My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 35 Rat
As you enter the courtyard, you'll see Wang Jusheng's wife, Zhang Qiaoling, nervously looking around with a flashlight.

Seeing this, Wang Jusheng hurried over and asked, "What's wrong, Qiaoling? Where did that noise come from?"

"I'm not quite sure either, it sounds like it's coming from the room on the west side."

When Zhang Qiaoling saw Wang Jusheng return, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then, seeing Chen Ling following behind her husband, she forced a smile and greeted him.

"Wealth and honor are coming."

Chen Ling nodded and called her "Sister-in-law Qiaoling".

"Bring me the flashlight. Let Fugui and I check what's going on. We're worried something might have gotten into the house."

Wang Jusheng took the flashlight and, together with Chen Ling, pushed open the door to the west room.

Before they even went inside, they heard a "thump" from inside. Wang Jusheng immediately shone his flashlight over and saw a huge rat dart past their feet with astonishing speed.

Zhang Qiaoling was far away and could only see a dark figure darting out of the house. She was so frightened that she screamed and hid to the side.

"It's okay, don't be afraid, it's just a mouse!"

Wang Jusheng said in a deep voice.

Then he asked in confusion, "That's strange. Both my family and my dad's family keep cats, and we've never had mice in our house before."

Cats in rural areas are generally skilled at catching mice because in those days there was little leftover food at home, and if they didn't catch mice, they would go hungry.

Of course, they also catch birds, grasshoppers, crickets, and lizards.

There's no other way; hunting skills are honed through hunger.

"Hehe, I guess they're going to have baby mice in the spring, so it's normal for them to risk coming out to find food."

“Brother Jusheng, let’s go inside and take a look. Judging from the noise we just heard, there can’t be just one mouse in the house.”

Chen Ling reminded him.

Actually, it wasn't just because of that noise; his eyesight and hearing were now much better than the average person's, allowing him to detect the rustling sounds of mice moving around in the dark.

I think so too.

Wang Jusheng nodded, shone his flashlight to locate the light cord, and pulled the light switch.

The moment the light came on, a dozen or so large gray rats were seen crawling on a large vat in the corner of the room, carrying peanuts and climbing up the electrical wires to the roof beams.

At the other end of the beam was a hole for running electrical wires, and half a rat's head was peeking out of the hole, looking around.

These rats were much bolder than the previous one. Even with the light on, they didn't rush to run away, but instead leisurely carried peanuts up to the beam.

Wang Jusheng was furious when he saw it.

"You son of a bitch, how dare you ruin my peanuts!"

He grabbed a broom from behind the door and swung it, but the rats were so slippery that they scattered and fled in all directions, and Wang Jusheng couldn't catch a single one.

"Brother Jusheng, sister-in-law, please don't put the peanuts here next time. Put them in the bedroom."

At this moment, Zhang Qiaoling also came in, and Chen Ling reminded the two of them.

He knew perfectly well that the rat must have been attracted by the peanut.

After all, the peanuts he gave Wang Jusheng were irrigated with water from the Dongtian Stream, so their appeal to animals was definitely not small.

"It's all my fault for not paying attention before."

"I put the peanuts in the jar and weighed them down with a weight. I figured that with a cat in the house, mice wouldn't usually get in."

"Even if there were rats, I still had two heavy weights on the scales. I never expected these rats to be so cunning; they managed to overturn such heavy weights."

Wang Jusheng shook his head and picked up the two large weights that had rolled off the ground.

Clearly, the sound Chen Ling and his companion heard when they came in was the sound of a mouse dropping a weight on the ground.

"It's just a pity about the peanuts you gave me, Fugui."

Wang Jusheng said with a pained expression.

During the few days he helped Chen Ling with farm work, Chen Ling asked him to bring back a lot of peanuts, thinking that they would last for a while.

As a result, it's hopeless now.

"It's nothing, just a few peanuts. I have more over there."

Chen Ling walked over and looked into the jar. Sure enough, it had been badly damaged by rats. Not only were they stealing food and carrying it back to their nests, but they were also defecating and urinating everywhere. The peanuts even had a foul smell, making them clearly inedible.

"Oh dear, that's not what I meant..."

"I mean, these peanuts are a rare delicacy. It's heartbreaking and infuriating that they were ruined by rats before anyone could even eat them."

Wang Jusheng gritted his teeth and said.

"If that doesn't work, Watada, you can put two mousetraps in this room."

Wang Qiaoling also felt sorry for the peanuts, since they were really good at promoting lactation.

"I'll get off now! I'll leave after I eat!"

"Set two more clamps, and I'll clamp these damn scoundrels to death!"

Wang Jusheng said bitterly.

Then he turned to his wife and said, "Fugui is here, let's not worry about these trivial matters for now."

"Hurry up and prepare the meal. Let Fugui show you his skills and let you see if I've been fooling you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Qiaoling glanced at Chen Ling and said with a smile, "Fugui, don't listen to your brother Jusheng's nonsense. I was just joking with him."

"You finally come all this way to our house, how can you expect me to cook? That's just outrageous!"

Actually, Zhang Qiaoling's words were just said in anger during a heated argument.

Seeing that Wang Jusheng was eating at Chen Ling's house every day and never went home for meals, he couldn't help but complain.

Is the food at a wealthy family's house really that delicious? So much so that you wish you could eat there three times a day?

As it turned out, Wang Jusheng said it really was that delicious. He added that if you didn't believe him, he would invite Fugui over to cook a meal for you another day, and you would be convinced after just one bite.

Zhang Qiaoling retorted sharply, "Then go ahead and yell!"

And sure enough, they actually came today.

It made her feel a little embarrassed, as if she were a glutton.

"No way, what's so outrageous about it? I've already invited Fugui here, so I have to show off my skills."

"Today I must convince you completely."

Wang Jusheng said resolutely.

These words made Zhang Qiaoling feel a little embarrassed. She thought to herself, "This fool, why is he still arguing in front of outsiders?"

"Fugui, you must be laughing at me. My Jusheng is just like that."

Chen Ling waved his hand with a smile: "What's the big deal? I just admire Jusheng's temperament, otherwise we wouldn't get along!"

Wang Jusheng burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"Look, look, this is what a real man talks about! What do you women know?"

"Quickly turn on the lights in the yard; Fugui likes to cook in the yard."

Actually, he just wanted to show off because he knew Chen Ling's cooking was very fragrant and the aroma could travel a long way.

So he wanted Chen Ling to do it in his own yard, so that the neighbors could smell it and be envious.

Wang Jusheng's yard is long and narrow, stretching from north to south but short from east to west. It is planted with many trees and has a series of water vats, some over a meter tall and others only about a foot tall, all placed side by side.

Wang Jusheng's stove was made from a small water vat, filled with red clay, with small ventilation holes. It could burn charcoal and firewood, making cooking very convenient.

Zhang Qiaoling had prepared all the ingredients in advance, so Chen Ling didn't have to spend much time cooking the meal.

Because there were many trees in the yard, it wasn't very bright even with the lights on, so no one saw Chen Ling secretly add some Dongtianxi water.

The aroma of the four dishes and soup wafted out as soon as they were placed on the table.

Only then did Zhang Qiaoling suddenly understand why her husband went to Chen Ling's house for meals every few days.

It smells so good! It smells amazing!
Seeing his wife secretly swallowing, Wang Jusheng chuckled and said, "How about it, wife? I didn't fool you, did I?"

Zhang Qiaoling glared at him and said, "I'll go get the baby..."

Thank you, Ya Nan, for voting every day! Thank you for your support!


(End of this chapter)