My 1995 Small Farm.

Just as we were talking about kites, a series of panicked and rapid "cluck-cluck" cries came from above.

Everyone hurriedly looked up and saw a small flock of geese being attacked by a large gray bird.

"Fugui, look, it's another hawk! Quickly fire your gun and shoot at its wings."

Someone urgently reminded them.

Chen Ling glanced at the bird's shape from left to right, then waved his hand and said, "This is a grey hawk. It's useless to take it back. It won't fit in with my bald-headed son."

"Uncle, isn't that a seagull?"

The chubby boy asked curiously.

"Uh, it does look a little bit like a seagull."

Chen Ling thought about it and realized that the gray hawk did indeed have a silvery-gray body and even darker wings. When it flew in the sky and the sunlight shone on it, it really did look like a seagull.

As they were talking, the gray hawk successfully shot down a wild goose, and the goose, tumbling and falling from the sky, flew into the deep ravine beside them.

"Wow, this gray hawk is pretty impressive. I was just wondering why there were hawks flying this way. Turns out, geese often fly over this area too."

Everyone forgot about filling their pockets and baskets with hawthorns and rushed to the side of the stream to peer down.

The little kids couldn't resist running forward.

Then he shouted, "I saw it! The hawk is plucking feathers down there! It's going to eat the goose!"

“Fugui, do you think there are different kinds of kites? They’re just different colors, right? The chickens we raise aren’t all the same either, they still pair up, lay eggs, and hatch chicks.”

Anyway, I think this gray hawk is pretty formidable. Why don't you just shoot it?

"Yes, Uncle Fugui, this gray hawk can kill wild geese. It would be such a waste not to hunt it down."

Chen Ling was immediately at a loss for words: "...It's really not the same thing. 'Grey kite' is what we call it in our local dialect. Actually, it's not the same species as a kite at all."

Chen Ling had only ever seen one person who trained this bird, and that was Uncle Nima, the leader of the Hawkers.

This bird, though called a hawk, is actually neither an eagle nor a falcon; rather, it is a bird of prey called the black-winged kite.

The hawk, on the other hand, is a sparrowhawk.

Why do kite hunters train gray kites?

This is probably because these two types of creatures mostly feed on birds and like to catch them.

"Forget it, I can't explain it to you. I'll quickly pack some hawthorns and go find something else."

“Okay, I have a winnowing basket here. If you don’t need much, two baskets will be enough.”

"Hey, Auntie, you even brought a winnowing basket! This is good, this is good."

Chen Ling took a bamboo winnowing basket from an old woman and scooped some out from the ground to put into the basket.

"Uncle, we want some too."

The chubby boy and the little chestnut found it interesting and hurriedly ran over.

"Alright, alright, put your little baskets in front of me."

Chen Ling told them to put their small baskets in front of him and filled each of them with a little bit. "This is enough. We'll be picking other fruits later."

After finishing, Chen Ling said goodbye to the villagers and wandered northwards with the children.

The remaining group of men, women, and children were in the hawthorn grove, filling bags and baskets with piles of fresh hawthorns.

Hawthorns are among the more expensive wild fruits, and this large hawthorn grove is enough to keep everyone busy for a whole day.

But some people skipped the hawthorn grove to pick other things.

Chen Ling encountered two or three groups on the way. Some were picking pears like Chen Dazhi and his group, while others were picking wild grapes and kiwis. Still others had picked a lot of strange wild fruits such as wild lychees, ground cherries, figs, and dogwood.

For example, wild lychee has little to do with lychee; it grows on wild dogwood flowers.

There are also many other things whose names I don't know.

Basically, as long as it's a wild fruit from the mountains, belonging to the category of berries with a sweet and sour taste, everyone goes to pick it.

What if the buyer is satisfied and offers a good price?

Pick whatever you see.

Sure enough, Chen Ling did run into a few lucky people and picked half a basket of bright yellow plums.

This "Drunken Plum" is the one that Feng Yi and his group named "Qinling Drunken Plum," a fruit that makes you drunk after eating it.

It's rather peculiar.

I have no idea what it would taste like to be canned, whether it would be edible, or whether it would make me drunk.

The quantity is also relatively small.

Chen Ling told them that when they returned to the village, they should tell the buyers that this product had a high alcohol content and that consuming it alone could cause intoxication.

Fearing they might not take it seriously, they even brought up the story of Heiwa getting drunk from eating fruit.

Then they suddenly realized what had happened, because they had vaguely heard the kids mention it before, but they hadn't taken it seriously. They never expected it to be true.

One by one, their expressions turned serious, and they said they had taken note.

In this season, the mountains are not only rich in wild fruits, but also in various wild vegetables and mushrooms.

For example, pine mushrooms. These start growing in September, and now they're growing in large patches, but hardly anyone comes to pick them.

Chen Ling and his group of kids could easily fill a large sack with just a few picks.

But you can't possibly use that many.

Along the way, all kinds of wild mushrooms, such as pine mushrooms, tea tree mushrooms, coral mushrooms, and porcini mushrooms, can be seen everywhere.

Chen Ling and his group didn't need to search for anything; they just picked up whatever they saw, and they filled their pockets to the brim.

With the wild fruits he picked, this guy could barely carry any more.

"Uncle, my pockets are already full even though I haven't finished picking all the mushrooms."

Little Chestnut pouted her rosy lips and said somewhat unhappily.

Chen Ling said, "Next time we'll bring a bigger bag, you can pick them, and Uncle will carry them for you."

"Yes, we also need to bring Mom along to work. When she comes to Uncle's house, all she does is eat and eat, she just eats and doesn't do anything."

Chen Ling couldn't help but chuckle upon hearing this. This little one was so adorable. He wondered if Lele would be like this when she grew up.

"Okay, bring your mother over to help with the work too."

As soon as Little Chestnut finished speaking, Little Fatty cried out in a panic, "Uncle, Uncle, look, the bag in your hand isn't moving! Are the little fat mice going to suffocate?"

Upon hearing this, Rui Rui, who was being held in Wang Zhenzhen's arms, immediately broke free and ran over to the bag containing the bamboo rats.

Chen Ling then opened them up to show them, and sure enough, several of them had already kicked the bucket.

"There's nothing we can do, this thing is just too timid, it can scare itself to death."

"Oh? What should we do then?"

"Oh well, it's a shame to throw it away. Let's take it home and eat it."

Chen Ling glanced at the bamboo rats and saw that they were in very poor condition. He said, "Let's head back. There's a stream over there. I'll gut them and skin them first. Otherwise, they'll all be scared to death. Even if we eat the meat back home, it won't be fresh."

"That's it, okay then."

Both Little Fatty and Little Chestnut were a little reluctant to part with these chubby, adorable bamboo rats.

Rui Rui liked it, but didn't really feel anything about it.

He just chuckled and looked up at Chen Ling: "Dad, good morning."

"Mmm, it's delicious, but I'm afraid you little rascal won't be able to chew it properly."

Chen Ling hasn't let him eat this stuff yet.

Upon hearing this, the chubby boy and the little chestnut suppressed their inner turmoil and reluctance, looked at the cute little fat mouse, swallowed hard, and asked, "Uncle, will this really taste good?"

"Of course! We've picked so many mushrooms. When we cook a pot of them, they'll be incredibly delicious."

Chen Ling patted his chest and assured him.

Then he led them to a stream, took out his hunting knife, and quickly gutted and skinned the bamboo rats. This way, they'd have a new dish besides venison when they got back. And compared to venison, the bamboo rat stewed with wild mushrooms would be much more refreshing.

So it was almost noon.

Chen Ling then led a group of children out of the mountains.

Although they had a great time that morning, the two chubby boys were exhausted.

Chen Ling carried the two of them on his shoulders.

Fortunately, the bamboo rats were dealt with.

Otherwise, when they are alive, these bamboo rats are always struggling and moving around. They are quite strong, and even the village children can't hold them.

Besides carrying two children on her shoulders, Chen Ling's hands must also be filled with these things.

As for Rui Rui, there's no need to worry. After getting rid of the playful antics of the older brothers and sisters in the village, she followed Heiwa and Xiao Jin, riding on the backs of these two mountain kings, and came down the mountain.

The brat has been riding dogs since he was a child.

And they gripped it very tightly with their little hands and feet.

At first, many villagers felt it was unsafe, thinking that Chen Ling was being irresponsible, and that the child was so young and playing like that was risky.

But later, when everyone got closer and saw what was going on, they stopped saying that.

There's nothing else to it. Little Rui Rui just cooperates by straining against the dog's back, and Hei Wa has a broad and sturdy back, so he runs steadily without any problems.

In fact, there are many such cases in the village.

When toddlers ride oxen or donkeys, as long as the animals are docile and obedient enough, these toddlers, who can't even speak properly yet, are much more stable than adults.

They are small, but they learn things very quickly.

After Rui Rui rode on Heiwa's back down the mountain, she made Heiwa stop, then got off Heiwa and ran to Xiao Jin's side to ride Xiao Jin. She was really busy!

"Giddy up, giddy up, giddy up..."

As soon as the little kid came down the mountain, he felt familiar with the environment. Seeing that there were wheat fields all around and the wilderness was wide open, he got excited and started riding his little horse around in the wheat fields.

Seeing this, Heiwa and the village dogs hurriedly chased after them.

Erhei, leading the farm dogs, came excitedly barking as they saw it from the distant slope.

It was quite a lively scene.

Just then, several vehicles drove along the dirt road outside the threshing ground and stopped when they saw this scene.

Someone even opened the car door and jumped out, shouting, "Wow, look! That dog is carrying a child on its back!"

"I saw them. Those two dogs are huge. They must be the two dog kings that everyone's talking about."

"You're not right. The big black dog isn't the king of dogs, it's the king of wolves. It's had a lot of pups with wolves."

"..."

"Don't stop here. Move the car forward and up the hill ahead to take a look."

"..."

"Hey, there's a group of kids over there. They look like they just came back from the mountains. The adult leading them looks a bit like Brother Chen."

"Damn it, forget about whether it's Brother Chen or not, the pack of dogs is charging at us."

Chen Ling also saw it now. The dog pack was either under Rui Rui's command of Xiao Jin, or Er Hei was acting strangely in the face of so many outside vehicles...

In short, a large pack of dogs was running wildly through the wheat field, barking and surrounding the convoy.

From Chen Ling's perspective, Xiao Jin and Heiwa were quite sensible. Because Xiao Jin was carrying Rui Rui, they kept a distance from the pack of dogs.

They went forward rashly without bringing their child.

That's most likely because Erhei has relapsed into his old habits.

Chen Ling quickly whistled twice, and the pack of dogs immediately fell silent and retreated.

"Damn, it really is Brother Chen. His dogs are terrifying."

Then he started calling Chen Ling from a distance.

Chen Ling took one look and knew who these people were.

These are the shop owners who bought puppies in the city; they're the ones who came to catch the puppies after paying for them.

He also spotted a familiar vehicle – the beat-up car that Old Zhou drove for the Water Margin film crew.

According to the crew of Journey to the West, Zhou Weijun's beat-up car was difficult to repair, but they arrived at noon today, not too much later than the crew.

"Brother Chen is really impressive."

"The key is that this place is so beautiful, walking around with a bunch of dogs like this, wow, you're having so much fun."

"Yes, yes, these big dogs are so imposing, they make the local dogs pale in comparison, and even the German Shepherd looks like a chick... I wonder if the puppies we want will grow up to be this good."

These are the bosses who came to hold the puppy.

Seeing Chen Ling lead the pack of dogs past the land temple, they dared to get out of the car again and started shouting at Chen Ling.

Chen Ling smiled and shook hands with them, saying some polite words like "Welcome" and "Take good care of the puppy; it will grow up to be even better."

When these business owners saw that Chen Ling actually shook hands with them, they were flattered and also puzzled by how unruly this young man was in the city.

Why are they being so understanding in the village?

Little did they know that Chen Ling was always so warm and polite to his friends on his own turf.

On the contrary, they can't handle drinking parties outside, and they're too lazy to do so.

Exchange a few polite words with these bosses.

Then we saw Old Zhou's beat-up car stop as well.

Zhou Weijun and Zhao Tianba, upon seeing Chen Ling, immediately pulled him aside and asked him if he had recklessly agreed to the conditions set by the Journey to the West crew.

It's called Journey to the West, but it's a classic among classics.

It has been tested by the people.

The 1983 edition has been fully proven.

Now they're making a sequel, and they have an abundance of funding.

Fearing that he, being an outsider, might not understand the intricacies of the business, Lao Zhou and his companion worried that he might be taken advantage of and sign some kind of agreement with the other party.

"To be honest, they gave you a role that looks like a good one, but it's not for you, it's for the animals you keep. Let's not even talk about the dogs, there's the eagle, the cow, the horse, even the weasel..."

Anyone could be dragged out and become an actor on TV.

As long as you follow along, you don't even need to train; you can be used on camera and work with anyone.

Do you know what this means?

Do you know how much trouble you save the film crew?

"Alright, Lao Zhou and Lao Zhao, you two can rest assured... The people in the Journey to the West crew are all good people, and they didn't hide anything from me, although not as thoroughly as you two have explained."

But they did give me a general idea.

Chen Ling gestured with his fingers to them, indicating that these two were good friends, and Lao Zhou was even a pen pal, so their relationship was definitely not ordinary; he would think of Lao Zhou if he needed anything.

He chuckled and whispered to the two of them, "Last time their film crew sent people here to film the Turtle King, they saw the real Turtle King. You know, once you see the Turtle King, there aren't many who dare to play any tricks or have any dirty thoughts..."

The shopkeepers nearby listened intently as they talked about Journey to the West and Water Margin, all inviting Chen Ling to play roles. They were quite surprised, as they had heard that Chen Ling had helped out in a tiger-fighting scene, but Journey to the West held a different place in the hearts of Chinese people.

Just as they reached the top of the slope, a few members of the Journey to the West film crew were fishing with some villagers by the river. They heard a commotion of barking dogs and the sound of cars starting up, so they came over to see what was going on.

"My goodness, Lao Zhou, how did you fix this old car so quickly? How did you get here so fast?"

"We have to hurry. I heard from the mechanics that the area is haunted. Several drivers were scared out of their wits, their faces and necks covered in blood."

They said it was because he was scratched by a ghost or something.

We were terrified when we heard that, so we didn't dare stay any longer. We spent a little more money to replace some of the parts and rushed over.