My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 452 Rich
Chen Ling went back to his home in the village, first checking which medicinal herbs were most in short supply, then found a basket and hoe in the woodshed, grabbed his hunting rifle, called the dog, and went out to Nanshan to collect herbs.

The families in Beishan and Xishan were worried about him going there, as there were jackals and all sorts of wild animals. Those thieves had already gotten into trouble twice, and even the bravest ones didn't dare to go deep into the mountains.

The villagers have recently been going to the outer areas of the mountains, or to the southern mountains.

However, Chen Ling did not leave the village directly as usual when he went to Nanshan. Instead, he took a leisurely stroll along the newly dug stream outside the village.

The river meanders and winds its way through the east of the village.

After eating corn, some villagers washed vegetables by the river, while others washed dishes after their meal.

Seeing Chen Ling strolling around with a dog and a bamboo basket on his back, everyone greeted him with smiles, while also inwardly marveling at the young man's leisurely lifestyle.

Others may think Chen Ling is free, but in reality, for more than a month now, Chen Ling hasn't had any real free time.

First, the Water Margin film crew came to visit, then Zhao Yubao's family came over early to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, and all sorts of people came to visit.

Although everyone mainly came to eat, drink, and have fun, they were genuinely willing to help with any chores that needed to be done at home.

Whether it was the small water tower, selling fish, harvesting wheat, or anything else, they were all very helpful.

But after all, guests are guests.

We should still treat our guests with care and hospitality.

When relatives and friends come, there is the joy of gathering together.

Playing alone also has its own fun.

I've been spending a lot of time having fun with my friends every day.

Naturally, I also wanted to go out and have some fun by myself.

"Time flies! The second brood of wild ducks has already hatched."

The small river outside the village had been dredged for less than half a month, and wild ducks were already swimming and playing on the river with groups of ducklings.

As we walked towards Nanshan, the old river bend became even more lively.

Not only wild ducks, but also water birds such as moorhens were calling incessantly in the reeds with their fluffy little chicks.

Seeing this, Chen Ling thought that it was also the peak season for turtles to lay eggs, and he was about to walk around on the beach to see if there were any traces left by turtles.

I accidentally kicked over two stones on the riverbank and discovered several crabs huddled together, seeking shade.

Chen Ling was thrilled and wanted to catch him.

As a result, Heiwa and his brother couldn't wait to start calling out.

These past few days, with farm work keeping us busy, Heiwa and Xiaojin have been constantly looking after Ruirui, helping to take care of the child.

It's been a long time since I've been out and about.

As soon as it approached the forest, it became very excited, barking loudly as it ran wildly up the mountain path.

Chen Ling shook his head helplessly: "Forget it, forget it, let's go to the mountains first, we'll talk about the crabs when we get back."

So they followed the two dogs up the mountain.

After a while, I hadn't been to the mountains. Stepping into the forest this time, I was greeted by the clear, melodious birdsong and felt the lush greenery.

It was even more comfortable than visiting the mountains in spring.

The cicadas chirped, and the gentle breeze was intoxicating.

Various insect chirps and bird calls, and the melodious tinkling of the mountain spring.

Suddenly, a few soft 'woof woof woof' sounds came from some direction, quite far away, perhaps deep in the mountains or separated by one or two hills.

Upon hearing the bark, the two dogs immediately pricked up their ears, sniffed the air, and stared in a certain direction, beginning to growl softly.

"Huh? That red muntjac has come up the south mountain?"

Upon hearing the strange cry, Chen Ling immediately knew what it was.

Red muntjac, also known as barking deer.

"It seems that the jackals and wolves from the North and West Mountains have driven them here."

He glanced at the two rather restless dogs: "Alright, let's wait a little longer. Let them settle down for two months. It's breeding season for them now, it's not time for us to go hunting yet..."

The two dogs immediately stopped looking in that direction and started running around in the woods.

One moment they're digging holes, the next they're urinating, and then they're burrowing into the dense vines to snatch up small, rotten animals that are nothing but bones. They chase each other, constantly moving through the forest.

While they frolicked, Chen Ling slowly gathered herbs with his hoe.

This year, there are many more medicinal herbs in Nanshan than in previous years.

But it can't compare to Beishan and Xishan.

So while digging for medicinal herbs, we unknowingly crossed two mountain ridges.

Unexpectedly, just as I came down from the ridge, I saw rustling sounds in the woods on the other side of the river, and several shadows were moving slightly.

Blackie's eyes immediately lit up, and his ears and tail stood up immediately.

If Chen Ling hadn't warned them that it wasn't hunting season, they would have already crouched low and quietly sneaked away.

"Wow, a herd of sika deer!"

Chen Ling's eyes widened instantly, because it's really hard to see sika deer in the outer mountains and forests.

Unless it's winter and people eat less.

The recent appearance of red muntjacs and sika deer proves that the number of these wild animals this year is definitely not small.

The number of wild animals has increased.

Correspondingly, uncommon wild animals such as jackals and leopards will also come looking for them.

"Great! It wouldn't be right if we didn't catch two female leopards this autumn."

Thinking of this, Chen Ling couldn't help but show his delight.

They saw seven or eight female deer emerging from the forest, cautiously approaching the water's edge.

Surprisingly, several adorable little sika deer followed behind.

This herd of deer has more than ten members, so it's definitely not small.

Chen Ling had an urge to capture them all and bring them into the cave, allowing them to continue expanding.

After thinking about it, I decided not to do it.

However, seeing the few little sika deer peeking out, he couldn't resist his mischievous impulse. He stood up, clapping his hands loudly and shouting, scaring a group of sika deer of all sizes into fleeing with a yelp.

Chen Ling burst into laughter upon seeing this.

The two dogs barked and rushed down the hillside, across the river, and chased after him for a distance before running back, soaking wet, excitedly wagging their tails at Chen Ling.

Clearly, they also enjoy this kind of unrestrained and mischievous play.

"Let's go, let's go into the woods and blast some more rocks, let's see what else we can get out."

"If we manage to scare out a leopard, we'll catch it on the spot." Chen Ling laughed, put away his basket, hoe, and other supplies in the cave, and led Dabu and the others into the forest.

The man and his two dogs ran and barked, scaring all sorts of birds and beasts into running and jumping around in panic.

This whole ordeal actually unearthed quite a few unexpected things.

For example, foxes.

There used to be very few of these.

Apart from the few near his home, Chen Ling hadn't actually seen any other foxes around.

This time, after crossing two mountain peaks, we saw no fewer than four fox dens along the riverbank and in rocky gullies.

It was truly both unexpected and delightful.

Chen Ling even witnessed a mother badger carrying her baby badger as she moved house.

Startled by him and his two dogs, he abandoned the badger cub and ran away.

Seeing the size of the little badger, Chen Ling figured it had been weaned, so he put it in his cave and left it alone.

They then went to the badger's den and found the remaining baby badger, and the two kept each other company in the burrow.

Otherwise, if you leave one behind, it will get human scent and the mother badger won't accept it anymore.

It wouldn't be good if other wild animals ate it.

Let's just throw it into the cave.

……

In short, the mountains are now home to a wide variety of birds and animals, and it seems that the variety of plants and trees has also increased considerably.

Wild orchids, wild apples... Chen Ling also saw several wild watermelons.

He dug up a plant and put it in the cave, planning to take it out and hybridize it in his spare time.

Overjoyed by such a pleasant surprise, Chen Ling was filled with delight as he drove back from the mountains at noon.

After all, it was my own doing that caused this change, so the sense of accomplishment was indescribable.

They led the two boys, Heiwa and Heiwa, down the mountain, humming little tunes.

Just as I rounded the old river bend, I heard a little child shouting under a big tree: "Ants are moving house and snakes are crossing the road, a heavy rain is coming soon, it must be raining heavily soon."

Chen Ling looked over there and saw Yu Qiang's son, Xiao Sen, leading a group of younger children on the edge of the melon field, carrying small buckets and shovels, digging up something, they had dug up a pile of soil.

"Hey, you guys, what are you doing here instead of going home for lunch in the middle of the day? Don't you know there are jackals in the mountains?"

Chen Ling called out.

Their eyes lit up, and despite being covered in mud, they ran over calling out "Uncle Grandpa" and "Uncle Fugui".

"Grandpa, we're looking for turtle eggs. Lots of wheat field turtles have been laying eggs lately."

"Yes, we want to find some to take back and hatch baby turtles..."

"Grandpa, could you ask Heiwa and Xiaojin to help us look for them? We can't find where the wheat field turtles bury their eggs. It took us ages to find one nest."

Just then, a sleepy-eyed old man emerged from the shack.

"Oh, Fugui, you've gone up the mountain?"

"Oh, Brother Jukun is here watching the melons. I thought these kids were all unsupervised."

Chen Ling smiled and said a few words to Wang Jusheng.

Then he turned to Xiao Sen and the others and said, "Finding turtle eggs is easy. You don't need Heiwa and the other two. I can teach you how to find them."

The number of wheat field turtles has only just started to increase this year.

Logically speaking, we shouldn't harm their turtle eggs.

However, some things are not so simple.

For example, when it's farming season, the wheat field turtle likes to lay its eggs in the fields, and there's nothing that can be done about it.

The wheat harvest is now complete, and autumn crops are being planted.

The turtle couldn't find a suitable place to lay its eggs.

Many eggs will go to waste even if people don't look for them.

The baby turtles won't hatch.

"Wow, Uncle Fugui, can you really find where turtles lay their eggs? Please teach us!"

"Yes, Uncle, please teach us quickly. If you teach us how to find turtle eggs, I'll give you all the cicada nymphs I caught tonight."

When these little creatures first encountered catching turtles and turtle eggs, they were full of novelty and enthusiasm, and they displayed an unimaginable passion for these turtle eggs.

"Why are you bothering your great-uncle? It's the middle of the day, aren't you going to let your great-uncle eat?"

Wang Jukun scolded his grandson and the others.

Then he brought over two carefully selected watermelons.

"Haha, it's nothing, Brother Jukun, it's just finding a turtle egg..."

Chen Ling smiled at Wang Jukun, then said to Xiao Sen and the others, "These turtle eggs aren't too hard to find. You just need to figure out their temperaments."

These wheat field turtles used to like to dig holes near the roots of wheat in ditches to lay their eggs, and then bury the holes with soil after laying their eggs.

Now that the wheat has been harvested, there are many turtles in the melon fields, and it's the same here.

We should look towards the root area.

What are we looking for? We're specifically looking for the paw prints they left when they dug in the soil.

For example, here…

As Chen Ling spoke, his eyes darted around, and he quickly spotted fine claw marks on the base of a watermelon plant near the edge of the field, clearly indicating that the soil had been disturbed.

"And when you're digging turtle holes, don't use a shovel. Otherwise, if there are turtle eggs in the hole, you'll crush them in one go."

These kids just chuckled sheepishly. Wheatfield turtles have been a rare sight these days, and unlike catching scorpions or cicadas, they don't know much about them. They were just messing around here because it was all new and exciting.

As Chen Ling spoke, he squatted down and reached out to clear away the soil around his feet.

Turtles typically lay their eggs in shallow burrows, only about ten centimeters deep.

He slowly dug away the loose soil covering the eggs with his hands, revealing several milky-white turtle eggs underneath. They looked crystal clear, like beautiful white pebbles.

“Look, here it is.”

"Wow, Uncle, you're amazing! You found it as soon as you said you would."

The children cheered.

Chen Ling clapped his hands with a smile: "Alright, I'm going home for dinner. You guys play here. Once you've found enough turtle eggs, I'll tell you how to hatch all the baby turtles alive."

(End of this chapter)