My 1995 Small Farm.

"You must be Comrade Chen Ling. We're from CCTV. You've become quite famous lately, you're on the news every day."

The group of six people from CCTV consisted of both men and women. The leader was a man wearing glasses who looked somewhat like Wang Gang, who played Heshen, but was slightly taller and more energetic.

Judging by her appearance alone, coupled with her enthusiastic and smiling face, she is quite approachable.

At this moment, upon seeing Chen Ling's true appearance, there was still a hint of surprise in his eyes: "Young man, you are so young. You don't seem like a native of the mountains."

Chen Ling smiled and said, "I'm just lucky; I haven't suffered much."

Yu Qi'an quickly interjected from behind: "They also support people here. Many celebrities have settled in the village, such as the great writer Professor Zhao, the great painter Professor Zhong, and Chen Xiao'er, the former king of sketch comedy on the Spring Festival Gala... Even the Japanese are eager to come and live here."

Yu Qi'an interrupted for no other reason than he deliberately wanted to bring Chen Xiao'er out.

The man was slightly taken aback at first, then quickly echoed Yu Qi'an's words: "Ah? I've heard, I've heard. Your place is blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. It not only nurtures people, but also produces some legendary creatures."

In that instant, Chen Ling noticed the slight unease on the man's face when he heard Chen Xiaoer's name.

"We've always longed to visit your place, and recently, thanks to work, we finally had the chance to come. It's just that your place is so remote and the roads are so difficult to travel. We drove here from the city early in the morning, and it was already dark when we arrived. Fortunately, we met Brother Chen Ling, so our trip was worthwhile..."

This person is very good at praising people, both openly and subtly. If Chen Ling were an inexperienced young man, he would definitely be confused by his flattery in just a few words.

Feeling even more embarrassed to leave them standing outside, we invited them straight into our home.

It was lunchtime, and it was already dark, so it was only natural to stay overnight for a meal.

He didn't know that Chen Ling was already immune to this kind of thing, and didn't want to waste any more words with him, so he kept talking to himself: "I heard that the dogs you raise are smarter than the ones in cartoons. Are they those two big dogs in the back?"
Wow, the tiger has come out too.

Wasn't it supposed to be two little tigers?
"How can it be so big?"

Seeing that Chen Ling's reaction was not strong, he wanted to use the dog and tiger to get into the house.

It wasn't that he was scheming or had a thicker skin than most people; it was mainly because he had been traveling all day and hadn't eaten anything good, so he was exhausted and hungry.

Now, smelling the rich aroma of meat wafting from the farm, I'm almost too impatient to resist.

My stomach is rumbling.

But Chen Ling just wouldn't listen and wouldn't agree with him. Just then, Wang Zhenzhen ran out with Rui Rui, yelling, "Brother-in-law, when are we going to eat? I'm starving! I'm starving!"

Zhenzhen had been wanting to eat the chicken from her family's farm for a long time, but she was reluctant to part with it before, not only for others but also for herself.

I came home today to find out there was chicken stewing in the pot, and I couldn't wait to eat it.

"Alright, alright, if you're hungry, hurry up and eat. I'm going to the village to find Sister Dujuan. You guys go ahead and eat."

Chen Ling chuckled and tugged at the little girl's braid, then glanced at Rui Rui, who was glaring at Yu Qi'an with a huff.

He laughed and didn't care whether Yu Qi'an would get to eat the pig intestines he had been longing for today.

Based on the nods from these CCTV staff members, he went to the livestock pen, led out the little blue horse, mounted it, and went to call Dujuan and her family to come over for dinner.

Throughout the entire visit, there wasn't a single indication that they wanted to keep the guests.

The group of people looked at each other awkwardly, staring at each other blankly.

...At the same time, those from Taiwan and Hong Kong were also having a hard time.

I was scammed the first time I came to the countryside.

Although they were accompanied by people from the province, they were curious about everything because they rarely came to the mainland, especially to the countryside, which they had almost never visited before.

Moreover, the mainland is currently lagging behind, and they also harbor a certain arrogance and disdain.

They come to have fun, but their mentality is arrogant, acting like an emperor on an incognito visit, enjoying life to the fullest.

There are still many people like this in later generations.

Let alone in this day and age.

So along the way, we became somewhat reckless. Whenever we arrived at a place and saw something unusual, we would stop and get out of the car to take a look.

Actually, those things aren't that rare; they're mostly just ordinary mountain products, they just haven't seen them before.

Besides mountain products, there are also local items, such as farm tools, agricultural machinery, as well as market stalls and local delicacies, which they find novel. They walk around, stop and explore, wanting to see and experience everything.

Little did they know that this made them look like ignorant country bumpkins.

Moreover, it took two days to reach the destination, and they hadn't even made it halfway.

Even so, some of the slightly younger members of these two groups kept complaining, saying that the road was so far and difficult to travel, and when they would finally arrive.

The young comrades sent by the province to guide and accompany us were cursing inwardly. "You dare to say we're far away from your little, run-down place? You bunch of frogs in a well! Bah! I don't want to serve you!"

Before long, the convoy came across an orchard with a sign.

This winter, the weather was warm, and the fruit trees in the orchard didn't lose all their leaves. To be precise, only a small portion of the leaves fell, with most remaining on the trees, giving them a lush and verdant appearance. If it weren't for a biting cold wind, these old leaves could probably hold on for a while longer.

These people saw the orchard and thought there would be fruit to eat.

As you approach, you'll see a sign outside the orchard that reads "Lengshui Farm".

This cold water is a place not far from Shixiazigou. The water is clear. This area is also a beautiful place with clear water and green mountains. There are many fruit trees on the mountain, but the fruit trees are ordinary and not very special. At the foot of the mountain, there are mostly wild persimmons and wild walnuts, and further up there are chestnuts.

These types of items simply cannot be sold locally.

Many people throw these at home, attracting rats, and still can't finish them.

These outsiders had no idea about the secrets of this place. As soon as they saw the words "farm," they thought it was a good place and hurriedly called everyone off the bus to ask all sorts of questions in the orchard.

The orchard owner boasted and successfully sold two large sacks of dried persimmons and one large sack of chestnuts.

Then they made a strange discovery. Along this road, many orchards nestled in the mountains or small villages close to the river had signs hanging outside, and without exception, they all called themselves something like "Farm".

They didn't care what was on the farm, or they didn't even know what a farm was.

That's exactly what we're going to do – hang this sign.

I want to call it a farm.

Some even don't give themselves a name and simply call themselves "Rich and Noble Farm".

I don't know where I heard it from.

They had no idea that Chen Ling's farm was called "Fugui Manor"; they hadn't even copied it correctly.

But even so, they managed to fool these people.

We bought all sorts of things along the way, and before we even got to Chenwangzhuang, the car was so full of clutter that it was almost impossible for anyone to sit down.

This made the young comrades from the province who were accompanying them feel terrible.

I cursed in my heart all those who followed suit and copied the farm sign.

Soon, something even worse happened.

The tire was punctured.

It's normal to get a flat tire when driving on mountain roads like this.

But if the entire convoy is punctured at the same time, that's definitely not normal.

Then, not only did it get dark, but light rain also started to fall from the night sky. Because their tire had gone flat, they were in a hurry to find a place to spend the night, and in their panic, they got lost again.

This incident, while not exactly devastating, reminded the elderly Taiwanese of what the two Japanese had said before they left. They thought they had angered the spirits and deities in the mountains, so they hurriedly put their hands together and chanted prayers in all directions.

Actually, many people in the transportation industry know this.

Every place has its share of despicable people who scatter nails on the road.

If you happen to run into one, it means there's a car repair shop or accommodation nearby.

However, encountering this situation in the middle of nowhere, on a remote mountain road, can be quite frightening.

In fact it is.

In the second half of this year, there was a sudden increase in highway robberies.

They often operate in small villages, with men, women, and children working together as a gang.

Those who took the wild fruit to Chenwangzhuang to sell suffered greatly as a result.

The ones who laid the nails were of the same kind; they were doing it together in a nearby village.

In the past, there were few villages like this.

Even if there are any, they're mostly on the mountain road leading to Wangbacheng.

This year, someone spread a rumor that Chenwangzhuang is a well-known place, and that many wealthy people will flock there at the end of the year.

Sure enough, along the way, whether it was orchards, small villages, or restaurants, they all changed their names to farmhouses.

The reason this village scattered nails was because they had no decent livelihood, so they came up with this even more ruthless idea: to damage the vehicles of anyone who came.

That way, they'll have more leverage and can extort even more money.

This business requires no initial investment and is much more lucrative than learning from Chen Fugui and opening a farm.

As a result, these people from Hong Kong and Taiwan experienced a series of emotional blows on their first trip back to the mainland.

On this drizzly night, they didn't encounter any monsters.

They encountered a group of masked people carrying torches, who were robbing them like shamans.

Having barely escaped a robbery, I decided to hire a guide the next day, only to run into another conman...

It's fair to say that all the bad luck has come at once.

Fortunately, the rain wasn't heavy; it was a light drizzle that started at night and stopped by morning, so it didn't disrupt Chen Ling's plans.

He ate breakfast early and then drove his tractor out to go to Wangbacheng to pick up some building materials.

Earthen greenhouses are relatively simple.

Long bamboo poles and the like are readily available locally.

Thatched cloaks and such are easy to find.

The main purpose of going to Wangbacheng is to buy plastic sheeting, as well as other items such as thin steel wire rope and iron wire.

They have a more complete selection of things over there.

One trip there is all you need to buy everything, saving you the trouble of running around everywhere, like buying a bridle in the east market and a saddle whip in the west market.

"Ah Fu and Ah Shou, come out and play with me! Come on, get on the tractor! Damn, so what if it's a little wet? You're such a troublemaker."

Clearly, it's Ah Shou being dramatic again.

Chen Ling grabbed its ears and dragged it onto the back of the tractor.

Ah Shou has been very naughty and naughty lately, with a childlike nature, so Chen Ling doesn't want to keep it at home. (End of Chapter)