My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 22 Entering the City Again

Qin Dongmei felt a tightness in her chest from Chen Ling's last words, but having witnessed his fierce side, she dared not say anything more, for fear of angering him.

However, the hatred in his eyes intensified. He spat fiercely at the person across the hall, stood up, and dusted himself off.

Just as he was about to head home, his older sister, Qin Qiumei, came out.

"What's wrong, Dongmei? Who are you arguing with outside so early in the morning?"

Today, however, the young woman wasn't dressed as stylishly as she had been the previous two days. She was wrapped in a thick cotton coat, and her complexion wasn't very good.

His steps were a little unsteady, and he looked like he was about to fall over when the wind blew.

"Hmph, who else could it be? That spendthrift son across the street!"

Qin Dongmei's face was very ugly. She was secretly glad that her sister hadn't seen what had just happened. Otherwise, her sister would have been prettier, more favored, and had a higher status than her since childhood.

She already had low self-esteem, otherwise she wouldn't be so aggressive all the time. If you saw her make a fool of herself, she would lose all face.

"That son of a bitch has really gotten bold today, daring to curse me and not putting our Chunyuan in his eyes. Look how capable he is."

"That stupid, good-for-nothing son of a bitch, when the fields stop growing crops, let's see how he cries then!"

Qin Dongmei kept cursing.

Speaking of "feces," he recalled how Chen Ling had almost pushed him into the latrine earlier, and his stomach churned. The more he thought about it, the angrier and more resentful he became.

"What happened? Is he causing trouble for you?"

Qin Qiumei frowned and asked.

She knew her younger sister's personality well; she had been feisty since childhood and couldn't stand being taken advantage of. After marrying a good husband, her temper only got worse.

She always had a sour face, and few people in Chenwangzhuang dared to mess with her.

But usually, not many people are willing to associate with her.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it. Go back to your room and get some more sleep. I'll call you when dinner is ready."

Qin Dongmei patted the dust off her hands and glanced at her older sister. "Look at how weak you are. You haven't even been out for a short while, and your lips are already dry and pale. Go back inside quickly. It's best not to be exposed to the wind these next few days."

"Ah."

Seeing that she didn't say anything, Qin Qiumei didn't press her for details.

She only glanced at the opposite door with a frown before turning around and going into the house with her sister.

……

Meanwhile, after Wang Susu and Chen Ling returned home, they became a little worried.

"Ah Ling, if you keep arguing with Dongmei like this, won't she hold a grudge against us?"

"Her sister is the director of the township's family planning office, and Chunyuan works at the township health center; they have a lot of connections..."

"If they try to trip us up even a little bit in the future, we'll be in for it."

"When Erzhu was arrested for hooliganism, wasn't it because someone sabotaged him behind his back?"

Chen Ling smiled reassuringly, "It's alright, it's such a small matter, no need to make a fuss..."

"Besides, Erzhu got into a fight with someone and beat them badly, but I didn't lay a hand on her."

"Although I really wanted to slap her twice when I saw her bullying you."

At first, Wang Susu didn't think much of what he said, but after hearing Chen Ling's last sentence...

A warm feeling rose in my heart, and the corners of my mouth curved slightly.

She almost cried from anger just now.

However, although Chen Ling's performance initially frightened her, she felt quite at ease afterward.

This was the first time she had ever been protected like this by her own man.

Although she felt a little pleased inside, she said quite seriously, "Don't do that. If we get arrested, it's no joke."

I've never seen such a scoundrel as Chen Erzhu. Didn't he get arrested for a few years back then? His wife left him.

Wang Susu was quite afraid of this.

"I know, but I won't stoop to her level."

"The porridge is ready, let's eat."

Chen Ling smiled, walked over and took the pot off the stove.

The durian mango poison still exists in this era, though it's not as infamous as it was over a decade ago, it's still not something ordinary people can handle.

However, it was abolished in 97, so he just needs to be careful and not cross that line.

"Wow! The sweet potato porridge smells especially good today!"

At the dinner table, Wang Susu took a small sip of the porridge and couldn't help but praise it.

"Does it smell good? It's probably because it's been simmered for a long time, and all the sweetness in the dried sweet potato has been extracted."

Chen Ling responded without looking up. He was feeding Heiwa and Xiaojin goat milk.

This task was originally supposed to be done by Wang Susu, to help her bond with the two puppies.

Unexpectedly, this incident happened in the morning. Heiwa and Xiaojin were frightened and refused to let anyone other than Chen Ling have contact with them.

So he had no choice but to take the lead himself.

After feeding Heiwa and Xiaojin, Chen Ling went to get two more bowls of cornmeal.

A rat got into the cornmeal, so it's inedible for humans, but it can be used to feed the chickens.

They mixed it with bran and chaff, chopped up the peanut branches and leaves from the cave with a wood-chopping knife, stirred it all together, and poured it into the stone trough next to the chicken coop.

The peanut vines and leaves irrigated by the Dongtian Creek were indeed very attractive, causing the rooster and several hens to fight over them.

Fortunately, Chen Ling fed them a lot, otherwise they would have definitely started fighting.

After finishing this busy period, I had breakfast.

Chen Ling then hitched up a donkey cart in the backyard and headed towards the county town.

We left the village and crossed the reservoir dam.

As usual, Chen Ling found a secluded spot, piled peanuts all over the donkey cart, and then continued on his way.

Sitting on the donkey cart, bathed in the warm sunshine of early spring, all I could see was the beautiful mountain scenery.

In a moment of great joy, Chen Ling couldn't help but raise his whip and sing at the top of his lungs:

You're on the other side of the mountain.
I stand on this ridge.

I called out to my sister, but you didn't hear me.
You are the apple of my eye..."

The weather is nice and warm today.

As I drove the donkey cart along the road, the sounds of birdsong from the surrounding mountains and forests became noticeably more frequent.

Chen Ling occasionally saw a few wild rabbits, but they would be startled before he could get close and would run away alertly.

"The weather is really nice; it'll definitely be warmer in the afternoon."

"After I finish processing the peanuts, I'll go to the river and see if I can catch any fish, or if I'm lucky, I might catch a turtle."

Chen Ling squinted at the warm sun in the sky, pondering to himself.

There are relatively few fish vendors here, mainly because they are so common normally. Once the weather warms up, there are countless fish and shrimp in the rivers, ponds, and puddles.

In densely populated areas, you can catch fish just by touching them.

The living environment there was far superior to that of later generations; it could be described as overgrown.

Before long, they arrived at the county town.

Chen Ling then rushed to the nearest oil mill, where the owner was very welcoming.

"Brother Fugui, you've finally arrived."

"I've tried it, and your peanuts produce a very good amount of oil."

“I’ll take all of this truckload you brought today, at 9 cents a pound.”

This is the sheep that gave birth at home; his name is Liu Xingeng.

He has a round head and a short, stocky build, with a pair of very bright, small eyes.

This person just can't laugh.

When he speaks, he smiles and seems very cunning and also very irritating.

His family's oil mill was not particularly large; it was only considered medium-sized in the county.

However, the demand for peanuts and soybeans is not much less than that of large oil mills.

Chen Ling knew this too, so he said, "Boss Liu, take a look at my peanuts today, inspect them, and then we can talk about the price."

"I don't want you to be dissatisfied, or feel that I'm trying to fool you with substandard products."

Chen Ling felt that today's peanuts, which had been stored in the cave for two extra days, were even better than the previous peanuts.

Whether in terms of taste or other aspects, it is a cut above the rest.

Selling it for 9 cents a pound, to be honest, is a bit of a loss.

He wants to raise prices.

There's an old saying that in business, you can ask for the sky's the limit and then haggle it down, but you can't go too far; you still have to abide by market rates.

The last time he came to sell peanuts, he tested the price.

They also learned that peanuts were in short supply, and several oil mills didn't have much stock left, which wouldn't last until the new peanut harvest this year.

So I wanted to test the waters and see what the highest price the oil mill could offer.

(End of this chapter)