My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 312 Accompanying Growth, Phoenix Food
"You little rascal, did you miss your dad?"

On a warm, sunny afternoon, Chen Ling sat on a rattan chair by the lotus pond, holding her chubby little baby high above her head, beaming with joy.

It's always so comfortable to be home.

Taking a hot bath, eating a warm soup meal, and basking in the sun with my son—what a comfortable day this is!

The little guy hadn't seen Chen Ling for two days, so he probably really missed him. During lunch, he kept trying to snuggle into Chen Ling's arms.

Chen Ling was so happy, it goes without saying.

"Want to see the little fox? Come on, Daddy will take you."

Chen Ling kissed his son's tender cheek and smiled.

Rui Rui, this kid, has been to the grotto-heaven several times. After being baptized by the spiritual water and dew of the grotto-heaven, he has already shown differences from other babies at only three months old.

While Chen Ling was speaking, he would stare intently at Chen Ling's face and moving mouth with his big, bright eyes. His own little mouth would also open slightly, as if he was trying hard to listen and understand what Chen Ling was saying.

After Chen Ling finished speaking, he smiled gently at the little guy, stood up, lowered his head and affectionately bumped foreheads with the brat, playing with him for a while, and then carried him out to see the foxes.

Given that Rui Rui got a lot of mosquito bites last time, Chen Ling covered him up very well this time.

Even in summer, babies need to be wrapped in blankets. Now that late autumn is approaching and it's windy outside, it's good for them to wear thicker clothes.

Without Xiao Jin by his side, seeing the little fox wasn't so easy.

After Xiao Jin followed them into the mountains, the little foxes stopped running to the farm and spent their days playing in the grass by the river, not daring to come near the farm at all.

Now, as Chen Ling carried her son over, they ran away into the distance.

It seems the mother fox's training was very effective; without an adult present, they wouldn't play with strangers.

Chen Ling imitated their sounds, making a few "howling" noises, trying to lure them to his side.

Unfortunately, not only did he fail, but he also startled the mother fox, who ran out of the bushes and looked at him warily before hurriedly leaving with her three cubs.

Chen Ling shook his head. "Tsk tsk, it seems my ventriloquism skills are still lacking."

This amused Rui Rui so much that he grinned and laughed happily.

That's just how this brat is. When he's unhappy, he likes to go to Wang Susu, snuggle in his mother's arms, and act spoiled towards her.

But when he was in a good mood and happy, he liked to have Chen Ling take him out to play. He also knew that his father liked to take him out, and the more he made a fuss, the happier he was.

"Heh, you naughty boy, you're making fun of your dad." Chen Ling gently nibbled on his little cheek, which made the little guy laugh even harder.

Not long after, Wang Susu, who had just woken up from her nap, chased after him, worried that her son would get bitten by mosquitoes again.

Seeing that Chen Ling had dressed Rui Rui quite warmly, he finally felt relieved.

"Ah Ling, why don't you kill that big deer?"

Chen Ling carried the red muntjac that the leopard had left behind back home, intending to eat it. It was said that this thing had a milder taste than venison and the meat was of good quality, and he wanted to let his family try it.

I was so busy holding my son when I got back that I left him behind at the farm without doing anything about him.

"No rush, I've trained under Brother Xian and I'm very fast at skinning and butchering."

Chen Ling hadn't been home for two and a half days. As soon as he picked up his son, he didn't want to let go. He smiled at his wife and said, "If I practice a little more, my swordsmanship will definitely be better than Xian Ge's. Comrade Wang Susu, please call me Chen Yidao from now on."

"Pah, all you do is boast." Wang Susu reached out and pinched his arm, laughing as she did so.

Chen Ling had been in the mountains for two days, and she naturally missed him very much.

However, aside from offering reminders when necessary, she never really restricts her husband too much.

Moreover, Wang Susu also knew that her husband often thought about her feelings and cared about the family without her having to remind him.

While others went to the mountains and refused to come back, he ran back by himself.

Although he only hugged his son after returning and didn't say a word about missing her, Wang Susu could already sense it from his actions and eyes.

I just felt a sweet feeling in my heart, an indescribable joy.

I felt much more at ease.

This feeling is different from having my parents with me.

"Ouch, that hurts!"

Chen Ling deliberately let out a strange cry, which made Rui Rui in his arms even happier.

But a brat is a brat, he couldn't stay still for long. When he saw his mother, he started acting up, struggling in Chen Ling's arms, making little noises and whimpering with his brows furrowed.

This means he doesn't want to stay in one place for too long and wants his parents to take him out for a walk.

"What are you up to now? Are you hungry?"

Wang Susu also came over, nuzzled the little guy's forehead, and then picked him up to breastfeed him.

But he wasn't hungry; he just wanted an adult to take him out to play. Also, he hadn't seen his father for two days, so he rolled over and wanted Chen Ling to hold him.

"With all your restlessness, when you grow up, I'll definitely have to tie you up with a rope."

Wang Susu glared at her son and handed him to her husband.

"Haha, hurry up and behave yourself, look how fierce your mother is. Come on, let's run faster, your mother can't catch us."

"Hey, don't run so fast, wait for me."

The family of three chatted and laughed as they walked along the bluestone path in the orchard to the edge of the field, and then up the slope along the dirt road.

The sunflowers are almost ripe now, and most of them are already edible enough to be roasted into seeds.

However, some are still tender and not fully grown, and we need to wait a little longer before they can be harvested at the same time.

At this time of year, the sunflowers no longer present the beautiful sight of golden flower heads covering the hillsides as they had in the previous two months.

Their flower heads withered and turned yellow, and they no longer turned their heads to chase the sun; instead, they drooped heavily.

Wang Susu picked a medium-sized sunflower seed, picked at the seeds as she walked, put some in Chen Ling's pocket and some in her own, and ate them as she walked.

Seeing his mother eating sunflower seeds, Rui Rui was in Chen Ling's arms, sucking his little hand while Wang Susu was lost in thought. His little hand was covered in drool, but he didn't care at all, as if he also wanted to taste what the sunflower seeds in his mother's hand tasted like.

"You little rascal, why are you acting like a little adult?" Wang Susu laughed, reaching out to tease Rui Rui's soft, bouncy chin. "You're sucking your thumb again. That won't do. Look, you're drooling. It's dirty and smelly."

"Wait a minute, let Mom see..." Wang Susu reached out to stop Chen Ling, then looked surprised and leaned close to her son, gently cupping the little guy's chubby little face. When the little guy opened his little mouth and looked at his mother...

Wang Susu's eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed with a mixture of shock and delight, "Ah Ling, look! Look! Rui Rui has grown teeth!"

"Oh my, let me see, wow, the little rascal really has teeth, haha."

Chen Ling looked down and saw that her son had two lower front teeth growing out of his mouth, but they were still very short and small, just tender teeth that had just emerged from the gums.

The young couple were overjoyed by the discovery.

They took turns holding their son, running and jumping on the dirt road in the fields, laughing and giggling like two children who had never grown up.

Having children, accompanying and witnessing every step of their growth—what could be more joyful than that? Before they knew it, they had arrived at the local temple and heard someone calling their names.

It turned out to be Wang Lihui's mother, also known as his third aunt, who had just come out of the big pit behind the land temple carrying a basket.

"I could hear you two laughing from far away. Where are you going? To the mountains?"

"We're not going up the mountain, we're just taking the kids out for a stroll."

Wang Susu smiled somewhat embarrassedly and said, "Third Aunt, are you here to offer sacrifices at the temple?"

Seeing her third aunt carrying a basket, Wang Susu assumed the old lady had come to the temple to burn incense and make offerings. However, since today was neither the first nor the fifteenth of the lunar month, she was a little puzzled.

"We don't burn incense or make offerings. We just pick up some wormwood behind the temple to take back and kill bugs for the piglets and the little girl."

Third Aunt lifted the cloth on the basket, revealing half a basket of small, round, yellowish-white fruits, which looked like small jujubes when they were still green.

"Oh, you went to pick up this string? It's pretty effective at killing roundworms."

Chen Ling understood as soon as he saw it.

The fruit of the *Lycoris radiata* tree.

The neem tree, also known as the bitter neem tree.

Every year in March and April, it blooms with pale purple flowers. The bark and leaves have a bitter smell.

When its fruit is not yet ripe, it is green, slightly larger than a lotus seed, and looks like a green date. It will gradually turn yellowish-white, which attracts birds to eat it.

The name "Lianzi Tree" sounds strange.

Actually, many people would understand if it were phrased differently, such as the saying, "The phoenix will not perch on anything but the parasol tree, nor will it eat anything but the fruit of the parasol tree."

This "lianshi" refers to the fruit of the Lianzi tree, also known as Lianzao or Fenghuangshi.

Unfortunately, it sounds nice, but the whole plant is poisonous.

Moreover, the *Ligustrum lucidum* tree is not suitable for timber.

The paper mulberry tree, with its purple flowers, is said to bring misfortune to any girl born from it. Planting this tree at home is a waste of time; its wood is brittle and easily attracts longhorn beetles, making it, like the paper mulberry, destined to be used as firewood.

However, this thing is not entirely useless except for being used as firewood.

The entire tree is poisonous, and its fruit is bitter, but it can be used to treat roundworms in children, and it is very effective.

If a baby's bottom is itchy or has worms, you can put one in the bottom crevice; it will be effective overnight.

Moreover, it won't harm a baby's stomach.

It is effective not only on humans but also on livestock.

When Chen Ling was a child, he saw sheep eating the leaves of the pine tree. After they finished eating, they left behind a bunch of worms. When he grew up and went to school, he learned that they were tapeworms.

Humans are not like sheep. Sheep eat all kinds of grass, including tree leaves, and are unaffected by slightly poisonous substances.

When used by humans, it needs to be processed and softened by boiling.

After her third aunt left after saying a few words, Wang Susu said with some emotion, "When you don't know it, it's just grass, but once you do, it's a treasure. I've been reading a lot about medicinal botany lately, and I've realized that there are really medicinal things everywhere."

Some illnesses can be cured simply by eating fruits and vegetables, without the need for medication.

"That's right. I've been home these past few days, and Uncle Sangui and I have been discussing it. We'll start building your medicine cabinet soon."

Chen Ling said with a smile that his wife's pharmacy was on the agenda and his seed station would be opening soon.

The seed station isn't busy; it only opens casually in spring and autumn, much like a veterinarian—it's quite leisurely.

"By the way, I'll go into the mountains and plant some trees and scatter some flower and grass seeds. That should also help with the development of the cave."

He discovered last year that the better the sapling grew, the larger the area of ​​the cave that was open to him.

Who knows what hidden, surprising treasures lie behind that white mist?

……

In any case, Chen Ling returned from the mountains, and his son even grew teeth, which made Wang Susu very happy.

That night, after their son fell asleep, the young couple truly enjoyed a wonderful night.

Afterwards, Wang Susu lay limp on the bed, unable to recover for a long time. The next morning, she blushed and whispered to Chen Ling that she had experienced an unprecedentedly exhilarating feeling last night, as if her soul had floated away.

Chen Ling knew that his wife's reaction was neither an illusion nor a compliment.

It was because he had secretly given her that leaf during that time.

When consumed, the jade-green leaves melt in the mouth, transforming into a rich, spiritual liquid that flows throughout the body, cleansing the mind, body, and soul.

For an ordinary person experiencing it for the first time, the feeling is like almost flying, like being in heaven.

However, after that...

Chen Ling exclaimed as if he had discovered a new continent: "I never expected that using it during sex would have such a miraculous effect. It's really a wonderful product. I must try it more often in the future."

In that instant, it was as if he had opened the door to a new world.

For the next two or three days, Chen Ling happily and relaxed, spending a lot of time with his wife and children. In addition, he went to the village to find Chen Sangui, discussed with the old man how big the medicine cabinet should be and what kind of wood to use, and then went to the county town to buy two large bags of steamed buns and steamed cakes before going back into the mountains.

I went into the mountains a few days ago hoping to catch a leopard, but unfortunately I didn't succeed.

Besides delivering food to his friends, he also wanted to act as a family planning officer walking through the mountains and teach the wild boar family, who were overpopulated, a good lesson.

The requirements aren't many, but at least the existing pig herd members should be reduced by half.

Otherwise, the size of that wild boar herd next year would be terrifying.

"Well, you can't get fat in one bite. Let's take it slow. Let's catch ten or eight this time. Once we've caught them, we'll take them to the slaughterhouse and sell them. Wild boars reproduce very quickly. It's okay if we catch them all. We can breed them again."

Wild boars are treated the same way, and so can other animals.

In this way...

"With all the resources in the mountains at my disposal, wouldn't it really be just like my livestock farm?"

Chen Ling thought happily, "This time I'll set a small goal: kill ten pigs. I'll finish within two days and go home."

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(End of this chapter)