My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 477 Military Dog
The mountains are green and seem about to rain; the water is calm and seems to be shrouded in mist.

The sky quickly darkened at dusk.

Dark clouds loomed over the distant mountains, their slopes a deep, inky green. A breeze stirred the water, creating ripples on its surface.

Soon after, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and raindrops began to fall.

Wang Susu was right; the weather forecast was very accurate this time. The rain was quite heavy, and it seemed unlikely that we would be able to go to the market tomorrow.

After helping Wang Susu into the living room, Chen Ling led his son around the farm, tidying up clothes and medicinal herbs that were drying, and also unplugging all the power.

In thunderstorms, especially at the foot of a mountain, these precautions are necessary.

After finishing all that, he rode his little blue horse to the village courtyard and tidied up again.

Upon returning to the farm, both the man and the horse were soaked to the bone from the rain.

However, the little blue horse didn't care at all; on the contrary, it was extremely excited.

It raised its four hooves high, splashing through the water in the yard, letting the rain cascade down.

The little white calf lay under the eaves, leisurely watching the rain.

Beside her were Chen Ling and his family of three, and Gao Xiulan, who was shelling peanuts in a basket.

Seeing Rui Rui constantly throwing stones into the rain, he told Heiwa and the other boy to pick them up.

This scene reminded Chen Ling that she hadn't told her family about the animated film yet.

He mentioned to his wife and mother-in-law that one of Zhao Yubao's students wanted to make two animated films for Heiwa.

The mother and daughter also knew about the cartoon.

Wang Zhenzhen spends all day watching TV.

"This is great, we can be on TV without having to show our faces."

The old lady said approvingly.

Like most people from the countryside, she was embarrassed to be on television and watched by so many viewers.

But if it's made into an animated film, that's a different story.

"Yes, I think this is good too." Wang Susu nodded, her eyes crinkling with a smile and anticipation.

Chen Ling had originally said that the family members didn't need to appear much, but seeing that his wife liked it, he thought about it and decided that they could appear a few times, but not too many.

The main characters are still two dogs.

Children love watching these cartoon animal characters.

For example, Blue Cat Naughty, Big Face Cat, and Blue Skin Mouse are all examples of this type of thing.

"Yes, when Rui Rui and the others grow up and become sensible, they'll see that the cartoons are all our own creations. Wouldn't that be great?"

Chen Ling brought this up.

Wang Susu was even more excited; the more she thought about that scene, the more agitated she became.

She even asked Chen Ling to bring her a small notebook, saying she wanted to write this down.

If possible, we should also incorporate some meaningful things for children into the animation.

In short, Chen Ling did not expect that this matter would unintentionally touch his wife's heart.

If it weren't for her increasingly inconvenient health, she might have rewarded Chen Ling tonight, taking advantage of the stormy weather and the right mood.

……

This thunderstorm lasted for two days.

We couldn't go to the market; the village was also without power.

After the rain stopped on the third day, the flood control commander was sent over again.

It is said that there have been floods in some areas this year, with countless farmlands submerged and even urban areas suffering severe damage.

The female leader named Li Min moved back into the farm.

Last year, many things hadn't been set up yet, and with her son just born, Chen Ling didn't plan to receive any guests other than relatives and friends.

It doesn't really matter this year.

Anyway, they'll take care of their own food and lodging; just pay them.

He initially defined this place purely as a guesthouse.

Li Min and the others weren't there for leisure; they had serious business to attend to, so they weren't often home during the day.

Actually, it's fine to stay at home.

She's not a stranger to me anymore.

It's nice to stay home with Wang Susu and her daughter, chatting and talking.

This morning.

The muddy road had dried a bit after the rain.

The two old men, Zhao Yubao and his companion, continued to lead a group of people up the mountain to search for cicada shells.

Chen Ling left the dog at home and let the sheep graze by the roadside.

He prepared some medicine himself, intending to treat the insects in the vegetable garden.

Mix together neem seeds, neem leaves, trichosanthes kirilowii seeds, trichosanthes kirilowii vines, and other pungent ingredients such as wild peppercorns, chili peppers, and garlic, boil them in a large pot of water, and then soak them in the mixture.

By the afternoon, the juices from all the ingredients had been extracted, and the water had cooled down.

Then pour it into the medicine tank and spray it with a sprayer.

"Fugui, what are you doing? Are you fattening up the vegetables? This whole vat is dark and smells awful."

After Zhao Yubao and the others returned from collecting cicada shells, they went to the small water tower to drink water. When they saw the large vat of 'medicinal water' that Chen Ling had placed there, they went closer to take a look and were sneezed repeatedly by the fumes.

"It's not for fattening, it's for getting rid of insects. There are a lot of insects after the rain, so we have to spray it twice to get rid of them, otherwise the vegetables are unusable."

Chen Ling loves to eat green beans—flat ones, long ones, green ones, purple ones, she loves all kinds of green beans.

However, if worms get inside the green beans and don't come out, it really affects people's appetite.

We still need to spray pesticides to get rid of the insects.

"Insect repellent? Seriously? What is this stuff? I see green dates floating on it. Are you sure this can kill insects?"

Old Zhong said, puzzled.

"Those aren't dates, Uncle Zhong. Those are chinaberry fruits from a chinaberry tree. They're poisonous. If a child has worms in their stomach and an itchy bottom, you can put one of these in at night to kill the worms..."

Chen Ling chuckled: "Make a larger batch. The water from this soaking can kill and repel insects in the fields. Sprinkle some wood ash on top, and the insects won't come near."

"Huh? Really? I see there are trichosanthes seeds inside?"

"Okay, the trichosanthes fruit won't harm the roots of the vegetables. It's not for repelling insects. Try that medicine. Find an ant nest and put a few drops in it, and see how it goes."

As Chen Ling spoke, he slung the medicine tank over his shoulder and turned back to continue spraying the medicine in the vegetable garden.

The two old men, like two old children, dipped leaves in the medicine from the jar and dripped it onto the ant holes, killing the ants quickly. But the ants were too small, and they weren't satisfied yet.

I found two larger segmented insects and pill bugs in the grass and tried them. In no time, the two insects curled up and died.

The two old men were as if they had discovered a new continent.

"Good heavens, it's really poisonous, it's really poisonous."

"Is this method of getting rich and powerful something that everyone knows?"

"No, I figured it out with my father-in-law's help. The main toxicity comes from the neem fruit..."

In their area, pest control mainly relies on pesticides. Pesticides are convenient, effective, and a dose of just one or two bottle caps can be mixed with water to make a large bucket.

Only someone like Chen Ling, with plenty of free time, would bother to put in the effort to do these things.

The main reason is just to have some vegetables.

It wasn't mostly for harvesting grain.

Just spray some pesticides and sprinkle some wood ash in the vegetable garden, and you're done. Wood ash not only kills insects but also fertilizes the soil—it's simple and convenient.

Why bother with all this unnecessary fuss?

However, this suited Zhao Yubao and his companion's tastes perfectly, and they immediately came to ask Chen Ling how to prepare the medicine.

Chen Ling had nothing to hide.

As I said before, even if others knew, not many people would be willing to use it, finding it too much trouble.

"The main ingredients are bitter chinaberry and gourd seeds, also known as trichosanthes fruit. Other ingredients such as chili peppers and wild peppercorns can be added or subtracted as desired."

Chen Ling took off the medicine bucket, unscrewed the lid, and continued to pour the medicine into the bucket with a ladle.

After filling it, spray it again.

This time it's not vegetables.

We should spray the sweet potatoes, as they attract crickets, grasshoppers, and other pests.

At night, they chirp and croak incessantly—insects, frogs, and moorhens—it's like a concert.

Today we must teach them a lesson.

Wearing a straw hat and carrying a pesticide sprayer, Chen Ling was immersed in the joy of spraying pesticides.

For some reason, whenever I see the water mist spraying out evenly and falling on the lush leaves of the sweet potato in the sunlight, I feel extremely relaxed.

The vegetable garden is two acres in size, and more than one acre is planted with sweet potatoes.

Last year we planted potatoes.

It took two hours to administer the medication twice.

Li Min returned with her people and greeted him with a smile.

"Mr. Chen, are you just finished? I brought a friend over; he has something to ask you about."

Li Min and her secretary and driver were originally three people, but now they brought back a thin and capable middle-aged man. He was not tall, but had a masculine temperament and sharp eyes.

Most of them came from the military.

"Huh? What's up?"

Chen Ling put down the medicine bucket and washed his hands by the ditch.

"Hello, Brother Chen. My name is Zhao Gang. I've heard you're a very skilled hunter, having hunted jackals and tigers, and you're also an excellent hunter dog trainer. I've wanted to meet you for a long time."

The man was a little surprised by Chen Ling's youth, but quickly shook hands with him excitedly: "I've seen the video of you killing the wild boar. Your skills are amazing, even more impressive than real tiger-fighting heroes."

"Cough cough."

Just as Chen Ling was beginning to wonder about his identity and how he had seen the Water Margin film crew's recording, he heard Li Min coughing beside him.

"Haha, alright, then I'll get straight to the point. Mr. Chen, you're amazing at training dogs. I wonder if you could help us train a batch of military dogs? We've run into some trouble lately..."

"Training military dogs?"

Chen Ling wanted to refuse as soon as he heard this.

Military dogs are not ordinary dogs. I wouldn't dare to take on too much responsibility with my limited abilities, even if I were willing to help with anything.

"Yes, our current military dogs are not keeping up with the requirements. The military dog ​​breeding center we established two years ago has started to import various superior dog breeds from abroad, but unfortunately there has been little progress."

Zhao Gang smiled helplessly.

Then, his eyes gradually lit up as he looked at Chen Ling: "Didn't I hear about you? I briefly learned about your situation, brother, and it really shocked me. I didn't expect there to be young people like you in the countryside these days, so I rushed over here."

Chen Ling listened to his words and saw his excited and expectant expression.

He remained silent for a moment, without speaking immediately.

Influenced by the lynx, he also had a basic understanding of the situation of various dogs in China.

In addition, he had served in the military in his previous life.

I know that in the late 1980s, military dogs still had to be recruited from the general public.

There are no regular military dogs.

In the early 1990s, military dogs were obtained in exchange for donkeys from Thailand.

They gradually established their own military dog ​​base.

However, the problem lies in the limited variety of breeds and the lack of superior dog breeds.

They are facing a variety of problems.

The solution requires importing superior dog breeds from abroad.

anyway.

If a native dog breed is usable, then it's definitely better to use a native breed.

It is a great honor for a country's dog breed to make a name for itself in the world and be ranked among the top military dogs.

But this is not something that can be solved by one's own will.

This is the dilemma that Zhao Gang and his team are facing.

He came to find Chen Ling because he has become somewhat famous in a certain small circle.

He is a minor folk eccentric, and is much talked about.

"Mr. Chen, is there some difficulty you're facing?"

Li Min knew that Chen Ling had a rather strange temper. Last year, he refused to let them stay at the farm or even have a meal there, even after knowing their identities.

Knowing Zhao Gang's identity, he certainly wouldn't be fooled.

Seeing that he was pursing his lips and not speaking, her heart skipped a beat, and she forced a smile and asked.

(End of this chapter)