My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 422 Thunderstorm
Old Zhong was about to come over and make fun of him when he heard this.

Zhao Yubao let out another "Hiss~ Ah~" cry, which startled him. "Ouch, it itches, it itches so much, there are fish in the water nibbling at the soles of my feet."

He shouted, and Zhao Dahai exclaimed in surprise, "Ah, I have some too, I have some too! So many little fish are swimming over!"

The father and son started shouting and yelling.

After seeing clearly what was causing the underwater disturbance, I was instantly seized by a playful impulse.

With shining eyes, they watched as countless tiny fish swam around their legs in the ditch, nibbling at them and bringing a tingling, slightly itchy pleasure.

"Hey, this is fun! Isn't this just like those fish spas that foreigners do?"

"Dad, don't move around, you're scaring away all the fish here."

"Who moved around? It must be your smelly feet that drove the fish away."

The father and son, like two little children, soaked their feet, watching schools of small fish swirling around their toes, and happily started playfully fighting...

Old Zhong lost interest in laughing at his old friend and walked over with a mixture of envy and curiosity, staring intently into the ditch.

They saw so many little fish swimming and playing around their legs.

Old Zhong couldn't resist any longer. He quickly kicked off his shoes and socks, and eagerly chose a spot to soak in the water.

Two elderly women followed closely behind, not wanting to be left behind.

Then there's——

"Ah~", "Ah~", "Ah~"

He let out a series of comfortable shouts.

"Wow, is this some kind of exaggeration? It's just a foot bath, is it really that comfortable? You guys are making such a fuss as if you're about to ascend to heaven."

The lynx couple were completely taken aback.

"How dare you talk like that, you little kitten?"

Zhao Yubao snorted and squinted his eyes with a comfortable expression, saying, "This is not just a foot bath, there is also a fish spa. And although the water is very cool, it is also very soft. It flows over our feet and is as smooth as silk, as if touched by a fairy's hand."

Zhao Dahai chimed in, "Yes, it's much more fun than the mountain stream. Yaya, come and play with Mommy, there are lots of little fish here."

As he spoke, he shifted his position, moving to a different spot. His two large, muscular feet stirred up the water in the ditch, creating a loud splashing sound and shoving all the fish at the bottom out.

The fat man burst into laughter: "Fugui, Fugui, we've developed another fun project for you. In the future, when people come to the farm to stay and play, this can be included in the package deals and charged accordingly. That's absolutely right."

Chen Ling and Wang Susu exchanged a glance and thought the idea was quite good.

"By the way, Fugui, what kind of fish is this little fish? Aren't the fish used in fish spas by foreigners tropical fish? One of my buddies even wrote an article about it, I remember it very clearly," Zhao Yubao asked.

"This is just a common minnow, which comes down from the mountain stream. These little fish are not afraid of people, but they don't grow very big; they'll stay this size the longest."

Chen Ling answered casually, then grabbed the brat who was trying to run away with Ya Ya and pulled him over, giving him a few slaps on the bottom.

"Stay put and don't go over there."

The brat didn't cry even after being hit. He just stared at Wang Susu with his big, clear eyes, pouting and looking down at him with a wronged expression.

They even abandoned the bird tied to the bamboo stick, leaving it on the ground to flap its wings and struggle in vain.

Seeing this, Wang Susu patted his head and said softly, "Rui Rui, be good. We are still young. Playing in the water will make you catch a cold. If you catch a cold, your tummy will hurt and you won't be able to sleep at night."

Actually, Rui Rui has a very good memory. He got a beating last time he went to the water to steal bird nests, and he's never allowed to go near water at home. With his little brain, although he doesn't know why, he vaguely understands that playing in the water will make his parents angry...

They're just little kids; when they're playing with their friends, they don't care about anything else.

He wants to play whatever other people are playing.

And they can't stand being yelled at.

As soon as someone calls out to him, he can't stay still for even a second and wants to run over and play too.

Ya Ya ran to Zhao Dahai's side and, seeing that Rui Rui wasn't following, hurriedly waved and called to him, "Rui Rui, come here quickly! There are so many little fish here, let's let the little fish eat our feet too!"

When Ya Ya called out like that, this guy was in for a rude awakening.

Rui Rui twisted her body and started whimpering next to Chen Ling and Wang Susu, struggling to get Chen Ling's hand to go and play, almost bursting into tears.

Zhao Dahai and Xiang Wenxia both adored Rui Rui and couldn't bear to see the little girl making such a fuss, so they quickly said to their daughter, "Ya Ya, you shouldn't play in the water anymore, go play with Rui Rui."

"Your uncle's irrigation ditch is right here, so we'll have plenty of opportunities to play here in the future."

As she spoke, she stepped out of the water, not even bothering to put on her shoes, and tried to pull Yaya over to comfort Ruirui.

Although Ya Ya is a little over two years older than Rui Rui, she is still a playful little girl. Seeing them playing in the water and the interesting little fish that can nibble on your feet, she naturally wanted to play too.

Chen Ling saw through it, exchanged a glance with Wang Susu, then picked up the whining, spoiled boy in front of him and carried him toward the irrigation ditch: "It's okay, Brother Dahai, he just wants to play in the water. Let them play. If they catch a cold and get a stomachache, they'll learn their lesson."

"Come here, Rui Rui, if you don't listen to your father, Grandpa and Grandma will hold you."

The adults in both families were fine with this, as the two little kids didn't care about such things. As long as they were allowed to play, they would agree to anything.

He immediately cheered up.

When Chen Ling held Rui Rui in his arms, he knew that his father was going to take him out to play, and in the blink of an eye, he became lively again, laughing and giggling.

The little head would suddenly pop out from Chen Ling's left shoulder one moment and then from his right shoulder the next, constantly teasing Ya Ya.

However, when they actually got to the ditch and were asked to play in the water, they were afraid of getting cold and dared not put their feet in.

Babies are so delicate.

Even when Yaya was a little older, she tentatively put her hand into the water and cried out because it was too cold.

It took me several minutes to get used to it before I could finally put my foot in completely.

Rui Rui, like a little puppy, was afraid of the cold and dared not go into the water, so Chen Ling held him up by the arms and suspended him above the water. His two little feet splashed around in the water, feeling both the coldness and the fun, laughing loudly and reluctant to leave.

The sight of the little boy filled the elderly couple with affection; they thought he was so cute and adorable that they couldn't help but want to hold him in their arms and shower him with love.

"Come, come, let me hold Fugui. It's the same if I hold him and play with him..." Several elderly people came out of the ditch one after another, smiling and reaching out to hug him.

With fewer people in the ditch, all the little fish swam over to Ya Ya, Xiang Wenxia, ​​and Du Juan.

The little girl was initially very happy to see that some small fish were finally swimming over.

Unfortunately, she was still young and very ticklish. As soon as the fish swarmed around her, she couldn't stand the tickling and rolled around on the ground, laughing so hard she was convulsing, like a hen about to lay an egg.

She was tickled so badly that she kept calling out "Mommy, Mommy" to get Xiang Wenxia to take her out.

Rui Rui was tired of playing, and since Ya Ya had stopped playing, he didn't find it so interesting anymore. He nestled in Chen Ling's arms and rubbed his own cold little feet.

"Alright, now you know it's over, right? Want to keep playing?"

"I told you little kids shouldn't play in the water, but you wouldn't listen."...

"Wow, you guys managed to have so much fun without even leaving the house!"

It was just past noon when Gao Xiulan returned.

"Xiulan, why did it take you most of the day to take Zhenzhen to school? Did you happen to go to the market on the way?"

"What's the point of going to the market? First I ran into Qiumei and we chatted for a while. Then I was supposed to send letters to my eldest and second sons, but there was road construction in the city, and I spent ages at the post office dealing with all that trouble..."

"Big sister, Qiu Mei misses you all. This goddaughter feels sorry for you and doesn't want you to travel back and forth. She's worried about you getting tired, so she's coming to see you this afternoon."

"Oh dear, we came to play early and haven't told Qiumei yet. You must have let it slip."

“That’s what Zhenzhen said, not what I said.”

“Hey, you mother, you’re still pushing it onto Zhenzhen. When Zhenzhen comes home from school, we’ll tell her… From now on, we’ll take her to study in the city, far away from your mother.”

The elderly ladies were bickering and laughing. They were all very kind-hearted people, and they became quite familiar with each other in just two days.

Now Gao Xiulan has become bolder and dares to go to the county town by herself. She and Wang Cunye often take turns picking up and dropping off their daughter.

Chen Ling and Wang Susu used to be afraid that they would get too tired and didn't want them to deliver the packages.

Little did I know that the two elders were actually quite worried about this matter.

It's as if picking up and dropping off their daughter is some kind of glorious thing.

Basically, it's because people have more free time at home and want to travel to the county town more often to go to the market or something.

"What are you all doing at home? Fishing in the ditch? And why are you all barefoot?"

"Haha, we were just playing in the water, but Brother Cunye actually went and caught some fish."

The group recounted what had just happened and laughed heartily.

Gao Xiulan was just laughing along, but she didn't actually find it very interesting or fun. She saw these things all the time. All it was was some small fish nibbling at her toes. When farmers went down to the river to catch fish, they suffered a lot, not to mention fish nibbling at their toes. Fish, shrimp, turtles, clams, and even leeches and all sorts of strange creatures also caused them a lot of trouble.

They no longer find it strange.

……

"Dad, did you catch this fish from the ditch outside?"

"Yeah, what's wrong? Is the fish no good?"

"Okay, it looks better than last year, which is a bit of a surprise."

While they were playing in the farm, Wang Cunye naturally didn't stay idle. He went outside the farm and caught some small fish, and picked some vegetables from the vegetable garden.

Used for cooking at noon.

Fish, seasonal vegetables, and the mountain birds that Chen Ling has already plucked, plus some fried eggs and duck eggs, are more than enough to eat.

"Huh, this weather is really strange."

Chen Ling was carrying a basin of small fish and was about to walk to the backyard when he noticed that the sky had changed even though it was midday.

Wang Cunye looked up and said, "Oh, it really is. It should be raining soon. Weren't there so many crabs 'going up the mountain' in the reeds yesterday? It just didn't rain last night, but it'll probably rain today."

“Uncle Cunye, this is how it is every year around this time. There’s always a rain around sunset. To be honest, it’s good if it rains a few times earlier, as long as it doesn’t rain heavily half a month before the wheat harvest…” Wang Lixian said.

“That makes sense. I’m just wondering why the crabs’ climbing ability isn’t always accurate.” Chen Ling laughed.

Zhao Dahai and Shanmao played with the two little kids, Rui Rui, and the family's cats and dogs for a while. Then they came over, craning their necks to look at the small fish in the basin: "What are you planning to make for us? Mixed fish dumplings?"

"Well, how about it, are you two going to cook?" Chen Ling asked with a smile.

"Alright, let's not embarrass ourselves." Lynx waved his hand.

Zhao Dahai chuckled and said, "Just don't use the fish that we gnaw on."

Before Chen Ling could say anything, Lynx kicked him, saying, "Go away, you fatso are the most disgusting. Don't sit at the table later, eat with Heiwa and the others."

"It looks like it's going to rain soon. I can't help with cooking with Dahai, so let me go outside and take in the bird nets for you."

"Okay, take it."

"I was planning to get up early tomorrow to catch pigeons, but it looks like the weather won't work."

After the start of summer, the weather becomes unpredictable.

Especially as the wheat harvest approaches, in some years, scenes of people scrambling to grab wheat at the mouth of the dragon's mouth often occur.

The so-called "stealing wheat from the dragon's mouth" is nothing more than snatching wheat from the mouth of the Dragon King, who controls the clouds and rain.

In the two years leading up to 1995 and 1996, the weather was abnormal. There was little rain at the beginning of summer, but floods occurred later.

This year's situation is a normal weather phenomenon.

The locals are not panicking.

Because this weather phenomenon doesn't bring much rain, it usually falls in the afternoon or before sunset and stops early the next morning, or even before the next morning, only in the latter half of the night.

That's why Chen Ling found it strange, since he hadn't paid much attention to the weather before.

"Uncle, Aunt, these vegetables just need to be cleaned and washed. I'll take care of the rest. You don't need to worry about them."

Chen Ling turned the elderly away and went to the kitchen in the backyard to make mixed fish potstickers.

These mixed fish potstickers are easy to make. First, coat the small mixed fish with flour and fry them in a pan until they turn golden brown.

Heat oil in a wok again, add garlic, chili peppers and other spices and sauté until fragrant. Then add the fried small fish, soy sauce and cooking wine, and start cooking.

You don't need to worry about anything else; as long as the fish is fresh, this dish will be delicious enough.

It was quite a coincidence that the weather turned gloomy just as the mixed fish dumplings were being cooked and Chen Ling went to cook the next dish.

Before long, not a ray of sunlight could be seen in the dark sky, and the sky became completely dark.

Only the two children in the yard were still shouting and yelling, leading a group of dogs and kittens running around, clamoring to follow the adults outside to call the chickens and ducks back.

Soon, the wind picked up, and layers of dark clouds gathered and lingered, rolling in and changing into various shapes as they came. Bright, blue-white streaks of lightning flashed through the clouds.

A continuous rumble of thunder echoed.

"Oh, there's thunder too. I wonder how big this thunderstorm is. Maybe I can take this opportunity to get my lightning-struck wood out."

After a pair of swallows gracefully flew back into the kitchen against the wind, Chen Ling poked his head out of the kitchen and looked at the sky, muttering to himself.

(End of this chapter)