My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 540 Aunt

Chen Ling and his wife had no idea that others were talking about them.

In the afternoon, after the weather cooled down, the young couple took Rui Rui for a stroll along the river in the county town.

Many people gathered here because of the large turtles, garlic, and other large turtles.

People come to worship or wait for the animals to appear every day, so there are also stalls set up on the riverbank.

Recently, the sand quarry was also ordered to cease operations by the county government.

They were afraid of disturbing the 'Turtle King'.

Fortunately, everyone, regardless of whether they had seen the giant turtles like Garlic Head in person or not, acted very devoutly.

With so many people believing, it's probably safe to follow suit.

Of course.

The turtles appeared in far too many different places this time; they were everywhere.

So the flow of people gradually shifted back to Chenwangzhuang.

After all, that's where it originated.

This has resulted in the county town being bustling for the past two days, but the flow of people is not so dense that it's completely packed.

People stroll along the riverbank, burn incense, and offer prayers. If they don't find anything, they leave quickly.

We then turned towards Chenwangzhuang.

Everyone who's been there says it's a fun place.

"It's good that they've all moved to the villages; it'll be quieter in the county."

Wang Susu smiled slightly, her expression relaxed.

"Yes, quite a few people from the village went there, and some even wanted to stay at our house, but I couldn't manage them all and didn't agree to any of them."

Chen Ling said.

He knew that there were too many unfamiliar people from out of town lately, and his wife, who was heavily pregnant, didn't dare to go out for walks.

But I'm feeling really stifled.

As they spoke, they unconsciously slowed their pace.

The little toddler in the middle, holding hands, protested, frowning and whining as she pulled on their hands, saying, "Hmm, go, go, go~"

The way the little guy was straining was like pulling a cart; his body leaned forward, his two little feet pushing off the ground, and he was almost lying on the ground.

"What are you pulling for? I'll break your arm in a minute."

Seeing this, Chen Ling threatened him, "Didn't you hear what your Aunt Xiaoyun said? Your sister Xiaoyudian pulled someone's grapes and tore off their arm."

The brat was stunned. He let go of his hand and pointed to the stall in front of him: "Niu Niu, Niu Niu."

He looked at him, then at Wang Susu: "Mom, I want a cow."

It turned out there was a cooked food stall ahead, and he was in a hurry to get there.

Wang Susu glanced at it and said, "What beef? That's boneless meat. We don't eat that, it's not clean. What's wrong? Are you hungry? If you're hungry, we'll ask Dad to cook for you when we get back."

In the countryside, deboned meat is mostly meat and scraps removed from the bones.

When it's hot, sometimes it's hard to tell if it's mixed with spoiled meat. Adults might eat it with alcohol, but it's cheap, so they generally don't buy it for their kids, for fear of making them sick.

Chen Ling sniffed: "This smells really good. It must be from Huangni Town. It looks quite authentic."

The aroma made him a little hungry.

He swallowed hard and said, "It's not a holiday, so it's a bit difficult for us to prepare the meat ourselves. Dad will go home and make you some braised meat noodles; that's delicious too."

"Did you hear that? Dad is going to make you braised pork noodles. It's soft, tender, and very fragrant."

Seeing the brat pouting unhappily, Wang Susu spoke gently.

The little toddler didn't understand any of that; his eyes were fixed on the various dark red, fragrant meats displayed behind the old man's bicycle, staring longingly at them.

The butcher was an old man with a crew cut, wearing a white undershirt and a towel around his neck. Seeing the little boy's eager mouth, he smiled and picked up a piece with tongs, bending down to hand it to him: "Little one, do you want to eat meat? Come and try some, Grandpa will give it to you."

The brat's eyes lit up at the sight, and without any hesitation, he let go of Wang Susu's hand and ran over with his short legs.

"Hehe, Niu Niu, good seven."

He tilted his head back, reached out and grabbed it, then stuffed it into his mouth.

But as soon as it entered my mouth, I made a small gurgling sound and then froze.

Her face showed a look of distress, and she vomited it all up.

Chen Ling was quite embarrassed when he saw this, and smiled helplessly at the old man: "This brat has no shame at all. He can't eat meat, he's just greedy. Uncle, you shouldn't have given it to him."

The old man didn't mind at all: "Hey, what a good child! So bright and adorable. When he grows up and can eat meat, come to Huangni Town, and Grandpa will give you plenty."

He then looked at Wang Susu beside him and praised, "Young man, you're quite capable. It seems you're expecting another child."

Chen Ling burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Wang Susu also smiled.

After a brief chat, Chen Ling bought a pair of pig ears before leaving.

The two of them held the little one's hand and walked along the riverbank, lingering in front of the stalls, picking out some things they liked, and slowly strolling home.

This time, Rui Rui obediently let his parents hold his hand and didn't clamor for meat anymore.

Once they were a distance away, Chen Ling laughed and scolded, "That brat, shameless! He takes whatever people offer him."

The brat, standing between the two, holding their hands, was completely unaware that Chen Ling was talking about him. He tilted his little head back and looked around at the big trees on both sides of the riverbank, repeatedly muttering, "Little Sparrow, so small."

Wang Susu reached out and straightened his head, saying, "Walk properly, or you'll trip over."

"hey-hey."

Then he chuckled.

He grinned, revealing his clean, neat white teeth, looking quite adorable.

"Hmph, you're even less obedient than your father. That grandpa gave you a cow, and you threw it up all of a sudden."

Wang Susu scolded.

The little one can communicate well with his mother. Hearing this, he tilted his head and looked very reasonable: "Niu Niu, Daddy, good day."

"Oh, Daddy's cooking is still the best. Now I know how good your dad is."

Wang Susu wrinkled her nose and snorted at her son, then smiled and looked at Chen Ling.

Chen Ling smiled and said, "It's because all the cooked food outside is too salty. Rui Rui can't eat it. It's so salty that he spits it out."

"Too salty?"

"Yes, it's hot, and we have to put the food out to sell, so we have to add a lot of salt to prevent it from spoiling. Otherwise, we would have been terribly stuffy coming all the way from Huangni Town."

"Oh, is that so?"

Cooked food and pickled fish are things that people sell by riding bicycles through the streets and alleys every year when the weather is hot.

People like this can be found in Huangni Town and nearby villages.

There were also people selling steamed buns from their carts.

The reason people set up stalls now is simply because the turtle attracts a lot of people, like a market, so they take the opportunity to set up stalls and sell their wares.

Two adults and one child, hand in hand, slowly made their way home.

Gao Xiulan was sitting on a small stool by the door, picking chives and scallions. Next to her were two old ladies, chatting and picking vegetables as well.

When they saw Chen Ling and his family of three return, they all greeted them with smiles.

The dogs and cows that had been grazing and playing nearby also wagged their tails and followed them back.

"Mom, don't bother, Rui Rui wants to eat meat. I'll go get some meat and make braised meat noodles tonight."

"Meat noodles? I'll go make some noodles then."

"No need, I'll do it, Mom, you just need to soak the dried mushrooms and wood ear fungus."

The old lady is definitely a good cook, but she's not as strong as him, so her hand-pulled noodles aren't as chewy and smooth as his.

Chen Ling led the little blue horse from the school across the street and rode it to get some pork.

He went into the kitchen and got busy.

"Rotten meat noodles" refers to leftover scraps, which are similar to boneless meat.

Of course, Chen Ling disliked that place because it was dirty and sold at a loss, but that didn't matter to him.

As long as it tastes good for home, there's no need for so many rules and restrictions. The recipe for braised pork noodles was taught to him by Yu Qi'an this spring.

It's simple to learn and tastes great.

After Chen Ling got the hang of it, he would have a meal there every few days.

The meat is boiled in broth, cut into pieces, and then stir-fried.

It's still a mixture of lard and peanut oil, which makes it fragrant when stir-fried.

Add daylily, green beans, and soaked wood ear mushrooms and wild mushrooms, stir-fry briefly until just cooked, then add seasoned broth and simmer.

How long should it be cooked?
The broth inside has thickened and reduced.

When the sauce for the braised pork noodles is almost turned into a paste, it's done.

By this time, the hand-pulled noodles were cooked.

That's how quickly you make homemade noodles in the North.

Moreover, Chen Ling's hand-pulled noodles are indeed chewy and smooth, which is absolutely true.

When cooked, the noodles are smooth, firm, and chewy enough.

After being coated in the marinated braised meat, it's slurped into your mouth with a slurp, and it's incredibly fragrant.

Add a few cloves of garlic, and it's absolutely delicious.

Chen Ling, holding a bowl, squatted at the door, chatting with Liang Jinke, the school gatekeeper, while downing three large bowls of noodles in a row.

Even so, they were still not satisfied.

After preparing the sliced ​​pig ears as a cold dish, I took them out and drank two bottles of beer with Old Man Liang.

That's more like it!

Rui Rui is too young to eat such chewy noodles.

Liang Jinke said, "Look how chewy these noodles are! If you eat them too fast and slurp them up, 'smack!' one of these noodles might splatter on your face and leave a bloody mark."

This whole incident involved a noodle-related injury.

The old man's words were interesting.

It's true that it's difficult for little kids to eat, so we cook the leftover noodles a little longer until they're soft, and then add some braised meat. The little ones eat like little tigers, gobbling down most of the bowl.

My belly was so swollen it was almost impossible to walk.

Grandma held my little hand, carried a small stool, and took me to the cage to tease the badger.

It was still early, only a little past six o'clock, not quite seven.

If you have a young child, it's fine to eat dinner earlier; there's nothing wrong with that.

Chen Ling lit a fire rope and played chess with Liang Jinke outside the door.

As the rain continued, a flock of ducks emerged from the river and waddled towards the school on the other side.

Upon seeing this, Liang Jinke exclaimed, "Oh dear, whose duck has wandered into the wrong house?"

He got up and went to chase the ducks.

Wang Susu laughed and said, "Teacher Liang doesn't know yet, but these ducks come to the school every day, and we've collected duck eggs here several times already."

"Did Mother return the duck eggs?"

Chen Ling asked, "Because everyone has been doing good deeds lately and doesn't covet these few duck eggs, Gao Xiulan has been asking around about whose ducks are laying eggs everywhere."

"No, I don't know whose it is. It's still sitting next to the stove."

"Hey, there's nothing we can do about it. These ducks in the city are even wilder than the ones in our village. I used to collect duck eggs here when I was fishing, and I collected quite a few."

Those were ducks from the sand quarry, raised by Erzhu's men. Chen Ling didn't have a good impression of them at the time, so he threw them all into the cave.

Later, the first batch of ducklings raised at home were from these.

Some are still alive.

Most of them were made into preserved duck or eaten.

"Oh right, speaking of ducks, what about those two little red-crowned cranes at home? Are they alright?"

Wang Susu suddenly remembered this matter.

"It's okay. Today it ran around with the ducks and goose butts looking for food and had a lot of fun. It can be released after a little more care."

Chen Ling said, "The baby cranes that we humans help hatch are like puppies and kittens that have been weaned too early. They are still a bit weak. They have only been hatched for a day or two. If we put them back too early, the adult red-crowned cranes will not be able to take care of them and they are likely to die."

"Oh yes, some puppies on our mountain are weaned early and then taken away by others. Even when they grow up, around four or five months old, they are prone to getting sick, either with their stomachs or catching a cold from the cold."

Dad also said it was because she wasn't drinking enough milk, and now it turns out that's exactly what happened.

Wang Susu was a little surprised.

"Yes, kittens and puppies that are weaned too early, even if they grow to four or five months old, mostly die young... But in our countryside, it's also a problem if dogs have too many puppies and can't find a home."

Chen Ling understood.

The stray dogs in the countryside villages run around, and who knows when they might mate.

It was born as a litter of puppies.

Those in better condition can be given as gifts or sold at the market.

But in most cases, they just end up at the crossroads, and whoever picks them up keeps them.

Some people will find it, and some old dogs will go looking for it.

This has resulted in many stray dogs running around outside.

In fact, Heiwa Xiaojin's mother might have come from the same background.

Stray dogs are free and don't need to guard the house, but they are not wolves. They sometimes go hungry and sometimes have plenty, so they don't live as long as domesticated dogs.

"Huh? The power's out?"

As they were talking, the lights in the houses on both sides of the street outside, as well as the lights in the county hospital in the distance, suddenly went out, and the surroundings suddenly became dark.

Then suddenly I heard more voices around me, some near and some far, murmuring as they came out of their homes, some even carrying rice bowls.

They each carried their own stools and chairs, and found places like under trees or by the river to sit with people they knew, eating and chatting.

Power outages are common at this time of year, and nobody seems to find it unusual.

"Quack quack quack..." Liang Jinke chased the ducks out of the school with a flashlight, holding two large duck eggs in his hand. He shouted a few words to the people who had come out to the street because of the power outage, but he couldn't find out whose ducks they were.

So he went over to Chen Ling and the others and said, "You guys can stir-fry them and eat them. I don't know whose they are. You know, there are so many ducks running around every day, how come no one has come looking for them?"

"Haha, the three of us have picked them up several times, but my mother-in-law hasn't touched any of them. She's just waiting to return them, and we still don't know whose they are."

Chen Ling laughed.

A little while later, Qin Qiumei and Zhong Xiaoyun arrived. Zhong Xiaoyun brought a short-haired little girl with narrow eyes, thin and dark-skinned, like a tomboy. She didn't inherit her mother's beauty, but she was very lively. As soon as she arrived, she called out to Chen Ling and Wang Susu, "Uncle and Aunt."

They jumped and hopped around for a while.

He even gently pressed his ear against Wang Susu's big belly to listen to the baby.

This is Little Raindrop. Her mother's name is "Yun," so she is "Rain."

It is said that she liked to cry when she was a child, but because her eyes were small and she didn't shed many tears, she was naturally called Little Raindrop.

"Where's Rui Rui? Where is Rui Rui?"

“Rui Rui has already been born, and they’re still looking for her there.”

Chen Ling smiled at her as she stood up from in front of Wang Susu's stomach.

The little girl was stunned for several seconds.

Hearing Zhong Xiaoyun's reproachful tone, she said, "Your Uncle Chen is the most irresponsible one. He just likes to tease children and makes all sorts of jokes."

She then realized what was happening and hurriedly waved her little hands to push Chen Ling away, saying, "Ah, bad uncle, weird uncle, you know perfectly well that's not what I meant."

Just then, Rui Rui came running out of the door with her short legs, followed closely by two big dogs.

Tilting her little head, she looked at him curiously, wondering who he was playing with.

"Rui Rui, the power's out, even Sister Little Raindrop doesn't recognize you?" Qin Qiumei hugged him and asked with a smile, "Do you recognize Auntie?"

The little rascal looked at her with bright eyes and said, "Auntie."

Qin Qiumei was quite surprised: "Susu, did you hear what your son said? He was talking about his aunt. He's thinking about Zhenzhen."

Everyone looked over upon hearing this, and Wang Susu smiled and said, "You do have a good memory, remembering your aunt. Your aunt will be back soon, and when she comes back, she'll take you to school together."

(End of this chapter)