My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 289 Wolves and Dogs, Protecting Their Offspring

Compared to the howls of wolves in the mountains, Heiwa's howls are more eerie, as if they have a kind of oppressive force that makes people feel uncomfortable all over, and may even subconsciously tighten their hearts and give rise to fear.

Chen Ling had only ever experienced this with Xiao Jin before.

Xiao Jin only called for the pack of dogs a handful of times when they were in danger.

However, Xiao Jin's cries are very soft and low, and most people can't even hear them unless they listen carefully.

Moreover, the level of oppression and discomfort it causes is not as great as Heiwa's howling.

Fortunately, Heiwa didn't bark much.

Moreover, after Heiwa stopped howling, the wolf pack in the mountains also stopped howling.

Although Chen Ling and the others were puzzled by this, they knew that the two sides must be communicating with each other about something.

It has to be said that Heiwa has changed a lot recently.

It seems love really can change a person.

Those little she-wolves deserve a lot of credit.

Even so, we must still be on guard.

After seeing his father-in-law and mother-in-law off and returning from the village, Chen Ling and Wang Qingwen set some traps outside the farm, lit two bonfires, and sprinkled wolf-repelling poison powder to prevent the wolves from sneaking down the mountain at night during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

And I must say, under the bright moonlight on Mid-Autumn Festival night, lighting two bonfires outside the farm, accompanied by the dancing fireflies, creates an extremely picturesque scene.

Chen Ling admired the moon and lingered there for a long time.

Nothing happened all night.

The next day, the sixteenth day of the eighth lunar month, when Chen Ling went up the mountain to collect eggs, he suddenly realized that Heiwa hadn't run off to the back of the mountain early that day, but instead had obediently followed behind him to collect eggs, patrol the mountain, and guard the chickens.

This was quite unexpected for him.

What made it abandon the little she-wolf and become so well-behaved?
Has her heat cycle ended?
With these questions in mind, Chen Ling climbed Wolf-Claw Rock again.

When they got to the wolf den in the ravine, good heavens, there were no wolves left.

The wolf pack moved away long ago.

Thinking of the wolf howls from last night, Chen Ling suddenly understood something.

……

Have the wolves in the mountains moved away?

Upon hearing this news, Wang Qingwen jumped up. "Could it be because we went to see them yesterday that they moved?"

"If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have let you take us there to see these strange things yesterday."

Wang Qingwen believes that the fact that they brought a group of children over yesterday may have disturbed the wolves, causing them to move away overnight without staying even a day longer.

Gao Xiulan nodded in agreement: "Yes, yes, when we were heading back to the village last night, they were howling in the mountains for quite a while, and Heiwa was howling too. It must have been around that time that the wolves were about to move away."

Chen Ling said, "It shouldn't be that bad. I used to go to the back mountain to see them often. Su Su and I went there with the children. Yesterday, it was just the two adults, me and my older brother, and a few little kids. It shouldn't have scared them so much that they moved away overnight."

"Well, it's not that bad."

Wang Cunye frowned and said, "Do you think it was because Heiwa mated with those female wolves and got pregnant that he moved away?"

"You're pregnant? So fast?"

Gao Xiulan was a little skeptical.

Wang Qingwen and his wife were not entirely convinced either.

"What do you mean fast? It's been almost half a month, and Heiwa is still as strong as a calf. The mother wolf is definitely pregnant every time, there's no need to say more."

Wang Cunye, however, became more and more certain as he spoke.

He looked at Chen Ling and said, "There aren't many people raising cattle or sheep on the mountain here, so you might not know the situation."

In our area, many people raise cattle and sheep on the mountains. Once these cattle and sheep are bred and pregnant, you have to keep a close eye on them, especially when they are about to give birth.

Otherwise, these cows and sheep are about to have calves, and they might just hide in some remote mountain corner and not come out.

These creatures are very protective of their offspring, and they're the same way with their owners. They're secretive and won't bring the cubs home from the mountains until the cubs are born and a month old.

Otherwise, they'll hide so well that you might not be able to find them even if you try; they're incredibly well hidden.

"Look, even our livestock are like this, let alone the wolves. Those creatures are cautious, cunning, and incredibly clever. They know they're pregnant, so they'll definitely stay far away and can't get close to people."

His father-in-law's words enlightened Chen Ling.

The others also looked enlightened.

Chen Ling laughed and kicked Heiwa: "Good lad, so you knew all along that the wolf pack was going to move away."

Heiwa stuck out his tongue, gave him a simple and honest look, then turned around and continued playing around with the little yellow dog.

Today is the 16th day of the eighth lunar month.

It has been almost two months since Chen Ling discovered wolf droppings and wolf tracks at Wolf Mouth Rock.

He didn't know when the wolf pack arrived.

These small wolf packs are swift and elusive, and their hunting grounds are not very large.

Perhaps they didn't move to a place too far away.

When she gets pregnant, she'll definitely be able to find a more secluded place to dig a hole or burrow than she did this time.

It will take some effort to find it.

"So, in about four more months, by the end of the year, there will be several litters of wolf pups born?"

"You'll have to bring one home for me when the time comes."

Wang Qingwen stroked his chin and said.

As the saying goes, cats are number three, dogs are number four, pigs are number five, and sheep are number six.

This refers to the gestation period of these animals: cats give birth after three months, dogs after four months, and pigs and sheep after even longer.

It's the 16th of the eighth lunar month now. If we wait another four months for the puppies to be born, it will be the end of the year, right?

"Brother, you're wrong."

Upon hearing his brother-in-law's words, Chen Ling shook his head and laughed.

"Huh? Did I say something wrong?"

Wang Qingwen was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, then slapped his forehead, "Yes, no, it should be several litters of little wolf puppies."

"Qingwen, you didn't understand what I meant. That's not what your brother-in-law was talking about."

Gao Xiulan laughed and said, "What your brother-in-law means is that the four months in the 'cat three, dog four' part refers to dogs, not wolves."

"Wolves don't need four months, two months is enough."

Wang Qingwen was immediately surprised, "Wolves and dogs are different when they get pregnant?"

"Of course they're different."

Chen Ling patted his brother-in-law on the shoulder and laughed, "A wolf is a wolf, and a dog is a dog. Don't be fooled by the fact that they can mate; they're actually very different." Wolves and dogs don't have reproductive barriers.

The offspring have no defects, and in fact, through hybridization, superior varieties can be bred.

From this perspective, it seems that there is not much difference between the two.

But in reality, wolves and dogs have different physical constitutions.

Wolves get pregnant and give birth quickly, and they have very strong digestive systems, large appetites, and rapid food digestion.

Dogs are not so good at it. Putting aside everything else, a dog's digestive system is much worse than a wolf's.

For example, dogs may be lactose intolerant to milk, and drinking too much can cause diarrhea and death, while wolves are fine.

"Goodness, so that means it won't be long before we can have a few litters of wolfhound puppies."

Wang Qingwen was delighted to hear this. "Two months will pass in the blink of an eye. If we can find these wolves by then, you have to leave me a little wolfhound."

Hearing this, Xiao Zhengtong, who was playing nearby, quickly ran over and shouted, "Uncle, I want three! One for my dad, one for my mom, and one for me!"

Little Dongdong also shouted, "Uncle, I want three too! I want three too!"

"Alright, alright, if we can find the wolf den, we'll capture the whole litter of wolf puppies and let you choose whichever you like."

Chen Ling chuckled and patted their heads.

"What are you two yelling about? The little one just fell asleep, go play somewhere else."

“You’re always misbehaving whenever you come to your aunt’s house. Look at the state you’ve been in these past two days.”

Gao Xiulan glared at her two grandsons. These two little devils were much wilder than they were at home since they came here.

Chen Ling and Wang Susu both like children and usually fulfill their reasonable requests, letting them play to their heart's content.

So you can be pretty casual here.

Since arriving the night before last, I've been following Wang Zhenzhen around the village and playing.

That guy was still covered in sweat.

My hair was wet all day.

Even so, they didn't feel tired. As soon as they opened their eyes in the morning, they followed Wang Zhenzhen around playing everywhere, like a wound-up toy, never stopping for a moment.

"Little aunt, the wild monkeys are coming down the mountain again! Come out quickly, let's go fight the monkeys!"

Just then, Liu Ni'er's voice came from outside the farm.

"Come on, come on."

Upon hearing that the wild monkeys had come down the mountain again, Wang Zhenzhen perked up immediately. She grabbed her two nephews, picked up their respective weapons, and rushed out.

Seeing this, Heiwa and the little yellow dog quickly followed behind, looking even more excited than the children.

"Wild monkeys often come down from the mountain. Will the crops on the farm be affected?" Wang Qingwen asked.

Chen Ling shook his head: "It's alright. There are sunflowers all over the ground here. The monkeys came for the corn. Sunflower seeds aren't sweet, so they don't want them."

"Oh, how are the sunflowers? Are they almost ready to be harvested?" Wang Qingwen asked again.

The brother-in-law wanted to take advantage of the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday to help Chen Ling harvest the sunflowers.

"We can't collect them yet; it will be at least until September."

Chen Ling smiled and said, "If it were time to collect the money, I wouldn't have the heart to take Susu and Mother to Yaowang Temple to burn incense."

Gao Xiulan laughed when she heard this: "Your brother-in-law brought you here so that you could stay here and keep your father company."

"Otherwise, your dad and Zhenzhen will be left to look after the house, and he won't be happy."

Wang Qingwen and Su Ligai burst into laughter upon hearing this. "My dad probably wants to go too, but you guys never take him out, so he's unhappy about it."

“When spring came, my dad said that now that we’re here in Susu’s area, we should go and see everything. Before, we lived too far away to even visit the county town. This time, we can finally go and see as much as we want.”

"Now that you're not taking him out, he's really feeling wronged, isn't he, Dad?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Cunye immediately glared at his eldest son: "Get out of here! You're starting to act inappropriately too. You're even making fun of your father. You must have gotten your brother-in-law to do it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling shrugged and smiled helplessly, "Alright, alright, I confess, I confess."

Everyone burst into laughter again.

What are you all talking about? Why is it so lively?

At this moment, Wang Susu came downstairs carrying her son.

As soon as Su Ligai saw her coming, she quickly went over to her and said, "Oh dear, did we talk too loudly and wake the baby up?"

“No, no. It’s just that the weather has started to get cooler lately, and Rui Rui has become a bit sleepy. He didn’t even take a nap in the mornings for a while,” Wang Susu said.

"Now the child sleeps several times a day."

"I need to take four naps. I'll take two short naps in the morning, each lasting half an hour. I'll take a two- or three-hour nap at noon, and then I'll take a long nap at night."

"That's alright, you've slept quite a bit. Let her sleep more, she's such a big baby, more sleep is good for her."

"Yes, it's good to get more sleep."

Wang Susu responded, holding her son and sitting down next to Chen Ling, "What were you two talking about just now, laughing and talking?"

Chen Ling briefly recounted what he had just said, and Wang Susu laughed, "Dad, if you want to go out for a stroll, since my eldest brother and sister-in-law are here, let Ling take you to the county town."

"Isn't there still a hive of native bees at the East Forest Farm that hasn't been harvested yet? Our autumn harvest is late, so we're not busy. Why don't you take Dad and my older brother to collect the bees? The hive is so big, there must be a lot of honey inside. We can eat some, and the rest can be used to make several jars of mead."

Two days ago, when they were playing in the forest, Chen Ling described to them how big the honeycomb built in the stone wall was.

If you don't take it and leave it there, and someone finds it, they won't be lenient.

"That's right, if you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten that there's a whole bunch of bees in the East City Forest Farm."

If Wang Susu hadn't reminded him, he might have completely forgotten about it.

So he looked at his father-in-law and brother-in-law and said, "It's still early, let's go and take out that beehive. We can have honey when we come back at noon. I'll use the honey to make two special dishes for our family."

Upon hearing this, the father-in-law waved his hand and said, "Let's go, let's get it."

"Walk."

Wang Qingwen also perked up.

This year's teaching workload is heavy, so I'm taking a rare break to visit my brother-in-law. I need to relax a bit.

Just as the three of them were sharpening their knives and packing up all sorts of things, such as honey harvesting buckets and raincoats to protect against bee stings.

Suddenly, Little Jin outside the farm started barking loudly.

Gao Xiulan also shouted in front of the farm: "Monkeys, wild monkeys are coming down the mountain from our side."

----

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

(End of this chapter)