My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 568 Sailing
"Well, this tiger is just like a little kid; when it has something fun, it forgets about eating."

"I can't help it," the lynx said helplessly.

He wanted to stay by Chen Ling's side and experience feeding the tiger, but he didn't expect that the tiger would get so engrossed in playing that it wouldn't care about anything else.

Chen Ling smiled and said, "Go ahead and play. Have a good time at home. You'll have to send them away in a couple of days."

"Huh? Uncle Fugui, why are you sending the tiger away?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Nier and the others quickly poked their heads out of the tiger's den.

"Yes, yes, since your tiger listens to you so well, won't it be kept at your house from now on?"

Even Wang Zhenzhen reacted strongly, hurriedly asking, "Brother-in-law, are you still going to send Afu and Ashou away? To someone else?"

“If you don’t give them away, then you’ll have to send them back to the zoo. You’ll be going to school, and the tiger will have to go back to the zoo to go to school too. Once you start school, I’ll have to send the tiger back.”

Chen Ling said with a smile.

The first day of the eighth lunar month this year also happened to be the first day of their school term.

With the autumn harvest approaching in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, the tigers will be too busy at home to be taken care of. We'll take them out to see the green hills and go hunting before sending them back.

Wow, even tigers go to school?

Chen Ling's explanation struck the children as both novel and reasonable.

After all, in their little minds, tigers are much more advanced than cats, dogs, cattle, and sheep. They're tiger kings, so it's not strange that they go to school to learn.

"When will Afu and Ashou return?"

Wang Zhenzhen hurriedly pressed for more information.

"They're coming back soon, probably around the time your sister gives birth."

Chen Ling made ample preparations this time to prevent Afu and Ashou from throwing tantrums again, but they couldn't stay in the zoo for too long, as it wouldn't be good for their growth and development.

We still need to bring them back and take them to the mountains to fight their way through the land and get some training.

"Hehe, when my sister gives birth? That would be the best. We can have a full moon celebration, and brother-in-law, you can take Afu and Ashou hunting in the mountains. Catch a few wild boars and deer and you can make a whole table of dishes. We won't need to buy any meat."

Wang Zhenzhen clapped her hands excitedly, and the little children crawled out of the tiger's den one after another.

Seeing that they all looked like mud monkeys, with Rui Rui crawling around among them, Chen Ling laughed and said, "It's noon. Don't go home today. School starts the day after tomorrow, so Uncle will cook you a good meal."

The children erupted in cheers once again.

Then, crowding around Chen Ling, they headed towards the manor. As they walked, Wang Zhenzhen chattered, asking, "Brother-in-law, can we go feed the muntjacs now?"

The Reeves' muntjac is small, clever, and cute, about the same size as a baby sika deer.

They all liked it very much.

He's just too timid; Chen Ling wouldn't let him go earlier.

"It's not a good time yet. Let it stay home for a few days before you feed it. You've only had it for half a day, and it's still scared."

After Chen Ling finished speaking, the lynx added, "Be patient, this is a pregnant muntjac calf. The offspring will be even more fun than this. Muntjac calf is already very small, and the offspring will be the same size as kittens and puppies. Have you ever seen such a small deer? You can hold it in the palm of your hand."

"Wow, then I can put it in my backpack."

Upon hearing the lynx's description, their eyes lit up, and then they all became very cautious. They didn't dare to make a sound when passing by the animal pen where the little deer lived, let alone shout to feed it.

Seeing how well-behaved they were, Chen Ling held Rui Rui, who was also covered in mud, in his arms and said, "We can't feed the muntjacs. After lunch, I'll take you up the mountain to see the cranes. School starts soon, so I'll show you something fun."

Just then, Wang Cunye returned, carrying a long whip and leading a soaking wet little white calf, followed by a herd of hopping goats.

"Hey? Uncle Fugui, isn't your little white calf in the county town? Why is it back?"

"Haha, snotty-nosed kid, you don't know this, do you? Uncle Fugui's little white calf can swim from the Nansha River in the county to the reservoir outside our village. It has swum back to the village several times before, but you never saw it. Only Liu Ni'er, Xizi, and I saw it."

"Yes, Xiaobai also often leads a group of big black water buffalo. Many city people initially thought it was a water monster and were terrified, but they never expected it to be buffalo."

They found it interesting. Lynx also said that when the white calf swims in the water, especially in large bodies of water like reservoirs or rivers, its white hide makes it seem invisible. You can't see anything underwater at first glance. Sometimes you only see such a big cow when you get close, which is really quite scary.

Chen Ling laughed heartily. He had already witnessed it; the little white calf's diving ability was exceptional, far surpassing that of ordinary water buffalo. It often appeared and disappeared unpredictably, but he didn't find it frightening because it was his own pet.

Then I went over and asked my father-in-law, and sure enough, the little white ox had swum back from the county.

This means the county is very stable; otherwise, this cow would be the best guard dog in the village.

"Liu Ni'er, go to the village and tell them that everyone will be eating at my house instead of going home for dinner."

Chen Ling instructed Liu Ni'er that in the past there was no need for them to specifically inform the family, but this season the corn was growing tall and wild animals often came down from the mountain, so it would be better to go back to the village and inform them.

Liu Nier responded loudly and ran back.

Chen Ling and the lynx then led the remaining dolls to kill fish, slaughter quails, and stew pork.

We had a happy lunch.

After feeding the tigers, Chen Ling and the lynx took a group of children, along with two tigers, a cow, and a horse, to play on the mountain.

First, we went to the mountain lake to see the cranes.

The baby cranes look different every day; now they're plump and strong, but not as cute as before.

They are now expert fish eaters and consider the area along the edge of the reeds as their territory. They are very fierce and will squawk and chase people if you approach them.

The little white calf was delighted to see the clear, bottomless mountain lake, but when it went into the water, it was fiercely chased by five or six duck-sized cranes that tried to peck at it.

However, the little white calf is always gentle and unassuming. Once it enters the water, it flicks its tail and swims far away. Even if these little creatures follow it to the surface, they cannot catch up with it.

“These baby cranes don’t recognize people anymore. We’ve only been putting them on the mountain for three or four days.”

Seeing the wariness in the expressions of these little red-crowned cranes, including the two they kept at home, Chen Ling thought that it was ultimately more effective to influence them by having their own kind around them.

"That's for sure. Humans have their own language, and animals have their own language. Judging from this, these two little cranes have already recognized each other as family."

"The lynx laughed."

He took Rui Rui from Chen Ling's arms and said, "Come on, Rui Rui, don't you like playing on the boat? Uncle will take you boating."

Chen Ling then instructed the children, "Zhenzhen, watch your step. Don't just focus on the little crane; there are snakes near the water."

"Okay, we'll be watching."

As the group walked toward the dock, two large red-crowned cranes soon flew low over the water.

Surprisingly, they were previously wary of strangers during their breeding season, but now they've started to be friendly with people again.

It folded its wings and strode over with its long legs.

It even stuck its mouth open into Chen Ling's arm and into his pocket, as if looking for fish to eat.

These two red-crowned cranes are very tall and robust.

It was those two rogue cranes from the very beginning.

These were the same two red-crowned cranes that had initially been freeloading in the village, so after the special incubation period, they became carefree again and were no longer afraid of people. Besides Chen Ling, the little ones also went to poke at them.

This caused Wang Zhenzhen and Liu Nier to dodge and giggle.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou, on the other hand, remained silent the whole way, moving forward quietly, constantly sniffing the grass along the lake.

They didn't discover anything, but after these few trips into the mountains, they gradually learned a kind of reconnaissance instinct.

With a loud "plop," the heavy sound of someone falling into the water startled everyone. Turning around, they saw that after the little white ox, the little blue horse had also gone into the water.

This wasn't a small riverbank, but rather a very large and deep lake where a horse could easily drown.

But when Little Blue Horse started swimming, it didn't seem to encounter any obstacles at all.

This skill was honed in the large lake inside the cave.

Little Green Horse jumped into the lake, and Afu and Ashou were not to be outdone. Back in the cave, the three of them often played in the lake.

Then, with two more "plop" sounds, the two tigers also fell into the water.

Seeing the bull's head, horse's head, and two tiger heads floating on the water, adults and children alike burst into laughter.

Lynx carried Rui Rui onto the boat and found the scene amusing: "Goodness, we have water buffalo, water horses, and water tigers. Fugui, you won't lack labor when you go fishing."

"That's right, we'll have to train them to pull the net another day."

Chen Ling also untied a boat, allowing the little children to be on two separate boats.

At this moment, the little white calf that had swum to a distance suddenly dived and disappeared from the surface of the water.

Amidst everyone's confusion, a powerful current soon swept in from afar, blocking the two boats from moving forward.

slam-la-

A white, handsome water buffalo, as pure as a divine ox, broke through the water from the bottom of the lake, stirring up a whirlpool of waves.

The clear, cool lake water instantly turned into raindrops, soaking everyone and eliciting screams from the children.

'Moo.'

The white ox floated on the water's surface, gently bellowing as it turned around, stirring up another whirlpool.

Chen Ling laughed and said, "They're trying to pull us across the boat."

The lynx was somewhat taken aback: "This cow can do this?"

Can it pull carts on land and boats on water?

Wang Zhenzhen, Liu Nier, and the other children eagerly lay on the side of the boat, splashing water on the little white cow.

"Just you wait and see."

Chen Ling untied the rope from the boat, walked steadily down to the back of the white calf, and tied the rope to the calf's horns.

Then he rode directly on the white calf, not caring whether his clothes would get wet, and drove the white calf to pull the two boats forward.

"Hey, it's moving! The boat is moving so fast!"

"Little White is so strong! Hold the boat tight so it doesn't fall overboard."

The little white ox was already strong, but it became even stronger in the water, pulling the two boats of people swiftly across the wide lake, startling flocks of water birds.

It was so exciting and fun that the little ones were screaming with excitement.

Chen Ling, riding majestically on the little white ox, made Rui Rui shout "Dad!" and struggle to break free from the lynx, wanting to find Chen Ling to play together in the front.

He only forgot to make a fuss when two red-crowned cranes flew over and landed on the bow of the boat, standing against the wind.

Soon, Little Green Horse and Afu and Ashou caught up, not wanting to be left behind.

However, they are relatively weak in water, and even if they are good at navigating water, they are not as good as calves.

The two tigers were even worse; when they got tired of swimming, they would use their two front paws to hold onto the side of the boat and float on the water, sticking out their tongues like dogs.

They didn't even care about the devilish hands reaching out to the children's heads.

In short, Liu Nier and her friends were extremely happy today. First, a red-crowned crane landed on the bow of the boat and played with them, and then two tigers were allowed to be petted.

At the very front, a white calf was pulling a boat through the water, taking them to play all over the lake.

That's incredibly fun to play!

The children were happy, and Chen Ling was also very pleased.

After having a great time, we took the kids to catch bamboo rats and collect medicinal herbs until the sun was almost setting before heading home with a bountiful harvest.

As they were leaving, Afu and Ashou were a little reluctant to go, turning back every few steps to watch the red-crowned cranes playing and frolicking by the water.

They knew Chen Ling wouldn't allow them to eat these birds.

They had a great time playing in the water this afternoon, but since they didn't catch any of the delicious fish in this beautiful lake, they still wanted to play a little longer.

When Chen Ling saw them, he thought they were hungry. When he got home and fed them, he realized that the two big cats wanted to eat fish.

So they took out two large fish from the cave and threw them to the children to share.

Then he himself entered the cave.

Go and deal with those two yellow-throated martens. I caught these two little creatures in the mountains late tonight, but I haven't had a chance to properly interact with them yet.

After taking the two yellow-throated martens into his cave, he left them in the area where the jackals lived.

Although it's isolated, it's essentially a transparent barrier, like being locked in a transparent display case in a forest for other creatures to observe.

He wanted to see if this incredibly bold little beast would back down when faced with a daring jackal.

After entering the cave...

The unexpected scene before him almost made him burst out laughing.

A group of jackals, big and small, including pups, were gathered around the two yellow-throated martens under the big trees.

The two little beasts seemed to know that there was something in front of them, and that these terrible enemies posed no threat to them. Instead, they lay calmly on the rocks. One was dozing with its eyes half-closed, while the other lay there with its small, round, black eyes rolling around, looking at the jackal family outside the barrier with boredom.

As soon as Chen Ling arrived, the jackals howled and instantly fled with their tails between their legs.

The two yellow-throated martens also stood up alertly, opened their mouths, revealed their sharp teeth, and made threatening noises at Chen Ling.

But then it seemed that they remembered that no one could hurt them in their small territory, so they relaxed and became fearless again.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling let out a soft exclamation: "This level of intelligence is comparable to Little Yellow and Little Fatty, almost like a weasel. It's a pity... that it still doesn't understand human nature."

Little Yellow and Little Fatty became intelligent after simply stealing and eating the family's chicks, but the two yellow-throated weasels showed no signs of intelligence despite Chen Ling having specially prepared meat bait soaked in spiritual water for them. It seems that they are still different from weasels in some aspects.

(End of this chapter)