My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 417 Unknown Creature in the Jar
Since the Zhao and Yubao families had heard about the old turtle and came ahead of time, they would definitely visit the reservoir once they arrived.

It is the beginning of summer.

The mountains are lush and green, and the scenery is beautiful.

Bathed in the afternoon sun, standing on the slope and looking into the distance, all I could see was lush greenery, with all the trees forming a dense canopy.

When the mountain breeze blows, the deep green in the distance and the light golden yellow nearby flow together like waves.

The wheat fields outside the village were turning a pale yellow, and the wheat rippled in the mountain breeze, creating a pastoral scene that was a refreshing sight for the elderly people who had been living in the city for a long time, filling them with joy.

When they got into the mood, they even went down to the field and picked a few tender ears of wheat. Chen Ling then helped them start a fire in the open space and roasted a couple of handfuls of wheat for them to taste.

"Tsk, this taste... it's bringing back memories of what I used to feel."

As Zhao Yubao savored the roasted wheat grains, their aroma filling his mouth and nose, a mix of indescribable emotions welled up within him, and his nose involuntarily stung with tears.

The lynx's father pointed at him and laughed, "Hahaha, you old Zhao, you've become so sentimental in the countryside."

"We're all getting on in years, why be so sentimental? Let's hurry up and go to Turtle King Lake to see the old turtles. Maybe we'll get lucky and see the Turtle King on his outing today."

Despite Old Zhong's constant talk about getting to the reservoir, his eyes kept wandering around, and he kept stopping and starting, making it impossible for him to walk very fast.

"Hey, Fugui, there's no water in this wheat field, so why are there frogs?"

"Oh my god, what's that? It runs so fast! I went to check on the frog, and this thing darted out of the grass right next to my feet and disappeared in the blink of an eye. I didn't even see it clearly, it gave me a real fright..."

"Oh, it's a wildcat. I've heard of it. It's a stray cat, right? Do these things steal chickens and ducks from the village?"

Chen Ling then told him that the mountain fox also stole things.

If chickens or ducks in a mountain village are harmed.

There is a very simple way to distinguish whether the culprit is a civet cat or a weasel.

The civet cat steals chickens, but it bites the chicken's rear end.

The weasel steals chickens, but it bites the chicken's neck.

The elderly people were quite surprised to hear this.

"Dad, Uncle Zhong, Fugui has a nest of weasels at home, and he also raised two nests of civets this year. After we finish visiting the reservoir, we'll go back to the farm and have Fugui call them out for you to see."

"Wow, Fugui, your family really has everything! You can even keep weasels and wild lynxes?"

They really hadn't heard Zhao Dahai and Shanmao mention these more detailed things.

Chen Ling smiled and said, "We can raise them. A while ago, there was a fox den living outside our orchard. They would often come back to play with Xiao Jin, but this spring the adult fox went back to the mountains. Only the three cubs still come back from time to time..."

Foxes do have the behavior of raising cubs, but at most they will only keep the cubs with them for about half a year.

After that, they were left to fend for themselves.

The female fox will go into heat again in the spring and seek a mate to reproduce and produce a new generation of fox cubs.

The crowd marveled at the sight, and the two old men hurriedly asked Chen Ling what other fun things there were at his house. Then, while eating roasted wheat ears, they slowly made their way to the reservoir.

On both sides of the dam, there are two rows of tall and sturdy willow trees, with their long, green branches drooping into the water.

On the south bank of the dam, on this side of the reservoir, dense reeds grow along the water, forming a long circle around the shore.

On the north bank of the dam are peanut fields and scattered ponds. In the afternoon sun, four or five large and small yellow cattle lie in the shade, slowly munching on the grass by the pond, accompanied by loud croaking of frogs.

At this time, only flocks of ducks and some water birds can be seen in the distance in the reservoir. After summer, the reeds are tall and lush, and there are many aquatic plants, which greatly affect the view. Even if there are turtles, it is not easy to see them.

However, the elderly people were not discouraged or disappointed.

They strolled along happily, enjoying the refreshing breeze from the river and admiring the scenery.

"Cunye, come quickly, I have something good to show you."

At this moment, Lao Niwai came out and saw Wang Cunye playing with the two children, Rui Rui and Ya Ya, in the back. He quickly walked up to him excitedly and pulled him along. But after taking two steps, he looked ahead and saw Chen Ling and his large group talking not far ahead. "Oh, Fugui is here too. We must have more guests. That's perfect. Come to my house and let the guests see us."

Just as Chen Ling and his group spotted a falcon landing in the reeds and were about to go down to the reservoir to search for it, they heard Lao Niwai's words and asked, "What's up, Uncle Niwai? Did you dig up some treasure at your place?"

This old man is incredibly greedy. Last year, when everyone learned that Li Hongqi had been searching around the village looking for treasure, he was the most patient of all. Plus, his house was right at the village entrance, so whenever Li Hongqi and Wang Chunyuan went to the Donggang Temple at night, this old man would keep an eye on them, sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. He was incredibly energetic.

"Yes, it's a real treasure. Come and have a look. If you like it, you can take it." Old Niwai laughed heartily.

"Then it's settled. If I like it, I'll just take it."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling walked over and joked as he did so.

"Take it away, take it away. Do you think your uncle can talk big?"

Chen Ling led a group of people into Lao Niwai's house. Lao Niwai now lives with his eldest son, Chen Jiang.

The yard is quite large.

The layout was no different from other houses in Chenwangzhuang. There was a small vegetable garden in a secluded corner of the wall, and many water vats of various sizes in the yard.

Besides storing grains and daily water, farmhouse water tanks were primarily used to prevent fires in the home.

Therefore, there are many spares, and they are not worth much money.

Old Niwai led them to a low, large-bellied water vat in the small south room and said mysteriously, "It's in this vat. Your Aunt Xiuju and I only discovered this wonderful treasure growing in here when we were having lunch."

"This must be the vinegar vat in the house..."

As soon as he got closer, Chen Ling smelled a strong, pungent odor of vinegar.

The old, greasy woman came over and said, "Yes, it's a vinegar vat. Fangfang and her husband brought a small vat of aged vinegar with them when they lived here. They know how to make vinegar; otherwise, why would people from our area keep so much vinegar at home?"

They generally don't make vinegar much here, but they have a lot of various sauces and pickled vegetables.

The vinegar in Lao Niwai's house was a small jar of aged vinegar that his daughter Chen Fang and her family brought back when they were hiding from the family planning policy.

Zhao Dahai squatted in front of the vinegar vat, glancing left and right. "It's good to have a son-in-law who can make vinegar. Fugui, don't look down on the vinegar vat. Treasures can be hidden anywhere. I've even heard of people digging up treasures from cesspools."

This fat man has come to the village many times. He's even set up high-voltage lines, replaced transformers, and planted utility poles. He's very familiar with the villagers and can crack a few jokes with anyone.

"Da Hai is right, this treasure really did grow out of a vinegar vat."

With so many people watching expectantly, Lao Niwai didn't keep them in suspense any longer and immediately revealed his jealousy.

His wife, Guo Xiuju, quickly brought out a bowl from the kitchen. Her hands were washed clean, and she reached into the vinegar jar and scooped out a strange, round, cake-shaped object.

This thing looked like a big piece of fat meat. When it was scooped into the bowl, it still had a soft, greasy, slippery, and bouncy feel. In an instant, the air was filled with a strong, pungent smell of vinegar.

Neither Zhao Dahai nor his family had ever seen anything like this before. They were stunned, covered their noses, and took two steps back. Their first thought was that this probably wasn't a treasure; it must have been spoiled by vinegar.

Chen Ling was also stunned; he had never seen this thing before.

Wang Cunye, on the other hand, grinned.

"Huh? Dad, do you know what this is?"

"Hey, what's there to not know? It's vinegar, right? Your Uncle Niwai wasn't wrong, it really is a good thing."

When Lao Niwai heard the words "Vinegar Treasure," his eyes lit up: "Great! Cunye, I thought you, a wild man who spends all your time hiding in the deep mountains and forests, didn't know about Vinegar Treasure. I was just about to invite you to my house to see it and broaden your horizons."

Wang Cunye is now very familiar with the older folks in the village, and he immediately raised his chin: "Go away, go away. Who's the savage? What kind of condescending attitude is that?"

Seeing everyone around him laughing, Wang Cunye coughed twice, turned to Chen Ling and said with a smile, "In our villages and towns, there are people who brew vinegar. Some vinegar will grow this stuff if it's left for a long time. People in the past didn't know this, so some would just throw it away, while others would treasure it and keep it in the vinegar vat. And you know what? Keeping this stuff in makes the vinegar taste a bit better."

When your older brother first became a teacher, there was a chemistry teacher at his school who asked around and found out that the stuff growing in the aged vinegar was caused by some kind of bacteria, and that it was harmless and perfectly safe to eat.

I'll even teach your older brother how to eat it.

Later, your older brother brought it back and we tried it. It's similar to how we eat jelly noodles. You soak and wash it in well water, cut it into pieces, put it in a bowl, add some chili sauce, and it's sour, spicy, and very fragrant. It tastes even better than jelly noodles.

The father-in-law's words were a complete surprise to the Lao Niwai couple. Lao Niwai stared at him and said, "Well, Cunye, it's one thing to know that this stuff is vinegar treasure, but you even know how to eat it? My son-in-law's family makes vinegar, but we've never heard of how to eat this stuff."

I originally wanted to show you something unusual and have you take a piece home with you. We usually make vinegar at home, and this stuff can be soaked in water and kept adding water to make vinegar, saving you the trouble of going out to buy vinegar.

However, this stuff can't get oily. My son-in-law once said that this vinegar concoction is ruined as soon as it comes into contact with oil.

The Zhao family members became increasingly curious as they listened, circling around the vinegar bowl in front of Guo Xiuju and poking it a few times with their chopsticks.

Upon hearing Old Niwai's last words, Zhao Dahai burst into laughter: "Haha, sacrifice? Uncle Niwai, that's funny. You're making it sound like this thing is alive."

Seeing the fat man laughing so hard he could hardly breathe, Wang Cunye slapped him on the shoulder: "Hey, Dahai, don't laugh. According to the chemistry teacher, this thing really is alive..."

“Yes, it’s grown from bacteria in the vinegar jar, so it wouldn’t be wrong to say it’s alive,” Old Zhong nodded and said.

Then he leaned closer to Chen Ling and his son-in-law and whispered, "I thought it was some kind of legendary Tai Sui, but it's definitely not from vinegar, otherwise it would have made a big fuss."

Chen Ling chuckled to himself upon hearing this.

Having experienced the internet age, he instinctively harbors skepticism towards strange and unusual things, which has nothing to do with his possession of the Sun and Moon Grotto.

Even though he believed in gods and immortals, some facts were truly astonishing, such as digging up some kind of Tai Sui (a type of rare fungus) or finding some mysterious treasures in various places.

The result was that the excrement on the plane had been treated, and many people didn't recognize it and treated it as a treasure, even soaking it in water and drinking it every day, saying it was good for their health.

It's really hard to put into words.

(End of this chapter)