My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 342 New Changes in the Grotto Heaven

After finishing their breakfast of large steamed buns, the young couple got busy preparing food.

Wang Jusheng gave Chen Ling a lot of pork, and since he was going to make cured pork, he decided to make more. So he went to various houses in the village and bought some more, bringing the total to more than half a pig.

With the pig's head and offal that Wang Jusheng gave them, even if they finished making the cured meat, there would be enough leftovers for the two of them to eat.

In the morning, perhaps knowing that Chen Ling's family was making cured meat, Da Ni'er and Wu Ni'er came again.

Wu Ni'er came to help take care of Rui Rui, while Da Ni'er and Wang Susu washed the pork pieces clean, rubbed them evenly with a layer of coarse salt, and then put them into the earthenware jar layer by layer to marinate for about four or five days. After that, they could be taken out, washed with warm water, strung on hooks, and hung above the stove.

When used in everyday cooking, the meat is naturally smoked, and after a certain time, it becomes fragrant cured meat.

Making sausages is a bit more complicated. You need to use pig small intestines to make casings, cut the meat into small pieces, add various seasonings, and stuff them into the casings the next day at noon. Then, hang them above the stove to smoke.

After marinating the pork that day, Chen Ling cleaned the pig's head and put it in a pot to simmer. That evening, he enjoyed a delicious bowl of braised pig's head.

After the pork was marinated, we didn't stop there. We also picked out some fat chickens and ducks, slaughtered them, and made them into preserved chicken and duck.

The cured meats made by farmers in the mountains taste different, but the methods are generally similar to those for making cured pork.

After cleaning the whole chicken and duck, hang them up. However, it's best to choose plump chickens and ducks for making preserved chicken and duck, otherwise they will be dry and have no meat after drying, and they won't taste good.

They killed about ten chickens and about ten ducks in one go.

We took a lot of chicken and duck offal; these are all good stuff.

Feed the difficult-to-process and smelly food to the dogs, and use the easy-to-process food to make clay pot hot pot.

This earthenware hot pot is still in the style of a yin-yang pot. It was made last year when Chen Ling was craving it. At that time, Wang Susu was newly pregnant. When he went to buy a juicer, he specially asked someone to make a pot for him. He used the broth from yesterday's stewed pig's head and then simply stir-fried a spicy broth, which was just enough to make a yin-yang pot.

Besides chicken and duck offal, I also cut some lamb slices. The chicken and duck offal are offal and have a fishy smell, so they are better eaten in a spicy broth. As for the lamb, the lamb raised by Chen Ling's family is really a pleasant surprise. The meat is tender and has almost no fishy smell. It will be even more delicious when cooked in a clear broth.

There are also side dishes such as tofu, meatballs, bamboo shoot slices, mushrooms, potatoes, and pickled vegetables, enough for the young couple to have a lively meal.

Wang Susu was pleasantly surprised by the taste of the duck blood and duck intestines cooked in the spicy broth. She ate until her nose was sweating and her lips were red, which made Chen Ling laugh for a while.

Rui Rui, that little rascal, didn't understand anything and just chuckled along.

The next day, the little guy was surprised to find that he had run back to his crib when he woke up.

It was the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month.

While eating breakfast, Chen Ling noticed that his wife had developed a greater fondness for spicy food over the past two years, so he said that next time he made sausages, he would make more spicy ones.

Wang Susu was surprised: "Spicy? Does it have chili peppers in it?"

“Yes.” Chen Ling nodded: “We also add salt and other seasonings, but we also add chili peppers. Besides the spiciness, we can also add sugar to make it sweet, which is also delicious.”

Wang Susu found it intriguing and laughed, "Then let's make it next year, both spicy and sweet. I've never heard of it before."

……

Once the 20th of the twelfth lunar month arrives, time seems to fly by.

As the Lunar New Year approaches, smiles adorn everyone's faces. After a year of busy work, no one wants to leave any resentment in the twelfth lunar month.

In the twelfth lunar month, people start to be more careful about what they say, only saying nice things to each other and avoiding talking about their troubles.

The village has also agreed to hold a temple fair next year, and will set off fireworks twice, on New Year's Eve and the Lantern Festival, so that all the villagers can come and watch.

They even hung up red lanterns early on.

This immediately raised everyone's expectations.

Anticipation grew, anticipation grew, and soon it was New Year's Eve.

However, this year there is no Lunar New Year's Eve, only the 29th.

Two days in advance, Chen Ling's family cleaned up the village, their yard, and the farm, posted Spring Festival couplets and the character "福" (good fortune), and hung up new lanterns.

On the 29th of the lunar year, incense and candles were burned at night, and everything was prepared.

He also called all the livestock at home—dogs, cows, eagles, and even a few weasels—back home and fed them all a good meal.

Chen Ling also displayed her prized ornamental fish, bright red koi, in the house, adding a touch of festivity.

At eight o'clock in the evening, after nightfall, before anyone had eaten, people cheerfully lit torches and children carried lanterns, and went out in a lively atmosphere.

A few snowflakes drifted down from the sky. Wang Laishun led the group to arrange the fireworks in two long rows on the dam. After lighting them, the fireworks shot into the sky and bloomed into dazzling fireworks in the night sky.

The villagers were making a lively commotion, and the children were running around clapping and shouting.

Chen Ling and his family of three stood in the crowd watching the fireworks. The two adults looked up, and in the middle was a delicate, beautifully carved baby with wide, dark eyes, who also looked up, staring at the sky without blinking, occasionally grinning with joy.

The fireworks continued to bloom for half an hour, illuminating the faces of the two adults and one child with a rosy glow.

...After the fireworks ended, the family of three followed the bustling crowd home.

Then they began to eat their New Year's Eve dinner. They turned on the TV and watched the Spring Festival Gala. Chen Ling took off her thick coat and, wearing only a sweater and a cotton vest, served the food on the table. The young couple sat at the table, with their little child, who was tied to a chair with a large scarf, in the middle. The family of three ate their New Year's Eve dinner and watched the Spring Festival Gala.

Every now and then, the cotton curtain at the door would sway, and a group of chubby little dogs would come in and out with bones in their mouths. After eating, they would play with the weasel, running around and frolicking under the table and chairs.

Seeing this, Chen Ling scolded them a few times and brought Heiwa, Xiaojin, and Ertuzi into the house. Even the little white ox hadn't been led back to the village yet; it was peeking out from the doorway, its big head sticking out and mooing into the house.

The New Year is all about having fun together to make it truly enjoyable.

……

1997 has arrived, and this year is a special one.

It is special for the country, has a special impact on the people, and is also special for Chen Ling.

Because the New Year had just passed, the Sun and Moon Grotto-heaven underwent new changes once again.

Not only did the milky white mist open up new territory for him once again, but it also created new areas within the area.

The Sun and Moon Grotto-heaven truly lived up to its name, finally possessing a sun and moon, though these appeared illusory, like projections of the sun and moon from the outside world.

But regardless, the presence of the sun and moon signifies that the grotto now has day and night.

The jade tree sprouted new buds, and the spring water, formed from diluted spiritual dew, gradually expanded again, turning the former stream into a river.

The lake where fish are raised is getting deeper and deeper.

Meanwhile, Leopard Mountain, where the leopard lived, had been gradually filled with stones collected by Chen Ling over the past few days, forming a hill. Now, Chen Ling had controlled the soil covering it, and flowers, grass, and trees had grown on it, making it a paradise for the leopard.

Now all that's left is to capture the mother leopard.

Now that the cave has expanded, the newly opened territory is very barren, without any vegetation, as if it were a blank space specially left for him to do as he pleases.

However, after Chen Ling went to see it himself, he felt that it was not so.

However, the area of ​​hundreds of acres around the Jade Tree is quite special.

That area truly resembled a paradise on earth.

The jade-green sapling is undoubtedly the core of the Sun and Moon Grotto.

The newly opened territory seemed like a newly developed space, with only bare land and soil that was no better than the soil outside, and even less fertile.

After observing for several days, Chen Ling saw that the soil in the new territory gradually became full of vitality and fertile after being nourished by the spiritual energy flowing from the cave.

Seeing this, Chen Ling had a sudden inspiration. He directly blocked the spiritual energy and drew a large amount of water vapor from the reservoir outside, freezing the new territory into an ice and snow world. It was even more thorough than the winter snow environment he had specially created before, directly forming a small ice and snow plateau.

This is also beneficial for him in cultivating various species.

Even if we don't need it now, we can save it for later.

After the first month of the lunar calendar, I need to buy some livestock, not just oxen, but also mules and horses, so that I can have meat to eat at the end of the year in addition to working.

The sheep slaughtered at the end of the year tasted quite good, and I believe that once other livestock are raised, the meat quality will be even better.

On the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, there was another grand fireworks display, attracting more people than anyone imagined. The next day, on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, there was a temple fair in the county town. The first lunar month is a leisurely month, so everyone went out of their way to join in the fun.

On the afternoon of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, a large number of people gathered. The vendors were all familiar with the place. They had set up stalls for many days in the past when the old turtles were parading in the reservoir, and they had set up stalls again when the temple fair was held and operas were performed. This year, on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, a large group of people came.

Moreover, the fireworks on the fifteenth of the lunar month lasted longer than those on New Year's Eve, lasting for about an hour. There were all kinds of fireworks, some like flowers, some like waterfalls, and some like fiery trees and silver flowers. They were very diverse, dazzling and beautiful.

The name of Chenwangzhuang spread further, and more people became aware of the temple fair.

On the 18th day of the first lunar month, Chenwangzhuang Primary School officially started the new semester.

The kids in the village had a really wild winter vacation this year. Besides eating and playing a lot, they also had the chance to go to Chen Ling's house to watch TV for a while. Life was so wonderful.

On the day school was about to start, everyone looked miserable and no one wanted to go. The day before school started, Liu Nier even came to the farm with her homework and wanted Wang Zhenzhen to help her with it. But Wang Zhenzhen hadn't come back yet, so he secretly stuffed the homework into the doghouse.

After school started, he told the teacher that Chen Ling's dogs were too fierce. He went to Wang Zhenzhen to do his homework, and when he wasn't paying attention, they took his homework and tore it to shreds. He didn't want that.

The teacher was from Taoshugou, and he was quite young. Upon hearing this, he brought the child to the farm after school at noon to ask if it was true or false.

Actually, the teacher had never been inside the farm before and wanted to take this opportunity to come in and have a look.

It just so happened that Han Chuang and Jiang Xiaoqing came to visit that day, so without saying a word, they pulled the teacher and Liu Ni'er to sit down and have a drink and a meal.

Upon hearing the purpose of their visit, Chen Ling generously helped Liu Nier cover up her lie.

Later, by sheer coincidence, the puppies are now three months old, two sizes bigger than before, each one very strong and sturdy. They are no longer the round, chubby little fat dogs they once were. And having eaten a lot of raw meat, they have sharp teeth and mouths, and are very fierce.

The male teacher threw two bones under the table for them, but they not only refused to eat them, but two of the puppies angrily pounced on him and tore his trouser legs.

It startled him, and he immediately believed Liu Nier's lies.

(End of this chapter)