My 1995 Small Farm.

It was said that there would be little rain this autumn, but the rain still came after all.

It had been drizzling since last night, and the rain intensified in the latter half of the night, lasting for almost an hour.

However, after daybreak, only a light drizzle remained.

"This rain is good; it will last at least two months, saving us from watering the wheat."

After it rained, my father-in-law stopped going out to herd cattle and sheep and sat under the eaves with the two old ladies, picking chili peppers together.

Gao Xiulan chuckled upon hearing this: "That's right, the rain last night was quite heavy, and the wheat fields were soaked through, so there's no need to water them... Everyone in the village is saying that there will be a drought this autumn, and Lixian and Dazhi were in a hurry to water the wheat, but now it's all for nothing."

Liang Hongyu couldn't say anything about this, but asked, "Didn't Lixian's family set up two greenhouses? The rain can't get in, so it's okay to water them in advance, right?"

"Yeah, it's nothing."

Wang Cunye nodded: "But greenhouses are greenhouses, and vegetables are grown inside, so they definitely need to be watered. Vegetables can't do without water, which is different from wheat outside the greenhouse."

They were still too impatient.

We don't grow wheat where we live. According to Lingzi, it's not too late to water it a month after planting. They were too hasty, seeing that the river water had receded and the reservoir water had dropped quickly.

Plus, they were in a rush to do other things.

"I see. There are specific guidelines for when to water these crops."

Liang Hongyu understood a little: "No wonder Rongxian and I can't keep our little flowers and plants alive. Now that you mention it, it must be because we're not watering and fertilizing them properly."

"Haha, big sister, if you ask me, you should plant flowers and grass, or you can cultivate a small garden in the yard first, plant them there first, and then put them in flower pots."

Wang Cunye laughed heartily.

Gao Xiulan said, "Don't listen to him. He doesn't know how to grow flowers. Hongyu, you should take a break. Picking chili peppers is hard on your hands. Your skin is thin, and your hands will hurt in a while."

"It's alright, it's alright, I should practice." Liang Hongyu quickly waved her hand, refusing.

The chili peppers at home weren't planted intentionally. There was a small, long row left over from the vegetable garden, about the width of a person and six or seven meters long. Chen Dazhi's family gave us some chili pepper seedlings, so we planted them.

The remaining seedlings, which were no longer needed, were left in the backyard near the kitchen and never cared for.

To my surprise, each patch grew more vigorously than the last.

There's nothing we can do about it; sometimes, ignoring it makes it grow better than taking care of it.

Since everyone at home can eat spicy food, it would be a good thing to make some chili sauce.

Chen Ling has been in a pretty good mood these past two days.

With this information, we have a direction for responding to the livestock magazine and a plan for the future.

Moreover, when I went to take Wang Zhenzhen to school just now, I ran into Little Sheep who came back from the city. She said that Liang Yuemin had asked someone to find a shop for him in Beijing, and he could just take some time to open it before the New Year. This is very reliable.

That's good; another thing on my mind has been put to rest.

There's just one small thing I can't figure out.

Damn it, those two Japanese devils came to buy fish again. They chased after him from the village entrance after seeing him return from delivering the little girl.

They ordered two large buckets full of live fish as soon as they arrived.

And they only buy the expensive ones.

Fine-scaled salmon and red snapper are the top-grade edible fish from these farms.

That being said, it wasn't that Chen Ling didn't want to sell to them.

Anyway, it's paid for, and it's more convenient than transporting it to the city. It saves a lot of trouble and makes more money, so why not?

Well, I had some doubts in my mind; I just felt that something was off about these two guys.

How could the two of them eat so much fish?

To give as a gift?

Fortunately, I was able to register my household registration locally.
Even if that's true, it's not necessary to buy it every day, is it?
I've bought these for three days in a row now.

Chen Ling couldn't have imagined that the two Japanese were spending a lot of money to buy fish every day just to feed their garlic.

I buy their fish every day, but I hardly eat any myself; I feed it all to their big turtles.

Such an absurd thing was something he dared not even think about.

"Lingzi, come and take a look. This leopard has pooped a bunch of insects."

When he got home, his father-in-law greeted him, saying that the two old men, Chen Ling and his father, were responsible for shoveling manure for the poultry and livestock every day.

However, the old man liked the puppy, so he wouldn't let Chen Ling take care of it.

Even before the puppy was taken away, he would go to the backyard to scoop poop every day.

These past two days, the leopard has been locked in the wooden house in the backyard to prevent the family's dog, cat, or restless weasel from causing trouble.

After scooping the dog's poop, the old man went to check on it.

The main purpose is to give them water.

That's how it is with any pet you keep at home; it can tolerate a lack of food, but it can't lack water.

"She's passing worms? Looks like the medicine is working."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling's face lit up with joy. After the leopard was stressed, it ate very fiercely, but it only ate and didn't excrete.

After he was given deworming medication once, there was no reaction; he was like a constipated patient.

This made Chen Ling afraid to give him the deworming medicine a second time.

I'm afraid its frail body won't be able to withstand it.

"Yeah, it definitely works. I reckon it's because we locked it in a dark room where it couldn't see anyone, so it wasn't so scared."

That's just how things are in the mountains; they're afraid of people and light.

The old man said.

At this moment, Qin Yueru, carrying the children's clothes, led the three little ones over: "This leopard is still so fierce. We dare not go close. It's like it will overturn the cage if we go close... Fugui, hurry up and deal with it. It smells terrible."

"Okay, I'll go clean it up."

Chen Ling reached out and patted the heads of the three little ones. It had rained, and they were all dressed a bit more warmly today, so they were unusually less lively, which he found a little unusual.

Without spending much time playing with the children, he took Heiwa and the other two directly to the second floor of the wooden building in the backyard.

This place is right next to his hunting tool room.

Upon opening the door, a pungent smell of urine and a faint, slightly damp odor immediately hit you.

The stench was described as damp, perhaps due to the rainy weather, and it was relatively faint, only detectable when you tried to smell it, but it was indeed hard to bear.

Seeing Chen Ling open the door and walk in with the dog, the leopard in the iron cage in the northwest corner was frightened and started thrashing around in the cage, making terrifying hissing noises.

Moreover, because the windows were closed and it was raining, the room was dimly lit, and the leopard's pupils were gleaming eerily, making it look somewhat frightening. No wonder Qin Yueru and the others dared not approach.

Chen Ling didn't even glance at it, and immediately opened all the windows to let in the light, which also helped to dissipate the smell...

Only then did he go to the cage to see the leopard's droppings.

"See that? There's practically nothing in his poop, it's all worms!" the father-in-law said as he walked in.

"Hmm, it's quite serious. We need to feed him again."

Chen Ling saw the leopard droppings that had fallen to the bottom of the cage. Although they had rolled onto the sand, there was nothing inside; it was just a clump of insects.

Insects shaped like leopard droppings.

They were as thick as earthworms, intertwined like a ball of yarn.

It's disgusting to look at.

"No wonder this leopard is so thin and emaciated. It turns out that not only is it injured on the outside, but it also has so many worms in its stomach. Even if it finds food, the worms will eat up all the nutrients in its stomach."

"No wonder he's not physically strong."

Chen Ling muttered to himself, then went downstairs to get some raw venison and deworming medicine.

They mixed it all together and fed it to the leopard. The father-in-law didn't go too close, just watched as he used tongs to pick up the meat and feed it to the leopard.

The old man only felt a little happier when the puppies, drawn by the scent, ran upstairs in a group and wagged their tails at him.

"With the windows open, the smell in the room is much better."

"Lingzi, dig out the sand under the cage. I'll replace it with some fresh sand. This leopard urine smells really foul."

"I'll go change it, Dad, don't worry about it... Actually, this leopard can't be kept at home for more than a few days. Once it's healed, we'll send it away."

As Chen Ling spoke, he pulled out a bag of sand that had been placed under the cage.

Since the space under the iron cage was empty, Chen Ling was afraid that the leopard would urinate on the floor, so he laid down two layers of urea bags and plastic sheeting, and then added a layer of sand.

Treat it like a cat, let it pee on it.

This makes it easier to handle indoors.

After dealing with the leopard's droppings, Chen Ling closed the doors and windows again and went to clean the droppings from the baby quail in the glass tank downstairs.

Then I saw that the rain had basically stopped, but the sky was still shrouded in mist.

A gust of wind blows, and fine mist drifts down; this kind of weather is best enjoyed by staying at home.

Chen Ling looked around and felt that the livestock pens outside still couldn't be ignored. With so many livestock, the smell would be unbearable if the excrement wasn't cleaned up every day.

Since he had nothing else to do, Chen Ling went to the livestock pen to remove manure.

Besides sheep manure, cow manure, horse manure, and quail manure, chickens, ducks, and geese can't go out in this weather, so we also need to clean them up.

After working for a while, all the manure was cleaned up and piled up next to the vegetable garden by Chen Ling.

"Hey, you two little rascals, you've gotten quite bold. Today is a rare occasion, you even dared to ask people for food."

At this moment, Chen Ling, his eyes filled with surprise, stopped beside an empty livestock pen. There, by the small door, were two deer, one large and one small. The larger one was about the size of a lamb, with its front legs on the wall, its nose tilted back, sniffing at Chen Ling.

The smaller one wasn't even as big as a house cat, but it looked much better than the previous kittens. It shook its head next to the larger one, rubbing its head against the iron gate blocking its way like a lamb, as if trying to push it open.

"Come here, let me touch it."

Chen Ling reached out and patted the big one's head. The big one didn't flinch, but instead licked Chen Ling's hand.

This behavior can be considered affectionate, but it's not particularly affectionate.

They like to lick people's hands because they have salt on them.

All I can say is that this timid guy has finally reached the point where he's completely unafraid of people.

This made Chen Ling very happy.

Then his hands started to take advantage of the situation.

He slowly stroked the little deer from the top of its head downwards. At first, the little deer trembled at the touch, but it was quickly drawn to a leaf in Chen Ling's hand. It opened its mouth like a lamb, bit down on it, and began to eat it with a crunching sound.

After petting the big one a couple of times, Chen Ling still wasn't satisfied, so he bent down and reached out to pick up the little one rubbing its head next to him.

This little thing is so light, and it doesn't struggle at all. It just dangles its legs and looks at him curiously with its pure, watery eyes like a deer.

Chen Ling held it in her arms and it felt light as a feather.

After petting it a couple of times, I felt that although the little cub was cute and cuddly, it was still too small, and its mother was easier to pet.

It feels nice to touch a fleshy body.

So they put it back, and continued to feed the larger one leaves. They also mixed some cornmeal with salt and vegetable leaves, feeding it like a duck, until the mother muntjac was full.

"As long as we can eat, it's good. The weather is getting colder, and a full stomach will keep us warm."

Chen Ling touched it a couple more times, then returned home satisfied. It was almost dinnertime by then.

It's drizzling, and with this kind of weather, a mixed fish hot pot is definitely in order.

It doesn't make sense that those two Japanese eat fish every day, but they wouldn't be willing to eat it themselves, right?

Besides, Wang Susu will be out of her postpartum period in a couple of days, and this is her favorite food.

Without further ado, let's get started.

Chen Ling was busy catching and cleaning the fish, while his father-in-law and the others were busy picking chili peppers. This was no easy task; they just watched and chatted while doing it, but it was actually very time-consuming and laborious.

"Sigh, those big bosses outside, they've already paid the money, picked out the puppies, and marked them, why haven't they let them take them away yet?"

The father-in-law wasn't happy doing the work either.

He had raised the puppy for so long, and when he first heard about selling it, he was very reluctant to part with it.

But now that he's sold it, he feels awkward because the other party isn't taking it.

As he picked out the chili peppers, the puppies circled around him, playing and frolicking. The more he looked at them, the more reluctant he became to part with them.

Indeed, once you buy it, you should take it away quickly. Leaving it here unattended is just making the old man suffer.

“These people have so many bad habits. Just look back, all the people who come here are reluctant to leave right away. They insist on staying for a few more days.”

Gao Xiulan spoke with disdain, but her words carried a hint of pride: "We're uncultured and don't know how to say it, but those people are rich, yet they seem to lack knowledge. They find our things quite rare."

Liang Hongyu laughed and said that after staying outside for so long, many things here are indeed very attractive, otherwise Teacher Zhao and Professor Zhong would not have moved here to live in seclusion.

Wang Cunye had no interest in listening to these words, so he shouted to Chen Ling by the ditch, "Lingzi, when are these people taking the dog away? Did they tell you?"

"They said they were going to stay for nine days to offer some tribute to the Turtle King... After paying their respects today, I think she went to see Sister Xiufen. I don't know if she was going to see a doctor or something."

Chen Ling said casually.

Since arriving here and encountering the so-called Turtle King's miraculous appearance, these people have been inspired with unprecedented enthusiasm.

Besides burning incense and kowtowing to the turtle statue and worshipping along the river where the turtle often appears, they are also interested in everything in the local area that has a mystical aspect.

If you were to ask who in the village has a mysterious aura, it would definitely be Sister Xiufen.

His reputation for using folk remedies to cure diseases without charging money has long been established.

So everyone lined up to go, one saying he had heart palpitations and couldn't sleep, another saying he had a painful birthmark...

Even the crew members from the Journey to the West film crew and Zhou Weijun have been hanging out with them a lot these days.

Wang Cunye was also helpless, but since it involved the old turtle, he didn't say anything else, but couldn't help but sigh again: "Sigh, these people, they bought the dog and then forgot about it..."

Chen Ling chuckled and said, "They even said they were going to visit the cannery in Huangni Town, but isn't that the same as never having done it?"

Gao Xiulan reiterated her previous statement: "We have more unusual things here that they've never seen before. Why are you, an uneducated old man, worrying about this?"

The light rain lasted for half a day, then gradually intensified in the afternoon.

Of course, rainy days are also great.

A steaming hot pot of mixed fish warms both the heart and the body. Families sit around the pot, enjoying the cozy warmth of the lamplight.

This is so heartwarming, it couldn't be better.

But the mountains were not peaceful tonight. In the latter half of the night, wolves howled, both near and far, making noise for half the night.

Fortunately, the dogs in the village were very calm. With the dogs guarding them, the poultry and livestock were also well-behaved and did not cause any disturbance.

It wasn't until the next day that they learned it wasn't that the dogs in the village hadn't barked; it was that Heiwa and Xiaojin had already gone out around four or five in the morning.

The reason is that wild animals came down the mountain at night.

They went to attack the village's cattle, sheep, and pigsties.

The male wild boar that often roamed the village at night was injured as a result.

The reason why there was almost no barking in the middle of the night was because the battlefield was near Laohewan.

The old boar guarding a pigpen got into a fight with the wild animals coming down from the mountain.

Later, Heiwa and his companion arrived with the village's pack of dogs.

The outcome is unknown.

Because the muddy path in the early morning was covered with dog tracks, even the traces of wild animals that had entered the village were covered up.