My 1995 Small Farm.

The next morning, before dawn, the farm was shrouded in a thin layer of morning mist, and the air was filled with the crisp scent of grass and trees and the damp smell of earth.

Suddenly, a very abrupt, high-pitched and slightly sharp cry shattered the tranquility of dawn!
"Cloak—ah! Loak—ah!"

This sound is different from the "quack quack" of domestic geese and wild geese; it is clearer, more resonant, and carries an indescribable penetrating power.

Immediately following was the enraged, even louder and more aggressive "quack! quack!" of the domestic goose, along with the chaotic sounds of its wings flapping violently and water splashing everywhere!

Chen Ling is a light sleeper and was the first to be awakened. He listened carefully and realized that the sound was coming from the ditch near the orchard.

"What's going on? Who did the goose fight with? It doesn't sound like a weasel..." he muttered to himself, then quickly put on his clothes and got out of bed.

Wang Susu also woke up, rubbing her eyes as she sat up: "Why does this sound so strange? Could it be that some big thing has entered the yard? With Afu and Ashou at home, it shouldn't be like this..."

"I'll go check on them. You watch the child," Chen Ling said, slipping on her shoes and walking out.

There was nothing in the courtyard; Afu, Ashou, Heiwa, and Xiaojin were all gone.

Stepping out of the farm gate.

At the edge of the orchard, near the irrigation ditch, in the early morning light, a rather peculiar scene unfolded.

Two large, pure white cranes with bright red crests on their heads were strolling gracefully and somewhat warily along the canal.

Their long necks sometimes lowered to peck at something in the water, and sometimes they raised them, emitting high-pitched calls, as if announcing their arrival.

Not far from them, the farm's own large white geese, which could be considered the "tyrants of the farm," were flapping their wings, stretching their necks out, and making threatening "clucking" sounds, confronting the two red-crowned cranes.

The flock of geese was clearly hostile to the two uninvited guests, but they also seemed somewhat wary of the other's enormous size and long, sharp beak, and dared not easily pounce on them, only making a show of force by calling out.

The chickens and ducks kept their distance, huddled at the entrance of the chicken coop and duck shed, looking around in fear.

The dozen or so geese were even more nervous, honking and huddling together, not daring to approach the ditch.

"Hey! Red-crowned cranes! So they've come to my house!" Chen Ling exclaimed with delight.

Hearing the commotion, Wang Susu came out as well. Upon seeing the sight, she covered her mouth in surprise: "Oh my, this bird looks even bigger than when I saw it last year, and much bigger! Look at those legs, they're so long!"

At this point, the standoff outside escalated.

The boldest gander, seemingly feeling its authority challenged, couldn't contain itself and suddenly lunged forward a few steps, flapping its wings loudly and opening its beak as if to peck at the leg of the red-crowned crane that was slightly closer.

The red-crowned crane was startled by the sudden attack, its elegant posture instantly shattered. It let out a short cry and instinctively raised its long leg to nimbly take a step back, dodging the attack.

Immediately, it seemed to be enraged. It swung its long neck sharply, and its sharp beak, like a drawn sword, pecked at the gander's head with lightning speed!
The gander was quite agile; it suddenly shrank its neck, and the crane's beak grazed its scalp, pulling down a few downy feathers.

Enraged by the attack, the gander let out a shriek and charged again, ignoring the danger. The other geese also gathered around, attempting to gang up on him.

Upon seeing this, another red-crowned crane immediately stepped forward to help, flapping its huge wings to create a gust of wind, and pecking repeatedly with its long beak to intimidate the crane.

For a time, goose feathers and crane feathers flew together along the canal, their cries and flapping sounds creating a chaotic and comical scene.

"Oh no! They're fighting! Don't hurt the cranes!" Wang Susu was a little anxious. Red-crowned cranes are so beautiful, even though they can be a bit mischievous. It wouldn't be good if they got hurt.

"It's alright. Both sides are formidable, and neither side will suffer a loss. There's no need to worry about the red-crowned cranes or our geese. The red-crowned cranes are just trying to scare us; they're not birds of prey and don't pose much of a threat. At most, they'll peck a few times."

Chen Ling, on the other hand, watched with great interest.

Such a spectacular sight is a rare treat.

Sure enough, relying on their numbers and sheer ferocity, the geese, though hesitant to actually bite the red-crowned cranes' long legs, managed to force the two cranes to retreat repeatedly by swooping, pecking, and flapping their wings.

It looked rather disheveled and could only rely on its size and long beak for defense and to drive away its pursuers.

The commotion woke up the others.

Rui Rui rubbed his eyes and ran out. Seeing the scene, he was instantly wide awake, excitedly pointing outside: "Daddy! Big tiger! Big bird! Fighting!"

Wang Zhenzhen also ran over upon hearing the noise, and screamed as soon as she saw it: "Wow! A crane! A crane has come to our house! Oh dear, goose, don't bully the crane!"

Gao Xiulan and Wang Cunye also put on their clothes and came out. When they saw the scene of the cranes and geese fighting, they were both amused and exasperated.

"Why did these two cranes come home? And why are they fighting with the geese?" Wang Cunye wondered.

"They're probably looking for food. It's springtime, and there are lots of small fish and insects in the ditch," Gao Xiulan guessed.

The funniest ones are Afu and Ashou.

The two giant tigers had already arrived. They were hiding in the little blue horse's stable, curiously observing the battle situation by the irrigation ditch through the fence.

Their huge amber eyes held no predatory desire, but rather a kind of... spectator-like interest.

Afu even yawned widely, revealing its gleaming white fangs, then shook its big head and continued to watch the flock of long-winged birds fight with great interest, making a very low, ambiguous "whoosh" sound in its throat, as if it were commenting on the battle.

Ashou simply lay down again, his huge front paws crossed in front of him, his chin resting on them, looking like he was leisurely watching the show.

They clearly had no interest in hunting these two large birds, which were not only large but also posed no threat and whose meat was probably not very good.

"Look at these two big guys!" Wang Cunye pointed at Afu and Ashou, both laughing and crying. "All they do is watch the show! They don't even try to do anything about it!"

"Dad, how do they manage it? One swipe of their claws and the crane is gone." Chen Ling laughed. "That's good. It shows they understand human nature and know what they can and cannot touch."

At this moment, Wang Zhenzhen and Rui Rui could no longer contain themselves and wanted to run closer to take a look.

"Come back! Don't go over there! Be careful not to get pecked!" Wang Susu quickly pulled the two children back.

Chen Ling assessed the situation and felt that it was about time; if they continued fighting, it wouldn't look good if one of the cranes actually got pecked by the goose.

He was about to step forward and scare the flock of geese away.

Suddenly, the red-crowned crane that had just been attacked by the gander seemed to notice Chen Ling standing by the window.

It stopped entangled with the goose, raised its long neck, and looked in Chen Ling's direction with its clear black and white eyes, as if to identify him.

Then, to everyone's astonishment, it actually took long strides, wading through the shallow water by the ditch, avoiding the still clamoring goose, and walked step by step towards Chen Ling's direction!

Its steps were elegant and firm, seemingly ignoring its surroundings and other people, its gaze fixed directly on Chen Ling.

When it was about two or three zhang away from Chen Ling, it stopped and let out another clear cry. The sound was not as loud and warning as before, but instead carried a hint of... probing and familiarity?
It even tilted its head slightly, preened the white feathers on its chest with its long beak, and then looked at Chen Ling again.

Chen Ling's heart stirred, and he suddenly remembered that last year at the mountain lake, he had indeed helped a mother red-crowned crane that was having a difficult birth, and had personally delivered and cared for the nest of crane eggs. One of the chicks had a particularly difficult time hatching, and it was only with his careful assistance that it was successfully hatched...

Could it be... that little crane? Does it still remember me?
Thinking of this, Chen Ling tentatively took a few steps forward, came into the courtyard, stretched out his hand towards the red-crowned crane, and made a soft hissing sound that imitated the crane's call.

When the red-crowned crane saw Chen Ling approaching, it was not afraid and retreated. Instead, it took two steps forward, let out a soft call again, and even lowered its head to gently touch Chen Ling's outstretched finger with the tip of its beak!

The gesture was gentle, friendly, and full of trust!
"Oh my! It recognizes Lingzi!" Gao Xiulan exclaimed.

"Brother-in-law! The crane is playing with you!" Wang Zhenzhen jumped up excitedly.

Rui Rui's eyes widened: "Daddy! Big bird, be good!"

Seeing this, the other red-crowned crane also stopped its pointless entanglement with the goose, strolled over, and curiously looked at Chen Ling, but it didn't seem as friendly as the first one.

Chen Ling was certain that this was the little red-crowned crane he had personally helped last year!
It grew up and recognized him through some kind of magical imprint or memory! The spirituality of animals is sometimes beyond imagination.

Moreover, these two red-crowned cranes are particularly large, which should be attributed to his efforts.

His heart softened, so he used the old strainer that Rui Rui used to play with to scoop up some small fish and shrimp, spread them in his palm, and handed them to the red-crowned crane.

The red-crowned crane looked down, gracefully pecked at the food with its beak a few times, and let out a soft, satisfied call from its throat.

This scene was harmonious and magical, leaving everyone stunned.

Even the few indignant geese seemed bewildered by the scene, stopping their cawing and tilting their heads to look.

Afu and Ashou also seemed to find the "play" even more interesting, and they watched it with greater focus.

Just then, from the slope outside the farm came the exclamations and discussions of several villagers.

"Look! The wealthy family! Isn't that a crane?!"

"Oh my! It really is a red-crowned crane! It's gone to his irrigation ditch!"

"Why are there two more? Aren't these big birds supposed to be over in the mountains and by the lake? How did they get here?"

On a nearby slope, several villagers who were spraying pesticides on fruit trees and wheat fields were attracted by the scene. They stopped what they were doing and stood on the slope to look around curiously, their faces filled with surprise and disbelief.

"Fugui! Your house is truly a treasure! This year, cranes have come to visit again!" a villager exclaimed with a loud laugh.

"Auspicious omen! This is an auspicious omen! It means our village will definitely have good weather and a bountiful harvest this year!" another old man exclaimed.

"If you ask me, those two tigers from the Fu Gui family are still the most effective!"

A middle-aged man had an even louder voice.

"With a tiger guarding the house, no evil spirits can get in! No mountain spirits or monsters dare to come, and even the cranes feel safe here and dare to come down and play!"

"Yes, yes, yes! And that tiger dung! I listened to Yuqiang and buried some at the base of the courtyard wall. Hey! It's really strange! I haven't even seen any new mouse holes these past few days!"

"My house is the same! In previous years, rats would be burrowing everywhere in the spring, but this year it's much quieter!"

The villagers chattered amongst themselves, their voices filled with admiration for Chen Ling and satisfaction with the current situation.

With a fierce tiger guarding the place, evil spirits are warded off, and even auspicious cranes come to visit on their own initiative. Life is getting better and better!
Listening to the villagers' discussions, looking at the friendly red-crowned cranes in front of him, and then glancing at the two giant tigers lazily watching the commotion, Chen Ling felt both moved and amused.

Well, now it seems that Afu and Ashou's "tiger dung" will truly become a coveted "evil-repelling artifact" in the village.

He smiled and waved to the villagers on the slope, then continued to focus on feeding the intelligent red-crowned crane in front of him.

Not a moment later.

Several more red-crowned cranes flapped their wings and flew over.

Moreover, each of their heads and bodies was larger than the last.

These two really look like little cranes compared to each other.

"Look, more cranes are flying over, they're all heading to the rich man's house..."

"It's true, the flock of cranes from last year has grown even larger."

“My goodness, slowly, these cranes are really going to take root in our village.”

The villagers on the slope all looked up, chattering with surprise and joy on their faces.

The return of the red-crowned cranes is seen as an auspicious sign by them.

The tiger's effect in warding off evil spirits was beginning to show, which relieved their anxiety and unease.

They all came to the farm's orchard, carrying hoes and baskets.

really.

The other red-crowned cranes in the flock also remember Chen Ling.

They didn't appear in winter and quietly slipped away. Chen Ling thought that they had become estranged from him after hatching baby red-crowned cranes.

It seems that it wasn't.

Winter has affected their habits.

"Fugui, these cranes used to come to our house to eat fish. Let us rest at home again this year."

"Don't rush, everyone. Don't get too close. They just flew back, so don't startle them."

While comforting the flock of cranes, especially the two little cranes that recognized him, Chen Ling smiled and responded to the villagers.

Wang Susu said, "I'll go get another net. This sieve is too old; I can't catch any fish with it."

"I'll go, Mom, Rui Rui will go."

Rui Rui had wanted to go to the big bird for a long time, but the bird was too big and was fighting fiercely with the goose.

He was also a little hesitant.

Now that things have finally calmed down, the brat has gotten bolder.

"I'm going too, Rui Rui, come with me."

Wang Zhenzhen waved her hand, and she was already running ahead.

"Auntie, wait for me."

Rui Rui scurried off on her short legs.

The two quickly returned with a net and scooped out more small fish and shrimp from the ditch to feed the red-crowned cranes.

The flock of cranes hesitated for a moment. Perhaps they liked to eat these fish and shrimp, and seeing that the two children meant no harm, plus the little crane taking the lead, they gradually relaxed and began to peck at the food.

As the sunlight gradually rose higher, it shone on the cranes' white feathers, giving them a soft sheen.

They stroll gracefully, peck at food, preen their feathers, and play around adults and children.

Together with the tiger lying nearby watching the spectacle, the poultry peeking out from not far away, and the villagers marveling at the scene, it created a strange yet harmonious picture.

"so good."

Wang Cunye and Gao Xiulan beamed with joy, finding the scene more comforting than anything else.

“Fugui, you don’t need to put fish in this canal every year. There’s an old saying that grass seeds last a thousand years and fish eggs last ten thousand years. Look, every spring, there are more small fish fry emerging from here than when you put them in.”

"Yes, Fifth Uncle, there are far more than I put in. It's only been less than half a month, and they're already packed together, countless in number." (End of Chapter)