My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 399 The Little Calf Peeks Out
"Yes, the water quail eggs are not bad, but today, let's make a braised old yellow quail to go with the wine. Since we have such good stuff, we can't waste it."

Upon hearing Chen Ling say this, Wang Jusheng knew that he must have agreed to go, so he laughed and said, "I knew it, I have to make something different for you before you'll agree to go."

"Alright, I'm going back now. I'll go to the old river bend and set a few more traps to see if I can catch a couple more turtles. They're laying eggs right now, so they're easier to catch than at other times. I'll also catch some fish and shrimp to have with my drinks tonight."

Wang Jusheng pushed his rickety bicycle out of the yard. Just as he was about to ride off, he turned back and reminded him, "Oh right, don't forget to call Dahai when you come back tonight."

Chen Ling quickly said she understood, waved to him, and watched him leave.

At this moment, Rui Rui, riding his walker, stood side by side with two big dogs outside the door, gazing at Wang Jusheng's departing figure.

Chen Ling glanced down at him and laughed, "Let's go back and get a couple of turtle traps to catch turtles. Let your mother stay here by herself for now."

Then I took him out of the walker, put the walker in the yard, and called out, "Susu, let's go back first and pick some apricots to take with us when we go to Jusheng's house for dinner tonight."

"I understand. You have high hopes for Rui Rui."

Chen Ling responded and, carrying her son, walked out while saying to the little one in her arms, "Let's go, Rui Rui, tell Mommy we're leaving."

Rui Rui really enjoys doing these playful things. As soon as Chen Ling mentioned it, he chuckled, tilted his head, and shouted loudly, "Mommy, um, let's go."

With its indistinct, babyish voice, it was absolutely adorable.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling praised him, and he excitedly shouted halfway through.

The father and son, along with their two large dogs, played their way back to the farm.

Chen Ling put his son down next to the straw mat on the sand pile and let him play with Gao Xiulan first. He then took two whisker baskets from the backyard and prepared to go down to the stream.

The cages used to catch turtles are specially made and are much larger than those used to catch fish.

The wicker basket, woven from willow twigs or bamboo strips, is shaped somewhat like a large-bellied wine bottle or a sawn-off gourd with a narrow neck. It has a funnel-shaped wicker basket head with sharpened bamboo strips inserted inside, which are the wicker basket's wicker tassels.

Once the turtle goes inside, it gets trapped by these "upside-down whiskers" and can't escape at all.

The two whisker baskets that Chen Ling was holding were not made by him; they were made by Wang Zhenzhen and Liu Nier when they were playing outside.

When it comes to playing, the little kids are just as skilled as the adults.

However, a cage with whiskers is still not acceptable.

The bait used to lure the turtle into the trap also needs to be carefully prepared.

Turtle is slippery. Although it's easy to catch them during their egg-laying season, you still need to put some thought into the bait if you want to catch them every time.

They usually catch frogs or toads, kill them on the spot, and stuff them into a cage.

That's the only way to lure the old turtle over.

In other words, if you want to set a trap to catch turtles, you need to catch frogs first.

Of course.

Catching or fishing for frogs is easy this season.

Outside the farm, especially, frogs and toads hop around in the grass every day, big and small, and they're easy to catch.

You can go fishing specifically for that.

This thing is practically blind; it can only see moving things. Just tie a grasshopper to a piece of cotton thread and wave it around by the puddle, and you'll lure the frog out. Then, use a net to catch it; it's easy to catch.

There are so many frogs outside the farm that you don't even need to fish.

Chen Ling often finds a rock to sit on in the orchard or a spot to squat by the irrigation ditch.

If he remained still, within a minute or two, frogs would hop and jump to his feet.

He bent down and grabbed as many as he wanted.

"Dad~"

As soon as Rui Rui saw Chen Ling carrying two large whisker baskets and about to leave, he immediately perked up, turned his little head, and tried to crawl over.

Seeing this, Gao Xiulan pulled the child back and said helplessly, "This little thing, it has to interfere with everything it sees? If you want to play, then play properly here."

“That’s right, it’s really hard to get him to behave.” Chen Ling laughed when he saw this, walked over, hoisted him onto his shoulder, and slapped him twice on the bottom.

The little thing didn't feel any pain at all, and kept struggling, waving its limbs on his shoulder with giggles.

"Lingzi, your father told me that a spring has appeared in the mountains to the west of us, and water is flowing out of the mountain wall. Do you think it was caused by those two earthen dragons that you carried into the mountains?"

While Gao Xiulan was washing clothes, she suddenly asked about this matter and even brought up the spring in the west as being related to the earth dragon.

Hearing this, Chen Ling smiled helplessly and said, "Mother, those earth dragons aren't mountain-penetrating dragons or dragons that fly in the sky. To put it bluntly, they're just two strange fish with long scales. How could they have such great abilities? How could they carve mountains and open springs?"

"Oh, really? I heard that earth dragons are really good at digging holes in the ground..." the old lady said, still looking a little confused.

"It's not the same thing. Don't listen to the nonsense those people in the village are talking about."

Chen Ling didn't know how to explain it to his mother-in-law. The old lady was not literate, and even if he told her about Yangtze alligator and crocodile, she definitely wouldn't understand.

He put his son down and prepared to go out to release the whisker cage.

As a result, the little guy wouldn't have it. As soon as he was put down, he hugged Chen Ling's neck, tucked his little legs in, and refused to get down.

Seeing this, Chen Ling slapped him twice on the bottom: "You brat, you don't want to stay with Grandma again? Fine, then come out with Dad to catch frogs. You'd better behave."

He then called over Heiwa and Xiaojin, two expert babysitters, along with a large leather cradle, and headed outside with the baby carrier.

Once outside in the orchard, I quickly caught four or five frogs, found a sharp-edged stone, gutted them, and threw them into the tassel traps. Then I went to the stream to set the traps.

After setting out the stags, we went to the apricot grove in the orchard to pick ripe apricots.

Whenever it required physical action, Chen Ling would put Rui Rui on Heiwa's back, letting this burly, bull-like creature carry him.

The little creature rode on the dog's back, watching Chen Ling catch frogs, set up cages, and pick apricots with great interest.

That was incredibly well-behaved, more obedient than ever before.

Wang Cunye drove over a large herd of cattle and sheep. When he saw his eldest grandson's posture, he laughed and teased him: "Rui Rui, riding a dog will make your crotch rot. Your father made you ride a dog since you were little. When you grow up, don't expect to have any good pants to wear. Your crotch will be rotten every day."

Although Rui Rui can now speak a few words, she can't understand what the old man means. She just sits on Heiwa's broad back, holding Heiwa's ear with one hand and reaching for the sheep whip in the old man's hand with the other.

"What do you want? A whip? This whip is too big, you can't hold it. Grandpa will make you a small whip to play with another day."

Wang Cunye smiled indulgently and handed the whip to his grandson so he could play with it.

Then, while saying to Chen Ling, "What are you doing now? Picking them and sending them to the city?"

"Okay, send two baskets to the city. Before they ripen in large quantities, let's have some tasted ourselves first."

Chen Ling agreed, tilting his head back to continue searching for ripe apricots. Little Lamb was driving to the city tonight; he wanted to pick two baskets for him to take with him.

I'll have some for myself and also send some to relatives and friends.

After all, our own park has officially opened this year.

"That's true. Send some to your friends in the city too. They never come empty-handed, so let them have a taste."

"I know, but there's no need to send them any. Once the park officially opens, we can just call them and invite them to come and eat."

Chen Lingchong's father-in-law smiled.

Then it took more than an hour to pick three large baskets full of apricots.

After picking the lambs, they hitched up the oxcart, took their son, and the father and son drove the oxcart to deliver two baskets of lambs to the village.

The remaining basket was distributed to Wang Lixian and Wang Jusheng, and the entire basket was then divided up.

Of course, they didn't forget to keep some for themselves, but not many, only twenty or thirty.

They live right next to the orchard; they can just pick the fruit they want.

It's late spring and early summer now, and the days are getting longer. Chen Ling has been busy for most of the afternoon, and it's still not dark yet.

He carried his son and drove the oxcart to Wang Jusheng's house to deliver the apricots; that was his last trip.

At this moment, Wang Jusheng was setting up a nail board in the yard to kill eels. After stunning the eels, he hung them on the nails of the nail board, gutted them, and then scraped along the wooden board with a knife, removing the bones and internal organs with a crunching sound. A group of children, including his son Dandan and Datou, watched with great interest.

As soon as they saw the father and son arriving in their oxcart, the children all rushed over, shouting "Uncle Fugui!" and vying to hug Rui Rui.

"Come on, everyone, have some apricots."

"Hey, Fugui, why is it just you and your son? Why didn't you call Susu over too?"

"I brought you apricots first. The apricots in the orchard are starting to ripen. I'll call her when I get back later."

"No need for you to go back now that you're here. Just have your sister-in-law call Susu. You should come over and help with the cooking."

Wang Jusheng chuckled. He had been counting on Chen Ling to cook, and now everything was taken care of, including the old turtle and the old quail.

Now it's just fish and shrimp.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you, sister-in-law. Dahai is still setting up power lines on the mountain. I told him I'd come over tonight."

"Hey, no trouble at all. Sit down. Your brother Jusheng has been talking about you for ages, just waiting for you to cook."

After exchanging a few jokes, Chen Ling turned his attention to the two plucked old yellow quails in the basin next to him, which looked about the same size as two half-grown roosters.

"Damn it, I haven't seen this old yellow quail in years. I ate it when I was a kid and thought it was pretty big. But now that I see it, it's not much bigger than the wild quail I usually see. There's not much meat. Let alone the three of us grown men, even a three-year-old like Da Tou could finish this whole thing."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jusheng shook his head and said, "You're wrong about that. I weighed these two after I caught them. The smaller one is a little over seven ounces, less than eight ounces, and the larger one is a little over a pound. You can calculate how many wild quails this is worth."

Wild quails are smaller than domesticated ones, weighing only a little over one ounce, while the largest male quails weigh no more than two ounces.

The old yellow quail is simply a type of yellow-feathered quail. Some have yellow and white feathers, which are very beautiful. The ratio of its toes to its body is larger than that of ordinary quails, and its size is several times larger, almost the same as that of a spotted dove.

Ordinary quails are only slightly larger than sparrows, and a quail that is the size of three sparrows is considered large.

"So, these two old yellow quails are just as good as killing a young rooster." Chen Ling picked them up and examined them. They were indeed quite good; the meat looked fresh and tender.

"It's definitely not bad, but you and Dahai both have big appetites, so I know that if there aren't enough dishes, it won't be enough. That's why I also got some eel and crayfish. Hehe, we'll cook another pot of shrimp later, and that should be enough for us."

After hearing this, Chen Ling immediately gave a thumbs up.

Wang Jusheng prepared this specifically for Chen Ling, knowing that he was skilled at handling these river delicacies and wild game, and that the food tasted much better than ordinary dishes, making it a perfect accompaniment to alcohol.

So for dinner, we had spicy crayfish, braised eel, braised soft-shelled turtle, and stir-fried wild mushrooms with quail...

The remaining turtle eggs were made into steamed eggs for the three children in the family.

This is difficult to handle. If you steam it directly, the egg white will still be runny after cooking, unlike chicken or duck eggs where the egg white will solidify after cooking.

So I'll just make steamed eggs instead.

Around 7 or 8 p.m., Zhao Dahai arrived, covered in dust. After a quick wash, everyone started eating and drinking.

"Dandan, Datou, stop playing with those shrimp with Ruirui, come and eat."

The three little ones were sitting on the oxcart, with several crayfish fighting around, laughing and having a great time.

"I'll go and take them to wash their hands."

Wang Susu walked over, picked up her son, and took the other two little ones to wash their hands.

The men here had already started drinking. After downing a cup of wine, Wang Jusheng said, "Fugui, look, my Datou is three years old and still doesn't have a proper name. As his uncle, why don't you give him a name? I think the names you gave Ruirui are quite good, Jingrui and Dahai. Look at those, they sound cultured."

“That’s right. Fugui will give Datou a name. As for Jusheng and me, even though we have decent educations, we’re still pretty rough around the edges and can’t come up with good names.”

"Come on, I'm clueless when it comes to naming things. When my brother-in-law comes around, I'll ask him to help Da Tou come up with a name. He's good at that..."

With a child in the family, the conversation naturally turns to the child more at the dinner table, especially at family gatherings like today. Things like naming the child and when they'll start school are the topics of conversation, and once the wife and child are seated, these are the inevitable topics.

But halfway through the drinking session, an uninvited guest arrived.

It was Rui Rui who discovered this uninvited guest. The little thing was sitting on Wang Susu's lap, eating steamed egg with a small spoon, when it was suddenly attracted by the commotion outside the courtyard gate. It tilted its little head to look over, and its eyes lit up instantly.

"Dad~"

He quickly turned around and shouted something to Chen Ling.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Chen Ling looked at his son in confusion. The little guy was always up to something. He would only behave himself when there were other children around and he was playing with them. He wasn't so well-behaved when it was time to eat at home.

Zhang Qiaoling exclaimed with a smile, “Oh my, look how well Rui Rui calls me ‘Dad’! When did he learn to call me ‘Dad’? The last time he called me ‘Su Su’s Mom’ was only a few days ago.”

"Hmm, this kid is lovable. I like him, and Wenxia likes him too. Wenxia can't stop smiling whenever she sees him." Zhao Dahai looked at the little guy with a smile. "Rui Rui, come on, what do you want to eat? Uncle will get it for you."

The little guy's attention wasn't on this at all. He looked up and called Chen Ling "Dad" again, then pointed his chubby little hand towards the direction outside the courtyard gate.

Tell him to look over there.

The weather isn't cold now, and the moon is shining brightly, so everyone is eating and drinking in the courtyard.

Rui Rui pointed in that direction, and everyone looked over at the same time.

It turned out to be a half-grown yellow ox, peeking its head out and sneakily peering into the yard.

"Good heavens, whose cow has wandered out like this in the middle of the night?"

(End of this chapter)