My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 448 Cat

Hearing the old director's statement, Lynx widened his eyes in agreement and looked at Chen Ling: "That's really possible, Fugui, what do you think?"

"What am I supposed to say? I'm completely baffled..."

Chen Ling looked at the roaring tigers huddled together, speechless.

Hunting and killing animals over a long period of time are believed to accumulate a lot of malevolent energy, a saying that exists in rural areas.

While it may be called superstition, it's not entirely superstition.

At least Chen Ling himself had seen similar situations. There used to be a pig butcher in Changle Township who would often slaughter pigs and sell meat at the market after winter.

He killed at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, pigs.

People said he had a strong aura of malevolence about him.

When he's not slaughtering pigs, the pigs in the village are so frightened by him that their legs go weak and they huddle against the wall, too scared to move.

Even the dogs running around in the village would bark wildly at him.

Even timid dogs might wet themselves in fright.

This is indeed a true story.

But now.

Chen Ling was facing a tiger, which was different from the one he was dealing with.

It's hard to say whether it's because he hunted too much that he developed a strong aura of malevolence.

Or is it some other reason that makes it different from what ordinary people do?

But regardless, given the tiger's strong reaction, it's definitely impossible to get close to it today.

Disrupting people's normal business operations and frightening tourists are two aspects.

The zoo was also worried about the potential danger to his personal safety.

Finally, the former zoo director and the zookeeper discussed it.

Let Chen Ling try again tomorrow.

There will be fewer tourists tomorrow, Monday, and they will isolate the two tiger cubs in separate enclosures, away from the adult tigers.

"As you just saw, the two tiger cubs didn't react to Xiao Chen at all. After swimming up from the artificial lake, they were still peeking and looking around."

After they left the tiger enclosure, the old director pointed to two still clueless tiger cubs in the enclosure, who were only interested in playing, and said to everyone.

"So, the big tiger reacted strongly, that's fine. Anyway, our initial idea was to pick one of the tiger cubs to cultivate a relationship with."

These two tiger cubs are less than six months old, and although they have grown in size, they are no match for adult tigers in terms of ferocity or fighting ability.

My mind is filled with nothing but fun.

One minute it's playing in the water, the next it's jumping around and rolling around. Apart from being a bit bigger, it's no different from a domesticated kitten.

If the tiger was provoked because it sensed the murderous aura emanating from Chen Ling...

They felt nothing at all.

They didn't even have a concept of danger.

What do you think, Xiao Chen?

The old director was worried that Chen Ling had been frightened, after all, the ferocious appearance of those four tigers was truly terrifying.

Many tourists are still in shock, and some are complaining that the tiger is too dangerous, saying that if it jumps out, it will eat people, and that they will never come back and will file a complaint.

It mostly scares young children to tears.

Even the braver ones, like Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui, turned pale with fright.

"I'm fine. I'll try to come early tomorrow to feed the two tiger cubs and see how they are. If they're not doing well, I'll call the Water Margin production team again."

Chen Ling remained calm and unaffected.

The lynx continued to chat and laugh, after all, both of them had fought face-to-face with wild beasts and had much stronger mental fortitude than ordinary people.

Even the fiercest tigers, unable to escape their cages, cannot frighten them.

……

No one expected this to happen when they came today.

However, the fact that they didn't get to see the tiger didn't dampen their spirits at the zoo.

I had lunch with the Lynx couple.

In the afternoon, I took Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui to ride elephants, feed giraffes, and take several photos.

Of course, I didn't forget to go to that little amusement park.

After having fun like this...

In the evening, I also went to visit Sun Yanhong's new store in the provincial capital.

Although her business has just opened.

However, Sun Yanhong put a lot of effort into promotion, and the new store was opened in People's Square in the provincial capital, the place with the highest foot traffic.

It was incredibly popular as soon as it opened.

When the Chen and Ling families came over, Sun Yanhong was pleasantly surprised and enthusiastically showed them around, introducing everything as if it were a treasure.

Finally, she was taken to her own office.

"See? I didn't lie to you. If Teacher Zhao Yubao hadn't refused to cooperate with the advertising, our business would be even better than it is now."

Sun Yanhong poured them tea and brought over a fruit platter for Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui to eat.

Lynx exclaimed, "I think this is pretty good. The new store is already packed with people as soon as it opens. Dahai had also wanted Fugui to open a restaurant before, but I didn't expect you to use this idea and do it so well."

Upon hearing the praise, Sun Yanhong smiled brightly: "Oh dear, that's still a long way off, Brother Zhong. Have you ever been to any crayfish restaurants in our city?"

Lynx and Cuckoo exchanged a glance and smiled: "Uh, we've never actually been there before."

I've already eaten crayfish at Fugui's place, and we often drink alcohol there too, so I didn't go.

"No wonder. You haven't been to our store in the city, so you don't know the situation there. It's a three-story building, and it's always full. There are still people queuing outside, and often some people can't even get a turn."

Do you think this new store is still far from perfect?

Sun Yanhong smiled and then turned to Chen Ling and said, "This shop is a joint venture between me and Yu Bangjin and a few others. It's quite an investment. Don't keep any new gadgets to yourself... Even if I can't afford them, they can."

Chen Ling nodded: "Okay, if there's anything good, I'll have Fang Boming send you a message."

The lamb we raise at home is almost ready, and its flavor is already close to that of Lingxia lamb and Xinjiang lamb. Once the adult sheep have been raised for another six months, or once this batch of lambs has grown up, they will be ready to be sold.

As for the yellow beef he had high hopes for, it fell short and failed to achieve a qualitative leap.

Seeing Chen Ling's calm and composed demeanor, Sun Yanhong knew that he still had something left to take out.

She now understands Chen Ling's temperament and is no longer in a hurry.

Otherwise, it would be bad if Chen Ling misunderstood her as being too greedy.

Just say, "Once your peach orchard opens, have Xiao Fang bring the peaches over. It doesn't matter whose fruit we use for the fruit platters in this shop."

"Oh, right, and watermelons too. Do Jusheng and the others in the village still have any left? Should we have them shipped over in the next few days?" "Well, peaches are fine, but watermelons are probably too tough to handle now. You're asking a bit too late."

Chen Ling shook his head.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" Sun Yanhong was taken aback.

Even Wang Susu and the others looked over.

"First, the road is long, and it's difficult to transport them since the road isn't finished yet. Second, the watermelons they have left in their fields will ripen soon, in just a few days. With such a long distance, overripe watermelons are easily damaged on the way. If they're brought to the city, most of the watermelons on the truck will be spoiled, and then they'll be unusable."

Chen Ling said.

"Huh? According to you, how come the watermelons that are being sold in the city are transported here?" Lynx asked curiously.

"Those watermelons are from nearby production areas. Otherwise, most of the watermelons that are transported over long distances are already half-ripe when they arrive."

When watermelon vendors go to the melon fields in the countryside to select watermelons, they will specifically emphasize to the melon farmers that they should pick watermelons that are six or seven tenths ripe and not overripe ones.

I'm just worried about bumping into something on a familiar road and damaging it.

Half-ripe watermelons can be transported to the city without any problems, as they can ripen slowly.

That's right, these artificially ripened watermelons don't taste as good as those that ripen naturally.

After bringing it home, I found that only the core of the melon was sweet; the parts near the rind were fleshy and not very sweet.

Chen Ling explained.

"Oh, is that so? No wonder the watermelons the villagers gave me when I went to your village were so delicious. Buy a watermelon when you come back; the taste is nowhere near as good."

Du Juan suddenly realized.

They had no idea about these things before.

Even Sun Yanhong didn't know the details and intricacies involved, since she hadn't had much experience with it.

"So you mean that when you pick your peaches, you can't pick the ones that are too ripe?" Sun Yanhong asked.

"The peaches are fine. My peaches are crisp peaches, and they remain crisp even when ripe. They can withstand bumps and jolts."

As they spoke, a rich aroma of fish wafted over.

A waiter brought out the food.

The ingredients used were the red-lipped fish from Chen Ling's family.

Upon seeing this, Sun Yanhong quickly made arrangements: "Come on, try our chef's cooking. How does it compare to Fugui's?"

Seeing Rui Rui rush to the table with a small water bottle, standing on tiptoe to look at it, I smiled and said, "Rui Rui, are you hungry? This is fish. Fish meat has bones, which can prick you. Auntie won't serve you any. Your mom will remove the bones for you later."

Rui Rui tilted his little head and mumbled in confusion, "Niu Niu?"

"It's not beef, it's fish."

Seeing this, Wang Susu picked him up and smiled gently, "You think it's beef just by the smell. Let me remove the fish bones for you before you eat it."

"He's very shrewd; you don't need to help him pick out the fish bones. Besides, there aren't many bones in this red-lipped fish," Chen Ling said as he served rice to the mother and son.

Perhaps it was because his own son had been baptized in the grotto.

Although they don't understand many things, they have an innate talent for eating and playing.

After all, eating and playing are abilities that animal cubs are born with.

Then he glanced at the little girl curled up on the sofa, her eyelids drooping: "Is Zhenzhen asleep? Come and eat, we'll go home after we eat so you can sleep, otherwise you'll be hungry when we get back and no one will cook for you."

At this moment, Wang Susu stared at him with her round, almond-shaped eyes: "What, do you mean that when you take him to eat fish, you never pick out the bones for him? Aren't you afraid of hurting him?"

"Don't worry, just put a piece of fish on his plate and you'll see for yourself," Chen Ling said.

Wang Susu picked up a small piece of fish with some skepticism. In fact, this piece of fish had no bones. She placed it in the small bowl in front of her son.

Rui Rui reached out and grabbed a piece of fish, first sucking the broth off the fish meat, then holding it in her two little hands and eating it carefully, smacking her lips repeatedly.

While smacking their lips, they're spitting out fish bones.

The fish was too small and didn't have any small bones, so I didn't spit out a single bone.

The little guy munched on his food, glancing up at Chen Ling and Wang Susu. After finishing, he kept whining and asking them for more.

Wang Susu picked up another small piece of fish for him, and exclaimed in surprise, "He really knows how to eat fish! He's so young, who taught him this? How come I never knew?"

She was genuinely surprised.

Young children, especially those under three years old, are most carefree when it comes to eating.

Those who notice will know.

They eat by swallowing their food whole.

Eating something is just about stuffing it into your mouth.

Therefore, children often encounter danger when swallowing foreign objects in the pediatric ward of hospitals.

"Don't even mention you, I was shocked when I saw it. Do you think I don't feel sorry for my son? Who knows where he learned that from?"

Chen Ling chuckled. Logically speaking, children under three years old should not be allowed to eat fish, and it's best not to let them eat it even if an adult is watching. It's too late to regret it if they get a fish bone stuck in their throat.

But my own son is a little different.

I don't know when it started, but whenever we eat fish at home, this little guy eats it this way, regardless of whether there are fish bones or not.

Even after I've removed the fish bones for him, he still does the same thing.

The lynx laughed and said, "Rui Rui isn't a rat anymore, he's a cat. He's been a fish-eating expert since he was little."

Dujuan was also very surprised.

However, what she envied even more was that Chen Ling's family always had a homely atmosphere no matter where they went.

She thought to herself: Perhaps when the two of them have their own children in the future, they will be just as warm and fun as they are.

……

The chef at Sun Yanhong's restaurant is quite good.

The red-lipped fish is fresh, fragrant, and tender, and the fish soup is rich but not greasy, becoming more and more flavorful with each bite.

Even though she was feeling sleepy, Wang Zhenzhen forced herself to eat two large bowls of rice before going back with them.

The next day.

Chen Ling went to the zoo alone.

The two tiger cubs have been separated.

With the big tiger away this time, there was indeed no reaction, and feeding it was not a problem.

To Chen Ling's delight, after he secretly added two drops of spiritual water to the food bowl during the second meal at noon, the two tiger cubs quickly became affectionate, and he even managed to touch the furry head of one of them.

After feeding them for the fourth time in the evening, the two tiger cubs seemed a little reluctant to leave.

The zookeeper could hardly believe that this was the same person who had enraged two pairs of adult tigers yesterday.

(End of this chapter)