My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 316 Harvesting Sunflowers, Heading to the City
Chen Ling had a lot of free time during the National Day holiday.

Aside from accompanying his father-in-law into the mountains to collect two baskets of herbs and delivering food to Han Ninggui and the others, there was nothing else to do.

As for Han Ninggui and his team, their investigation and research on the miasma valley came to an end after the National Day holiday.

However, after they returned from the mountains, they couldn't get a proper rest. They only had half a day to rest before Chen Ling conscripted them to help harvest sunflowers.

They weren't really unwilling.

This guy, people go to the mountains every day to deliver food and cook for him, and they even take care of his food and lodging when he comes back, so naturally he has to do some work for them.

Of course, they weren't the only ones doing the work.

Some villagers also came to help, and a large group of people spent three or four days in a lively atmosphere to finally finish harvesting the sunflowers.

"Fugui, you should buy a couple of farm machines."

At the dinner table that day, Han Ninggui said, "Buying agricultural machinery doesn't cost much now. A tractor only costs five or six thousand yuan, and a farm tricycle is only a little over four thousand yuan. It's not a big deal for you."

"Yes, it's time to buy one. I use it quite often, and it's inconvenient to keep using other people's phones."

Chen Ling nodded as he ate, then put down his chopsticks and said, "But there's no rush. I'll go to the city to buy the TV first, then go to Wangba City to buy the tractor. It'll be time to plant wheat then, so I'll buy the plow, harrow, and seeder as well. This year, we can just use machines for planting, which will save us a lot of effort."

Before harvesting the sunflowers this time, he went to the sunflower seed factory in Huangni Town to inquire.

The price seems reasonable.

After harvesting, we drove the tractor directly over there.

However, there were too many to haul in one or two trips. The tractor was too old and kept having various minor problems, which delayed the work too much. In the end, we had to go to the county town and find two freight trucks from Sun Yanhong to finish hauling the sunflowers.

"Did you hear that, Brother Xian? Fugui not only wants to buy a TV, but also a tractor. He's definitely going to make a lot of money this year. You need to work harder too, build a few more greenhouses, and try to buy a tractor next year."

"Tractor? Forget it. We don't have much stuff in our greenhouse, and we don't go far. We have a donkey cart and an oxcart at home, so it's not worth buying a tractor."

Wang Lixian shook his head. "Tractors are huge, expensive pieces of metal."

It's pointless to spend thousands of dollars to buy it.

Moreover, turning on the machine costs money, since it burns oil, and every step it takes costs money.

How can such expensive iron livestock compare to the large livestock you raise at home?
Why spend thousands of dollars on a business that's less comfortable than using livestock?
No, I won't buy it.

“If Brother Xian doesn’t buy it, Yuqiang can. He earned money working last winter, and he’s earned quite a bit this year. Buying a tractor won’t be a problem.”

"Go away, get out of here. Do you call that making money? Compared to Uncle Fugui, it's nothing. Buying a tractor? Give me a break."

Chen Yuqiang waved his hand, not wanting to say anything more.

Those of them who go out to work seem to earn quite a bit of money, with at least two hundred yuan a month.

However, this job isn't available year-round; it's extremely unstable.

Not to mention that they have to go home for several months every year to work on the farm.

Although crops can be sold for some money.

But earning two thousand yuan a year is considered a lot.

Besides, there are expenses for children's school fees, medical care for the elderly, and so on; money is needed everywhere.

That's why, even though the high-voltage power lines were installed last year and people in the village could watch TV, not many people bought TVs.

People who have experienced poverty are reluctant to spend money on such impractical things.

Moreover, many people in the mountains are not yet at the stage of pursuing entertainment.

My biggest dream is to eat meat every day.

This is not an exaggeration.

For example, in the past two years, Chen Ling often went to Chen Sangui to do carpentry work. What impressed him most was that the old man never turned on the lights when it got dark. Every time he went there at night, the house and the yard were pitch black, but he would respond as soon as he called. The old man was not sleeping in the house, but just sitting alone in a rattan chair in a daze.

Moreover, Chen Sangui was not the only person like this.

When you look for Chen Guoping or Sister-in-law Xiufen, it's always the same: they only turn on the lights when guests arrive, and then talk and discuss things under the dim light.

After the guests left, quickly turn off the lights.

Even when they ate at home, they only used kerosene lamps.

As for candles? We don't light them either; they don't burn very well, and they're not as cheap as kerosene.

The older generation, or rather, the people in the mountains here, are frugal to the core.

It's not that we can't afford many things; it's that people here haven't changed their mindset. They think things like tractors and televisions are just a waste of money, and that they'll buy them but have nowhere to use them.

Just like how city dwellers don't understand why someone would buy a mobile phone that costs tens of thousands of yuan.

Having lived in the countryside for so many years, they have long been accustomed to working at sunrise and resting at sunset, to sleeping when it gets dark, and to the pitch-black night. They do not find it boring, lonely, or tedious.

This is something that people who have lived through the information age and been exposed to mobile phones and computers cannot imagine.

Chen Ling was initially very unaccustomed to this era, but gradually settled down and began to enjoy this peaceful and tranquil life.

However, compared to others, he was not frugal at all. He used whatever he wanted, and left the lights on for as long as he pleased, and Wang Susu did as he pleased.

"Haha, in the end, it all comes down to Fugui. Let's just wait for Fugui to buy the TV and come to his house to watch TV. If you want to watch, just come to him. Isn't that much more exciting than watching the village movie?"

"If you want to watch TV, then you'll have to bring some things over for Fugui."

"Why? My Uncle Fugui isn't a stingy person, is he?"

"It's not that he's stingy, but think about it, there are so many pretty women on TV, Fugui would be too busy at home to let them go. If you come over and join in the fun, he'll definitely be unhappy."

"..."

As they got more and more excited, Chen Ling's face darkened: "Stop making things up about me, or when we buy the TV, no one will come to watch it."

"No, I didn't say that. It was Shuiwa who started it. We won't let him see it."

The group laughed and joked. Since their wives weren't with them today, they were quite relaxed talking to Chen Ling.

Then she asked Chen Ling when he was going to the city. "I'm leaving tomorrow. I'll go to the city with Uncle Han and the others, and hitch a ride with them."

"Hey, this is great, it's so convenient."

This time, Chen Ling went on a long trip by herself. After all, the child is still young, and it would be inconvenient to take the mother and child with her if any troubles occurred on the way.

After all, there are quite a few highway robbers and bandits these days.

He's free-spirited and can leave whenever he wants without much to consider.

"The boiled sunflower seeds are ready, have a taste."

At this moment, Wang Cunye walked over from the back of the farm carrying a bamboo sieve.

"Oh my, these sunflower seeds smell so good, they must have been cooked in meat broth."

The aroma wafting from the melon seeds sieve made everyone's mouths water.

"Of course, meat broth is the best for infusing flavor."

Professor Han and his group, along with Wang Lixian and his group, grabbed a handful of melon seeds and started tasting them before the seeds had even dried. More than half of them were gone in one go through the bamboo sieve.

After tasting them, I realized that these sunflower seeds taste really good.

It has both the aroma of meat and the delicious taste of fresh sunflower seeds. Even the sunflower seed shells smell wonderful, as if you are eating meat.

This is the beauty of cooking melon seeds in meat broth.

Actually, you don't need meat broth; you can still get the flavor of meat by using only the seasonings for cooking meat.

However, the soup made with this kind of broth just doesn't taste as rich and flavorful as the broth made with meat.

"Everyone, please continue eating after you finish. I cooked quite a lot."

Wang Cunye wiped his hands and sat down.

"It's alright, Uncle, this is enough."

"Uncle Cunye is so generous. He used Gastrodia elata to stew the chicken for us today. No wonder it tastes so good."

Late autumn is the season for harvesting Gastrodia elata, and it was because of this that Wang Cunye wanted to go into the mountains.

Because this stuff is more valuable than ordinary herbs.

"Brother, are you going to sell those gastrodia elata you picked? If so, you should have Fugui take them to the city for you. They won't fetch a good price in this county town," Han Ninggui reminded him, feeling that he would be at a disadvantage selling them in a small place.

"Well, let him take it to the city to sell. I don't really care about it anymore. We picked some dendrobium before, and we said back then that this kind of medicinal material can't be sold here. The price won't be good enough. If we just sell it to someone else to save trouble, we'll lose a lot of money."

Wang Cunye lit another pipe and chuckled, "Anyway, if we can sell this stuff, we will. If we can't, we'll just soak it in alcohol or brew it at home. Things like bellflower root, I've already brewed them into alcohol and given them to my son-in-law to sell. This is much better than selling medicinal herbs."

My son-in-law is making so much money selling wine now, so these medicinal herbs will definitely have a use.

"Uncle Han, speaking of which, my farm sells a lot of different kinds of wine. Do I need any permits or licenses?" Chen Ling asked, leaning over as they discussed this.

"This does require paperwork, but you don't sell that much wine in a year right now, so don't worry. Just ask your aunt and uncle; they know about this and are very familiar with the process. They can get it done for you whenever you want."

Han Ninggui seemed to know Liang Hongyu and the other person's identities, and said this.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling said no more.

Then, he casually brought up the matter of the miasma again with Han Ninggui and Feng Yi.

In fact, after their research and experiments, Han Ninggui and his team are still unsure whether the miasma is caused by a special mineral. However, there is definitely something special in the valley below, but they dare not dig deeper now.

I'm worried that it might cause some irreparable damage, which would be such a pity.

"Let's go back first. We've already completed the collection of all the samples, as well as the biological sampling of various types of valley insects and plants. We're just waiting to get back and test them to get the results."

As Han Ninggui spoke, he also looked forward to discovering the secrets of that magical miasma valley.

……

So the next morning, after a simple breakfast, they set off.

For safety reasons.

Like Liang Yuemin and Shanmao, Han Ninggui and the others took a longer, more spacious and smooth road to get here.

Such roads are not easy to block. However, if you are walking on a difficult dirt road, mountain road, or crossing a bridge, it is very easy for someone to set up a roadblock to intercept you, which is too dangerous.

So we took the long way around, going from the north of Lingyun City to Kuliu County, and then going around to the east of Kuliu County. The mountains became lower and the roads were wider than in the mountains.

However, traveling a long distance takes time. We set off at six in the morning, passing through several counties from the foot of the mountain to the river, from the mountains to the hills, and then to the plains.

When we arrived in the city, it was already four or five o'clock in the afternoon.

It was still early, and Chen Ling originally wanted to get out of the car and go for a walk, but Han Ninggui and the others insisted that he stay for a meal and overnight before letting him leave.

"If I think about it carefully, it's been many years since I last came to Tiannan. Coming back now feels like a lifetime ago."

Chen Ling, carrying his backpack, strolled slowly down the main street of Tiannan City, looking around with his head tilted back.

The road was bustling with traffic, motorcycles, cars, buses, and all sorts of horns blaring together in a cacophony.

It became an extremely noisy background noise.

There were also pedestrians and cyclists on the street.

If you see a stall at an intersection, stop and take a look, and ask about the price.

The bustling crowds, accompanied by the latest pop music, created a truly vibrant scene.

Chen Ling originally planned to sell the medicinal herbs as soon as he arrived in the city, or at least inquire about their prices, such as the market price of ginseng.

After I finish these things, I'll go for a walk around.

As for the TV, don't worry. Just buy one while you're out shopping. There's plenty of space; you can put it away somewhere secluded and it won't take up much of your hand. You can continue shopping wherever you want.
But upon arriving here, Chen Ling felt a strange yet familiar atmosphere, as if he had been struck by this bustling torrent.

What's the point of doing anything else? Let's have fun first. The dog market and the flower, bird, and fish market are just a short distance ahead. Let's play to our hearts' content first.

(End of this chapter)