After feeding the milk, Bahu pretended to cuddle the child to sleep, avoiding eye contact with Mi Niang. He gave her a defiant tap on the back of her head. Only when he heard the sound of the door closing did he reluctantly turn his head to glance at her.
Mi Niang glanced at him, ignoring him. She took off her clothes and sat down on the bed, blowing out the oil lamp on the table. The room returned to darkness, and in the silent atmosphere, she lay down, pulling his hand to rest on her waist.
The man had a bellyful of questions to ask, but seeing her act as if nothing had happened, he clenched his fists in frustration, then flipped the blanket flat, arrogantly turning over to face her. They were now face to face, their breaths brushing against each other.
“Disturbing people in the middle of the night,” he muttered.
Mi Niang closed her eyes and hushed him, “Shh, don’t disturb my sleep in the middle of the night.”
She was turning the tables on him? Who was disturbing whom? But after a long sigh from inside the room, the atmosphere returned to silence. Someone obediently kept their mouth shut.
The next day after breakfast, Mi Niang leaned against the door with her hands in her sleeves, watching Bahu carry a bowl of milk in one hand and two lamb leg bones in the other. Stepping into the snow, she followed.
“You don’t need to come, I don’t need you.” Bahu hastily stopped her, not wanting to be locked out again tonight. “I’ll take it slow. It’s pitiful if Big Spot and Little Spot die before being weaned. How can I threaten and starve them again? I messed up last night.”
“I’ll take a look.” As she walked to the door, Mi Niang took the bowl from Bahu’s hand. When she opened the door, she frowned. Giving Bahu a sidelong glance, she saw the intimidation from yesterday had worked. The two cats bristled and hissed at her, their sharp claws revealed. She poured the camel milk into their bowls, and the two little ones stayed huddled in the corner, not daring to approach.
Bahu felt awkward and dryly said, “I deserved to be kicked out last night.”
He added, “Don’t be stubborn. Come and drink. The hostess poured it herself. It smells wonderful.” He knocked on the bowl, grabbed the person who was about to leave, took a step back, and waited for a while. Only then did Little Spot timidly approach the bowl, and Big Spot followed suit.
After tossing the bones by the bowl, the two left and closed the door. Bahu glanced at the other’s expression, chuckled, and said, “You’ll come to feed the cats with me again at noon.”
He didn’t insist on calling them wildcats anymore.
Mi Niang gave him a look, and the man immediately understood, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“…Wash my feet for half a month.” At the moment, she couldn’t think of anything urgent for Bahu to do for her.
“After washing my feet, carry me to the Kang.” She added.
“You’re quite demanding. Then you have to accompany me to feed the cats for half a month.”
“Okay.”
With the agreement reached, the two separated under the eaves, one going to study and the other returning to the room to look after the children.
As Mi Niang was about to reach the relief house, she was suddenly called back by someone. Turning her head, she saw Mu Xiang.
“You go in first,” Mi Niang said to Ajima, shrinking her neck and waiting for the person.
“It’s really cold today. It snowed quite a bit last night,” Mu Xiang tried to chat casually as if there were no barriers between them.
“It’s getting colder day by day, but fortunately, there are warm Kangs in the house, so it’s just a bit colder outside.” The two walked into the house chatting, brushing off the snow from their boots with the bare broom head placed under the eaves. They helped each other brush off the snow on their shoulders, took off their raincoats, and approached the warm classroom—where they slept at night and had to tidy up the bedding boxes and cages outside in the morning.
“Mi Niang, Mu Xiang, come here,” Lan Niang saw them and waved, and the seven of them sat together as they did last year.
“Whose rice paper is this, so white and pristine?” Mi Niang sat down and teased.
“Oops,” Wan’er exclaimed and shyly punched her, pleading, “Stop teasing me.”
“I didn’t tease you, I didn’t mention any names, just asking casually, and I got punched. I’m innocent.” Mi Niang exaggeratedly exclaimed in pain.
“It must be from your in-laws, can’t you see it with your keen eyes and sharp mind?” Lan Niang hooked Wan’er’s chin. “Remember this raised corner of your mouth. In the future, whenever you have this expression, it’s a sign of gifts from the in-laws.”
“Don’t say that.” Wan’er pursed her lips. “Nothing is confirmed yet, it doesn’t sound good to talk about it prematurely.” Without an official proposal or a set date, they couldn’t say it was from the in-laws; spreading such rumors might make it seem like she was overly eager.
“Mi Niang, did you hear that? This is a reminder for you, the matchmaker, to hurry up and push things forward,” Mu Xiang joked as well.
“I heard, I heard.” Mi Niang looked up and saw the venerable master entering. She quickly grabbed Wan’er’s hand. “Let’s not make a fuss; the master is here.”
Yesterday, when Baoyin came over, it was quite obvious, and even before that, when Asyl sent Wan’er back, it was seen by others. With so many people in the relief institute, any small movement would be widely spread. After school, Mi Niang was immediately surrounded by people asking her to act as a matchmaker, to find wives for their sons and daughters-in-law for their families.
She refused each one, but as soon as she stepped out, she encountered Bai Mei on the way.
“Mi Niang, I was waiting specifically for you.” Bai Mei was straightforward. “I don’t need to say it, you already know. I also want to ask you to find me a husband’s family. I know my conditions; I don’t expect to marry into a wealthy family like you and Wan’er. As long as there’s a home with a house to live in, a man who doesn’t beat me, and is hardworking and can endure hardships, it’s enough.”
Bai Mei’s presence was the weakest, Mi Niang’s impression of her was someone who spoke little, didn’t cause trouble, didn’t pick fights, and kept quiet about everything, now she could add one more thing, a clear mind.
“Is there any more detail?” “Most men in the Mobei have houses, and most of the herdsmen are hardworking. There are also men with good temperaments. I’m not sure which one to introduce to you.”
“How is ChaoBao’s temperament? How many more years does he need to work at your house?” Bai Mei bit her lip and hesitantly asked, “Has his family arranged a marriage for him?”
“Do you have a crush on him?” Mi Niang wasn’t very clear about ChaoBao’s family situation, but ChaoBao had a good temperament, and was articulate, and responsible, the fact that he came to work as a servant in her house indicated that his family’s situation wasn’t very good.
Bai Mei grunted, saying she was timid and spoke little, so she wanted to find someone who talked more. In the future, when she got married, there would always be someone who would talk willingly. “My family’s situation isn’t great, and neither are my conditions. Aside from renting twenty or thirty sheep, I have nothing.”
“Okay, I’ll go back and ask for you,” Mi Niang agreed.
“If things don’t work out, can you keep it a secret and not tell anyone?”
“Okay,” Mi Niang nodded again.
When she got home, she saw Bahu standing outside the door. When she walked over and asked, “Ajima has been back for a while. Why are you coming back so late?”
Bai Mei was also asked the same question. She was at the door brushing off the snow from her sheepskin boots. She entered the house and carefully took off her boots to change into a pair of simple shoes. These were her only winter shoes.
“I got a headache from holding it in. I went out for a walk and saw someone throwing wet cow dung on the wall. I asked about it, and they said it could be dried and then scraped off to use as fuel for a fire.”
“Then when it’s break time, we’ll go to Mi Niang’s house to shovel a few baskets of wet cow dung and throw them on the wall.” Pandi squeaked. They didn’t raise cows, so they always worried about not having enough dung to burn. They had been burning it carefully, huddling together at night to sleep to avoid getting cold.
Bai Mei didn’t say anything more. She went to the kitchen to make a fire and cook.
…
“I’ll go back and tell my parents right away. If Bai Mei is willing to marry over on any day, I’ll bring the betrothal gifts and go to her house immediately.” ChaoBao smiled happily. When he went out, he even picked up a dog he encountered along the way and carried it outside. He remembered Bai Mei, this girl. The first time he heard her name, he even mentioned it to someone else, and they both had conversations. But she was cold and spoke little. He said a few words, and she responded with one, giving him a few cold looks. He had also shown his intentions to the kind-hearted Mu Xiang, but he had been rejected, as expected.
But with his conditions, if a girl was interested in him, it was already a blessing from the heavens. As long as she became his mother-in-law, he would treat her well.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Mi Niang asked without turning back.
“This is the second marriage proposal. Will there be more to come?” Bahu asked, arms folded.
“If someone comes to propose, then there will be more. If not, then there won’t be.” Mi Niang stood up to go and hold the child. She had barely taken two steps before her wrist was grabbed.
“Stay and chat with me. Qiqige and Jiya are listening to stories. Don’t disturb them.” Bahu pulled Mi Niang to sit on his lap. She usually came back from school to hold the child, rarely coming close to him except for the three meals a day.
“Huh?” Mi Niang leaned against him and sniffed, then opened his robe and sniffed again. She looked down at his feet. “Did you step on sheep dung or rub something on your body? How long has it been since you changed your clothes?” She wrinkled her nose, looking disgusted.
“Is there really a smell?” Bahu lifted his arm to sniff, and there seemed to be a bit. He took off his robe and hung it on the chair, resting his hands behind his head as he looked at Mi Niang. “It’s from comforting the two kids you brought up. When you and Ajima are not at home, I take the two kids to the sheep pen. They quiet down when someone talks to them while working. Qiqige and Jiya don’t make a fuss. Everyone can find fault with me, but you can’t.”
Mi Niang felt momentarily embarrassed by Bahu’s self-deprecation, but she quickly lifted her head again. “What do you mean comforting the kids for me? Aren’t they your son and daughter?”
“The ones you gave birth to are yours.”
“Don’t you want to be called dad?”
“I’ve never heard you call me that anyway.” The man insisted, adding fuel to the fire. “Having two troublesome kids, who are noisy all the time, was all your choice.” The two little rascals had good appetites, ate a lot, and grew fat, like two little lumps of meat. If he held them for too long, he might almost break his arm.
“Could I have given birth without you? If you’re not happy, forget it. There are plenty of people outside who want to be dads.”
Bahu was speechless, staring at her with wide eyes, not daring to respond. He had to change direction. “Both Qiqige and Jiya have your surname Ji, and they’re the ones you gave birth to. Isn’t that me comforting your kids?”
Now it was Mi Niang’s turn to be at a loss for words. She moved her mouth, reluctantly saying, “You just say whether you are the father of the two children or not.”
“You just say whether the children have your surname or not.”
Neither of them gave in. Eventually, Mi Niang couldn’t help but blink, breaking the standoff. She lightly tapped the man’s arm twice. “You’re annoying. I don’t want to argue with you about this.” If he wanted to comfort the kids, then let him comfort them.
“Are you admitting it?” Bahu persisted.
“I’ll let the two kids call someone else ‘dad’ another day… Stop it!” Mi Niang twisted in laughter, tightly holding her arms to prevent Bahu from tickling her. But she couldn’t muster enough strength, so she wriggled off his lap and slid down to the ground, crawling away from him. “Alright, alright, you’re the only dad, there’s no one else.”
Mi Niang conceded, leaning against the Kang and panting heavily, her mouth sour from laughing.
Bahu squatted on the ground, looking at her with a smile on his face. The two kids next door didn’t know why they were happy either; they giggled along, especially Qiqige, whose voice was high-pitched and loud, drowning out Jiya’s laughter.
“This little girl takes after you in this regard too.” He pulled her hand and stood up, pulling her up with him. “Let’s go, I’ll cook. After dinner, I’ll fetch water for you to wash your feet and then tuck you into bed.”
