My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 304 Taking a bath, scratching an itch

Go to the city and buy a TV; if you're going to buy one, buy a big color TV.

While we're at it, let's bring along some processed dendrobium or other herbs from home, and maybe a wild ginseng root to see what price we can get for it, just to test the waters.

After all, I'm planning to get a car to drive next year.

The amount of money we have now might seem like a lot to an ordinary family; it's hard to imagine.

But that's still far from enough to buy a car.

So if wild ginseng can fetch a high price, I'll sell a few.

I can buy another car next year.

Going to the city is easy now; you can just take a bus to the county seat.

Chen Ling could wait until Professor Han and the others left.

They happened to hitch a ride with Professor Han and his group.

"But we have to wait until the sunflowers are harvested. Hopefully, Uncle Han and the others won't have left by then."

Chen Ling thought to himself.

……

Two days after the movie ended, the grand show in Chenwangzhuang was about to begin.

Early in the morning, a theatrical troupe was taken to the old stage in the east of the village on a tractor.

It is said that this play will be performed for three consecutive days.

The purpose was to let villagers from all around hear the news and come to watch the opera, and at the same time, the news of the temple being built in Chenwangzhuang would also spread.

In the morning, after having breakfast, Chen Ling went to the county town to pick up Wang Zhenzhen and bring her back. Xiao Lizi also came back with her.

Wang Zhenzhen stood on the back seat of the car, holding Chen Ling's shoulder.

Little Chestnut sat on the front bar, and the two of them kept talking on the way, either singing or reciting nursery rhymes that Chen Ling couldn't understand, like "Malan flowers bloom at twenty-one".

"You two, shut up! You're giving me a headache."

Yesterday was Sunday, and both little girls spent the whole day playing in the county town. I don't know where they got so much energy; they're not tired at all today.

"Zhenzhen, when are your teachers and classmates coming? If they don't come soon, it'll be time to harvest our sunflowers."

As Chen Ling pedaled his bicycle swaying along the mountain road, he suddenly remembered something: his sister-in-law's teacher had said he was bringing students to see the red-crowned cranes.

"Oh right, brother-in-law, I forgot to tell you. Our teacher said we'll come over during the National Day holiday. It's because the National Day holiday is long, and our classmates' parents can come along then. Otherwise, the parents will be worried."

"Parents can come too? That's fine. They'll all be our family's labor force. No work, no food."

"That's right, if they don't work, they won't get any food."

The two little girls mimicked what they said, and then giggled.

Chen Ling returned to the village with the two little girls. By then, the old stage in the east of the village was already playing opera.

There were hardly any people left in the village; men, women, and children had all gone to listen to the opera.

"Brother-in-law, look! A crane! A crane is in front of us!"

Wang Zhenzhen stood on the back of the bicycle and pointed ahead as she spoke.

Just as Chen Ling was riding his bicycle along the dirt road outside the village and turned onto the threshing ground, an obstacle appeared in front of him.

Two red-crowned cranes slowly emerged from the grove near the threshing ground, spreading their white wings. The two cranes stood side by side in the middle of the road, completely blocking it, creating an imposing barrier that seemed to impregnate the area.

Ding-a-ling—Chen Ling slowed down the car and vigorously rang the bell.

The two guys remained unmoved.

"What do you want? To rob me on the road?"

Chen Ling braced himself with one foot, stopping the heavy pole, and then slapped them both twice.

These two guys have been spoiled rotten by the villagers lately.

It's one thing to freeload off people from house to house.

Taking advantage of their status as cranes, they started a business of highway robbery.

However, the villagers grew to like them even more because of this, saying that they were intelligent, so they would give them food whenever they stopped them, and that's how the two big thieving birds ended up like they are now.

The villagers all went to see the play today, and no one paid any attention to them. They actually came over to stop Chen Ling.

That was a terrible idea.

Not only did they not feed them, they also raised their hands and slapped them repeatedly, making them squeal and jump around before turning and running away.

"You tried to stop me, and now you want to rob me? Isn't it enough that you stole so many of my fine-scaled fish?"

Seeing this, the two little girls giggled and slid down from the bar and chased after the two red-crowned cranes.

……

"Didn't Aunt Hongyu and the other person come?"

When she got home and saw that he had come back alone, Wang Susu asked him.

"They didn't come; they had something to do today. It's alright, the show lasts three days, so coming tomorrow is the same."

Chen Ling parked the car and said with a smile, "I also stopped by Huangni Town to see Han Chuang. He said he'd be coming in a couple of days, and we can have a drink then."

"Drink up, Xiaoqing, come along too, I haven't seen her in a long time."

"Come on, everyone. Rui Rui, come here, Daddy will carry you out to see the cranes."

Chen Ling picked up her son and walked out.

Wang Susu is a classmate, but we don't have much contact anymore. Besides, she didn't attend high school for very long, so her education level isn't as high as Chen Ling's.

Chen Ling is at least a senior in high school.

She only attended high school for a few months after graduating from junior high school.

Although many of my classmates have been my classmates for many years, from junior high to high school.

But it doesn't matter, those classmates aren't worth remembering now.

On the contrary, Jiang Xiaoqing and Qin Qiumei, who met after getting married, became closer and more compatible with each other.

"Zhenzhen, you're already thinking about playing as soon as you get back. Can't you at least let Xiaoli have some water? It's so hot this morning."

Wang Susu glanced at the two little girls who, as soon as they got home, started jumping rope by the pillars on both sides of the corridor without stopping, and called out helplessly.

Chen Ling said a few words to them before carrying her son out of the farm.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law went to see a play this morning and weren't home, so the task of herding sheep fell to him.

He often herds sheep, but this is the first time he's herded sheep with a child.

Let the sheep out of the pen, let the adult sheep graze freely, and let the lambs run around happily.

When they looked outside again, the two red-crowned cranes that had followed them back and were wading through the irrigation ditch in the orchard to eat fish were nowhere to be seen.

They went to the pigsty but didn't find it.

After waiting for a while, I saw them flying over from the direction of the mountain lake.

It turns out it flew to a mountain lake to play.

"It seems the mother crane's wing injury has healed, and she can fly now."

Once they recover from their injuries, they, like geese, won't stay in the local area for long.

If it gets any colder, it will fly away.

Let it fly.

Chen Ling stopped chasing after them and let the sheep graze freely in the orchard, while he took his son to the riverbank to look for the little fox.

The little fox is so cute. After recovering from its injury, it became even more energetic, lively, and active. It was always playing next to the big fox or running around with Little Gold, making it very lovable.

Rui Rui really enjoys watching them.

But I didn't have much fun today.

Because he spent a little too long by the river, Chen Ling didn't notice that the little guy had been bitten by a mosquito. These mosquitoes are sneaky; they only bite where you can't see them. In no time, a bump appeared on his wrist.

It's far from the farm here, so the mosquito-repellent grass won't be effective here. There are a lot of mosquitoes in the grass by the river.

Mosquito bites are so uncomfortable.

Even adults feel upset and uncomfortable after being bitten, let alone children. The little guy cried loudly from the pain.

Chen Ling carried him home, and Wang Susu and her two little girls came over and asked what was wrong.

Upon learning that he had been bitten by mosquitoes, she laughed and said, "Perfect timing to give Rui Rui a bath. He's been out playing all day, even going to the county town and Yaowang Temple. I haven't given him a bath yet, and he's started to smell a bit."

As soon as she said that, Wang Zhenzhen and Xiao Lizi moved closer to the little guy to smell him. After taking a sniff, they deliberately wrinkled their noses and shouted, "Rui Rui smells so bad, so milky smelly!"

The little guy started crying even louder.

"Okay, stop crying. We'll take a bath later, and then it won't itch anymore."

Chen Ling comforted her son and also leaned close to her son's face to smell it. There was a slight smell, but it wasn't strong.

Then the young couple went to prepare the bathtub and hot water to give the little one a bath.

It was only after this bath that the couple discovered that their son, besides liking to look at flowers and furry little animals, also really enjoyed taking a bath.

I took off his clothes and put the little guy in the bathtub, and he immediately stopped crying.

Those big eyes looked around, then immediately curved upwards. Her little feet kicked twice in the water, and for no apparent reason, she grinned and laughed happily.

"Haha, you little rascal, you like taking baths, huh?"

Chen Ling and Wang Susu were also amused by their son's smile. They pinched one of his cheeks with each hand and teased him before splashing water on him to give him a bath.

Before long, Wang Zhenzhen and Xiao Lizi, the two little girls, also came to join in the fun.

Two adults and two little girls were fussing over Rui Rui, treating her like a little emperor.

Raise your arms, wash your soft armpits, rub your tummy, and gently massage it a couple of times.

The water temperature is just right, and it feels comfortable to wash with.

The little guy was having a great time in the bathtub, smiling with his eyes half-closed, very well-behaved and looking very content.

However, the water cooled down very quickly.

The little rascal wouldn't have it, but since he couldn't talk yet, and his little hands, feet and head weren't coordinated, he just frowned and kept kicking the water in the bathtub, then humming "hmm, hmm".

"The water's cold, let's add some hot water."

Wang Susu knew exactly what was going on at a glance.

Pick up your son and have Chen Ling add hot water to the bathtub.

After adding hot water, the little guy finally stopped whimpering and happily squinted his eyes again.

However, he soon felt some discomfort in his chubby little wrist.

Then he started humming at Chen Ling and Wang Susu.

This little rascal is quite clever; he can't express himself, so he knows to ask his parents for help.

"Is it still itchy? Come on, let Daddy scratch it for you. It won't itch anymore after a couple of scratches."

Although it was called a scratch, Chen Ling was really just rubbing the small red bump on her son's wrist.

Sure enough, the little guy felt much better after that rubbing.

Moreover, this feeling was quite novel to him.

He blinked and then started humming at Wang Susu.

"Oh, Rui Rui wants Mommy to scratch your itch." Wang Susu smiled when she saw her son's expression. "Come on, Mommy will scratch your itch too."

Wang Susu reached out and rubbed his skin, and he immediately opened his little mouth wide with satisfaction and smiled.

After his bath, when we dried him off and carried him upstairs to his room to get dressed, the little guy was still restless on the bed, whimpering and waving his little hands and kicking his little legs, wanting his parents to tickle him.

"You little rascal, you're addicted to playing now."

Chen Ling glared at him with a fierce expression and pressed his face against his to scare him.

The little guy was used to his parents teasing him and wasn't afraid. He even raised his little arm that had been bitten by a mosquito and waved it in front of his face, trying to get him to scratch his itch.

Okay.

Those little arms show improvement in coordination.

As expected of our child, so smart and capable at just three months old.

Chen Ling was overjoyed to see this, so she bent down, grabbed her son's little arm, and gently rubbed it while teasing him.

The little guy then smiled contentedly and obediently let Wang Susu dress him.

"Hmm, good boy, let Mommy smell you. Hmm, you smell so good after a bath."

----

Thank you to the brothers "Kel'Thuzad III", "Yu Hui Q", "Xian Sheng", and "LG Lonely yl" for their donations in July and August.

This chapter is a bonus chapter for those who donated; there are 76 chapters left.

(End of this chapter)