My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 295 The Elf Who Came to Repay a Kindness
But when it came to wine, Old Xing brought out a jar from the house.

It's a medicinal wine, made by soaking deer antler velvet.

Old Xing said he has a lot of medicinal wines here, such as deer penis, deer tendon, snake and scorpion five treasures, leopard gall, and even the legendary ten-whip wine.

"It's not just my family's business; it's many families in the mountains around here. Every family makes medicinal wine. Living in the mountains, you can't do without medicinal wine."

Yes, it's damp and cold in the mountains, so we need plenty of alcohol.

Chen Ling wasn't concerned about that; he was intrigued by the mention of leopard gall infused in liquor. "When did you get your leopards? In recent years?"

"You mean leopards? That was more than ten years ago." Old Xing thought for a moment, then pointed north and said, "North and west of Fenglei Town, the leopards of the Qinling Mountains like to run this way. In winter, when they get hungry, they come south to look for food. I've encountered a few in the mountains and killed them."

"Goodness, several? You're making it sound like they're leopards."

Chen Ling widened his eyes, "You're not just making things up, are you? We haven't had leopards in our area for twenty or thirty years."

"Who's spouting nonsense? If you're not in a hurry to leave, I'll take you up the mountain later to see if other families have leopard skins."

Old Xing took a sip of honey water and said calmly.

Based on this appearance alone, Chen Ling was largely convinced. He exclaimed inwardly, "Damn, I came here to have fun, but I didn't expect to gain so much. I even have a leopard skin."

This must be taken down.

He quickly asked, "How many leopard skins do you have?"

"Two. We sold them before, and there are only two left. They're all at my uncle's house."

Chen Ling let him take it, and Wang Susu and the other woman also carried the baby and followed.

They were talking about it on the way.

That buckwheat honey smells like stinky feet; it tastes better when diluted with water.

Chen Ling said he would get some when he got back.

This thing is still a relatively new gadget.

They chatted as they walked uphill for a while, until they came across a house. This place wasn't as peaceful as Old Xing's, but it was still quite nice. The yard was piled high with firewood and various felled trees.

Behind the house are the pond and vegetable garden.

Old Xing said they were planning to expand the area.

Conditions are better now than before, so people want to be more comfortable and at ease living in the mountains.

As he spoke, he explained the situation to his uncle and cousins, and took Chen Ling's family to see the leopard skin.

Leopard skin is no ordinary item.

This is one of the most treasured items from an old herb gatherer, and it's very well preserved.

Chen Ling was very satisfied after looking at them, and it took some persuasion to finally buy the two.

Without saying much after buying it, we returned to Old Xing's house.

This trip was all about having fun and shopping; the whole family had a unique and enjoyable time together.

The mountains are full of dangers.

However, the mountain people living in the mountains are very good at turning danger into safety.

Make dangerous things work for you.

For example, some poisonous plants, trees, insects and ants were made into veterinary medicines by them.

Used for hunting or poisoning wild animals.

My father-in-law once said that these people in the mountains are all "three households".

He was a farmer, a herbalist, and a hunter.

This is most clearly demonstrated in Lao Xing's case.

Old Xing said, "Back when we were learning from Dazhai in agriculture, the commune members built terraced fields in the mountains and ate from the same pot. It was a huge project, covering hundreds of acres, with some stone embankments over two meters high. The work was hard, so the militia would take guns into the mountains to hunt. Sometimes they could kill more than a dozen wild boars a day. They ate them like food."

“There are times when even guns can’t solve the problem, so they come to us for veterinary medicine.”

He was quite pleased with himself when he said this.

Chen Ling's heart skipped a beat: "I have strychnine ointment, which is also a veterinary medicine used for hunting."

He wanted to trade some medicine to repel wolves and tigers with Lao Xing.

It doesn't matter if I spend some money to buy it.

In the mountains back home, the wild animal population is still growing, so it's good to have these remedies on hand, just in case.

He can continue experimenting in the cave when he gets back.

At this point, Lao Xing also regarded him as one of those rich people who were foolish and had too much money, buying any new gadgets they saw. He didn't even need him to exchange the prescription; he just gave him some money and wrote it down for him.

Chen Ling was so happy he couldn't see the color in his eyes.

This is quite a good harvest.

It seems that when I have nothing to do in the future, I can come to the mountains to find some treasures from these old herb gatherers. Who knows, I might find some unexpected surprises.

Several transactions went very smoothly.

Chen Ling and Old Xing, the herb gatherer, chatted happily and found themselves getting along very well.

So much so that I forgot the time.

As we chatted, the sun began to set, and it seemed we wouldn't be able to leave today.

That's fine.

You can stay with Lao Xing, and there are also places to stay down the mountain, so don't worry about that.

It was nearly four o'clock in the afternoon when it got dark on the mountain.

Old Xing's wife has already started preparing dinner.

Gao Xiulan and Wang Susu went to help as well.

At this moment, Chen Ling was following Lao Xing, visiting his medicinal wine and hunting tools.

The sound of dogs barking could be heard from the mountain.

People who regularly keep dogs at home can tell if something is wrong just by listening to their dog bark, let alone people like Chen Ling and Lao Xing.

You could tell something was wrong just by listening to it.

He grabbed what he had and went out to see what was going on.

Looking behind the house, under the dim sky, a group of black and yellow tiger-headed leopards were barking wildly at the trees behind the corn and buckwheat fields, their heads raised.

The tall trees swayed and rustled, which was rather frightening in the dim light of the sky.

Old Xing was overjoyed at the sight and clapped his hands: "Wow, today is a good omen! We've run into the Golden Monkey coming down the mountain!"

"Golden monkey? Golden snub-nosed monkey?"

Chen Ling squinted and saw that it was indeed a golden monkey. Ignoring the cries of a group of tiger-headed yellow monkeys, it ran down from the tree in a flurry.

He stood or crouched at the edge of the woods, confronting the pack of dogs.

"Awooo, come back!" Old Xing put his hand to his mouth and howled, and the dogs retreated back.

As it ran, it kept looking back at the group of golden monkeys behind it, whimpering and clearly unwilling to give up.

"Seeing golden monkeys is a good omen. We often see these things when we're gathering herbs on the mountaintop. They don't bother people; they're good neighbors to the mountain folk." Old Xing chuckled foolishly.

"I'll go get some fruit, let's go feed the monkeys. The golden monkeys are spirits, they'll protect people."

After saying that, he actually brought two baskets of wild fruits, pomegranates, wild pears, and grapes. He gave one basket to Chen Ling and then took him to feed the monkeys.

In this situation, Chen Ling naturally didn't forget to call Wang Susu out and ask her to come out and see the golden monkeys as well.

This trip was a family vacation, all for relaxation and fun. With new and exciting things to do, the more fun we had, the better.

Upon hearing that there were golden monkeys, Wang Susu rushed out, saying that she had only seen them a few times in Lutou Mountain.

Old Xing laughed, "This year, the golden monkeys came down the mountain quite early. In previous years, they would only come down when it got cold and winter was approaching, when there was a lot of snow on the mountaintop. At that time, there were few trees with leaves, and most of the trees were bare, so the golden monkeys could be seen in a good way and people could look at them to their heart's content."

"The golden monkey loves to stay in those high mountains and dense forests. When you're almost at the top of the mountain, you're walking in the forest, and suddenly there's a rustling sound in the trees, getting louder and louder. That's the golden monkey coming."

The three of them spoke in hushed tones as they approached the troop of golden monkeys.

At this moment, something happened that left Lao Xing dumbfounded.

A group of golden monkeys peeked out, seemingly both happy and shy, glancing nervously to the left and right, and slowly moved closer to Chen Ling with small steps.

Chen Ling opened his eyes wide and a thought popped into his head. He handed the baby to Wang Susu and slowly squatted down to touch the monkeys' heads.

The monkeys visibly cheered up, grinning as if they were laughing, and surrounded Chen Ling.

"Ah Ling, this, this, this can't be the group of golden monkeys you encountered last year, can it?" Wang Susu was extremely surprised by the situation. "It's already like this, it definitely can't be any other monkey." Chen Ling smiled helplessly, pointing to the little monkeys that had been covered in their clothes in a short time.

He looked helpless, but he was extremely happy inside.

At this moment, the little guy in Wang Susu's arms saw his father's golden monkey head and immediately kicked his little legs to come closer.

"Oh my, you've grown up, gotten fat, and become heavy."

Chen Ling had already found the injured little monkey from last year. Nearly a year had passed, and it hadn't grown much, but its bright black eyes seemed more lively than the other little monkeys.

It didn't climb onto Chen Ling either.

Chen Ling reached out to touch it, and it grabbed Chen Ling's finger and gently nibbled at it with its teeth. It was playing with him and expressing its affection.

"Fugui, you have a story to tell." Old Xing stared blankly at the scene before him for a long time before finally managing to utter this remark.

Not to mention him, even his flock of tiger-headed yellow dogs were dumbfounded, constantly sniffing and probing around, trying to figure out what was going on.

His little grandson, needless to say, ran back and called his grandmother and Gao Xiulan out together, then enthusiastically fed the little monkey tender corn and fruit.

The little monkeys were still bothering Chen Ling and ignoring him.

When Chen Ling tried to feed the monkeys wild fruit, they not only refused, but also ran back into the forest and offered him ripe, fragrant fruits.

"The monkeys are offering fruit! Good heavens, am I now the Monkey King, Sun Wukong?" Chen Ling laughed happily.

He squatted down and started playfully tugging and pulling at the monkeys.

Rui Rui and Lao Xing's grandson were extremely envious.

Seeing this, Chen Ling picked up his son and called Old Xing's grandson over as well.

After playing around for a while, he finally began to talk about what happened last year, meeting the curious and surprised gazes of Lao Xing and his wife.

"Oh, so this golden monkey came to repay a debt of gratitude."

Old Xing clapped his hands excitedly, "Golden monkeys are the most grateful. They don't usually approach people, but only in winter, when there is little food on the mountain, will they come down to the village and hamlet to beg for food."

"They're not free. The elders say they're mountain spirits. If you get lost in the mountains after dark and can't find your way out of the old forest, the golden monkeys will often come to guide you."

"They will save people who fall on the mountaintop and into the river."

In closing, he told Chen Ling, "You are very lucky to have saved the Golden Monkey."

"Haha, is this what you call being lucky? It's just a coincidence."

Chen Ling had already sat down on the ground and was playing freely with the little monkeys.

"Of course you're lucky! The golden monkey is a mountain spirit, and spirits aren't so easy to save!"

Old Xing straightened his red face and said seriously, "I have seen the lost little monkey. It's true. It was under a big tree. When it cried, it sounded exactly like a baby crying at home. It sounded really pitiful and distressed."

"I thought to myself, even such a small thing is a life, I can't just ignore it. Just as I was about to go over and pick it up, a few old monkeys came over, screeching and barking at me, their fur standing on end. Have you ever seen a cat's fur stand up? When a cat gets angry, its fur stands on end. The golden monkey was the same. I realized something was wrong, so I quickly ran away."

At this point, he shook his head regretfully: "It's clear I'm an unlucky person."

These words made Chen Ling's family laugh heartily, saying that it was impossible to calculate whether Old Xing was blessed or not like that.

……

It gets dark early on the mountain, and by this time it was already pitch black and quite cold.

It's not advisable to stay out for too long while holding a baby.

The two families then walked forward, lit a fire in front of the house, and set up a pot to prepare dinner.

I won't be going down the mountain tonight; I'll stay at Old Xing's place. He has quite a few houses here.

The golden monkeys did not leave during this time.

The Chen and Ling families were having a meal in the courtyard, and they were watching from a short distance away.

Chen Ling told them to leave, but they wouldn't.

"What's that, Lao Xing? Don't let the monkeys break that pile of stuff."

Chen Ling pointed to several large, full bags next to Old Xing's vegetable garden and asked.

"Oh, those are pine cones we picked while gathering herbs on the mountaintop."

Old Xing pointed to the fire in front of him: "Aren't there some in this fire too? We can use them as firewood after we've finished picking the pine nuts."

That's right, the fish I grilled tonight all had a pine-like aroma.

The grilled fish was Chen Ling's doing, while Lao Xing's wife prepared a big pot of stewed cured meat.

Potatoes, mung bean sheets, yams, and cabbage—a big, steaming pot of food.

A simple, hearty stew cooked in an earthenware pot, paired with two cups of warm corn liquor, will keep you cozy even on a mountain where the temperature drops sharply at night.

“I’ll get you some pine nuts. Try them. These are from the big pine trees on the mountaintop, some thirty or fifty meters tall. You don’t usually see them.”

Ever since he saw how clingy the golden monkey was to Chen Ling, Lao Xing became even more enthusiastic towards him.

Chen Ling naturally wouldn't stand to be waited on, so he got up to help carry a large bag of pine cones.

Once the opening was removed, the pine cone was indeed huge, bigger than the palm of my hand.

"Such a large pine cone probably won't produce many fruits."

"There aren't many. There are only a few pine cones on each big pine tree. We picked them while we were collecting herbs in the pine forests on the tops of several mountains," Old Xing said with a smile.

"After all, we can't come back empty-handed if we can't gather any herbs, right?"

Yes, after taking such a great risk, how could we return empty-handed?

Old Xing walked to the fire and poured out half a bag of pine cones. "Let's put them in the fire to roast. The pine cones haven't been dried yet. Once they're dried, the scales will open up, and with a little tapping, the seeds will fall out. It's much easier than peeling them by hand."

Chen Ling and the others did as they were told and put the pine cones into the fire.

With a series of crackling sounds, a rich pine scent was released by the fire.

After dinner, the group chatted and roasted pine nuts around the fire, which was quite enjoyable.

These large pine cones are only found on mountaintops at high altitudes.

If the mountain is too short, the pine cones will be small and most of the pine nuts will be inedible.

This is also closely related to the type of pine tree.

Most of the pine trees that produce large pine cones are red pines.

Red pines are not heat-tolerant and do not grow well in hot environments; they are mostly found in high mountains in the north.

"Alright, alright, the pine nuts are roasted. Just peel them open and you can eat them."

"..."

"Wow, these pine nuts are quite big, they're large, hard, and thick, and they smell incredibly good."

Chen Ling peeled a handful of warm pine nuts, making his hands black with grime, and then shared them with everyone.

At this point, the pine resin is also released, giving the pine nuts a glossy sheen and cracks from the fire, making them incredibly fragrant.

Gather a handful of pine nuts and pop them into your mouth.

Wow, that stuff, the more you chew, the more delicious it becomes...

The more you chew, the more saliva you produce, and the more you can't help but want to eat it.

The delicious aroma attracted the golden monkeys, who eagerly begged Chen Ling for some.

Old Xing really liked these golden monkeys, laughing and joking as he let Chen Ling feed them as much as he wanted, and there were even more to come after that.

Then adults and children circled around the monkeys, eating themselves and grilling food for them as well.

They made merry until after nine o'clock before going back to sleep.

……

The next day, it was time to go home.

The golden monkeys even escorted them a long way.

Old Xing no longer regarded Chen Ling simply as a country bumpkin with some money. He brought them things and escorted them down the mountain.

I told them several times to come and visit often in the future.

"Golden monkeys are so beautiful, it's a pity I didn't bring a camera so I can't take a picture."

As they reached the foot of the mountain and were about to leave, Wang Susu waved goodbye to the monkeys while holding her child, feeling a little regretful.

However, this trip not only allowed the family to experience the life of herb gatherers in the deep mountains, but also provided them with a wonderful opportunity to spend a night with a group of beautiful golden monkeys, which made it a very enjoyable experience.

(End of this chapter)