My 1995 Small Farm.

As Chen Ling pondered the matter, he began tidying up the miscellaneous items in the farm.

Ultimately, it was because the area around his house was too vibrant with life.

The twelfth lunar month is cold, and the first lunar month brings heavy snow. Although the snow has subsided, it still makes it easy to attract wild animals.

Things often come to visit.

If he hadn't taken the pig-nosed turtles and other creatures from the aquarium into his grotto early on...

It's likely that some wild creatures that sneaked in will wreak havoc on it.

"Let's tidy up. This is our own place. It can't be too messy. It'll look deserted and lifeless."

Chen Ling rubbed his hands, took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, and started tidying up the yard first.

He grabbed a bamboo broom from the base of the wall and started sweeping it with a "whoosh, whoosh," sending dust and bits of grass flying everywhere.

Little Jin wasn't idle either. Its huge nose sniffed around in the grass, and every now and then it would paw at something, scaring out a few chubby mountain mice.

It bit him to death on the spot.

Rats are just that ubiquitous.

Before the New Year, Er Tuzi and his two companions, along with Er Hei and his pack of dogs, almost wiped out all the rats around the farm.

But they had only moved away from the village not long ago, less than two months ago.

Good heavens, these long-tailed thieves have become active again, digging holes all over the farm.

Now, without sweeping, you can easily spot some holes along the base of the wall by simply looking around.

"That filthy thing just needs to be dealt with."

Chen Ling spat and immediately released some of the wild cats he kept in the cave.

Yes, those cats that were put in for breed testing have long since become wild cats.

Even its fur turned gray and yellow.

Leopard prints are gradually appearing now, but not the tabby kind, but the leopard cat kind.

Its size also became similar to that of a leopard cat, becoming quite large.

They are professionals at catching mice and birds.

"Now let's see if you behave yourselves. I can't handle you anymore..."

Chen Ling chuckled and planned to release a few cats into the greenhouse later.

Since the vegetables and mushrooms in the greenhouse in the east of the village were all harvested and sent to the city, only the greenhouse with the aquaponics system has not been abandoned.

Nothing else grows here.

That warm temperature also attracts mice.

Some of them chewed up the plastic film and even damaged the pillars.

"Xilulu——"

Just as they were working up a sweat, the little blue horse neighed outside.

And a faint rustling sound came from the direction of the orchard.

Little Gold let out a low growl, but didn't bristle; it just twitched its tail tip slightly, as if it had seen an old acquaintance.

The branches of the fruit tree swayed slightly, and several tawny figures nimbly emerged, lined up, and squatted on the earthen embankment not far away, their small eyes darting around as they stared at Chen Ling.

It was those five weasels we hadn't seen in a long time...

The lead one was the largest, with glossy fur, and it was the one Chen Ling named "Little Yellow".

It tilted its head, its little nose twitching as if trying to identify Chen Ling's scent.

But it only took a moment for him to recognize Chen Ling, and he immediately ran over to him and started frolicking around.

"Hey! It's you little rascals! What's wrong? You've become strangers after just one winter apart?!"

Chen Ling laughed, put down the broom, walked to the clothesline, took out a few pieces of dried meat that he had put in his pocket when he arrived, and spread them in his palm.

"Squeak..."

The mother weasel, Little Fatty, quickly called out and crept over, rubbing against Chen Ling's trouser leg in a fawning manner.

It's like expressing an apology. It's also like expressing grievance.

Only those three heartless, ungrateful brats didn't care about anything.

It darted over in a flash, snatched a small piece of meat from Chen Ling's palm, turned and ran, hiding behind a tree to gnaw on it.

After finishing eating, it rushed over again, scrambling around Chen Ling's hand to grab the food, its little paws making his palm itch.

These three little ones were practically raised by Chen Ling himself.

Although they weren't as intelligent as the two older ones, the little ones never held back with Chen Ling and were never strangers to him.

"Slow down, slow down! Are you starving ghosts reincarnating? Nobody's going to take it from you!"

Chen Ling smiled helplessly and reached out to stroke it.

Little Huang didn't rush to eat. It squatted in place, watching its wife and children fight over the food, while it raised its front paws and bowed like a human, its little eyes sparkling.

"Well, you haven't forgotten that trick!"

Chen Ling was even more amused; this was something Rui Rui had learned by using snacks to amuse them in the past.

After feeding the animals, Chen Ling continued working, cleaning up fallen leaves and spider webs under the eaves.

The five weasels didn't go far; they stayed a few meters behind him, like overseers.

Chen Ling moved the ladder, and they looked up at it.

Chen Ling tore off the old window paper, and they sniffed at the yellowish paste.

Chen Ling swept up the dust with his broom, and the birds cleverly jumped away, hiding behind the woodpile and peeking out their little heads to continue watching.

The most interesting thing is that Chen Ling found a rusty machete and wanted to cut down a clump of wild roses growing wildly by the irrigation ditch in the orchard.

The thorns were very tough; brute force couldn't break them. He struggled to cut them, working up a sweat with each effort.

As Xiao Huang watched, it suddenly turned around and crawled behind the pile of firewood, carrying something in its mouth. It ran over and placed it at Chen Ling's feet.

Chen Ling looked down and saw that it was his family's old axe used for chopping firewood; the wooden handle was half rotten.

"Oh ho? You've really become a genius, haven't you? You know how to hand me the tools?"

Chen Ling was startled and picked up the rusty little axe, gesturing with it.

When Little Yellow saw him take it, its short tail stuck up high, its little head tilted back, and it squeaked triumphantly, as if to say, "Look how clever I am!"

The other dogs followed suit and started fetching things for Chen Ling all over the yard.

One brought a tattered straw hat, the other dragged along an old glove with only the fingers showing.

There was another one struggling to pull the little shovel that Rui Rui was playing with, but it was too weak and, panting heavily, couldn't move more than a few steps.

That adorable face made Chen Ling burst into laughter, and the loneliness in his heart was completely swept away.

"Alright, alright, stop making things worse!"

Chen Ling smiled and gathered the "treasures" they had brought to one side.

"Lunch is almost here. I'll take you back to the county town for a stroll. Your little master has missed you all."

Rui Rui loved sleeping with them, but they liked to run around, and she hardly saw them all winter.

"In the afternoon, I'll take you hunting in the mountains to see if you've forgotten the skills I taught you last year..."

After hearing about hunting yellow-throated martens last year, Chen Ling consciously started training these weasels.

However, such a small creature is not as stable in temperament as a dog.

They are not as loyal as a dog.

Dogs don't mind a poor home; they don't care about such things.

If you get hungry, you have to go out and find something to eat yourself.

After eating too much good food, I want to try something different.

They need a variety of things, such as insects, frogs, fish, and shrimp, many of which cannot be provided for at home.

Chen Ling had no way to force him to stay. (End of Chapter)