My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 268 Badger in the Earthen Shed

The reason it's different is not only because after the heavy rain, the garlic plants reappeared for some unknown reason, attracting a large crowd.

While at Chen Ling's farm, Professor Han discovered a connection between two special plants.

"I never expected that this trip here would be so full of surprises. I even discovered two plant species that I've never seen before. Not to mention the giant softshell turtle, these two little things alone can be considered my biggest discovery in the past ten years."

After Han Ninggui and the others finished filming the group of old turtles, they returned to the farm and were surprised to find several bonsai trees that Chen Ling had placed outside.

One type is a plant similar to banana leaves that repels mosquitoes.

Another type is the "sugar bubble" wild fruit that Chen Ling brought back from the mountains. It's the kind of wild fruit that can make you drunk if you eat too much of it. He had been growing it in a flowerpot before.

These two plants grow slowly and have a nice appearance, making them suitable for growing as bonsai plants.

"Where did you get all this, Fugui?"

"I got this last autumn when I went hunting in the mountains. But I haven't been deep in the mountains for a long time, so I can't remember exactly where it was."

Chen Ling shook his head.

No matter what the old man asked him, he always answered in the same way.

If you're willing to do research, I'd be happy to contribute to our country's research on flora and fauna.

But if I were to get to the bottom of it, as a young man from the countryside, my knowledge would certainly be limited, and I wouldn't know much.

In short, one is a hidden paradise, and the other is something that exists in the outside world. It's hard to tell which is true and which is false. If you want to find it, go find it yourself.

"Can't you remember a single place?"

Han Ninggui had no doubts, he just felt it was a pity.

"I really can't remember."

"I just glanced at this plant and thought it looked nice, so I dug it up without thinking anything of it."

"I discovered that the fruit of this little tree could make people drunk, like they were drunk. I thought, hey, this fruit is quite magical and interesting, so I picked a lot of fruit. After eating them, I planted the remaining seeds in a flowerpot, and this is how it grew this year."

As soon as Chen Ling said this, not only Wang Susu, but also the elderly couple Wang Cunye and his wife looked over in surprise.

"What? These wild fruits can make you drunk?"

The Zhao Dahai and Shanmao families even came right up to them.

I initially thought it was just Professor Han discovering some unusual plants, but I never expected it to be so interesting and even intoxicating?

"Yes, it's not just people, dogs get drunk too. I first learned about this when I was hunting. I was leading Heiwa to gather firewood in the mountains, and Heiwa smelled the fruit and ran to the trees. He greedily ate a lot and then got drunk."

Chen Ling said with a smile, "I thought it was poisoned at the time, and I was really scared."

"Later, I asked some villagers who went into the mountains with me, and they said they didn't know what it was called either, but the older generation had eaten it and gave it a name: sugar bubble."

"Sugar bubble?" The group was puzzled upon hearing the name.

The lynx then turned to Wang Cunye and asked, "Uncle Wang, do you guys have anything like this?"

"No, I've never heard of any wild fruit that can make someone drunk," Wang Cunye shook his head.

Listening to everyone's discussion, Han Ninggui frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "Based on Fugui's description, I'm reminded of a fruit from Jiangnan called Zuili (檇李). I wonder if any of you have heard of it?"

...Li Li?
Everyone looked at each other and shook their heads, saying they had never heard of it.

"The Zui Li, also called the Zui Li, is a plum that can make people drunk."

After saying this, Han Ninggui smiled slightly: "These Drunken Plums are quite interesting. There's a saying, 'Xi Shi's Drunken Plums: Homesickness,' which tells of how Xi Shi returned to her hometown, ate the plums there, and became drunk in the plum orchard because they were so sweet. Later, people only praised the delicious taste of the Drunken Plums, but they didn't know that Xi Shi only wanted to stay drunk in the plum orchard and never wanted to return to the Kingdom of Wu..."

"Good heavens, there really is such a fruit? It even made Xi Shi drunk?"

Everyone was surprised to hear this; how could this fruit be related to Xi Shi?
"It's unclear whether they are the same type of fruit. If they are drunken plums, they shouldn't be found in the Qinling Mountains. They should be distributed in Jiangnan. But the drunken plums in Jiangnan don't make people drunk."

Han Ninggui pondered for a moment, "I have heard of some foreign fruits that have this characteristic. For example, there is a fruit in Africa that is comparable to strong liquor; even elephants get drunk if they eat too much of it. The reason is that this fruit has an extremely high sugar content. Once it is eaten, it will ferment and produce alcohol, making people drunk."

"It does have some similarities to your very sweet 'sugar bubble'."

When it comes to these kinds of technical things, nobody really understands them.

But hearing that a fruit can make an elephant drunk is still a bit surprising.

They discussed it amongst themselves for a while.

The main point is to explain what can be done with the fruit that was found in Chen Ling's area.

Brewing wine? Making special dried fruits or canned goods? Or using it as a seasoning or medicinal ingredient?
After discussing it, we realized that there were only a few bonsai trees, and we hadn't even seen any fruit yet, so what was there to discuss?

They all started criticizing Chen Ling, asking him why he only planted flowers in pots and didn't plant a couple of trees outside.
"In my opinion, even if we planted the Fugui tree outside, it wouldn't bear fruit in a year. We might as well have dug it up and planted it back then, so we wouldn't just be sitting here thinking about it in vain."

"Hehe, you know what, just thinking about it makes my mouth water. It's so sweet, it'll make you drunk if you eat it, hehehe."

"Come on, I was hunting. I hadn't even caught any prey yet. How could I be digging up trees everywhere? What would that make me?"

Chen Ling smacked his lips. Although that's what they say, in reality, everything in the cave is there. You can eat whatever you want, and if you want to make some fruit wine, you can make it however you like. It doesn't matter whether this stuff is grown outside or not.

Then he told everyone that if they liked it, they could each take a pot home and grow it themselves. They could grow it themselves, and when it bore fruit, they could eat it themselves. It would be very rewarding.

However, everyone thought the tree was quite rare and was afraid that it would die if they took it back, which would be a great pity. They decided to let it grow well in the flowerpot.

"What about this plant that looks like a banana leaf? Besides the flowers, did it bear fruit when you saw it in the mountains?"

After discussing this, Han Ninggui asked about another one.

"The fruit turned out to be a round one with bumps and small thorns."

Chen Ling spoke the truth.

But if you ask him again, he doesn't know anything else.

Han Ninggui expressed his regret over this.

Then, he cautiously asked Chen Ling, "In a while, maybe about a month, I'd like to bring an old friend over to visit. Is that alright?"

They are familiar with each other now, but during his two days at the farm, he heard that even when many leaders came, Chen Ling didn't entertain them, he just sold them wine.

"Sure, Uncle Han, you can come whenever you want. But my child is still young, so we can't accompany you if you want to go into the mountains."

"Of course, if it's a short trip, we can definitely come back in half a day. But if it's a long trip and we have to spend the night in the mountains, you can find someone in the village to accompany us. We can't go there."

Chen Ling had no problem with whether or not people came to the farm, as long as they weren't the kind of people who were ignorant and made unreasonable demands.

After being idle for so long, he felt that having a few people around to liven things up wasn't such a bad thing.

So I explained my situation to the old man beforehand.

"Haha, I understand, don't worry."

"Besides, since these two peculiar plants were discovered from your place, we won't forget you if there are any benefits."

Han Ninggui said with a smile that he greatly admired Chen Ling.

It wasn't just that we got along well; the key was his behavior in the mountains and the things he raised on the farm, which even made this professor admire him.

Especially when I think of the fighting fish that Chen Ling keeps, and some old friends who had been clamoring to come over last year because of two red eels.

He thought that he might be able to give Chen Ling a surprise then.

It also serves as encouragement for young people.

……

"This place is truly a blessed land, especially your farm. The mountains and waters are beautiful, and the scenery is lovely all year round. Not only are people comfortable living here, but the birds and fish seem to have a more spiritual quality compared to other places."

After the rain, the sun shone brightly. As usual, it was time to herd sheep and cattle, and to drive away any wild animals that wandered into the orchard with the dog.

However, today there were Professor Han and others with them, following behind Chen Ling and his son-in-law, strolling back and forth in the woods.

After waiting for three days, Professor Han finally got up close to the giant softshell turtle and took clear photos. He also had an unexpected bonus at the farm. He was very satisfied and even hummed a little tune as he walked.

"Teacher, look, the birds here in Fugui are not only more beautiful than in other places, but there are also more kinds of them." "Yes, I've noticed it these past two days. It seems that migratory birds that should be flying south have stopped here and gathered together. Doesn't that just prove that this is a good place?"

These birds are of many kinds and there are many of them. They are a huge, dark flock, with even the smallest flock consisting of forty or fifty birds.

I won't even mention the rare and unusual birds.

The trees are filled with common birds like magpies and doves. Magpies, in particular, huddle together and chatter as they leave and return to their nests in the early morning and evening.

When the magpie calls, other birds join in, and the orchard is filled with the cacophony of birdsong every day.

If the orchard weren't so large, and if the farm weren't guarded by hawks and weasels, these birds wouldn't dare get too close to the farm's area.

The sound of these birds alone is enough to keep you awake early in the morning.

"Look, just take the turtledoves, there are three kinds: the grey turtledove, the mountain turtledove, and the spotted turtledove..."

As Professor Han was speaking, his gaze suddenly paused. "Huh? Those are... good heavens, they're spotted doves. This little orchard has all four species of spotted doves."

The old man's mouth was slightly open; even he couldn't help but be surprised.

The red-spotted dove, also known as the red dove or the red pigeon, is much smaller than the other three types of doves.

Of the four species of spotted doves, the red spotted dove is the smallest.

But just like its name suggests, it is fiery red, especially the fiery red on its chest and wings.

If you catch one and observe it closely, you'll find that even its claws are red.

Moreover, the older they get, the darker their color becomes, and when they spread their wings, they are very beautiful.

Based on these characteristics, people call it the Fire Dove or the Red Dove.

In fact, it is common for different species of doves to flock together.

However, it's quite rare to see all four types appear together.

Upon seeing so many flocks of doves, Zhao Dahai, disregarding their appearance, couldn't help but swallow hard: "Fugui, I'll go get us a slingshot. Let's shoot a few doves and stew them for lunch."

Han Ninggui turned around and slapped him hard on the back. "All you do is eat. You're already over 200 pounds. If you keep eating, you'll turn into a pig."

He had connections with both the Shanmao and Zhao Dahai families, and both of them had to call him uncle.

Seeing Zhao Dahai chuckle, he thought for a moment and said, "Don't just hunt doves, hunt a few other birds too. We can stew or stir-fry some mountain birds for lunch, or even make a mountain bird hot pot."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling gave a thumbs up: "Old ginger is spicier, Uncle Han knows how to eat."

Then we'll have to go back to the farm to get the slingshot.

Seeing this, Lynx said, "Why use a slingshot? Just call Baldy out, and with a few swishes, we'll have lunch!"

For Er Tuzi, catching a few birds is indeed a piece of cake.

They've found the right person.

Chen Ling immediately whistled, summoning Er Tu Zi.

As soon as Er Tuzi flew over, the birds hidden in the woods immediately sensed the danger and fluttered about in all directions. Only the doves were still wandering back and forth on the distant ridges of the fields.

The spotted dove, the spotted dove, this thing is just a couple of beats slower than other birds in its reactions.

The consequence was that when the bald man launched his air raid, a dark shadow swept over the top of their heads, and several of them died instantly.

This is what makes Er Tu Zi (Er Tu Zi) better than other kites.

Other hawks can kill their prey with a single blow; it's considered good if they can kill even one.

But Er Tuzi can kill two or three at a time.

Moreover, it moves at an extremely high speed, so fast that it is invisible to the naked eye of ordinary people.

As soon as it was deployed, a row of mountain birds such as doves and tits quickly filled the area in front of Chen Ling.

"Not bad."

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling repeatedly praised it.

Not wanting to be left out, Heiwa led his little yellow dog into the thick sunflower patch and caught two wild rabbits.

After receiving a couple of pats from Chen Ling, it barked loudly in front of Xiao Jin and Er Tu Zi as if showing off, which made everyone laugh. They thought it was really funny that this dog was vying for attention.

"You good-for-nothing fool, if you get any fatter, you won't get a chance to go into the mountains anymore."

Chen Ling kicked it, strung the mountain birds on the ground together, picked up the rabbit, and returned to the farm with the others to clean up.

For lunch, we had a hot pot of mountain birds and mushrooms, and for dinner, we roasted two wild rabbits.

The next day, the turtles did not reappear in the reservoir, and Professor Han and his group did not stay for more than a few days, leaving that same day.

Before leaving, he told Chen Ling that he would bring people over again in about half a month or a month.

……

Han Ninggui and Zhao Dahai had just left when Wang Lixian came over to the farm to call him.

"Is wealth and honor at home?"

"At home, what's up, Brother Xian?" Chen Ling poked his head out from upstairs; he was currently writing a reply to his pen pal.

"Hurry up and bring the two dogs with you. My greenhouse has been closed for a while and no one has been there. Badgers have started attacking it, and the bastards are digging up the mud walls." Wang Lixian said dejectedly.

"What the hell? Badgers? Didn't you stop growing anything in your shed? You even took off the plastic sheeting. How come there are badgers crawling in?" Wang Cunye came out and asked.

"Who knows? There's nothing for it to eat, but it just keeps digging holes in my shed. Uncle, isn't that infuriating?"

Wang Lixian was extremely distressed.

“Heiwa, bring your little brother and come with me.”

Chen Ling went downstairs, heard this, beckoned Heiwa over, led the little yellow dog, and walked out with Wang Lixian.

As they walked toward the village, Wang Lixian explained the situation.

His family made some money this year by growing vegetables in a greenhouse. They get up early every day to sell them at the county market. Although they don't earn much, it's much easier than working on a construction site. They can go to bed early at night and it's not tiring.

So they built another one next to the original greenhouse, and the two were placed side by side.

Before Chen Ling was busy preparing for the full moon celebration, he and his brothers had already made arrangements.

I'm planning to start planting vegetables and mushrooms this fall and go all out.

Then it got too hot in the summer, so I stopped going for a while. When autumn came, I planned to go over and tidy it up. But when I opened the door, dirt and debris were falling off the shed as if it were about to collapse.

Looking further inside, good heavens, behind the earthen wall, something had dug a huge hole that led straight into someone else's cornfield to the east.

The hole was huge, almost the size of a washbasin, so it definitely wasn't made by some ordinary wild creature.

I walked around in the grass twice and found many dry clumps of droppings, coarse fur, and shallow claw marks.

Wang Lixian took one look and knew without a doubt that this was definitely a badger treacherous place. They had made such a huge hole in the earthen wall of the greenhouse, and who knew how deep it was inside.

Last year, before the farm was built, Chen Ling caught a badger in the summer.

The holes that guy dug were haphazard and interconnected underground, and even Xiao Jin couldn't get angry at them.

If a badger appears in someone's field or cellar, you must not be careless.

They must be driven away as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if you let them dig holes and make nests anywhere underground, they might collapse your house, let alone your vegetable cellar, in the long run.

“My tabby dog ​​is no longer useful this year. It’s eight years old and used to always go into the mountains with me, so it’s quite an old dog. It also has some injuries, so it’s not very good at taking down a den of badgers.”

Wang Lixian sighed, "My own dog isn't good enough. Instead of looking for another dog in the village, I might as well ask Chen Ling to bring Heiwa and Xiaojin."

(End of this chapter)