My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 53 Mute Woman
Seeing Heiwa and Xiaojin's fawning and ingratiating manner, Chen Ling smiled, knowing full well what they were thinking.

This is where the benefits come from.

When Chen Ling brought the lizard to him last time, he rewarded it with the stream in the cave to cultivate its habit of scavenging prey.

These two little creatures are very clever; they've clearly memorized it.

"Go away, it's not like it was your own prey, why are you trying to claim credit?"

Chen Ling glanced at the snake's still-swaying two halves and turned to ask, "Su Su, do you want the snake's gall bladder?"

"It's too small, I don't want it."

Wang Susu gently shook her head.

Chen Ling naturally had no objections, and the two continued walking forward.

……

On a spring afternoon, birds chirped in the mountains and forests, and colorful, unnamed wildflowers bloomed, vying for attention.

Sunlight filters through the dense forest, passing through layers of leaves, like strands of golden sand scattered on the forest floor.

Chen Ling and Wang Susu walked through the thick layer of leaves, listening to the clear birdsong and smelling the fragrant flowers.

Every now and then, pheasants and rabbits would be startled and scatter in all directions as they were chased by the two puppies.

Soon, half an afternoon had passed.

The couple, Chen Ling and his wife, had a decent harvest. In addition to common medicinal herbs, they also found a few plants of Polygonatum sibiricum and Anoectochilus roxburghii, all of which were reasonably priced.

Of course, we must not forget the wild gastrodia elata we first encountered.

As the light in the forest dimmed, Chen Ling led the ox down the mountain with Wang Susu.

On the way back, there were many people busy in the fields.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that most of the farmers were planting crops such as peanuts and soybeans, while others were bending over in the fields tending to watermelon vines.

"That's the land that Sister Yuzhi's family just got allocated. Remember to say hello later."

When they reached a watermelon field at the foot of the steep slope, Wang Susu whispered a reminder.

Chen Ling glanced over and saw Wang Lixian's wife and eldest daughter working in the fields. He nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

……

"I'm busy, Sister-in-law Yuzhi."

Chen Ling and his wife stopped at the edge of the field and called out.

Liu Yuzhi and her daughter, who were in the field, quickly got up and looked over. When they saw that it was Chen Ling and his companion, they smiled.

Then he pointed to the watermelon vines on the ground and then to the foot of the mountain.

It means there are many melon seedlings; would you like to take some and plant them?

"No, no, we plan to plant some trees first this year, and we'll talk about the rest later."

Chen Ling waved his hand, then pointed in the direction of the village, "Sister-in-law Yuzhi, you guys go ahead with your work, we'll head back now."

Liu Yuzhi waved her hand, telling them to wait a moment, and then gestured to her daughter.

Then the woman with the ponytail bent down, picked up a bundle of things, jogged over, and handed it to the two of them.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Ling recognized it as a common wild vegetable found in fields and along roadsides.

"Thank you, Da Ni'er. Has Wu Ni'er left for school yet?"

Da Ni'er nodded upon hearing this and smiled, revealing her teeth.

Although she has some freckles on her face, she is exceptionally pretty and charming when she smiles.

“Da Ni’er, come visit me when you’re free at home, and I’ll have your Uncle Fugui cook for us.”

"You don't know, your Uncle Fugui's cooking is really delicious now."

Wang Susu said with a smile.

Da Ni pursed her lips shyly, took Wang Susu's hand, and gently wrote two words.

Wang Susu was immediately delighted and nodded vigorously at her.

Then she said, "I'm fine now, and A-Ling is fine too, so you don't need to worry about us, Da Ni'er."

Upon hearing this, Da Ni'er glanced at Chen Ling and smiled silently.

He then waved to the two men, turned around, and walked back into the field.

The young couple exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly. They said goodbye to Liu Yuzhi again and continued walking home.

"This year, Brother Xian will not go out to work. He plans to plant watermelons on the ten acres of land he was allocated, so he can make some money in the summer."

As Chen Ling spoke, he looked back and said, "But tending to the melon vines is hard work. Sister Yuzhi and her daughter can't finish tending to ten acres of melon vines. Come and help them when you have time."

Pruning watermelon vines is a laborious and time-consuming task. It requires patience and care to pinch off excess vine tips in order to preserve the nutrients and vitality of the entire watermelon vine and ensure that it produces larger and better watermelons.

"Yes, I was just about to say that, but I just couldn't bring myself to say it."

Wang Susu responded and looked up at him: "Sister-in-law Yuzhi and Dani'er are both strong-willed people. It's not easy to help them without giving them a proper explanation."

The mother and daughter are both mute, have a strong sense of self-respect, and are most afraid of being looked down upon by others.

Sometimes, even if you mean well, people may not accept it.

They want to be recognized and treated equally, not pitied or sympathized with.

Chen Ling understood and sighed, "I'll talk to Brother Xian about it when I have the chance."

Wang Lixian's five daughters.

Apart from the eldest daughter, who was at home, the others were not there.

The second daughter is one year younger than the eldest daughter and got married last autumn.

The third daughter went to work in the south at a young age and has rarely returned home since then, nor has she ever written back.

He disliked his family for being poor and for having a mute mother, so he sometimes didn't even come home for the New Year, let alone send money home.

My fourth daughter finished vocational school in the county town and just became a teacher; my fifth daughter is taking the college entrance exam this year.

In short, besides Liu Nier, there are only two people in the family who can do housework: Liu Yuzhi and Dani'er.

"Well, if we can persuade Brother Xian, that's fine. The four of us can finish it in two or three days."

Wang Susu said.

He then rode the ox and had Chen Ling lead it into the village.

Back home, Chen Ling went to Cui the Cripple's shop and bought a piece of pork. He washed and chopped the wild vegetables, preparing to make wild vegetable dumplings for dinner.

It's still early, there's plenty of time.

The two of them slowly wrapped the dumplings and cooked them.

Taking advantage of the twilight, before it got dark, Chen Ling delivered two large bowls to Wang Lixian's house.

I also mentioned the melon vines to Wang Lixian.

Wang Lixian's tense face softened slightly upon hearing this. He looked at Chen Ling seriously for a moment and said, "You two don't need to worry about this. My Erni and her husband will be coming over tomorrow. Liuni also has a Sunday off. They can finish the job in two days."

Chen Ling didn't say anything more after hearing this.

On the contrary, when Wang Lixian saw him off, he insisted on giving him two large fish.

It was something someone fished out of the reservoir while I was working at Erzhu's place today. There was a lot left over after we finished making lunch, and it was still fresh.

Unable to refuse, Chen Ling had no choice but to take it back.

He also knew that this honest man was expressing his gratitude in this way.

It's not a good idea to insist on refusing.

Back home, I ate two bowls of hot wild vegetable dumplings and then drank a bowl of dumpling soup.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they also fed the chickens, dogs, and cows.

Chen Ling sat under the lamp, helping Wang Susu weave a bamboo basket.

We're going up the mountain tomorrow, and we need to carry a lot of medicinal herbs.

Chen Ling also needs to dig bamboo shoots.

He put all the bamboo baskets in the backyard into the cave to store vegetables. Wang Susu had asked about it before, but he just brushed it off.

It's not appropriate to bring this out now, so I'll just make one up.

They finished weaving the bamboo basket that night, and the next day the two of them successfully carried the medicinal herbs and bamboo shoots down the mountain.

But when they got home, something unexpected happened.

This infuriated Chen Ling.

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(End of this chapter)