My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 85 Mountain Cat
"Who says it isn't? I've heard that your dog is fierce. This guy is too big. The wolves that the village team hunted a few years ago weren't this big. It's terrifying to look at."

The woman also spoke up, her eyes constantly glancing at the two dogs beside Chen Ling, looking somewhat nervous.

Indeed, Heiwa and Xiaojin are now about a meter tall. Heiwa, in particular, has a square head and big ears, a large frame, and an extremely robust body. Its four legs are as thick as small pillars, and the timid people in the village avoid it when they see it.

Xiao Jin is better; she's a bit thinner than Heiwa, and not as robust as Heiwa. She usually looks quite delicate.

But as soon as Xiao Jin gets angry, he changes completely, showing a ferocity that Heiwa doesn't have. Especially when he bares his fangs and his face is full of savagery, his eyes become fierce and crazy, making him seem less like a dog and more like a wolf.

However, they have been running around the village since they were young, so they are quite intelligent.

Unless someone is causing trouble or coming to their home, they generally won't easily hurt anyone.

Seeing that Chen Dazhi and his wife were a little afraid of dogs, Chen Ling patted Heiwa and Xiaojin and told them to go play somewhere else.

"Sister Xiuying, don't be afraid. My two dogs have never been leashed since they were puppies. They run around the village all day long and don't bite."

Anyone who has ever owned a dog in the village knows that dogs become more aggressive the more they are chained up.

A dog that is leashed is more likely to injure people than a dog that is allowed to roam freely.

Hearing Chen Ling's words and seeing that Heiwa's two dogs had run to the side, Chen Dazhi and Wang Xiuying relaxed a little.

"Is Fugui here in the mountains to gather medicinal herbs?"

"Yes, I plan to collect some herbs and sell them in the city later."

Chen Ling noticed that the couple were wearing straw hats and carrying bamboo poles, and they had filled five or six snakeskin bags with mulberry leaves.

He asked, "Do you raise a lot of silkworms at home?"

"Yes, we've raised quite a few. A few days ago, when the village was showing a movie, Susu said she wanted to come to my house to get some silkworm eggs, but she hasn't come yet. Maybe she forgot. You can ask her if she still wants them when you get back."

Wang Xiuying said with a smile.

The woman was in her fifties, plump and well-off, and was known for her kind heart and good relationships with others.

In the village, her words carried more weight than those of her sister, Wang Xiuhua, the women's team leader.

I've often visited Chen Ling's home to persuade him to study hard and make progress.

Her husband, Chen Dazhi, was thinner, with dark skin, a distinctive mustache, and puffy eyes.

This man used to be stubborn and spoke his mind directly, which offended many people. He only became better after being influenced by his wife.

At this moment, he grinned, showing off his white teeth, and was extremely enthusiastic.

"Okay, I'll ask her when I get home."

Chen Ling responded, then looked at the several large bags of mulberry leaves beside them: "Brother Dazhi, are you two able to carry all these mulberry leaves back? How about I carry a few bags? It's almost noon, and I'm getting ready to go down the mountain."

"No need, no need, they're just leaves, very light. You can carry several bags by tying them together with a rope."

Chen Dazhi waved his hand and then laughed at Liu Nier and the others, "Judging from your mouths, you little rascals have eaten a lot of random things in the mountains. Be careful not to get an upset stomach tonight."

The little girls, including Liu Ni'er, gathered around Chen Ling and giggled, not daring to say a word.

When Chen Ling led them down the mountain.

Xiao Sen started by recounting Liu Ni'er's embarrassing moments, saying that Liu Ni'er was terrified of Da Zhi Ye and used to hide whenever she saw him.

Chen Ling was a little surprised and quickly asked what was wrong.

As a result, Liu Nier chased after Xiao Sen and hit him, blaming him for talking too much.

“Uncle Fugui wants to hear it, but you won’t let me. I think you don’t want to go to Uncle Fugui’s house to eat prawns anymore.”

After being hit a few times, Komori immediately became very indignant and said...

Liu Ni'er wilted when she heard this. She also wanted to eat crayfish; her mouth was watering just from hearing Xiao Sen and the others talk about it.

He glared at Komori with a fierce look on his face and said, "Hmph, you don't need to say anything, I'll say it myself."

After meeting Chen Ling's curious gaze, he scratched his head a little embarrassedly: "Hehe, Uncle Fugui, I just stole some strawberries from Uncle Dazhi's house before and made a fool of myself..."

Then Liu Ni'er recounted his glorious history.

Chen Ling burst into laughter upon hearing this.

It turns out that this kid couldn't resist the temptation of the strawberries growing so well in Chen Dazhi's field. He picked a lot but didn't dare to take them home, so he ate until he was stuffed on the spot.

To my surprise, after returning home I learned that Chen Dazhi's strawberries had been sprayed with pesticides a few days ago.

This terrified the kid; he almost thought he was going to die.

Not daring to tell Wang Lixian, he pretended to have a stomachache and rolled around in bed. As a result, Wang Lixian took him to Chen Guoping for a checkup, found nothing wrong, and took some pills home.

A day later, someone in the village probably saw Liu Nier stealing strawberries and told Chen Dazhi.

Although Chen Dazhi was straightforward, he was kind-hearted. Knowing that Liu Nier wanted to eat strawberries, he brought a basket of them to her early in the morning. Afraid that Wang Lixian would beat the child, he didn't dare to tell Wang Lixian about Liu Nier stealing strawberries.

This left Wang Lixian somewhat bewildered.

Later, when Liu Nier refused to eat strawberries, she also refused to let them eat them, saying that they were poisoned by pesticides and would kill people.

Wang Lixian then realized that his mischievous son must have stolen and eaten the strawberries; otherwise, why would someone have sent strawberries over for no reason?

So he hung her from a tree in the yard and whipped her mercilessly, making Liu Ni scream and causing quite a commotion.

Liu Ni'er was too young to understand right from wrong back then. She thought Chen Dazhi had ulterior motives for giving her strawberries and that he had gotten a beating because of it. From then on, she would avoid Chen Dazhi whenever she saw him.

"You little brat, don't eat random things in the future."

"The other day we were talking about the old bachelor in Kinmen Village. He stole some raw wheat and ate his fill, but in the end he ate himself to death."

"You guys, don't just put everything you see in your mouth when you're in the fields or mountains. Uncle has a lot of good food at home. If you're craving something, come to Uncle's house to eat."

Chen Ling gave the children a few instructions and then led them down the mountain.

They listened to Chen Ling's words and nodded in agreement.

"Uncle Fugui, you're so kind. Sometimes I really wish you could be my dad. Last time I told my mom, and she praised you for being good-looking too."

This guy left Chen Ling speechless.

They returned to the village in a lively and bustling manner.

Before I even got home, I saw several people sitting on a stone mill in the alley talking.

It was Zhao Dahai with a strange man and woman, while Wang Jusheng and his wife, holding Datou, accompanied them.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling knew that Zhao Dahai had brought people to his house to check on the eels, so he hurried over.

"Fugui, you're finally back! Jusheng and I have been waiting for you for ages."

As soon as Zhao Dahai saw him, he came over and shouted loudly.

Chen Ling apologized repeatedly, saying that he had gone into the mountains that day.

"Why are you all standing outside? Isn't Susu home?"

"We're at home, but Susu says she'll listen to you. Whether or not to sell the eels is ultimately your decision."

"Since you haven't come back, we drank two bowls of tea and came outside to wait."

Wang Jusheng said.

Seeing her son stretching out his arm, wanting to find Chen Ling again, she pinched her son's little face and said, "Big Head, be a good boy. Your Uncle Fugui is busy. Find him when you're done."

Then Zhao Dahai stepped forward to introduce the two people behind Chen Ling.

“Fugui, this is the good brother I told you about. His name is Zhong Lin, nicknamed Mountain Cat. You can just call him Mountain Cat.”

"This is his girlfriend, Du Juan. They are both straightforward people, so there's no need to be polite with them."

Chen Ling stepped forward and shook hands with the man and woman.

The man was not tall, less than 1.7 meters, with a lean build and dark skin, but his eyes were very sharp and bright, like those of a hawk. When he shook hands with Chen Ling, his palms were thick and rough, covered with calluses.

The woman was rather unusual; not only was she tall, but her appearance was also different from that of ordinary women, especially her long, narrow, upturned eyes, which resembled fox eyes.

Despite her ordinary appearance and dark skin, her eyes gave her a touch of wildness and allure, making it impossible not to take a second look.

Both the man and the woman were around thirty years old.

After a brief introduction, Chen Ling took the group home.

Upon entering the courtyard, the man nicknamed "Lynx" said to Chen Ling, "We just saw the two red eels. They are a very rare type of eel, and there are many rumors about them. They are considered quite precious."

"Someone tried to take it all away for two thousand yuan before, but that was just a scam."

"To be honest, I wanted to give you a fair price before, five thousand yuan for one, to round it up for you."

"But after you came back, I changed my mind..."

“I’ll give you an extra thousand dollars for each eel, but you have to agree to one condition.”

(End of this chapter)