My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 373 Letting Dogs Act on Television

That miasma valley is quite mysterious.

It's harmful to people and animals, but it doesn't affect plants much. The flowers, grasses, and trees in the valley are thriving and incredibly lush.

"Those professors you mentioned last year, did they come up with anything?"

"No."

Chen Ling shook his head: "When I went to the city last time, I specifically asked my brother. He said that Professor Han and his team plan to come back in the summer to check on the miasma in the valley during the hot season."

"What's wrong, Lao Ma? You're interested in this too?"

Chen Ling smiled, raised an eyebrow, and asked.

"No, no, what interest would I have? You said there's miasma there, and people will get poisoned if they go. I'd be stupid to get involved in that. Let whoever wants to go go."

Ma Wei pursed his lips, then chuckled, and leaned close to Chen Ling to whisper about what he had seen and heard in the past few days.

After listening, Chen Ling asked in surprise, "So, according to you, we really do have some treasures here."

Yu Qi'an rolled his eyes: "Of course. Your reservoir has produced auspicious omens, so it's not surprising that it might produce some other treasures. Take Old Ma for example, isn't he still eyeing your bed?"

"Go away, go play with your bird, you're just making fun of me."

Ma Wei waved at him dismissively, which made everyone laugh.

After laughing, Zhou Weijun smacked his lips and said, "Your Party Secretary really had foresight. It's better to hide those stone tools and farm implements. Let Old Ma see, your Earth God Temple's incense burner is quite a good thing."

Wang Jusheng was dumbfounded and said they were a pack of hungry wolves who coveted everything.

Everyone laughed again.

It was obviously a joke. The main reason was that the turtle incident was a big deal, widely spread, and attracted many people. With so many people going into the mountains today, Ma Wei and the others wanted to remind the villagers to hide their valuables properly, instead of just leaving them outside their homes.

Some old objects are not valued in the village and are left casually in front of and behind houses, in pigsties and livestock sheds. They may be antiques, like the pile of stone tools in the threshing ground. Others can take them if they want.

"Okay, we understand. We'll inform the village. Since you're all here today, why don't you stay and have dinner with us tonight?"

As soon as Chen Ling mentioned dinner, Yu Qi'an perked up immediately: "Looks like we're in for a good meal tonight."

"Haha, I can't guarantee a good meal, but there's definitely good wine. I went to the market this morning and bought a bunch of beef offal. We'll have beef offal hot pot tonight, how about that?"

"That's great! With you saying that, Fugui, you'll definitely be cooking tonight. What are we worried about?"

Amidst laughter, Chen Ling led them to bring out the beef offal.

"Good heavens, there are so many! Did they slaughter a cow at the market? I see the cow's head and tail are also there."

"Yeah, they slaughtered a cow, it's all fresh, you can eat it right away, but the offal is different from beef, it still needs to be cleaned and processed."

"Oh my god, how am I supposed to wash all this stuff?"

"Both wheat flour and wood ash are fine."

Chen Ling responded and came out of the kitchen, having prepared everything.

Then the group rolled up their sleeves, filled their containers with water, and began washing themselves in twos and threes around a basin.

"Hey, what's that over there? Bullwhip? Keep it for me." Yu Qi'an was cleaning the offal, but he couldn't stay still. His eyes kept darting around, and soon he spotted something new.

"You wish! You're unmarried and you want to keep it all to yourself? You don't respect me, Jusheng, or Lao Ma at all."

Zhou Weijun glared and puffed out his cheeks.

Yu Qi'an retorted, "You've forgotten about Fugui, haven't you? You're here as a guest, aren't you going to leave some for the host? Fugui is married now."

Zhou Weijun shook his head and said, "Fugui doesn't need it. You've heard the villagers say that Fugui is as strong as an ox, why would he need to eat bull penis? If he did, he'd probably poke a hole in the ground."

Yu Qi'an and the other two burst into laughter. Chen Ling kicked him and laughed and scolded, "...You old Zhou, you with thick eyebrows and big eyes, you can even make up stories now."

A group of like-minded men got together, and the laughter was constant, making it quite lively.

"Wow, this bullwhip is quite big, it must weigh over ten pounds." Yu Qi'an couldn't stop thinking about the bullwhip. After cleaning the offal, he picked it up and examined it from all angles.

"Are you crazy, Qi'an? Where are you going to find a bullwhip weighing more than ten pounds? At most, you'd find five or six pounds. More than ten pounds would be like an elephant's whip."

After Ma Wei finished speaking, he noticed that the bullwhip was indeed quite large, so he asked Chen Ling how much it weighed. He estimated that if it were stewed with offal in a pot, it would be enough to feed eight or nine people.

"It weighs a little over three pounds, just over three pounds. The cattle here are small, and their penises usually weigh a little over one or two pounds. This penis is indeed considered large."

When Chen Ling bought it, only the bull penis was missing from the scale. Niu Laosan saw that he often bought beef, having bought a lot last winter and again this year, so he just charged him a little money and gave it to him as a half-sale, half-gift.

In other words, beef soup is currently sold by the bowl, which Niu Laosan doesn't care about. But in a few years, some people will specifically eat this, cutting off half a piece or half a pound or eight ounces and charging extra for it.

"Tsk, we're in luck. Three catties is enough for the rest of us. Stewing this stuff in a pot will make it a great accompaniment to alcohol."

The four of them were having a good time, following behind Chen Ling, busying themselves with preparing vegetables, peeling potatoes, and soaking vermicelli.

Chen Ling and the others waited for a while before rolling out some flatbreads to eat.

After doing all that, wash the bull penis twice more and soak it in seasoned water. Otherwise, this thing has a strong smell. If you do it well, it will definitely taste delicious. If you do it poorly, it will ruin a good soup and you won't be able to eat it at all.

A pot of meat is only fit to feed the dogs.

After a flurry of activity, steaks, offal, and bull penis were all put into the pot. Zhou Weijun and Ma Wei pulled the bellows to stoke the fire, while Yu Qi'an followed Chen Ling to get some chaff to exchange for food for his birds.

Wang Jusheng went back to the village to call his wife and children, and also called Wang Susu and the other two back.

Knowing that someone would be having dinner at her house that evening, and also knowing that Chen Ling was going to make beef offal hot pot for dinner, Wang Susu specially bought a large block of tofu and some bean sprouts when she came back. These two things cook quickly, so there's no rush to cook them after eating the meat.

When Zhang Qiaoling found out, she specially brought some fried dough sticks and vegetarian meatballs, both of which are delicious when soaked in beef broth.

Around 7 p.m., Wang Cunye brought his youngest daughter back, and Gao Xiulan finished tidying up the stall in the village. Everyone gathered at the farm.

The sounds of adults talking, children laughing and playing, and the aroma of meat wafting through the air echoed in the brightly lit farm.

On the dining table in the courtyard, Chen Ling also set out a jar of his own fine wine. After filling everyone's cups, they sat down and began to eat.

Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan also sat down at the table, their faces beaming with smiles. The old man chatted and laughed with Zhou Weijun and Yu Qi'an, while the old woman, Wang Susu, and Zhang Qiaoling looked after the children and talked about everyday matters.

Even when they saw Chen Ling take out a jar of expensive wine, they weren't reluctant at all. Putting aside the relationship between their son-in-law and these people, just the accommodation and food expenses for all the people they brought had already made them quite a bit of money.

Of course, making friends shouldn't be based solely on that; the two elders were just thinking about it in their hearts.

Actually, at first they were just worried that Chen Ling would be extravagant and misjudge people, but later they found that their son-in-law was a man of his own mind and had his own way of dealing with people. Take Sun Yanhong for example, she came to visit every few days, but they still didn't want to deal with her.

So at this point, they rarely interfered.

Halfway through the meal, the fragrant beef offal hot pot and tender beef steak, accompanied by fine wine, made the men extremely happy. Even Wang Cunye was in high spirits, his face flushed, his eyebrows dancing, and his voice rising several octaves.

By this time, the women and children had all eaten their fill, leaving the men to continue drinking and toasting. "Ah, this bull penis is so delicious, so fragrant and tender."

Yu Qi'an, that old fellow, not only loves to eat but also loves to drink. He has an enormous capacity for alcohol, and Wang Jusheng and Ma Wei are already flushed and can barely hold on, unable to eat anything anymore.

He and Zhou Weijun acted as if nothing had happened, praising loudly as they ate: "To be honest, I've never had such an authentic beef offal hot pot before. It's even more satisfying than eating beef."

Hearing this, Wang Jusheng didn't believe it at all: "You're just talking nonsense. With your family's financial situation, there's not even enough good beef for you to eat. Would you really let them let you eat this?"

"Hey, you don't know this, have you ever heard of Lao Bei Jing Baodu? It's all about tripe, lamb offal, beef offal, donkey offal, and so on. Besides, if we don't eat these, do you think we don't eat lamb penis, beef penis, or donkey penis? What don't we eat? Don't look down on us."

When Yu Qi'an said that, Zhou Weijun chimed in, "We've all eaten it, but the taste is nothing compared to this."

Yu Qi'an nodded vigorously, "That's right, this bull penis doesn't have any bad smell at all. Hmm, just one sniff and your nose is full of fragrance. It's really authentic."

He specifically used a bowl to pick out the ox penis from the soup bowl. One bite revealed its chewy yet tender texture. Dipping it in a garlic sauce made it even more enjoyable.

Seeing this, Chen Ling and his son-in-law couldn't help but chuckle. This old man really didn't discriminate against anything.

I'll have to give him a whole large intestine sashimi sometime.

At this time, it wasn't too late, and the dozen or so crew members who had been staying at the farm returned.

Today they brought the newly built boat and some necessary equipment to the mountain and placed them in the bamboo forest near the mountain lake.

The reason we didn't go there to work on things too early was because we were worried about them being stolen, and we needed to arrange for someone to guard the mountain. So we decided to do it when we got closer.

When they returned, Chen Ling and the others stopped talking and quickly invited them to sit down, even taking out a few wine glasses to pour them some wine.

"Stop fussing, stop fussing, Brother Fugui, we've already eaten."

The chubby director waved his hand repeatedly. He wasn't just being polite; the villagers had cooked a big pot of food for them, and some of them had even delivered it to the mountain. They had already eaten.

"It's alright. We've already eaten, so let's have a couple more drinks. My wine doesn't give you a headache. A couple of drinks will help you sleep well and won't affect your filming tomorrow."

Chen Ling pulled him to sit down, and then invited several men and women to sit down as well.

They were actually quite tempted by the aroma. The beef offal hot pot smelled delicious, and since they ate early, the smell suddenly made them hungry again.

Just then, Wang Susu and the others finished eating, and Wang Jusheng and Ma Wei could no longer drink. It was just right for them to sit down and continue drinking with Chen Ling and the others.

Today's stew is made with beef steak, offal, and bull penis all in one pot, along with a bunch of side dishes and flatbread. There's still plenty of stuff in the pot.

Wang Susu scooped up another bowl and offered it to them.

Seeing this, the actresses who didn't drink also stopped at the table. Instead, they filled their bowls with beef offal, soaked fried dough sticks and meatballs in it, and ate with their mouths full of oil, not caring about their image at all.

The fat director and the male actor weren't much better off. They hadn't properly eaten at Chen Ling's house since they arrived, and after tasting it today, they almost cried. They thought to themselves, "If I had known the food and drinks were this good, I would have paid more money to cover our meals too."

Unfortunately, it won't work; Chen Ling had already made that clear.

So the group cherished the opportunity even more and ate with great gusto. The fat director was sweating profusely and loosened his belt.

Yu Qi'an had to persuade him several times: "Don't just eat the food, drink some wine too."

They drank and chatted for a while, and the gathering didn't end until midnight.

……

Chen Ling also drank quite a bit. He had originally planned to work on raising the new batch of ornamental fish fry in the cave at night, but he got too excited last night and accidentally drank too much.

He knew how to sober up, but he couldn't bear the drowsiness, so he drank two cups of hot tea and went to bed.

When I woke up in the morning, thinking about the battle last night, I couldn't help but shake my head and smile bitterly. Damn it, that old bastard Yu Qi'an can really drink! Along with Iron Man Zhou Weijun and that fat director later, the three of them almost got him drunk.

But I'm genuinely happy.

Even that cunning and sly fat guy, who was mostly petty, stopped playing tricks. After getting drunk, he even said that Chen Ling had a good image and that the actresses in their crew often talked about him behind his back. He said that if Chen Ling wanted, he could play the male lead in the future without any problem.

Zhou Weijun was also drunk. He said that he might not be very willing to film Fugui, but if you were willing to film a TV series about Fugui's dog, he would definitely be a thousand times, ten thousand times willing.

Chen Ling was in high spirits at the time and said that was true, but as long as he was willing, he couldn't accept less than a penny of the pay.

The fat man patted his chest and assured him that he could rest assured and that he would definitely make one next year if there was an opportunity. He said that if there was no script, he would have Old Zhou write it, and if there was no payment, he would have Yu Qi'an and Old Ma pay him.

The group burst into laughter, leaving the actors with no chance to get a word in edgewise.

"Perform well, and you might actually have a chance to appear on TV in the future."

With his hands behind his back, Chen Ling inspected the fishpond and spoke to Heiwa and Xiaojin beside him.

These two guys were very clever. Upon hearing this, they straightened their chests, became proud and arrogant, and stood their tails upright like two flagpoles.

Chen Ling nodded in satisfaction. The two guys were very reassuring, but there was one thing: Xiao Jin was slow to go into heat, and he didn't know why.

Could it be that he drank too much spiritual water, then consumed spiritual dew, and also ate a lot of honey from the grotto, causing Xiao Jin to mature even later physiologically?

Logically, this shouldn't be the case. It's the same food as Heiwa's; if one has it, the other won't be left out either.

"Sigh, if this female dog isn't spayed, she still can't stop mating and giving birth..."

Chen Ling rubbed his chin. If it were a male dog, he would have no worries. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Unlike male dogs, female dogs must mate and have puppies when they are four or five years old. If they never reproduce, it's definitely not good.

If a woman does not give birth for an extended period, she is more likely to develop pyometra (uterine abscess).

It's called pyometra, but it's actually caused by prolonged infertility, which prevents the discharge of lochia from the uterus.

Like that Xiangxi Red Wolf, the lynx, is like that. It's over five years old this year, and if it doesn't give birth soon, it will be at risk of pyometra, which is a big hassle to treat.

So the lynx said that if Heiwa didn't like it, he would find another male Xiangxi red wolf to mate with. Waiting and choosing again might cause problems.

"Xiao Jin's condition is probably due to a later physiological maturation."

Chen Ling wasn't worried about his dogs getting sick. He was really looking forward to seeing Erhei and Xiaojin get pregnant, and he wondered if their offspring would surpass them in ability.

"Clap."

A small object fell from the tree, startling Chen Ling. He quickly turned around and saw a bird egg lying on the ground two or three meters to his right, the yolk already leaking out.

"Wow, the birds in the orchard have started incubating their eggs."

Just as I was marveling at this, another egg fell to the ground with a "plop".

The two dogs immediately raised their heads and barked loudly at the tree.

Chen Ling took a closer look and, lo and behold, a pair of bird claws were digging at the eggs from the nest among the dense foliage.

(End of this chapter)