My 1995 Small Farm.

It rained on and off for two days.

Wang Zhenzhen and the village children finally started school.

Wang Zhenzhen is doing well studying in the county town, but the children in the village have to brave the light rain to line up for their new books.

The children from Chenwangzhuang, Jinmen Village, Taoshugou, and several nearby villages, forming three grades, make up quite a few people.

Both Zhao Yubao and Old Zhong's families were cultured people, and they couldn't bear to see the little kids braving the rain to collect books.

They lived on the hillside, which was close to the school, so the two families, consisting of four people, went over to help.

After Chen Ling and his son, along with Shanmao, arrived, they also went to help. Rui Rui then wandered around the classroom, rummaging through the desks.

After finishing the tidying up, two female teachers were unable to come over because of the rain and the difficult mountain path.

The elderly couple, Zhao Yubao and his wife, were delighted with the opportunity and immediately began teaching lessons to students in both grades, flipping through the textbooks on the spot.

Great writers and professors are giving lectures.

Several elderly teachers and the vice principal brought over small stools to listen attentively.

However, Chen Ling and his group lost interest and, taking advantage of the rain stopping, returned to the thatched cottage on the hillside with Old Zhong's family.

Today is Mr. Zhong's birthday.

Lynx used to travel all over the country, so much so that even though he's not young anymore, he's never really given his father a proper birthday celebration.

After making the call yesterday, Chen Ling called his older brother and sister, promising that he would give their father a proper birthday celebration this year, and at the very least, he would make a bowl of longevity noodles by hand.

Since I've made that bold promise, I definitely have to make sure it's done perfectly.

Sure enough, early in the morning, before the rain had even stopped, Lynx dragged Chen Ling to the site to provide guidance.

Chen Ling knew that this old guy had never cooked a proper meal before.

No one laughed at him for not even knowing how to make hand-pulled noodles.

After all, it's out of filial piety, and filial piety is commendable.

After returning from school, Lynx began kneading and mixing dough under Chen Ling's guidance.

"Fugui, kneading dough is a bit tiring. I've only been kneading for a few minutes, and my arms are already starting to ache?"

Lynx wiped the sweat from his face with his elbow, then muttered under his breath while rubbing his flour-covered hands.

At this moment, Chen Ling and Old Man Zhong sat under the low thatched eaves like old wealthy men, each with a pot of tea beside them. They would occasionally pick it up and take a sip, then stare at the small chess table in front of them and leisurely make a couple of moves.

They didn't even bother to say anything.

Grandma Zhong was picking vegetables from the vegetable rack next to her. She looked up at her youngest son and chuckled, "Third son, now you know that cooking isn't easy for your mom, is it?"

“That’s different, Mom. You’ve been cooking for so many years… I don’t think this is a job for men. It’s uncomfortable to do it.”

The lynx sighed and continued clumsily kneading the dough.

Chen Ling then looked up and smiled, "That's right, it's not easy. Only longevity noodles made like this will make it meaningful for Uncle Zhong to eat them."

"Yes, Sanzi, your dad is waiting to eat your longevity noodles today. I haven't eaten your cooking in my life. If I don't get to eat your longevity noodles today, I won't be able to close my eyes in peace when I die."

Old Zhong sighed deeply, clutching the chess pieces.

"Dad, you're exaggerating. It's one thing that you said you'd die with regrets if I didn't have a baby the other day, but eating longevity noodles doesn't warrant this much."

I've already made a solemn promise to my brother and sister: even if it turns into half a pot of mush, I'll still manage to cobble together a bowl of longevity noodles for you.

The lynx grinned.

Old Zhong glared at him and said, "What you're saying is as nonsensical as the ocean."

Chen Ling made a move, then turned his gaze from the chessboard back to the basin in the kitchen, looking at the dough. "Lynx, knead it a few more times. Be patient, knead it like you're playing with mud, and it won't be tiring."

"What? Playing in the mud? Are you kidding me?"

The lynx looked doubtful.

Chen Ling's attention returned to the chessboard. He noticed that Old Zhong was trying to sneakily capture his rook while he wasn't looking.

Old Zhong wasn't as flamboyant as Zhao Yubao, but he wasn't exactly a gentleman either; he was a sly old man in disguise.

Chen Ling was wary of him, rubbing her chin as she considered how to respond.

The two of them paid no attention to the lynx struggling with the dough beside them.

"Alright, these two terrible chess players are actually having a lot of fun playing against each other."

He didn't react to anything else, but he definitely couldn't stand being called a terrible chess player. He said with a serious expression, "What do you know?! Fugui and I are evenly matched, like two equally matched generals."

Only when evenly matched opponents meet can a fierce and evenly contested battle take place.

That's the kind of game that's truly exciting to play.

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the two people playing chess continued to focus on their game, while one kneaded dough and the other prepared vegetables.

The courtyard quickly returned to quiet.

Apart from the pleasant dripping sound of water from the thatched eaves, the entire courtyard was quiet.

However, this tranquility was soon shattered.

Two little heads appeared outside the fenced garden.

Two toddlers wearing open-crotch pants peeked their heads in, giggled softly, and then pulled their heads back in.

I shrank back and forth several times.

Grandma Zhong discovered it.

"Hey kid, what are you doing sneaking around with your brother?"

Grandma Zhong was a plump and kind old woman, and the children in the village were not afraid of her.

Aunt Zhao, on the other hand, had the air of a teacher, and the children were somewhat intimidated by her.

"Grandma Zhong, we're looking for Rui Rui."

Xiao Mao is the child of Chen Ze's sister. At this moment, he is standing at the gate of the yard with Chen Ze's son in his hand.

Chen Ze's son was still very young, just a month shy of two years old. He was even shorter than Rui Rui, and he peered around with his big, dark eyes.

He really enjoys playing with Rui Rui.

"Rui Rui isn't here. Rui Rui is in class with your Grandpa Zhao and Grandma Zhao."

Aunt Zhong said with a smile.

Although it was called a class, Rui Rui actually sat behind the table with Xi Zi and the others and played.

I'm happy just looking at the pictures in the new book.

Chen Ling waved: "Xiao Mao, bring Gou Dan in to play."

Chen Ze's dog, Gou Dan, is still young, so he wears clothes on rainy days. Xiao Mao, who is over four years old, doesn't wear any clothes at all.

His little body was completely smooth, and his skin was tanned dark black, like a piece of charcoal.

Seeing this, Old Zhong couldn't help but say, "It's getting cold, why isn't this kid wearing a coat?"

Xiao Mao chuckled: "I was fishing in the pond with my uncle, so I wasn't cold."

"Your uncle is the same, why bother fishing on a rainy day? Grandma will get you a coat to wrap yourself up in so you don't get cold."

Aunt Zhong went inside and got a coat to wrap the little boy in. Actually, in the village, children that age are almost always naked all summer long; only a minority wear clothes.

You can tell just by looking at their small, dark bodies, as black as loaches from the sun.

Chen Ling grew up like that too. Back then, he wasn't as well-dressed as Xiao Mao, at least Xiao Mao bought his sandals. Chen Ling was completely naked from head to toe, without any worries.

“Uncle Fugui, my uncle caught a big fish and a lot of small fish. I came to find Rui Rui to catch a turtle.”

After putting on his clothes, Xiao Mao pulled Xiao Gou Dan to sit next to Chen Ling and started talking.

When Rui Rui is in the village, if he doesn't have any toys in his hands, he often grabs his little turtle and plays with it back and forth. Sometimes he puts it in his pocket, and sometimes he puts it under his pillow at home.

They don't care about cleanliness at all; they're only interested in having fun.

This is giving Wang Susu a real headache.

"Come catch turtles? Sure, your uncle will catch a few for you to take back to the village and raise later."

Chen Ling patted their little heads.

The little dog, Egg, whose speech was still somewhat unclear, looked up at Chen Ling and said, "Looking for Rui Rui, looking for Rui Rui to play with."

"Hey, you're always looking for Rui Rui. Okay, I'll go and bring Rui Rui back right now."

Chen Ling smiled. This little kid was much older than Rui Rui, but he acted just like Rui Rui's younger brother, going to look for him every few days.

They followed Rui Rui around causing trouble together.

Just as they were about to get up to go to the school to look for him, class ended, and Aunt Zhao came over carrying Rui Rui.

The courtyard suddenly became even more lively.

Their small courtyard on the slope had a hard enough ground, paved with bluestone, and was very clean after the rain. The three little kids played all over the place.

After Chen Ling saw that the lynx's hand-pulled noodles were almost done, he taught him how to make a whole longevity noodle. Then he prepared to go home and catch two turtles for Xiao Mao and the others.

Just then, Zhao Yubao returned and said that he happened to have some at home, so he could grab them and let the kids play with them, and Chen Ling shouldn't go back and cause trouble.

"Wow, Uncle Zhao, you're amazing! The turtle catchers in the village can't keep them alive; they disappear in a few days. But you've managed to keep them alive without making a sound."

Chen Ling said in surprise.

The wheat field tortoise is amphibious, capable of crawling extremely fast and far on land, making it an outstanding escape artist.

It's not that the villagers didn't catch turtles and take them home.

The sudden appearance of the wheat field tortoise, which had been unseen for many years, brought warmth and excitement to everyone.

But what happens after they're caught and raised?

Many of them run away after only a few days and can't be found.

Some people, despite being familiar with the local wheat field turtles, do not understand their habits and end up drowning them by keeping them in water tanks.

So when the little kid wanted to play with a turtle, the first place he thought of was Chen Ling's house.

Rui Rui carries it in his hand all day long, and the turtle never runs away; everyone knows that.

"Of course, your Uncle Zhao is a real hidden talent, isn't he?"

Zhao Yubao raised his chin, looking very smug, and then grabbed the turtle.

Actually, this is also a turtle kept by Chen Ling.

However, he and the three old men, Wang Cunye, caught them from Laohewan. After raising them on the farm for a while, they crawled around too much, so Wang Cunye let him catch some more to take home and raise.

After catching the turtle, Zhao Yubao said mysteriously, "Let me tell you, this turtle will be valuable in the future, and it can be raised like a puppy."

It's much stronger than other turtles.

Chen Ling smiled; he already knew this.

He didn't know much about turtle species before, only the difference between aquatic turtles and land turtles, and he was more familiar with soft-shelled turtles.

When I was little, I just played with the wheat field turtles.

So I didn't pay much attention to it.

Later, I heard from Han Ninggui that the wheat field turtles in their area are a branch of the yellow-margined box turtle.

Its appearance is not outstanding among yellow-margined turtles from various regions, but it is indeed a yellow-margined turtle.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have laid eggs in wheat fields, earning them the nickname "wheat field tortoise."

Other turtles would never crawl that far to lay their eggs.

"I'm too lazy to deal with these turtles now; I'll stick to cattle and dogs."

As Chen Ling thought to himself, the three little ones were already playing with the turtle in the yard.

After playing around for a while, the kitchen started cooking noodles, and Lynx called Chen Ling over to teach him how to make a few simple dishes.

At this point, Xiao Mao let Rui Rui and Gou Dan play at home while he ran out to call Chen Ze.

Chen Ze also had something to do today. His roof was leaking and he was repairing it. He carried a large tin bucket, put half a bucket of fish in it for them to play with, and then went back to continue his work after saying only a few words.

"Good heavens, so that's why your uncle went to the pond to catch fish in the rain. Turns out he ran into a big fire."

Chen Ling glanced into the bucket and saw a large, plump black fish surrounded by many small fish: "That's perfect! Let's make sauerkraut fish for lunch, just in time to celebrate Uncle Zhong's birthday."

"This fish looks a bit scary, will it taste good when cooked?"

Zhao Yubao glanced at it; the big black fish was dirty, dark in color, and covered in python patterns, which was still somewhat creepy.

"It's delicious. This thing is so fresh and tender. You can't usually catch one this big unless you go to the pond."

Chen Ling said with a delighted expression.

Zhao Yubao was a little confused when he heard this: "What do you mean? They ran into the pond? The pond north of the dam is so far from the reservoir, and it's not close to the small river outside the village either. How did they get into the pond?"

"Just jump over there. This big fire is unhappy staying in the river, so it jumps out of the water. It can jump far, even into the pond."

"This thing is tough; it won't die even if it jumps onto the shore."

Chen Ling responded and reached out to grab the large fire starter from the bucket. The big guy immediately started crackling and wagging its tail, splashing water all over the faces of the group.

"I'm going to kill the fish. Xiao Mao, you can take the remaining small fish in the bucket to feed the turtles."

He went to clean the fish, and Zhao Yubao followed closely behind, saying, "Fugui, look at all the kids in the village, they're all so big, but they don't even go to preschool or early childhood education classes? Are there none in the village?"

“In the past two years, some people in the township and some people in the village have run preschool programs, but you have to pay tuition for these programs. How can we expect children in the city to attend preschool for two years before starting primary school? Our family doesn’t have the means,” Chen Ling shook his head.

As soon as he started talking, Old Zhong chimed in, "So they just run around like crazy all day. Look at Liu Nier and the others, they're all good kids, smart and clever, but they're far behind Zhenzhen in their studies. That's a deficiency in their education."

In the city, four- or five-year-old children have already started learning some things.

Chen Ling was aware of these issues, but when he thought about the many subjects in future generations, and the overwhelming amount of homework that tutoring classes put on children and parents, he felt resistant.

“Uncle Zhao, Uncle Zhong, the countryside doesn’t have the right conditions, so let them grow up according to their nature. Sometimes it’s not a bad thing.”

Zhao Yubao said very seriously: "I've had this idea for a long time. Anyway, our two families are living here now, settled down, and we don't want to leave."

We're just here to retire, so besides farming and raising fish, we don't have much else to do. Why don't we invite some old friends to come over to your village to relax and rejuvenate, and maybe even teach some classes at your school?

We also regularly offer extracurricular classes for these young children who are too young to attend.

It can be considered as making a contribution in the remaining years.

what do you think? "