My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 242 Taking His Son into the Cave Heaven
After having a drink and spending a day at Han Chuang's house, Chen Ling brought back the sunflower planter. He then spent a few days preparing the land, drying the sunflower seeds, and planting them, and then left it alone.

It's been raining frequently lately, every few days, and the rainfall isn't small. This has made the personnel stationed at Chenwangzhuang very nervous. On rainy days, you can often see three or five of them patrolling back and forth on the reservoir dam with umbrellas. Sometimes they'll even drag Wang Laishun along to keep looking around.

This made the villagers very nervous, and they set up incense tables every day to burn incense and light candles to worship the Dragon King.

However, after last year's floods, the courtyards of each household were built higher, and the grain had already been sold, so there was little concern that the houses would be flooded and collapsed like last year.

The main concern is the crops in the fields; the corn has just started to grow, and we're worried it might get flooded again. We're also worried about having to leave our homes again to escape disasters, causing widespread anxiety and a constant sense of instability—it's unbearable.

Later, seeing that although the rains this year were heavy, they only fell intermittently and didn't cause any real damage, everyone felt relieved.

When the weather is nice, the villagers are in the mood to go up the mountain to collect herbs. Even Wang Cunye often takes advantage of Chen Ling's free time to hand over the task of herding sheep to him, while he carries a bamboo basket and a hoe, and takes his little yellow dog into the mountains.

My father-in-law went again today, and he even took Wang Zhenzhen with him to the mountain to collect herbs.

After the sunflowers sprouted, Chen Ling herded sheep while digging ditches in the field to drain water.

There were originally drainage ditches in the fields. When it rained heavily, the water discharged from the farm would flow into the ditches and fields. However, since the sunflowers had just been planted and there had been a lot of rain recently, Chen Ling blocked the ditches. Now they are digging the ditches again and deepening them.

After the rain, eel holes were everywhere in the ditch. When Chen Ling dug up the drainage ditch, he saw two eels poking their heads out, but they were too skinny and he was too lazy to catch them.

In the past, he would have dug into any hole he saw, regardless of size. But now, there are too many eels in the farm's irrigation ditches, and he, being small, has no interest at all.

"Mea~"

"Meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

The flock of sheep grazing on both sides of the field suddenly stirred. Chen Ling turned around and saw a wet-furred civet carrying a water bird leaping out of the orchard. After glancing at Chen Ling, it fled in panic, moving with lightning speed and quickly disappearing into the dense grass.

"This guy, the mountain cat has also sneaked over." Chen Ling was stunned for a moment, then walked into the orchard and wandered around. The two dogs, Heiwa and Xiaojin, were still patrolling around and didn't react to the mountain cat that had sneaked into the orchard.

Given their temperaments, the lack of reaction means nothing's wrong. The civets definitely didn't bother anything in the house; they were just after the water birds.

"There are more and more birds in the woods, which is attracting too many wild creatures to eat them."

At this time of year, there is an abundance of food in the wild, with crickets, grasshoppers, and other insects that are more than enough to eat. However, for small wild animals like the mountain leopard, birds are more palatable, and eating just one can fill its stomach, making them quite tempting.

"You two keep a close eye on things. If any wild creatures come, chase them away or warn them if necessary," Chen Ling instructed the two dogs.

Mountain civets are very wild. If you don't take care of them, they will easily take advantage of you. They are also very fast, coming and going like the wind, and there is no good way to catch them. Even if you raise geese, you still can't do anything about them. Some fierce mountain civets will even go to people's houses to catch geese and eat them. So you still have to rely on dogs.

Unfortunately, the kite was in mating season and went out to find mates. I returned home several times but couldn't find it in its nest.

Otherwise, calling over the hawks would be enough to scare away many small wild animals.

"Hmm, the hawks haven't returned yet. We can call over a few weasels first. There are just as many birds here as there are at the reservoir, enough for them to eat."

With that thought in mind, Chen Ling continued herding sheep.

But he soon discovered that both big and small sheep liked to gather around the same plant, a small tree that didn't grow very tall. Its leaves were very similar to cotton leaves, but rougher. When the sheep saw it, they would gather around, curl their tongues around the leaves, bite them off, and then keep moving their mouths as they ate with great gusto.

Chen Ling walked over curiously, broke off a leaf, and examined it. He noticed that white sap was oozing from the cut end of the branch, and immediately knew what it was.

"The peach tree saplings have grown so much all at once. With all this rain, the water in the house has overflowed. Wild animals and wild trees have also come."

The paper mulberry tree, also known as the paper peach tree.

This tree is a mixed tree found in the mountains, and it easily attracts longhorn beetles. The trunk is often riddled with large and small holes from their drilling, and the tree is covered with knots and insect holes, making it completely unusable for timber. Apart from being used as firewood, it is utterly useless.

It is called the Gou Taozi tree because it produces a bright red fruit that looks like a bayberry, but it gradually spreads out as it ripens. Locals call it red Gou Taozi or Gou Naizi.

When they're ripe, they fall to the ground, sticky and attracting flies, making them universally disliked.

However, the birds love to eat them and will carry the seeds far and wide.

This tree has an extremely strong vitality and is known as the Northern Banyan Tree. It can take root and sprout as long as it comes into contact with moisture.

In and out of the village, in the fields and mountains, in the cracks of rocks, in the outhouse, and even on rooftops and courtyard walls, wherever there are seeds of wolfberry, they will grow into saplings more than two meters tall if you are not careful, making many people grit their teeth in resentment.

Moreover, the wolfberry tree is very difficult to eradicate. Even if the trunk is cut off and the roots are dug up, as long as there is a rootlet, it will still sprout and grow the following year.

However, it's not without its advantages.

The leaves of the paper mulberry tree have a unique flavor that livestock love to eat, and they are also quite nutritious.

Whenever the amaranth and sweet potato vines are gone, and pig feed can't be found, pig farmers will pick mulberry leaves to feed the pigs. However, the pigs often don't have enough to eat. They will pick a whole basket of leaves and the pigs will finish it in one meal.

This stuff is loved not only by pigs, but also by cows, sheep, and even rabbits; it's a great natural feed.

"Sigh, let's leave it for now. Although it's easy for it to grow too big and spread, that's the last thing we're afraid of."

Seeing that no one was around, Chen Ling pulled up two saplings and threw them into the cave, intending to cultivate them when he had time.

With his current control over the cave, he can freely divide the land into plots and separate areas, so he is not worried about it growing everywhere and causing it to overrun the cave.

"It is said that paper mulberry cannot be grafted with any fruit tree, but I'd like to try it."

Chen Ling was envious of the paper mulberry's tenacious vitality. "If it had such tenacious vitality and its fruit was delicious, that would be great. Moreover, if it tasted good enough in China, such a tree wouldn't be afraid of becoming rampant."

He was preoccupied with his own thoughts and didn't even notice when his father-in-law and sister-in-law returned from gathering herbs.

Around noon, when they drove the sheep back to the sheepfold and went to cook dinner at the back of the farm, Wang Cunye and his daughter had already been chopping firewood by the woodpile for quite some time.

"Dad, Zhenzhen, you're back! How was the day?"

"It's alright. After you took over this area, everyone knows you raise chickens and ducks here, so not many people come up the mountain anymore. It's very easy for me to find you."

Wang Cunye laughed as he picked up his axe.

Wang Zhenzhen squatted on the ground next to the woodpile, constantly picking up insects from the firewood. She would hold them in her hand after picking them up and then move to the next spot to continue picking them up.

Chen Ling went over to take a look and saw that they were picking up "Mu Huan'er".

Mu Huan'er is an insect that eats firewood. It is also called firewood worm or wood flower. The local name "Mu Huan'er" comes from "wood flower".

This insect looks a lot like a silkworm, but it is yellowish-white and rather ugly.

Fresh firewood was cut down from the mountain and piled up in the open space. If there were any woodworms in the firewood, it would often make a "rustling-crunching" sound as the insects gnawed at the wood.

They are the larvae of longhorn beetles, similar to sawfly worms, but cleaner as they don't burrow into the soil and taste better.

Chen Ling remembered that when he was a child, some elderly people in the village would often pick up wood chips and eat them raw while chopping firewood. It was said that they tasted slightly sweet and were not disgusting or nauseating. He had never tried them and did not know if it was true.

He had never eaten it raw, but he had eaten it cooked; it was considered a rare delicacy when he was a child.

These little insects are almost entirely meat. Fry them in oil, and they taste fragrant and crispy, with a unique woody aroma. The more you chew, the more flavorful they become, making you want to bite your tongue off.

"Zhenzhen, stop picking at that. Go look in the paper mulberry firewood. There's the most wood peony in the paper mulberry."

Chen Ling went over to remind her, then brought a small bucket from the kitchen and joined his sister-in-law in searching for Mu Huan'er. The two of them, one big and one small, searched through the woodpile, and the small bucket was soon filled with more than half of Mu Huan'er, with white insects huddled together and crawling around.

Listening to the rustling sound inside the bucket, Chen Ling was very satisfied. "Dad, fry some Mu Huan'er for lunch, and let's have some drinks."

"Fine, let's drink. By the way, speaking of drinking, I'll brew you some medicinal wine too. Didn't your Party Secretary tell you the other day that the leaders were quite satisfied..."

Wang Cunye patted the wood ash off his palms and said, "I've collected quite a few herbs lately, so I'll make you some wine. I can also brew wine from that bellflower root, but it'll be a bit strong. I can't make low-proof wine. What do you think?"

"Sure, but there's no rush. I'll bring back a few more vats in a couple of days, and I'll help you then. We can take our time."

Chen Ling thought about it and concluded that fruit wine was probably a one-off deal, since it was indeed not cheap.

So he went into the kitchen to cook, fried wood ear mushrooms, and at noon he brought out the wine, and he and his father-in-law drank heartily with the crispy and fragrant fried wood ear mushrooms.

After a satisfying meal, I went upstairs for a nap.

In the afternoon, Chen Ling stayed with his wife and son, lying in bed reading books and newspapers, occasionally reading a few passages to his wife and son.

He was very enthusiastic, saying he wanted to create a good environment for his son's upbringing. But Rui Rui was so young, how could he know what he was doing? He listened to him reading aloud beside him and slept soundly.

Chen Ling was quite helpless, saying that this brat would definitely not be good at studying when he grew up, since no one falls asleep as soon as they hear someone reading.

This amused Wang Susu so much that she lay on the bed laughing uncontrollably.

She always felt that after having a son, her husband seemed to have become much more childish.

The young couple laughed and joked for a while, and when they got tired, Wang Susu accompanied her son for a nap.

Chen Ling got out of bed with the newspaper, sat at the table, took out paper and pen, and began to write a letter.

"Ah Ling, what are you doing?"

Halfway through writing, Wang Susu woke up and saw him hunched over the table, writing away. Curious, she came over to take a look.

Are you writing a letter? Who are you writing to?

Wang Susu had never seen her husband write letters to anyone, which puzzled her greatly.

“A university professor from an agricultural university published an article in this issue of the newspaper. It was very well written. I’m writing to him to talk about it.”

Chen Ling looked up at his wife, made room for her, and let her read the article in the newspaper.

"Oh, it's specifically about fruit trees."

Wang Susu leaned down for a glance, then quietly breathed a sigh of relief and began to examine the document carefully.

At this moment, Chen Ling stopped writing, looked up and sized up his wife, making Wang Susu feel very uncomfortable. She covered his eyes with her hands.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Comrade Wang Susu, you've been acting a bit strange lately," Chen Ling said seriously.

"Huh? Something's not right? What's wrong?" Wang Susu exclaimed, her face blank.

“You used to never care about me, but lately you’ve been so strict with me. You even get nervous when you see me writing letters.”

Chen Ling's perception was extremely sharp; he immediately noticed when his wife quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

Moreover, my wife's behavior has indeed been a bit strange lately.

"Pah, who's nervous?"

Wang Susu spat softly, her face immediately turning red.

"You still say you're not nervous? Silly wife, your face is all red." Chen Ling chuckled.

The more he looked at his wife's adorable and charming appearance, the more he wanted to tease her, so he pulled her in front of him and made her sit on his lap.

"Tell me, what's going on?"

"Stop messing around, let go of me, Rui Rui is still sleeping."

Wang Susu blushed even more, feeling both ashamed and angry, and grabbed her husband's ear.

"Tell me quickly, or I won't let go of you." Chen Ling let her pull him, then reached out and pinched him.

He pinched the young woman until she cried out, then quickly covered her mouth. Her delicate face flushed crimson, and her bright almond-shaped eyes darted away, unable to look at him.

"I... I just feel that after Rui Rui came along, it's a bit... a bit strange that we haven't been living together for so long?"

"That's it? Anything else?"

"And another thing is, you're so capable now, you know so many people from outside. I've seen the photos of Sister Dujuan, and those women from outside are all so stylish and beautiful."

"...That's it? You're really something, what nonsense are you thinking? Do you think I'm that kind of person?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling was utterly speechless, unsure of what to say to her, and patted her again.

Wang Susu was undoubtedly extremely beautiful. No woman could compare to her in terms of looks or figure. Especially in the past year, Chen Ling had been using all sorts of things from the cave to make various foods to nourish her, making her truly full of spiritual energy.

But no matter how beautiful she is, she is still dressed like an ordinary country woman. On ordinary days, the villagers may think she is a pretty young wife, but compared with women who have lived in the city for a long time and have a wealthy family, the villagers will only think that those women are more amazing and have an unattainable temperament.

The young men in the village would be so captivated by the sight of these women that they couldn't take their eyes off them, and the scent of perfume emanating from them would keep them awake at night.

And it's not just older people who are like this; even little children are.

Take Liu Nier for example. When she first saw Qin Yueru last year, she didn't dare to speak. She even told Chen Ling in private that Xiao Lizi's mother was so beautiful and smelled so good. She said that she wanted to marry a woman like that when she grew up.

This is the view of most people right now.

Otherwise, so many people wouldn't think Chen Ling is so capable, able to get along so well with others. If it were them, they wouldn't dare to approach him, and even if they did, they would tremble as they spoke.

"You probably have postpartum depression, you need to get it treated properly."

"I'll have to talk to you and give you some advice when I have time later."

Chen Ling viciously bit his wife's fair and delicate face, then whispered something in Wang Susu's ear.

This made Wang Susu even more shy. She covered her burning face and struggled in his arms, saying, "No, Mom and Dad are here. No, it's really not okay."

"It's okay, I'll carry Rui Rui and lead the cow back tonight. You can come find me then. We won't sleep here tonight, we'll go back to the village to sleep."

"Your postpartum depression is quite severe; you should start treatment as soon as possible."

Seeing that his wife in his arms was pretending to be dead and not moving, Chen Ling knew that with her personality, she would agree in her heart but not say it out loud, so he said with a smile, "Then it's settled."

Then she quietly got up, folded the letter, tucked it into the book, and put it in the drawer, waiting to mail it when she went to the county town market.

Just as she put him down, her son woke up crying. Chen Ling lifted the mosquito net and touched the diaper; there was no urine. She then gently picked him up.

"Rui Rui, you're awake, so why are you crying?"

Chen Ling tried to amuse him with a smile, but the little guy kept crying.

So he gently turned to the side so the little guy could see Wang Susu, and sure enough, the effect was immediate; the little guy's crying stopped right away.

"You brat, you cry when I hold you, but you stop crying when you see your mother? You deserve a beating."

Wang Susu was still blushing when she heard this. She looked up and glared at her husband shyly, then took her son to the bedside to breastfeed.

Chen Ling watched the time and calculated. Following her son's routine, she waited for him to take a nap and urinate before picking him up and telling Wang Susu that she was going to take the cow home and to come back when it got dark.

Wang Susu naturally understood what he meant, and she was incredibly shy.

……

In the evening, Chen Ling carried his son and led the cow home.

Although I still come back twice a day, it's not the same as living here permanently. Because there are fewer people coming and going, the flowers, plants and trees in the yard are extremely lush, and most of the yard is shaded by trees.

The bamboo in the bamboo grove is lush and verdant, while wild orchids, spirea, and all sorts of colorful flowers bloom around it in a riot of color. Despite the abundance of flowers, they are not haphazard, but rather layered and overlapping, releasing a refreshing fragrance in the evening.

Bunches of green grapes were hanging from the grape trellis by the wall, and pigeons were pacing back and forth beside the trellis with small, quick steps.

At this moment, Rui Rui started whimpering softly in Chen Ling's arms, drawing his attention away from the situation.

"You little rascal, you're always up to no good without your mother. Come on, Dad will take you to a nice place to have some fun."

Chen Ling poked his chubby little face, then flashed into the cave.

(End of this chapter)