My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 297 The Big Glutton: Buy One Get One Free
Upon learning that a leopard had been spotted, the father-in-law was quite frightened.

But then he thought about it and realized that it was still broad daylight, and he and his father-in-law had guns and steel forks, so they weren't helpless against a leopard.

But we definitely can't stay on the mountain for long.

Today's plans to go into the mountains to find honey and dig for medicinal herbs will have to be put on hold for now.

The father-in-law and son-in-law had barely gone far into the mountains when they had no choice but to return home.

However, Chen Ling now has a red-crowned crane in his hand.

On their way home, they were spotted, and immediately some adults and children followed them to the farm.

"This is a crane, Fugui. Did you hit it? Or did Uncle Cunye hit it?"

"Don't talk nonsense. We didn't catch it. Someone set a trap on West Mountain and caught the crane. We found it when we were looking for honey."

Red-crowned cranes, adorned with feathered fairies, are a folk symbol of good fortune and longevity; even if caught, they must be released.

"You are really lucky to run into cranes on a trip to the mountains."

"Tsk tsk, these cranes are really beautiful. I've never seen a crane before except in paintings."

"It's normal that you haven't seen them before. These aren't geese or cranes. Cranes don't usually fly this way."

Chen Ling knew that the red-crowned crane was attracted by the environment here; otherwise, it would never have stopped here midway.

This fairy in feathered robes is very picky about her environment.

Not only are they picky, but they are also very sensitive to the quality of their environment.

They won't fall from the sky unless there's a suitable environment for them to live in.

No wonder the ancients said that a place where they can settle is a blessed land.

It picked these places itself; they're all great spots.

"They've never flown this way. Anyway, I've never seen a crane in my life. I've only seen geese, white cranes, and blue geese. There are plenty of those things every year, like swallows. You can't kill them all."

Several older people also said, looking at the red-crowned crane that Chen Ling was holding: "I didn't expect this crane to grow so big. One of them is as big as two or two and a half other cranes."

"That's right, it's about 1.4 to 1.5 meters tall when it stands up, almost half a person's height. It scared my little dog so much that it didn't dare to come closer, it just barked at it."

Wang Cunye said this with a proud tone.

He thought to himself that his son-in-law was indeed a lucky man. A few days ago, his daughter told him that the Golden Monkey had gone to him to repay his kindness, and today he encountered the crane as soon as he went up the mountain.

This is truly a lucky omen that most people wouldn't encounter in their entire lives.

Back at the farm, not only Wang Susu and her son, but also Heiwa, Xiaojin, and Ertuzi came over and circled around the fairy in feathered robes.

The bird was bigger than any they had ever seen before, which intrigued them so much that both dogs sniffed and sniffed it.

The bald guy even flew onto someone's back.

The red-crowned crane was so frightened that it cried out loudly.

The villagers laughed when they saw this, saying, "See? They've never seen a crane before. Just like us, they want to get a bit of the crane's aura."

"Oh dear, this crane can't stand up; it's injured."

Seeing that the red-crowned crane was badly injured, Wang Susu, disregarding that she was still holding her baby, hurriedly went inside to get medicine.

Rui Rui, who was in her arms, was gazing intently at the beautiful bird.

But after watching for a short while, Wang Susu picked him up and turned to leave. He immediately became upset, waving his little hands, scratching himself, and crying loudly.

In an instant, the cries of babies, the calls of cranes, and the laughter of adults filled the farmyard.

Seeing this, Chen Ling had no choice but to bring his son over so that he could see the red-crowned cranes up close.

"Gah~"

At this moment, the red-crowned crane seemed to be a little angry at being watched. It let out an angry cry and pecked at Chen Ling's calf with its hard and long beak.

Chen Ling easily dodged by sidestepping, and then slapped the red-crowned crane across the face: "Hey, you ingrate! I rescued you to heal your injuries, and now you want to stab me?"

Strangely enough, after being slapped by Chen Ling, the red-crowned crane became much more obedient.

Wang Susu came over to apply medicine to it, and it just lay obediently on the ground and didn't move.

There was nothing that could be done; its leg was injured, and it couldn't stand up, so it could only lie on the ground.

"This crane is quite intelligent; does it know I'm applying medicine to treat its wounds?"

When Wang Susu saw that the red-crowned crane did not resist and allowed her to apply medicine, she couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

"Come on, it was trying to peck at me just now, but it only behaved itself after I slapped it."

Although Chen Ling didn't use much force, he just patted it lightly.

Upon hearing this, Wang Susu hurriedly said, "This is a crane. Don't hit it anymore. If you damage the crane, you'll lose your good fortune."

“Yes, Susu is right. You can’t just hit a crane. You’re being too reckless.”

"Know, know."

Chen Ling responded repeatedly.

There's nothing we can do; people in the countryside believe in this.

The swallows and magpies were not willing to offend them further.

Let's not even mention this real crane.

After applying the medicine to the red-crowned crane, Chen Ling moved it to an empty pigsty outside the farm.

There used to be some wild boar piglets raised here, but they were all killed and eaten, so the area was left empty.

The pigsty is not dirty, and it is fully equipped with feeding troughs, water troughs, and straw nests.

There is enough space for these red-crowned cranes to live in.

……

No sooner had Chen Ling arranged accommodations for the red-crowned cranes than a large group of people came from the village to see them.

When it was lunchtime, some villagers came with their rice bowls.

The adults gathered around the pigpen, eating and watching the cranes as they ate. The little children climbed trees or stepped on each other's shoulders, also trying to get a better look at the cranes. It was quite a lively scene.

"Fugui, Fugui, come out and see! Another crane! Another crane is flying over!"

Chen Lingjia was having lunch when he heard shouts outside the farm.

He hurriedly put down his bowl and chopsticks and went out to see.

"Goodness, another one has arrived. Buy one get one free! Are these two red-crowned cranes a couple?"

On the bank of the stream at the foot of the mountain to the west of the orchard, another red-crowned crane stood, stretching its neck and looking over with unusual vigilance.

This red-crowned crane is larger and taller than the injured one, probably over 1.5 meters tall.

"Are they a couple? Are they looking for the crane in the pigsty?"

The father-in-law followed him out while munching on a sweet potato, and was also taken aback when he came out.

"That's probably right. These things, one male and one female, can live together for a lifetime, just like us humans."

Red-crowned cranes strictly adhere to monogamy. If one dies, the other either remains faithful for life and never seeks another crane, or dies of grief, following in the footsteps of its deceased mate.

It can be said to be a rare example of a loyal bird.

On the contrary, the couple that people consider to be faithful actually have a messy private life.

Male mandarin ducks, in particular, will stay close to female mandarin ducks during the mating season. Once the female mandarin duck has laid and hatched her eggs, the male will leave her without a second thought.

They might even change their feathers and find a new love.

The task of incubating the chicks is entirely undertaken by the mother mandarin duck.

Moreover, even if one party dies, the other party will not be sad or depressed, but will continue to seek new love.

So the inseparable, affectionate mandarin ducks that people see are only during their mating season, not the norm. These birds are polygamous.

It can't compare to the deep affection and devotion of the red-crowned crane.

As Chen Ling spoke, his father-in-law stared in astonishment and waved to the red-crowned crane in the distance: "No wonder it's called a crane, it has that noble air about it. Come on, come on, we won't hurt your wife."

While waving and calling out, they slowly approached.

The old man even wanted to call the red-crowned crane over.

"Come here, let me feed you fish."

The old man waved and walked closer, attracting the attention of the villagers who had been watching the commotion around the pigsty, who wanted to see if the red-crowned crane would come over.

But it's a pity...

Whether it was because its mate was injured or something else, this red-crowned crane was extremely wary. Before Wang Cunye could get a few steps closer, it let out a loud and clear call, flapped its wings, put its legs together, stretched its neck and raised its head to fly into the sky.

However, it did not fly away.

Instead, it hovered in the nearby air, reluctant to leave.

This caused the red-crowned cranes in the pigsty on the ground to start calling out incessantly.

Everyone looked on in amazement. "It really is a crane; look at its intelligence..."

The crowd exclaimed in admiration, then warned Chen Ling not to be greedy, as cranes are not edible.

This kid has cooked several large pots of wild geese.

"No way, crane meat doesn't taste good, and eating it will cause boils all over your body. I dare not eat it."

Chen Ling shook his head and said with a serious expression.

"Huh? Eating this crane will cause poisonous sores?"

This is the first time anyone has heard of this.

Chen Ling then made up a story: "Of course, you've all heard of 'red crest of a crane,' right? It's a poison. It's the red spot on the top of a crane's head. In ancient times, it was used to make poisons. It's extremely poisonous, and the meat is also poisonous."

He said this because he was afraid that someone might be foolish enough to come and hit the crane with a weapon.

It's better to be safe than sorry; there really are some stubborn people like that in the village.

Sure enough, everyone was startled when they heard his words and looked at their hands with concern.

They just touched it with their hands.

"It's alright, don't be afraid. Just don't eat the meat. Touching it won't hurt. My husband and I just applied medicine to this crane. Do you think it's okay?"

"You scared me! You're always scaring people."

Everyone laughed and scolded each other, then relaxed and looked up to watch the red-crowned crane circling in the sky, calling out repeatedly, unwilling to leave.

The more they looked, the more they felt sorry for the crane. Some of the older people said, "Let's disperse first. This crane is quite pitiful. It doesn't dare to fly down when we're here."

"Yes, the one upstairs is worried about the one downstairs. We're all standing around here, and the one upstairs doesn't dare to come down, so the one downstairs isn't having an easy time either."

"Let's go, let's go back first, we'll come back to see you after we've recovered."

A large group of people dispersed again, and when they encountered other people who came to see the cranes on the way, they explained the situation and turned them away.

After they left, Chen Ling and his family did not come out again.

Now that no one was bothering it, the red-crowned crane cautiously flew down from the sky and slowly walked into the orchard, approaching the pigsty.

At that moment, Chen Ling and his family were actually peeking out from one side of the farm gate, watching it.

Besides the family, two dogs and several weasels also sneaked over and peeked out from the doorway.

The unusually wary, large red-crowned crane went to the pigpen and whispered to its injured mate for a while.

Then he walked to the side, picked up small fish from the ditch, and returned to the pigpen to feed his mate, squealing softly as if to comfort him.

After feeding the fish several times, the injured red-crowned crane seemed to have eaten its fill.

The large red-crowned crane stayed by one side, vigilantly watching its surroundings, its eyes wide open, taking on the task of protecting its mate.

This scene is really hard to come by.

This made Chen Ling regret once again that he hadn't bought a camera sooner, otherwise he could have taken the picture.

"This crane is truly intelligent; it even fed my injured wife." Wang Susu's eyes lit up at the sight, deeply moved.

"You knew that the one that was injured was a female?"

"I know, that big guy is so tall and strong, he's obviously male."

She was right; the big guy was indeed a male red-crowned crane.

The family stood at the door and watched quietly for a while. Seeing that the big red-crowned crane was just guarding and did nothing else, they returned to the farm and stopped looking at them.

But when it gets dark and the chickens, ducks, and geese come back, trouble ensues.

Although Chen Ling's chickens, ducks, and geese don't forage together—the chickens are on the mountain, and the ducks and geese are by the water—they all return home together after dark.

Moreover, having been free-range for a long time, they are extremely wild and have a much stronger sense of territory than chickens and ducks raised in the village.

Upon seeing two large, unfamiliar birds occupying the pigpen, a conflict with the big guy was inevitable.

The rooster and the goose, in particular, crowed angrily, leading their flock of chickens and ducks in a fierce chase and pecking attack on the big guy.

When Chen Ling came out after hearing the commotion, the big guy had already been driven out of the orchard by the group of fierce creatures and flew into the sky, letting out long, unwilling and angry cries.

"Our chickens, ducks, and geese are amazing! They've chased away even the cranes!" Wang Cunye exclaimed.

"That's right, even the mountain foxes don't dare to mess with them."

Chen Ling grinned. The village geese could beat weasels, but not mountain lynxes. His own chickens and geese could, though, and their claws and beaks were unusual, making them fierce.

"I'll first herd the chickens and ducks aside, and then apply some more medicine to the crane in the pigsty to help it get better quickly. Otherwise, it's not good for it to keep staying here."

As Chen Ling spoke, he led the dog to drive the chickens, ducks, and geese back to their burrows. "Why are they running around in the dark? And why are they so temperamental?"

Then I went to the pigsty to apply medicine to the mother red-crowned crane.

Its leg was badly injured by the snare, and its wing also showed signs of fracture after being frightened by the chickens and ducks.

However, after using Chen Ling's family's medicine, the recovery was quite fast.

It will be almost completely healed in two or three days.

Although it still can't fly, it can stand up and walk without any problems.

These days, the large male red-crowned crane also knows that Chen Ling is treating his mate's injuries.

Gradually, they lowered their guard.

No, saying that we've let our guard down isn't quite right either.

It should be said that while lowering its guard, it also exposed its true, rogue nature.

During the day, when the chickens and ducks are not in their coop, it follows behind people like an old man, with its wings draped over its back, slowly swaying back and forth with its long legs.

They would also often sneak off to the farm to eat fish when no one was looking.

This big guy has a big appetite; he's quite the glutton.

Chen Ling raises those fine-scaled salmon; the smaller ones he can eat two or three of in one bite.

Good heavens, this really broke Chen Ling's heart.

Wang Cunye was complaining about how delicate the cranes were just two days ago, but when he saw that his son-in-law's fine-scaled salmon and fighting fish had been eaten up in two days, he was heartbroken and started to ache.

They no longer call it a crane; they've changed it to a big thief bird in their beaks.

When they saw someone trying to steal fish, they would pick up a big broom and chase them out. Wang Susu and Gao Xiulan would also chase them out whenever they saw them, and they would never talk about good fortune or bad luck again.

That morning, just as I got up, that big thieving bird came to steal fish again.

Not only did it come by itself, but it also brought out the mother red-crowned crane, whose injuries had just healed, from the pigpen.

The two guys were enjoying their meal when Chen Ling caught them red-handed and slapped them several times. Their fish weren't cheap; they were quite valuable, and they couldn't afford to waste them like that.

"So what if they're cranes? Protecting animals is so cool?"

"If you dare to come and steal food again, you're not leaving. You two will stay here and sell tickets to pay off your debts."

Perhaps knowing that Chen Ling's family wouldn't harm it, the red-crowned crane wasn't afraid of people.

It didn't care about being hit. It shook its long beak, chirped softly twice, and then spread its pure white wings with a splash on the side of the ditch and began to dance gracefully.

No wonder she's called the Fairy in Feathered Robes; her dancing is truly breathtaking.

It perfectly embodies what it means to be noble and elegant, and what it means to be graceful and charming.

The Chen family, who were seeing red-crowned cranes dancing for the first time, were completely stunned.

"Heh, don't think you're so great just because you can dance. You still can't eat the fish here. If you want to eat, go outside. I don't care how much you want to eat."

After the two cranes finished their graceful dance, Chen Ling went up and slapped them twice, chasing them out of the farm.

There's no way around it; these two are real expert fish eaters. If you don't keep an eye on them, they could devour all the expensive fish he's carefully raised.

"By the way, brother-in-law, I told my teachers and classmates that we have cranes at home, and they want to come and see the cranes too. Is that okay?"

Wang Zhenzhen then spoke.

"Okay, when are all your teachers and classmates coming?"

Chen Ling didn't seem to care much about the red-crowned crane.

Recently, the female crane has recovered from her injuries, and the male crane is no longer afraid of people. Every day, men, women, and children from the village come to the farm to see the rare sights and also hope to absorb some of the magical energy.

The busy farming season is over now. Although wheat planting hasn't started yet, the busy time is over, and everyone has a lot of free time. Whenever they have time, they come to see the wonders.

Chen Ling had originally planned to go up the mountain to lure leopards, but now he couldn't go.

While this event didn't attract as many people as Lao Bie, it was still just as many as a few of Wang Zhenzhen's teachers and classmates.

"Maybe on Sunday, or maybe next holiday. The teacher just asked me to ask for your opinion; the time isn't confirmed yet," Wang Zhenzhen said.

The Mid-Autumn Festival has been over for more than half a month, and National Day is just around the corner. The long holiday in October is also approaching, and everyone will definitely have time to play.

"Okay, come on, when it's time to harvest our sunflowers, let your teachers and classmates help us harvest them, so we can reminisce about the past and appreciate the present."

(End of this chapter)