My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 73 Embarrassment
After Wang Jusheng finished speaking, Liu Nier led a group of children and ran into the yard, panting, and said, "My father said to let Uncle Fugui decide for himself."

"Hey kid, why are you back so soon? Did you not find your dad and are deliberately siding with your Uncle Fugui?"

Wang Laishun said with a dark face, seemingly a little skeptical.

He had just seen Liu Nier come here, so he asked her to go and call Wang Lixian over.

After all, Wang Lixian and Chen Ling are distant relatives. Chen Ling has to call Wang Lixian's grandfather "uncle," and Wang Lixian is his distant cousin. He is a steady and mature man, and Chen Ling should be able to listen to what he says.

As for Wang Susu, I'd better not ask her.

What if he says something in front of so many people that doesn't suit Chen Ling's taste? He's only just started to treat his wife better, and it would be such a waste to ruin their relationship over something like this.

"Fifth Master, I didn't. My father was cutting reeds at the reservoir today. He's going to build adobe walls for Erzhu's greenhouse these next few days..."

Liu Nier raised her head and retorted.

Other little children also clamored to testify.

Seeing this, Chen Ling nodded to Wang Jusheng and smiled, thinking to himself that at crucial moments, besides his wife, only Jusheng and Xian could take care of his feelings.

He then said to Wang Laishun, “Fifth Uncle, I know you mean well, but this big red eel is a rare thing. Ordinary people rarely come across it in their entire lives. It’s worth more than any amount of money. The fact that I caught it means I’m lucky. If I just sell it like this, wouldn’t that be a waste of my good fortune?”

"Stop talking nonsense, kid. I think you're bewitched; your brain's starting to go muddle..."

"What good fortune? These two eels selling for over 1,700 yuan is your good fortune. Besides that female boss, who would be willing to spend such a high price to buy them? I advise you to think it over carefully, lest you regret it later at home."

When Wang Laishun saw that Chen Ling was still not giving in at this critical juncture, he knew that Chen Ling was definitely trying to get his lover to bleed a lot of money. But Chen Ling wasn't stupid; he wasn't going to let Wang Laishun ask for an exorbitant price.

So he tried to persuade Chen Ling while giving him meaningful glances.

But it's no use.

No matter who tried to persuade him, Chen Ling wouldn't budge; he was determined not to sell.

Everyone in the backyard could only stare at him helplessly, and no one could do anything about it.

……

For the entire morning, a large group of people lingered in his backyard and refused to leave.

Moreover, more and more people gathered, most of whom were from other brigades who had come to see what was going on after hearing the news. Some of the older women even brought small stools.

Things can't be kept secret in the countryside, especially something as unusual as spending nearly two thousand yuan to buy two eels. Once word gets out, who can suppress their curiosity?

Later, even Cui the Cripple abandoned his stall and stood at the back of the crowd, leaning on his crutch, constantly looking around.

Unfortunately, after much persuasion, Chen Ling still refused to budge.

Seeing that it was almost noon, Sun Yanhong had no intention of lingering there any longer, so she gritted her teeth and raised the price of the two eels to two thousand yuan. However, the higher she offered, the more determined Chen Ling became. This time, when he heard her offer of two thousand, he completely gave up on selling the eels and flatly refused her.

This guy made the villagers grit their teeth, both envious and shaking their heads in regret.

She wished such a good thing would happen to her, and she certainly wouldn't be as foolish as Fugui to reject her.

A few of the younger ones, however, greatly admired Chen Ling. If it were them, they would have happily sold it for a thousand yuan, not waited for two thousand yuan.

And they still won't sell it, they're really stubborn!

"Fugui, you ungrateful brat, don't be so ungrateful. Sister Hong has never been one to lower herself to anyone. She's already being very accommodating by arguing with you for so long. You keep saying you can't sell anything, and who are you trying to impress with your arrogant attitude..."

After most of the morning had passed, Chen Erzhu's patience had long since run out. Seeing that Chen Ling was still putting on airs and refusing to agree to the price, his temper flared up, and he pointed at Chen Ling's nose and started cursing.

He didn't care that there were villagers in front of him, and seemed ready to fight at the slightest provocation.

Upon seeing this, the crowd erupted in an uproar. Wang Jusheng pushed his way through the crowd, glaring and shouting, "Erzhu, you son of a bitch, what are you doing acting so arrogantly..."

He was halfway through his sentence when his expression suddenly changed drastically: "Hey, Erzhu, watch out!"

Just as Chen Erzhu had arrogantly approached Chen Ling, he instinctively turned his head upon hearing the words behind him. Suddenly, everything went black, and he was knocked to the ground by a tremendous force.

His head slammed against the ground with a thud, and he saw stars.

He rubbed his aching head, thinking he had been attacked, and was about to get angry when he opened his eyes and froze.

A ferocious dog face appeared before him. It was a large dog with golden fur, its two front paws pressed against his chest, baring its teeth and staring at him menacingly. Saliva dripped from its mouth, constantly landing on his neck, and its eyes revealed a violent ferocity.

It seemed that if he made one wrong move, his neck would be bitten off.

In an instant, Chen Erzhu felt as if something was choking him, and he couldn't make a sound.

I felt the hairs on my body stand on end, and a chill ran down my back. In the blink of an eye, my clothes were soaked with cold sweat.

"Pillar, pillar, don't move! Please don't move!"

Upon seeing this, Sun Yanhong's voice became shrill with fright. She then turned to Chen Ling and said urgently, "We won't buy the eel anymore, we won't buy it. Tell your dog to let go of the pillar."

"That's just his bad temper. I apologize to you on his behalf."

He was about to bow his head and apologize to Chen Ling.

To her surprise, when she turned around, she saw another large dog behind her, with shiny black fur, even more robust than the golden dog, which silently squatted behind her.

Although it didn't bark at all and its eyes weren't as fierce as the big yellow dog's, its quiet sitting still sent a chill down Sun Yanhong's spine, and her voice grew softer and softer.

Standing still, staring intently at Heiwa, I dared not move an inch.

"Good guests are served good wine, bad guests are served bad dogs. What, you think you can just lay a hand on me because I'm not selling?"

Chen Ling glanced at the two of them and said calmly.

There was no intention to make Heiwa and Xiaojin leave. In almost three months, under the nourishment of the cave, the two little guys have grown into big dogs at a rapid pace. Although their minds are still like those of children, and they still have some characteristics of puppies.

This is especially noticeable when they are playing around.

However, judging from their size, they are already real fierce dogs. Mixed in with a group of mongrel dogs, they look like two dog kings. Anyone who sees them will feel intimidated.

“Fu, Fu Gui, this time it was my fault, I know I was wrong. If you still don’t believe me, I’ll host a banquet in the county town another day and personally apologize to you.”

"Could you please ask your dog to let me go? I'm... I'm a little scared."

Chen Erzhu swallowed hard and said in a trembling voice, "Actually, I don't want to back down like this. After all, I've been out in the world for a long time and I'm quite concerned about my reputation. But I have no choice but to back down now. I feel like this big yellow dog keeps staring at my neck, making my neck feel cold and giving me the feeling that I might lose my life if I'm not careful."

"Erzhu is such a coward. My father told me to learn from him and make a lot of money when I grow up, but I didn't expect him to be such a coward. I'm not going to learn from him."

At this moment, a little child pouted and muttered something under his breath.

The onlookers were also startled by Chen Ling's two dogs, and they all held their breath and watched intently, not daring to make a sound.

Hearing the little boy's words and seeing Erzhu's trembling and pathetic appearance, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Seeing this, Chen Ling smiled and said, "Alright, Xiao Jin, let him go. Let's not bother with him."

Xiao Jin then withdrew its paws and silently returned to Chen Ling's side, squatting on either side of Chen Ling with Heiwa, much to the amazement of the onlookers.

(End of this chapter)