My 1995 Small Farm.

The next morning, as dawn broke, birds chirped.

Chen Ling got up early and put the remaining snails and clams that he had collected yesterday into the water tower, changing the water for those that needed to expel sand and refrigerating those that needed to be refrigerated.

After a quick breakfast, he checked the medicine box again, taking stock of the vaccines and equipment.

"Today I went to Changle Township to get the chickens vaccinated at several chicken farms, and I also checked out the market to buy what I needed."

He said something to Wang Susu.

Wang Susu was feeding Lele egg custard when she heard this and looked up: "Be careful on the road. It's market day today, so there will be a lot of people and vehicles. Keep an eye on Little Green Horse. Stallions are restless in the spring, and our Little Green Horse is a mare, so it's too conspicuous."

"know."

Chen Ling replied that the second and third months of the lunar calendar are the mating season for mules and horses.

He gently rubbed Rui Rui's messy head, saying, "Listen to Mom at home. Dad will go give the rooster a shot and bring you some sesame candy when he gets back."

Rui Rui nodded dazedly, still clutching half a steamed bun in her little hand.

Wang Zhenzhen is back, and there are people to play with her, so she doesn't clamor to go out with Chen Ling anymore.

Chen Ling smiled, picked up his medicine box, and went out.

The little blue horse had already prepared its saddle, and upon seeing its master, it affectionately nuzzled his arm.

Chen Ling mounted his horse, flicked the reins, and the light sound of hooves rang out as he rode along the village road still damp with morning dew, heading towards Changle Township.

The closer you get to Changle Township, the more bustling the road becomes.

Groups of villagers, some carrying loads on their shoulders, others pushing wheelbarrows, and still others leading donkeys laden with goods, were all heading to the village market.

The air was filled with various scents.

The fresh scent of newly woven bamboo baskets, the aroma of freshly steamed buns, and the faint muttony smell of livestock blend together to create the unique and vibrant flavors of a rural market.

"Fugui! Heading to the countryside?" a familiar villager greeted him.

"Hey, go vaccinate the chickens!" Chen Ling replied with a smile.

"It has to be Fugui! Now that you're a big boss, you're still willing to get vaccinated. We're counting on you for this year's spring epidemic prevention!"

"It should!"

Upon arriving in Changle Township, the market was already bustling with activity.

The streets were lined with stalls, and the sounds of hawking, bargaining, and the calls of chickens, ducks, and geese filled the air.

It is full of the hustle and bustle of life.

Chen Ling did not go to the market immediately, but went to the township veterinary station first.

Old Ba was already waiting at the station. When he saw Chen Ling, it was as if he had seen a savior.

"Oh, Fugui! You've finally arrived! The vaccines are all ready for you, and the ice packs are all fresh!"

Old Ba pointed to several insulated boxes in the corner, "According to the number you gave yesterday, there are at least more!"

Chen Ling opened the box and inspected it carefully. The vaccine vials were neatly arranged, and the ice packs were emitting wisps of cold air.

"Okay, thanks, Old Bago! Let's head over to those chicken farms now."

"Let's go, otherwise there will be too many people at the market later!" Old Ba said hurriedly.

The two carefully secured the insulated box to the small blue horse's pack and headed towards several chicken farms in the countryside, one after the other.

Springtime disease prevention mainly focuses on preventing chicken plague.

These days, chicken plague is the number one enemy in poultry farming. Once it breaks out, it often kills a large number of birds and causes heavy losses.

Other diseases such as duck plague and gosling plague also occur, but they are not as common or deadly as chicken plague.

Therefore, Chen Ling's focus today is to vaccinate the chickens.

The first chicken farm was quite large, with rows of chicken coops built along the hillside.

The chicken farmer was a capable middle-aged man surnamed Zhang, who was already waiting at the door with his wife.

"Boss Chen! Uncle Ba! We've been waiting for you! My eyelids have been twitching these past few days, I was worried something was wrong with the chickens!"

The chicken farm owner eagerly came to greet him.

"Don't worry, Brother Zhang, you'll feel at ease after getting the vaccine."

While exchanging pleasantries, Chen Ling deftly put on gloves and took out a syringe and vaccine vial.

Inside the chicken coop, thousands of chickens clucked, and the air was filled with the smell of chicken manure and feed.

The workers have already caught the chickens that need to be vaccinated in batches and fixed them in specially made cages, as required.

Chen Ling's technique was extremely skillful.

With his left hand, he drew up the medicine and expelled the air from the syringe. With his right hand, he precisely grasped the base of a chicken's wing and found the loose area under the skin.

Disinfecting, inserting the needle, administering the medication, and removing the needle—the movements were fluid and seamless.

The whole process took less than three seconds; the chicken didn't even have time to struggle before it was gently put back into the cage.

"Good heavens! This technique! Amazing!" Brother Zhang was dumbfounded.

Old Ba, standing to the side, also clicked his tongue in admiration: "See that? This is real skill! So fast and light, even the chickens don't suffer! The way we used to fight was like killing chickens, the chickens were terrified, and we were exhausted!"

Chen Ling was completely focused, his hands moving non-stop, one after another, with extremely high efficiency.

The workers kept bringing in chickens, and he hardly needed to look up; he relied entirely on his sense of touch to make the perfect cuts.

In less than an hour, all the thousands of chickens in the chicken farm had been vaccinated.

"Alright, Brother Zhang. Observe him for two days, add some vitamins to his drinking water to reduce stress. Don't change his feed for the next few days, and keep the environment quiet," Chen Ling instructed as he packed up the equipment.

"Oh! Great! Thank you so much, Brother Fugui! This is the money for the vaccine, please take it!"

Brother Zhang quickly handed over the money.

Chen Ling didn't stand on ceremony, took it and put it in his pocket: "Which one is next?"

"Old Zhou's family at the west end, Erwazi's family, and Widow Zhang's family on the south slope—they're smaller, but they're waiting too," Old Ba quickly said.

"Okay, let's go."

After visiting three chicken farms, by the time the last chicken had been vaccinated, the sun was already high in the sky.

Chen Ling had sweat on his forehead, but he was still full of energy.

Old Ba was even more impressed: "Fugui, you're getting better and better! You're even more skilled than a pro! That's really something!"

He gave a thumbs up, "Even when I was at my most agile in my youth, I couldn't match half of your skill!"

Chen Ling smiled and said, "Practice makes perfect. Brother Ba, now that I'm done here, I'm going to the market."

"Let's go together! I need to buy some things too," Old Ba said hurriedly.

The two men, leading their horses, rejoined the bustling crowds of the market.

At midday, the market became even more crowded and lively.

A mixture of various smells:
The sweet aroma of fried cakes, the savory fragrance of braised offal, the refreshing scent of fresh fruits, and the pungent smell of the livestock shed...

Chen Ling's gaze swept over the stalls as he bought the items he needed for his home.

He bought several feet of soft blue cloth for Wang Susu, weighed out several kilograms of crispy sesame candy and glutinous rice strips for Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui, and also bought some seasonal vegetable seeds and flower seeds.

He stopped deliberately when he passed by the meat stall.

The stall owner was a burly man with a face full of scars, wielding a cleaver to chop bones. Pork and mutton were laid out on the cutting board, and there seemed to be something unusual in the wooden basin in the corner.

Chen Ling's heart skipped a beat, and he stepped forward to ask, "Boss, I heard there are a lot of bears in the mountains lately. Do you have bear meat, bear skin, or bear gallbladders?"

Upon hearing this, the burly stall owner stopped chopping, sized up Chen Ling, and chuckled, "Brother, you're too late! The good stuff's all been reserved! There's only some scraps of meat and a small piece of skin left. Do you want some?"

Chen Ling shook his head: "I don't want any scraps. Do you know anyone who has a whole, good pelt? And the bear bile has to be intact." "I really don't know!"

The stall owner shook his head, "There are quite a few bears this spring, but the good ones are in short supply!"

"It's not just me. Ask around in this market, who still has a whole good hide? They've all been sent to Wangbacheng to sell long ago!"

Chen Ling was somewhat disappointed and was about to leave when an old farmer squatting on the ground smoking a pipe suddenly looked up and interjected, "Young man, are you looking for bear skin and bear gall?"

Chen Ling looked at the old farmer and saw that he was wearing a faded old jacket and had deep wrinkles on his face, like a farmer from the nearby mountains.

"Yes, Uncle, do you know where I can find one?"

The old farmer tapped his pipe, stood up, and said, "I'm from Yangtougou. Young man, are you surnamed Chen? The Chen Fugui, the boss who helped our village fight off wolves with his dog last winter?"

Chen Ling was taken aback. He looked at the old farmer closely and realized that he looked familiar. He seemed to have seen him last year when they were hunting wolves in Yangtougou.

"It's me, Uncle. You have a great memory."

"Oh my! It really is Boss Chen!"

The old farmer immediately became excited and grabbed Chen Ling's hand.

"My benefactor! If it weren't for you coming with a gun last year, our village would have been ravaged by those wolves! My dozen or so sheep would definitely have been lost!"

Chen Ling felt a little embarrassed by what was said: "Uncle, don't mention it, it was nothing."

"It was nothing! It was a life-saving favor!"

The old farmer became agitated, then suddenly remembered the topic from earlier.

"Mr. Chen, you want bear skin and bear gall? You should have said so earlier! I have some at home!"

“My son went into the mountains with some people this spring and encountered a naive young bear that had just come out of hibernation. He almost got killed, but we managed to bring it back with great difficulty. We had someone skin it, and they did a good job of skinning it. They also carefully removed the gall bladder. I’m going home to get it for you right now!”

As he said that, he turned around and left.

Chen Ling quickly grabbed him: "Uncle, you can't! That's something your family worked hard to make, you should sell it for money, I'll buy it at the market price!"

"Buy what!"

The old farmer glared at him. "A hide and a gallbladder, what are they worth? Compared to the huge favor you did for our village, they're nothing!"

"Wait here! I'm going back to get it right now! Don't you dare leave!"

The old farmer was quite strong. After speaking, he broke free from Chen Ling's hand and hurriedly pushed through the crowd before leaving.

Chen Ling looked in the direction the old farmer had disappeared, feeling both amused and exasperated.

Old Ba laughed and said, "Well, Fugui, you're getting a good reward for your good deeds! The people of Yangtougou are honest and stubborn. Since you've helped them, they definitely won't accept your money."

Sure enough, not long after, the old farmer came running back, panting, carrying a heavy burlap bundle in his hands.

"Mr. Chen, look!"

The old farmer opened the bundle, and inside was a neatly folded black bear skin!
Its fur is jet black and glossy, and its hide is thick and soft. There is only a small tuft of crescent-shaped white fur on its chest. The entire hide is almost undamaged and has been treated exceptionally well.

Next to it was a small package wrapped in oil paper. When you opened it, you found a whole, dark green, dried bear bile with fine texture on the surface. It was in excellent condition.

"This……"

Although Chen Ling had expected the other party to have some goods, he didn't expect them to be in such good condition. "Uncle, this is too valuable! With this leather and this lining, it could fetch a lot of money in the city!"

"Don't worry about money! Just take it!"

The old farmer stubbornly forced the bundle into Chen Ling's arms.

"We people from Yangtougou aren't ungrateful! If you don't accept it, we won't take this skin or this gall bladder!"

A crowd had gathered around, and people were talking about it.

"Old Yang from Yangtougou? He's got a stubborn temper!"

"This young man is Chen Fugui from Chenwangzhuang? He's quite capable!"

"It's him! He's incredibly capable! Last year when there was a wolf in Yangtougou, he was the one who cleared it!"

"No wonder Old Yang is so generous. This hide and the gall bladder alone are worth at least this much!"

Someone quietly made a hand gesture.

Seeing the old farmer's resolute attitude, Chen Ling knew that further refusal would only hurt the farmer's feelings, so he had no choice but to accept the bundle and said sincerely, "Uncle, then I'll shamelessly accept it! Thank you!"

"No need to thank me! We should be thanking you!" Old Yang's face lit up with a smile when he saw Chen Ling accept the gift, and his wrinkles smoothed out.

Just then, two more men squeezed over from the side, one carrying a dried pheasant and the other carrying a string of cured meat.

"Boss Chen! I'm from Xigou! You helped my village drive away wild boars last year! You must take these mountain produce!"

"Boss Chen, I'm from Xiahetao, do you remember me? This cured meat is homemade, it smells amazing!"

Before long, several villagers from nearby villages recognized Chen Ling and offered to give him gifts.

Chen Ling repeatedly declined, and it took a lot of effort to persuade everyone to stop.

Old Ba watched from the sidelines with deep admiration: "Fugui, your popularity... it's truly unparalleled! This isn't something you can earn just through ability!"

After bidding farewell to the hospitable villagers, Chen Ling looked at the heavy bear skin and bear gall in his hand, feeling a warm glow in his heart.

Remembering what the butcher had said earlier, he casually asked Old Yang, "Uncle Yang, it seems like there are a lot of bears in the mountains this spring? I've heard about several cases along the way."

Old Yang nodded: "That's right! This year is strange! As soon as the snow melted in the spring, the bears in the mountains seemed to have stirred up a horde. We saw three or four near our village!"

"They all have pretty bad tempers, and they've injured several woodcutters and herb gatherers."

Another villager from Yangtougou chimed in, "Yeah, Mr. Chen, besides the increased number of bears, it seems like there are fewer wild boars!"

“In previous years, wild boars loved to come down the mountain to root up crops in the spring, but this year I haven’t seen many big ones. Instead, I’ve seen several packs of jackals, which are really annoying!”

"There are fewer wild monkeys now."

Another villager chimed in: "At this time of year, the wild monkeys on the mountain are usually very noisy, but this year it's very quiet."

Chen Ling listened, secretly surprised.

The number of bears is increasing, while the number of wild boars and monkeys is decreasing, and jackals are becoming more active... This ecological change is quite interesting.

He suddenly remembered the two giant wild boars in his cave, which could be called "pig kings", and seemed to understand something.

The grottoes and blessed lands subtly influence the surrounding ecological environment, perhaps altering the reproduction and competitiveness of certain species.

Black bears, being more adaptable omnivores, may have seized the opportunity, resulting in an increase in their population.

Wild boars and monkeys, on the other hand, may have been suppressed or migrated to deeper areas.

As for jackal packs, they are opportunistic by nature, so it's not surprising that they become active when their ecological niche fluctuates.

Having figured this out, Chen Ling smiled at the villagers and said, "When the forest gets big, anything can happen. Be careful when you go into the mountains, and travel in groups. If you encounter any troublesome creatures, you can send a message to Chenwangzhuang to find me."

"With Mr. Chen's words, we feel much more at ease!" the villagers said with smiles.

After chatting for a few more minutes, Chen Ling bid farewell to Lao Ba and the villagers, and led the little blue horse carrying gifts and groceries away from the bustling market.

Walking back to the village, the spring breeze caressed my face, bringing the fragrance of the fields.

Chen Ling was in a very good mood.

Not only did they successfully complete the spring pest control task, but they also unexpectedly received a generous gift and the deep affection of their fellow villagers.

More importantly, he gained a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of the ecological changes in the surrounding mountains and forests.

"The influence of the grotto is more profound than I imagined... But this is the truly interesting world."

He gazed at the distant, verdant, undulating mountains, a hint of anticipation playing on his lips.

"My zoo seems to be slowly taking shape..." (End of Chapter)