My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 464

The tiger is coming!

A tiger has entered the village!
Good heavens, the whole village was in an uproar when that announcement came over the loudspeaker.

The loudspeaker called for Chen Ling to come over, and when Chen Ling arrived at the brigade, almost half the village had already gone there.

Men, women, young and old, crowded together, standing on tiptoe to peer inside.

Some stood on the rooftops with the little children, climbed trees to look inside, and some even used telescopes from who-knows-how-many years ago to peer inside.

When Chen Ling arrived, he couldn't see the tiger anywhere.

Until the loudspeaker announced, "Make way, let the rich and powerful in."

The crowd slowly dispersed a little, smiling as they led Chen Ling into the brigade's courtyard.

Someone was leading a group of children, shouting, "Wu Song is fighting the tiger! Wu Song is fighting the tiger!"

"Wealth and honor, over here, over here."

It was Zhou Weijun standing next to a film crew vehicle, wearing sunglasses, waving.

Beside him stood a tall, masculine-looking young man, Ding Haidong, who was grinning and waving along with Zhou Weijun: "Brother Ling, over here."

"Haidong, what brings you here again, you true Wu Song?"

Chen Ling was a little surprised to see this kid. "You didn't take sick leave again, did you?"

"No way, my scenes aren't so demanding anymore, so I can still come out and have some fun."

Ding Haidong chuckled, then leaned closer and whispered, "Brother Ling, don't mention this to the director later. They don't know yet. If it weren't for the noise and crowd around, they would have already been exposed."

"Okay, okay, I understand."

Chen Ling quickly agreed, finding it somewhat amusing.

After exchanging a few words, a young man next to him also greeted him.

"Brother Chen, we meet again."

This is Li, the male zookeeper at the zoo.

He also has a tiger trainer who escorted the tiger here today.

Chen Ling had met him at the zoo before; they were already acquaintances, so they quickly struck up a conversation.

“After you left last time, Afu and Ashou were listless for several days. Now, as soon as they hear your voice, they are peeking out and scratching at the cage.”

Xiao Li led him to the truck that was transporting the tiger. It was a thick steel cage, and two big cat heads popped out, squeezed on the bars, and purred at him.

"Haha, see? They've developed feelings for you. The two guys weren't even enthusiastic about eating for the first two days after you left last time."

"Ah Fu and Ah Shou, it's been a long time!"

Chen Ling reached out and patted the fence and wire mesh, then turned and asked, "Why are you both here? It's not summer vacation anymore. Are there more kids watching tigers?"

"There's no way around it. They're both still young, and they'll get upset if they're separated. It's better to bring them along."

Xiao Li smiled and pointed to the villagers outside: "It's okay if there are a lot of people. They grew up in the zoo and are used to it."

As they spoke, the crew members came out of the brigade office.

Chen Ling chatted with acquaintances, while the villagers were very curious about why Chen Ling wasn't afraid of the tiger in the cage on the vehicle, and even accepted the raw meat given to him by the zookeeper to feed the tiger.

"How can the rich not be afraid of tigers?"

"Oh my, he's really not afraid. This kid's getting more and more capable these days. People made up a rhyme for him, and it's actually true: He's not afraid of tigers. If he goes into the mountains, he'll be king, won't he..."

From now on, stop calling him "Dog King." After the movie "Wu Song Fights the Tiger," just call him "Tiger King."

"Grandpa, I want to feed the tiger too."

"...Idiot, you don't have your Uncle Fugui's skills. Why are you going up there to feed the tigers? I think you should just feed yourself to the tigers."

"Haha, Fugui is really something. He went to the zoo and tamed a tiger. From now on, the reputation of our Chenwangzhuang will only grow stronger."

The villagers were all talking about it, very curious.

Not only them, but also Zhao Yubao's two families, and the little lamb's parents, were all amazed.

"Logically speaking, the giant turtle and the water monster in this village have been featured in newspapers and on TV news several times, and the city and provincial capital have also been promoting them. They're using the local name to do business. Haven't you heard of them?"

Zhao Yubao couldn't understand why the couple seemed to know nothing about it.

They've all passed through the city, so they should know about Sun Yanhong's crayfish restaurant in the city center.

"No, really. We've been busy with business for the past six months, and then we started worrying about my son's situation..."

After saying that, the couple sighed and wondered what kind of village this was.

The turtle king and the water monster are one thing, but there are such amazing young people in the village that they have people coming to their door to film a TV series, and they even brought in a tiger.

I really don't know what to say.

……

That day, because there were so many people, watching tigers was different from watching a movie, where people could gather together to watch them at the same time.

So Wang Laishun divided everyone into several groups, according to the original production teams, so that after one team finished inspecting, the next team would come to inspect.

Otherwise, they wouldn't see the tiger and would keep getting closer.

After all that commotion, the crew and the tiger arrived in the village at dusk, and the filming didn't end until after 9 p.m.

The film crew and the zookeeper then took the tiger to Chen Ling's farm.

As for why we didn't just come directly...

This was taken into consideration that Chen Ling's farm had a lot of poultry and livestock, and they were afraid that if a tiger came, it would frighten them and cause an accident.

In addition, if you're going to film here, you definitely need to talk to the village officials, so just go directly to the brigade.

It turns out.

Their concerns are valid.

Although the two tigers, Afu and Ashou, were not yet adults, once they were brought to the farm, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that all the beasts were terrified.

The poultry and livestock seemed to sense something and became restless and agitated, even Heiwa and Xiaojin were on high alert.

The civet cat and the kitten were so frightened that they stayed in their den and dared not come out.

Chen Ling was a bit dumbfounded, thinking: 'This is a tiger after all. Although it has lost its wildness and is still a juvenile, the majesty of the king of beasts is etched in its blood...'

He had heard the old folks say that there used to be tigers in the mountains of their area. Someone in Wangbacheng even hunted a tiger, sold the tiger skin, and kept a tiger skeleton. It was said that when the tiger urine and tiger skeleton were taken out, they could terrify half the village's dogs, making them tremble and dare not bark.

The tiger's intimidating power over other animals is self-evident.

Fortunately, Afu and Ashou were raised in a zoo and are still minors. Otherwise, the livestock and poultry on the farm would not just be simply afraid and uneasy; they would probably be terrified.

At night, the two tiger cubs were placed in a livestock pen at the foot of the mountain, far from the farm, to spend the night. They were briefly let out to play with Chen Ling for a while, and then put back in their cages when it was time for them to sleep.

That night, Wang Zhenzhen and his son Chen Ling slept with the tiger along with the zookeeper.

Because Chen Ling hadn't allowed Rui Rui to get close to the tiger when they released it at the farm that night, Rui Rui kept whining and pestering Chen Ling, imagining himself touching and playing with the tiger like Chen Ling did.

Chen Ling has been very careful lately, trying not to upset Wang Susu, so he hasn't scolded the brat.

They moved out two single beds, hung up mosquito nets, and at night they pulled him and Wang Zhenzhen to sleep here with the tiger.

The two little creatures hugged the glass bottle containing the fluorescent fish, hiding inside the mosquito net. They could even watch the tiger before going to sleep, and they were so happy they almost lost their bearings.

They had a great time.

The two little tigers, Afu and Ashou, were even happier. Not only were they happy, but they also felt refreshed and relaxed, as it was their first time in such a vast world.

The places to eat, drink, and sleep are much more comfortable than those in the zoo.

After waking up in the morning, the two were full of energy. They lay on their cages and barked loudly at the rising sun, startling all the chickens and dogs on the farm.

Chen Ling, along with the zookeeper and the trainer, let the two animals out to play for a while. It's like walking a dog; you can't keep them in a cage all the time if you don't let them exercise.

To prevent them from running around, Xiao Li and his companion were even planning to tie them with iron chains.

But when Chen Ling tried it, the two little tigers became very attached to him after they arrived. They kept following him around, either using their two front paws to hug his legs or each of them holding onto one of his legs, not letting him leave.

He would roll around, using his chubby body to block his way, and play around.

Lei Rui laughed and giggled in Chen Ling's arms.

She even tentatively reached out her little hand and touched the tiger's head.

Afu and Ashou simply tilted their noses up and sniffed at Rui Rui with bewildered eyes.

Chen Ling knew that the two little ones were just trying to please him, hugging him and begging for food.

But it was different in the eyes of Xiao Li and the animal trainer.

Even if a tiger loses its wildness, it is still a tiger.

Even if they are raised from a young age, like that female zookeeper, they may become estranged if they don't see each other for ten days or half a month.

Especially after a tiger reaches six months of age, it becomes very difficult for it to get too close to people.

But these two guys, upon seeing Chen Ling, became more than just friendly.

They were just like two little puppies, acting cute, rolling around, and trying to please each other.

This is unbelievable for animal trainers.

But looking at the things that other people raise on their farm, I was reminded of the rumors about them hunting leopards.

He had to admit to himself, 'This kid really does seem like one of those legendary folk prodigies.'

"Wow~"

Seeing Chen Ling playing with the two tigers and even feeding them, Heiwa and his brother were very indignant.

They led their pack of dogs to surround the two tigers, barking to express their dissatisfaction.

The little white calf slowly chewed on the grass by the river, gazing into the distance.

The little blue horse also lay on its two front hooves on the fence of the livestock pen, looking warily at the two young men who were already so big.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou had never seen so many strange creatures before. Upon seeing this, they hurriedly hid behind Chen Ling, making incessant "Awoo, Awoo" noises.

This is just like the story of "the donkey of Guizhou who had exhausted all his tricks".

The tiger had never seen a donkey before and didn't know what a donkey was capable of. Seeing its large size, it thought the donkey was very powerful, but all it could do was kick.

It's the same now; Afu and Ashou have never seen the world because they lived in the zoo.

How could I not feel guilty and scared?

"Alright, alright, everyone disperse. Don't piss these two off, or you won't be able to handle a slap."

Chen Ling waved his hand to disperse the pack of dogs.

Then he handed his son to Wang Susu, squatted down and pried open Afu's big paws: "See? They're much bigger than a leopard's. These paws are just like what Fourth Grandfather said, like iron hooks. If you scratch them, a big chunk of bloody flesh will come off."

Seeing this, Wang Zhenzhen took a tattered rag from the chicken coop and said, "Brother-in-law, try it and see if the tiger can scratch it open."

Chen Ling paused for a moment, then smiled: "Okay, then hold on tight."

Then, holding Afu's big paw, he slowly slashed at the rag, and with a tear, the rag split in two.

"Wow, that's amazing! It's even faster than a knife!"

Wang Zhenzhen exclaimed in surprise, and Wang Susu and the rest of the crew were also startled.

Afu had never played this game before and looked at his paws with a puzzled expression.

Chen Ling quickly used his other hand to scratch its chin, tickling it until it closed its eyes comfortably like a cat.

"Haha, this guy, even a tiger becomes a cat in Fugui's hands..."

Zhou Weijun smiled in astonishment, then said to the assistant director of the crew, "Isn't there another drama about the Zhenguan era coming up? Find him to play Li Jing."

"Oh, right, here's one ready-made."

The chubby, short assistant director was taken aback at first, then clapped his hands and exclaimed in surprise.

"Li Jing, the Investiture of the Gods?"

Chen Ling was also taken aback. After thinking for a moment, he realized that the person had mentioned Zhenguan. Oh, it was Li Jing from the Tang Dynasty, who raised tigers under his eaves.

This is why Wu Song became famous for fighting the tiger.

"Okay, I'll lend you a hand when I have time."

Anyway, it's just a matter of playing with the tiger, so Chen Ling wasn't unhappy about it.

Then the crew went to the village to gather some villagers and went up the mountain to select and set up the filming location.

Wu Song fighting the tiger was a nighttime performance.

We have two or three days to prepare.

After the film crew left, only some elderly people with free time were left to lead their children to watch the tigers.

"By the way, Brother Chen, I arrived late yesterday and forgot to ask you, what breed are your two big dogs? They look a bit like Central Asian Shepherds, but not quite. They probably have some Central Asian or Kangal blood, right?"

"That's what the animal trainer asked."

It's clear that he's quite interested in these things.

I know some famous dog breeds from abroad.

"No, they are just some local hunting dogs, a breed of guard dogs that originated from the deep mountains of Fenglei Town to the west of us. We call them Tiger Head Yellow."

Chen Ling called Heiwa and Xiaojin over.

Upon seeing this, Afu and Ashou quickly hid behind Chen Ling. They had seen dogs before, but never one this big.

Especially that big black dog, its eyes were like copper bells, and its head was not much smaller than theirs.

That's absolutely terrifying.

"Huh? I've heard of and seen the local breed, the Tiger-headed Yellow Dog, but can it grow this big? Its shoulder height must be over 80 centimeters..."

The animal trainer was somewhat skeptical: "When I heard others say that your dog could hunt wolves and leopards, I was a little confused. But after seeing its size, I finally understand. Central Asian Shepherd Dogs are capable of hunting wolves; they are extremely powerful."

Chen Ling shook his head: "What Central Asian, Kangal? Last time I met a group of dog fighters in the city, they said the same thing, saying that my two dogs look alike, but I have never seen what those two kinds of dogs look like."

As he spoke, he added in his mind, "No matter what they look like, they can't compare to the dogs I raised in my own cave. After a few more generations, they'll be invincible."

They kept watch over the tiger in the orchard, picking some peaches and eating watermelons along the way, having a wonderful time.

The crew also found the process of finding filming locations both novel and interesting.

One moment they spotted a badger, the next a fox, and then a leopard with several cubs running around. Every now and then, they startled a few sika deer. If you disregard the dangers, it was practically a paradise on earth.

What's even more amazing is that Zhao Tianba, a martial arts instructor on the set, found an injured leopard cub that afternoon.

They caught the leopard on the farm and had Chen Ling apply medicine to it. Unfortunately, this leopard was a cub of a terrestrial leopard, not a real leopard cub.

(End of this chapter)