My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 37 Market Day

"Judging from this situation, they've probably been summoned by Wong Tai Sin."

Wang Laishun rubbed the wound on the back of the chicken's neck a couple of times, then turned his head.

"Dongmei, didn't you hear anything?"

"No, no..."

Qin Dongmei's expression changed, and then she looked at her older sister, "Sister, did you hear that noise?"

"Me neither."

Qin Qiumei shook her head, looking at the dead chickens scattered on the ground, thinking that her sister had really been having a run of bad luck these days, with hardly anything going her way.

"Hmph, I told you she was framing someone, but you wouldn't believe me. Now look, she's done something immoral, attracted the attention of the Weasel spirit, and is trying to blame it on someone else. Aren't she afraid of retribution?"

At this moment, Old Mrs. Wang muttered something, her old face full of sarcasm.

Qin Dongmei was so angry her eyebrows stood on end: "If you dare to fart again, you old bastard, I'll tear your mouth apart..."

People in the countryside are quite superstitious about weasels.

When Qin Dongmei discovered the wound on the chicken's neck, she knew something was terribly wrong; her chicken was likely going to die in vain.

I was feeling really upset when this old geezer had to come and expose my shortcomings.

"Oh dear, look how tough you are, you even tore my mouth open."

Old Mrs. Wang sneered and shouted loudly, "Neighbors, please be the judge! I don't know who it was, but they blocked my door early this morning, insisting that I poisoned their chickens and demanding compensation. I didn't even understand what was going on, and they've already cursed me inside and out. What did I do to deserve this?"

"If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not leaving."

Qin Dongmei's face immediately turned pale: "Pah, what kind of explanation do you have? If you hadn't been luring my chickens to your house to lay eggs every day, how would I have suspected you?"

Neither of them would back down verbally, harping on the same old story, and they started arguing again.

……

"Ah Ling, what's going on inside?"

Wang Susu walked over, glanced curiously into the courtyard, and asked in a low voice.

"This woman's house was infested with weasels, which killed all her chickens. She thought it was Aunt Wang from the backyard who did it..."

Chen Ling briefly explained the situation, then glanced at the sky and noticed that the rain had stopped, so he put his umbrella away.

"Let's go home and have dinner. There's nothing to see here."

"Ah."

Wang Susu wasn't a meddlesome person either, so the two turned around and went home.

After a while, the two of them ate breakfast at the stone table in the courtyard, and the noise outside gradually subsided.

After a while, Wang Laishun pushed open the door and came in.

"Wow, goodness, no wonder it smells so good, eating meat first thing in the morning."

"Haha, there's a lot of rain in spring, and the dried bamboo shoots from before the New Year are getting a bit damp. They'll get moldy if we don't eat them soon, so I'll just stir-fry some meat with them."

Chen Ling smiled and handed over a bamboo chair. "Fifth Uncle, have you eaten? Sit down and have some with us."

"No, I've been eating early these past few days, I've already eaten."

Wang Laishun waved his hand and sat down.

Chen Ling then noticed that he was still carrying two chickens, which he had been carrying in his hands and on his back, but now he had placed them at his feet after sitting down.

Chen Ling glanced at it and asked, "Did you get this chicken from across the street?"

"What do you mean, 'took'? 'bought'!"

“That woman from Chun Yuan’s family is very unreasonable. She and her second sister-in-law are arguing more and more fiercely, and no one can stop them.”

"She always looks down on this person and that person. Since she's so capable, she's managed to summon the Weasel spirit. Why is she blaming others? Look at her, she's clinging to her second sister-in-law."

"Isn't it just that you're upset about all the chickens in that yard?"

"But for Director Qin's sake, I can't say anything, so I took the lead and bought two for her. Yuqiang from the front yard also bought two. I'm too lazy to care about the rest. Let her do whatever she wants."

Wang Laishun rolled a cigarette and started puffing away.

"Fifth Uncle, this chicken has been bitten by the Weasel spirit, is it still edible?"

Wang Susu couldn't help but ask.

"What's wrong with eating this? I've even eaten rats during famines."

Wang Laishun grinned, completely unconcerned.

Chen Ling was a little stunned at this moment, because he noticed that ever since Wang Laishun brought two chickens into the house, the two little guys, Heiwa and Xiaojin, had stopped sniffing around when strangers came to visit, as they used to. Instead, they kept their distance, and when they noticed him looking at them, they would shrank back into the house.

These unusual behaviors made Chen Ling increasingly suspicious. He wondered what was wrong with these two little ones? Why were they acting like they had a guilty conscience?
The moment the thought crossed Chen Ling's mind, his eyes widened.

Damn, could they have killed the chickens across the street?

The two little ones are so young. Although they are exceptionally intelligent and might hold grudges, it's hard to say they'll bite a chicken to death.
Chen Ling still didn't quite believe it.

A dog this small wouldn't dare mess with the village chickens. It'd be lucky if it wasn't chased away.

It couldn't have been them.

Chen Ling shook his head inwardly, because this was too surreal.

But then she remembered what Qin Dongmei had said about the two puppies sneaking into her chicken coop, and a wave of doubt washed over her.

"Fugui, Fugui, what's wrong with you, you're having a fit of hysteria?"

"Hmm? What's wrong, Fifth Uncle?"

“These past few days, the village has been redividing farmland, and it’s almost finished. People from the township are coming to take a look today. I heard from my eldest brother that you’re a good cook, so I was thinking of having you help me prepare a table of food and drinks.”

As Wang Laishun spoke, he gestured with his chin toward the two chickens on the ground: "If it's alright, you can keep one chicken and use the other to cook for the township leaders."

"This……"

"I'm really sorry, Fifth Uncle, I really have something to do today."

Chen Ling was speechless, not expecting Wang Jusheng to expose him so quickly.

This time it was his father, the village chief, who came. Does that mean he'll have to be the cook for all the weddings and funerals in the village from now on?

So he said with difficulty, "Isn't it market day in the village today? I need to go and buy some things, and if it's suitable, I'll also buy a livestock."

"If you come back early tonight, I can go over and cook a meal for you, but I'm afraid you won't be able to wait..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Laishun sighed: "It really won't work. Coming back early won't work either. The leaders come at noon, have a drink, and leave in the afternoon. They can't wait until evening."

"The eldest brother keeps saying how delicious your cooking is. He also told me that you came up with some great slogans for Director Qin yesterday."

"That's why I was thinking of letting you get some exposure in front of the leaders..."

Chen Ling suddenly realized, and said with a bit of a wry smile, "Fifth Uncle, don't listen to Jusheng's nonsense. With my mediocre skills, how could I dare to show off in front of the leaders? I'm most afraid of seeing the leaders."

"You're much better than before, but you're still lazy at heart!"

Wang Laishun pointed at him, picked up a chicken, and turned to walk out.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling hurriedly called out from behind, "Hey, Fifth Uncle, there's still one left!"

"You two keep it and eat it, don't take it out..."

"You bring me vegetables every few days, can't I give you an old hen in return?"

Wang Laishun waved his hand and strode away.

Chen Ling immediately laughed: "This old man is much better than his wife."

Afterwards, Chen Ling went back and gave Wang Susu a few instructions, then pushed his Phoenix brand bicycle out and headed towards the village to buy a livestock at the market.

These days, buying large livestock is no small matter. Usually, the whole family discusses it together, goes to pick one out, and only buys it when they find one they like.

However, given Chen Ling's family situation—he's an orphan—he can go on his own as long as Wang Susu has no objections.

The township above Chenwangzhuang is called Changle Township, which is very far from Chenwangzhuang. A trip to Changle Township is equivalent to three round trips to the county seat.

Today is market day in Changle Township.

In those days, market days were not only large-scale, but they also lasted all day, with vendors packing up and going home only after dark, making it a very lively event.

The market sells all sorts of things: food, clothes, toys, things that fly in the sky, run on the ground, swim in the water, and hop in the grass...

As Chen Ling rode his bike along the road, he carefully calculated that he hadn't been to a market in almost twenty years, and whenever he thought about it, he could only rely on his memories.

Although there were still market days in the countryside in later generations, they were not nearly as large as they were then, and they had long lost their original flavor.

In his previous life, when Chen Ling returned to his hometown, he made a special trip to the market several times, but each time he returned disappointed, unable to feel the atmosphere he remembered.

"Huh, it's finally here."

Chen Ling rode for more than 20 miles of mountain road and finally saw the iconic archway outside Changle Township, with the two big characters "Changle" written on it.

Behind the archway, long stalls lined both sides of the main street, bustling with people and stretching as far as the eye could see.

The sounds of hawking, shouting, and the cacophony of voices rushed towards me.

A long-lost feeling welled up in his heart, and those scenes buried deep in his memory immediately came to life, making Chen Ling's heart warm and revealing a big smile.

(End of this chapter)