at Jiya. Without saying anything, he started crying too, truly a troublesome pair of siblings.
“She doesn’t even understand the pain,” Ajima said awkwardly, holding his dry hands.
With her hair tangled into a mess, and she didn’t feel the pain? Seeing his embarrassment, Mi Niang pointed to the door and instructed him to feed the chickens. “There are bugs in the radish field. Take two chickens over there and let them scratch for worms.”
Children also have sharp eyes, knowing who they can bully and who they can act cute to. When facing Mi Niang and Bahu, even if they grabbed their hair, they would let go immediately with a light sigh claiming pain.
Mi Niang sat on the side, watching the two children cry with hiccups. Qiqige pulled her small hand out and placed her own hair in her palm. She held it gently without using force, watching the pair of big, teary eyes.
“If I see you two bullying Ajima again, I’ll use a stick to hit your little hands.” Mi Niang gently patted Qiqige’s palm. Seeing that she was about to cry loudly again, she immediately stared at her with wide eyes. Qiqige, adept at reading facial expressions, slowly closed her open mouth.
Uncle Muren next door couldn’t sit still, stood up with his ears erect, and walked to the door to peek. “Mi Niang, why are the children crying?”
All of them were spoiled, resulting in such a delicate temperament. Mi Niang casually said that the children were having trouble falling asleep, “You go about your business; I’ll take care of it.”
The old man didn’t respond, hesitated at the door, and kept pacing. It was Old Jinku who couldn’t bear it and pulled him over. “Dear wife, even if you hit the child, can you really ruin them? Don’t worry unnecessarily.”
“I just feel a tremor in my heart when I hear the child crying.” How could the old man not understand this reasoning? He only sighed in relief when the sobbing next door lessened, and the footsteps moved away. He walked to the door and saw Mi Niang carrying one child in each arm, letting out a sigh of relief before going back to work.
“I think Bahu also cares about the children. In the future, only Mi Niang can handle these two kids.” Old Jinku, holding bricks and mud in his hands, shook his head and said with a smile, “These two kids have been clever since childhood, knowing how to serve dishes. If you don’t discipline them a bit, they might cause trouble in the future.” It was a reminder to Uncle Muren, who had no blood relation to the children, that he could cuddle and carry them, but he shouldn’t interfere too much.
“These two kids are well-behaved.” In the eyes of the old man, Qiqige and Jiya were good in every way.
Old Jinku gave him a disdainful look, being even more protective than their biological father.
When they left in early spring, there was still ice in front of the house, and the winter pasture not covered by snow looked unfamiliar to Mi Niang. Cattle and sheep were scattered everywhere, and wild horse herds were galloping between the hills. Supporting a stick and carrying a basket,
Mi Niang searched for the new nomads who migrated from the north. After a spring and autumn, the cattle dung that hadn’t been washed away by the snow had grown grass, fertilizing the pasture. It was called dung picking, but it looked more like searching for mushrooms in the grass.
The children, weighing only a little over three months each, were not heavy, but holding one in each arm for an extended period became challenging for Mi Niang. She chose a clean patch of grass not far from the river, sat down, and placed Qiqige and Jiya on her legs. They stared intently at the cattle, sheep, and camels drinking water by the river. There was a constant flow of animals coming and going, making the riverbank lively.
“Auntie, let me hold one.” Ajima swung some weeds over, “I tied the legs of the two chickens and secured them to the ground. They can’t run away.”
Mi Niang responded with an “OK.” The wings of the two chickens were already bald from being cut, and they had ropes tied to their feet, so even if they ran, they couldn’t get far.
“You go inside and bring the felt blanket. Also, bring the small blanket on their bed.” She pretended not to notice Ajima’s red eyes. For a seven-year-old to still be cuddled in their mother’s arms from other families was normal, but Ajima, in order to ease the burden at home, had to comfort a child who couldn’t even speak yet. He had been dragged by the hair and couldn’t say anything harsh; he must feel wronged.
Mi Niang glanced down at Qiqige; this little one was still holding her neck stubbornly, refusing to look at Ajima. How did she put it? She truly had a pair of discerning eyes. She cried when she got hit, but afterward, she extended her hand, and the little girl immediately wanted to be held. Ajima, the one who got his hair pulled, was feeling upset. This stubborn girl was angry too; she was quite clever.
Later, Ajima brought the felt and laid it out. Mi Niang placed the two children on the felt and kept a watchful eye on the three little ones. As expected, Qiqige did not let Ajima hold her. The moment he touched her foot, she immediately moved away.
“Keep an eye on them; I’ll go to the grass by the river to see if there are any eggs left by wild chickens or ducks.” Mi Niang sat beside them, making Ajima uneasy, especially when the little girl wouldn’t let him touch her. However, she dared not go too far. Children’s temperaments changed quickly. Even though Ajima had a good temperament, she couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t get annoyed and hit Qiqige.
The river’s surface was wide, and the riverbed was strewn with jagged rocks. The rocks, immersed in water year after year, were covered with moss, and small fish, not even as long as a finger, were trapped in the crevices between the stones. Mi Niang splashed water to drive them away, thinking that it would be great if there was a cat at home. These slender fish would follow the water’s flow and leave. When the first snowfall came, they would become souls under the ice, only to roam the boundless grassland by the river again when spring arrived the next year, nourishing the water plants along the riverbank.
“Auntie, I came to play with you.”
Mi Niang recognized the person from the voice alone and looked up, teasing, “Aren’t you here to be my daughter?”
Baoyin glanced at Ajima. “You already have a daughter; you won’t need me.”
“One more won’t hurt, and I can afford one more.” Mi Niang wiped her hands dry and left the riverbank, asking the little plump girl in bright red, “Where do you live? Does your mother know you’re here?”
Baoyin couldn’t specify the exact location, just pointing in a general direction, “I came out to play, asked around along the way, my mother doesn’t care about me.”
The nomadic people on the grassland raised their children in a robust manner. The river was shallow enough not to drown anyone, and the surroundings were filled with herders. They weren’t worried about children running out, fearing they would get lost or fall into the water. Just three meals a day would be enough to keep an eye on everyone, and the rest of the time, children were free to roam wherever they pleased.
“Auntie, did your family cook something delicious today? I came to buy it.” The little girl pulled out a purse from her gown and tossed it out boldly, saying, “I brought money.”
Mi Niang shook her head, realizing it was time to prepare lunch, “You help me entertain my little sister, and stay for lunch at Auntie’s house.”
Baoyin readily agreed, deftly helping Ajima fold the felt. Finally, she carried the small blanket from the bed and followed Mi Niang, bouncing along behind her toward the house.
“Uncle Muren, keep an eye on the children in the yard. I’m going to buy two blocks of tofu. Do you want tofu for lunch? If you do, I’ll bring back a few more.”
The old man waved his hand, “We’re stewing lamb heads for lunch today, so we won’t eat tofu.” Earlier, while they were cutting grass, they mostly ate dried beef, which lacked much flavor. They were craving something better. “Just now, ChaoBao brought back freshly slaughtered lamb meat. We’ve cleaned the sheep’s stomach and intestines. Check if they’re clean; if not, wash them.”
Mi Niang acknowledged and went into the kitchen to soak the sheep intestines in vinegar water. Then, she grabbed some coins to buy tofu and tofu skin.
At noon, only three people had lunch. Mi Niang fried plain tofu, stewed three bowls of minced meat with eggs, and had lamb face meat that Uncle Muren brought over. She also made six scallion oil pancakes. Baoyin and Ajima ate heartily, finishing the egg custard as well.
“Baoyin—”
“My mother is calling me. Auntie, I’ll go back home first. I’ll come to help you entertain my little sister in the afternoon.” She hurriedly left, looking guilty.
“Baoyin must be having a meal at someone else’s house for the first time.” Ajima, with his experience, recognized her guilty look. The first time he stayed for a meal at someone else’s house, he also had this sneaky appearance, fearing he would be scolded when he went back. He stubbornly brought home a bowl of food and had an extra bowl at home. That time, he ate too much and ended up with a stomachache, vomiting and diarrhea.
Baoyin returned in the afternoon, bringing small trinkets she played with, “Auntie, this is for my little sister.” She picked a bell-shaped flower and tied it to the small bed. “My mother said since I ate at your house, I should give a gift to my little sister.”
Mi Niang accepted the gift, and afterward, Baoyin visited more frequently, coming whenever she had time. The main attraction for her was listening to Ajima’s storytelling. Baoyin would praise and clap, showing more enthusiasm than the two little babies who still couldn’t understand words. Ajima became more passionate about storytelling as a result.
Qiqige and Jiya were quite lively; as long as there was someone to accompany them, they rarely cried or demanded to be held by their mother, taking advantage of this time, Mi Niang had ChaoBao slaughter another sheep, chopped the lamb meat, and stuffed it into lamb intestines, which were then hung in the yard to dry. She had only eaten sausages made by her mother, which contained pork, and she didn’t know how lamb sausage would taste.
After drying for two days, Mi Niang took a section of the sausage, boiled it in water, cut half into slices, drizzled it with leek sauce, and cut the other half into segments, frying them with butter. The lamb sausage turned golden brown from the butter, and the inside meat became oily from roasting, combining with the butter on the iron plate, emitting a fragrance that made mouths water. Raw lamb fat had a strong smell, but the lamb sausage had been boiled before, and the drained lamb meat had also been exposed to wind and sun, allowing the lamb fat to permeate the sausage.
“Delicious, delicious!” Baoyin, despite being slightly burnt, couldn’t bear to put it down. The sausage was crispy, but not overly so, with a sound of cracking when bitten, and the inside meat was tender. “Auntie, I like eating peppercorns now.”
“Let me see your mouth when you open it.” Mi Niang held Baoyin’s chin. “Are you bleeding in your mouth?”
“It’s fine, just bit my lip.” Obviously not the first time, it didn’t affect her eating at all.
