My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 512
"Yes, it's a crucial period right now. We should be able to see the baby cranes hatching by autumn."

At that moment, Chen Ling was looking inside through binoculars.

He also had a camera hanging around his neck.

Not only were all the equipment prepared perfectly, but there was also a baby by his side, one black and one yellow, and two big dogs guarding him. The scene was simply amazing.

"Where did you pull out this telescope? Are you ready? Let me see too."

Yu Qi'an was very envious when he saw it and couldn't wait to say it.

"Here you go, here you go."

We arrived too early.

It's better to come at night.

At night, neither the egrets nor the red-crowned cranes move.

Chen Ling handed him the binoculars, picked up her son, and went to take pictures of the egrets in the woods. The red-crowned cranes were too difficult to approach and photograph.

Why is that?

Yu Qi'an hadn't reacted yet.

"You often keep birds, but you don't know about pigeons?"

Even red-crowned cranes and egrets need to sleep at night.

Chen Ling was speechless and answered casually.

Oh, right, right, right.

"I just couldn't think of that for a moment."

Yu Qi'an kept looking through the binoculars.

Chen Ling was too lazy to respond to him. He planned to take photos of the egret at various stages of its life, hoping to become a folk ornithologist someday. After taking the photos, he took his son to continue exploring the woods.

The red-crowned cranes are clearly in a condition that makes them unsuitable for human approach.

If they sense danger, their instinct to protect their offspring will be greatly stimulated, and they might move away overnight.

That would be great fun.

Therefore, Chen Ling did not stay here to watch over Yu Qi'an.

Furthermore, a toddler like Rui Rui at that age obviously doesn't have the patience to stay in one place for long.

He preferred Chen Ling to take him wandering around the mountains and fields.

Various wild birds and small animals can be seen at any time in the mountains and forests.

During this season, grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids become more numerous, their calls echoing throughout the woods, clear and melodious.

There are so many fun things everywhere, it's almost overwhelming.

In no time, the little guy had caught several plump grasshoppers, tilting his little head back and grinning as he showed them off to Chen Ling.

One moment they were catching grasshoppers, the next they were chasing squirrels in the trees. Chen Ling, with his two dogs following him, was having a great time.

However, there are also many mosquitoes in the grass this season.

Fortunately, Chen Ling and his son, as well as Heiwa and his two dogs, all had deworming products on them.

Chen Ling and his son are sachets, while Heiwa and his two are medicinal powders that Wang Susu applied to their fur, so the scent can last all day.

It was also on Erhei's dogs.

Otherwise, he would run up and down the mountain every day, either playing with Rui Rui, patrolling the mountain to guard the chickens and ducks, or herding sheep.

Being bitten by mosquitoes is a very annoying thing.

This is not.

Yu Qi'an, who was squatting there with binoculars watching the red-crowned cranes, gradually couldn't hold on any longer.

In just over ten minutes, his body was covered in large welts from the bites, and he was so itchy that he kept stomping his feet, jumping around like a monkey.

"Fugui, Fugui, let's go, let's hurry and take the kids home, there are so many mosquitoes on this mountain."

I need to hurry over to your house and apply some floral water.

He hurriedly walked up to Chen Ling and his son.

"Hey, wait a minute, why aren't you two getting bitten by mosquitoes?"

"Haha, my son and I are good people, so we don't attract mosquitoes."

When Chen Ling saw the comical sight of him with a bunch of bite marks on his face and arms, she couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Don't give me that, I know you too well. You're definitely hiding something good from yourself."

Did you bring any mosquito repellent powder or floral water?

"Take it out and let me use it."

Seeing his miserable state, Chen Ling stopped teasing him.

Since my son was having a great time and clearly didn't want to go home, I gave him my sachet, then wandered around and found some mint and other herbs, rubbed them in, and applied them to his mosquito bites.

These things work wonders as soon as you apply them, even better than floral water.

Yu Qi'an quickly forgot the pain of being bitten by mosquitoes.

Following Chen Ling and his son out of the woods where the egrets were, they wandered around and played in the mountains and fields.

When this old guy gets playful, he's even more addicted than Rui Rui. He wants every pretty bird he sees and constantly begs Chen Ling to catch one for him.

For a moment, Chen Ling had the illusion that he was out playing with his two sons.

Ever since jackals started roaming the mountains.

Apart from going out in groups to find cicada shells and pick mushrooms, the villagers basically don't come to the mountains anymore.

Normally, it just hovers around the periphery.

In addition, this is the breeding season for most wild animals.

So as you go deeper, all sorts of wild things keep popping out.

Squirrels, civets, and mountain birds munching on berries in the bushes.

We also encountered a herd of deer drinking water by a river in the distance.

On the opposite hillside, we also saw the silhouettes of a mother and her calf walking along the cliff face.

on the ground.

We saw fox dens, badger dens, and mountain lynx dens.

They were all very well hidden.

However, with Heiwa and Xiaojin following along, they couldn't escape their search. As long as they were nearby, they were all found.

Then the two guys, with Rui Rui in tow, peed in front of all sorts of holes.

The little rascal knew he was doing something naughty, and while he was peeing, he was squealing and yelling with glee.

In short, he felt that going out with his dad was much more fun than going out with his mom and grandma.

We circled around from the North Mountain to the West Mountain.

Recently, there have been very few cicada shells left on the surrounding mountains.

Zhao Yubao led a group of children from the village to basically strip them clean.

Although new cicada nymphs still appear every day, recently no one has been looking for them anymore; there are only a few scattered on trees and grass.

Now everyone goes to the mountains to pick mushrooms.

Chen Ling and his group encountered two groups of people picking mushrooms in Xishan.

First, it was Wang Wenchao, the youngest son of Mao Lu's family, and his gang.

Later, they met Wang Lixian and Wang Jusheng, and Wang Qingwen and his wife also came along.

They're keeping this a secret now, taking advantage of the fact that most of the villagers don't know.

Wang Lixian gets up very early every day to go into the mountains.

Ever since I found out this thing can actually be sold for money.

In just three or four days, Wang Lixian gathered a lot of wild vegetables and mushrooms, and had Little Sheep deliver them to the city.

They worked from dawn till dusk, and even called on a few brothers from their families to finally fill a truck.

This is quick money.

If you don't rush to do it, you won't have the chance later.

I was originally planning to wait for Chen Ling and the others to come back.

I waited and waited, but it didn't come.

I went to Chen Ling's house several times.

Later, Wang Cunye told them to hurry up and get things done, instead of waiting for Chen Ling, who never seemed to be coming back.

Wang Lixian also understood this principle.

After that, Zhang Qiaoling and the others were told not to rush to make pickled vegetables and chili sauce, but to instead search for wild vegetables and pick mushrooms all over the mountains.

They found out Chen Ling had gone home today; they even came to call Chen Ling and his family this morning.

In the end, it was Wang Qingwen and his wife who went. Wang Cunye still had to take care of the sheep herding.

Otherwise, if Rui Rui hadn't seen Chen Ling constantly pestering him today, Chen Ling definitely wouldn't have been able to get any work done.

……

"Wealth and honor, come quickly, come quickly!"
Damn it, the little lamb I just bought seems to have a relapse.

I sneezed a couple of days ago when it was raining.

These past two days, it hasn't eaten or drunk anything. Your father-in-law was just telling me that this little lamb's illness is hard to cure and we have to take it to the township's disease control center for vaccination.

Otherwise, they couldn't be saved.

I was so worried!

Just as I reached the foot of the mountain and passed the threshing ground, I happened to run into two old men, Wang Cunye and Zhao Yubao, who were herding sheep.

"Oh my, Uncle Zhao, it seems you made quite a bit of money from those cicada shells, buying so many lambs all at once."

"Come, let me see, which lamb is sick?"

Chen Ling walked up to him.

Look, the two old men, Zhao Yubao and his wife, were leading four or five lambs, some black and some white, quite a complete group.

"These are not my things.

This belongs to your Uncle Zhong.

I kept those at the school.

"If they get sick, we're afraid they'll infect other sheep."

Zhao Yubao waved his hand, his usual smile gone, clearly worried about the lambs.

"Fugui, do you want to come with me to take a look?"
I asked a few people in the village, and yesterday I went to the mountains to get some herbs.

But it didn't really help the sheep.

Yesterday it ate quite a bit of hay, but today it won't eat anything. It won't move even when I hold its leash; I had to carry it to school this morning.

"Okay, I'll go take a look."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling realized it was a serious matter. He spoke a few words to his father-in-law and then handed the tired-out boy over to the old man to take home.

He then took Yu Qi'an and went to the school with Wang Lixian and the others.

It's summer vacation now, so there's no one at school.

The grass inside is very lush, making it a good place to graze sheep.

But usually not many people come here.

Zhao Yubao's sheep were not allowed to graze outside, but were kept in an abandoned house next to the school's outhouse.

After the past.

He discovered that Zhao Yubao's lambs were already in very serious condition.

Wang Cunye had seen it before.

The old man could prepare some simple medicine, but he wasn't a veterinarian after all.

Especially these little lambs, they're so delicate.

People who don't raise sheep often wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

"This person is quite seriously ill. I don't think it will be time to go to the township."

I don't have many vaccines left here either.

Chen Ling could tell from the sight that the lambs had clearly had diarrhea; their droppings were no longer in pellet form.

Moreover, he was listless and didn't even bark.

Generally, lively and healthy lambs will bleat incessantly when they first arrive in a new place or meet strangers.

This sound reflects his health condition to some extent.

"Huh? Is it serious? Did I buy a sick sheep? Otherwise, how come it's like this after only a few days?"

Zhao Yubao looked very upset, feeling that he had been tricked.

He felt bad thinking about the money he had painstakingly exchanged for cicada shells to buy lambs, only to end up with sick ones.

"The sheep is sick, so we need to go and get compensation from them."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qi'an immediately asked, "Teacher Zhao, do you know where the sheep seller is from?"

Zhao Yubao was about to say something.

Chen Ling waved his hand: "Let's not talk about that yet. These lambs may not necessarily be sick. Goats are a bit delicate. They were just bought and they might get sick if they are disturbed."

Among lambs, sheep are the most robust and resilient, and are less prone to illness.

Goats are more delicate than lambs.

It's just like a little baby.

You shouldn't take medicine blindly when you're sick.

Delicate little goats cannot tolerate some vaccines.

Sometimes, someone who could have held on for a couple of days would die within half a day after receiving an injection.

"This is what happens when you catch a cold and get a fever."

Chen Ling walked over to a few lambs, squatted down, and touched them, only to find they were extremely hot.

Sheep have a higher normal body temperature than humans, and lambs have an even higher body temperature, around 39 degrees Celsius.

If the body temperature exceeds this level, a veterinarian can detect it with a single touch.

"How about this, since there's no time to go to the township, let's just get some medicine for adults from the village. Go to Brother Guoping's house and ask him to get the dosage for a one- or two-year-old child. We can give it to him when we get back and see."

Chen Ling sighed, "Uncle Zhao, go get the medicine. I'll go back and prepare some medicine for the sheep too, but mine will only be a supplementary treatment. The real cure will depend on the medicine you get. Anyway, let's give it a try."

"Go, go, go."

Seeing that Chen Ling was also a little troubled, Zhao Yubao immediately knew that the little lamb was really quite sick.

Chen Ling then told him to give the sheep some hay and to keep warm at night, before taking Yu Qi'an back home.

At noon, Yu Qi'an and his companion ate lunch at the farm.

After lunch, we went back to the county town to get the pigeon whistles for Chen Ling, and then decided to stay at Chen Ling's house for a few days.

In the afternoon, Chen Ling delivered the prepared medicine to Zhao Yubao. In conjunction with the injections given by Chen Guoping, he fed each sheep one-third of the dosage, not daring to feed them too much.

The sheep caused a ruckus for almost half the afternoon.

Feeling bad about troubling Chen Ling so much, Zhao Yubao gritted his teeth and said, "If he can't be saved, then forget it. We'll just carry him to your farm and roast him."

"It's not that bad, Uncle Zhao, it's not that bad." Chen Ling understood his feelings. When he was a child, his family's puppy couldn't be saved, and it was like that. Sometimes he was anxious and worried. Seeing the puppy that was originally lively suddenly become listless and never get better, he couldn't help but have the thought of giving up.

Fortunately, Chen Ling's method worked.

The lambs recovered that very night.

It started bleating and begging for water.

Because it started raining just as it got dark that night, Zhao Yubao stayed at the school the whole time and was overjoyed to discover this change.

He immediately made a note of Chen Ling in his notebook, deciding to write an article praising him highly in the future.

He asked many people these past two days, and today he asked Chen Guoping and the others. He learned that the lambs are sick and difficult to treat. Many of them don't die from the disease itself, but from the treatment.

I also know that these delicate little creatures get sick quickly and recover slowly.

Unexpectedly, when Chen Ling examined him, he found that his condition had improved in just half a day, much to his delight.

After feeding the lambs water and cleaning up their droppings, he even put on a raincoat and ran to the farm to ask Chen Ling what to do next.

At this moment, Chen Ling and his family, along with Yu Qi'an, had just returned from watching the 'Magpie Bridge' performance outside.

This "Magpie Bridge" is a truly spectacular sight formed by a huge flock of magpies flying in the sky.

When Zhao Yubao arrived, there were magpies in the yard that were acting like madmen, confronting Er Tuzi.

However, it didn't last long before Er Tuzi chased it into the rain, where it flew away in a panic, chattering incoherently.

"What's going on? Is a hawk catching a magpie?"

Zhao Yubao was stunned for a moment when he saw this scene.

"No, it's Qixi Festival today, how could I let Er Tuzi catch magpies? It was just before it started raining that these magpies were building a 'magpie bridge' up there."

Chen Ling said with a smile.

It was said to be a bridge-building ceremony, but in reality, it was a fierce battle between a flock of egrets and a flock of magpies.

These magpies, though seemingly insignificant, are true local bullies. They naturally disapprove of the egrets, a powerful group of outsiders who come here and immediately claim territory and steal food.

So today, for some reason, while the egrets were returning to their nests, large flocks of magpies flew in from all directions and launched a fierce attack on the egrets.

The spectacle scared away several eagles that were circling nearby, waiting to hunt.

Here's the situation.

But saying it is just to wish for good luck. On Qixi Festival, with so many magpies in the sky, it is quite fitting to say that they are "building a magpie bridge".

(End of this chapter)