My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 253 The Old Turtle Attracted Attention

It rained all day and all night.

Chen Ling was surprised to find that her son was very well-behaved on rainy days. He didn't cry or fuss at night and slept soundly. Even thunder couldn't wake him up.

This is quite surprising.

But no matter what, at least he and Wang Susu can finally get a good night's sleep, which is great.

Listening to the thunder and rain, the family of three slept comfortably through the night.

The rain stopped in the early morning, and the croaking of frogs continued outside the farm.

I opened the window. It was a cool morning after the rain, and the bamboo and trees looked brand new.

A gentle breeze from the mountain caressed the lotus leaves in the pond, causing them to sway and droplets of water to leap into the water, creating a crisp and melodious "ding-dong" sound.

Chen Ling had a rare good night's sleep and was in a great mood.

Before their son woke up, Wang Susu and I washed the diapers that had been soaked for him.

Then they went to several places in the chicken coop and duck pen to clean up the stagnant water.

After doing all that, change the dressing on the kite.

The hawk's injuries have almost fully healed by now.

Only the wound on the wing needs another dressing change.

This position is crucial; if it is not restored properly, it will greatly affect the hawk's future flying ability.

The medicine Chen Ling used was the same wound medicine passed down from his father-in-law's family, but it was made with herbs from the cave, making it a more potent version of the wound medicine.

So the injury healed very quickly.

"Er Tuzi, wake up, come out and apply the medicine."

Walking under the eaves, Chen Ling tapped the bamboo basket on the water vat. As soon as he tapped it, a bird's head popped out of the basket and looked around warily.

Only after seeing that it was him did he relax his guard and let Chen Ling take it out and put it on the eagle pole hanging under the eaves.

The hawk now rests on the hawk perch that Chen Ling prepared for it during the day, and at night it crawls into the bamboo basket and curls up in a ball on the cloth strips and old cotton wadding.

It gets quite cold in the mountains at night, but it's very warm inside the bamboo basket.

In short, this wisdom means knowing how to enjoy things more than ordinary things.

It's fed with spiritual water every day, and now that it's injured, it doesn't have to worry about food.

In the past few days, it has not only grown twice its size, but it is also much prettier than before.

With grayish-brown feathers, chestnut-colored spots on its belly, and thick, powerful yellow claws, it stands quietly on the eagle's perch, its toes extremely sharp.

The most striking feature is her pair of amber eyes, which are lively, expressive, and very human-like.

It completely relaxed its guard in front of Chen Ling, enjoying the large hand's caresses, and was very affectionate and obedient.

The size of hawks has increased dramatically, now comparable to some small eagles and hawks, but their appearance is still that of hawks, though they are more slender and graceful than eagles and hawks, and look very beautiful.

Chen Ling was very satisfied with this: "Great, Baldy, you look quite good after your hair grows back."

It's also worth mentioning that since being rescued by Chen Ling last year, Er Tu Zi has undergone some amazing changes. For example, its night vision is much stronger than that of ordinary eagles and falcons.

Common falcons have excellent eyesight during the day, and can see things clearly on the ground even when flying high in the sky, but at night, their night vision is extremely poor, making them practically blind.

Er Tuzi has overcome this weakness.

"Come on, spread your wings and let me see how well your injuries have healed."

As soon as Chen Ling said that, it really understood. It let out a soft chirp and carefully spread its wings, its eyes gentle and obedient, allowing Chen Ling to observe the injury on its wings.

"Great, you're recovering well. You'll be able to fly in another two or three days."

After observing it for a while, Chen Ling reached out and touched its hook-like beak. The bald boy squinted its eyes comfortably, thoroughly enjoying the touch.

"Heiwa, take your little brother outside and catch a couple of rats."

He turned around and gave Heiwa an instruction. Heiwa then happily led the little yellow dog out of the farm. A little while later, the two of them came back, each carrying a mouse in their mouths, and brought it to him.

There are many rat holes inside and outside the orchard, including mountain rats and ground rats; these little creatures are not lacking anywhere.

Following Heiwa and Xiaojin, the little yellow dog didn't learn any other skills, but he surpassed them in catching mice.

Despite its mischievous and unpredictable nature, much like Heiwa, and its less-than-stellar hunting skills, it possesses a strong hunting instinct. It has a natural desire to hunt, and it will try to catch any mice it sees. It also knows how to drive away any unfamiliar wild creatures that wander into its territory.

This is Tiger Head Yellow's innate hunting instinct, deeply buried in its bones.

Unfortunately, it is restless and too playful, so it is only suitable for catching small prey such as mice and rabbits.

Dogs that can't stand being brought into the mountains can't be brought in.

After catching the rat, Chen Ling took Er Tu Zi off the ground and put it down to eat.

Er Tuzi has gotten used to being fed like this.

It used its paws to step on the mouse and opened its mouth to tear it apart.

It has always been very alert.

They do the same when eating. After catching their prey, they often hold it under their paws and bite it with their mouths. After biting it a couple of times, they look up and look around to check the situation.

If there are no abnormalities, lower your head to eat again.

With its claws pressing down on its prey, it would raise its head once after each bite to observe its surroundings.

Over time, this has become a habit.

Chen Ling watched the hawk eat with great interest. After it finished eating both mice, he cleaned up what it had left and went to the kitchen in the back to make breakfast.

Breakfast was quickly prepared: millet porridge, fried bread slices, and pickled vegetables and radishes. It was simple, but the young couple ate it with great relish.

After the meal, the sun slowly came out, and the farm and orchard became lively again after the rain.

Seeing her son quietly nursing in Wang Susu's arms, neither crying nor fussing, Chen Ling teased him a couple of times, then picked up a fishing net and began clearing fallen leaves from the lotus pond, the irrigation ditch, and the riverbed at the foot of the mountain, while also checking the growth of various fish.

He doesn't really care about ordinary fish right now.

The main species are fine-scaled salmon, as well as ornamental fish such as red-lipped barbs and fighting fish.

After finishing his work, Chen Ling went to check on the fine-scaled salmon.

Fine-scaled salmon are raised in both the water channels outside the cave and the water channels inside the cave.

This fish is born impatient and likes to live in clear, fast-flowing mountain streams. It bravely forges ahead when encountering rapids and loves to swim against the current.

All these characteristics contribute to its unique meat texture, which is firm, delicious, and exceptionally flavorful.

The fine-scaled salmon raised in this small section of the farm's irrigation ditch have changed quite a bit over the past few months.

Not only has she grown a lot, but her figure has also become more slender and her body curves are more perfect.

Chen Ling scooped out two fish, and once he had them in his hand, they struggled and thrashed about with considerable force.

"They look quite thin with not much meat on them, but they're actually quite plump when you hold them in your hand."

Feeling the fleshy texture of the fine-scaled salmon in his hand, Chen Ling smiled happily. Not bad, it wasn't a waste of time to raise it.

So they brought the bucket over, scooped out a few more fish and put them in the bucket, planning to taste them at noon.

Then he released the chickens, ducks, and geese, and went up the mountain with them to the cave to observe the individually cultivated ornamental fish.

When Chen Ling first put these fish into the farm, he intended to raise them in the lotus pond. However, he felt that the lotus flowers hadn't grown yet and the bare pond looked unattractive, so he decided not to put them in there for the time being.

They moved them all to the cave and created a new pond specifically for them.

However, after the fish were introduced, he only came to check on them once or twice.

Looking at it now, the changes in the red-lipped fish are not very obvious.

They reproduce quite quickly. The fry of the red-lipped barb are spawning in large groups, with black and light red horizontal stripes. The adult fish are quite beautiful, with a deep crimson color except for their light-colored bellies. When they swim, they look like flames are floating around, making them extremely beautiful. "These red-lipped barbs are edible now."

Chen Ling smacked his lips, feeling quite accomplished as he watched the fish he was raising grow bigger and fatter.

The joy of raising livestock is nothing more than this.

Watching the animals you raise grow bigger and bigger each day, and their weight increase day by day, you can sell them for a good price when it's time to harvest.

There is an indescribable sense of satisfaction in my heart.

Then he stirred the lush lotus leaves in the pond to look for other fish.

Compared to the red-lipped barb, these fish are smaller. When people approach, they swim away. With the lotus leaves providing cover, they are very difficult to see if they are hiding among the aquatic plants and rocks in the water.

When he searched, he found nothing wrong with the other fish, but the betta fish really gave him a fright.

There's nothing else to it, this fish just reproduces too many times.

Upon closer inspection of the bottom of the ditch, wow, it was covered with a dense layer of tiny creatures, resembling a large group of tadpoles, but much smaller.

As soon as he parted the lotus leaf, the fish fry inside darted about in a chaotic frenzy, forming a whirlpool when viewed from above, resembling a spectacular school of fish in the sea.

"Goodness, so many fish fry, should we release them outside?"

As he was muttering to himself, he suddenly paused, noticing something: the big fish seemed to have become more beautiful, their colors more vibrant, their tails longer and more fluid, and their movements more graceful.

There are many forktail fighting fish south of Fenglei Town. The locals call them "flower handkerchiefs" because of their bright colors and long, fluffy fins and tails, which look like beautiful flower handkerchiefs in the water.

Chen Ling now approves of this title even more.

"Some of them have indeed become more beautiful, but why have some become uglier?"

After observing carefully for a while, Chen Ling suddenly frowned.

It's not ugly, but its tail isn't spread out anymore, making it look less like a betta fish. However, its body colors are still quite beautiful.

After thinking it over carefully, Chen Ling picked out all the ones that had become beautiful and those that had become ugly, and put them into the two irrigation ditches outside the thatched hut.

"Let's see what special changes you'll make next."

"Yes, we should separate these fish that show obvious changes and raise them individually. Each time a change occurs, we'll select one to breed..."

"what?"

"Isn't this how our ancestors raised goldfish?"

"So if we're on the right track, there's definitely potential."

After thinking for a while, Chen Ling scooped out some of the more beautiful fighting fish and returned to the farm. He then put them into another ditch, which was closer to where he poured the spiritual water. Keeping the fighting fish here would be suitable for some daily observation.

There are now two streams and four irrigation canals, two of which encircle the farm and two flow into the lotus pond.

The fish were released through these two water channels that flowed into the lotus pond, which Chen Ling had blocked off with a mesh net. One side contained fine-scaled salmon, and the other side contained fighting fish.

"Alright, I'm done with this. I'm going back to clean the fish."

Clap his hands, Chen Ling picked up the bucket containing the fine-scaled salmon and walked to the back.

As he walked further, he discovered that the area behind the farm was quite lively.

"Sixth Sister, Piggy, you and your people line up, we're going to start calculating the money now."

Chen Ling walked through the hall and went to the back of the farm, where he found his sister-in-law sitting on a bamboo chair with her legs crossed, waving a small notebook in her hand and shouting loudly.

After shouting, he said to Xizi, who was standing next to him, "Come on, Xizi, you remember who took the money. Just tick their name."

Xizi was an honest girl, and when she heard her instructions, she nodded gently in agreement.

Wang Zhenzhen nodded in satisfaction, took out a wad of cash, and counted out a few bills in a very professional manner: "Liu Ni'er, you caught three jin and seven liang of scorpions and three liang of cicada shells. Here is fifty-eight yuan. Take it."

“Snotty-nosed kid, you weigh less than three pounds. Your sister and brother-in-law said they'd charge you three pounds. Come and collect your money.”

"Xiao Sen, Piggy..."

When a child is called, they run up happily, take the money with a grin, and count it over and over.

Good heavens, the scene left Chen Ling speechless, and he almost dropped the bucket he was carrying.

After standing there stunned for a while, she walked over and asked, "Zhenzhen, what are you doing?"

Wang Zhenzhen looked up and said frankly, "We're distributing money. It's the money from selling scorpions. My sister said she was going to distribute it to them, but I saw she still had to look after Rui Rui, so I distributed it for her."

"What, why are you all here handing out money?"

"Brother-in-law, you're so silly! How can you give out money in public? What if someone sees it?"

Wang Zhenzhen gave him a strange look: "If others find out that we caught scorpions and sold them for a lot of money, they will definitely rush to catch them, and then we won't be able to catch any more."

"That's right, Uncle, we sold our scorpions for twenty yuan last year. After they found out, they all rushed to catch them. My dad said they even fought on the mountain over the scorpions."

"I've heard that too. Uncle Fugui caught the scorpion in your orchard. If other people know there are a lot of scorpions here, they'll all come and catch them, which will drive you crazy."

When the children started talking all at once, Chen Ling actually found some of their points to be true.

"Alright, then, after you get your share of the money, make sure you have it safe and go back to your parents as soon as possible."

“This is no small amount of money. Your aunt said she would give it to you, so she must have had your aunt deliver it to your home.”

As Chen Ling spoke, he glared at his sister-in-law. Knowing Wang Susu's temper, she definitely wouldn't have given the money directly to the children; it must have been this little girl who took matters into her own hands.

Seeing Wang Zhenzhen sticking out his tongue and making a face at him guiltily, he shook his head. "Now that you've received the money, take good care of it and don't lose it. Don't play today, put the money at home before you come out to play."

Seeing Chen Ling's serious expression, they all nodded obediently and said they understood.

After Wang Zhenzhen and the children left, Chen Ling cleaned the fish outside the kitchen.

The day before yesterday, I went to the market to sell medicinal herbs and chicken and duck eggs. Since I didn't want to sell the dendrobium at the Chinese medicine shop in the county town, I ended up making the most of the money from selling scorpions.

Although nearly half of the money came from the scorpions caught and sold by the children, Chen Ling's own family also caught quite a few, so together with chicken eggs, duck eggs, and vines, they sold over a thousand to nearly two thousand yuan this time.

Even so, scorpions still keep appearing outside. As long as the water containing spiritual water flows here, they will continue to reproduce. Perhaps over time, they will even mutate and their population will grow stronger.

It's harder to find them now after the rain; they'll only become plentiful again after two consecutive sunny days.

However, the next rain is not necessarily a bad thing.

The rain also dampened the family's attention to the "mosquito repellent plant," and the mosquito infestation of the past two days seemed as if it had never happened.

……

After the fine-scaled salmon is killed, the flesh is pink, with a moist texture and a tender, soft, and bouncy consistency.

Chen Ling didn't use any fancy methods; he simply simmered a pot of light fish soup. This way, he could drink the fish soup and eat the fish meat, preserving the original flavor of the fish meat to the greatest extent.

This pot of delicious fish soup was not only praised by Wang Susu, but even her father-in-law and mother-in-law said that they had lived most of their lives in vain, as they had never tasted such delicious fish.

Perhaps the two elders were exaggerating a bit, but even Chen Ling, with his discerning palate, found it amazing. It really was delicious; there's no lie about that.

They still have time to comment.

Wang Zhenzhen didn't even have time to say anything before she slurped down two large bowls of fish soup.

The whole family thoroughly enjoyed their meal, savoring the delicious scalloped salmon.

After dinner, Rui Rui, who had been quiet for a day and a half, started crying again.

The young couple, Chen and Ling, had already developed a conditioned reflex; upon hearing the crying, they would perk up and get busy again.

"Auntie, auntie, come out quickly! There are several huge turtles in the reservoir, they're really big! Come with us to see them!"

The young couple were busy with their son when a group of little children ran over to find Wang Zhenzhen again.

But what they were saying immediately caught Chen Ling's attention.

(End of this chapter)