My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 143 Little Guest

After being carried home by Chen Ling, the young wife was still too shy to look up.

She hesitated for a long time before letting Chen Ling examine her injuries.

However, because of the location of the wound, she still felt extremely embarrassed.

After burying her head in the blanket, her body was still trembling slightly, her face was so hot it could boil an egg, and even her snow-white neck was covered in a blush.

Honestly, we've been married for two years, why are you still so shy?

While finding it amusing, Chen Ling worked quickly, removing the poisonous hooks from the wound and squeezing out the venom.

Then, she gently applied a mixture of herbs prepared with the water from the cave...

The process itself was, of course, quite enchanting.

So much so that when he woke up the next morning, his wife was still complaining that he hadn't been gentle enough.

Chen Ling just grinned foolishly at this.

Can't blame him.

The things produced in this grotto are truly nourishing.

Wang Susu never stopped doing rough and tiring work all day long, but her skin remained fair and delicate, like solidified frost and fragrant snow.

Holding it in my arms, it was as soft as cotton, or like a ripe sweet potato.

Unable to contain himself, Chen Ling transformed into a wild boar descending the mountain, rooting and gnawing, wreaking havoc with abandon.

...We still have to go to the fields to work today. The bean sprouts and peanut seedlings have grown up. Not to mention the soybeans, the autumn peanuts need more care than those planted in spring. In addition to checking on them regularly, we need to take good care of them every ten days or so, weeding and watering them, so that we can get a good harvest in the autumn.

Chen Ling hadn't had time to grab the hoe, shovel, and wild yam seeds yesterday because he was in such a hurry to carry his wife home.

It was delivered to my home early this morning by the villagers who were patrolling last night.

However, this also revealed that Wang Susu had been stung by a scorpion.

The village can't keep secrets anymore.

After the young couple finished their meal and led the cow out, almost everyone in the village knew about it.

At this time, most people were gathered together eating breakfast.

Everyone said that no wonder Chen Ling ran away with his wife on his back yesterday.

Then he asked how Wang Susu was doing.

They were all quite surprised to hear that everything was alright.

Some of the older relatives who knew Chen Ling well even joked with him, "Fugui, did you use some kind of folk remedy on your wife?"

Normally, after being stung by a scorpion, the wound will quickly become red and swollen, and it will be extremely painful.

That guy's pain could last for hours.

Unless it's a small scorpion with weak venom, if the sting is treated properly and you rest overnight, you'll be fine.

People toil in the fields all day, inevitably getting bitten by poisonous insects, so they have a general understanding of scorpions, bees, snakes, and the like.

Of course, now when we talk about folk remedies, it's just a joke, purely to tease Chen Ling.

"Stop talking, Uncle. Why are you all learning from Fifth Uncle now, always bringing up my shortcomings?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling knew what these people wanted to say.

There are no real folk remedies for scorpion stings; those are just things adults say to fool little kids.

Just like when Chen Ling was a child, he once caught a scorpion and got stung on the hand, and cried loudly.

With his parents not home, Wang Lixian's father saw him and said, "Don't cry. Crying will only make the sting worse. I'll tell you a folk remedy for scorpion stings. It works every time, and the pain will be gone after just one application..."

Chen Ling then asked what kind of folk remedy it was.

Wang Lixian's father made him pinch his nose, tilt his head back, and spin around in circles, saying that if he spun around a hundred times, the pain would go away. He was too young at the time, so he believed him.

He obediently spun around a hundred times.

After turning him over, the old man asked, "Does it still hurt, Fugui?"

He swayed and said, "It doesn't hurt much anymore, I'm just dizzy."

The old man burst into laughter: "That's right, you're dizzy! How can you forget the pain if you're not dizzy?"

Only then did he realize he had been fooled.

Because of this, he was laughed at by the villagers for many years.

Gradually, I learned to be clever.

But this incident set a precedent, and from then on, many villagers used it to amuse their children. They would do the same thing when stung by bees or bitten by snakes, and it always worked.

...Just like now, the more he forbids them to talk, the more enthusiastically they talk.

Wang Susu couldn't help but laugh when she heard this.

She always enjoyed hearing people tell funny stories about Chen Ling's past.

Even though some of them have been told countless times, I still find them interesting and listen to them with great interest every time.

Chen Ling, on the other hand, found it very boring. Every time he heard others talking about him, he just wanted to get up and leave.

He chatted with the villagers for a while.

Once you leave the village, the number of people gradually decreases.

The young couple rode the ox, chatting and laughing all the way, and by the time they reached their own field, more than half an hour had passed.

The peanuts and soybeans in the field have been planted for about two months now.

The peanut seedlings have mostly started to flower, while the soybeans are a little later, but about half of them have already flowered.

After flowering, both peanuts and soybeans enter a period of vigorous growth.

If there is little rain, you must water it frequently in order to retain moisture and promote pollination.

Peanuts, in particular, have basically finished pollinating by this time and have begun to "peg" – that is, they start to grow peanut pods in the soil.

To get a good harvest, you need to grow more peanuts.

At this time, it is necessary to "tread the seedlings".

Stepping on the seedlings and pressing down the soil only requires one pass.

Chen Ling didn't care whether he stepped on her or not, but Wang Susu kept it in mind.

He was hoeing weeds while muttering to himself.

The process of treading on seedlings is similar to topping cotton plants, picking the tips of watermelon vines, and pressing down the vines.

Step down the upright branches and vines of the peanut plant to allow them to come into contact with the soil. This not only allows the pegs to penetrate the soil smoothly, but also increases the amount of sunlight the roots receive, resulting in better growth.

Don't underestimate this kind of work; it's quite strenuous.

The two discussed it and decided to weed first, then tamp down the seedlings, and finally water them.

Fortunately, they didn't plant many peanuts this year, so they weren't in a rush and worked at their own pace.

Around 11 a.m., the two finished weeding the peanut field and prepared to take a break. The weather was a bit hot today. The peanut and soybean fields were located in the northwest, near the ditch at the foot of the mountain, so there was hardly any wind.

After weeding for half a day, Wang Susu was already sweating profusely.

The two were about to have a drink of water and rest for a while, but they hadn't rested for long when they heard someone calling them.

Chen Ling had sharp hearing. He stood up and glanced over. It turned out that Liang Hongyu and Qin Rongxian, the elderly couple, had come looking for them. Qin Rongxian was pushing his bicycle and standing on the edge of the field, looking in their direction.

The dirt road to the east is not close to here.

It's still thirty acres of land, and it stretches quite far east to west. People coming down from the mountain can see them working, but standing on the dirt road and with the small trees blocking the view, it's not easy to see them.

Chen Ling told Wang Susu and hurried over to meet them. Halfway there, the two elders finally saw him and called out to him not to come any closer, then walked over this way.

Chen Ling agreed verbally, but still greeted him with a smile.

Wang Susu naturally followed suit.

"You two kids, really! We told you not to come over, but you insisted on going outside. It's not far, we could have just come by ourselves..."

Even as they approached, the elderly couple were still complaining.

Wang Susu had brought the two of them to the fields to graze cattle and cut grass before, so they knew the place.

Finding no one home, he inquired around and came here on his own.

Chen Ling and his companion just smiled, and then led them around to take a look.

"The Yue family has some free time now and wanted to come and have some fun for a day, but I see you're still busy here..."

"It's okay, it's nothing. Come visit whenever you want, we're not strangers."

"We're not in a rush. We've planted some things, only about five acres, which is easy to manage."

As they walked over to the peanut field, Chen Ling packed his things, preparing to go home and properly entertain the family.

Liang Hongyu stopped him, saying, "There's no rush. Yuemin and the others called this morning. They're still in the city. It would be good if they could arrive by noon."

"Your uncle and I will help you with some work first, and we can go back at noon without getting late."

Chen Ling refused to agree.

Even if you're very familiar with someone, you can't just come to their house and drag them to do farm work.

The two elders quickly said it was nothing.

Qin Rongxian said cheerfully, "Your aunt and I haven't done farm work for many years. We're itching to try it out. Let's give it a shot."

"Look how energetic your aunt and I are lately, and we've gotten much stronger. We run and exercise every day, and our legs have become thinner."

Chen Ling examined it carefully.

The two of them did look much more energetic, and their eye bags and wrinkles seemed to have faded a bit.

They knew it was because they had added two small buckets of Dongtianxi water to the kitchen for them.

He immediately stopped trying to persuade her.

However, the two of them hadn't done farm work for many years and were quite rusty. After weeding for a while, they felt embarrassed to continue and instead helped Wang Susu tread the rice seedlings.

Chen Ling then weeded the remaining weeds, which didn't take too long.

Until noon.

The two men helped carry two large baskets of grass, and Chen Ling and his companion shouldered the farm tools, led the ox, and went home.

As expected, Liang Yuemin and his family had not arrived yet.

While I was working, I asked around and found out that Liu Yinhuan's father had already brought her back.

They recently returned to Beijing to bring their son with them.

I knew this whole family was coming.

Chen Ling asked Wang Susu to entertain the two elders at home while he went to the reservoir to catch some crayfish.

Not content with just catching fish, they carried a small boat from Chen Jiang's house, along with a casting net, and cast two nets into the river, catching several fish.

Although these fish cannot compare to those raised in the reservoir, many large fish were washed in by the flood this year. They are much larger than the original fish in the reservoir, and I don't know where they came from. They taste very delicious.

After catching the fish and shrimp, we went home and cleaned them together with Qin Rongxian.

Around 1:30 p.m., a car horn sounded. At that moment, Chen Ling and Qin Rong had just finished cleaning the fish and the crayfish.

Hearing the commotion, he knew that Liang Yuemin and his family had arrived, so he wiped his hands and walked out of the courtyard.

Wang Susu and Liang Hongyu, who were busy in the kitchen, also came out.

This time, Liang Yuemin came in a pickup truck with local license plates, but both its appearance and license plate number looked much more imposing than Zhao Dahai's.

"Grandpa, Grandma, I miss you so much..."

The first one to jump off the car was a chubby little boy.

Upon seeing Liang Hongyu and Qin Rong one after the other, their eyes lit up, and they excitedly ran over.

"Oh, Xiaoming, my dear grandson, Grandpa and Grandma miss you too."

Upon seeing their grandson, the elderly couple were overjoyed and hugged him tightly, showering him with affection.

Then they pulled Chen Ling and Wang Susu in front of them.

"Xiaoming, quick, call for help!"

The chubby boy was lively and not shy at all. He raised his head and waved his chubby little hand at the two of them with a smile.

"Hello uncle, hello auntie."

Perhaps he had been warned by his parents beforehand not to talk about things in the village, and he even winked at Chen Ling with his little eyes.

Everyone thought he was just being silly and burst into laughter.

Liang Yuemin and Liu Yinhuan also got out of the car carrying their things. The couple were dressed much more simply and had a little girl with two pigtails with them. She was about the same age as the chubby boy.

It was only after Liang Hongyu and the other person introduced her that I learned she was actually my granddaughter.

This was the first time Chen Ling had learned that the two elders had a daughter. However, compared to the chubby boy's liveliness, the little girl was rather quiet and reserved.

The chubby boy hopped and skipped, pulling her over to call for help, but she didn't say a word.

He glanced back and forth between Chen Ling and Wang Susu before turning his gaze away.

That's very impolite.

She only managed a dry greeting after the two elderly people spoke to her in a scolding tone.

This made the two elders look rather uncomfortable.

They treated Chen Ling like their own child, and now they had invited the whole family over to meet him, but who knew that they would cause such an embarrassing scene as soon as they arrived.

Liang Hongyu had a short temper and glared at her son. She knew all along that the girl was spoiled by the family, so why did she bring her along?

It only annoys people.

This left Liang Yuemin and his wife looking embarrassed.

Chen Ling and his companion didn't seem to mind and continued to warmly welcome them home.

They're after the adults, not these little kids.

The child is ignorant; just don't argue with her.

Once inside the courtyard, Liang Yuemin, who had been there once before and was quite familiar with the place, put down his things and asked, "Mom, what are you making for lunch? You came out with your hands covered in flour."

"Susu and I are kneading dough to make noodles. Fugui said that dumplings are for sending off guests and noodles are for welcoming guests. The dough is freshly ground and will taste delicious when used to make noodles."

As Liang Hongyu spoke, she glanced at her daughter-in-law and said, "Huanhuan, wash your hands and come help. We'll cook in the yard later and clear out the kitchen so your dad can help Fugui cook."

"it is good."

Liu Yinhuan responded softly and went to the well to wash her hands.

Chen Ling and Qin Rongxian, father and son, took the fish and crayfish to the kitchen to prepare cooking.

Only the chubby boy remained, anxiously circling around the little girl, seemingly wanting to go out and play. But the little girl remained silent, her face cold and indifferent, without a trace of a smile.

"Brother-in-law, is Fatty here? I see a car parked at the door."

Just then, Wang Zhenzhen rushed in with a group of little kids.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I realized that I didn't recognize anyone, but they were dressed very fashionably, and I was immediately stunned.

Even the little kids fell silent; they had run too fast and were now standing behind Wang Zhenzhen, panting softly.

"Where have you been gallivanting off to again? Don't you even know what time it is? You forgot to eat lunch?"

When she saw her younger sister return, Wang Susu frowned. This girl would run around everywhere on Sundays and wouldn't even come home for meals.

Unlike other children's families, her family didn't always leave food for her.

If she comes home late like other families, there won't be any food left, let's see if she dares not to come home.

There are ways to deal with them.

"We're not hungry. Besides, the food at home isn't ready yet either."

Wang Zhenzhen blinked, looking at this and that, and then didn't forget to reply to Wang Susu.

"Susu, this is..."

It was the first time Liang Hongyu had met Wang Zhenzhen, and she couldn't help but ask.

"My little sister, Wang Zhenzhen."

Wang Susu smiled and said to her younger sister, "Hurry up and come call someone."

The little girl obediently walked over and, following Wang Susu's instructions, called her "Auntie" and "Sister-in-law."

Of course, they didn't forget Qin Rongxian and his son, who came out of the kitchen to see what was happening.

"Oh my, this is Su Su's sister..."

When Liang Hongyu heard the little girl call her, she was overjoyed and straightened up to take something out of her pocket.

But he quickly realized his hands were covered in flour, so he had to pull them back, smiling slightly flusteredly, and said, "She's such a pretty and sensible girl, she's so likable."

She's just indulging in praise because she loves the house so much; she'll shower it with compliments whenever she gets the chance.

Even Liu Yinhuan nodded in agreement, saying, "She is indeed a good girl, with a lot of charm."

This guy made the little girl feel embarrassed.

"Sister, we're going out to play now, we'll be back later."

Wang Susu stopped her, saying, "Don't go yet. You go play, and take these two children with you."

"Um……"

Wang Zhenzhen turned her head and looked at the chubby boy who was staring longingly at them, as well as a little girl with a cold expression.

Seeing how stylish they were dressed, even better than the students in the county town, I hesitated.

This is also normal.

The children in the village don't care much about their clothes.

Some of them are clothes that adults have worn out and altered. They are generally reluctant to buy new ones, unless they make a new set for the New Year.

Even if you have the money to buy them, these mischievous monkeys climb high and low, and the new clothes they wear will only last for two or three days. They often get a tear, a ripped seam, or a broken corner. Their parents can't beat them, and they'll go crazy again the next day, climbing trees, going into the water, crawling through the bushes, and rolling on the ground. Their clothes are torn, and they're never really clean.

Compared to these two little kids, they are clearly not the same kind of people.

But since her sister had said so, Wang Zhenzhen naturally had to obey, so she said, "Okay."

Then he said to the two chubby boys, "Come on, I'll take you to play."

The chubby boy couldn't wait any longer. His eyes lit up, and he grabbed his sister's hand, saying, "Let's go, Little Chestnut, let's go out and play. I saw them on the way here, and I know there are big cows and horses there. We can ride the horses and play."

The little girl remained unmoved, her eyes sweeping over the group of dirty little children, and she frowned slightly.

Seeing this, the chubby boy became a little anxious and was about to say something...

Liu Nier picked up on his words: "That's not a horse. Nobody in our village raises horses anymore. You're talking about a donkey."

"Donkey? What is a donkey?"

The chubby boy stared wide-eyed with curiosity: "Can you take me to see it?"

"We can't go. The donkeys belong to other people and they're not familiar with us. If we anger them, they might kick us and kill us."

Liu Ni'er shook her head, her little face very serious.

"What is 'kicking up'?"

The chubby boy looked completely bewildered.

Liu Nier pouted upon hearing this, unsure of what to say.

Then he walked over to Wang Zhenzhen and said to her, "Auntie, why don't we not go out to play for now? They don't understand anything."

"Ah."

Wang Zhenzhen nodded, also feeling that having two such companions would be troublesome.

They said, "Then come over here, we'll play with the little wild boar at home."

"Sister, can we let the wild boar cubs out?"

As he spoke, he didn't forget to ask Wang Susu's opinion.

"Let them out, but don't let too many out, just let one or two out to play with."

Wang Susu responded.

Now the yard is bigger, but when guests come over, how can we let the wild boars out and make a ruckus all over the yard?

The chubby boy hadn't figured out what "kicking" meant, so when he heard "wild boar," he asked, "What kind of pig is a wild boar? My grandpa's family has a pig, it's black and super fat, but it smells really bad. It will eat anything we feed it, it even eats my poop."

The chubby boy huddled behind Wang Zhenzhen, grinning.

With something new and fun to do, he had completely forgotten about his sister.

"Of course they eat it. Pigs and dogs eat poop. We think our poop smells bad, but pigs and dogs think it smells good and they fight over it."

Liu Nier explained, sniffling.

"Oh, I see. What smells bad to us smells good to them."

The chubby boy listened with a look of amazement.

Then Wang Zhenzhen led the leader to release two wild boar pups.

Wild boars are quite cute when they are still piglets, with fluffy brown fur, black and yellow stripes all over their bodies, big eyes, pink noses, and when they grunt, they are lively, cute, and extremely endearing.

As soon as the chubby boy saw the wild boar, he shouted "Wow!" and liked it very much from the bottom of his heart. He bent down, picked one up, and stroked it in his arms for a while, refusing to let go.

These piglets used to bite people, but recently, the little ones have been coming over to play every day, either petting or hugging them, and they've become much more well-behaved.

Seeing how much the chubby boy likes it.

Liu Nier and the others were also very proud, and they bragged to him about how they caught it.

The chubby boy listened intently.

Finally, he excitedly asked, "Is it still possible to catch one now? I really want to catch one and take it home to raise."

"No, it won't work. It's hard to catch them now, and even if you do catch them, it's hard to raise them. Apart from Uncle Fugui, no one can support them."

"That's right. We captured these animals and kept them in secret tunnels. They were almost starved to death, but Uncle Fugui saved them in the end. He has a trick up his sleeve."

"You have no idea, Uncle Fugui is really amazing. He can even keep a baby rabbit alive before it even opens its eyes."

"After raising them for a few months, they've had a lot of baby rabbits. My aunt says the rabbits seem to be pregnant again, and the yard is almost overflowing. Uncle Fugui is even going to build a big yard to raise them..."

Perhaps because they felt they got along well with the chubby boy, the little kids started talking non-stop. Whatever he asked, the little kids would tell him a whole story.

The little chubby boy was so excited by what he heard that his face turned bright red.

"Brother Liu Ni'er, I want to see the little rabbit."

“The rabbit burrow is over there. Come on, stand on this rock and look inside. Don’t hold onto the fence, it’s not sturdy.”

Liu Nier felt a great sense of accomplishment being called "brother" by such a stylishly dressed little boy.

Wang Zhenzhen felt even more proud, after all, they were raised by her own sister and brother-in-law, so she said to Liu Nier, "Liu Nier, go and bring out two for Xiaoming."

"Hehe, okay, I'll go get it for you."

The chubby boy was still holding the little wild boar in his arms and wouldn't let go. When he saw Liu Nier take the rabbit out, he felt that his two hands weren't enough. He wanted to touch the little rabbit, but he couldn't bear to put down the piglet in his arms.

He'll make even little kids laugh at him.

Seeing the children playing together, Liang Hongyu and Liu Yinhuan, mother and daughter-in-law, would occasionally glance over and chat with Wang Susu.

Even the little girl with the cold face looked up, especially when she saw the pretty and cute little wild boar and rabbit. She pretended to glance at them casually and listened intently to their conversation.

How did you catch the baby wild boar? And how did you keep the baby rabbit with its eyes still closed alive?
As she listened, she subconsciously pursed her lips, her eyes filled with anticipation.

But now the chubby boy's eyes are only on the wild boar and the rabbit, so he doesn't care about her at all.

This little girl was simply spoiled by her family. She was waited on hand and foot, and everything revolved around her, which made her a spoiled little princess.

But this is a village, and nobody indulges her.

This adorable little face naturally caught the attention of the adults.

Liu Yinhuan and her husband were still a little reluctant, feeling that as the uncle and aunt, they had brought the child back to play, and if they didn't take good care of him, they would be blamed by their sister-in-law when they returned.

But Liang Hongyu wouldn't let them interfere.

She said she wanted to go, and no one stopped her. It's her own fault for not going. Does she expect someone to invite her?
The old lady was angry and said some harsh things.

Helpless, the couple had no choice but to pretend they hadn't seen it.

...Now the chubby boy finally put down the little wild boar in his arms for the time being, turned around and picked up the little rabbit. When he saw that Wang Zhenzhen and Liu Nier were holding the rabbit by its ears, he tenderly pressed his face against the rabbit and rubbed against it to comfort it.

The little girl was incredibly envious when she saw her brother holding the rabbit. Her expectant gaze turned into a deep longing as she stared intently at the rabbit.

Finally, Wang Susu couldn't stand it anymore and called out to her younger sister, "Zhenzhen, what are you doing? Don't just focus on playing by yourselves, bring this little one along too."

"what?"

Wang Zhenzhen responded blankly, only then realizing that the little girl hadn't followed.

He waved to the little girl: "Come and play! There's grass in the basket behind you. Grab some to feed the little rabbits."

The little girl couldn't hold back any longer. She got up, grabbed a big handful of grass, and ran over, not caring about the dirt on the grass.

She ran up to him, her face slightly flushed, and looked at Wang Zhenzhen cautiously.

Although she still didn't say anything, Wang Zhenzhen didn't care. She led her to feed the little rabbits, and after feeding them, they hugged and played around, having a great time.

He quickly became Wang Zhenzhen's little shadow.

When it was time to eat, the two children had also covered in grime, and their clothes were no longer as clean and tidy as when they first arrived, but their happy and lively demeanor was incomparable to before.

(End of this chapter)