My 1995 Small Farm.

The sun finally brought real warmth after the Awakening of Insects.

The morning light filters through the gaps in the branches of the trees in the forest, weaving delicate golden spots on the red brick walls.

Baldy and his two henchmen circled in mid-air, the winds stirred up by their wings as they cut through the air were not as fierce as before.

Every now and then it would swoop down, clutching a plump sparrow in its claws, and land on a wooden post on the roof of the stable, causing several gray pigeons below to coo and fly away.

These pigeons have been flying back and forth between the forest farm and the farm recently, making several trips a day.

They have already used the eaves of the forest farm as their base.

They also like places with lots of people.

During the day, he always liked to hang around in the smoke from the construction site's cooking fires, and would come over to anyone who had food in their hands.

"Ah Ling, bring the baby's blanket; it's still chilly in the mornings and evenings."

Wang Susu was putting a bib on Kang Kang when she saw Chen Ling pushing a bamboo wicker cradle out. She quickly draped a folded floral blanket over the handlebars.

Rui Rui rushed out the door with half a sugar cake in his hand, followed by five weasels.

Little Yellow squatted at his feet, its tail tip hooking onto his trouser leg.

The others circled around the rocking chair in front of Chen Ling, occasionally rubbing their wet little noses against Kang Kang's exposed toes, making the little boy laugh and kick his legs.

"Okay, I'll be back around noon."

Chen Ling bent down and patted Rui Rui's head, then straightened Lele's crooked hat, and pushed the rocking horse toward the forest farm.

The grass shoots by the roadside have already sprouted, their tender green tips breaking through the soil, and they feel soft underfoot.

The forest farm has long been bustling with activity.

Although several farms have been completely completed, the livestock and poultry still need to be fed and cleaned.

Chen Ling asked some familiar villagers to help guard the place, and paid them for their work.

"Fugui, be careful Rui Rui doesn't put the chicks in his pocket again. Last time, that little yellow chick almost suffocated him!"

Wang Jusheng shouted outside the gate of the deer farm.

Chen Ling smiled and agreed, but before she could speak, she saw Rui Rui dragging Xiao Huang towards the chicken coop, holding a broken piece of wheat cake in her hand.

"Little chick! Little Yellow, look at the little chick!"

Little Yellow was pulled so hard it stumbled, but it didn't struggle. It just waited for Rui Rui to squat down and feed the chickens, then it took the opportunity to snatch the edge of the wheat cake, which made Rui Rui let out a "whoop" and pounce on it to grab it.

The two little ones rolled around in a ball by the chicken coop, startling the flock of chickens who scattered with clucking.

Seeing this, Sister Xiuying, who was spreading out dry grass nearby, laughed and said, "This child is so lively, he can even play with a weasel!"

"That's right, he was more likable than when he was a child. Fugui was stubborn when he was a child."

Chen Ling just smiled when he heard that.

He was indeed very stubborn when he was young, and he dared to fight with adults.

That stubbornness is long gone now.

He just watched the children play.

At this time, Rui Rui was squeaking and chasing after the chicks and ducks, while Kang Kang and Le Le in the rocking car were quiet.

Kang Kang clutched a cloth tiger, his eyes fixed on Er Tu Zi in mid-air.

Lele stared at the weasel running on the ground, stretching out her little arms and making "ah ah" noises as if trying to catch it.

Chen Ling pushed the cart to the edge of the deer farm. Erhei was lying at the base of the fence. When it saw him, it slowly stood up and swept its tail behind it.

A doe in the pen came over when she saw Chen Ling, puffing white breath from her nostrils.

Chen Ling slapped it away and smiled as he stroked Erhei's head.

"Watch closely, in a couple of days I'll take you rabbit hunting."

Spring has arrived, the weather is warming up, and the wheat seedlings are turning green.

It's time for a few rounds of hunting.

Even with a bunch of kids at home, Chen Ling couldn't resist the urge to touch them.

I imagine myself riding a motorcycle or a horse at night, and when the headlights shine, I see a rabbit or pheasant pop up, and then I unleash the dogs to chase it.

That scene is interesting to think about.

"Fugui, when can we go back to the village? If we don't go back soon, the house will be overgrown with weeds. Besides, the wheat fields need watering."

When they arrived at the cattle farm, there weren't many cattle. Er Mao Donkey was quite idle, munching on a meat pie. When he saw Chen Ling, he asked him something.

"Don't worry, Brother Donkey, we'll be back soon. In a few days, once things are settled at home, I'll go to the city to pick up Afu and Ashou."

"With two tigers guarding the village, those things in the mountains won't dare to come out, and everyone can go back to the village to irrigate their fields and plant whatever they want."

Upon hearing this, the villagers working at the farm stared wide-eyed in disbelief, some overjoyed.

"Really? Fugui, you're bringing two tigers back?"

"Great, great! With those two big guys back, we won't be afraid of ghosts and monsters anymore!" "What donkey-headed wolf or over-the-mountain yellow tiger? They're nowhere near as powerful as the two tigers from the Fu Gui family..."

"Hahaha, with the tiger here, I can finally go home!"

At this moment, Zhao Dahai also chimed in: "Do you need me to go with you to pick them up? Having more manpower will be helpful on the way. I heard from Boss Liang that things are a bit chaotic on the streets this year."

"No need. The city has already made arrangements and spoken with the old director three times. I'll ride my little blue horse there; it'll only take two days to make the round trip."

Chen Ling waved his hand and said to the other villagers, "Don't rush back to the village these next few days. If you do go back, do it in the morning and come back to the city by noon. Don't stay overnight in the village."

"Wait until I bring Afu and Ashou back and make sure everything is alright before we go back together."

Everyone nodded with smiles, their worries mostly gone. Several women nearby also chimed in, saying they wanted to go back to the village to air out their quilts and check the granary.

Even Jackson came over and asked in broken Chinese, "Tiger? A real tiger?"

This made everyone laugh.

……

In the afternoon, Chen Ling, who hadn't cooked much these past few days, prepared a stew of meat, stir-fried a few dishes, and made something delicious.

Call Han Chuang over and have a few drinks.

The courtyard in the south of the city was not as convenient or spacious as the village, so Chen Ling often didn't feel like cooking.

But I've gotten used to it now, and it's alright.

Unexpectedly, just as the fire was lit, Yang Jian walked into the yard, his canvas backpack still covered in mud, followed by two police officers carrying guns with cloth wrapped around the butts.

"Brother Fugui, I'll take up a little of your time."

Yang Jian spoke in a hurry, rubbing his hands together and pulling a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket with a few blurry footprints drawn on it.

"We discussed it and decided to go into the mountains again while the weather is good these next couple of days."

"The footprints we saw last time were bigger than we expected. We need to figure out where that thing is active, otherwise it will be troublesome when it comes down the mountain when the weather gets warmer."

Chen Ling took the paper and looked at it. The footprints had sharp claw marks along the edges, and were bigger than his palm. He knew that the big lynx had come out to play again.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Well... I came to ask you for help this time because I wanted you to bring a dog and have that eagle come along."

Yang Jian pointed to the two bald men circling in the air: "You know the mountain roads well, the dogs can guard against wild animals, and the eagles can scout the way. I saw Heiwa's skills last time, and this eagle's strength in catching prey. With them around, we feel at ease."

He had heard people say that Er Tuzi could see things within ten meters at night, and he was very fierce.

Chen Ling nodded without hesitation: "Okay, take Heiwa with you, he knows the way. Ertuzi will come along too, he has sharp eyes and can find the trail."

Once the agreement was made, preparations began, and Chen Ling stopped cooking.

He simply stayed by the stove, cooking meat while simultaneously wiping his hunting rifle and knife.

When Wang Susu heard that he was going into the mountains, she knew she couldn't stop him.

Knowing that the city police had sent many officers with guns and explosives, she felt much more at ease than before.

However, there is one thing: the police investigations are mostly conducted at night.

Look for clues during the times when wild animals are active.

After learning this, Wang Susu quickly found the animal skin gloves she had sewn before. They were made of wolf skin that she had hunted, and they were thick and durable.

He also stuffed boiled eggs and dried meat into the canvas bag.

"Take plenty of food; it's cold in the mountains, don't go hungry."

She handed over a small cloth bag containing dried herbs to repel snakes.

"Take this with you too. After the Awakening of Insects, snakes will start to emerge. If you carry this with you at night, snakes will not dare to come near."

Chen Ling took the bag and touched her face: "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I'll only be gone for two days, and I'll be back once I've found out what's going on."

Rui Rui, standing beside him, tugged at his trouser leg, her little mouth pouting, "Daddy, don't go into the mountains, there are old macaques."

The old mammoth is just something used to scare little kids.

That brat really believes in this.

Chen Ling bent down, picked up his son, and rubbed his face with his stubble:

"Good boy, Daddy has Blackie and Baldy, so we're not afraid of the old tiger. We'll take you to catch little rabbits when we get back."

By evening, the police were already waiting outside.

They rested and took turns for two days in the county town, both to rest and to prepare supplies.

His canvas backpack was bulging, filled with dry food, a compass, and a first-aid kit. His gun was polished to a shine, and the stock was wrapped with non-slip cloth.

Chen Ling carried Heiwa and Xiaojin, while Ertuzi landed on his shoulder, its paws gently hooking his collar. It seemed to know they were going into the mountains, its eyes sharper than usual.

Wang Susu held Lele and Kang Kang in her arms, while Rui Rui clung to Chen Ling's trouser leg, refusing to let go.

Yang Jian glanced at the sky and called out, "Let's go!" Only then did Chen Ling bring Rui Rui to Wang Susu's side, patting the two children's heads: "Let's go." (End of Chapter)