My 1995 Small Farm.

With the arrival of spring, the chicks hatched, and several breeding farms were almost completed.

The weather is gradually warming up.

This is indeed the case in years with a cold snap in spring.

Once that cold weather passes, the temperature will rise rapidly.

As the weather gets warmer day by day, Chen Ling really wants to plant something.

Especially after the livestock produced manure, the smell around the forest farm became very strong.

The idea of ​​"aquaponics" resurfaced in my mind.

When the city police came, he had just returned to the village a few days earlier and naturally went to check on his own greenhouse.

A winter has passed.

Another heavy snow fell in the first month of the lunar calendar.

However, the ditches and vegetable plots in the greenhouse still coexist well.

The vegetables in the vegetable patch are growing well.

The fish raised in the canal are also very healthy and thriving.

Chen Ling thought he would give it a try at the forest farm as well.

Otherwise, the days would just get warmer and warmer.

On the gentle slope of the forest farm east of the county town, red brick walls are rising rapidly.

The sheds for raising cattle, sheep, and deer are almost finished.

Once the roof is sealed and the livestock are penned up, the smell will probably be even stronger.

Even those foreigners couldn't stand the smell.

Keep in mind that the livestock haven't even officially moved into the pen yet.

Once it gets to midday and the temperature rises, the smell wafts out in wisps along with the warm breeze.

The flavor isn't particularly strong, but it's sticky and gooey.

Mixed with the smell of soil and sweat, it had a unique, slightly fermented, pungent odor characteristic of livestock sheds.

After being exposed to the midday sun, the aroma became more vibrant and permeated people's nostrils.

"Tsk, wealth, this won't do."

Zhao Dahai squatted behind the brick pile, eating with a large bowl in his hand. His brows were furrowed, and even the stewed meat that had just come out of the pot seemed to lack some of its aroma.

"We haven't even officially entered the circle yet, and we already have such a strong presence?"

"What if you really raise dozens of cows and hundreds of sheep in the future? That would be terrible!"

"With the wind blowing, I doubt anyone will dare come to this forest farm..."

"Spring is here, and there's a lot of manure needed now, so let's find someone to remove it first! There's no other way!"

"Excrement" is a dialect term, but also an old saying.

It's not just about getting rid of the smelly, stinking excrement in the house; it also means using the excrement to fertilize the fields.

Chen Ling has used the 'aquaponics' method, but it is relatively slow to show results.

The simplest and most direct method is to simply remove the livestock manure every day.

Frequent cleaning and disinfection will improve the smell.

Plant-based purification methods require a gradual approach, and besides, this season isn't the most suitable time.

"As for the future, when the weather gets warmer, we'll dig a few more ditches outside this breeding farm, just like we do in the greenhouse in the village, raise some fish fry, use the fish manure to nourish the vegetables, and use the vegetable roots to purify the water."

"If it still smells bad, then dig more narrow ditches, just wide enough for the fish fry to swim in, not too deep, to save labor and effort..."

"We should choose fish fry that are easy to raise, such as crucian carp fry, grass carp fry, loach, and catfish, which are not picky about water quality."

"Plant some water celery, water spinach, water hyacinth, duckweed, or other water-loving plants along one side of the ditch or on the trellis."

“The manure is quite fertile, so let’s try it out for now. If it doesn’t work, I have other methods.”

Chen Ling thought to himself, if all else fails, he'll just find someone to build a biogas digester beforehand.

These days, it's rare in China, but it's definitely available abroad.

"Okay, you're the one with the most ideas. I didn't mean anything by it, but I'm still thinking about your farm's model. It's so good, it doesn't smell at all. These breeding farms are a bit smelly. I'm afraid they'll turn into something like the lynx's dog farm, which is both pungent and smelly."

Zhao Dahai sighed.

"Get lost! When you're praising the rich and powerful, can you at least stop belittling me?"

Is it meaningful for you to flatter the powerful and belittle the weak?

The lynx immediately objected.

Zhao Dahai wasn't afraid of him: "That's true, why can't I say it? Your turtles are all half-dead."

Chen Ling laughed as he listened, but there were some things he couldn't explain to them.

Anyway, this little bit of stench won't bother him. At worst, he can just find someone to clean up his mess, like he said before.

……

As things gradually calmed down at the forest farm, Chen Ling still had his mind on the village.

It's almost the second month of the lunar calendar, and Chenwangzhuang is still deserted.

That afternoon, he handed the construction site over to Zhao Dahai and Shanmao to keep an eye on, mounted his little blue horse, and, with Xiao Jin in tow, hurried towards the village.

The closer you get to Chenwangzhuang, the quieter the road becomes.

In previous years, by this time, people would already be on the ridges of the fields, urging oxen to plow and sow seeds.

Now? The fields are empty, the melted snow has left many potholes, and tender wild grass roots are stubbornly sticking out.

The village was eerily quiet.

Upon entering the village, the familiar scene had completely changed.

Every household had its doors tightly shut, and the door knockers were all rusted.

After the New Year, the courtyard was cleaned up and piled with withered leaves, which swirled in the wind.

Several stray cats squatted on the empty stone rollers of the threshing ground, lazily licking their paws.

Upon seeing Chen Ling and Xiao Jin, they merely glanced at them warily, without panicking or fleeing.

"Ha, these wild things have become the village kings!"

Chen Ling muttered something to himself and spurred his horse toward his own farm.

The farm was a desolate place, seemingly full of life.

Withered leaves float on the surface of the pond, and there is no trace of fish.

With no one tending to the vegetable garden, weeds sprouted everywhere, vying for space with the radish greens and cabbage stalks that hadn't been pulled out last year.

The chicken coop and duck shed were empty, the doors rattled in the wind, and there were some small animal footprints outside.

The most eye-catching thing is the orchard.

Under the fruit trees, all sorts of wild grasses and vegetables grew wildly as if they were going crazy.

Lamb's quarters, shepherd's purse, bitter lettuce, and many other unnamed plants—a vast expanse of lush, tender greens.

In some places, it even covered the open space under the fruit trees.

This is naturally due to the continued vitality of the surrounding area; as soon as spring arrives, the grass grows faster than in other places.

Several plump wild rabbits were munching away inside when they heard the sound of horses' hooves. They darted into the waist-high weeds nearby, leaving only the swaying tips of the grass behind.

On the branches, sparrows, magpies, and even a few long-tailed magpies chirped merrily, as if celebrating this rare moment of peace and quiet.

"Good guy!"

"It's only been a few days, and it's almost turned into a wildlife park again!"

Chen Ling grinned as he watched.

When he came back a few days ago, he had done a simple cleaning.

He dismounted, and Xiao Jin immediately began to vigilantly survey the surroundings, making low growling sounds to scare away any uninvited guests that might be hiding in the bushes.

Push open the gate to your own yard.

The swallow's nest under the eaves is empty, and a layer of dust has settled on the windowsill.

In the yard, the wooden stake where Er Tuzi and his companions often perched stood all alone.

Chen Ling looked around and found that several window paper in the corners of the wall had been torn by something, which he guessed was done by a squirrel or a weasel.

In the kitchen, the rice and flour containers were tightly covered, but there was a thin layer of dust on the cutting board, and not many rat droppings were visible—they were probably scared away by even fiercer wild animals.

That makes sense. Those weasels that used to come to our house will probably come back to catch mice from time to time after they go to the county town.

Those little ones are nostalgic.

He just hasn't changed his wild nature; he can't stay at home.

Standing in his own courtyard, listening to the rustling of the wind blowing through the weeds and the chirping of birds outside, Chen Ling felt a strong urge to move back home as soon as possible.

This once bustling home has suddenly become so quiet and desolate, even the air seems to be filled with loneliness.

However, I can't ignore my wife, children, relatives, and friends; I can't let them worry and be afraid.

"The slippery yellow weasel is too slippery to be dealt with in a short time, so we'll have to bring Afu and Ashou back first."

"Otherwise, the village will be abandoned, and my farm will also be abandoned."

Chen Ling felt a sense of absurdity, both laughing and crying, when he thought about how the villagers would return to the village as if they were migrant workers, rushing back to the city after finishing their farm work.

"Let's go up the mountain first, go deeper into the mountains, and see what's going on. After that, we'll go to the city and bring the two tigers back to keep order."

"Let's not rush into going to Hong Kong Island for now; our family should be the priority." (End of Chapter)