My 1995 Small Farm.

"Fugui, you don't need to go to Chengjia to learn how to shovel a sled. Just come to my house. I have a new big sled."

Chen Ling had just started walking southwards with his three children on his back. When he had passed the threshing ground a few meters away, Chen Baoshuan caught up with him and shouted.

"Ah? You have a new sled? Did you know it was going to snow this year? Did you prepare a new sled so early?"

Chen Ling was still quite puzzled about this.

"Oh, no, we are not fortune tellers."

Chen Baoshuan smiled and waved his hand.

"You asked Anda to make furniture for you before. The wood in your house was all good wood, but you didn't want a lot of it left, so Anda made some small things for you when he had nothing else to do.

I really didn't know what to do with this sled at the time, I was thinking of playing with it when it snows in the future...

Hehe, you know, I have made a lot of money from these things in the past two years.

When those city people come again, I will think about the snow in winter.

Use this thing to take them out for a stroll.

Each ride costs fifty cents, and a large sled can hold ten people.

That’s five dollars a trip, so you can make more money.”

"Good boy, you are good at thinking. You have to feed the animals in the next two years, otherwise the sled will be useless without animals to pull it."

Chen Ling didn't care about Chen Baoshuan's ways of making money. He just said, "Let's go. I want to see how big your sled is."

"Hehe, it's normal size, normal size, just over ten feet."

Chen Baoshuan was very proud when he saw Chen Ling's curiosity. He felt that he finally had something that could scare Fugui.

"Wow, it's more than ten feet long. You're really good. If you use a wooden pole more than ten feet long as a sled, it can hold more than ten people."

Chen Ling said in surprise.

We came to Chen Baoshuan’s old house, which is also the old house where Chen Sangui lived.

Chen Ling saw the big sled.

Simply put, it is to use two wooden poles more than ten feet long, roast one end over fire, make it stick high, and use it as a shaft.

A horizontal bar is nailed to the straight part at the other end that touches the ground, and pillars are added to make a carriage that can be used for sitting people or loading goods.

It has a shaft and a bottom but no wheels, and it slides on ice and snow on two smooth wooden poles.

This is the sled that can slide easily on ice and snow.

It’s just that the bigger the sled, the bigger the animal needed to pull it.

There is also a kind of sled pulled by people.

Just drag it along on snowy days.

It only requires a wooden pole about 80 centimeters long.

Very light and compact.

Of course.

The sleds they use in the mountains here are all very large.

This is to prevent you from being unable to go out during the cold winter when the mountains are blocked by heavy snow.

The sled can be used to go to the county to buy New Year's goods and other purposes.

This kind of large sled is like the one in Wang Jukun’s house.

Even if it is smaller than Chen Baoshuan's, many families would not do this.

First, I have no ability and no skills.

The second is that I have no money.

Yes, these days country folks don’t even have the money to make a sled.

People like Wang Jukun's family used to have big white horses and sleds, so they were all well-off families.

When ordinary people needed a sled in winter, they would just borrow one from Wang Jukun's house, and then borrow an animal from another family.

You have to borrow from one place and then borrow from another, and only by piecing together money can you get the job done.

"Fugui, you need a sled. Baoshuan asked me to make this one. It's big and heavy. It takes three or five other people to move it. Only you can use it."

Chen Sangui heard the noise and came out wrapped in a worn and yellowed sheepskin coat.

After the New Year.

Chen Sangui, who used to be neatly dressed, calm and sophisticated, suddenly looked much older.

Before, although my daughter-in-law was ignorant, my son has changed after all.

I make more money too.

It seems that things are getting better.

My daughter-in-law actually ran away. People in the village were bound to gossip about me.

A person's face determines his life. People in the village, or those who have lived in the countryside all their lives, care about these things in particular.

With too many thoughts and worries every day, it goes without saying that this person will become uncontrollably haggard and old.

"Uncle, don't worry or be anxious. I'll take care of Baoshuan's search for a new home."

Chen Ling usually doesn't make promises to others casually, but now Chen Ling will allow the honest families in the village to come to him in his name and ask for a wife and a husband-in-law if they have a good relationship with him or are related to him.

Not to mention Chen Sangui's family.

"Ah, how can this be done? I have to trouble you, Fugui..."

When Chen Sangui heard this, he felt embarrassed at first because he knew what kind of person his son was.

He couldn't even get up.

Ask Chen Ling for help? He felt that he was not brave enough to do that.

"Okay, uncle, don't say anything more. Just be cheerful every day, take good care of your body, and wait for your grandchildren."

Chen Ling waved his hand and said nothing more.

One man picked up the sled and walked out.

"Daddy, Piggy."

Ruirui followed the two young ladies and stood on the stone pier outside the door, pointing to the dilapidated courtyard not far away and said.

"Okay, we won't go to see the pigs today. Let's go make a sled. Look, this is such a big sled."

Chen Ling knew that his son was talking about the pigsty of Chen Yongsheng's family, where an old wild boar with yellowed fangs had sneaked in to mate.

Later, Ah Fu and Ah Shou were asked to drive them away.

Ruirui always remembers this place very clearly because he hears others talk about it.

"Okay, ride on the big horse, go, go, go."

"That's right, let the big horse pull us to play!"

Chen Ling admired his son's intelligence.

"Do we still need to call the eagle to follow? And the dogs are all going out together, uncle!"

Xiao Lizi likes to take all his friends out to play.

"Okay, okay, this is a big sled. I'll take you guys for a good time."

Chen Ling laughed, pursed his lips and whistled loudly.

After a while, Xiao Qingma, Heiwa and Xiao Jin came to the village primary school, and Er Tuzi also circled in the sky with two followers.

"Wow, daddy is so nice."

Ruirui jumped and danced with joy. He had learned a lot of exclamations from Xiaolizi during this period of time.

"Okay, stop shouting. Let's go out from the east side of the village. Otherwise, if your mother sees us going out in such a big way, she will definitely scold us."

Chen Ling warned with a serious expression.

"Well, let's not bring mom, hehe."

Ruirui lowered his voice slyly, and winked at Xiaolizi and Yaya with a smile.

"Yes, my mom and the others are also troublesome. I don't play with them."

Xiao Lizi raised his hand in agreement.

"Fugui, when you go back to Tenghe Township, remember to bring back some pork. They say that the weather is warm this year, so less pork is slaughtered. I heard that the price of pork is very cheap now, only about four yuan per pound.

Even beef is cheap, it costs 6.5 yuan in the city, and it should be cheaper in the countryside.”

Chen Baoshuan said, "Xizi and Anda have been feeling troubled lately and are not feeling well. Let's give them some meat to nourish them."

"it is good."

Chen Ling patted his arm, tied the sled to the little green horse, and took the children on the sled and headed towards Tenghe Township.

It’s 1998, and this year is a bit strange.

Not to mention that floods occurred in many places.

There are also many things to do at the beginning and end of the year.

At the beginning of the year, it was just as Chen Baoshuan said, many prices were unstable and fluctuated greatly.

For example, vegetables are very expensive, but the price of meat has been falling, which is a very strange thing.

After the mid-year floods, there were various layoffs and unemployment in state-owned enterprises at the end of the year. However, at the end of the year, prices began to rise rapidly again.

The prices are somewhat similar to those after the millennium. (End of this chapter)