My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 475 Animated Film

"Damn, a leopard?!"

Chen Ling put down the small bucket containing the cicada nymphs, grabbed a carrying pole, and rushed over.

Some of the big cats were on the rooftops, while others were on the ground confronting the pack of dogs. The ones on the ground were clearly male leopards, with robust builds, even larger than ordinary mongrels.

It was not afraid at all even when surrounded by a pack of dogs.

Seeing Chen Ling return, and rushing over with a carrying pole, the dogs immediately perked up, barking wildly and pouncing to bite him.

The leopards did not linger in battle; they nimbly and swiftly dodged, leaping onto the wall and fleeing.

They trampled on water tanks, bamboo baskets, and other items, making a mess of them and spilling them all over the ground.

"What's going on? Why did we attract so many leopards to our house?"

Wang Susu held her son tightly behind her, unaware that the little boy Rui Rui was peeking out from behind her.

"It was probably attracted by the little leopard..."

Chen Ling scratched his head, annoyed, and said, "Damn it, why would so many leopards come for just one little leopard? It's not like it's the leopard king."

"I'll go check on the little leopard."

Wang Susu pulled her son towards the backyard, where they discovered that the little leopard that had been kept under the gourd trellis was nowhere to be seen, leaving only an empty den.

"It's over, Ah Ling, the little leopard has definitely been snatched away."

Wang Susu shouted angrily.

"Dad, Little Leopard is gone."

Rui Rui also imitated the babyish voice and called out.

"Let them take it, they'll have to release it sooner or later anyway."

Chen Ling was taken aback for a moment, then said nonchalantly.

"How can you be like this... Little Leopard listens to me." Wang Susu frowned slightly, finding his words too heartless.

"Didn't we agree that if we were to release it back into the mountains, we would wait until it was a bit bigger before doing so?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling walked over to his wife with a smile: "What? Don't you like keeping dogs? Why are you starting to care about these cats?"

"Can't I like them all?"

Wang Susu was furious. The little leopard was so cute and liked to stick to her, of course she liked it.

Rui Rui blinked her big, dark eyes, looked at her mother, then at her father, and suddenly giggled.

"What are you laughing at? Go upstairs and go to sleep."

Chen Ling glared at him, knowing that her childish appearance and tone amused the brat. "Come with me tomorrow to catch a leopard for Mom."

That's what she said, but Wang Susu couldn't bear to actually let him go and catch the little leopard.

I like them, but seeing so many leopards together is really scary.

Moreover, once you enter the mountains and forests, it's not something you can just find whenever you want.

Even if your own dog is very capable.

But those leopards live in trees, so even if the dog finds them, there's not much it can do.

But little Rui Rui still remembers what his dad said before he went to sleep.

After I got up in the morning, I kept talking about 'leopard' and asked him to take me to catch a leopard cub.

Chen Ling ignored him and simply helped Wang Susu up from the bed. "Since you like that little leopard, when Rui Rui has a younger brother or sister next year, I'll go to the mountains and catch a whole litter. We'll raise them from a young age so they won't run away."

Wang Susu smiled and said, "It's okay, it's okay if we can't catch them. The kittens outside our house are also very fun and lovable."

In fact, the young wife had thought about it and knew in her heart that these wild creatures would be difficult to raise.

For example, those three little foxes often came to play with Xiao Jin, but they couldn't get close to people.

At first, Chen Ling lured him with food twice and even let him touch her. But after he grew up and went into heat, he went to the mountains and rarely came back.

He came back to play with Xiao Jin.

They're not even as friendly as those weasels.

Although those guys are often away from home, when they run into someone outside, they'll take the initiative to find someone and have some fun.

Sometimes you don't know where they come from, suddenly appearing under your feet, rubbing and sniffing at you. Many times you almost accidentally step on them, giving you a fright.

But no matter what, this is what makes people feel gratified.

If the animals are too wild and can't be tamed, it's bound to be exhausting. Besides, my own farm is right next to the mountains. If I don't want to stay anymore, I can just run away into the mountains. There's nothing anyone can do about it.

"Come on, Rui Rui, your mother has spoken. Let's go see if there are any fish in the trap. If there are, we can come back and feed the kittens."

"Wu Dui~"

"Alright, alright, let's catch the turtle."

So the father and son took the little blue horse and headed to the old river bend.

Unexpectedly, when I arrived, Zhao Yubao and his two old men were already there.

I must say, those two old men are really energetic.

These days, I follow Chen Ling and the adults and children in the village to catch cicada nymphs every night, setting up traps and such, and look for cicada shells during the day.

He was more excited than anyone else.

"Fugui, you're here just in time. Quickly help me take a look and see if this turtle is male or female. If it's female, I'll release it."

Zhao Yubao was squatting on the shore when he opened the fish trap. Inside, besides some small fish, there was a turtle, but it was small, only about the size of a bowl, and it was impossible to tell whether it was male or female.

"Uncle Zhao, you're quite skilled. You've been catching turtles lately, and your technique is very proficient." Chen Ling watched as the old man reached out and grabbed the turtle, his thumb and forefinger hooking into the two hind leg sockets, while his other hand slowly and deliberately removed it from its antennae cage, showing great skill.

"Haha, that's right, I've had several masters."

Zhao Yubao said rather proudly, "Take a look and see if it's male or female?"

Chen Ling took one look and said, "Damn it, alright, let her go."

It's actually quite easy to tell the sex of a soft-shelled turtle.

The male soft-shelled turtle has a long tail, narrow hind legs, and a thin body.

The female turtle has a short tail, two wide and round hind legs, and a plump body.

"Let it go, I have one here too. There are plenty of these things. Just put a cage down and they'll crawl inside."

Old Zhong shouted that his turtle cage also had an old turtle, which was a little bigger than Zhao Yubao's.

Chen Ling also checked it out for him. This one was male. "Male ones aren't as good for soup as female ones, but it's the turtle's egg-laying season right now, so it's best to leave the female one alone if possible."

"Yes, yes, they told us it's okay, we're just playing around, whether we eat it or not isn't important."

"Fugui, let's see how your harvest is."

Chen Ling and the others set their traps at night. In the summer, it's hot during the day, so there are more fish, shrimp, turtles, and other creatures that come out to find food at night, making them easier to catch.

So the children in the village know from a young age that if they come at night to set nets and traps, and come in the morning to collect them, they will surely have a bountiful harvest.

Chen Ling walked to the spot where he had set up his trap. He didn't use any special bait, just the same old thing. As soon as he slowly pulled the trap out of the water, he saw and heard a splashing and jumping sound inside.

Looking inside, you can see not only turtles crawling around in a panic, but also some slender loaches and eels, as well as various river shrimp and small fish, all jumping around.

"Goodness, Fugui's harvest is better than ours. Last night we asked him what experience and skills he had, but he wouldn't say. He must have picked a good place."

"That's right, that's right, let's come and take this place tonight and rob him of it."

Chen Ling smiled, knowing that the two old men were teasing him on purpose. Just as he was about to say something, he saw his son reach out his little hand to the old turtle.

They obviously saw them catching things and came to catch them too.

"Wu Dui~"

"Hey, you little rascal, you can't touch this thing, it's not a turtle."

Catching turtles on the shore is very dangerous. If you're not careful, they'll bite your hand. These things bite hard and won't let go until they bite off a piece of flesh.

Unless you put it in water immediately or cut off its head, this thing will absolutely not let go.

So you have to keep a close eye on little kids when they play with this.

This is no joke.

If you get bitten in a vital spot, it can be a lifelong problem.

"Forget it, I'm not playing anymore. Let's go home and have dinner."

Seeing that Rui Rui kept trying to touch the old turtle, Chen Ling's playful mood faded, and he directly gave the two turtles with whiskers to the two old men.

He didn't even care for the small fish and shrimp inside; he only caught them to feed the cat.

The eel hooks were quite successful; every single one caught something. Now we'll have eels for lunch.

The father and son rode their little blue horse back home.

Rui Rui still misses the turtle; he likes those little shelled toys at home and finds them fun.

As soon as he stepped outside, he started yelling for Chen Ling to catch something for him.

They might mistake an old turtle for a tortoise.

There have been quite a few wheat field turtles around the village this year. Every now and then someone catches one, but they usually don't care. Sometimes the ones they catch are brought home for Rui Rui to play with.

My house now has a pond full of turtles of all sizes.

He wasn't satisfied yet; he wanted to arrest more.

"Stop yelling, eat first, and I'll take you to herd sheep after we eat."

Chen Ling saw her son sitting at the dining table, his little hands drawing on the table, twisting his body, and shouting in a childish voice that he had seen several turtles.

But Dad didn't catch any.

"When we're herding sheep, we'll ask your Grandpa Sangui to make us a tortoise toy. It'll be even more fun than a real tortoise."

The little one's eyes lit up immediately. He ran to Chen Ling's side, sat down next to him, and tilted his little head up, asking, "Daddy, toys?"

"Yes, toys. Hurry up and eat your food. If you eat well, I'll make you toys."

Kids this age are at the age where they're very playful. They don't eat properly, and it's like this every day. No matter how much you scold them, they just keep circling around the table, taking a bite every time they turn around, playing and eating at the same time.

There was absolutely nothing they could do about it.

After breakfast, Gao Xiulan came over, and Chen Ling released all the poultry and livestock.

The dogs stayed home to guard the chickens, ducks, and geese, so he took his son out to herd sheep.

Unexpectedly, as he herded the sheep up the north slope to graze, Zhao Yubao and his two old men were already waiting for him.

“Fugui, that’s great news! One of my students wrote to me saying that he can make an animated program for Heiwa and Xiaojin. He’ll probably come over in about half a month or twenty days after he finishes what he’s doing.”

"cartoon?"

Chen Ling was stunned and greatly surprised.

"Yes, there aren't many good TV dramas about dogs to make these days, and not many people want to watch them. Of course, they have to be popular with young children, so making them into animated films is the best option."

Zhao Yubao raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Perfect, take out your hunting diary of the Qinling Hunter King and adapt it. For example, you can improve things like the mountain donkey. Think about it, isn't that interesting?"

(End of this chapter)