My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 244 High School Classmates
On summer mornings, it gets light exceptionally early.

Just after five o'clock, the sky began to brighten, and the small town was awakened by the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking.

Chen Ling got up very early. He wasn't in a hurry to go home, so he tidied up some things in the small courtyard in the south of the city.

The electrical wiring here is old and in disrepair. I'll take advantage of this time to clear out the clutter and replace it all with new wiring.

At this time, there are few places that need electricity, just one light bulb and nothing else, and there are few wires, so it's very easy to set up.

After tidying up, Chen Ling saw that it was still early, so he took advantage of the cool morning air to go out for a stroll, let the cattle graze, and have breakfast.

Stepping outside, you'll find the cobblestone streets slightly damp, the sky clear and bright, and the air cool and refreshing.

Chen Ling led the cow around the back of the middle school and slowly stepped onto the old, mottled stone bridge.

The little white calf took bouncy little steps on the long stone bridge, its bright black eyes looking around. Its hooves made a crisp, tumbling sound as it trod on the stone. Below the bridge, the river flowed gurglingly.

It is the Nansha River.

Chen Ling led the ox swaying down the stone bridge and onto the embankment. The willows on both sides were swaying in the morning breeze, their branches dancing gently.

Under the tree were some messy flowers and plants, growing too vigorously.

On one side of the stone bridge, Chen Ling found a path leading down to the embankment and slowly walked down, with the little white ox following behind him.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo..." As soon as he stepped down, a large flock of water birds in the grass took flight. Chen Ling looked around and found a small boat under the bridge. This boat had been recently released by the flood control headquarters and anyone could use it. It could be returned after use.

After untying the boat, we boarded it and rowed forward on the river. The little white calf slowly stepped into the river and swam behind the boat. When it got playful, it would occasionally push the boat forward with its head or splash around chasing ducks and water birds on the distant river surface, having a great time.

Chen Ling couldn't help but laugh, saying it looked like a dog.

The man and his ox traveled from the west of the city to the east, and then back from the east to the west, having a great time. This attracted many passersby who stopped to watch, and some even called out to him to ask him a few questions.

"Wealth, wealth..."

When he returned to the stone bridge in the west of the city, someone on the shore called him again. He looked up and saw Liang Yuemin.

"You came to Nanshahe for fun. My mom said she wanted to call you back for dinner, so I went to look for you in the south of the city, but the door was locked. I thought you had gone home."

Liang Yuemin walked down from the embankment, glanced at the little white calf slowly emerging from the water, and said with a smile, "Your calf is still the most fun."

Chen Ling smiled, moored the boat, and came up to talk to him.

Although Liang Yuemin was as friendly and enthusiastic as usual, he seemed a little uncomfortable.

After exchanging a few words, as the two walked back together, he hesitated before speaking about his family.

"What? Uncle Qin and Aunt Hongyu were going to get a divorce?"

When he explained the whole story, Chen Ling was really surprised; he hadn't expected it at all.

"Sigh, you should be able to figure something out from the fact that Xiaoming and I both have the surname Liang."

Liang Yuemin gave him a wry smile: "My dad is from Qinwan here, and my mom is from Beijing. She came from the countryside. I won't go into how they met, but the marriage was basically my dad becoming a live-in son-in-law."

“Over the years, especially after the reform and opening up, my mother’s family has treated him like a maid. He has to take care of cooking and everything. My mother may have mentioned it before. My father is the chef at some family banquets. They even have to address my mother with the formal 'you' (您). Although this is common in Beijing, how can a husband and wife treat each other like this?”

“He has to call out, otherwise the elders will scold him.”

"I don't want to say more about other things, but last year my dad couldn't take it anymore and decided to divorce my mom and go back to our hometown..."

Chen Ling listened, both enlightened and puzzled: "With such a big business now, how come your family has no say?"

"Sigh, there's really no way to explain this. I don't know if you can understand, but anyway, I'm surnamed Liang now, and this business is naturally made possible by the support of my mother's relatives and elders."

Liang Yuemin shook his head: "But I can't stay in Beijing any longer. After all these years of worrying, I'm struggling to even spend a little money. That's why Huanhuan and I came back to our city last year to develop our careers."

Chen Ling listened, unsure of what to say.

Since the two had started talking about this, they decided not to go back for dinner. Instead, they found a breakfast stall near the county hospital, sat down, and ate and chatted.

The little white calf stood obediently under a large tree not far away, calmly watching the passersby.

"Sigh, anyway, without you, my dad and mom might really have gotten divorced. My dad is gentle by nature, but he's lived like this for most of his life and has had enough. He said he doesn't want anything now, he just wants to live a few years of peaceful and quiet life. Maybe this is what it means to be invincible when you have no desires? No matter how my mom tries to stop him, she can't, and getting angry is useless. Besides, she's in the wrong, so she has no choice but to come back with him."

"Well, after coming back, I've only been here for about a year, just hanging out with you guys, doing fun things and eating good food every day. The two of them are much better now, and they've both told me privately that they're living a more fulfilling life than they have in the capital for decades."

Liang Yuemin looked at Chen Ling with a complicated expression and said with emotion, "The atmosphere in our hometown is much more conservative than outside. The only family that can accept and sincerely interact with strangers like us is Fugui. I really have to thank you."

After hearing this, Chen Ling smiled and waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing and that it suited his temperament.

If he encounters someone who puts on airs and looks down on country folk, he won't say another word.

……

The two were eating and chatting when a group of people rode up on bicycles and stopped in front of the breakfast stall.

"Wow, a white water buffalo, it's really beautiful."

These people glanced at the little white calf, exclaimed in admiration, and then made a ruckus, asking the owner to weigh out the fried dough sticks for them.

Chen Ling and his companion were almost finished eating when they saw so many people crowding over. They quickly finished the last two mouthfuls of soup, got up, and left.

But as he was about to leave with the little white calf, a voice suddenly called out to him.

"Hey, is that young man leading the ox Chen Ling?"

Chen Ling looked up and saw a young man with a dark red face, square face, small eyes, short hair, and not very tall. He stared at him for about ten seconds before recognizing him.

"You are... Bo Qingbo?"

"Hahaha, my goodness, you unlucky kid still remembers my nickname?"

The young man laughed heartily, walked up to him, and patted him on the shoulder enthusiastically. “You’re so tall and fair-skinned now, and you look so young. I thought you were some handsome young man from a wealthy family.”

This person's nickname is Bo Qingbo because his name is Zhao Hongbo. When he was in school, his classmates would joke with him using the phrase "Red Palms Bo Qingbo," and that's how he got the nickname. Later, even the teacher started calling him that.

He and Chen Ling were roommates in high school. He was a warm and cheerful guy who was very loyal to his friends.

"Haha, I'm naturally fair-skinned, there's nothing I can do about it, I don't get tanned even when I'm working."

Chen Ling patted him on the shoulder with a smile: "It's been years, what have you been up to lately?"

“I’m building a factory with my uncle in Huangni Town. They’re building a new factory there, and they’re paying more wages.”

Zhao Hongbo chuckled and said, "What are you doing? You're leading an ox and moving to the county town so early in the morning?"

"Ah, I didn't move, but I bought a small courtyard house opposite Xinling Middle School. I'll move later if I want to."

Chen Ling pointed in that direction and said.

"Wow, that's incredible! You must have made a lot of money."

Zhao Hongbo stared in surprise, wiping his sweat with a towel around his neck as he shouted.

"What makes big money? Where do farmers make big money?"

Chen Ling smiled and said, "We just had a baby at home, and this is to make it easier for him to go to school in the county town."

"Oh, you already have a kid, huh? Well done, kid."

Zhao Hongbo beamed with joy upon hearing this, and then said, "You dropped out of high school in your senior year and haven't contacted us since. Come out for a drink this Chinese New Year when you're free. Everyone in our dorm has a good temper and doesn't cause any trouble." Chen Ling agreed with this. Back then, the most they did was climb over the wall to go out and bathe in the river, or pick up scraps from construction sites to sell for a few cigarettes, some drinks, and snacks. They got along very well and never had any conflicts.

"Okay, let's set a date then, and we'll do what we did back in school, drinking at the same place every year."

"Haha, you still remember? Okay, let's have a drink at one place a year. I'll write to you after we've decided on a date. We were talking about you last year too."

On the other side, Liang Yuemin watched Chen Ling talking to someone and breathed a sigh of relief.

Because of his drunken slip of the tongue yesterday, he was scolded by his parents this morning, who were afraid that Chen Ling would overthink things.

Actually, they were just too guilty and overreacted, worrying too much.

Over the course of more than a year, Liang Hongyu also learned that Chen Ling was not the kind of person who would climb the social ladder, and he never cared about fame or fortune.

But fame and fortune are one thing, and family ties are another. No one can say for sure about the relationship between a son and his mother.

If Chen Ling finds out and really wants to go back, regardless of how difficult the process will be, just considering Chen Ling's mother's temper—she hasn't come back for so many years, you can imagine what her attitude will be.

Liang Hongyu was afraid that if things went wrong, her son would feel wronged by his mother's indifference, and that her nephew would be hurt.

Now that Chen Ling's mother has cut off all contact with both families, she might as well stop talking to Chen Ling and just live her own life to avoid causing him any more trouble.

Liang Yuemin had been reminded by Liang Hongyu and Liang Hongyu many times. He usually pays great attention to his food, but he got carried away with drinking yesterday and couldn't control himself.

……

"We live far away and don't have time to eat, so we came here to buy some fried dough sticks to eat on the way, otherwise we won't be able to start work in time."

"Let's go, Old Chen."

"Okay, drive slowly on the road. The area outside Huangni Town is full of mud pits and it's very difficult to travel."

"know."

Zhao Hongbo waved to himself from his bicycle and then left in a noisy commotion with a group of men.

After watching him leave, Chen Ling spent the morning replacing the electrical wires at home with Liang Yuemin and his son. They had lunch in the courtyard here, with a simple meal and drinks.

Because the door was open, Liang Jinke, who had come to the school to change shifts, walked straight in. When Chen Ling saw that it was this teacher, he pulled him down to sit down and have some drinks and food.

During the conversation, he mentioned his encounter with Zhao Hongbo, and Liang Jinke sighed, "Your dormitory atmosphere is so much better. In recent years, some people have made a little money and started looking down on this and that. They even speak to me, their teacher, in a sarcastic tone, and they're so arrogant."

"Only those in your dorm who have achieved success still remember their teachers and classmates."

"Let's get together more often; it's not a bad thing to stay in touch."

"Well, I missed it a few years ago, so I'm getting together with everyone this year."

Chen Ling used to be a good student. He was lazy and never competed for anything or caused trouble. He had a good relationship with both male and female classmates.

……

After finishing his work in the county town, Chen Ling returned home in the afternoon, and Liang Yuemin and his son followed him. The cowshed had been built yesterday, and they were preparing to take the two cows away.

When we arrived at the farm, Wang Cunye was herding sheep in the orchard, holding a whip in one hand and a hoe in the other.

"What's wrong, Dad? What are you digging up?"

Chen Ling saw his father-in-law walking around, stopping every now and then to dig a bit with his hoe, his brows furrowed and his expression not looking good, so he quickly went over to him.

Liang Yuemin and his son also quickly followed.

"Spiky vines. I don't know what happened, so many spiky vines suddenly appeared in the woods."

Wang Cunye pointed to the things on the ground and showed them to them, "This thing is very harmful. It can grow into a large patch anywhere. We can't let it grow everywhere."

"Isn't that the Virginia creeper?"

Qin Rong bent down, picked up a thorny plant, examined it, and said.

"It's not ivy, it just looks a bit like it."

Chen Ling said, "This thing is a harmful weed, while Virginia creeper can be used as a medicinal herb. They are not the same thing."

In the wild, the prickly pear tree and the paper mulberry tree often grow together, growing side by side. These two plants are very easy to live, and their vitality is beyond imagination.

Paper mulberry is alright, at least its leaves can be used as livestock feed. But thorny vines are useless and are even more detestable than paper mulberry.

The prickly vine, also known as the lala vine in some places, has an extremely nice and imposing name: Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. It looks very similar to the Virginia creeper, but its leaves and vines are covered with countless small barbs. If a person touches it, they will be scratched with a long, bloody mark.

If it gets into your clothes, it's even more uncomfortable than wheat awns; it's itchy, prickly, and extremely irritating.

Chen Ling originally thought this thing was an invasive species, but it turned out to be native to the area, though it was a genuinely harmful plant.

Years ago, these things didn't grow here; they only started appearing sporadically about ten years ago. Now they're growing more and more, almost to the point of becoming rampant.

The prickly pear grows extremely fast, spreading out to cover a large area in a single climb.

Moreover, they have tendrils, allowing them to climb any terrain.

Stones, big trees, walls...

Especially in old houses, if no one takes care of them, the yard can be overgrown with weeds in just two or three years.

Plants that are entangled by it rarely survive, including large trees.

Chen Ling can ignore the paper mulberry tree, but this thing must be eliminated.

Wang Cunye clearly knew that this guy growing in the orchard would only bring harm and no benefit, so he dug down the seedlings while herding sheep. They were all newly sprouted seedlings, so he just dug up the roots.

“Oh, so this thing is so nasty. It’s alright, the newly grown ones are easy to deal with. I’ll go get my cow, Fugui, you get two hoes for us too, we’ll help you dig them up,” Qin Rongxian said.

So Chen Ling and Liang Yuemin went to get hoes, and the four of them got busy in the woods.

"Uncle Wang, digging this thing up is quite fun! Let's not take the cow back yet, we'll come back tomorrow."

Perhaps it was because he had two yellow oxen with him, but Liang Yuemin suddenly became interested in digging.

Wang Cunye was both amused and exasperated. This guy was treating work like a game; only a rich person could say something like that.

The weather wasn't too hot today. The four of them worked for more than an hour, chatting as they went, and weren't too tired. But then Gao Xiulan called them to take a break and go back for some water.

The four agreed and headed towards the farm. As they walked, whenever they encountered thorny vines, they would swing their hoes and dig them up, throwing them up on the grass to prevent them from taking root again.

"Huh? What's that burrowing into the grass?"

As he approached the bamboo grove, Liang Yuemin saw a patch of thorny vines by the irrigation ditch. He wielded his hoe and knocked them all down. Just as he finished clearing the large area, he suddenly noticed a tail in the grass.

Out of curiosity, he gently poked the grass with his hoe, and a thick snake lazily crawled out from the grass, its black and yellow markings startling him.

"Good heavens, it's a snake, a snake this big and thick."

Chen Ling and the other two looked over and found that it was a grass snake, also known as a king cobra. It was very thick and long, but in addition to being thick and long, its body was also covered with large bulges in each segment, which immediately made them uneasy.

"Damn it, this is a thieving snake that sneaks into the grass and steals our eggs."

(End of this chapter)