My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 164 Goat Beard

"There aren't many people here today, Cripple."

Slowly, I strolled to Cui the Cripple's door. The surroundings were deserted, except for Cui the Cripple, who was leaning against the wall, basking in the sun and dozing off.

"what?"

Cui the Cripple opened his eyes groggily, wiped his mouth, and said, "That's right, the autumn harvest is almost here, everyone's busy in the fields."

"Why are you out here? Shouldn't you stay home with your wife?"

"No need. Someone came looking for her. Women never stop talking, it's so annoying."

"Haha, you little rascal, how about a few rounds?"

"Come on."

"I knew you were itching to play. I'll go get the chess pieces."

Cui the Cripple smiled, slowly stood up with his crutch, and limped back to get the chess set.

Chen Ling set up the chessboard under the tree. The chessboard in the countryside was very simple; he just found a square wooden board and drew the moves on it.

Once Cui the Cripple brought out the chess set, the two set up their pieces and began to fight.

"In a few months, you'll be holding a baby. What are your plans, kid?"

"Plans? What plans?"

"It's for the children's future. Look at Shuiwazi and the others, they're all working hard to go out and find work. They don't even rest after the autumn harvest, just wanting to earn more money so that they can send their children to a good school and help them go to university like Lixian's fifth daughter. Didn't they tell you about this?"

“I told them. Let them do what they want, I'll just stay home and farm. Thirty acres is more than enough for my kids to eat and drink…”

"Snapped!"

As he spoke, Chen Ling shot down Cui the Cripple's horse with a single shot.

"Whoa, you killed my horse, now I'll eat your cart."

Cui the Cripple shouted and charged across the river with his cannon.

Then he continued, "Your thirty acres of land can only be planted with a little bit this year. If you don't use more fertilizer, will it take a few years for it to recover?"

"Yes, we need to let it rest until the soil becomes more fertile before planting anything else. We shouldn't mess around for the next two years. Like we said before, we should just fence off a piece of land and grow some things there."

"Hey, hearing you say that, I've noticed people coming to your house to buy eggs every now and then lately. You must have made a lot of money in the last six months, including the vegetables you used to sell. You've probably become a millionaire without making a sound. You could easily build a chicken farm."

Cui the Cripple held the chess piece, glanced at Chen Ling, and smiled slyly.

He frequently goes to the county market to buy goods. Compared to ordinary villagers, he knows the prices of all kinds of daily necessities, vegetables, and grains very well. Chen Ling even brought five acres of vegetables to the market to sell. Based on this year's prices, he definitely won't make less money.

However, while he was a good person and liked to join in the fun, he was not talkative. He had some guesses about how much money Chen Ling's family made this year, but he didn't intend to tell anyone.

"Come on, a 'ten-thousand-yuan household'? If I had ten thousand yuan, I'd build a small villa right away."

"Like the one Erzhu built in the county town before?"

"It's even more stylish than his."

"Haha, you're quite the actor. Are you afraid people will ask you for money or something? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Cui the Cripple made a move, looked up, pointed at Chen Ling, and grinned.

Seeing this, Chen Ling also laughed.

"It's not that I'm afraid of people lending me money, I just got lucky this year and made a little money, but it's nothing special. Crippled Brother, you do the math yourself, you've run this business for so many years, selling cigarettes, alcohol, and pork, how much have you made in a year? Do you think I'm better off than you?"

"Hey, hey, don't drag me into this. I'm telling you this because I heard the Party Secretary talking about contracting land, forests, and reservoirs the other day. You have money, you could ask the Party Secretary to take over Erzhu's mess and build a greenhouse, even if it's small..."

"You know how expensive greenhouse vegetables are, and this year people are too poor to build greenhouses. You should hurry up and get started so you can get ahead of the competition."

"If we start now, we can sell it next spring and definitely make a lot of money."

Actually, what Cui the Cripple said made some sense, but Chen Ling wasn't interested in it. Instead, he told him that this year, not only could building greenhouses make money, but pork was also expensive. He suggested that Chen Ling build a pig farm in the south of the village to raise pigs. Since everyone knew that pork was expensive, there would definitely be more pigs raised next year. They could make a fortune selling piglets in the spring, not to mention selling meat.

"You know what, if I were a little more agile, I would definitely set up a pig farm. It would cost much less money than building a greenhouse, but I would make just as much money."

"Right? I knew you knew what you were doing, Brother Cripple. It's a waste of your talent to run a cooperative in the village. If you went out to do business, you could definitely become a big boss."

Upon hearing this, Cui the Cripple grinned from ear to ear and repeatedly waved his hands, saying no.

This cripple was a bachelor who didn't farm and didn't have much to do except spend his days playing cards and chess with others.

Besides that, what he likes most is asking around and telling people how to make money, as if listening to him will immediately make him a fortune.

Although he is not a bad person and has a good heart, it's annoying to see him acting like this all the time.

However, this person is easily embarrassed by praise. He gets shy as soon as he is praised. If you praise him a couple of times after he has been annoyed by his praise, he will immediately blush and stammer, unable to speak. But he will be secretly happy for most of the day.

As they played chess, it soon became almost noon, and the villagers gradually returned from the fields. Some went straight home to cook, while others stood aside to watch them play. Before long, the area was crowded with people.

"I want to win a car! I want to win a car!"

Chen Ling had won several games in a row and was finally about to lose. The people next to him immediately shouted, waiting to replace him.

Just then, someone said that Su Su was calling him home. Chen Ling immediately remembered that he hadn't made lunch yet, so he lost his appetite and threw the chess pieces on the board, admitting defeat.

……

"Wealth and honor, wait for me."

He hadn't gone two steps when a woman hurried after him; it was Xiuying, Chen Dazhi's sister-in-law.

"What's wrong, sister-in-law?"

"I'm here to ask you, are you still using your sprayer? If not, can I use it for half a day this afternoon? My house keeps leaking. I sprayed it twice this morning, and it's soaked your back, Dazhi, and my skin is burning."

"Oh, I just got my medicine injected this morning, so I'm free now. Come on, I'll go home and get it for you."

"The corn is almost ready for harvest, why are you still spraying pesticides, sister-in-law?"

"It's not corn, it's cotton that needs to be threshed twice."

"Oh. Cotton, you need to take good care of it, it gets infested with insects very quickly."

"Who says otherwise? We just beat them a while ago, and they've started growing again after a few days of neglect. It's really worrying. Your brother Dazhi is really something. He worked so hard growing strawberries a few years ago, and now he's growing cotton. If you ask me, he might as well have grown sweet potatoes."

Cotton plants are prone to pests, such as bollworms, cutworms, and various moths and grasshoppers. Sometimes there can be four or five kinds of insects on a single cotton plant, and it is no exaggeration to say that there can be thousands of insects per acre.

If we don't keep an eye on things in time, that guy will stop working in the fields every now and then, and the cotton fields will be ruined.

This year's cotton, soybeans, and peanuts were planted later due to flooding, and are all summer crops. These crops, which thrive in water, fertilizer, and sunlight, actually grow faster when sown in summer than when sown in spring. However, they are also more susceptible to pests and diseases and require more frequent care, making them more labor-intensive than spring-sown crops.

In addition, although these crops have a shorter growing season when sown in summer, they are also susceptible to frost damage, which can reduce the yield. The villagers are aware of this, so they plant relatively few of these crops.

It's quite rare to see a family like Chen Ling's, with two mu (approximately 0.33 acres) of each planted, such as peanuts and soybeans. In the past, when they planted this much, it was usually in the spring, along with rapeseed.

Back home, Wang Susu and Qin Qiumei took scissors and cut two tufts of whiskers off the white dairy goat.

At this moment, seeing Chen Ling leading Sister-in-law Xiuying into the courtyard, they hurriedly came to greet them.

While the women were talking, Chen Ling went and found the sprayer.

"Fugui, Susu is here, you must be overjoyed!" Sister-in-law Xiuying said with a smile as she took the sprayer.

"I'm so happy, I haven't been able to sleep these past few days."

"Then let's think about it more and make some good food for Susu. If she takes good care of herself, the baby she will have in the future will be strong."

"That's what Sister-in-law Xiuying said."

He was about to say something when he realized that his big yellow dog had run over at some point, ran to Chen Ling's side, circled around his trouser legs, biting and rubbing against him, and was playing happily with him.

Her dog went into the mountains with Chen Dazhi and got to know Chen Ling well. The guy was very affectionate when they met.

However, Xiuying's sister-in-law thought her dog was too dirty, so she kicked it and said, "Get out of here, or I'll tie you up when we get home."

The big yellow dog, having been kicked, looked quite innocent, gazing pitifully at its owner, then at Chen Ling, whimpering and wagging its tail incessantly.

When Chen Ling and Wang Susu saw this, they said it was nothing, as their dog always ran around in their house.

Indeed, after raising Heiwa and Xiaojin, the village dogs kept running into our house every few days.

Xiuying's sister-in-law didn't respond. "Susu, don't blame me for being nosy, but you're pregnant now. You can't get too close to cats or dogs. Your health is very precious right now."

"I understand, sister-in-law. I'll be more careful in the future," Wang Susu smiled slightly.

Then, together with Chen Ling, they escorted Sister-in-law Xiuying out of the courtyard.

In fact, in the past few days, more than one person has mentioned this and that to her, and there are many things to pay attention to when you are pregnant. She has kept them all in mind, and Chen Ling is also very cautious, after all, it is their first pregnancy, and the two of them are being extremely careful.

After seeing off Sister-in-law Xiuying, Chen Ling looked at his wife and the two women and asked in confusion, "What were you doing at home just now? Why did you go to shear sheep?"

"No. It wasn't shearing sheep, it was just trimming a bit of the sheep's beard."

"Xiaoyun's child has sores that won't heal. Why don't you try some folk remedies?"

Wang Susu said.

"Oh, that's how it is."

Chen Ling nodded.

Children have low immunity, and if you're not careful, they might get affected in some places. Every year when the seasons change, they get pimples and sores on their hands, feet, and chin. They get itchy, swollen, and even oozing pus. If they can't help but scratch, they'll break the skin and a large patch of pimples will grow back, and it won't heal in a short time.

Later, doctors in the countryside discovered a folk remedy: using goat's beard to treat the condition, and it was very effective.

For treatment, simply place a clean and dry goat's beard on a tile and bake it until it is charred. Then grind it into powder, mix it with some sesame oil (or vegetable oil), and apply the paste to the affected area.

Wait until it dries, scabs over, and falls off, then apply the ointment again. Repeat this process for a few days until the boil is almost completely healed.

"That's right, my child is weak and has a lot of minor health problems, so he's very difficult to manage."

Zhong Xiaoyun smiled shyly at Chen Ling.

Chen Ling knew that this female teacher had come to him for more than just this, but women's affairs were none of his business.

Seeing that it was almost noon, he said to Qin Qiumei, "Don't leave today. Take Teacher Xiaoyun and stay for lunch."

"Okay, let Xiaoyun try your cooking too."

Qin Qiumei gave him a bright smile and didn't stand on ceremony.

What delicious meal are you planning to cook?

"Well, it's not exactly a great meal. There's still a lot of venison and deer meat left for Susu. We can stew it for lunch."

"What else would you like to eat? There's a menu behind the kitchen door. Just order whatever you want, and I'll make it for you."

Chen Ling pointed into the kitchen, where a piece of calendar paper was cut out and pasted behind the door, with the names of the dishes written on it.

He made this thing a couple of days ago when he had nothing else to do. Otherwise, pregnant women have to be careful about what they can and cannot eat. There are so many kinds of meat, fruits and vegetables, and he was too lazy to remember them all. It's better to just write them down and look at them before cooking. It's clear and easy to understand.

Qin Qiumei and her companion were initially surprised to hear there was a menu. However, they understood after learning the reason.

Understanding is one thing, but it's hard not to feel envious. You think to yourself, look at how well that young couple lives, and then look at your own family. On the surface, they seem glamorous and respectable, but in private, it's a long story.

No one else lives such a comfortable life.

Do you need us to assist you?

Perhaps men who dote on their wives are more likely to win favor; even Zhong Xiaoyun put aside her awkwardness and took the initiative to ask.

"No need, the meat is all slaughtered, just wait to eat. Go check the menu, see if there's anything else you'd like to eat."

"That's enough. We can't finish any more."

"That's fine."

So Chen Ling went to the well and pulled the meat up, while Qin Qiumei and the other woman followed Wang Susu to feed the sheep, pigeons, and rabbits, and to play with the wild boar.

Pigeons and rabbits are fine; even if the rabbits are about to give birth, they don't need much attention. The two ewes need to be well cared for.

Sheep tend to be less active and eat less when they are about to give birth.

At this time, you need to take good care of your food and water. The water should be clean and plentiful, free of dirt, and not too cold.

In addition, you need to walk them around a little every day and brush their fur, otherwise they are prone to prenatal paralysis, difficult labor, or miscarriage.

Actually, Chen Ling brought these two sheep back from the cave. In the cave, he fed them water and grass, and also cleaned their bodies. So they were not only very healthy, but their fur was also very clean.

After Wang Susu cleaned up the sheep droppings, the three women busied themselves around the two sheep, combing their wool and scratching their backs, making the two sheep bleat comfortably.

Now, the little white calf also became envious. It walked from the cowshed to them, slowly lay down on the ground, mooed softly, swished its tail and rubbed against the ground, and moved closer to Wang Susu, wanting its mistress to scratch its itch.

Wang Susu had no choice but to take a brush and brush its fur as well.

The two women had never seen a cow that was smarter than a dog, and it was so beautiful and could even act cute. Their hearts melted instantly. They wanted to reach out and touch it, but Wang Susu had warned them beforehand, so they didn't dare to actually touch it.

After Wang Susu had scratched the little white calf until it felt comfortable and closed its eyes, she carefully reached out to touch it and scratch its itch.

This made the two women very happy, as if they had touched some kind of treasure.

……

Chen Ling glanced out from the kitchen, shook his head and smiled, thinking to himself that his wife was quite capable; she could get along with any woman, no matter where she came from.

Now that the venison and deer meat were ready, Chen Ling pondered for a moment and decided not to stew or stir-fry the meat today. To save trouble, he would just make a hot pot and eat the meat. Anyway, he had plenty of seasonings at home, and he could just make the broth.

The only thing to be careful about is to make the food a little lighter to suit your wife's taste.

"Susu, how about we make hot pot for lunch? Do you want some?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Susu asked Qin Qiumei and the other person for their opinions, and immediately replied, "Yes, we'll eat whatever you make."

"Alright, let's have mushroom hot pot today."

-

P.S.: I'll be very busy before March 15th. Things will be much easier after next Tuesday, and I won't be gone for such a long time again, so don't worry.

(End of this chapter)