My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 383 Earth Dragon
The late spring sunshine is a bit restless, but it's mostly warm, far from the scorching heat of summer.

Although the flowers and plants in the orchard are protected from the ravages of tourists, they cannot escape the harm caused by domestic poultry and livestock, as well as various wild birds.

Fortunately, thanks to the virtuous cycle of the spiritual water and the small ecosystem, new plants sprout one after another, with various flowers and plants taking turns to bloom, giving the orchard a new set of colorful clothes every now and then.

The same is true for the fish, shrimp, and crabs in the irrigation ditch. Although people catch them every day, their numbers have not decreased much. This is true for fish, and even more so for tadpoles.

The excellent environment attracted waves of frogs and toads to lay their eggs here, and they couldn't be driven away. The tadpoles in the irrigation ditch were always in large numbers, floating in a layer all day long. Some of them had even grown hind legs, which attracted many children from the city to catch them.

At first, the ducks at home didn't dare to go near the irrigation ditch because there were too many tourists. But recently they've gotten used to it and become much bolder, swimming around in the ditch every day to catch tadpoles to eat.

Even so, there is no sign of a decrease.

So, when the tourists had dispersed at dawn and dusk, and Chen Ling had nothing to do, he would take Zhou Weijun and Yu Qi'an's crew to catch tadpoles to feed the chickens.

Don't worry about the ducks, the main thing is the chickens.

Yu Qi'an and the others, especially the young actresses, really enjoyed doing this job. It was fun and they could feed the chickens at the same time. The key was that they fed the brooding hens so that the hens could help them incubate the eggs.

When Chen Ling told them that feeding the hens more insects would help the bird eggs hatch faster, they were all very motivated and felt a great sense of accomplishment.

Of course, this was just Chen Ling talking nonsense.

It's just that most bird eggs hatch quickly, in as little as ten days. These people live in the city and don't know these things, so they are easy to fool.

Seeing the birds hatch one after another, they thought they had really sped up the hatching process by catching tadpoles and feeding the chickens. They felt a great sense of accomplishment and became more and more enthusiastic.

Whenever I have free time, I catch insects and tadpoles to feed the chickens and baby birds.

They had already stayed for seven or eight days longer than planned after filming, and they had had enough fun, so it was time for them to leave.

But seeing that the chicks were still so small after hatching, and that they couldn't take them with them, the two actresses felt particularly reluctant to part with them.

In addition, I just experienced the sense of accomplishment and joy of raising a cute little pet.

I was thinking of staying a little longer, until I was a bit older and could take them with me before leaving.

But since they weren't leaving, the rest of the crew had to leave. They had follow-up work to do after filming, so Yu Qi'an and the other two couldn't wait to leave as well.

He wanted to take his birds back as soon as possible to test the market, and he also had to transport away two white-furted livestock, in addition to the large number of birds he had caught.

It's more convenient to travel with the main group.

After Yu Qi'an and the others left, the two actresses had no acquaintances left. Every day, besides feeding the birds, they would beg the village children to take them to the mountains to pick wild fruits.

This sparked another wave of enthusiasm for hiking.

Even Chen Ling's orchard has become much quieter here.

However, he didn't care about these things. After having children, his patience increased, and his mentality was also improved by his little rascal. He could live a lively life as well as a peaceful one.

Whether it's salty or bland, he enjoys it all.

Furthermore, in the past few days, Little White Ox and Little Green Horse have made quite a bit of money selling tickets. Especially after Little White Ox's reputation as a divine ox spread, the income from the ten yuan per person per day just from taking photos is terrifying.

Let it be quiet for now; it's time for them to rest and have a few days of peace.

"Dad, Mom, you've been busy for almost a month. You should take a couple of days off. We don't need to rush to make money."

“Ah Ling is good at making money, didn’t you see? In just a few days, our family has added another 20,000 yuan in income. If it weren’t for the Labor Day holiday being over soon and many people going home, it would definitely be more than 20,000 yuan.”

Today the farm was unusually quiet, with few people coming. Wang Susu didn't want her parents to spend all day tending the stove, busy with smoke and fire.

"Okay, let's take a break. Let's spend some time with our grandson."

The elderly couple happily took off their aprons, wiped their hands, and went to Chen Ling's side to hug Rui Rui.

Chen Ling picked two buckets of wild fruit and led the little white calf and little blue horse into the farm to improve their diet and reward them.

Rui Rui sat on the dog-shaped cradle of Heiwa, playing while watching the two large animals eat.

When his grandparents came to hold him, he ignored them, gently twisting his little body to the side to avoid them. He continued to crane his neck, watching intently as the horses and cows buried their heads in the buckets and ate heartily. Seeing how engrossed he was, the two elders stopped trying to hold him.

I moved two small stools over to sit with the little one, and chatted idly with Chen Ling and his wife.

"Your mother and I haven't calculated the money we've earned these days, but it must be a lot. Why don't you help us save it together tomorrow?"

“Okay, I’ll take you to deposit it. Let’s go as soon as possible. Lately, everyone in the village has been making a lot of money, so there will definitely be a lot of people depositing money.”

"Yes, yes, everyone has really made a lot of money lately. There are people selling eggs, selling food, selling incense and paper money, providing food and lodging, acting as guides for people going into the mountains, and leading people to pick wild fruits in the mountains. They may look inconspicuous, but they are all making a fortune in silence."

"Yes, after finishing all that, he still doesn't forget to grind fish feed when he gets home. That guy, he grabs any job that can make money, he wants to have it all in his own hands."

Speaking of the situation in the village, the phrase "bustling with activity" is not enough to describe it. Everyone is as energetic as if they've been injected with chicken blood, full of enthusiasm.

For example, taking those young people to the mountains to pick wild fruits can earn them dozens of yuan a day. This is not just from taking people into the mountains, but also from providing them with food, lodging, and other necessities.

It's not much trouble at all, much easier than farming, and the villagers are all eager to do it.

Now, with only a little bit of the May Day holiday left, many people are rushing back home. Otherwise, just based on this alone, not to mention the money earned from selling miscellaneous items, it would be better than working in other places.

"Ah Ling, do you think this place will still be this lively on the 5th of May, when we celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival?"

Wang Susu asked, as she also wanted her parents to earn more money.

"It will definitely be lively, just like this month. Whether many people from other places in big cities will come is hard to say."

Chen Ling shook his head; these people were attracted by the old turtle.

After this year's events spread, I heard that the provincial and municipal TV stations rebroadcast last year's interview footage multiple times. In addition, the incident had been brewing in the vicinity for some time before the rebroadcast, which is why it attracted so many tourists.

However, the inherent weaknesses of the local area are too obvious.

The mountain roads are rugged and transportation is inconvenient, so don't be fooled by the fact that Chen Ling and his group seem to have an easy time making a trip to the city.

Actually, it's because they know the roads well and know where to detour to get onto the highway.

If it were a complete stranger who had never been here before, it would be very easy for them to get lost.

This is perfectly normal. Even ten or twenty years from now, with navigation systems, people will still get lost, let alone now.

Getting lost not only delays your trip, but it's also dangerous.

Leaving aside wild animals and roadblocks, even without these things, if you get lost somewhere in the middle of nowhere and have to spend the night in the wilderness, it's not a pleasant experience.

If you come with a relaxed mindset and then encounter something like this, it's no wonder you'll have a bad experience and leave a bad impression.

Therefore, Chen Ling is well aware that although the village looks prosperous now, it is definitely not feasible to rely on tourism in the short term in this day and age. They are located in a remote area, and their basic conditions in various aspects are not yet perfect, so it is not feasible to develop tourism.

Just like he told Zhao Dahai, this wasn't his business; he just needed to manage his own affairs.

Chen Ling has always been low-key and self-aware.

However, some things were beyond his control.

The day after they discussed this matter, another problem arose at the reservoir. When Zhao Dahai and his team were planting utility poles, they unearthed a monster's lair.

Chen Ling originally planned to explore it on his own after the tourists had left.

If you discover any strange creatures, you can capture them and raise them in the cave to improve their living conditions.

Unexpectedly, this matter, which he had kept hidden in his heart and never told anyone, would be exposed to the public in this way.

The tourists who hadn't left yet also immediately erupted in a commotion.

They didn't see the turtle king, but they actually encountered a water monster. Especially after hearing some of the village elders say that it seemed to be some kind of earth dragon, this guy had the word "dragon" in his name, so they couldn't miss it no matter what.

(End of this chapter)