Originally there had been some twenty-odd Baa-Baa Beasts in the herd, but once they spotted the hunting party, the herd scattered in every direction. Baa-Baa Beasts ran fast, and the hunting party toiled a long while before catching three.
Still, it counted as a big haul. A single Baa-Baa Beast weighed over two hundred catties, enough to feed everyone for quite a few days.
The hunting party was overjoyed, and the moment they got back they set to butchering at the altar. Many beasts of the tribe ran over to watch the excitement, terribly envious.
“That’s a lot of Baa-Baa Beasts. Ah Bao put in a lot of effort this time, he should get a good share. Their stone cave will probably be stewing a big pot of meat again tonight.”
“Huya’s fierce too. Xiao Si says of the three Baa-Baa Beasts this time, Huya took down two of them.”
“Ah Ya is his female. Lucky her, no worry about running out of meat in the snow season.”
“Ever since Ah Ya became Huya’s mate, look at her, she’s put on plenty of weight.”
“And there’s so much Baa-Baa Beast meat today too.”
Ah Ya listened to the beasts around her chatting as she dressed the kill.
“What are you looking at?” Huya said to Ah Ya. “Skin that Baa-Baa hide carefully, peel it off in one whole piece. Once it’s cleaned up, send it over to the Big Cave for the snow season.”
Hearing this, Ah Ya felt a flicker of displeasure, but she said no more.
The Baa-Baa Beast hides, once peeled off, were carried to one side by the females and demi-beasts to have the fat scraped away, while the beasts busied themselves cutting up the meat.
Huya’s hunting party numbered a dozen or so, and three Baa-Baa Beasts weren’t enough to go around whole, so they had to cut them up with bone knives. Then they’d see who had put in the most effort this time, that one would take a bit more. And a portion had to be set aside and sent to the Big Cave.
Those who lived at the Big Cave were all little beasts, most of them having lost their fathers, mothers, or female fathers, with no one to care for them, so the tribe had to provide for them.
The Beast World was dangerous. In past snow seasons, the river across from the tribe would freeze over. On ordinary days the wild beasts of the plain and woods opposite couldn’t reach the tribe because the river blocked their way, but once the river froze in the snow season, those beasts would come running into the tribe. So every snow season, the tribe’s beasts had to take turns standing guard. Sometimes they couldn’t hold the line, and now and then a wild beast would get into the tribe. They’d break into a stone cave, the adults would die, and the children, still too young to hunt or find food for themselves, would be left for the tribe to raise.
Although the food was hunted by their own mates, and it stung a little to give any away, the beasts all understood: perhaps this snow season it was the cave next door whose folk were dragged off by wild beasts, and next snow season it might be their turn, or a single misstep hunting or gathering and they’d never come back…
If they themselves were gone, what would become of their children?
The way the tribe shared things out was good: if the adults were gone, the children still had somewhere to go. Thinking this, the beasts always honestly sent the meat to the Big Cave, where the tribe’s orphans all lived.
Baa-Baa Beast bones were hard, and chopping them into pieces wasn’t easy, usually it took several hard hacks of the bone knife just to sever a big bone, and at times like this bits of meat inevitably went flying everywhere.
When the hunting party’s haul was plentiful, they thought little of those scraps and wouldn’t bother picking them up.
Mao Xiaoshu had come precisely to try his luck: if the hunters’ families didn’t want the scraps, he’d gather them up and take them home to stew soup for Qin Ziheng.
The Baa-Baa Beast meat had been piled into several heaps. Mao Xiaoshu watched enviously, so much meat!
A hunter’s family member was dressing a Baa-Baa hide off to the side. Seeing Mao Xiaoshu nearby, and busy at a time like this, with the meat chopped into pieces, if some got filched no one would even notice, she got up impatiently, shoved Mao Xiaoshu away, and snapped, “Go, go, go. Want to steal meat, do you? Off to the side. No stealing! Or I’ll thrash you.”
Mao Xiaoshu wanted to say something, but the demi-beast gave him no chance to open his mouth, shoving him hard and telling him to clear off.
Shoved roughly, Mao Xiaoshu nearly fell, and hearing her curse so loudly, he didn’t dare come near and scampered off a ways.
The demi-beast thought he’d have the sense to leave, but he only stood a little farther off, then lingered nearby, glancing over at them from time to time. When his eyes met the demi-beast’s, he’d hurriedly turn his head away in a fluster, and only after a while start looking toward the altar again. The demi-beast glared at him, but he wouldn’t leave for anything.
“This Mao Xiaoshu, honestly.” The demi-beast flung the Baa-Baa hide in her hands to the ground and made to go over to Mao Xiaoshu, apparently meaning to teach him a lesson.
Humei raised a hand to stop her, unable to watch it. “Let it go, he didn’t steal anything.”
“He didn’t steal, no, but I can tell he came to pick up meat.”
“Then let him pick some up. It’s only a few scraps,” Humei said. “There’s just him at home now, a lone demi-beast, no male beast to look after him, and Xiaohe’s mate had that accident. He probably hasn’t eaten meat in ages, no telling how he’s gotten by these past months. It’s pitiful, really. Let him gather some.”
Huya swept a glance at Mao Xiaoshu, then turned to the demi-beast and said, “I’ll take one piece less later, give my piece to you. Let him gather these scraps.”
Huya was the chief, the demi-beast didn’t dare say more. Reluctantly she sat back down and went on working. A female beast beside her looked at her, feeling something was off.
The demi-beast of Gangya’s household was usually mild-tempered, but this sudden outburst was a bit strange. She looked a few more times and found that Gangya’s demi-beast seemed to be quietly sighing.
Butchering was work the beasts did often, their movements were deft, and in no time the Baa-Baa Beasts were divided up. The male beasts shouldered their portions of meat and headed home, while the demi-beasts took the innards and offal down to the river to rinse.
The moment the beasts left, Mao Xiaoshu came running over cupping his tree leaf, crouched down, and happily gathered up the meat scraps.
He gathered very carefully, not passing over even the smallest bit, and once he’d finished he circled back several times to make sure he’d gotten them all before running home.
Qin Ziheng still hadn’t woken. Mao Xiaoshu set the meat down and went to check on him.
Crouching by the stone bed, he poked Qin Ziheng’s face, and seeing him knit his brows, he chuckled happily. He’d already poked him many times at noon, yet he never seemed to tire of it, found it endlessly fun, in fact. He poked Qin Ziheng twice more before reluctantly getting up and heading out of the cave.
Auntie Baohua was fixing supper in her stone house. Her mate had hunted a small spotted python today, not a big one, and since it wasn’t from a hunting-party outing, it didn’t have to be handed over, so it was enough for the family to have a good meal.
The stone house was a bit dim. She sat at the doorway cleaning the snakeskin. Dried out, this stuff could be traded to the sea-clan beasts for salt-stone, she’d heard some tribes liked to glue snakeskin onto their hide garments, said it looked good.
Auntie Baohua couldn’t see the appeal, didn’t think snakeskin was anything to look at, but since it could be traded for salt-stone, she couldn’t just toss it.
She was busy at it when the light at the door suddenly dimmed. She looked up to find Mao Xiaoshu standing at the doorway of the stone house, watching her nervously.
“Xiaoshu? What is it?”
Mao Xiaoshu gripped his hide garment tightly, not daring to look at Auntie Baohua, and said with his head down, “Xiaoshu wants… wants to get the pot.”
Auntie Baohua’s face fell, and she flatly refused to admit anything. “What pot? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Go on, go, don’t get in the way of my work.”
“My pot.” Mao Xiaoshu didn’t leave, and even took two steps into the stone house. He glanced around a moment, and then his eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed at the pot in the corner. “That’s Xiaoshu’s pot.”
Auntie Baohua’s whole family was there, and they all knew the pot was one she’d taken from Mao Xiaoshu’s home.
The pretext for taking it had sounded fine, too: borrowing.
But once borrowed, use it long enough and it became your own, Mao Xiaoshu was a fool anyway, his mind not quick, give it time and he probably wouldn’t even remember who’d borrowed what.
Now, seeing Mao Xiaoshu come to the door and actually recognize the pot, Auntie Baohua’s family was genuinely startled.
Auntie Baohua’s eyes shifted evasively. “What do you want a pot for? You don’t cook meat anyway. Let Auntie keep using it for now.”
“I’ve got meat.” Mao Xiaoshu was overjoyed, his eyes full of light, gesturing with both hands. “This much!”
He held up his hands to show a fist-sized amount. Auntie Baohua asked, surprised, “Where’d you get meat?”
“Gathered it. Xiaoshu gathered it. They didn’t want it, so Xiaoshu picked it up, not stealing!” Mao Xiaoshu said.
Now there was no other excuse to be had, and Auntie Baohua was displeased.
The pots used in the Beast World weren’t big iron pots, they were brought back by the traveling traders from the tribes near the sea, and were really just enormous scallop shells. One pot cost four beast hides, not cheap.
The tribe’s beasts used them for stewing meat on ordinary days, and for melting snow to drink in the snow season, an indispensable item.
The rim of Auntie Baohua’s own pot was broken, awkward to use, and the one borrowed from Mao Xiaoshu was a bit small, her household had many beasts, so it didn’t get much use. But if her own pot broke and this one had been returned, what would she cook with?
Small as Mao Xiaoshu’s pot was, it would do for melting snow in winter. She’d been using it nearly a year now and had long since come to regard it as her own. She got up and shoved Mao Xiaoshu, trying to push him out of the house.
“You’ve mistaken it, this is my family’s.”
“No, it’s mine, it’s my pot, I want the pot,” Mao Xiaoshu said.
“Want what? I told you this is mine. You fool, you say it’s your pot and that makes it yours? Go, go, go, I’m about to cook meat.”
Mao Xiaoshu was pushed outside the stone house, but he insisted stubbornly, “It’s Xiaoshu’s pot. Xiaoshu’s pot has a chip on the rim, so that’s Xiaoshu’s pot.”
Nagged by his muttering, Auntie Baohua grew annoyed, and afraid other beasts might hear, she gave him a hard shove. “I said it’s not yours. Hurry up and go, can’t you hear?”
Mao Xiaoshu wasn’t braced for it. Just now, dressing the snake meat, Auntie Baohua had spilled some water outside the house, and it was terribly slick. Mao Xiaoshu fell to the ground. He instinctively caught himself with his hands, and then his palms were burning, but he paid it no mind, scrambled up in a couple of moves, and went on muttering that he wanted the pot.
Mao Xiaoshu had always been timid, usually if another beast so much as raised their voice a little, he’d shrink his neck in fear. But today he was strangely unlike himself. Auntie Baohua ignored him, when Mao Xiaoshu tried to go into the house, she glared, and glared so fiercely he didn’t dare come in, yet he wouldn’t leave, crouching down beside the stone house.
He wanted the pot!
He had meat now. If he cooked up some fragrant meat, that good-looking beast would surely be happy to eat it, and if he was happy, might he agree to play with Mao Xiaoshu?
Thinking this, Mao Xiaoshu crouched until his legs and feet went numb, and still wouldn’t leave.
After their meal, with the sky nearly dark, Grandpa Bao saw him still outside, hadn’t budged in all this time, gazing longingly toward their house, and couldn’t bring himself to let it go. “Give him the pot.”
“Female-father…” Auntie Baohua said.
“Never mind, give it to him,” Grandpa Bao said. “There’s just Xiaoshu left at home now. Last year Xiaohe’s mate broke his leg and can’t even see to himself, so Xiaoshu came back alone. The snow season’s coming, and he’ll have to boil water to drink, if the river freezes over, where’s he going to get water?”
Auntie Baohua hadn’t thought of that before.
Mao Xiaoshu was a demi-beast, he couldn’t hunt, and the pot was no use to him, which was why Auntie Baohua had thought to keep it for herself. But in the snow season Mao Xiaoshu really would need to melt some snow to drink.
Mao Xiaoshu was beside himself with joy to get the pot. He clutched it to his chest and ran straight home.
When he got home Qin Ziheng still hadn’t woken.
Mao Xiaoshu excitedly dumped the meat scraps wrapped in the tree leaf into the pot, then ran off to scoop half a pot of water, bustling in and out. But when he’d finished, he suddenly froze.
There were no stones, he couldn’t build the stove. Without a stove there was nowhere to set the pot. How was he to cook meat soup?
There was no fire at home, either.
Seeing that it was nearly dark outside and the meat soup still wasn’t cooked, Mao Xiaoshu spun in anxious circles. The more anxious he grew, the muddier his head became, as though it were full of paste, and all at once he didn’t know what to do.
Only when the cave had gone pitch-black did he flop dejectedly against the stone bed, his stomach growling with hunger. He hadn’t even the heart to eat pucker-fruit.
Qin Ziheng didn’t know where he was lying, nor how long he’d slept. He only felt his whole body limp and weak, his throat so dry it seemed about to catch fire, and a strange lingering taste in his mouth, yet a somewhat familiar one, a bit like the taste of the herbal medicine he’d had as a child.
He remembered.
It seemed someone had fed him medicine.
To his left it was still warm, as if someone were pressed against him, his arm held fast in someone’s grip, and there was the chatter of birdsong at his ears.
He hadn’t lived in the village for years now.
His floor was high up. The residential compound’s greenery was good, but never good enough for flocks of birds to roost, so where had the birdsong come from?
Qin Ziheng snapped his eyes open, and the first thing to meet his gaze was a rough, uneven stone wall.
For a moment he was stunned.
It took him a good while to collect himself and remember that this was not his home, nor his second uncle’s home. His arm was terribly numb, the instant he moved it instinctively, he was held tight again, and a low, mumbled voice followed: “Mm…”
Qin Ziheng turned his head to look. Resting against his shoulder was a head, it should be the person he’d met in the mountains yesterday. Qin Ziheng was about to breathe a sigh of relief when, catching sight of something, his pupils suddenly contracted, and like a bucket of cold water dumped over him, he came instantly wide awake.