My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 98 Rouge Fish

For children born in the 1970s and 1980s in rural areas, slingshots were an indispensable part of their childhood. Because they were easy to make, almost every boy had one, and they would often take them out to shoot birds and fish, and compete to see whose slingshot was the most powerful.

There are generally two ways to make a slingshot: one is to use tree branches, and the other is to use thick iron wire. However, Chen Ling is very strong, and there are not many iron wires that can withstand his use without deforming, so he made a wooden slingshot.

Chen Ling found a suitable tree branch, used a machete to peel off the bark, making it into a Y shape, and then cut two grooves at both ends of the branch. Next, he cut several long strips of flat rubber from a discarded bicycle inner tube and tied them to the grooves at both ends of the branch to secure them. Actually, rubber bands are usually used; the greater the tension of the rubber band, the greater the power of the slingshot.

However, since there wasn't any readily available at home, Chen Ling used a bicycle inner tube to save time. He also found a leather pouch used to wrap bullets, which could usually be made by cutting a section off an old cowhide belt or using old cowhide from shoe repair.

Make two holes in the leather bag and thread the rubber through the holes to secure it.

Finally, after wrapping several strips of cloth around the slingshot handle and testing that it was easy to hold without slipping out of my hand, a decent-looking slingshot was made.

Chen Ling looked up and saw that the magpies were indeed still in the same old spot, perched on the Chinese toon tree outside the courtyard, chattering incessantly as if challenging him.

Before Chen Ling learned that the magpie was stealing eggs, he naively thought it was a beneficial bird. Later, when he found out that it was a thieving bird, he took notice of it and even asked around. In the end, he discovered that the bird was an outright rogue and bully.

They specifically target and harm crops and fruit trees that are growing well and are large. Not only that, they also bully sparrows and swallows, stealing and eating chicks and ducklings. Wang Lixian said that he had seen magpies stealing chicks and hunting swallows several times. After catching them, they would kill and eat them directly. Sometimes several magpies would share the food, and the scene was quite cruel and bloody.

However, it's not easy for humans to teach them a lesson. These birds are clever; if you get within three zhang (approximately 10 meters), they will immediately take flight and fly away. Once you leave, they will fly back along the same route to continue harassing you, demonstrating a deep understanding of the essence of guerrilla warfare.

Magpies are not only roguish but also extremely fierce. According to Wang Lixian, they are a tyrant in the deep mountains, traveling in large flocks, and small falcons generally dare not provoke them.

Didn't you see that the previous hawk couldn't withstand their attack?

When Chen Ling saw that the magpies still dared to provoke him, he didn't immediately shoot them with his slingshot. Instead, he turned around, found a long bamboo pole, and poked down the nests they had built in several large trees not far from his house.

This immediately enraged the magpies, who frantically hopped back and forth on the branches of the Chinese toon tree, calling even louder, but they dared not fly down, only calling urgently to their companions.

Before long, the number of magpies had increased from seven or eight to twenty or thirty. It seemed as if all the magpies around had been summoned, leaving Chen Ling dumbfounded.

"This is fucking ridiculous, isn't it?"

Chen Ling looked up and stared blankly for a long time, but he felt no remorse or guilt whatsoever.

If these thieving birds are left unchecked, the vegetable garden in the backyard will be ruined. They might even become more brazen and wreak havoc in the front yard when no one is looking.

If we don't teach them a lesson this time, they'll really think that Grandpa Chen is a pushover.

Then he took the two dogs back to the front yard. There were still quite a few pebbles left from the morning's collection. Chen Ling put the basket at his feet, picked up a stone, pulled back the slingshot, aimed at the magpie in the tree, and shot it out with a 'whoosh'.

He missed the first time, but because Chen Ling had drawn the slingshot to its fullest extent, the stone he launched had considerable force. It struck the tree trunk with a loud 'bang,' startling the magpies so much that they flapped their wings and flew away.

Chen Ling was not discouraged. The magpies liked to fight guerrilla warfare, so he would fight a protracted war with them.

If they dare to show their faces, we'll immediately fire slingshots at them.

For the rest of the morning, Chen Ling spent his time dealing with the magpies. Whenever they dared to fly close to the yard, he would use his slingshot to shoot them down. At first, he couldn't hit them no matter how many times he tried, but after he gradually got the hang of it, his accuracy improved immediately.

They hit two in a row.

Because Chen Ling was so strong, any hit was fatal. One of his heads was knocked off halfway, and he spun off the tree and fell to the ground. He was then carried back by his two dogs, Heiwa and Xiaojin, and soon the yard was filled with fur.

Chen Ling didn't scold them; this was exactly the effect he wanted. Otherwise, how could he make these thieving birds feel afraid?
When Wang Susu returned home at noon, she saw bird feathers all over the yard and thought something had happened. However, after hearing Chen Ling's explanation, she was furious. The vegetables she planted in her backyard had been ruined by these thieving birds. How could she tolerate this?
Without saying a word, he snatched the slingshot from Chen Ling's hand, stuffed pebbles into his pocket, and fired a few shots at the magpies outside the yard.

Now, however, these thieving birds were a bit scared. Not only did they keep their distance from Chen Ling's yard, but they also flew away as soon as they saw someone raise a slingshot, not giving them a chance to aim. After lunch, fearing that these thieving birds would retaliate in the vegetable garden, Chen Ling went to the backyard to stake out the area. As a result, he shot down two of them, even more badly than the two he shot down in the morning. Pebbles were embedded in their bodies, and they flapped their wings, gasped for breath, and struggled on the ground for a while before finally dying.

Seeing their companion's bloody and gruesome death, the group of thieving birds realized that Chen Ling's house was quite dangerous, so they dared not approach the courtyard again. They would fly away from Chen Ling whenever they saw him, and dared not linger near him at all.

On the last day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Wang Lixian's family was going to harvest melons. Chen Ling rushed over early, only to find that his second daughter had taken her husband back to her parents' home. He had to entertain the young couple at noon, and the melon harvest would have to wait until the evening when it was cooler.

Chen Ling knew that the two men were definitely there to help, so he declined their family's offer to stay. He went back to his house and watered the vegetable garden in the backyard twice with diluted stream water. Now, Chen Ling had mixed stream water into the water tanks in his house. This water, when taken out alone, would have colorful luster, especially at night when it would emit a brilliant fluorescence. However, after being mixed with ordinary water, it would become ordinary. Apart from its sweet and refreshing taste, it had nothing particularly eye-catching about it.

So Chen Ling used it whenever he wanted, and he didn't mix in much stream water, nor was he worried that Wang Susu would notice anything unusual.

After busying myself at home for a while, I went to the fields to let the cattle graze and picked some mulberry leaves. After lunch, Han Chuang actually brought me some fish, dozens of them, all kinds of colors and shapes, the longest of which was no more than two fingers long, but they were all very beautiful.

Chen Ling didn't know much about ornamental fish and couldn't recognize them all, but among the ones he could name were several wild ornamental fish that were now hard to find in later generations, such as the red-lipped barb, the golden threadfin, and the fighting fish.

These fish are rarely seen locally, especially the red-lipped barb, which can only be caught by crossing Niangniang Mountain outside Fenglei Town and going to the Yangtze River.

According to Han Chuang, many of the fish were brought back from outside by his brother when he delivered canned goods. They were kept in the pools of their cannery, and the species were not distinguished. They were all kept together. When they remembered, they would throw in a few pieces of bread crumbs or sprinkle some bran. When they forgot, they would not feed them. They just looked pretty and didn't pay much attention to them.

Today, he hitched a ride on a seafood truck to deliver the fish to the reservoir dam. After picking up Chen Ling in the village, he accompanied Chen Ling as they drove an ox and brought a large water tank to take the fish home. Then, without waiting for Chen Ling and his wife to stop them, he hurriedly left.

When they got home, they unloaded the water vat from the oxcart. There were seven or eight fish floating belly up in the water, barely moving. Chen Ling quickly put them into the lotus pond and scooped in a few ladles of diluted stream water from the vat. Only then did they perk up again.

"These fish are so beautiful. Our yard will be even more beautiful when the lotus flowers bloom in a while."

Wang Susu was also attracted by these beautiful fish, so she squatted down by the pond, resting her chin on her hand, and watched them quietly.

Perhaps sensing the difference in the water, the fish swam happily back and forth. Wang Susu grabbed some rice grains and fed them, and they didn't flinch, opening and closing their mouths as they poked their heads out of the water to snatch the food.

Chen Ling then moved the two red eels and their fry out of the house, changed the water, and let them get some fresh air.

Although the eel fry released outside grow slower than those in the cave, they are now almost a hand's length long, which surprised Wang Susu.

Chen Ling knew that this was not really related to the Dongtian Creek water, but rather that the species of eel was quite special. Of course, it was also possible that they were a genetically mutated species, and after Chen Ling accidentally caught them and fed them some creek water, they were stimulated and mutated.

He didn't know which situation it was, but in any case, it grew very fast.

"I wonder what that lynx went up in the mountains to do. If it doesn't come back soon, these eel fry will grow into big fish."

Chen Ling couldn't help but mutter to himself.

Then he and Wang Susu squatted down by the pool and counted how many special fish were in it.

After observing for a while, I found that there were three red-lipped barbs, about ten betta fish, and seven or eight cowfish, or panda fish, and the rest were mostly ordinary goldfish.

At that time, most people were like Han Chuang's brother, not paying much attention to these things. Moreover, in this remote mountain county, there was no concept of ornamental fish. They were just kept for fun. Whether they were given by strangers or caught from the wild because they thought they were pretty, they would just throw them into the pond and leave them alone. Many times, they were just kept to add some life to the house or to make it look festive. They had no idea how precious some fish would be in later generations.

However, Chen Ling doesn't care about these things now. In his eyes, these things are just nice to look at and can add a different touch to the courtyard. Their value is secondary.

Before the wheat harvest, the weather in the mountains is as unpredictable as the face of the Monkey King. It can be fine during the day with the sun shining brightly, but as evening approaches, it can suddenly become cloudy.

Seeing this, Chen Ling dared not delay. He informed Wang Susu and then drove the oxcart to the fields to help Wang Lixian's family harvest watermelons.

(End of this chapter)