My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 440 Flying Fish
Although the rain today was not light, it wasn't a particularly heavy downpour.

It's no big deal for little kids.

Especially since the school's holiday for the busy farming season is almost over, it would be a shame not to take advantage of it and have as much fun as possible.

So not long after, Wang Zhenzhen called over a large group of children from the village. There were seven or eight-year-olds like Liu Nier and Xizi, and four or five-year-olds like Xiao Sen and Chou Dan. Anyway, it's the countryside, so it's not unusual for older children to take care of younger ones. She quickly called over a dozen children.

However, those who raise silkworms are mostly older.

They came over in a lively and bustling manner, carrying all sorts of bottles and boxes in their arms.

But what's strange is that their silkworms are spinning silk and forming cocoons quite quickly this year.

It wasn't just Wang Zhenzhen's silkworms that started spinning silk and didn't eat much; Liu Ni'er, Xizi, and Zhuwa's silkworms were the same.

It's like neither of them won.

This made Wang Zhenzhen very depressed.

However, she quickly put the matter out of her mind and enthusiastically asked Chen Ling to teach them how to build silkworm mounds.

"Come on, let's go get some wheat straw."

Chen Ling found a ball of hemp thread and led them to the kitchen. He pulled out a few handfuls of wheat straw from the haystack he had used to start the fire and distributed them to them.

Then, using scissors, cut the wheat stalks to the same length, about the length of chopsticks.

Then, he tied the wheat stalks together with hemp twine, braiding as he tied. Soon, the wheat stalks in Chen Ling's hands were tied into something like a feather duster or a straw mace. The wheat stalks spread outwards like thorns, layer upon layer.

That's how the story of Silkworm Mountain came about.

"Is this the Silkworm Mountain? It's so difficult to prepare."

Wang Siyi was initially very interested in the idea of ​​letting silkworms spin cocoons on the silkworm mountain, but unfortunately she was clumsy and couldn't learn it, so she wove them in a mess.

The little ones didn't do a very good job either.

So Chen Ling had no choice but to tie one for each of them.

Wang Siyi was still unwilling to give up and persistently asked Chen Ling to teach her how to weave.

"If you can't weave it well, that's fine. I'll teach you how to weave a grass checkered silkworm mountain. It's easy to prick your hand with this kind."

Chen Ling advised.

There are many types of silkworm mounds; the goal is simply to allow silkworms to climb up and spin their cocoons.

If you are raising a lot of silkworms, you can simply weave some rough straw squares to save time or make it easier to collect the cocoons.

Before she conceived Rui Rui, Wang Susu had raised some silkworms. At that time, time was tight, so the silkworm farm that the young couple built was made of straw checkerboard and was very rough.

The reason we're making these silkworm mounds now is because there are fewer silkworms and the silkworm boxes are too small; the kind made of straw squares wouldn't fit.

"No, I must learn it."

Wang Siyi, however, became more and more insistent the more she was persuaded, refusing to admit defeat.

Firstly, this thing is interesting. No one in Taiwan raises silkworms anymore. She has never seen a silkworm mountain or silkworms climbing mountains to spin cocoons, so it is very novel to her.

Secondly, she was unknowingly influenced and led astray by Wang Zhenzhen, and felt the joy of raising small insects and animals. She became somewhat addicted and thought about raising them for fun when she got back, so naturally she wanted to learn how to do it.

Of course, as a meticulous girl, I naturally want to do the things I'm interested in beautifully.

His serious demeanor surprised Zhou Weijun, Ding Haidong, and others who came to eat.

Zhou Weijun joked, "Siyi has started learning a trade. With such skillful hands, she'll definitely be a clever wife in the future. You can stay here and let Uncle Wang and Aunt Wang find you a husband."

"Pah, you don't know anything. This is a silkworm mountain, for silkworms to spin silk."

Wang Siyi glanced at him sideways.

"Oh my, really? Our young lady from Taiwan can make silkworm porridge now? I was so ignorant. Let me serve you a bowl of porridge as an apology."

Zhou Weijun chuckled and served everyone a bowl.

Then she asked the children, "Zhenzhen, do you still want some porridge?"

"Don't drink anymore."

After responding, Wang Zhenzhen thought for a moment and then called out, "Brother Weijun, could you please give us some zongzi?"

Zongzi can be eaten as a snack. Children in the countryside have big appetites. Even though they have eaten, they get hungry again very soon after leaving the house.

"okay."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Weijun handed each of them a zongzi from the bamboo sieve.

The little children squatted there, gathered around their respective silkworm boxes, peeling rice dumplings while watching the silkworms climb up the silkworm mountain.

Zhou Weijun, Ding Haidong, and a few others also came over with their rice bowls to watch: "Wow, this is quite fun, they've already started climbing up."

As soon as the silkworm mountain was placed in Wang Zhenzhen's silkworm box, silkworms immediately began to climb up it.

This is because there isn't a suitable place for silkworms to spin their cocoons inside the silkworm box. Now that there's a silkworm mountain, they'll naturally climb up happily.

Did Haidong raise silkworms for fun when he was a child?

"Yes, we did. We kept them in matchboxes. Back then, city kids kept them as pets. We even kept scorpions in our dorm rooms."

"Wow, we've kept scorpions before."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhenzhen immediately perked up and said to Wang Siyi, who was still diligently working on the silkworm mountain next to her, "Sister Siyi, do you know that if you don't feed the scorpions, the big scorpions will eat the little scorpions? It's really interesting."

"Oh? That's so cruel. I wouldn't dare keep such poisonous insects."

Wang Siyi paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you still raising them?"

Wang Zhenzhen shook her head: "No, we raised scorpions for fighting fun, but they were accidentally eaten by chickens."

"The chicken ate it? Aren't chickens afraid of scorpions?"

"Don't worry, my brother-in-law said that chickens are the natural enemies of scorpions, centipedes and other poisonous insects. It was also shown in Journey to the West. The Pleiades Star Lord is a rooster, and he ate a giant centipede in one bite."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this: "Zhenzhen knows so much! She's even learned something from watching TV. She's far better than other kids."

"That's nothing. My brother-in-law can even make the dishes from Dream of the Red Chamber. They're delicious."

Wang Zhenzhen chuckled, which immediately surprised everyone who had been joking. They stared at Chen Ling with wide eyes, asking how many more good things he was hiding.

Chen Ling then said that once the weather clears up, he would make one or two fun and delicious dishes for them to try.

As they spoke, the silkworm mountain on Wang Zhenzhen's side was already covered with silkworms, and some faint silk threads were spun out by these silkworms, hanging into a messy net-like pattern.

If you look closely, it has a slightly sparkly feel.

Other little silkworms in their boxes also showed signs of spinning silk.

Upon seeing this, the children cried out in delight.

Watching your own silkworms grow day by day, from hatching to spinning cocoons, brings an indescribable joy and satisfaction. "Are they about to spin their cocoons?"

Upon seeing this scene, even Wang Siyi, who was competing with Canshan, stopped and came over to observe out of curiosity.

Chen Ling shook his head: "Not yet. Right now, these silkworms are fixing their positions, much like spiders weaving webs. They need to fix the positions of the corners of the web. Once their positions are fixed, the silkworms will start spinning cocoons. Silkworms spin cocoons very quickly, in just one or two days."

When the silkworms become moths, they will emerge from their cocoons. At this time, you need to prepare a piece of paper so that the moths can lay their eggs. Keep this paper safe so that you can continue raising silkworms the following year…

"So this is ah."

Wang Siyi's eyes immediately lit up, and she leaned close to Wang Zhenzhen and said, "Zhenzhen, can you share some silkworm paper with me later? I'll bring you some local delicacies from Taiwan next time I come to visit."

"Okay, Sister Siyi, is the pineapple you mentioned before delicious?"

Wang Zhenzhen nodded, not knowing any politeness, and said with a grin.

Wang Siyi chuckled: "What's so great about pineapples? They're the same as regular pineapples. Besides, those are hard to carry. I'll bring you something else, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

She was chatting and laughing among the pile of dolls.

Zhou Weijun and others chatted with Chen Ling about this special year.

"If things go smoothly this year, we'll be able to go to places like Hong Kong and Taiwan whenever we want... Let's go together then."

These words stirred something within Chen Ling.

I thought to myself, "That's right, Hong Kong is returning to China this year. If necessary, I'll have my second brother and the others print some T-shirts and sell them."

Even the bigwigs in Taiwan were so excited that they flew across the Yellow River, which shows how enthusiastic everyone is about Hong Kong's return to China. T-shirts with cultural themes will definitely work.

We can also make all kinds of handbags, backpacks, badges, and the like.

You can definitely make money, but it's a one-off deal.

The advantage is that the investment is small, the risk is low, but the market is huge.

Even if you have no business experience, it doesn't matter; as long as you have goods, you can make a steady profit.

"Let's leave it at that for now. We need to let Second Brother make some money first before we talk about future plans..."

Chen Ling silently thought about it, preparing to write a letter to Wang Qingzhong later, and to start wholesaling some fabric next month.

In fact, there are many opportunities to make money this way, such as selling crayfish. It's just that he's too lazy to go out and do it, so it's perfect to leave it to his family.

On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, he thought about asking his second brother and his wife to make some spicy strips.

Spicy strips only started to become popular in 1997.

There's not much for sale right now.

When I told Wang Qingzhong, I used Sun Yanhong's lobster shop as an example, telling them that I had come up with some new snacks by sheer luck.

During the two days following the wheat harvest, I managed to steal a moment to make two simple bean curd sheets for them to try, which received unanimous praise.

The idea for this spicy snack came to me after I saw Lao Niwai's "Vinegar Treasure" and mixed it with chili peppers.

"Yes, even if my second brother and the others really do make spicy strips in the future, they should make sure they are clean and hygienic, so that not only students like them, but parents can also accept them."

In fact, let alone spicy strips, even instant noodles cannot be completely hygienic and clean.

These things were on his mind.

A baby's clear, childlike voice came from outside, humming and whining, sounding quite annoyed, as if she was arguing with someone.

Chen Ling snapped out of his daze and went outside to see what was happening. It turned out that the little thing was leading Ya Ya to collect snail shells in the rain.

Behind them, Gao Xiulan held an umbrella for the two of them. At this moment, the little kitten picked up a fish that was jumping and splashing in the rain and was about to run to the side to enjoy it. Unfortunately, Rui Rui grabbed its tail and pulled it in front of him. He sat on it like riding a black child, not letting it move.

Then he reached into the kitten's mouth and started picking at it.

Gao Xiulan was so frightened by this that she almost jumped out of her skin. She quickly said, "Good heavens, you're really braver than anyone else. What if the cat scratches you?"

This little kitten is almost a big cat now, very strong. If you provoke it, it will scratch you. Especially since that naughty Rui Rui sat on its bottom, it hurts a vital spot. It's really dangerous for the little guy.

Fortunately, this little kitten has been hanging out with puppies since it was a kitten, so it knows that Rui Rui is not someone to mess with. It often hides from him when it sees the puppies, and it doesn't dare to resist when it gets caught.

It just meowed in panic, its tail wagging wildly and incessantly.

"What? You're even fighting with the cat for fish? Want to eat fish?"

Chen Ling walked over and gently kicked the brat. When Rui Rui saw him coming, his eyes lit up, he called out "Dad," and then chuckled as he showed him the little bucket.

Ya Ya called out from the side, "Uncle, we caught so many snails, let's have stir-fried snails for lunch."

"There are too many insects in the snail shells at this time of year. They're not good for humans to eat. It's better to feed them to the chickens."

Chen Ling smiled slightly: "But you can catch some of these big snails, they're quite delicious."

As he spoke, he picked up a grass snail the size of a walnut from a puddle at his feet. It was similar in color to a field snail and was difficult to distinguish in the rain.

But as Chen Ling said, grass snails are much better than river snails. At this time of year, when the weather is warm, river snails and clams are full of parasites, and they are disgusting to eat.

It's not as clean as a grass snail.

"Okay, let's go catch snails."

Ya Ya obediently responded, grabbed Rui Rui's hand, and the two of them carried the small bucket and started searching everywhere.

Gao Xiulan followed them with an umbrella, then turned to Chen Ling and said, "There are plenty of small fish by the ditch. They just swim up with the rainwater. Let's cook a pot of mixed small fish for lunch."

"Okay, these fish that have come ashore today should be enough for us to eat."

Fish like flowing water. When it rains heavily, the fish in ditches and ponds will rush to swim upstream and jump against the current.

In some years, there is too much rain, lasting for days and nights. Although the rain is light and there is no flood, many fish swim all over the village with the overflowing water in the ponds, puddles and ditches.

Upon seeing the water inlet of a villager's house, it would frantically swim into the yard, squeezing its head as if its head was being crushed by the water flow.

When Chen Ling arrived at the front yard, Wang Cunye and Zhao Yubao were together, along with three other old men wearing raincoats, scooping fish out of the lotus pond in the rain.

Seeing this, Chen Ling went to the woodshed where miscellaneous items were stored and took out two large bamboo baskets, which he placed at the junctions of the two water channels and the lotus pond to block them.

This way, the fish swimming against the current from the lotus pond to the canal will be blocked and will all swim into the trap, preventing them from jumping ashore.

Unexpectedly, just as the two traps were set up, a crucian carp the size of a palm suddenly leaped out of the lotus pond, jumped over the large trap that was stuck in the broken end of the ditch, and flew onto the bank, where it jumped and thrashed about in the rain.

"What the heck? Are you trying to fly to the moon?"

Chen Ling was taken aback. Just as he was about to pick it up, he saw another ditch where many fish were leaping out of the lotus pond, crashing onto the bank and tumbling back and forth.

Zhao Yubao and Old Man Zhong were stunned for a moment when they saw this, then they couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Hahaha, your fish is really wild! You can't stop it from jumping up, it's like it's flying."

Wang Cunye shook his head helplessly: "The cage is still a bit too small and can't keep the fish out. Lingzi, go and get the chicken coop."

(End of this chapter)