My 1995 Small Farm.

It turns out that Chen Ling's mother and Liang Hongyu did not share the same surname, which explains why Chen Ling had never considered this possibility.

Moreover, according to Liang Hongyu, the two sisters do not look alike.

Liang Hongyu herself has big eyes, double eyelids, and naturally curly hair; she looks more like her father.

Chen Ling's mother has single eyelids and did not inherit Chen Ling's maternal grandfather's natural curly hair; her face is also more delicate.

Naturally, they would be even less likely to recognize him.

Moreover, although Chen Ling's mother had a falling out with Chen Ling's maternal grandparents and lost contact, Chen Ling's father knew something about it and knew that Chen Ling's maternal grandparents' side was an ordinary working-class family.

They have absolutely no connection with a family like Liang Hongyu's.

"Bang bang bang-"

Just as Liang Hongyu and her companion were getting emotional inside, they heard a knocking sound at the door.

The two didn't notice at first, but after hearing a few more knocks, they realized that someone was knocking on their door.

I wondered who would come to my house so late.
When I went outside, I saw Qin Qiumei standing there.

Seeing the two elders come out, she looked over worriedly: "Fourth Uncle, Aunt, what's wrong? What happened? Why are you arguing so loudly in the middle of the night?"

Qin Qiumei is from Qinwan, and Qin Rongxian's hometown is also in Qinwan. According to seniority, she should call him Fourth Uncle.

"Oh, Xiaomei, it's you. Your fourth uncle and I are fine. I just had a phone call with Beiji during the day. It was a bit upsetting, and it made me a little angry."

Liang Hongyu said with a smile, but her eyes were still red.

Qin Rongxian added, "With a large family, all sorts of trivial matters are inevitable. Even though we've moved back to our hometown to live permanently, we haven't escaped the peace and quiet."

Qin Qiumei glanced at her suspiciously, then smiled and said, "Oh, I see. It's good that you're alright. I knew it. You and your aunt don't usually argue. Why were you arguing so fiercely today? I thought I misheard at first."

Liang Hongyu's heart tightened immediately: "Ah? Can you hear the noise from inside the house on the street?"

She also knew that sounds that couldn't be heard during the day would travel far at night when it was quiet.

Moreover, she was emotional and spoke quite loudly.

She was terrified that outsiders would hear about what happened today.

"I can hear them arguing, but I can't make out what they're arguing about. It sounds really loud on the street, but it's not so clear when we get to my house," Qin Qiumei said.

"Sigh, I didn't realize I was talking too loudly. As long as it didn't bother anyone else too much, it's fine."

Liang Hongyu sighed.

Then he looked at Qin Qiumei and said, "Oh dear, you've been standing outside all this time. It's cold at night. Come in and sit down, Xiaomei."

"No, Auntie, I just got Shuangshuang an injection. She had a fever in the middle of the night, so I have to go back and take her medicine."

Qin Qiumei shook her head and smiled.

Shuangshuang is the daughter of her older sister, Qin Dongmei. When Wang Chunyuan and Qin Dongmei were getting a divorce, neither of them cared about their daughter.

Later, for some reason, the couple got back together. After moving to the county town, they even plotted to steal Chen Erzhu's father's savings for his coffin.

Anyway, outsiders can't really know exactly how they live their lives.

However, Shuangshuang no longer wanted to live with those parents. It had been more than half a year since then, and she had been living with her aunt, Qin Qiumei.

"Oh dear, she has a fever. We should go see Susu tomorrow. Susu is good at treating children."

Liang Hongyu quickly said.

"Yes, we were just saying we'd go tomorrow. But these past few days, Zhenzhen has been feeding her spicy snacks so much that she got tonsillitis and sore throat. She was so uncomfortable, and she had a fever that made her weak all over, and her throat hurt too."

Qin Qiumei said helplessly.

"Oh dear, that must be really tough. Zhenzhen sent some home these past few days, and your uncle and I just ate it like pickled vegetables. Looks like we'll have to eat less of it."

"You really have to eat less of these. Fugui's spicy strips are loaded with ingredients, chili and salt. If you eat too much, you'll get a sore throat very quickly. Uncle and Aunt, you're getting on in years, so even if you like them, you have to eat less."

"That's how it is... Xiaomei, you should go back and rest early, it's almost midnight."

"Okay, Uncle, Aunt, you should get some rest too. Now that you're back, don't keep getting angry about what happened over there."

"I know, don't worry about us. Fugui came over before dinner, he thought something had happened too."

"..."

After Qin Qiumei left, neither of them felt sleepy.

If I were to bring up what just happened, I would inevitably get angry and emotional again, and it wouldn't be good if the neighbors heard me in the middle of the night.

But since I couldn't sleep, I continued talking about Qin Qiumei.

"To be honest, Xiaomei is a good girl, but she's over thirty and still hasn't had a child. Her husband doesn't come back either; he's away all year round. It's really worrying."

"Yes, I heard before that Xiaomei's health was not good and she couldn't have children, but Susu helped her slowly recover. Her husband should be worried too. Women don't have many years left. After they get older, they can't have children even if they want to."

"Hey, Hongyu, do you think Xiaomei is thinking of adopting her sister's child...?"

"Do you need to tell me? Su Su said that Xiao Mei had this idea before, but she wanted to adopt Xi Zi from Chen Wang Zhuang. That girl is a good child. Her adoptive parents don't treat her well, and her grandfather, who is good to her, is so old. It seems like a good match."

Who knew that later, Chen Baoshuan, for some reason, changed his mind and became kind to the child again.

Xiaomei can no longer adopt Xizi.

"So, it's a good thing that Xiaomei adopted Shuangshuang. Maybe she'll get pregnant more easily afterward. I heard that Fugui's grandmother was like that; she couldn't get pregnant for a long time, so she adopted Fugui's aunt, and then she had his father."

"Yes, that's how it all started in my family. The Liang family couldn't have children, so we went to be their daughters. That's how Yuemin's uncle was born..."

"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I shouldn't have brought it up..."

Qin Rong sighed. As people get older, they become senile. He was only thinking about his nephew Fugui and talking about his nephew's family. He had completely forgotten that his wife's family was in the same situation.

He's getting old; he's even forgotten his own family's situation.

"Let's go to the village tomorrow and have Fugui milk some goats for us. His dairy goats produce a lot of milk. We can drink some goat milk at night, soak our feet, and sleep soundly."

"Well, go to sleep."

……

Meanwhile, in a large city thousands of miles away.

A well-designed study was lit up. A middle-aged woman stood in front of the bookshelf, holding a book, looking at it quietly with a cold expression.

It was past midnight.

"Bang bang bang—"

A knock sounded on the study door, and a young woman in her pajamas opened it. "Aunt Feng, it's so late, are you still reading?"

"Oh, I can't sleep. Let's look through your dad's old poems."

The middle-aged woman looked up and had a fair and delicate face. She wore black-rimmed glasses and had her hair in a bun, giving her a very elegant appearance.

“It’s so late. If you want to see Dad’s poems, you can read them tomorrow. Just now, Xiao Miao got up to go to the bathroom and found you weren’t in the room. She was making a fuss and wanted Grandma to stay with her, otherwise she wouldn’t go to sleep.”

Hearing this, the middle-aged woman's tense expression relaxed, and she smiled slightly: "She's always causing trouble. Okay, I'm not watching anymore. I'm going to put my good granddaughter to sleep."

"Okay, Aunt Feng, you go downstairs first, I'll turn off the lights."

The two left the study one after the other. Before leaving, the middle-aged woman's gaze swept over a photo frame on the bookshelf.

That was a wedding photo.

The man was clearly older than the woman, with graying hair and a thick beard, but he had a very refined air and was a handsome, scholarly-looking middle-aged man.

The woman was also very pretty. Although she wasn't as fair-skinned as she is now, her face was delicate and she had a cool and aloof air. She was in her thirties, and her two braids hanging down in front of her chest made her look even younger.

If Chen Ling sees this wedding photo...

I'm afraid my feelings will be very complicated.

Because the woman in the wedding photo was his mother, Zhang Yufeng.

……

Everyone says this year is a mild winter, but it is still quite cool in the mornings because it is the season.

The lush green wheat seedlings were covered with a layer of white frost. At this time, the bright red sun had just risen, and people were already busy on the hillside.

It is Chen Dazhi and his family of three planting fruit trees.

Late autumn is also a season for planting trees.

Thanks to the booming business of the cannery this year, the wild fruits from the mountains have found a market.

But no matter how many fruit trees there are in the mountains, they are all wild, not planted by people, and they can't withstand so many people picking them every day.

So Chen Dazhi thought of planting fruit trees on the hillside where he grew cotton.

He used to grow strawberries and watermelons.

Back then, planting it didn't make much money.

The cotton, however, made a lot of money.

This year, having found another way to make money, I immediately realized that growing cotton is quite hard work.

Cotton is susceptible to different pests and diseases at each stage of its growth, so pesticides are essential.

In comparison, fruit trees are much better, although they also need to be cared for.

"Hey, Fugui, what's wrong with you? Why are you cursing so early in the morning? Did the Japanese devils trick you?"

Chen Dazhi watched as Chen Ling led a pack of dogs over, cursing under his breath as he walked. He immediately stopped what he was doing and asked curiously.

"No, it's my horse. It's such a troublemaker, so wild... It sneaked out last night. I don't know if it went to the mountains or wandered around somewhere. It just came back and I caught it red-handed."

"Haha, your little blue horse is just like a dog, always running around and bullying little kids." Chen Dazhi chuckled as he thought about how his little blue horse usually acted.

"I don't know how a little mare can be so mischievous?"

Chen Ling said with distress that none of the things he raised, except for the dog and the cow, were easy to manage.

Er Tuzi is very simple-minded; he picks up everything and brings it home.

Not to mention Little Green Horse, he's so cheeky, and now we've discovered he has a habit of sneaking out to play at night.

The livestock pen can't stop it at all; it will open the door.

"Haha, it's your fault for feeding them too well. When raising livestock, you should make them do more work. Once they do work and you train them, they'll be fine."

Chen Dazhi laughed.

His wife, Wang Xiuying, also laughed and said, "Livestock also have different temperaments. Your little white calf is the best... But all your dogs are excellent. I think Lixian and Jusheng's puppies are also very good."

After saying that, he waved to Erhei, who had run a short distance away and was sniffing around a bundle of saplings: "Right, Erhei?"

Erhei turned his head and looked over, glanced at Sister Xiuying, and without saying a word, hurriedly led the pack of dogs to the hillside, puffed out his chest, stretched his neck, and stood on the hillside to look around in the morning sun.

Chen Dazhi's son, who was only seventeen or eighteen years old, was curious when he saw this: "Uncle Fugui, what is Erhei doing?"

Chen Ling curled his lip: "Don't bother with it, that dog is just troublesome and a busybody."

Chen Dazhi chuckled and said, "He's just a dog, inspecting his territory."

Xiuying's sister-in-law and son both laughed.

Chen Ling glanced at the pack of dogs that suddenly ran down the slope, then looked at the bundle of saplings: "Are these fruit tree saplings bought from the south of the city?"

Chen Dazhi waved his hand: "What? I don't need to plant as many as your orchard. I only have this small plot of land. Why would I spend money to buy anything? I just dug some fruit from the mountains on the way to pick it."

"Oh, the ones dug up from the mountains aren't bad either. I'll tidy up the back hill in a couple of days and plant some fruit trees there."

Chen Ling said.

"Hmm? You're growing it on the back hill too? Looks like you're really not planning on setting up greenhouses this year?"

Chen Dazhi raised an eyebrow.

Chen Ling smiled slightly: "Hey, we'll see. Planting trees is simple. We can plant a couple during our free time, it won't interfere with our work."

"That's true. That's how Lao Niwai used to dig up trees. He was never in a hurry. Every day when he had nothing to do, he would take Shuiwazi and his brother to dig up a few shovels and dig up a couple of trees. It took him half a month. Hahaha, planting trees is much easier than that."

"Yes, you all go ahead with your work. I'm going to visit Xiao Er and Teacher Wu."

Chen Ling echoed this sentiment and walked up the slope toward Chen Xiaoer and Wu Fei's house.

They also wanted to install a TV and needed two utility poles.

It just so happened that Zhao Dahai had left a few stalks, which he had previously placed behind the farm, but Chen Ling found them in the way and moved them to the threshing ground.

When it was time to harvest the wheat, they also complained that it took up too much space, so they moved it to Wang Lixian's greenhouse and piled it up there.

Because this was left by Zhao Dahai for Chen Ling.

If they want to use it, of course they'll have to ask.

Chen Ling went out drinking yesterday and wasn't home, so we told the family to let them know when he got back.

Moreover, Chen Ling also had acquaintances in the county.

It's also convenient to find someone to install the power lines.

As for the village electrician?
Basically, it's passed down from father to son... like a weasel giving birth to a mouse, each litter worse than the last.

They're more eager than anyone else to collect electricity bills.

They know absolutely nothing about technical issues and can't be relied upon at all; you can't even ask them for help if you don't want to go to the county.

"If I want to build a greenhouse, where should I build it? Should I join in with Brother Xian's group and take over a few acres of his land to do some work? Or should I go to Brother Jusheng's place?"

As Chen Ling walked, he was still thinking about things.

"Brother Jusheng's melon patch is in Laohewan. They've set up a bunch of greenhouses there, but it doesn't look very nice. Let's go join Brother Xian for some fun."

Having made up his mind for the time being, he happened to arrive at Chen Xiaoer's house.

I had breakfast at Chen Xiaoer's house and also ate two sticky rice cakes from Wu Fei's house.

Chen Ling then strolled leisurely home.

Today is market day in the village, and he plans to go to the mule and horse market to take a look.

Let's see if there are any buffalo calves, so we can find a companion for the little white cow.

He hadn't forgotten how happy Little White Cow was when he led a group of water buffalo from another village to play in the river this year.

Although the little white calf has a good temper and many friends, including Little Gold and the foxes in the mountains, it plays with them.

Even the little leopard and the newly arrived muntjac were friendly with it.

But it just doesn't feel as good as being with your own kind.

Even those few simple-minded yellow oxen were the same.

So let's find a little friend for the little white calf to keep it company.

If it were Little Blue Horse...

Chen Ling was too lazy to even care about that wretched creature. He even found it a companion. It was good enough if he didn't whip it a couple of times every day.

After getting home and packing my things, I took the motorcycle out. Today I'm going to teach Little Green Horse a lesson by deliberately not taking it out and keeping it cooped up, so it will learn its lesson.

"Rui Rui, eat your food quickly, and Daddy will take you to the market after you finish eating."

The brat had a blast at Wang Xuecheng's house yesterday and went to bed very late. He's been listless and eating slower than usual this morning.

"Shouldn't you let him sleep at home for a while?" Gao Xiulan asked.

“No need, I’ll just take a nap when I get back at noon. A nap at noon is better than catching up on sleep in the morning. If you don’t believe me, ask Susu…” Chen Lingchong’s wife raised her chin.

"Hmm, let him come back for his afternoon nap," Wang Susu said, feeding her listless son with a spoon.

The brat took half an hour to finish his breakfast.

As soon as Chen Ling took him out, Er Mao Lv and Wang Wenchao and his son rushed over.

"Fugui, Fugui, my ox is dying! Please go and take a look!" (End of Chapter)