My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 418 Shrimp Soldiers and Crab Generals
There's no need to say anything else. Now that we know this "vinegar treasure" is edible, the way Wang Cunye described for eating it is not difficult and can be done easily.

In front of Chen Ling and his group of out-of-town guests, the old couple didn't hold back. They quickly soaked the "vinegar treasure" in water, washed it twice, and placed it on the cutting board like a lump of jelly, then cut it into small diamond-shaped pieces.

Put it back in the bowl, and then poured a dish of chili sauce over it.

The bright red chili peppers, when paired with the dish, make for a very appealing presentation.

"Come on, come on, try it all, try it all. This is what Fugui's father-in-law taught us. If it doesn't taste good, don't blame us."

Old Niwai joked as he took out a pair of chopsticks and distributed them to everyone.

Since Zhao Yubao and his group were guests, we let them try it first.

"Haha, no wonder, no wonder. This is the first time we've ever seen such a strange thing. It's something that grows out of the vinegar jar itself. How can we not try it?"

Zhao Yubao was telling the truth; he was genuinely curious.

Without any hesitation, he picked up his chopsticks, grabbed a piece, and put it in his mouth.

He took a careful sip, his eyes lighting up. "Wow, this actually tastes pretty good! I thought it would be unpalatable because of the pungent vinegar smell, but it's actually quite delicious..."

"Hmm, let me try another bite. Mmm, Brother Cunye is right, it tastes even better than jelly."

Upon hearing this, the others immediately became interested and couldn't wait to pick up their chopsticks and grab some.

Even the old couple who are always together are no exception.

"Hey, it's really not bad, Fugui, what do you think?"

Zhao Dahai took two big bites in a row, and seeing that Chen Ling was also eating continuously, he chuckled and asked Chen Ling how he felt.

Chen Ling nodded: "Yes, it's sour and spicy, quite delicious. Compared to jelly noodles, it's much softer and not as chewy. But it tastes very refreshing and vibrant. The chili is the finishing touch, perfect for summer. It's great, very good."

Zhao Dahai listened, dumbfounded: "Goodness, no wonder you're a professional foodie. You've made yourself sound like a food critic."

The young couple, Lynx and Azalea, laughed along: "Being a food critic is a good option. Fugui, look at Rui Rui! He'll definitely be a little foodie in the future, influenced by you. You can take Susu and the kids all over the country, eating and playing, and write food reviews along the way. Isn't that a piece of cake?"

It turned out that the little guy was hiding behind Chen Ling, listening intently to what Chen Ling was saying.

Seeing everyone staring at them, the little one immediately became shy and giggled, then pulled Yaya along and wobbled away.

Only a few elderly people looked at each other, their faces full of question marks: "...What are you talking about? What foodie?"

Lynx hurriedly explained, "Oh, that's a new term Fugui used earlier. He said Dahai is a big glutton, and when he sees something delicious, he eats like a train, going crazy and eating like crazy..."

The two elderly people were taken aback for a moment, and then burst into laughter.

Zhao Yubao almost laughed his glasses off. He pushed them up and said, "So that's what you mean. I knew it. Fugui is a talented and interesting person. Only interesting people can discover interesting things, and only their writing is interesting. Such people are suitable to be writers."

The old man had a feminine appearance and no beard, bearing a resemblance to the elderly master Qian Zhongshu. After praising Chen Ling a few times, he glared at Zhao Dahai.

“When Fugui calls you a glutton, he’s being kind to you. To put it bluntly, you’re just a big glutton, nothing like your old man.”

Perhaps that's just how writers are; without caring about the presence of so many people, he started glaring and berating Zhao Dahai.

This made Zhao Dahai's scalp tingle, and he said with a wry smile, "Here we go again. I'm just not cut out for this. Why don't you adopt Fugui as your godson, Dad? He's talented."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yubao was no longer angry. He clapped his hands and said, "Hey, that's a good idea."

They then turned their attention to Chen Ling.

This time, it was Chen Ling's turn to feel a chill run down his spine.

This scene almost made everyone else laugh their heads off.

After laughing, Zhao Dahai's mother pulled her husband back and said, "Alright, alright, if you're happy to be here, then be happy. Don't act like a little kid, doing whatever comes to mind and running around like a madman. Don't you know what it means to be disliked by cats and dogs?"

“Fugui, take a piece of this vinegar treasure back with you, it’ll be a dish tonight.” Old Niwai said at this moment, “My vinegar jar has grown quite a bit.”

"Okay, I'll take one piece."

Chen Ling didn't mince words with the old greasy woman: "But I'll have to get it when we get back, we haven't finished exploring the reservoir yet."

They had just seen several falcons circling nearby, and a particularly beautiful falcon with feathers slightly reddish in the sunlight swooped down and landed in the reeds. Lynx and his companions, eager to see what was going on, decided to investigate.

"There are boats here to go play at the reservoir... Oh, let's go find eagles in the reeds. There are quite a few eagles lately. More birds attract eagles. I'll go get a few pairs of rubber boots for you to change into. You city folks have delicate legs and feet, you can't do without rubber boots."

"Put them on, don't be shy, so Fugui won't have to go back to get them."

Old Niwai's family lives at the entrance of the village. They've seen quite a few outsiders going to the reservoir to play recently, so they've been very thoughtful.

In addition to the elderly couple's water shoes, they also took out the water shoes of Chen Jiang and his wife and let the elderly people from Zhao Dahai and Shanmao's families change into them.

"Hey, why did Fugui bring out such a big wooden basin?"

When the two elderly people were exchanging shoes, Chen Ling also found a large wooden basin in Lao Niwai's house.

Then he picked up a few fish baskets from the south wall of Old Niwai's house, waved them at everyone, and laughed, "Of course we're here to play! Are you all just thinking about going into the reeds to find eagles? Catching fish, shrimp, and turtles in the reeds is much more fun!"

There are many birds this season, which attracts a lot of eagles and falcons, but even with so many eagles and falcons, not everyone can catch them.

Even eagles hunting in reed marshes find it difficult to take off in time due to environmental factors, and are also unable to catch them easily.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Dahai exclaimed, "Oh dear, I need to find a pair of waterproof shoes too."

"What are you looking for? You're tough as nails, you can just take off your shoes and wade in the water." Lynx kicked him and laughed as he cursed.

Zhao Dahai quickly protested, "I was just afraid of hurting my foot."

"Why would you hurt your feet? There aren't even any stones in the water here that would hurt your feet..."

Chen Ling patted him on the shoulder: "Brother Dahai, you've been resting at home for a while after finishing the work, why have you become so delicate, like a young lady?"

Even before the turtles appeared, no one dumped waste here. Women used to wash clothes here, and adults and children would bathe and play in the water on hot days, so there was nothing to hurt your feet.

We prepared water shoes for Zhao Yubao and the others because they are old, live in the city, have delicate skin on their legs and feet, and don't often go into the water.

People like Zhao Dahai and Shanmao, who frequently travel all over the country for fieldwork and are young and strong, don't need something like water boots.

……

The group joked with each other as they slowly walked down the dam to the shore. Chen Ling distributed the large wooden basin and fish basket to everyone, then untied a small boat and let his father-in-law take the two little children, Rui Rui and Ya Ya, on the boat.

He took off his shoes, rolled up his trousers, and led the boat into the reeds.

The Zhao family, supporting each other, followed behind into the water, wading through the muddy water, moving slowly forward, looking left and right, their faces full of curiosity at everything they saw. Not far along, they not only startled a large flock of birds hiding in the reeds, causing the croaking frogs to fall silent, but the old men behind them also discovered something quite strange.

Old Zhong exclaimed, "Fugui, Cunye, look what's going on! How come there are so many crabs climbing up the reeds?"

"Huh? It really is! Crabs are coming out of the water. Is it going to rain soon?" Wang Cunye looked around. It's not uncommon for crabs to come out of the water and climb up the reeds and trees.

This phenomenon occurs whenever there is heavy rain.

"Hey, it's okay. It might rain heavily tonight, it's not surprising."

Wang Cunye glanced at the sky, waved his hand, and said nonchalantly.

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhao Dahai called out from behind, "We found a bird's nest that fell down here. The newly hatched chicks have all fallen out and attracted a bunch of crabs to eat them."

Xiang Wenxia looked distressed: "Oh dear, the crabs are eating the little birds, and these little guys are still alive."

"What the heck? A crab eats a bird? This thing eats birds?"

Their discovery drew everyone's attention, and even Chen Ling picked up his son and Ya Ya from the small boat and waded through the water to see them.

At the bottom of the reeds, there was a bird's nest woven from dry grass, tilted and wedged between the dense reed stalks. The newly hatched chicks inside had all fallen out and landed on the roots of the reeds and the lush water plants, attracting swarms of crabs, like a black mass of ants, to eat the chicks.

As the crabs devoured the chicks, the fledglings emitted weak and helpless cries, causing the women to show their pity.

The men didn't seem bothered by the sight; they were simply curious because they'd never seen crabs eat birds before, and they kept watching.

"These guys aren't picky eaters at all; they'll eat any little bird."

"Yes, they eat small fish, shrimp, and earthworms. These fledglings are still young and tender. They eat whatever falls out of the nest. They don't care what it is, they just stuff it into their mouths."

As he spoke, Chen Ling keenly noticed a dead fledgling hanging among the reeds, its head drooping listlessly, its body bearing obvious wounds.

Moreover, Chen Ling immediately recognized that the wound was not left by a crab, but by a ferocious bird such as a hawk.

He often takes Er Tuzi out hunting and training, so he wouldn't mistake this kind of injury.

"I knew it! Bird nests don't fall down for no reason when there's no wind or rain. It must have attracted an eagle. It must have been accidentally knocked over by the eagle, which is why so many crabs were attracted."

"Oh, the eagle overturned the nest? So, could it be the red-feathered falcon we saw earlier that did it?"

"I don't know. There are so many birds nesting and incubating their eggs in the reeds this season. Look at the sky, eagles come down from time to time. Who can tell which one it is?"

"Oh, that's true."

Chen Ling and Shanmao were talking over there.

Several elderly people over there shouted again, "My goodness! Look! These crabs have crawled into other birds' nests again!"

"Good heavens, these arrogant bastards have tasted success and now they know these little birds are edible? Are crabs really that smart?"

"Wait a minute, there are crayfish climbing up here too. They're like shrimp soldiers and crab generals! Fugui, do you think these crayfish are also going to the bird's nest to eat the birds?"

"I don't know, I've never seen it before. Let's take another look."

Everyone was surprised.

However, this spectacular sight is limited to the surrounding area.

Within this area, wherever crabs and crayfish gather, if you carefully look up along the reeds, you're sure to find bird nests.

There are nests of all kinds of birds, but when walking in the water, apart from Chen Ling, who is tall and strong and unaffected, others can't see what's inside the nests even when they stand on tiptoe.

The men were mainly curious, and the two old men kept taking pictures with their cameras, planning to take them back to show off to their old friends.

He said with a smug look on his face: "Shrimp soldiers and crab generals 'climbing trees' to eat birds, this is a strange sight that probably no one has ever seen before."

The women, on the other hand, treated the crabs and crayfish like bullies attacking the weak. Whenever they saw crabs and crayfish crawling all over the reeds under the bird's nest, they would reach out and shake them, sending all the menacing creatures splashing and splashing into the water.

Finally, Chen Ling couldn't help but chime in, "Auntie, sister-in-law, there's no need to worry about these things. Actually, most of the time it's birds that eat crabs. It's too rare for crabs to eat birds. Even if we let them eat freely, how many can they eat? As for crayfish, let alone whether they've eaten any birds."

They reluctantly gave up.

Zhao Dahai's mother clasped her hands together and murmured "Amitabha" a few times with a look of reluctance on her face.

Chen Ling looked on with a pained expression.

So you think rescuing birds is an act of kindness? Well, the crabs should thank you properly.

Old Zhao and Old Zhong, the two old men, didn't care about these women's affairs. They just kept following Chen Ling and the others, rummaging through the reeds and looking around, startling many birds that were hiding there into flight.

Frogs and turtles also fell into the water with a "plop, plop" sound.

The two old men were startled and couldn't help but laugh and shout, creating a joyful atmosphere.

However, joy turned to sorrow. Taking advantage of his small size, Old Zhong happily wandered around in the reeds after adapting to the environment, occasionally showing off to Zhao Yubao. Unfortunately, his happiness was short-lived, as he was accidentally pecked on the arm by a fierce bird, and blood quickly began to flow.

"You're dumbfounded now, aren't you? Serves you right for being so arrogant and cocky. Fugui told you not to wander around in here because there are snakes and poisonous insects, but you wouldn't listen. Now you've been pecked by birds."

Zhao Yubao was feeling extremely frustrated, so he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to ridicule his old friend and mocked him mercilessly.

Old Zhong ignored him, only clutching his arm and cursing, "Damn it, I didn't even get to touch any snakes or insects, but I got bullied by a bird, ouch... that peck really hurts."

"Fugui, what kind of bird was that just now? It was so big, was it a hawk or something?"

"No, it's just a large water camel, also called a reed chicken, which makes its nest in reed beds..."

Chen Ling looked at the few bird eggs in the nest and shook his head: "This thing is quite fierce. Its beak is sharp and hard. If it is disturbed by people while incubating the eggs, it will peck at people's eyes. Luckily, Uncle Zhong, you went past it from behind."

This bird is called a bittern, also known as a reed chicken, pu chicken, or water camel. It is a relatively large wading bird, about the size of a duck, plump, and has a fierce temperament.

Many children in the village have been pecked by them, and it hurts much more than when geese peck at them.

Of course, catching them is easy. Just come over in the dark at night. Once night falls, these birds are practically blind. As long as you dare to go into the water, come over with a flashlight, and you'll catch them one after another.

"Never heard of that. You guys have so many strange and unusual things here. There's even a bird called a camel... Luckily, it didn't peck my eye."

Old Zhong covered his arm, looking relieved.

"Good heavens, we were just talking about snakes and insects, and here comes a big water snake, thick and long, which darted back in a flash, bubbling and gurgling, which startled me." Zhao Yubao, who was standing next to him, didn't have time to mock him anymore, and at this moment he made a new discovery.

Chen Ling leaned closer to take a look. "Oh, this isn't a snake, it's an eel's hole. It looks like this eel is quite big. Not bad, not bad. I'll catch it out, and it'll be another dish tonight."