My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 243 The Baptism of My Son
The cave is as warm as spring all year round, with a gentle coolness compared to the heat outside.

Moreover, the air in the cave is filled with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered by the jade tree and the essence of the sun and moon. Bringing the little guy in will only bring benefits and no harm, and he certainly won't get cold.

Sure enough, once inside the cave, he became incredibly energetic, grinning and babbling as he spit bubbles. He didn't even look at his father in Chen Ling's arms, just playing by himself.

Seeing this, Chen Ling wiped the drool from his mouth and chuckled, "How's it going, Rui Rui? This place is great, isn't it? It's made you stand up all of a sudden, isn't it?"

The cave was indeed wonderful. The little guy breathed in pure spiritual energy and was full of energy. He didn't make a fuss like usual and fell fast asleep after a while.

The son is less than two months old. He can't understand what the mother is saying, and he can't see very far. However, he can still distinguish some smells. Chen Ling discovered that he is actually very interested in the fragrance of flowers and fruits.

Inside the cave, the smells were very pleasant and quite strong. Whenever he walked past the flower bushes and fruit trees, he would grin happily, or perhaps he was laughing, but he would hum and murmur incessantly.

Especially when they got close to the flower bushes, their joy was very strong.

"Hey, you little rascal, you're a girl-crazy too."

Chen Ling teased him with a smile.

The little guy, however, was all smiles, his mouth and chin dripping with drool, humming to himself.

Chen Ling wiped his drool, teased him a couple more times, and then wandered around through the woods and flowerbeds, across the irrigation canals and stone bridges.

"Go! Go! Go……"

After crossing the arched bridge, Chen Ling arrived at the stone pavilion and garden. He waved his hand to shoo away the various birds in the vicinity, as well as the swarms of bees in the garden.

After he brought in the swarm of earth bees last time, he divided it up in this garden and temporarily isolated it.

Later, the bee colony continued to grow and reproduced rapidly in the garden. After several swarms, Chen Ling finally removed the invisible dividers.

Now the bees can move around freely, and birds can fly in too.

However, the bee colony by the garden was the largest. After Chen Ling arrived, he waved to keep the dense swarm of bees away, then took some honey from the hive and smeared it on his son's lips.

Sensing the sweet aroma, the little guy smacked his lips and quickly finished the honey.

Then came another series of indistinct "ee-ya, ee-ya" sounds, indicating that they still wanted to eat.

But Chen Ling didn't want to give it to him anymore, so he stuffed the rest into his own mouth.

The moment the honey touches your tongue, a refreshing sweetness melts in your mouth. It has a slightly grainy texture, and as you gently press your tongue against it, the floral aroma of the honey fills your mouth, lingering and intoxicatingly sweet. It is truly a rare and excellent honey.

"Do you still want to eat, Rui Rui? Hmm? You want to eat? If you want to eat, we'll wait until you're a little older."

Chen Ling smiled and reached out to touch his little lips, but Rui Rui, feeling the sweetness on his hand, opened his mouth and sucked on his finger for a while.

"Good heavens, you little brat, thank goodness you don't have teeth, otherwise that force would have bitten your old man's hand off."

The more he talked, the harder the little guy sucked. "Haha, be good, you're still at the age of drinking milk. If you want to eat honey, we'll have to wait a while."

Babies are too delicate, their immune systems are not strong enough, and their digestive systems are relatively weak. In fact, babies under one year old should not eat honey.

Because honey is not absolutely clean and hygienic during the harvesting process.

If it carries bacteria, it can harm the baby's digestive system.

But if you're inside the cave, there's no need to worry about that.

Moreover, Chen Ling was fine even when using his fingers.

Because entering the cave from the outside world, this interaction between the inside and outside will cleanse or isolate bacteria and viruses on the body. Chen Ling discovered this a long time ago, so he is not worried.

"Come on, let me show you something else."

Chen Ling withdrew her finger, picked up her son, and walked to the jade tree. She watched the dewdrops roll off the jade-colored leaves and listened to the clear and melodious sound of the dewdrops falling into the pool.

Perhaps this place is really different. Rui Rui was going to cry because he couldn't get the honey, but after Chen Ling brought him here, he miraculously calmed down.

Seeing this, Chen Ling smiled at the little guy in his arms and waved to bring over a wooden basin: "Come on, let me give your brat a luxurious treat."

Then, I gently placed my son on a clean, open space next to the pool, filled a basin with the spiritual water from the source of the stream, and warmed the water to a suitable temperature. I then carefully removed my son's clothes, placed him in the wooden basin, and bathed him with the spiritual water.

In fact, even now, Chen Ling has not fully figured out the specific effects of the spiritual water in the cave. He always feels that he is still far from being able to make good use of the spiritual water.

But the spiritual water was undoubtedly a good thing. As soon as the little guy was put in, he grinned happily, his little hands and feet kicking gently, and even the humming sounds he made were like the satisfied and contented humming sounds of someone drinking milk.

"Hey, are you happy now?"

Chen Ling tickled her son's soft, white soles, then reached out to splash water on his body to wash him. Except for his little head, she washed every part of his body, making the little guy happily hum and coo.

After washing, Chen Ling summoned a gentle, warm breeze and softly dried her son's body.

Then she took two drops of dew from the leaves of the jade tree and fed them to her son, making the little guy squint his eyes comfortably and smack his lips.

"Grow up quickly, you little rascal, Dad has plenty of good stuff waiting for you here."

Chen Ling looked at her son, chuckled softly, and then dressed him.

Even a tiny bit of ordinary spiritual water from the stream was enough to make Heiwa Xiaojin open his eyes from his cub state when he was a baby.

However, after drinking two drops of the pure spiritual dew from the sapling, not a single impurity came out of Rui Rui's body. Holding him in my arms, I could only feel his little body becoming more and more energetic.

This is why the effects of spiritual water differ on humans, animals, and plants.

The effects on humans are completely different from those on animals and plants.

On the one hand, humans possess wisdom.

On the other hand, the physical constitution and potential of people are completely different, including lifespan.

Take dogs, for example. There's an old saying that for every year a person lives, a dog grows seven years older.

This means that when a dog is one year old, it is equivalent to a human age of about seven. Their lifespan is shorter than that of humans; they grow up quickly and age very quickly.

Therefore, the effects of using spiritual water on different species will naturally vary.

The effects are less noticeable when used on humans than when used on animals and plants.

……

But Linglu is Linglu after all. Although the energy it contains is gentle, Rui Rui stopped crying and fussing and fell into a deep sleep after drinking two drops. It seems that she needs some time to digest it.

Chen Ling carried him out of the cave, tidied up the rooms, opened the doors and windows to ventilate, and lit a fire rope to smoke out the mosquitoes.

In the evening, Wang Susu brought dinner over. After he ate, the young couple took a cold shower and stayed at home comfortably for the night, without returning to the farm.

In the following days, Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan probably realized what was going on. Fearing that it would affect the young couple's life, they moved Wang Zhenzhen back to the village from the farm. Every morning, they would bring the cow to the farm and help with various odd jobs, then go back home in the evening.

The two elders' actions made Wang Susu blush for several days.

Chen Ling didn't seem to notice anything, and continued to play around with her son in a carefree manner.

After a trip to the grotto-heaven and being bathed in spiritual water and dew, Rui Rui was full of energy every day. The little guy, who was less than two months old, was already crying and fussing. Chen Ling couldn't stand it if he didn't take him out for a walk every day.

This isn't a bad thing; it means the little one is growing faster than other babies his age.

Chen Ling looked forward to him growing up quickly, so she would take care of the baby every day, collect eggs, and wander around.

After the child falls asleep, he gets bored and writes letters to various contributors to the newspaper, or takes his dog to wander around the mountain to drive away the wild animals that are attracted to it. He also takes the opportunity to go into the cave and play around with various fruit trees, grafting and hybridizing them, messing around in a mess.

Some of his actions, which defied common sense and would make professionals frown, actually allowed him to produce some results despite his haphazard attempts in the magical Sun and Moon Cave.

Several days passed in this way. One morning, Chen Ling was preparing to go to the county town to sell eggs when Liang Yuemin and his son arrived early in the morning. They had bought ginseng seeds and came to deliver them to him.

Not only did they bring ginseng seeds, but the father and son also brought two yellow oxen, one large and one small, and asked him to herd them.

"No... Uncle Qin, Brother Yuemin, when did you buy these cattle?"

Chen Ling went over to take a look. The large ox that Qin Rong was leading was a female cow, and a half-grown calf was following beside Liang Yuemin, also tied with a rope.

It looks like a mother and child.

“We just bought them yesterday,” Liang Yuemin said. “On our way back from the city, we came across a county town that was going to slaughter a cow. The old cow was kneeling down and crying, and the calf was pulling on the reins and bellowing. We felt sorry for them, so we took out our money and bought them together.”

At this point, he smiled and sighed, "We've been eyeing your little white calf for a long time. It just so happens that Xiaoming was also clamoring to buy a cow. It's quite a coincidence that we came across such a spirited calf. We were moved to tears and even knelt down."

Chen Ling was speechless, thinking to himself: Your family likes to talk about fate, but you can't tell if a animal has a spirit by how it behaves when it's being slaughtered.

In fact, most livestock are quite intelligent. As the old saying goes, "Pigs are cowards, sheep are heroes, and cows have tears welling up in their eyes."

When cattle are slaughtered or sold, it is common for them to shed tears and kneel down.

However, thinking this way is one thing, but if he actually encountered a cow being slaughtered, Chen Ling felt that he might not be able to handle the scene.

Because they kill cattle here with hammers, blindfold them with black cloth, and smash their skulls with hammers—it's extremely cruel just to think about it.

"Fugui, come and take a look. What do you think of these two cows that Yuemin bought?"

Qin Rong patted the cow's head with a smile: "After we bought these two, one big and one small, anyone in the family who comes near will be led away by them. They recognized people as soon as they arrived and are very obedient."

The old man enthusiastically asked Chen Ling for his opinion.

However, Chen Ling's skills in judging livestock were not yet fully developed, and he did not know how to distinguish between good and bad cattle. Judging from appearance alone, the cattle had smooth coats and looked quite good.

It's not bad.

It's just that Liang Yuemin made a bad purchase.

They spent a lot of money to bring back the cow as well.

In the mule and horse market, if you were to ask what kind of cattle are most popular, it would undoubtedly be half-grown calves.

These calves are recently weaned and are in their infancy. They grow very quickly, and you can see the benefits after feeding them for a few months.

Moreover, cattle raised from a young age are obedient and loyal enough that they work smoothly if they are not slaughtered or sold.

Cows are different; they only give birth to one calf every year or two. And once their skeletons are fully formed, their growth rate is slow. Buying one is essentially like feeding them for half a year for nothing.

Furthermore, you don't know what problems a slaughtered cow bought halfway through the journey might have, so it's not as reliable as a calf.

But Qin Rong asked first, so he went along with it and said, "It's pretty good. Livestock have to be obedient. This calf is quite cute too."

"Haha, if you think it's okay, then it's okay. Yuemin and I came here not only to bring you ginseng seeds, but also to ask you to let your cattle graze for a couple of days. Yuemin was in such a hurry to buy the cattle that he hasn't even built a cattle shed for them yet," Qin Rongxian said with a smile.

"Oh, the cowshed hasn't been built yet? Then let me keep them here for a couple of days. I have plenty of grass and space, enough for them to move around in."

As they spoke, Chen Ling led the two back to the farm.

First, they tied the cow to a post outside the gate, and then the three of them went into the farm and sat in the yard looking through the ginseng seeds.

The ginseng seeds are shaped like kidney beans and broad beans, and have a very peculiar feel to them.

After a careful inspection, Chen Ling was quite satisfied. He stored the seeds away, chatted for a while about ginseng cultivation, and then took the father and son to arrange for the cattle.

There are several livestock pens already built at home, so there's definitely a place for the two cows to live, and the environment is good. Staying here for two days can only be beneficial and not harmful.

"Let them roam freely for a while, let them drink some water and eat some grass."

Chen Ling said, "We just bought them yesterday. They're still getting used to their new surroundings. Let them wander around and calm down."

"Alright, we came here to ask you to herd the cattle. Where's Xiaobai? Why don't we call him over to herd the cattle with us for a while?"

Liang Yuemin was in high spirits.

"Little Whitey is probably playing in the water somewhere. It's a strange animal and doesn't get along with unfamiliar animals. If you try to drag it over, it'll easily cause a conflict."

Chen Ling shook his head. He was telling the truth. His cow had a lot of quirks. It was shy, introverted, petty, and held grudges. It was only because his family didn't expect to raise the cow to make money that they decided to keep it. If an ordinary family had a cow like that, they probably wouldn't want to raise it.

However, although Little White Ox has many quirks, they only act when facing outsiders.

He was incredibly well-behaved in front of him and Wang Susu, without a doubt.

"Oh, it's shy, I know."

Liang Yuemin expressed his understanding and envy, saying that such a temperament is truly rare.

He then mentioned that he had bought a house in the county town, not far from Lingyun Middle School, and would come back to live there when he wasn't too busy.

The yard there is quite large; you could raise cattle there.

When they were busy, Qin Rongxian and Liang Hongyu could help herd cattle on the riverbank and in the woods in the county town, which was quite nice.

"The cowshed hasn't been built yet, otherwise your aunt and I would go out to graze the cows when it's cool in the morning and evening, it would be very pleasant," Qin Rongxian said, shaking his head.

“A cowshed? A cowshed is easy to build. I have a lot of building materials left over. I can take some over and build a shed.”

Chen Ling didn't take it seriously, but then he realized that he hadn't taken care of his business for the day yet.

"Oh right, I'm going to the county town market to sell eggs today. After I sell the eggs, I can help you build one this afternoon. It's just a cowshed, it's not hard to set it up, is it?"

Hearing him make it sound so simple, Qin Rongxian and his son didn't take it seriously.

After he finished selling eggs in the county town and had lunch at Qin Rongxian's house, when he went to build the cowshed at the new house, Qin Rongxian and his son realized that things were not quite as they had imagined.

Isn't it supposed to be simple? Why is it so tiring to do?
But Chen Ling was there to help, and he worked silently, diligently mixing mud and building the wall. The father and son gritted their teeth and persevered.

Thanks to their previous work at Chen Ling's house, they had actually developed some strength. However, they were used to being comfortable and their bodies were naturally lazy, so they were reluctant to exert themselves and that's why they felt tired.

Things will be much better once the event starts.

The three men built a cowshed under a big tree on the south side of the yard, stacked brick walls, and erected purlins and rafters.

Later, they brought over a large livestock trough.

Seeing them busy, Liang Hongyu brought them water and food several times, and also helped out with the little fat boy.

By the time they finished their work, it was already dark.

At this moment, Liu Yinhuan came over and called them, saying that wine and food had been prepared at home, and that they should quickly wash up and go back to eat.

"Mom, look, Dad looks like a mud monkey today."

The chubby boy grinned and pointed at Liang Yuemin, then pointed at himself: "Me too, Dad is the big mud monkey, and I'm the little mud monkey."

"And what about your grandfather?" Liang Hongyu asked.

"grandfather?"

The chubby boy rolled his eyes and shouted, "Grandpa is an old mud monkey!"

Made everyone laugh.

Liang Yuemin and Qin Rongxian were sweating profusely today and were indeed a bit dirty, but the father and son felt a great sense of accomplishment. They kept saying that labor is glorious and that doing some physical work and sweating it out felt really good.

Chen Ling also felt great. After finishing his work and working up a sweat, he enjoyed the cool breeze of the summer night, drank some ice-cold beer, and ate some snacks. The feeling was indescribable.

The three of them were in high spirits today and drank quite a bit, especially after hearing Chen Ling say that it was too late to go back and that he would be staying overnight in the county town, they drank even more heavily.

They drank until after 11 p.m. Chen Ling was still fine, but Liang Yuemin was almost drunk. He hugged Chen Ling's shoulder, crying and laughing at the same time, shouting that he was his good brother and that if it weren't for him, the whole family would be ruined by now.

Chen Ling was completely baffled by these words, thinking, "What does your family's business have to do with me?"

At this time, Qin Rongxian and Liang Hongyu took the little fat boy to bed early, leaving only Liu Yinhuan to watch over the two of them.

Upon hearing Liang Yuemin's words, Liu Yinhuan's expression changed, and she forced a smile, saying, "Fugui, don't listen to his nonsense. He's drunk and talking nonsense. He can't seem to get rid of this bad habit."

Chen Ling smiled and said it was alright, everyone's the same when they've had too much to drink. Then she helped Liang Yuemin up and took him back to his room.

He himself returned to his small courtyard in the south of the city to rest, still somewhat puzzled.

(End of this chapter)