My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 361 A Gimmick, Just a Joke

The Turtle King has reappeared.

The villagers, Zhou Weijun, and Yu Qi'an were all overjoyed and filled with surprise.

Only Chen Ling had some lingering concerns.

It seems that a water monster has reappeared in the reservoir.

He immediately led Zhou Weijun, Yu Qi'an, and a few others, along with the large crowd of villagers, toward the reservoir.

When they arrived at the village entrance, the dam was already packed with people, three or four layers deep; as far as the eye could see, it was full of people.

"Goodness, the whole village must have come out to see this."

Upon seeing this, Zhou Weijun couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "There are just too many people!"

Even though there are more young people going out to work this year, it's still not as tragic as the situation more than ten years later when only left-behind children and elderly people were left behind. There are still quite a few people who stay in the village to farm.

Ma Wei, who was behind him, pulled Chen Ling and said, "I've seen your big turtle in photos and newspapers several times. Could it be that it's finished hibernating and just came out to find food?"

Chen Ling shook his head: "I don't know. This thing only appeared two or three times last year. You don't usually see it."

Normally, turtles end their hibernation in the third month of the lunar calendar. After hibernating for a whole winter, the turtles are hungry and will come out to look for food. It is easier to catch turtles at this time.

But garlic and other big plants aren't afraid of the cold at all. Chen Ling had tested it before; they don't need to hibernate.

They usually hunt large fish at the bottom of the water and never go hungry.

Sometimes I would also take a stroll in the two great rivers.

Chen Ling was aware of all of this.

In my spare time, I also come to the reservoir to visit them and feed them.

Each time you come to find them, simply splash the water lightly.

If it's in a reservoir, it will appear within two minutes.

If it's not there, there's no reaction.

Just as Chen Ling finished speaking to Ma Wei, the crowd erupted in gasps of surprise.

"Prince Turtle is back!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qi'an hurriedly tiptoed and jumped up from the back of the crowd, trying to see the true face of this so-called Turtle Prince. Unfortunately, there were too many people, and he couldn't squeeze in. He was so anxious that he was itching for a fight.

He kept shouting, "Hey guys up there, you've finished watching, let us have a look too!"

Nobody paid him any attention; everyone wanted to get closer to the Turtle King and share in his good fortune.

"Fugui, Fugui, please help your brothers! We can't see the big turtle! Please help us think of a way! I'm begging you!"

Yu Qi'an grabbed Chen Ling's hand and jumped around, so anxious that he almost knelt down before Chen Ling.

He was anxious, and so was Ma Wei. He squinted and opened his eyes wide, pointing to the little kids on the trees next to them and said, "No, let's climb the trees too. These trees are quite tall and sturdy. Let's move two stools and climb up. We'll definitely be able to see."

They had heard Zhou Weijun talk about the giant turtles here long ago and had even seen photos of them. They thought such a rare creature was a once-in-a-lifetime sight and never expected to see it with their own eyes.

I never expected to run into them here. How could I miss this opportunity?

If you miss it and never see it again, won't you regret it to the core?

Seeing Zhou Weijun and Wang Jusheng go to move chairs, Chen Ling quickly stopped them, saying, "No need, no need."

Then he shouted to the crowd, "The Turtle King has come out! Hurry home and get some raw meat, red cloth, and incense paper to offer to the Turtle King!"

His shout caused the lively atmosphere in the crowd to pause for a moment, and then everyone turned around and ran home.

At that time, people believed that gods and Buddhas would only bestow blessings upon them and protect their families if they received incense and offerings from their own families.

So they all go back to their own homes to prepare the food themselves.

With this, the originally dense crowd quickly dispersed.

Only Chen Ling and a few others remained on the dam, along with Tian Hongli, the big boss who had come to inspect ornamental fish.

"Brother-in-law, why are you stopping us? Hurry back and get incense and candles to worship the Turtle King."

Wang Zhenzhen had also rushed over with her sister and parents to see the turtle long ago. She was in a hurry to run home, but Chen Ling stopped her. She was extremely anxious, afraid that she would miss the boat.

"What are you worshipping? We don't do that in our family."

Chen Ling grabbed his sister-in-law's arm speechlessly. The villagers didn't know what was going on; they were the ones who released the turtles, so how could they not know what was happening?

Do you expect us to treat our own pets like ancestors?

Nothing.

He then exchanged a few words with Wang Susu and the two elders, and then stood quietly on the shore looking down.

At this moment, Yu Qi'an and the others also saw the true appearance of the old turtle in the reservoir, and couldn't help but gasp: "Hiss, my goodness, this big turtle leader is really a turtle king."

Ma Wei's squinty eyes widened into round ones: "My God, is this the giant softshell turtle that the old folks talk about? Its back is bigger than a millstone."

When they saw the article about giant softshell turtles in last year's newspaper, they refused to believe it.

Now that I've seen it with my own eyes, I realize that the newspapers weren't exaggerating at all; the photos just made the giant turtle look too small.

It's nowhere near as shocking as seeing it in person.

On the wide expanse of water, enormous softshell turtles, like oval reefs protruding from the water, with backs as black as ink and broad and thick, were scattered in the water, slowly swimming from the depths of the reservoir toward the shore.

Under the afternoon sun, these enormous creatures created huge eddies, stirring up rolling waves on the shimmering water, as if the mythical turtles were riding the water, approaching from afar, creating a truly awe-inspiring scene.

Zhou Weijun didn't have time to say anything and quickly picked up his camera to start capturing this rare and spectacular sight.

Tian Hongli stared blankly at the numerous giant softshell turtles in the water, remaining silent for a long time.

"Ah Ling, are we really not going to bring any offerings?"

Seeing that the nearby villagers were already holding offerings and incense, and preparing to kowtow on the shore, Wang Susu couldn't help but ask.

She also believed in good fortune and hoped that the Turtle King would bless her husband and children.

Chen Ling, holding her son, shook her head and smiled: "No need, I'll bring live chickens and ducks over later."

His attention wasn't on the villagers kowtowing and worshipping, nor on the reactions of Yu Qi'an and the others, but rather on the garlic and the reeds on the bank.

"Look, look! The Turtle King has reached the shore! Quickly kowtow!"

The villagers were still exclaiming in surprise, but Chen Ling knew that Garlic had swum over to tell him what had happened.

Otherwise, after receiving their own warnings, they will not show themselves in public unless there are special circumstances.

So, carrying her son, she walked down a bit further, glancing back and forth at the reeds.

Sure enough, upon closer inspection, another problem was discovered.

Amidst the withered, yellowed reeds, new green reeds sprouted. In the middle of the reeds, however, lay a hollow, seemingly made by an unknown creature, floating on the water's surface. It resembled the mark left by livestock lying on a haystack in a barn.

Following the trail further up to the riverbank, one sees another earthen hole, about the size of a washbasin, covered by a thick layer of decaying leaves and weeds from last year.

"There's definitely something going on. I wonder what this thing is. It can be underwater and dig holes."

Chen Ling frowned slightly in thought: "Could it be something like a badger? Badgers have thick, dense fur that isn't afraid of water, and I blocked the hole before, but it dug it open again, so its digging ability is quite good..."

He was afraid that his thinking would be limited, and that he would assume from his first impression that this thing was amphibious.

It could also be that they live on land and can only swim.

We can't just attribute it to aquatic life; doing so might lead us completely astray and be a misguided approach.

For example, weasels can swim.

I've never heard of badgers being able to swim, but there are other badger species and small animals in the mountains besides hog badgers.

"Look how capable Fugui is! He's taken the baby downstairs to speak to the turtle king."

"Exactly, this kid is even smarter than a monkey."

"..."

At this moment, the voices of the villagers on the shore woke Chen Ling. He saw Garlic Head and the other turtles watching him quietly not far away, as if waiting for instructions. He gently shook his head at Garlic Head, then smiled at the villagers on the shore, picked up Rui Rui and walked over.

"Ah~ah~"

When Rui Rui saw him going up, he kept scratching his little hand and whining, unwilling to leave. It was the first time he had seen such a big thing in the water. He didn't know what it was, but he was curious and found it fun. He had been staring at Garlic and the others for a while and wanted to watch them a little longer.

"Be good, there are too many people now, Dad will take you to see it again tonight."

Chen Ling kissed his son's tender little face, returned to the dam and handed him over to Wang Susu. He thought about the water monster incident two years ago, when Uncle Niwai and the others who lived near the reservoir said that the thing had a blue face and fangs, was covered in armor, and ate ducks one bite at a time. This description did not match the huge strange fish he had found.

Considering the earthen cave on the shore, there might actually be a second monster.

Let's come over and take a look in the evenings these next few days and explore it carefully.

The scene of thousands of villagers kowtowing and worshipping on the dam was quite spectacular.

Unfortunately, Garlic and the others didn't stay long this time. They quickly moved away from the shore and disappeared into the vast expanse of water.

Even after the giant turtle left, the crowd continued to discuss it.

Yu Qi'an and the other two were especially excited, all of them were in high spirits, and they kept discussing with their arms crossed.

"Old Ma, you're always tinkering with old things, tell me, has anything like this ever come out before?"

"Of course it has. Is there any need to ask? For example, the Yellow River has seen giant turtles. I've heard people talk about it. It sounds just like a story from Journey to the West. They say that the giant turtle can stir up storms and capsize passing ships. So when a ship is passing by and hears unusual noises underwater, no one dares to speak loudly, for fear of disturbing the giant turtle at the bottom of the river."

Ma Wei gestured with his hands and glanced in the direction of the reservoir, saying, "But the giant turtle in Fu Gui's reservoir is the first time I've ever seen one this big in real life. I've only ever read about it in books or heard people talk about it. The leader turtle is so big, just look at its back, it's so black and thick, like a big iron rock. It's obviously an old turtle that's been around for hundreds of years."

As he spoke, Ma Wei looked at Zhou Weijun and asked, "Old Zhou, tell me, do you dare to make a movie with this?"

"No, no, no, I wouldn't dare."

Zhou Weijun shook his head vigorously: "I won't even do TV shows. This giant turtle in the reservoir is so big it looks like a monster. In a few years, it might really be the Turtle King."

This remark drew laughter from everyone: "Come on, you old feudalist, you're so superstitious you're confused. Director, my foot! If the villagers in Fugui Village heard this, they'd laugh at you."

"Oh my, you know what? We really have to perform rituals for the gods when we're filming. For example, if you're filming Journey to the West or Romance of the Three Kingdoms, besides the opening ceremony, you have to burn some paper money and light incense for the deity or historical figure you're playing. It's just like how you have to worship Guan Gong before playing him in an opera..."

Zhou Weijun said with a serious expression.

He was halfway through his sentence when he saw someone walking towards them. His expression changed, and he quickly lowered his voice, turning to Chen Ling and saying, "Look, Fugui, that middleman is here. Don't tell him the truth if anything happens. That old guy is obviously cunning."

Chen Ling looked over and saw that it was Tian Hongli walking over.

Tian Hongli came to order the next batch of ornamental fish, not for any other reason.

He doesn't just buy Chen Ling's family's property; he plans to buy the entire village's.

Garlic and his gang of old turtles really shocked him quite a bit.

He suspects that the reason such large giant softshell turtles can be raised here is due to the unique aquatic environment.

He overheard the villagers talking and heard about the giant turtle fighting a monster last year, suggesting that there might be a monster in the reservoir.

He immediately lost interest in Chen Ling's medicine.

On the contrary, they felt that the people in their village were guarding a treasure trove of undeveloped land.

There are giant turtles and water monsters.

The fish raised here must be extraordinary.

Believe it or not, science and popular science were not very developed at that time, and there were very few such programs on television.

At that time, and even in the years following the millennium, there were still qigong performances on television.

Therefore, people don't think of lake monsters as some kind of ancient, large fish; their first thought is often just that they are supernatural beings.

Plus, the fish here is really good.

The fish fry raised by the villagers alone are quite impressive.

After much deliberation, Tian Hongli concluded that the fish's quality alone made it worthwhile.

I might as well buy their entire next batch of ornamental fish, then use the gimmick of the giant softshell turtle to promote it, get it published in the newspaper again, and try to sell it.

Ornamental fish raised in places where giant turtles and lake monsters have been reported.

Not only are they beautiful, but keeping them at home is also believed to bring good fortune.

Tian Hongli had already planned it all out. If the ornamental fish sold well, he wouldn't just sell ornamental fish anymore; he would also take the local aquatic products out with him.

They'll say it will make you live longer.

Tian Hongli became more and more excited as she thought about it, and her ambition was instantly ignited.

"I have no problem selling the next batch to you. You can negotiate with the other villagers yourself."

When Chen Ling learned that he wanted to buy fish, he didn't say anything else. After all, it didn't matter who he sold his own fish to.

"No, Mr. Chen, there's something I need to make clear to you. I can't receive this fish myself, so you'll have to send someone to deliver it. But I can pay a deposit first, and I can also cover the shipping costs."

Tian Hongli had her own ulterior motives. She was worried that if she sent a car to collect the body, Chen Ling wouldn't add any medicine, and the survival rate wouldn't be guaranteed. That's why she said that.

"Okay, then let Bo Ming deliver it to you again."

Chen Ling didn't say anything else, just nodded his chin at the little sheep, and then went to Wang Jusheng's house with Zhou Weijun, Yu Qi'an and the others.

His attitude made Zhou Weijun and Ma Wei laugh at him, saying that he was too casual in doing business, as if he were just playing around.

Yu Qi'an looked on with envy the whole way; this guy was living such a carefree life.

(End of this chapter)