My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 438 Freezing
In any case, the atmosphere of the Dragon Boat Festival this year was so strong that everyone's enthusiasm lingered for a long time after the dragon boat race, which is why Wang Siyi and her friends came.

The little children were also very excited, running around the farm with various small sachets hanging around their necks.

He kept pestering Chen Ling, asking when the big tiger would be brought over.

Chen Ling said it would be soon; not long after the wheat harvest, they would be able to see the big tiger.

"Wow, really? Really, Uncle Fugui?"

Upon hearing this, the children jumped and danced around him, their little faces full of anticipation.

Xiao Sen clenched his little fists and shouted, "Grandpa Uncle, the big tiger is here! Can I ride the tiger once?"

“I want to ride it too. It will definitely be more impressive than Rui Rui riding Heiwa.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling flicked each of them on the head: "You little brats, you want to ride a big tiger? When the tiger comes, it will eat you first, one bite of each little kid, crunchy and delicious."

"Uncle Fugui is a liar. We're going to find Auntie and Rui Rui. We're not playing with you anymore."

One by one, the little kids stuck out their tongues and made faces at him as they ran into the farm calling for help.

"Kids really like Mr. Chen."

A well-dressed couple wearing sun hats walked along the cobblestone path in the orchard and greeted him.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling smiled and looked over, asking them the purpose of their visit.

I learned that you wanted to buy some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) to take back for your child.

They ate at Wang Lixian's house and only found out after asking that the zongzi were given to them by Chen Ling's family, so they couldn't help but come over to ask if they could buy some.

Chen Ling shook his head and said, "We do have some zongzi, quite a lot left, but they are all ordinary zongzi, not the kind made with alkaline water. They can't withstand being kept in the heat for so long. In this hot weather, they will spoil if you take them back, and the children won't be able to eat them."

Chen Ling and his family all love eating zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). This year, they built a water tower to keep them fresh, so they made a lot more, but they didn't plan to sell them.

I never expected anyone would come looking for me to buy zongzi.

"It's alright, we can just find some ice in the county town and bring it back. We're from the city, so it's quick to travel by boat."

As the man spoke, he chuckled and said, "My family and I often go to Mr. Sun's crayfish restaurant for meals, and we also go there to discuss business. We came here this time after hearing Mr. Sun's recommendation..."

"Oh, right, besides zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), we also wanted to buy some of the farm's fruit wine. It's especially delicious and perfect for summer, but unfortunately, Mr. Sun sells it in limited quantities, so it's rare to get any."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling carefully examined them for a moment: "So, it was Sun Yanhong who invited you to come and play during the Dragon Boat Festival?"

"Yes, Mr. Sun even put up an advertising sign at the entrance of the store to introduce it, and a lot of people come here."

The two nodded and laughed, "The main thing is that we didn't know that these delicious crayfish were from the same place where the giant turtle was said to appear. There's delicious food, fine wine, beautiful scenery, and mysterious giant turtles and water monsters. Everyone wants to come and see all these wonderful things."

Chen Ling said "Oh," thinking to himself, "I see."

That's definitely the woman's style. Winning the favor of the villagers is secondary; attracting such a large flow of visitors is also a great thing for the leaders.

No wonder her brother is still thriving and expanding everywhere after his downfall.

"Okay, you don't need many zongzi, do you?"

"Not much, just enough for the whole family, the kids and the elderly."

"Oh, then I'll give you a little of everything and arrange them into a zongzi gift box."

So he went back, took a small rectangular box that his father-in-law had woven from reeds in his spare time, filled it with zongzi (sticky rice dumplings), tied them up, and hung a small sachet with red and yellow threads on it, making it look pretty.

This surprised and delighted the couple.

Chen Ling then opened the door to the warehouse. "Come pick some fruit, please. The farm sells unlimited fruit here, but the prices are a bit high. Try a little of everything."

"Oh, good."

The couple didn't seem to be short of money, but they felt a little guilty after learning the prices of those top-quality wines.

No wonder Sun Yanhong limited the quantity; these wines aren't for ordinary people.

In the end, I had no choice but to pick some regular fruit wines and reluctantly gave up on the aged fruit wines and grape wines.

"These are great gifts and collectibles. Mr. Chen's wines will become more valuable the longer they are stored."

"Haha, thank you for your kind words."

Chen Ling saw the person out.

Before long, more people came to the door, some asking about dogs, some looking at fish, some buying wine... thankfully, no one came to buy zongzi anymore.

"See that? Your brother-in-law's business has quietly brought in another ten thousand yuan."

Upstairs, Wang Cunye puffed on his pipe and said to his two sons, "Eldest son, I won't say anything more. Being a teacher is good. You're not suited for this kind of work."

But you need to think about it, second brother, what do you want to do with your brother-in-law?
Running over mountains and valleys all day long is fine when you're young, but can you keep doing this when you get older?

Wild animals are now venturing out of the mountains everywhere; it's terrifying.

Your brother-in-law has come to me about this several times, asking me to mention it to you. He wanted to bring it up, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Dad, you overestimate me. How could I possibly be as capable as Lingzi? If the business fails and we lose money, who will be responsible? Not to mention what Lingzi will think of me, I'll definitely be too ashamed to face my sister."

Wang Qingzhong said with a frown.

"Don't worry about losing money. Your mother and I also benefited from your brother-in-law's influence and managed to save some money."

Wang Cunye tapped his pipe on the floor and gestured toward another room: "This spring, the Reservoir Turtle King went on a tour. There were so many people there. Your mother and I cooked for people and sold beef soup and such. We saved up almost 20,000 yuan. Most of it was money we earned at the farm when people came to visit. Lingzi refused to take it no matter what. Your mother and I had nowhere to spend the money."

You and the boss can split it in half; that's your capital for starting a business.

"Huh? Twenty thousand? That much?"

The two brothers exchanged a glance, clearly quite surprised.

Only then did they realize how much money Chen Ling had spent to keep tourists away so that his family could have a holiday together.

This brother-in-law, sigh...

It would be a lie to say that I am not impressed.

But it really hurts.

The more I think about it, the more it hurts, to the point that I want to stomp my feet.

What a great opportunity to make money!

Wang Qingwen was silent for a moment, then looked up and said, "Dad, let's give this money to Ah Zhong. I don't need the money here."

"No way, bro, I never said I wanted to do any business with Lingzi. I can't do it anyway."

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingzhong became very anxious. He said, "Haven't you ever seen so much money before?" Well, that's not true. Every year, he spends several thousand yuan to stockpile grain, but it's all used for capital investment. It's all given to him by his parents, and his older brother also gave him ten thousand yuan. This made him very panicked.

Although he is honest and kind, he has his own set of principles after running a small business for so many years.

For example, if money comes easily, it's easy to spend it.

He was terrified of losing all his money.

"It's okay. Ask Lingzi at dinner tonight and see what he has to say. With his brains, do you think he'd let you pay him back?"

Wang Cunye smiled.

Wang Qingzhong still looked troubled.

Wang Qingwen comforted him, saying, "It's alright, Zhong. Just consider it as me being a shareholder, okay? Let's do this business together, brothers. Let's ask Lingzi first. He wouldn't cheat you, would he? Don't panic like this now." He didn't want his brother to be constantly venturing into the deep mountains and forests, working from dawn till dusk, enduring wind and rain, which was both arduous and dangerous.

The main problem is still the danger.

There was no other way before.

Now that his brother-in-law is reliable and devoted to his family, he's definitely someone he can count on. Naturally, he doesn't want his brother to go back to his old ways.

At this moment, Chen Ling had no idea what his father-in-law was saying to the two brothers.

He was talking and shaving bamboo skewers with Zhou Weijun and others in the pavilion outside.

After taking a nap and resting, Zhou Weijun and the others wanted to go out for a walk. When they came out, they saw Chen Ling preparing bamboo skewers. They learned that he was going to make barbecue for them that evening, so they sat down to help.

After working for a while, Zhou Weijun felt tired and muttered, "Fugui, why don't you get some iron skewers? It's so tiring to shave bamboo skewers every time."

"Iron skewers are convenient, but they don't taste as good as grilling them on bamboo skewers."

Chen Ling said without looking up.

Moreover, these bamboo skewers are made from bamboo collected from a special cave, specifically for grilling or directly using bamboo to roast meat over a wood fire, such as roast chicken, roast duck, or roast fish, which will taste exceptionally good.

"Well, no wonder your family's cooking is so good. You really take food seriously."

"Haha, yeah, we can't let our stomachs suffer no matter what."

"Uh, Brother Ling, let me interject. Is it really that much of a difference between bamboo skewers and metal skewers? When I was studying in Beiji, we used car spokes to grill lamb skewers, and it tasted pretty much the same."

"Haidong, aren't you older than me? Why are you calling me brother?"

"Hey, age doesn't matter, the older one is the best..."

"It's such a great coincidence that we can both play Wu Song. You're stronger than me, you can fight tigers, so you should be the older brother. Besides, for us actors in Water Margin, calling you 'older brother' just doesn't feel right."

"Haha, that's fine, that's fine too. By the way, Haidong, have you ever heard of red willow barbecue?"

"Red willow barbecue, I think I've heard of it before, but I've forgotten where it is."

"Hmm, this is quite famous in Xinjiang. It's a very distinctive Xinjiang delicacy. This red willow grows in the Gobi Desert and is very drought-resistant."

Using its branches to skewer meat for grilling results in meat that is not only more tender and flavorful than regular grilled meat, but also has a unique aroma.

Other kinds of sticks won't work.

The same principle applies to my bamboo skewers. I use a secret sauce with them; you'll see how delicious they are tonight.

Chen Ling patiently explained it once, and seeing everyone swallowing their saliva and burying their heads to carefully shave the bamboo skewers, he nodded in satisfaction.

Only Wang Siyi was restless, constantly using the time she was serving tea and water to slack off.

However, with this beautiful woman handing them fruit and cutting watermelons from time to time, and everyone teasing her, they quite enjoyed it.

After being teased for a while, she exclaimed, "I'm not being lazy. Tonight I'll help Aunt Gao steam buns and toast some bread slices for you."

Actually, it wasn't that she was being lazy on purpose; she simply had never done this kind of work before and didn't know how to shave bamboo skewers. She almost hurt her hands several times and was so scared that she dared not touch it again.

Even so, a small bamboo splinter got stuck in her skin. She only noticed it when she washed her hands after eating the watermelon, so she ran upstairs to ask Wang Susu to help her pick it out with a needle.

"Uncle Fugui, I met a cow butcher on the road. I'll bring you some beef and beef tendon."

The little lamb, riding a 28-inch bicycle, stopped outside the orchard. A big black ram suddenly darted out from behind, excitedly sticking out its tongue and running to Chen Ling, wagging its tail.

This is naturally the big dog that Chen Ling saved with Rui Rui's urine. Now it's incredibly affectionate towards Chen Ling, and it almost stayed at Chen Ling's house and wouldn't leave.

"Alright, alright, beef tendon is a good thing. We're having a barbecue tonight, so you can keep a piece for yourself."

Chen Ling took the package and glanced at it. The quantity was quite generous, and he immediately understood that the vendor had brought this as a special gift because they knew that his family had been entertaining a lot of guests recently and were worried that they wouldn't have enough food.

"No, no, I'll go back to the county town to rest tonight. I still need to transport fish in a couple of days."

"Wow, Xiao Fang, you've been really energetic lately."

"Hehe, it's all thanks to Uncle Fugui for taking care of me. By the way, Uncle, shouldn't you sell your fish by now?"

"My family isn't in a hurry. The adult fish from the ditch have already been sold, and the remaining ones are a bit expensive and nobody wants them. We'll have to wait a bit longer for the ornamental fish."

How are you? Did you come to the village with Sanni'er for the Dragon Boat Festival this year?

When asked about this, Little Sheep looked troubled: "No, this year my second sister and Si Ni'er went back to their parents' home, and Xiao Jing was too embarrassed to go back because there were so many people."

With a shy smile, she said, "I'm just checking when the wheat harvest is this year and if there's anything I can help with."

"Well, the revolution is not yet successful, comrade, we still need to work hard. I have high hopes for you. Do your best. Your father-in-law's family are not unreasonable people."

Chen Ling smiled and comforted him, "You don't need to worry about the wheat harvest. Just do what you need to do. We'll take care of your father-in-law. We've been helping each other with the wheat harvest for the past few years."

We chatted briefly for a few more minutes, and then I saw him off.

"Brother Ling is really popular. It's just that he brought such a huge amount of meat. There are so many of us, we can't possibly finish it all."

Wang Siyi untied the sack and looked at the beef; there was indeed a lot of it.

"Do you have a refrigerator at home? If you don't, it will spoil overnight in this weather."

"It's alright, don't worry. We don't have a refrigerator, but we have a water tank. The meat won't spoil if we put it in there..."

Chen Ling chuckled.

Wang Siyi was completely confused: "Huh? A water tower? How do you keep food fresh in a water tower? Does it stay submerged in water?"

Zhou Weijun, Ding Haidong, and the others were also completely bewildered.

I don't understand how the water tower keeps meat fresh. Is this the same thing?

Chen Ling shook his head: "How could it be placed in water? It's like it's hanging in a well. I'll take you to see it and you'll see."

"Yes, we should go and see. I've never seen meat stored in a water tower before."

Ding Haidong's curiosity was piqued, and he was filled with doubts.

Chen Ling threw a bunch of bamboo skewers into the basin and led them to the small water tower.

Although it's called a small water tower, it's not actually that small. It just doesn't store as much water as a proper water tower, and it's inconspicuous compared to a farm.

Beneath the steep western cliff, the small water tower stands over three meters tall, with a slender body and a large top, resembling a watchtower hidden deep in the greenery.

There is a small iron gate at the bottom of the tower, and iron rings with steps on the side, which can be used as a small ladder.

Chen Ling took out the key, reached out and opened the iron gate, and immediately a blast of cold air hit him.

Zhou Weijun and the others couldn't help but shiver.

"Wow, it's really cold in here. I understand why you said you could put meat in it."

Chen Ling pointed to the ceiling and smiled, "Isn't that right? That's why I told you, it's a natural refrigerator."

The group looked in the direction he pointed and saw an iron ring welded to the center of the water tower, with iron hooks hanging from it. All kinds of meat were hanging from the hooks: whole chickens, ducks, and fish, in strings, as well as beef, mutton, and offal.

It was truly dazzling, a wide variety of things, everything imaginable.

Wang Siyi reached out and touched a sheep's head, then suddenly exclaimed, "Wow, there are even ice flowers on it!"

(End of this chapter)