My 1995 Small Farm.

"Fugui, look! We found something rare on the mountain."

Under the eaves of the bamboo house, Chen Ling was teaching the three members of the Shen family how to trim the wings of wild pigeons when Wu Fei, a middle-aged man who had become overweight, walked in excitedly carrying a pine branch.

Beside him was his short-haired, petite wife, who was also carrying a pine branch of about the same size.

The couple dressed indistinguishably from the villagers, and these days they would go up the mountain every day with great enthusiasm to find mushrooms, pick chestnuts, and gather various wild fruits.

I will share this with Chen Ling's family and the villagers when I get back.

When I have nothing to do, I go and do some small chores in the fields of various families.

They enjoyed the feeling.

"Oh, what good stuff has the great scholar discovered?"

Chen Ling didn't even look up, and joked.

Although Wu Fei and his wife were ordinary people, unlike Chen Xiaoer who was a household name, they were also well-educated.

Moreover, one of them loves small animals, while the other loves insects.

Zhao Yubao once said that the two of them could become animal teachers for the children.

The countryside had only recently begun to shift towards natural sciences.

They used to be called animal teachers.

"Come and see, it's really amazing, sugar has formed on the pine tree." Wu Fei pointed to the pine branch in his hand and said, "Brother Shen and Sister-in-law Shen, come and see, there's a lot of white sugar on it."

"Oh, it's true."

The three members of the Shen family helped Chen Ling catch the pigeons while craning their necks to look up.

"Right, I wasn't lying to you."

The couple went up the mountain early this morning, just like fishing or hunting. Even a simple trip up the mountain can be addictive, especially since they've just gotten used to the area. Their desire to explore on their own is strongest, and they can't sleep because they're thinking about going up the mountain.

I got up early this morning and took a stroll in the mountains. The harvest in the autumn forest was truly delightful.

Not only did they collect a lot of wild fruit, but they also photographed many beautiful small animals.

Just as they were satisfied and preparing to descend the mountain...

Turning his head, Wu Fei inadvertently noticed that the pine needles on the slope above had many white crystals, about the size of mung beans, which were unusually conspicuous in the morning light.

At first, he thought it was caused by frost, but after taking a few photos, he realized something was wrong.

There wasn't such a lot of frost on other trees.

So the couple tried picking a few crystals with their hands. When they squeezed them, they melted immediately, leaving their hands feeling sticky.

Wu Fei was quite reckless and had a strong desire to explore.

Out of curiosity, I plucked another pine needle with crystals on it, put it in my mouth and tasted it. The sweet taste immediately lingered on my tongue. It was fresh and tender, with a hint of pine needle fragrance. The taste was very unique.

He immediately thought he had discovered a new continent and hurriedly called his wife to try it.

His wife initially thought the old man was playing a trick on her, but after tasting it with some skepticism, she immediately found it unbelievable as well.

5. How can sugar beans grow on pine trees?

Moreover, the entire tree is covered in it, so it's clearly not man-made.

So the couple took many photos around the tree, and then returned to the village to report their new discovery.

After hearing the couple's story, Chen Ling chuckled and said, "This is nothing special. It's just pine needle candy. There's plenty of it on the pine trees in the mountains during autumn and winter."

"This is called pine needle candy? Can pine trees really produce sugar?" Mr. and Mrs. Shen's eyes widened.

They always thought all sugar was artificially made, so how could there be sugar growing on wild trees?

"Of course... We've eaten this stuff before. Back then, the village was poor, and the kids didn't have many snacks. In the autumn and winter, we'd find pine needle candy to eat while foraging for wild fruits."

The larger ones are picked and eaten by hand, while another type is a fine powder that adheres to the pine needles, requiring you to put the pine needles in your mouth and lick them.

Oh, by the way, this stuff can also be used to make sugar; it used to be sold at the market years ago.

"Oh? Is that so? I thought I had discovered something amazing. What a disappointment."

Wu Fei shook his head in frustration. He knew the local legends about the old turtle, and seeing the huge wild boar skeleton and the endless stream of strange creatures, he couldn't help but harbor a desire to make some new discoveries in the mountains himself.

"You are all learned scholars, and you don't even know this?"

Chen Ling asked casually.

“We’re only interested in animals and insects. How could we possibly know as much about plants as you mountain folk who guard these things… But you know what you know, Xiao Er and his family definitely don’t. I have to go and show off to them.”

Xiao Er has been busy building the house lately and hasn't been out and about much.

Wu Fei and his wife left in a flurry.

"Go ahead, call my second brother over for drinks tonight. He found two dead wild boar piglets online this morning, let's stew them."

"okay."

Compared to his thick eyebrows and big eyes, Wu Fei is more enthusiastic and outgoing.

Chen Xiaoer was much more reserved.

Despite being a comedian, he doesn't act seriously in front of Chen Ling and his family.

In reality, he wasn't a particularly cheerful or outgoing person.

He was usually quiet and reserved. Apart from visiting Chen Ling's place and going hiking with Wang Qingzhong and Wu Fei, he would take his wife and children around to cut thatch and reeds, make adobe bricks, or ride his newly bought bicycle around to buy things and prepare for building a house.

Even Zhao Yubao's family had only visited once, and they had very little interaction with the villagers.

In short, this is quite different from his behavior on television and in front of Chen Ling and others.

His wife is also a down-to-earth and hardworking woman.

With the help of Chen Ling and Shanmao, the couple built a thatched hut and set up a simple kitchen. From time to time, the woman would carry a basket and exchange the eggs she bought for vegetables and other things from the villagers.

Why is it so complicated?
This is also why the villagers particularly adhere to traditional values.

Since they were going to settle down here, and were all from the same village as Professor Zhao and the others, they figured they would run into each other all the time. They thought it was just picking some vegetables, so why should they charge money?
Chen Xiaoer is a strange person; he feels uneasy taking things from others for free.

Okay then, let's trade the eggs we bought for it.

Right now, the county's vegetable market doesn't have many good vegetables; it's mostly dried vegetables, like dried wood ear mushrooms and dried mushrooms.

Greenhouse vegetables are only available in spring and winter.

At other times of the year, each family has more vegetables in their garden than they can eat, so there's no need to buy any.
Therefore, they couldn't buy vegetables even if they wanted to.

Wu Fei and his wife.

They are older.

She's already in her early forties.

They were very easygoing and stayed at Zhao Yubao's house.

They eat and drink for free every day and don't feel anything about it.

Zhao Yubao also enjoyed the pleasure of receiving guests.

He even shared his experience of how he built the house with them.

……

The autumn harvest is of paramount importance to farmers.

These past few days, the village has been bustling with activity every day.

Livestock and carts were parked everywhere on the country lanes.

Truckloads of corn cobs, peanuts, and sweet potatoes were hauled home, and the scene was bustling with activity and quite spectacular.

Some families have many members; with many people, there is great strength, and they can get things done very quickly.

More than twenty people, adults and children, men and women, young and old, went into the cornfield and finished picking all the corn cobs in no time.

Then it's time to cut the corn stalks.

Once again, the whole family pitched in, just like harvesters entering a wheat field during the summer harvest. They swung their sickles in unison, and with the swaying of the corn stalks, the snapping sound never stopped, and the tall corn stalks fell down in whole swathes.

The view then broadened.

At this time, there are no small-scale crushers or rotary tillers in the mountains.

The larger ones can't be driven in.

Bringing it in would be a losing proposition.

Mountainous terrain is not suitable for this type of work.

Then we'll have to use the old method: cut down the corn stalks.

As for burning, forget about it.

If the wind blows, it can start a wildfire, which will cause great disaster.

So we still cut down the straw.

Those with small plots of land use hoes to dig up the corn by the roots, while those with large plots who need to finish quickly use sickles. As for whether to burn the stalks as firewood or compost them in the field, that's a personal choice.

Chen Ling's family has finished harvesting their 20 mu of corn these past few days.

It's time to cut the straw.

But before they could cut it open, Wang Susu went into labor.

There's nothing we can do about it.

In fact, given Wang Susu's constitution, the delivery will be very smooth, and she will not experience any physiological reactions before delivery. As for feelings of irritability, anxiety, or fear, Wang Susu will not experience these negative emotions after successfully giving birth to her first child.

Moreover, there were hardly any signs before she gave birth.

Even if others calculate the date, they can't get it right.

Chen Ling only realized that Su Su was about to give birth after seeing the little white calf's reaction.

That's how it was when Rui Rui was born.

While still on the street, having just sold all the eggs, the little white calf suddenly became restless and wouldn't even drink water.

This time will be similar.

Chen Ling arrived in the county town not long after he had taken care of the wild pigeons and quails at home.

I had just finished making juice in the yard and was about to go to the hospital when the little white cow started pawing at the ground and tearing at my clothes, acting extremely anxious.

Chen Ling was a little confused at first, but when he saw that it wanted to go to the hospital, he immediately understood what was going on.

Suppressing his excitement, he took the little white calf to the county hospital.

At that time, donkey carts would sometimes come to the hospital.

It's not surprising that a water buffalo came in.

Chen Ling told it to wait obediently downstairs while she hurried off to the delivery room.

Sure enough, as soon as they arrived, the father-in-law and mother-in-law were busy preparing for the delivery, and Wang Susu was wheeled into the delivery room.

Before being wheeled in, she winked at Chen Ling with a grin and said, "Ling, I can feel it, there really are three babies this time."

"..."

Chen Ling was speechless.

My wife is so carefree; what time is it, and she still has the mind to talk about this?

The father-in-law was quite anxious: "Lingzi, why is it so early? It's not even ten months yet."

"Dad, don't worry, being born half a month or twenty days early isn't considered premature."

Chen Ling quickly comforted him.

"No, that's not what I'm worried about. I'm wondering if Susu is really pregnant again this time..."

The old man's forehead was already beaded with sweat.

He worried that if his daughter got pregnant too many times, she wouldn't have the strength to give birth and would have to have a cesarean section.

A C-section at this time can be quite frightening.

However, he dared not tell anyone at the moment, for fear of attracting bad luck.

At this moment, Gao Xiulan walked over and glared at him: "What nonsense are you talking to Lingzi about? Susu went in and was still smiling and saying three things. Do you think she doesn't know? You're just spouting nonsense all day long."

The son-in-law had finally calmed down a bit, how could he feel at ease after hearing this?

As expected, Chen Ling heard this.

My heart suddenly tightened with nervousness.

What if this pregnancy really is triplets...

Pshaw, no, no, Su Su has such a good constitution, others may not know, but do you think I don't?
Just then, a baby in the delivery room started crying loudly, and Chen Ling's self-comfort was of no use.

Despite knowing about his daughter-in-law's health condition.

But there was a sense of panic and unease, like fifteen buckets of water being drawn up and down in a chaotic manner, making it impossible to sit or stand still.

He wandered around the corridor like a headless fly.

Fortunately, not long after, the couple, Lynx and Azalea, arrived. After a month of recuperation with the medicinal wine from Chen Ling's family, they successfully became pregnant.

Overjoyed and to express her gratitude to Wang Susu, Du Juan visited the hospital almost every day.

When the Shen family moved out of their original courtyard, Lynx renewed the lease for another month and stayed there temporarily with Dujuan.

They could have stayed on the second floor of Chen Ling's courtyard.

Unfortunately, we really do have to live in the same room.

The father-in-law came, and the elderly couple stayed in one room.

The apartment downstairs belongs to Chen Ling and her husband.

There's nothing we can do about it.

Anyway, the rent isn't expensive, so I'll just stay here and help out for now.

Otherwise, when they go back to the village, Old Man Zhong and his wife won't let them do anything. Even though her belly isn't big yet, they'll treat her like a woman in confinement, which Dujuan's temper can't handle.

"Wow? We've come at the perfect time today. Is Susu in the delivery room?"

Upon seeing the scene before them, the two lynxes widened their eyes and asked.

Chen Ling nodded without saying a word.

Seeing him like this, the lynx teased, "What's wrong? So happy you don't even want to talk?"

"Hey, stop joking. I'm not in the mood for jokes right now. Su Su went in and there hasn't been a sound. I'm really worried."

"How long has Susu been inside?" Dujuan asked hurriedly.

"It's been five minutes!"

Chen Ling glanced at his watch, paused for a moment, and then raised his hand to shake it. In his mind, almost half an hour had passed.

Who knew it would only take five minutes?

He even began to wonder if his watch was broken.

I shook it a couple of times and looked at the Bobcat's watch. I realized that the watch wasn't broken and only five minutes had indeed passed.

"It feels like so much time has passed."

"Stay calm, stay calm, keep your composure."

The lynx advised, "You've been through this once already, why are you still acting like a young kid?"

"I……"

Chen Ling opened his mouth, but had nothing to say.

Du Juan sighed helplessly, "Forget about wealth and status. Let's see how you are when I give birth."

"Me? I definitely wouldn't do that."

The lynx stood proudly with its chest puffed out.

Du Juan raised an eyebrow: "Hmm? So you're not worried about us, mother and child? Or are you unhappy about becoming a father?"

"Huh? This...that's not what I meant..."

Upon hearing this, the lynx hurriedly offered an explanation.

In the past, Chen Ling would have stirred things up if he saw them in this situation.

I'm not in the mood right now; all I feel is the noise.

He continued pacing aimlessly back and forth in the corridor.

"See? I told you not to talk back. If you ever say anything out of line again, I'll sew your mouth shut."

Seeing her son-in-law like this, Gao Xiulan gritted her teeth and said to her husband.

Wang Cunye smiled awkwardly, not daring to refute.

He was also worried and made a mistake.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Ling heard a faint yet loud cry during his agonizing wait. He turned around abruptly, and the door to the delivery room opened.

A middle-aged nurse came out and announced, "They've given birth! It's twins, a boy and a girl..."

"Twins? Not three?"

Chen Ling, preconceived notions, was suddenly a little disappointed, but quickly asked again, "Where's my wife? How is she?"

The nurse smiled and said, "Your wife is doing very well. Young people are healthy, and she gave birth to the baby without making a sound."

After Chen Ling finished asking, Wang Cunye and the others hurriedly came forward: "Are they twins, a boy and a girl? Then why can't we hear the babies crying inside?"