My 1995 Small Farm.

Although Chen Ling said that, he actually quite liked the little gadget.

Being this timid is quite adorable and endearing.

The meat is delicious too.

Venison is delicious enough, but Reeves' meat is a whole level above.

It's because it's small enough that it won't grow big.

The meat was even more tender than venison and tasted extremely delicious.

However, when Chen Ling walked up to it, grabbed the little deer by the neck and lifted it up...

His face immediately fell, and he said with some frustration, "Damn it, it's got a belly? How am I supposed to eat like this?"

The Nanshan Reeves' muntjac is very active, but it is timid and difficult to catch.

I originally thought I had gotten a good prey for free.

I never expected she was pregnant.

What's the point of eating this?

"I won't let you go even if you can't finish it. I've never found prey like this before."

Chen Ling picked up the little deer and shook it, a grin spreading across his face. He felt that finding such a silly little beast, so frightened that it couldn't even run away and was just tumbling around in place, was no different from finding a rabbit that had run into a tree and died.

He happily tucked the dead monkeys under his armpits, then picked up the two dead monkeys and went down the mountain.

It's already past 5 a.m., and the sky is getting light.

Those who had been keeping watch outside the village to observe the spring harvest gradually returned.

When they saw Chen Ling holding the little deer in one hand and carrying two dead monkeys, they were immediately stunned.

For a moment, I was a little confused about where he got this from.

"Fugui, did you go back to the mountains from the county town this time?"

Judging from the withered branches and leaves still on Chen Ling's body and head, he must have gone into the forest on the mountain.

"Haha, no, I got up early and rushed back to hunt the mountain wolves."

As Chen Ling spoke, he shook the two dead monkeys again: "Last time we encountered those strange mountain wolves, didn't we? Yesterday I went to Jinmen Village to ask Uncle Guangli, and after finding out what happened, I went up the mountain to ambush them in the middle of the night..."

I was lucky; I actually managed to catch one.

These two monkeys were killed by two mountain wolves.

That little thing is really fierce.

Chen Ling briefly recounted the story of the yellow-throated marten and what he had seen in the mountains late at night.

The men who had finished their night watch exclaimed in surprise.

At the same time, I admire Chen Ling's courage.

"Your kid is really lucky. Not only did you catch a mountain goat, but you also got a little muntjac for free."

This is what the older generation said.

The younger lads, still captivated by the yellow-throated marten's unique hunting methods, asked Chen Ling with a hint of fear, "Fugui, are you alright after smelling the stench of those mountain yaks? What if there are too many of these things and they smother our vision when we get into the mountains?"

Chen Ling waved his hand: "It's okay, we'll just shoot them when we see them. They usually don't bother people."

"Oh right, that's true."

"What kind of things came down the mountain when you were on watch last night? I saw this group of monkeys when it was almost dawn. I wonder how many crops they have destroyed."

"No, these are wild monkeys that came down from the West Mountain. We chased them to the South Mountain. Anyway, a lot of wild things ran down the mountain last night. Some we could see, and some disappeared into the cornfield. We could only hear them making rustling noises, but we couldn't see anything."

There are plenty of wild boars, wild deer, wild sheep, and so on.

"If it weren't for the fact that our team had a lot of strong young men, and it were your team from the seventh squad, with just you, Yuqiang, and Shuiwazi, you probably wouldn't have been able to catch up."

Chenwangzhuang has seven production teams, and the rotation of watching over the crops starts from the first team.

“Fugui won’t listen to you. He’ll just bring the tiger and kill whatever tries to run down the mountain.”

"According to you, he's not just watching the greens, he's going straight for hunting, hahaha."

Everyone laughed, and Chen Ling joined in with a few words, but since they had stayed up all night, they didn't say anything more and went home.

Chen Ling mounted his horse and returned to the manor. It was exactly six o'clock, and his father-in-law and mother-in-law were already up and busy.

Cleaning the livestock pens, collecting eggs, the orchard was filled with the sounds of sheep bleating and cows mooing, and chickens and ducks were also making a ruckus. The livestock pens had just been opened in the morning, and there was quite a commotion for a while.

The two elders were quite surprised to see Chen Ling carrying things around.

Later, when Chen Ling told them that he had gone into the mountains late at night, they scolded him for being such a playful person even though he was already a grown man.

It's not like we're looking for any treasure; we're just catching a wild boar in the mountains. What's there to be curious about?

There are so many wild animals in the mountains this year. If someone goes into the mountains alone and encounters danger, they will be helpless and have no one to turn to.

Chen Ling just chuckled and then tossed the little muntjac into the livestock pen with the iron cage door on the west side of the farm.

"Bringing a muntjac cub is one thing, but why did you also bring back a monkey? You can't eat that." The father-in-law dragged a broom over and stood next to the livestock pen, peering inside.

"I fed it to the tigers."

Chen Ling smiled and said, "This little deer can't be eaten either. It's pregnant. I'll keep it and see when it gives birth."

"Wow? You're raising one? It's jumping so high, it'll run away in a few days."

The old man shook his head: "If you want to keep it, I'll get you a rope, you can tie this little deer up first."

"It's alright, Dad. This thing is very timid. There are dogs running around here all the time, but it doesn't dare to jump out. This isn't like that big yellow muntjac, which can jump high and run very fast."

There are two types of muntjacs in the area.

One type is the large yellow muntjac, which is about the size of a deer. It is also called the red muntjac, barking deer, or yellow muntjac.

These large muntjacs have migratory characteristics.

In other words, people tend to flock to places with good environments and a wide variety of food.

This is a rare sight in the Qinling Mountains in normal years.

They only started to appear gradually at the end of last summer and have been increasing in number.

The other type is this small muntjac.

This is a muntjac native to the Qinling Mountains and its surrounding areas.

It will grow to the size of a mongrel at most.

They are usually like little lambs, very small and agile.

This thing is timid but hard to catch; it's incredibly alert and will run away at the slightest disturbance.

Moreover, once this creature becomes timid, a series of strange habits begin to emerge.

For example, while other muntjacs mate in the spring, this little muntjac can mate all year round.

They can even conceive immediately after giving birth to their offspring, as if they are afraid of their descendants becoming extinct.

So for such a timid and adorable little beast.

Chen Ling wasn't worried at all about it escaping.

"Hey Lingzi, you were talking about dogs running around, and I was just about to tell you about dogs. Recently, all the female dogs in our family that have given birth to puppies have started leaving their dens and running around with Erhei and the others. At first, I thought they had abandoned their puppies, but when I took a look, guess what? Our puppies are all out of their dens now."

Wang Cunye got very excited when he talked about this, and pulled Chen Ling toward the livestock pen on the east side of the village.

As we walked over, the dogs inside heard the commotion. First, several female dogs squinted their eyes, wagged their tails, and came over with fawning expressions.

Soon after, one after another chubby little puppies emerged from their kennels. They were only a little over a month old, yet they were already quite large and robust, comparable to two-month-old puppies from other families.

The dogs, each following its mother, huddled together in several groups in front of the cage door of the livestock pen, wagging their little tails, reaching out their little paws, and whimpering as they tried to squeeze through the cage door.

"Not bad, not bad. I haven't fed them goat milk for a few days, and they look different every day. They're growing really fast."

Chen Ling bent down, leaned over the fence of the livestock pen, grabbed two puppies, and looked at them. The puppies were plump and soft, and they struggled with great strength. They were incredibly robust.

“You didn’t feed them goat milk or dog milk, so I fed them for you. It’s just that these mother dogs wouldn’t let me touch the puppies, so I brought a bowl to feed them.”

The father-in-law smiled and said, "Look at that bowl. As soon as I pour milk, they run out to drink it. These little puppies have such big appetites. They eat with such gusto, fighting over it fiercely."

Chen Ling was very happy to hear this.

Suddenly, his gaze faltered. He put down the two puppies he was holding and reached in to scoop up a small yellow dog: "Huh? What happened to this puppy's hind leg?"

"Huh? Something's wrong with your leg? Is this the one Li Xian has his eye on?"

"Yes."

Chen Ling nodded, then examined the puppy's hind leg. Its yellow fur was stained with dark red, and underneath was a wound that was neither too big nor too small.

"This is a bite wound. I was wondering why this little dog's leg looked a bit lame."

The father-in-law exclaimed in surprise: "What? It bit your leg and made it crippled? What did that? A civet or a weasel?"

Upon hearing this, the mother-in-law also came over carrying a basket full of eggs and asked what was going on.

"It wasn't what you're saying, Dad. It must have been the other puppies from the same litter that bit us."

Upon hearing Chen Ling's words, the two elders were stunned. Looking at the little furball running around on the ground, they wondered, "What does such a tiny puppy know?"

Chen Ling didn't explain anything, only saying, "I'll feed them goat milk later and see."

Then they tied the dead monkey up with long thatch and waited to feed Afu and Ashou. After that, they helped the two elders collect the eggs before starting to milk the goat to feed the puppy.

It becomes immediately apparent when you feed the dog at this time.

Don't let their short life of just over a month fool you; these puppies are incredibly cute and adorable.

However, when it comes to fighting over food, they become increasingly impatient, and soon a fight breaks out.

Several little fur balls pressed against each other, squeezing against the wall and fighting.

Soon after, a bitten puppy, with its tail between its legs, whimpered and ran back to its kennel.

"Damn it, these little things are really good at fighting, that's impressive."

The elderly couple were also a little surprised to see this scene, and they stood outside the livestock pen staring at it with wide eyes.

Chen Ling said, "These puppies should be sold. In another seven or eight days, they'll fight even more fiercely. No wonder the big dog doesn't want to take care of them anymore. As soon as the puppies start fighting, the big dog knows that the puppies are about to leave the nest."

"Huh? You're going to sell it already?"

When the old man suddenly heard that he was going to sell it, he was a little reluctant.

Chen Ling looked helpless: "Dad, they've already paid us, and we'll have to sell it to them sooner or later. On the contrary, if we keep it at home for too long, their litters of dogs will fight fiercely and hurt each other's ears or eyes, which would be bad."

"Oh right, what if they bite off the ears and bite the tail in two? Then it won't sell well."

The father-in-law nodded vigorously.

He added, "If you're not from Kinmen Village, why should we give you a dog? Then those who raise military dogs should also send them over, right?"

Chen Ling replied, "Yes, they will be sent over, but their puppies are growing a bit slowly, so we'll have to wait a little longer."

"Hey, okay, then pick out two for your older brothers, and I'll help them raise them."

The father-in-law patted his chest and said.

At this moment, Gao Xiulan came over and said, "Breakfast is ready. Go back and eat."

Then he pushed his bicycle back to the county town.

Chen Ling also went to fetch the horse.

The old man was immediately dumbfounded: "Huh? The food is ready and you're not going to eat?"

"This was made especially for you. Lingzi made flatbread and stewed chicken soup in the county town last night. It'll be perfect to soak up some soup in this morning. Let's go back and have that."

"Oh, so you all prepared a good meal in advance. So I'm the only one at home eating leftovers, huh?"

The old lady immediately slammed her bicycle to the side of the road, turned around and glared at her: "What do you mean? Was that leftovers I just made for you?"

Seeing that the old couple were arguing again, Chen Ling quickly laughed and said, "Haha, Dad, you've worked so hard for our family. I'll cook fish for you when I get back at noon. Our fish have been plump and delicious lately."

There's nothing you can do about it; you'll understand once you get to know these two old folks.

Although they are both kind-hearted people, their personalities are like crickets; they always start pinching and fighting whenever they meet.

If no one stops them, it will never end.

I heard that when they were younger, they weren't satisfied with just arguing verbally, they would even resort to physical fights.

It's a pity I'm too old to see it now.

……

Back in the county town, I had a meal of chicken soup with flatbread. It was still very fresh in the morning, with a delicious and non-greasy broth.

The main reason is that the chickens we raise at home are so fat and big, so we stew a big pot of meat with just a few pounds of meat. The flatbread we made yesterday was also delicious. We couldn't possibly finish it all in one meal.

After a hearty meal, Chen Ling took his son and the tiger back to the village to build a tiger den.

Today, Wang Zhenzhen also rode her little bicycle home.

They were very enthusiastic about building a house for the tiger.

Then, back in the village, he gathered a group of children to help Chen Ling, and the lynx also came to lend a hand.

Everyone knew this was a den for tigers, and their excitement was palpable.

Even Afu and Ashou seemed to know that they were building a nest for themselves, and they carried stones around as porters.

Later, the two old men, Zhao Yubao and Zhao Yubao, also came to join in the fun.

In just one morning, the whole group had managed to get most of it done.

However, since the tiger's den is a cave dug underground, the top is made of stones glued together with yellow mud.

In the afternoon, some firewood is lit to smoke the inside of the tiger's den several times to dry it out, so that the tiger can live comfortably and securely.

However, Afu and Ashou couldn't care less about all that.

Seeing such a beautiful tiger's den, with a stone roof shaped like a tortoise shell, and a section of what Chen Ling had made into a chimney shape, and below it a cave leading into the farm.

He and Rui Rui and the other little kids crawled in and out of the cave, having a great time.

Even when Chen Ling brought over dead monkeys and venison to feed them, they were reluctant to come out.

It just peeked its big head out of the cave entrance, grinning as it went in and out, playing hide-and-seek with Chen Ling.