After a hazy night, the next morning, Mi Niang woke up with her face covered in saliva. She was still a bit confused, and moving her bones felt like they were about to fall apart. She held down the troublesome little girl in the blanket.
“It’s time to get up; breakfast will be cold soon.” Bahu stood by the Kang, holding Jiya, and lifted the quilt to avoid covering the child’s mouth.
“I won’t eat.” Mi Niang didn’t want to move, stretched out her hand, and raised her eyebrows at him with a pair of enchanting eyes. “Bring the Kang to me, feed me like I fed you yesterday.”
Bahu chuckled as he looked at her. “Can’t get up?”
“Can’t get up.”
“I’ll go get water for you to wash your face.” Feeling triumphant, he left the room, put Jiya on the Kang, and there was a clattering sound. Bahu came back with a steaming wooden basin, with a cup of water inside. “Rinse your mouth first, and I’ll wipe your face with a towel.”
Mi Niang enjoyed another round of postpartum care, closing her eyes as the warm cotton towel glided over her face. She gestured to her cheek. “Your eldest daughter smeared saliva on my face, wipe it a bit more.”
Bahu didn’t meet her expectations on this point. “My eldest daughter’s saliva is not dirty.” He wiped her hands with a towel and handed over the water basin for her to clean her hands.
“I woke up late this morning. I didn’t cook millet porridge, just made butter tea. Do you want butter tea or honey water?”
“Honey water.” Mi Niang pulled Jiya, who had turned over and couldn’t get up, and let her lie there with her legs up in the air, tilting her head to look at her.
“Have Qiqige and Jiya had their milk?”
Bahu replied with a “Hmm,” the two little ones woke up early and made a fuss, waking him up with their noises. Seeing Mi Niang sleeping soundly, he didn’t wake her up, lifted his clothes, and held Jiya to feed her.
Mi Niang took a sip of honey water to moisten her throat. Looking at the dishes on the table, there were sausages, boiled eggs, and half a bowl of milk curd. “Do you like sausages? Then I’ll make a few more tomorrow.”
“The taste is good, and it’s convenient to cook.” Bahu took a chopstick to feed her and asked if she wanted to eat milk curd. He was craving for that taste this morning.
“Try one or two.” Tangy and sour, she took a deep breath, waved her hand to refuse, but then stuffed another chopstick of sausage into her mouth to savor the flavor.
“When should we go to Guchuan? The alkaline blocks we bought last year have been licked until there’s only a thin layer left.” Mi Niang spoke after swallowing the sausage. She followed Bahu’s gaze and saw Qiqige’s saliva dripping again. She raised her head and tried to follow the chopsticks with great effort.
“Like who?” Bahu wiped off the little girl’s saliva, looking at Mi Niang with a smile.
“Anyway, not following me.” Mi Niang didn’t admit that she had a sweet tongue when she was a child. She reached out to take the plate from Bahu and started eating on her own.
“We agreed that I would feed you.” Bahu dodged, quite willing to feed Mi Niang. He had fed many children before, but it was the first time he fed her. He spun the chopsticks, and a piece of sausage flew past the mouths of the two children, finally ending up in Mi Niang’s mouth.
Mi Niang saw the two children pouting, and she took pleasure in their misfortune, saying that if they cried, she wouldn’t comfort them. She intentionally smacked her lips, teasing the two little gluttons. “They don’t even have teeth yet and already want to eat meat. So greedy, it must be influenced by you. You also like to eat meat.”
Seeing the two little ones about to cry, Bahu hurriedly peeled a boiled egg and let Qiqige and Jiya lick their lips. The egg had no taste, and when you approached, there was a faint fishy smell. Qiqige wrinkled her little eyebrows, licked a few times, then turned her face away, no longer staring at her mother eating. Jiya opened her mouth to try to bite, but without teeth, she couldn’t manage it and got frustrated, crying a bit and reaching out to be held by her mother.
Bahu endured two glances and behaved well, following the rules of being fed. When it came to the matter of going to Guchuan, he suggested that if Mi Niang wasn’t in a hurry to make sausages, they could go tomorrow.
“While it hasn’t snowed yet, I’ll take you to Guchuan for a stroll. Last year, there was heavy snow, and you didn’t get to see the lively scene.”
“Then let’s go tomorrow. I see the sky in the west looks dark and heavy; it might snow in a few days.” After more than a year in the Mobei, Mi Nang had also learned to predict the weather.
Bahu came back, and Mi Niang didn’t have to keep an eye on the livestock. There were many male servants at home, and they would definitely behave when the owner was watching. However, without the owner’s eyes, they were bound to play tricks. With over two thousand cattle and sheep combined, Uncle Muren, an old man, couldn’t watch them all.
“In the last few days, two sheep broke their legs. When asked, they all said they weren’t paying attention. I don’t know if they really didn’t pay attention or did it intentionally. Can you inquire about it today?” Only now did Mi Niang mention the situation of the livestock. When Bahu wasn’t at home, she, along with the two children in such a large house, had some suspicions but didn’t dare to raise them.
Without rain and snow, the cattle and sheep had passed their mating season without fighting. They wouldn’t break their legs for no reason; someone must be up to mischief. However, after a few days, even if there were traces, they were wiped away. Asking around yielded no useful information. Bahu, with a gloomy face, openly told Uncle Muren in front of everyone that they couldn’t slaughter any more sheep for meat before it snowed. Even if a sheep broke its leg, it should be slaughtered and hung in the backyard’s drying room to make dried mutton.
As soon as he spoke, some people’s expressions turned subtly. Some were resentful, hating that the mischief implicated them. Others kept their heads down, their emotions unclear. Bahu observed everyone’s reactions.
“In the future, when I’m not at home, except for Uncle Muren, no one else can enter my house, not even to fetch things. Let Uncle Muren come in if anything is needed.” Before he got married and had children, he didn’t care who entered and exited his house. He hadn’t noticed before, but now he felt nervous. With a wife and children, he had to be cautious in both words and actions. If someone held a grudge against him because of his words and invaded the house to harm Mi Niang and the two children when he wasn’t at home, even if he slaughtered the entire family of the offender, it wouldn’t solve the problem.
Upon returning home, Bahu mentioned that they needed to keep two fierce puppies at home to guard the door. “Tomorrow, when we go to Guchuan, we’ll take Ajima and the two kids with us, driving two Lele carts.”
“Okay.” Qiqige and Jiya had gotten used to the Lele carts on the way back, and they wouldn’t fall asleep as soon as they got on the cart. Mi Niang wasn’t worried that the two kids would be restless and refuse to sleep on the round trip.
After discussing the matter with Ajima, he hesitated and said, “Auntie, could you let my mother accompany us tomorrow? She has her own Lele cart and won’t ride in your cart, just walk with us.”
“Sure.” Bahu agreed. When he went to the mountains, he heard people say that Ajima’s father could no longer get up. His mother was probably worried about going to Guchuan alone.
The next day, three Lele carts set off to the west, two in front and one behind, with over two hundred sheep running in front of the carts. Throughout the journey, the coughing sound from the backcart never stopped. Mi Niang asked Ajima, “What illness does your father have?”
“Asthma. It gets particularly severe every autumn and winter. The journey back was too strenuous for him. He couldn’t sleep well at night, and after returning, lying down made it difficult for him to breathe. Every night, he would sit against the wall until dawn.” Ajima looked out of the cart window and saw his mother signaling him. He sat back and explained through the door, “Fortunately, this illness isn’t contagious, and neither my two sisters nor I have it.”
But Bahu was still concerned. After arriving in Guchuan, he asked Mi Niang to watch over the flock, while he took Ajima’s parents to the clinic. “Doctor, can his illness be cured?”
“Asthma can’t be completely cured; you can only take good care of him and avoid exertion.”
After confirming it was asthma, Bahu went to another pharmacy after leaving the clinic to inquire whether asthma is contagious. He asked, “If someone has asthma, will their children also have asthma?”
After receiving assurances that it wouldn’t be passed on, Bahu finally felt relieved.
After paying the annual tribute to the government and being free from the burden of the flock, Bahu took Mi Niang to stroll around the market.
“Let’s go to the silver shop to get bangles. You can choose the style.” Bahu glanced at Mi Niang’s feet and, after receiving an elbow nudge, chuckled to himself and said in a low voice, “I measured it the night before yesterday. Choose one that fits my wrist just right.”
Blushing, Mi Niang glanced at him. If he hadn’t reminded her, she would have forgotten about it.
Each holding one child, the couple entered the silver shop. Ajima followed closely behind. It was his first time in the capital, and he had never seen so many people before. If he hadn’t been mindful of etiquette, he would have wanted to hold onto Mi Niang’s clothes and walk with her. He was afraid of getting lost in the crowd.
Seeing his expression, Bahu grabbed the back of his collar and said gruffly, “Stick close, don’t get lost. There are child snatchers in the capital.”
Ajima wished he could stick to Bahu.
The silver shop in the capital had two floors, displaying jewelry made of gold, silver, jade, and pearls, in various colors. Before coming, Bahu and Mi Niang thought it was similar to selecting silver styles at Xushui. However, upon arrival, they realized that only major customers could choose styles to make bracelets, and the dozens of taels in their hands were like a drop in the ocean. Fortunately, there were trays of silver bracelet styles already available. Mi Niang picked two identical ones for Qiqige and Jiya. The flat-patterned silver bracelets had gourd-shaped bells, and the silver beads inside the bells could be securely fastened. They could wear them on their hands even when sleeping.
“Choose this one,” Bahu pointed to a delicate one with a thin circle. The round bracelet was decorated with two peach blossoms made of golden threads, and inside the peach blossom core were delicate little bells. The opening was a silver bell the size of a pearl, connected to the bracelet.
Bahu had a good eye, and Mi Niang fell in love with it at first sight. However, with the intricate craftsmanship and golden threads, it was probably not affordable with just twenty or thirty taels.
“That’s it, wrap it up.” Bahu understood Mi Niang’s intention, so he carried Qiqige to pay. Once he got the bracelets, he tucked the anklet into his pocket. Before leaving the silver shop, he had already put the three bracelets on his, Qiqige’s, and Jiya’s hands.
“They look so nice, let’s just wear them.”
“How much silver?” Mi Niang couldn’t help but ask.
Bahu didn’t tell her the amount. After leaving the silver shop, he went to the money exchange, deposited three silver notes, and kept the deposit receipts hidden in his inner clothes, not allowing Mi Niang to find them.
“Let’s go, continue shopping. Compared to the capital, our life in Lingshan seemed like that of wild people. We only come once a year, so let’s buy everything we need and want.” Bahu continued to carry Ajima and walked. He bought two strings of candied haws, with Mi Niang and Aigima each having one. When some people drooled and clamored for some, they were only allowed to watch.
“They’re selling corn, golden corn with large grains at a low price. It’s good to have a change from eating meat, and when there’s a shortage of hay, it can also be fed to cattle and sheep…”
“Let’s take a look.” Bahu, leading with Ajima, walked over. His eyes scanned the golden large grains, and he looked directly at the gray crumbs on the side, which also contained small yellow grains.
“Can it be fed to cattle and sheep? Why haven’t I seen it in previous years?” Bahu pinched some in his hand and examined it closely.
“It was just transported from Youzhou. This is the first year. It’s said to have come from the Western Regions. When it’s tender, it can be cooked and eaten as a meal. Now that it’s matured, it can still be eaten after cooking. It was never seen before because it has just arrived this year.” The shopkeeper saw the silver bracelets on the child’s hands, knowing that the man wasn’t short of money, so he emphasized that the corn could be used as feed for cattle and sheep. “This stuff is dry and bouncy. If you buy it and store it for two or three years, it won’t go bad. If there’s a shortage of food during a snowstorm and the cattle and sheep have nothing to eat, you can take it out and feed them anytime. You might consider buying some. This is the first year, and the government is offering the lowest price. Our shop is also authorized by the government, so you can trust us.”
“This is the first year, and you dare to tell me it can be stored for two or three years without spoiling?” Bahu dropped the crumbs in his hand and looked again at the golden large grains, asking Mi Niang if they should buy a few pounds to bring back as decorations. “The color is pretty good. I’ll string them on a thread and hang them on the kang at home.”
The shopkeeper: “…”
