My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 71 Rare Visitor

Perhaps red eels are too rare.

The news quickly spread throughout Chenwangzhuang.

The villagers, young and old, would come to Chen Ling's house to watch whenever they had free time, not to mention the little kids, who would come almost every day.

Liu Nier and the others also come every day after school.

Adults, children, and young wives holding babies all came to Chen Ling's house to visit. Many people caught earthworms and insects to feed to the eel tank.

This annoyed Chen Ling to no end, but since they were all from the same village and would run into each other all the time, he couldn't openly kick them out.

He could only mutter to himself in annoyance, "It's just two red eels, why make such a fuss?"

He thought it was quite normal, but others didn't think so.

The main problem is that information is far less developed now than in later generations, where the internet is ubiquitous and people can learn about the whole world without leaving home.

People spend all day online, both domestic and foreign, what strange and unusual creatures haven't they seen?
But in this small mountain village in 1995, it was different. Just two red eels were enough to amaze people and become big news.

Many people come not only to see something unusual, but most of them also say, "It really is a bright red eel! I've come to share in the good fortune."

Well, they've taken this as an auspicious omen.

But no matter what, the two red eels grew bigger day by day. After half a month, they were already more than 20 centimeters long and had thick bodies.

This was partly due to Chen Ling's initial habit of adding some Dongtianxi water, but it was also inseparable from the earthworms and various insects that the villagers fed him.

This is highly illogical; how can an eel grow this big in just half a month?
But since it grew under the watchful eyes of everyone, being fed day after day, no one found it strange.

At most, he would mutter that these red eels were different from ordinary eels; they ate more and grew faster. Chen Ling was really lucky to catch two eels like these.

Chen Ling was speechless when he heard these words, thinking to himself, "Who the hell can I reason with?"

So, instead of carefully hiding it, it's more effective to let them see it openly, or even get involved personally?

However, this is just wishful thinking.

These two red eels were purely accidental; he couldn't display any of his other belongings.

But having so many people coming to the house all the time isn't a solution, so the two weasels haven't dared to show themselves during the day lately.

Chen Ling even considered going to the county town to sell vegetables and 'process' the two eels while he was there.

But before they could go, two special guests arrived at their home that morning.

"Fugui, you're going to make a fortune."

The man yelled at him as soon as he entered the room.

It turned out to be Chen Erzhu.

Behind him followed a stylish and glamorous woman, Sun Yanhong, his lover who ran a freight station in the county town.

It's really quite a surprise that these two have come to visit.

"Hey, Erzhu, Sister Hong, what rare guests!"

Chen Ling stood up with a smile to greet her: "Sister Hong, you haven't been to my house before, have you? Come in and sit down, I'll pour you some water."

"Why are you drinking water? I don't like the water at your house. Let's get down to business!"

Chen Erzhu said impatiently.

This attitude wasn't very good. Perhaps he had developed a deep-seated prejudice against Chen Ling recently, and in his anxiety, he inadvertently revealed it.

"What's the matter?"

"Oh right, Erzhu, you just said I was going to get rich. Could it be that you've already taken care of arranging for me to work at the sand quarry?"

Chen Ling's face lit up with joy: "Old Liang, who manages the sand dredging boats, is gone?" This remark left Chen Erzhu speechless; he hadn't expected the kid to still remember this.

With a dark face, he said, "You plant so many fruit trees, why are you also working at a sand quarry? Can you manage all that?"

"Enough with the nonsense, where are your two red eels? Sister Hong wants to see them."

At this point, perhaps realizing that his attitude had been a bit off, he added, "If you can satisfy Sister Hong, you'll be treating her to dinner."

"What? So Sister Hong came to see the eels too? I thought Erzhu had used your connections to get me a job at the sand quarry."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling clicked his tongue in regret and said to Sun Yanhong, "Let's go, Sister Hong. If we want to see the eels, we have to go to the backyard. The eels are in the backyard."

At this moment, Sun Yanhong was looking towards the main room. Hearing Chen Ling's words, she turned her head and said in a sour tone, "Xiao Fugui, you're not honest. You have such a beautiful wife at home, but you're still fooling around outside. Aren't you afraid that a wolf has entered your house?"

As she spoke, her gaze towards the main room revealed not only amazement but also a hint of jealousy.

Chen Ling turned around and saw Wang Susu lifting a corner of the curtain, revealing a face that was still beautiful even without makeup. She was standing at the door looking in this direction, clearly having heard Erzhu's voice and looking a little worried.

So he waved his hand at her and said, "Go back inside, this is none of your business."

Without a word, Wang Susu lowered the curtain and disappeared in front of the door.

Seeing this, Sun Yanhong couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and turn to Chen Ling, saying, "I really didn't realize, Xiao Fugui, that you have quite a bit of influence at home."

"Look at what Sister Hong is saying. If a man can't stand up for himself in front of a woman, what kind of man is he? He looks pathetic."

Chen Ling said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

These words made Chen Erzhu's face darken even more: "Alright, alright, hurry up and take us to your backyard to see the eels. Sister Hong has a lot to do."

So Chen Ling led the two to the backyard.

As soon as she entered, Sun Yanhong was startled by a large white head sticking out of the window of the west wing.

"Don't be afraid, Sister Hong. This is a cow we raise at home. These days, many people from the village have come to our house to see the red eels, so we keep them inside. Otherwise, we're afraid they might hurt someone."

Chen Ling pushed away the little white calf's big head and offered an explanation.

Lately, the little white cow at home has grown quite a bit. The little horns that used to protrude from its head have now grown to the length of a hand and are gradually becoming curved.

Moreover, Chen Ling often fed the calf with vegetables from the cave and water from the stream, and the little white calf was also exceptionally intelligent, now able to understand some simple words.

Moreover, it is extremely protective of the house, even more so than Heiwa and Xiaojin. Apart from Chen Ling and Wang Susu, no one else can take anything from the yard, otherwise, when its sourness kicks in, no one can withstand a kick from it.

Liu Ni'er is a familiar face, isn't she? She's still a little kid, but just a couple of days ago, she took an old sieve from the backyard, wanting to go to the pond to catch tadpoles to feed the eels, which angered Little White Ox.

He was breathing heavily through his nose and almost broke the rope, which scared Liu Ni'er half to death. She quickly put the sieve down.

Later, when we went into the backyard, we all walked around the little white calf.

Helpless, Chen Ling, fearing it might hurt the little children, locked it in the west wing.

This little white calf has a typical feminine temperament. Don't let its introverted and shy nature fool you; it's extremely petty, and once it gets angry, it's terrifying.

Chen Erzhu and Sun Yanhong, unaware of the inside story, didn't pay much attention to Chen Ling's words and went straight to the small water tank where the eels were kept.

Sun Yanhong fell in love with it after just two glances.

Even Chen Erzhu's dark expression softened considerably.

"Fugui, you've really hit the jackpot. Such a bright red eel is extremely rare. You can't expect to find one without a lot of luck."

Sun Yanhong was even more direct, saying to Chen Ling, "Little Fugui, I'll give you five hundred yuan for each of these two red eels. How about you sell them to me?"

I'll save up the manuscript in a couple of days, make some adjustments, and try to guarantee at least two chapters a day. Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day are just around the corner, so I hope my workplace can give me a break and allow me to update more frequently...

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(End of this chapter)