My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 238 Ginseng
Wang Susu is a smart woman, skillful, and quick to learn.

With Chen Ling's guidance, she quickly learned how to use the camera after a few tries, and kept taking pictures of women and children laughing heartily while holding fish and shrimp in the rain.

After playing around for a while, everyone had their fill, so Chen Ling and Wang Susu, the young couple, held their child and the three of them stood under the eaves for a photo.

After taking the photo, my father-in-law and his whole family joined in for a group photo.

Finally, everyone was envious, so they simply stood together, with Lynx and Cuckoo taking turns standing out to take pictures, and they took several more group photos.

The joy and excitement were indescribable.

Even the little guy in Wang Susu's arms had his eyes open, humming "ee-ya, ee-ya" and making a few simple, indistinct syllables. He looked at Chen Ling, who was smiling beside Wang Susu, his round eyes unblinking. It was unclear whether he recognized that this was his father.

"Hey, Rui Rui, we took your full moon photos, you little rascal, you must be very happy."

Chen Ling teased him with a smile, and he actually cooperated by humming and cooing.

The little one changes almost every day. From the red and wrinkled skin when he was born, he has now become a tender little body covered in milky white flesh. His body is also gradually developing little fleshy bumps like lotus root segments. Not only does he look smooth and cute, but he also smells sweet milky fragrance.

If Chen Ling had nothing to do each day, she would want to hold her son and never let go.

Liang Hongyu smiled at the young couple and said, "Everyone said yesterday that the full moon celebration was truly unforgettable. When Rui Rui grows up, we must tell him that on the day of his full moon celebration, it rained so hard that when he woke up the next morning, there were fish and shrimp jumping all over the ground."

Everyone laughed and went over to tease the little guy.

Now that Rui Rui is a month old, as long as we take proper precautions, it's fine for her to stay outside a little longer.

Moreover, he won't cry or fuss as long as strangers don't hold him or just play with him.

However, after being amused for a while, the little guy got sleepy again. He yawned twice with his little mouth open and then began his daily nap in Wang Susu's arms.

……

The rain outside was intermittent, and since everyone was definitely not going to be able to leave today, we all went back to our rooms to wash and change clothes, and then sat together to have breakfast.

After breakfast, the group helped Chen Ling tidy up and sort the things the guests had brought the day before.

As for their families, except for Han Chuang, they all arrived in advance. They had already received the gifts they were entitled to, and the gifts were different from those in the countryside, so they didn't need to be put together.

"Hey? Ah Ling, isn't this Liu Xiangqian the deputy county magistrate who came to see Uncle Wu yesterday? Why are they giving us a gift too?"

Wang Susu was flipping through the gift list when she suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? I don't know, how much did they give?"

There were so many people yesterday that Chen Ling was busy toasting the guests and didn't get to say much to the leaders, so he didn't really notice this.

"They each received one hundred."

Wang Susu glanced at the gift list and suddenly realized, "Oh, so they gave it to me. That explains why there were several hundred-yuan bills in the gift money."

Liang Hongyu said, "Just accept it. We were having a full moon celebration yesterday, and they came over so brazenly. They were already causing trouble. Fugui even arranged a banquet for them, so they've done their part. It's only right that they give a small gift."

Having seen it all, she naturally knew what these people were thinking; they were simply looking for someone to be there.

However, she didn't want to tell Chen Ling and his wife too much about this, and just told them to accept it without worry.

Chen Ling had guessed some of it, but he didn't say much and continued to lead his men to clean up.

Chicken eggs and duck eggs are kept together with the chicken eggs and duck eggs at home. Once you've collected enough, choose a good day and take them to the county town to sell.

Keep all the food and fabrics that were given to us. Fold the fabrics and put them in the cupboard. Just leave the food out to eat as usual.

While other families might be reluctant to eat at home, their family had nothing to be reluctant about, especially Wang Zhenzhen. She would eat at home and take food to school, constantly stuffing herself with food every day. Food that could stay at home for long would be finished off by her.

After tidying up the gifts that had been delivered, and seeing that the rain outside had stopped, everyone picked up tools to help Chen Ling drain the water inside and outside the farm.

The farm and orchard are located on relatively high ground. All we need to do is dig through the irrigation ditches that Chen Ling used to use to irrigate the farmland, so that the excess water can be drained into the large farmland to the south of the orchard.

With more people, the work gets done faster; this little bit of work is nothing.

Next are the chicken coop, duck pen, quail pen, and sheep pen, all of which need to be cleaned and drained.

When it comes to things involving small animals, the children are even more enthusiastic than the adults, all vying to grab brooms and run inside.

The chubby boy really liked cows and sheep, so he and his brother Xiaotong took turns cleaning. He even said righteously, "I came to Uncle's house to help him with chores. I love doing chores the most, so you can let me have them."

Little Chestnut quickly raised her little hand and said, "Me too, I want to help Uncle clean the place where Little White lives."

Chen Ling had no choice but to say, "Xiao Bai isn't here. It doesn't live here; it lives in the village."

"Why is that, Uncle?" the two little ones looked up at him and asked, their eyes clearly showing some disappointment. The little white calf was the children's favorite.

"Because Xiaobai is a home-loving cow. It's used to its home in the village and doesn't want to live here."

"Huh? Why is Xiaobai so silly? Why doesn't he come to the farm and live in the big house?" The chubby boy frowned.

Little Chestnut said angrily, "You're talking bad about Little White. I'll tell Auntie that I won't let it carry you anymore."

"I do not have."

"You just said it."

The two little ones started arguing.

Xiao Tongtong and his friends seized the opportunity to grab brooms and run into the quail shed. Compared to chickens, ducks, geese, cows, and sheep, they preferred these little creatures, whose eggs were delicious. After visiting the farm for two or three days, they came every day to collect quail eggs, which they would then cook and eat when they got home.

The adults just watched with amusement and didn't interfere, while the kids said that working was actually just playing and that they were the ones who had to do it.

Then they quickly cleaned up all the areas.

After we finished, the eastern sky brightened, and the clear chirping of birds came from the mountains, indicating that the sky was clearing up.

Since they had nothing better to do, everyone helped Chen Ling clean up the bowls, plates, tables, chairs, and benches and carried them to the village.

Zhao Dahai's pickup truck was parked behind the farm. After loading the goods onto the truck, it slowly drove off. Chen Ling led the adults and a group of boy scouts out, enjoying the post-rain scenery as they walked towards the village.

This rain was even heavier than the last one, and all the crops in the farmland were submerged. Only on the higher slopes could one still see some greenery, while the rest of the land was completely flooded.

In the morning, villagers were already draining water from the corn seedlings in the fields despite the rain. Even now, many people are still busy in the cornfields, wearing rubber boots and straw hats.

When they saw Chen Ling and the others coming over, they greeted them and asked about the children in their families. Chen Ling stopped and chatted with them with a smile.

We were talking about the baby, and before we could say more, by sheer coincidence, we heard the baby crying from in front of us.

The cries were so mournful and shrill that they actually drowned out the sound of Zhao Dahai's car.

"Whose child is crying? Why is they crying so pitifully?"

Everyone present was stunned and searched for the source of the sound. While people were still in a daze, the three dogs behind Chen Ling had already rushed out.

It barked and headed straight for the threshing ground.

Wang Zhenzhen led the Boy Scouts and ran over quickly.

The adults followed closely behind.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the crying was coming from the woods surrounding the threshing ground, but it stopped abruptly after the dog and people approached.

People breathed a sigh of relief, which meant it wasn't a real baby crying there.

But it was no use not to cry. Heiwa and Xiaojin had already noticed the unusual place. Without saying a word, they rushed into the rain-saturated forest. This forest was a place where, when the threshing ground was being built, the surrounding land was accidentally dug too deep in order to raise the ground level.

Later, trees were planted there for people to rest and cool off after working in the wheat field, so now they are all submerged in water, and the water is quite deep. After Heiwa and Xiaojin rushed into the woods, they swam in one direction. When everyone looked, they saw that it was a pile of coal slag and manure, which looked very high among the trees.

"Quick, look! There's something up there!" Han Chuang shouted, his eyes wide.

Sure enough, the two dogs swam over quickly, and that sharp cry rang out again. Several small figures were struggling on the cinder pile.

Others were so frightened that they jumped into the water with a "plop, plop," their little heads bobbing up and down in the puddles in the woods, darting away in all directions.

However, they seemed to be poor swimmers and were extremely slow. They were quickly caught by Heiwa Xiaojin and brought back.

Only then did everyone see what it was, and they were astonished.

"It's a rabbit. Why does a rabbit make that sound?"

Liang Yuemin hurriedly stepped back, looking frightened by the crying.

The little children standing nearby also looked pale, huddled together, staring blankly and frightened at the two wild rabbits on the ground, their fur wet and tangled, yellowish-brown.

"Yeah, it's really scary, it makes me feel uneasy," several women said, frowning.

Heiwa Xiaojin ignored all of that and ran back and forth several more times, catching all the wild rabbits in the woods.

Even the little rabbits on the cinder pile and the manure pile were gently scooped up with their mouths.

Although they are called baby rabbits, they are not actually small. Many of them are half-grown wild rabbits that have just grown up in late spring, and there are only three or four old rabbits.

Surrounded by people, they were terrified, but with three dogs watching them intently and the water around them deep, they couldn't escape. In despair, they let out pitiful cries like babies.

It sounds creepy, and it makes my skin crawl.

Chen Ling grabbed the two rabbits by their ears, examined them carefully, and said, "That's how rabbits make that sound. These must be two rabbit families. Yesterday afternoon and evening, the strong winds and heavy rains flooded their burrow. They tried to escape to the village where the water wasn't too deep, but they got trapped on the cinder and manure piles in the woods here. They've been trapped all night, and they're cold, hungry, and scared, so they've developed stress."

"As you just saw, these rabbits are very weak now and don't have the strength to run, otherwise they wouldn't be making that noise."

"Uncle, they are so pitiful, can we help them?" Little Chestnut's eyes welled up with tears after hearing this.

Even the gluttonous little fat boy nodded repeatedly, begging Chen Ling to save them.

This also got the two brothers, Xiaotong and Tongtong, talking loudly.

"No need to save them. They're just trapped in the water and can't get out. They're also frightened. We'll just find a dry place and release them."

Hearing the pitiful cries of the wild rabbits, Chen Ling felt a pang of sorrow. It was truly unbearable to hear such sounds from a mother with a child; even if she caught them, she couldn't keep them.

"Is there really no way to save Fugui?"

Several women felt a little soft-hearted and sorry for the rabbit.

"There's really no way to save them. Wild rabbits are very temperamental. If you catch them and try to save them after they've been stressed, they'll likely die from stress. It's better to find a place to release them."

It's more accurate to say he was scared to death than to be angry to death.

Rabbits are naturally timid and cannot be easily frightened. If they are caught and brought home after being stressed, they may even die from hitting their cage or the wall.

"To die of anger" is a rural expression.

Actually, it was just fear.

"Oh, Uncle, we'll help you."

"Uncle, we'll help you too."

"No need, no need for your help. These days, even a rabbit will bite when cornered. What if you get hurt?"

Chen Ling quickly stopped them, and led the adults to catch the rabbits and put them on a slope not far away where there was no standing water. They watched as the rabbits quickly ran into the grass and disappeared.

"What's wrong, Fugui? Whose child is crying?"

"Oh, that's not a baby crying, it's a bunch of wild rabbits calling out, and their calls sound like crying."

After Chen Ling finished speaking, many villagers' expressions changed. They said that the wild rabbits weren't making noises, but crying out in the heavy rain. Fortunately, Chen Ling didn't greedily take them home, but released them instead. Otherwise, he would have been wronged, and there would definitely be heavy rain again this year, and maybe even another flood.

After Chen Ling returned the tables, chairs, benches, and other items to the villagers, someone called out to Sister-in-law Xiufen and then took him to the reservoir dam to burn incense for the Dragon King, reciting a few auspicious words.

This guy left Liang Yuemin and the others speechless.

Wang Qingwen explained, "People who live near mountains and water have to believe in some things. Although I also think that the sound of a rabbit croaking and heavy rain are completely unrelated, many people believe in this, and there's nothing we can do about it. If you don't believe me, ask Qingzhong and let him tell you."

"I've heard it, I've heard Ah Zhong talk about it, it's very interesting." After getting to know each other, Lynx no longer had that cool, unapproachable demeanor, and started talking animatedly about what he had heard at Lutou Mountain last time.

They even told stories about the Taotie, also known as the mountain demon.

"Why are you saying all this? The children are all here." Du Juan interrupted him after only a few words.

Surprisingly, this angered the children: "Auntie Dujuan, please let Uncle Zhong continue. We love listening to this, and we're not scared."

This surprised Du Juan.

"Haha, it's alright, let Lynx continue. He'll have to listen sooner or later. He's just a kid. He'll understand things naturally once he hears more. We can't just not let him see or hear anything. That would be harming him, not helping him." Liang Yuemin was quite open-minded.

Who didn't enjoy listening to strange tales and ghost stories when they were young? But as you grow up, you naturally learn to distinguish between truth and falsehood, so there's no need to worry.

After hearing this, Lynx agreed, saying, "Brother Yuemin is the most reasonable one."

He then glanced at Du Juan and continued talking, telling one story after another, and the little children, unusually, quieted down.

Despite saying she wasn't afraid, her little body was huddled together, but she couldn't help wanting to listen and urged Lynx to tell more, until Lynx's mouth was dry.

Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan accompanied Liang Hongyu and her husband as they watched the lively scene downstairs. Wang Cunye sighed softly, "It's so nice now. If Brother Juncai were still here, he would be overjoyed to see the house like this."

Gao Xiulan nodded: "Yes, my father-in-law had a hard life. He finally raised his child, but he died just as the child was getting married. He was not destined to enjoy a good life."

As they talked, Liang Hongyu felt even worse upon hearing this. Her sister's mistake had almost ruined the lives of this father and son.

Through the villagers of Chenwangzhuang, she and Qin Rongxian learned about Chen Ling and his father's situation in the village, especially what kind of person Chen Ling was, who almost went astray.

He then casually asked, as if it were just a casual conversation, "I've never heard Fugui mention his father. What kind of person is he?"

Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan both shook their heads, not wanting to say anything more. They were fine with talking about it themselves, but they didn't want to tell outsiders.

He smiled at Liang Hongyu and said, "His father is not a man who enjoys a life of luxury. He is fortunate to have met a family like yours and become friends with you."

The change of topic made Liang Hongyu feel depressed and frustrated. "Haha, Fugui has a good personality and can come up with all sorts of fun things. Not to mention the children at home, we also like to come and play with the young couple when we have nothing to do."

"Yes, Fugui even made me a slingshot, it's really accurate at shooting birds," Qin Rongxian said happily.

The four old men started chatting, while the little yellow dog swaggered upstairs with something in its mouth, walked to Wang Cunye's side, lay down and nibbled on it boredly. Since it came here, it had learned a lot of skills from following Heiwa and Xiaojin, and had long known how to bring things home.

Maybe it's just a good-for-nothing dog by nature. It only cares about playing and picks up all sorts of strange things, nothing worthwhile. It even brings home discarded batteries that have been lying around outside the village for who knows how many years. Wang Cunye scolded it several times, but it wouldn't listen and kept them as treasures.

"Huh? What's this?"

During their conversation, Qin Rong got up to pour water, and her gaze inadvertently fell on what the little yellow dog was gnawing on, and she was taken aback.

At first glance, he thought it was a limp carrot, but upon closer inspection, it was about the thickness of two fingers, with a withered yellow skin covered in dense, ring-shaped horizontal lines. It had three lateral roots like legs, and the lateral roots were covered with tiny, droopy, hair-like fibrous roots. It looked strangely familiar.

"Cunye, Cunye, look at your dog! Did it bring back a ginseng root?!"

(End of this chapter)