My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 415 Thunder in the Cave Heaven
"Forget it, drinking dog milk is a waste of effort. If you take this kitten out before it's a month old and don't keep an eye on it, it'll definitely die if it doesn't get any milk."

Chen Ling shook his head, not wanting to waste his energy.

Kittens and puppies that are taken away before they are a month old are very likely to die because they cannot get milk from other cats and dogs.

Sometimes, even if they manage to survive for two or three months, they won't grow any bigger and will die.

Furthermore, if there are any cute kittens that need to be raised, Chen Ling has his own way of raising them, so there's no need to find dog milk to feed them.

However, Wang Jusheng is right. Cats do become increasingly fierce and wild if they are not guarded by people.

Over time, they become no different from stray cats.

"Hehe, actually I wanted to adopt one from you. I've never seen kittens born from a civet cat and a house cat before..."

Wang Jusheng rubbed his hands together, a hint of anticipation on his face, and said...

Compared to many people who like dogs, he actually prefers cats more.

"Haha, sure, that's easy to say. When they're a bit bigger, I'll block up the nest and bring two over for you."

If our own people want to raise two cats, that's a piece of cake.

"Okay, but this big cat is fierce, be careful not to get scratched."

"It's okay, don't worry, they can't hurt me."

"Brother Jusheng, you underestimate Fugui too much. He can fight leopards, why would he be afraid of this little cat?"

Everyone burst into laughter again when they caught Wang Jusheng.

By this time, all the apricots had been picked and loaded onto the truck. Wang Lixian said, "Fugui, there are too many birds in your orchard. Look at how many apricots have been pecked and damaged. It must fill several large baskets."

"You'd better think of a way to scare the birds away, or you could set up a net and catch them. If you catch enough of them, they won't dare to come here."

This is the season when bird numbers are at their highest. Many birds, such as the most common bulbuls and magpies, particularly enjoy damaging sweet and juicy fruits.

When Chen Ling and his friends were young, they caught white-headed bulbuls, which were kept in bamboo cages and fed peaches, grapes, and persimmons. They were able to thrive, and even spoiled fruit was eaten with great relish.

If left unattended in the wild, they can be just as destructive as magpies.

Wang Lixian felt that since Chen Ling's apricots were being transported to the city for sale, those several large baskets of apricots were not a small amount of money.

Chen Ling smiled upon hearing this: "Yes, we do need to set up the net. We were just saying we'd build a small water tower under the western cliff tomorrow. We can build it slowly while we're netting birds, so we can do both without any problems."

He claimed he was catching birds, but actually he wanted to catch a few more wild pigeons, take them home, train them, and raise a new batch.

Otherwise, there are only a few of them, and they pair up and reproduce. One generation is fine, but if there are more, they will all be inbreeds.

We need to provide them with some fresh blood.

"Hey, by the way, Fugui, aren't your hawks pretty powerful? It's so cool to use them to scare away birds," Wang Jusheng said.

Before Chen Ling could answer, Wang Lixian immediately said, "That won't work. Although hawks are said to be good at fighting birds, there are so many birds in the rich family's orchard that even the most powerful hawk can't protect them all."

"...Not to mention magpies and crows, which are very fierce. They are not afraid of a flock of eagles, and hawks will not fare well against them."

The hawk, scientifically known as the sparrowhawk, is a bird-eating predator.

Many birds have an ingrained fear of hawks, their natural enemy.

As soon as they see a hawk flying overhead, they immediately become terrified. Some timid birds are even so frightened that they forget how to fly, chattering and flying wildly through the forest. Sometimes, in their terror, they crash headfirst into a tree and die.

However, where there are timid people, there are also bold people.

Besides the common magpies and crows, there are also many birds that dare to go head-to-head with hawks.

Even though Chen Ling's second bald son is much more powerful than ordinary kites.

That's no match for such a large flock of birds.

At dawn and dusk, they fly and land, numbering in the tens of thousands; it's impossible to manage them all.

"What Brother Xian said is true. For a while, my bald-headed son caught birds every day and hung them all over the trees, which scared the birds away. But after only a few days, he was back to his old ways. There were too many birds, and the bald-headed son couldn't do anything about it."

Chen Ling nodded, and seeing everyone covered in sweat after finishing their work, he said, "Brother Xian, Brother Jusheng, take everyone to wash up and cool off before we get ready for lunch. I can clean up here myself."

"No need, we'll go to the spring on the west side to wash. We can wash our faces and drink water there, it's great!"

Now that the mountain water is plentiful, when it gets hot in the summer, I can just pick up a ladle, scoop a ladleful of water from the water tank, and drink it down in one gulp. It's the same when I'm outside; when I see clear flowing water, I bend down, scoop it up, and drink it—it's cool and refreshing.

Seeing this, Chen Ling put away the bamboo basket and the large scale, and then called the driver of the transport truck over so that they could have lunch together at the farm later.

Lunch was a lively affair with many people, but the farm was cool, so even in the summer, you wouldn't feel hot while eating a hot meal.

So the women and men were willing to stay a little longer, chatting and joking around, talking about nothing new, nothing more than Wu Song fighting the tiger. But even though the conversation wasn't new, the atmosphere was very lively. They would tease Chen Ling and his wife one minute, and then go and play with Rui Rui the next.

In their own words, this year has been particularly hopeful; they are happy every day, full of energy, and have no worries.

Now that the wheat fields have been irrigated, everyone is looking forward to the Dragon Boat Festival and the dragon boat races.

These young people are still at an age where they shouldn't be so carefree.

He didn't worry much about the busy farming season. Some people even asked Chen Ling if he needed help repairing the water tower. He replied that he just needed meals.

Chen Ling said it was just a small water tower, easy to set up, and politely declined.

After everyone left that afternoon, he drove his tractor and hauled back the unused bluestone at the village entrance, planning to start construction the next day.

This is a small matter that doesn't really require too many people to help. Just ask Wang Lixian for advice on how to build it.

After pulling the blue stone back, Chen Ling wanted to go for another walk in the mountains. The two Yangtze alligators had been released into the mountain lake, but there had been no movement since.

It's as if they've vanished without a trace.

Even if you let a dog sniff around, it's difficult to find it across the vast lake.

However, just as he reached the top of the mountain, he suddenly remembered that he had left a jackal behind in the cave.

So, with a thought, he entered the cave.

The grotto now has a sun and a moon, with sunrise and sunset, day and night, and distinct seasons.

It's no longer the same as it used to be, with spring-like weather all year round.

Furthermore, the seasons change in sync with the external environment.

Therefore, we entered the grotto, which was also in summer.

At this moment, a torrential downpour began inside the cave, and the sky turned dark.

As soon as Chen Ling entered, he was soaked to the bone.

"Wow, if it weren't for this impromptu idea, I wouldn't have seen this amazing sight. This thunderstorm is even more spectacular than the ones outside..." Chen Ling thought to himself, and the rainwater on his body automatically evaporated.

Looking at the sky filled with lightning and thunder, the bright lightning spread across the sky like a spider web, and the crackling thunder rang in my ears.

I don't know if it's because the inside of the cave is too small compared to the outside world.

It was only after Chen Ling, the master of the cave, entered that his senses were greatly enhanced.

Or perhaps it was both. Chen Ling took in the lightning and thunder that filled most of the sky.

Golden, bright silver, shimmering white with a hint of purple...

Lightning flashed across the sky like dragons and phoenixes dancing, like strokes of a brush, weaving and flashing through the rain.

It was more beautiful and spectacular than a grand fireworks display.

Chen Ling was momentarily mesmerized by it.

I only regret that I don't have a good camera to capture this amazing sight.

until……

"Boom——"

"Crack-"

After the thunder, a silvery-white bolt of lightning struck straight down from afar.

It was split open in a tall, dense forest.

Suddenly, a fire broke out in the heavy rain, startling the birds and small animals hiding in the forest.

As the master of the cave, Chen Ling also heard the low, hoarse cry of the leopard with the broken tail on Leopard Mountain, as well as the whimpering of the jackal.

But now he doesn't even have time to go see it.

With a swift movement, he arrived at the spot where the lightning had struck.

Before us stood a massive tree, as thick as four or five people could hug, split in two by lightning. A small portion of the tree lay askew on the ground, revealing a slightly pinkish trunk, while the other half was ablaze. Flames flickered and danced in the wind and rain, stubbornly burning until the trunk was charred black...

The scene left Chen Ling speechless: "My goodness, this is a piece of lightning-struck wood! I've seen plenty of lightning-struck wood before, but this is the first time I've witnessed it live in the entire scene."

Looking again, what kind of tree was that? It wasn't a peach tree, nor a jujube tree...

It still struck the unknown tree species that already existed in the cave.

Chen Ling reached out and pressed it; the wood was indeed very hard and dense. "It's a good thing. When there's a thunderstorm in a while, I'll take it out and make some kind of amulet for Su Su and the child to wear."

"This trip was definitely the right one."

Chen Ling noticed that the lightning on the big tree was gradually extinguishing in the rain, so he waved his hand and moved it to the front of the thatched hut, placing it diagonally under the eaves.

It was rare for rain to fall in the cave, and he couldn't bear to let it stop.

Then he clapped his hands and darted to where the jackal was.

It didn't go too far, but near the large lake formed from several former ponds, it made a thick grassy nest under a lush grapevine. The grapevines grew abundantly here, with each vine growing naturally like a banyan tree, climbing everywhere in a complex and intricate manner, resembling a natural grape trellis.

Moreover, the grape leaves are closely spaced, providing excellent rain protection.

The jackal hid among the tangled grapevines beneath the grape roots, gathering grass leaves and bird feathers to make a nest.

Although jackals have similar habits to hyenas, they are not as capable as hyenas; they do not dig their own burrows.

They only collect the caves and burrows left behind by others, and then simply expand them themselves.

At this moment, the jackal noticed Chen Ling approaching. It immediately crouched down, its rear end slightly raised to gather strength, and then let out a "woof" as it looked up, its eyes gleaming, and suddenly burst out from the gap in the grape roots.

Despite the small gap and short distance, the jackal managed to leap more than half a meter off the ground and viciously bite at Chen Ling's throat.

The moment they met, their true nature as jackals was revealed.

Fierce, audacious, and cruel.

In one-on-one situations, I don't hesitate to go all out from the start.

Unfortunately, this is inside the Sun and Moon Cave.

This is Chen Ling's home turf.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the red-furred creature, resembling both a fox and a dog, floated in mid-air, unable to move.

All that remained were a pair of yellowish-green eyes, which, though filled with terror, still glared fiercely at Chen Ling, as if waiting for the right opportunity to deliver a fatal blow.

"You're really fierce. From now on, you'd better stay here quietly. I'll catch you a few more jackals in the mountains sometime to keep you company, and I'll set aside a jackal sanctuary for you..."

Jackals are much easier to catch than leopards, and Chen Ling even wants to try whether jackals and domestic dogs can reproduce when he has time.

Can jackals and wolves reproduce?

It is said that Tiger Head Yellow has jackal genes, but he doesn't know if it's true. He was thinking of experimenting with it when he had some free time.

After releasing the jackal, Chen Ling went to check on the leopard with the broken tail. Seeing that it was in good condition, and having even built a leopard den for himself on Leopard Mountain, he left satisfied.

The thunder and rain continued in the cave, but outside the sky was clear and the afternoon sun became scorching.

Chen Ling kept the matter of the lightning-struck wood in mind.

Back at the farm after descending the mountain, I found the two bird nets and set them up along the outer edge of the orchard.

These two nets were newly bought from the city. The mesh is a bit larger, and each net is twenty meters wide when spread out horizontally. They are specifically designed to target large birds, such as wild pigeons and magpies. When they fly over in flocks, they can't break free once they hit the net, but small birds can fly away after hitting it.

It would be no problem for some small sparrows and swallows to slip away through the gaps.

Actually, the bird nets I bought before can still be used, because bird nets are durable and can withstand direct sunlight without aging quickly.

However, the mesh of the previous netting was too small, which could easily injure the birds.

It's one thing to hurt harmful birds, but Chen Ling still felt quite bad about hurting beneficial birds.

So we replaced two nets to catch wild pigeons, and we don't use the old ones much anymore.

After setting up the bird net, Chen Ling and his father-in-law cleaned up the weeds, leaves, wild vegetables, and other debris around the spring.

In preparation for building a small water tower tomorrow.

The father-in-law and son-in-law chatted as they worked.

Suddenly, the sound of a car engine and horn came from the farm, causing the farm dogs to bark wildly.

A flock of birds, large and small, that had been hiding in the wheat field, perched on ears of wheat and pecking at the grains, were startled and took flight.

With a loud crash, a large portion of it crashed directly onto the net.

Upon seeing this, several cars hurriedly stopped, and groups of men, women, and children got out and came to the bird net, watching the spectacle with great curiosity.

One short and stocky young man stood out the most. He jumped out of the car with a big red dog and started shouting.

“Well, Fugui, you still have two bird nets set up here. Come and see the birds caught in these nets. You should thank us properly. As soon as our car came, the birds that were eating crops in the wheat field flew around and all crashed into the nets.”

When Chen Ling and his son-in-law saw that it was the Shanmao family that had arrived.

They hurried over to greet him.

Before he could even say hello, the lynx's father grabbed Chen Ling's hand: "Little Chen, come quick and take a look. What kind of bird is this? It's so big and beautiful. It keeps flapping its wings. I'm afraid it will damage the net."

(End of this chapter)