My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 296 Red-crowned Cranes and Leopard Tracks Reappear
“Every year during the Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival, there is a Medicine King Festival here. You can come and visit next year.”

On the way back, the scenery was beautiful, with wild geese flying overhead. The young couple seemed to still want more, and Gao Xiulan said.

"Aren't the Dragon Boat Festival and Double Ninth Festival both busy times?"

Chen Ling asked curiously, "Why was the Medicine King's Gathering held on these two days?"

"It is said that the yang energy is strong these two days, which is good for curing diseases, so we chose these two days."

Gao Xiulan said that she didn't know anything else.

The Medicine King Festival can be simply understood as a large-scale temple fair to worship Sun Simiao.

It will be very lively then.

People from households involved in collecting, cultivating, or selling medicinal herbs will come, as will ordinary families who come to pray for good health.

In the old days, some doctors and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners would also do charity work and provide free medical consultations.

"That's right."

Chen Ling had heard of the Medicine King Association before; in fact, it wasn't just in their area, but in many places all over the country.

Every place is different, and so are the different ways of life.

However, this Medicine King meeting is not an important matter.

The key point is that I'm out now, and I really haven't had enough fun.

Although we caught fish here, we also got leopard skins and other hauls.

But just as Gao Xiulan said, Chen Ling and his wife were really still a little unsatisfied.

Since we're already out, there's no rush to go back. We can just stop by Fenglei Town and take Wang Susu and her daughter home for a visit.

Wang Susu didn't come back last time, so this time she's taking the kids home to visit relatives and friends.

So they stayed at Yaowangzhai for another day, visiting relatives and friends, having two lively meals at noon and evening, and staying at home for another night, finally enjoying themselves to the fullest.

Unfortunately, they didn't run into Wang Qingzhong and his wife, who were still busy selling grain outside.

However, on the third day, while driving down the mountain, they ran into Wei Jun and Xiang Yuhua again. Xiang Yuhua was even more enthusiastic and excited to see Wang Susu than she was to see Chen Ling last time.

The reason is obvious: not only was Chen Ling driving, but this time he even switched to a different car.

The two were so captivated that they could hardly look away, utterly shocked.

Xiang Yuhua warmly greeted Wang Susu, asking about her well-being and saying that she wanted to visit Wang Susu at her home sometime in a while, as she felt quite bad that she couldn't attend the baby's one-month celebration.

He completely changed his attitude towards Wang Susu from last year.

Actually, Wang Susu had heard Chen Ling and her parents talk about Xiang Yuhua and Wei Jun before, and she still found it hard to accept.

Now that his old classmates have pulled this stunt on him, he knows how Chen Ling and the others felt last time. It was indeed very annoying.

Fortunately, the weather wasn't very good today; it started to drizzle after we'd been talking for a while.

Wang Susu was feeling upset, so she used the rain as an excuse to pull Chen Ling away.

"See? Mother and sister-in-law weren't wrong last time, were they? They were only doing it for your own good."

On the way home, Chen Ling even teased his wife.

He only told Wang Susu about what happened last time after Gao Xiulan and Su Li mentioned it briefly. Otherwise, given his and Wang Qingwen's temperaments, they wouldn't have gossiped like that.

Wang Susu knew he wouldn't say anything nice, so she rolled her eyes at him, snorted, and turned away from him while holding her son.

The rain was still falling outside the car, and the closer we drove to Chenwangzhuang, the heavier the rain became.

The mountain road was also more difficult to travel than usual.

Normally I would have been home by noon, but because of the rain, I was two hours late.

On a rainy day like this, after getting home and having dinner, there's not much else to do.

The family gathered together to discuss the baby's new name.

"They added the character '景' (jing, meaning scenery/scenery) to it. This fortune teller is just so-so. I thought of that before too," the father-in-law said dismissively, glancing at the note.

His mother-in-law glared at him and said, "You talk too much. Other people could even predict that you would break your leg. Could you have predicted that you would break your leg yourself?"

Because they were already used to calling their son "Rui Rui," Wang Susu had already mentioned it to the fortune teller when he suggested changing his name, saying that it would be best to add a character if possible.

Don't change the character "睿".

Upon hearing this, the fortune teller wrote down a word and handed it to Chen Ling, telling him not to look at it before going home.

Now that I'm home, I realize it's actually the character "景" (jǐng).

"Jingrui, Chen Jingrui."

Wang Zhenzhen muttered a few words and exclaimed, "Rui Rui changed his name to Chen Jingrui. Isn't there a mathematician with that name? I learned it in first grade."

"What? What is this? You little idiot, what have you learned? You've gone completely astray. I'm the one who taught you the story of Chen Jingrun."

Wang Qingwen was so angry that he flicked his younger sister on the forehead. "That's Chen Jingrun, Run, not Rui. You're in fourth grade and you're still making this kind of mistake. If your teacher finds out, she'll make you write it a hundred times."

Wang Zhenzhen just covered her head, shrank her neck, and chuckled.

Wang Qingwen glared at her, ignored her, and turned to Chen Ling and Wang Susu, saying, "This name is quite nice, and it doesn't sound old-fashioned."

After careful consideration, the father-in-law said, "It's not bad at all. The name has a touch of elegance to it, probably to tone down Rui Rui's masculine energy."

Chen Ling and Wang Susu nodded in agreement.

I changed my baby's name, but since I only added one character, it's not much different from before and won't have a big impact on the baby.

Gradually, people just felt that the new name sounded better and was easier to pronounce. As Wang Qingwen said, the name was quite suitable for such a little baby, and it didn't sound old-fashioned.

He's a teacher, and he talks about his students' names all the time, so he naturally has a deeper understanding of their experiences.

So the brother-in-law has a lot of say; if he thinks it's good, then it's really good, no problem.

……

"Good heavens, you guys went out to burn incense this time, how come you even brought back two leopard skins?"

Wang Cunye was astonished to see Chen Ling unpacking the things from the car.

"I bought it from a medicinal herb farmer, deep in the mountains near Xialongkou..."

When Chen Ling explained it to his father-in-law in detail, the old man was even more surprised.

"Are there still people gathering herbs over there? In our eight villages, there are very few real herb gatherers left. They just grow tea and raise snakes, that's all."

The herb gathering the old man was referring to was naturally the kind of herb gathering that involved leaping across cliffs.

Common herb gathering is very ordinary; you can gather herbs in the mountains or in the wild, so it's not worth mentioning.

It didn't resonate with him either.

"Yes, we saw them flying around on ropes hanging from the mountaintop from afar on the trade route."

Chen Ling said, "We didn't originally plan to go there on purpose, but we happened to run into them coming down the mountain to dry their medicinal herbs while we were burning incense and fishing. It was just a coincidence."

Then he recounted how he met Lao Xing and the others.

They also took out the things that Lao Xing had given them.

A bottle of honey, most of a bag of pine cones, and some wild fruits from the mountains, including jujubes and schisandra berries. All piled up, very delicious.

They have them in the mountains here, but deep in the mountains, you have to go further. "And such big pine cones, that's no doubt, they really are a medicinal herb grower."

As soon as Wang Cunye saw the pine cones, he immediately believed it. This thing couldn't be faked. Nowadays, no one would pay to buy pine cones. Mountain people wouldn't risk going to the top of the mountain for pine cones; they must be going there to collect medicinal herbs.

“They’re medicinal herb farmers, and we even ran into golden monkeys. They came down from the mountaintop looking for A-Ling…” Wang Susu recounted the story with great enthusiasm.

"Your trip was definitely worthwhile. Your sister-in-law and I are really itching to go too," Wang Qingwen said cheerfully.

"Then let's go together next year and attend that Medicine King Gathering."

Chen Ling didn't say anything, just go. In his eyes, the most important thing was his family and friends, nothing else mattered, and he could put things aside if something came up.

"Okay, let's go to the Medicine King's Gathering next year."

"I can always catch either the Dragon Boat Festival or the Double Ninth Festival, hahaha."

As they talked and laughed, Chen Ling opened the buckwheat honey and let them taste it. This strange honey with a smell of foot odor made people both frown and laugh in surprise. The family sat together and there was another lively moment.

……

It rained all day and all night.

Fortunately, the next two days were sunny, and the autumn harvest followed closely behind.

During the autumn harvest season, every household is busy working non-stop, but the busyness only lasts for about ten days.

After harvesting crops such as peanuts, corn, and soybeans, the crop stalks are removed and wheat is planted, ushering in a long period of agricultural leisure for farmers.

The village has been busy these past few days, but Chen Ling has been idle since he helped a few families harvest corn.

Every day, he either leads his cattle and sheep around or strolls around the fields with his two dogs.

Whenever someone was picking corn or cutting corn stalks, he would leisurely stroll over with his dog.

Once the rabbits and pheasants in the cornfield are startled and rush out, that's when the two dogs can catch them one after another. In half a day, they can have a bumper harvest.

Even if pheasants can fly, they cannot escape their pursuit.

Although these pheasants can fly, they mostly roam in flocks in autumn, with several of them huddled together.

Pheasants in flocks are bold; they outnumber each other and, even if startled, won't immediately fly away.

Instead, they will first bury their heads in the grass and run wildly through the lush vegetation, using the advantages of the environment to quickly shake off their enemies.

Pheasants can fly and run, and they're incredibly fast when they run.

Even if they don't fly, they can't be caught by ordinary dogs just by running, because in the fields, the vines are tangled and the grass is deep, and dogs can't outrun them, unless it's a wheat field where wheat has just been planted, then dogs can chase them freely.

However, this was no problem for Heiwa and Xiaojin. They ran into the fields, crawled into the grass, and caught them in no time.

Whenever this happens, whether it's a pheasant or a rabbit that ran out of someone's field, Chen Ling will give them two.

By making the other person happy, he himself also gained a lot.

They were all disposed of when selling eggs; even if we kept some for our own consumption, we didn't keep many.

After a few days, these pheasants and rabbits can be sold for a good amount of money at the market.

In addition, geese arrived one after another as in previous years, flying back and forth between the reservoir and the mountain lake. Chen Ling would occasionally take out his gun to shoot at the geese.

With dogs chasing and guns shooting, there was bound to be a harvest. Since the start of the autumn harvest, Chen Ling's family has been eating stewed goose in an iron pot for several meals.

This made the villagers very envious.

Many people who own dogs, especially female dogs, couldn't resist the urge to find Chen Ling's dog, Heiwa, to mate with their dogs after the autumn harvest.

Having two good dogs is all I ask for. At least they can be like Chen Ling, chasing rabbits and catching a couple of pheasants. This guy lives a very comfortable life.

……

After picking corn and cutting down the stalks, the fields became spacious.

The air in the mountains is fresh. On a clear autumn day, the blue sky and white clouds complement each other. Standing on a high slope, you can take in the entire scenery of the valley.

With the village completely finished and the fields no longer covered by crops, and after seeing off his brother-in-law's family, Chen Ling and his father-in-law took buckets and long bamboo poles and went up the mountain to find honey.

Half of the wild honey harvested from the forest farm was used to make wine, and Wang Qingwen's family took some with them, leaving them with very little honey at home.

In addition, it was also a way to help my father-in-law relax.

As the saying goes, distance makes things better, and close proximity makes things worse. The old man missed his two grandsons terribly when they weren't around, but after only seven or eight days of playing together, he got fed up with them.

They're the type who miss someone when they can't see them, but complain when they do.

After a few days of being annoyed, I finally got to go out with Chen Ling today for some fresh air. We took the dog up the mountain to play, collected some beehives, and relaxed.

While he claimed to be collecting beehives, Chen Ling knew the old man actually wanted to wander around the mountains and gather some medicinal herbs.

A few days ago I told him about Lao Xing and his group, and he couldn't sit still anymore.

Lately, it's almost late autumn, so the only medicinal herbs we've picked are wild chrysanthemums, kudzu roots, and wild yams. That's about it.

There are too many wild animals, so we don't go deep into the mountains.

The father-in-law and son-in-law walked up the western mountain. They hadn't gone far when the little yellow dog started barking and ran towards the stream ahead.

The little yellow dog was playful and easily startled, unlike the black dog and the little gold dog, so the two of them didn't pay much attention to it.

Today I brought it up the mountain to play, while Heiwa and Xiaojin stayed at the farm to look after the house.

Anyway, they brought guns and steel forks, so they just wandered around the perimeter and didn't go far.

That's enough to handle it.

Little did they know that the little yellow dog kept barking ahead, accompanied by a series of cawing sounds, filled with panic and fear.

"Is that the sound of geese?"

Chen Ling's ears twitched, thinking to himself, "This unlucky kid has really gotten good at it; he might be able to catch geese now."

The father-in-law listened with a frown, "It should be, it sounds like it to me too."

The two walked over and saw the little yellow dog staring warily at the bushes beside the stream, growling softly.

Perhaps sensing someone approaching, it fluttered violently in the grass, and feathers flew out.

Chen Lingyi, a man of great skill and courage, parted the tall, lush weeds and was immediately stunned. This was no wild goose; it was clearly a red-crowned crane.

A red forehead, a long beak, a slender black neck, pure white feathers, and a pair of long, slender legs like bamboo poles. Its figure is graceful and captivating.

After Wang Cunye saw what it was, he shouted, "Damn it, it's a crane!"

Then, in a fit of anger, she slapped the little yellow dog: "Why did you catch a crane?"

"Wait, something's not right. This crane has injured its leg and can't fly anymore."

The crane's leg was caught in a snare, and it was unclear who had placed it there. The crane's wing was also injured in the struggle, and its pure white wings were stained red.

"It is injured, but there are other things going on here, Father. Let's take this crane back and apply some medicine first. We can come back to find the beehive in a couple of days."

Chen Ling stared at the marks on the wet mud not far from the water flow, feeling unsure whether to be happy or helpless.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter? We need to find a beehive. We'll have to come back in a couple of days?"

"Look, these leopard tracks are very clear and fresh. They're warm tracks. This leopard definitely hasn't returned to its deep forest yet and has been staying nearby. We shouldn't come up the mountain when there are fewer people around."

Chen Ling pointed to a row of plum blossom-shaped footprints on the wet muddy ground and said that the footprints intersected with a series of large and scattered bird claw prints, which were very obvious.

(End of this chapter)