My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 112 Mountain Fox

The weather in the mountains is unpredictable, and the summer rains can come on any time. The three of them had just arrived home and put their things down when they heard rumbling thunder overhead. Large raindrops began to fall in a pattering drizzle, turning into a torrential downpour in the blink of an eye. In less than half an hour, the ground was covered in a blanket of white rain.

Chen Ling knew this rain was unusual, but he was well-prepared. He calmly opened the drains in both the front and back courtyards with his umbrella. Over the past two months, he had not only added two or three more drains to the courtyards, but also raised both courtyards considerably while Wang Susu was tending to the vegetable garden in the back and digging a lotus pond in the front. He had also laid many bricks and stones in front of the main room to ensure that rainwater wouldn't overflow into the house.

Wang Susu and the other two were not idle either. Seeing that the rain was too heavy, they put on raincoats, held umbrellas, and dug ditches in front of the courtyard gate. After they finished digging, they piled up the soil high to block the gate so that the rainwater could drain out through the drain and prevent the rainwater from coming in.

With such heavy rain, Qin Rongxian and Liang Hongyu definitely wouldn't be able to return to the county town; they would have to stay there tonight.

So after finishing all that, Chen Ling took advantage of the time while the old couple were cooking for Wang Susu to go to the backyard and tidy up a room for them. After cleaning it, he lit a leftover fire rope from last year and smoked the area. This thing was made of wormwood, which could not only remove odors but also drive away insects and centipedes.

After fumigating the house several times and laying out the bedding, Chen Ling hurriedly walked to the front yard. The wind and rain were coming fiercely, and many tree branches were broken. Chen Ling held up his umbrella and looked around. He found that the water on the low-lying dirt road at the entrance of the alley was already above his calves and was splashing with bubbles. He even saw some small fish, shrimp and loaches being washed over by the water. These were not from the reservoir, but from the pond on the east side of the village.

In the area east of the village, right next to the reservoir, there are many ponds in the farmland, but they are not very big. Whenever there is heavy rain, the fish and shrimp in them are washed out.

Lost in thought, Chen Ling was suddenly drenched by a sudden gust of wind and rain. The umbrella was knocked askew, and the canopy flipped over with a whoosh. Chen Ling was soaked to the bone and became a drowned rat.

He cursed his bad luck in anger and hurriedly kicked the muddy road home.

The rain grew heavier and heavier, and soon it was completely dark. The chickens and ducks had long since returned to their burrows, and the rabbits stopped making a fuss. Even Little Yellow and Little Fatty appeared out of nowhere, bringing three little rascals into the house, all soaking wet, to compete with the rabbits for the burrow.

"It's really strange. I thought such heavy rain would wash the fish out, but they're all gathered under the lotus leaves, and not a single one is running out. Isn't that strange?"

Qin Rongxian really liked the fish that Chen Ling was raising. At this moment, she was even more concerned about them than the young couple. During dinner, she went to check on them two or three times with an umbrella and a flashlight.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling stood up, put on a urea bag, and went to take a look. The rainwater in the yard was flowing out of the drain and spreading outside the yard. Just as Qin Rong had said, the fish in the pond were all sticking their heads out of the water, and many of them were even swimming against the overflowing water. The lotus leaves and lotus flowers were all destroyed, but not a single fish was trying to escape.

Chen Ling knew that the fish had not gained intelligence, but rather that the water in the pond had been mixed with the stream water from the cave, making them reluctant to leave. However, if the rain continued, the water inside would eventually be completely washed away, so ignoring it was not an option. Therefore, he and Qin Rong first scooped the fish out and put them into the water tank under the eaves.

"Wow, Fugui, where did you get these fish? I was a little hesitant to recognize them at first, but now that I look closely, aren't these red-lipped barbs? I heard that these fish are getting rarer and rarer in the Yangtze River, and you still have them to raise. That's amazing."

“A friend gave it to me. I don’t know where they got it from. If you like it, Uncle Qin, you can catch some fish fry and take them home to raise.”

"Forget it, I like them, but I can't keep them alive. Your aunt is the same; she can't even keep her myna bird alive. Let's not harm these fish."

As the two were talking, suddenly two dogs barked loudly and rushed out the door. Wang Susu and Liang Hongyu rushed out to ask what had happened.

"I don't know, the rain is too heavy and I can't hear anything. I'll go out and take a look."

Chen Ling frowned slightly, thinking that with such heavy rain, surely no thieves would dare to come to his door in the rain. He had delivered the fish by oxcart this time, and the money that Lynx and Azalea paid him was given to him on the cart. No one in the village saw it, so no one would know.

Besides, Chen Erzhu caused such a big commotion last time, so no one should be coming to steal fish from our house anymore.

As soon as he stepped outside, he heard someone cursing. Chen Ling shone his flashlight and saw that it was Old Lady Wang standing at the door, carrying a tin bucket and banging it with a stick. With the sound, he saw two dark figures at the old lady's feet running into the rain and escaping with a shrill scream.

"What's wrong, Second Aunt? Did you get something from the supplier?"

"Yes, I don't know when a raccoon settled in my house. They've already had babies. If it hadn't been raining, I wouldn't have noticed. What bad luck!"

"Mountain cat" is what mountain people call wild cats. Strictly speaking, this kind of cat belongs to the leopard cat family, but its markings are lighter than those of a leopard cat and are closer to those of a tabby cat.

But these creatures are much fiercer than house cats. Sometimes they wreak havoc on poultry, even more so than weasels. They come and go like the wind, and even the dogs can't handle them. Their howls at night are also terrifying. In the past, when old people scared disobedient children, they would often say that if they didn't behave, the weasel would take them away, and the children would immediately stop crying.

However, this kind of thing is not usually seen in the village, and it is generally not brought to farmers' homes, except for old houses that are not often inhabited, or small households like Old Mrs. Wang's.

"Second Aunt, are the chickens and ducks at home alright?"

At this moment, Wang Susu and the other two also came out and asked after hearing this.

"The chickens and ducks are fine, but they've made a complete mess of my cellar, even digging a hole in it. It's basically unusable. If it weren't for the heavy rain and leaks today, they probably wouldn't have come out."

Old Mrs. Wang said angrily, then showed the group the wide-headed iron shovel she had picked up: "Look, it's laid a litter of pups in the cellar. They look like they haven't been open for long. You can feed them to your dog."

Chen Ling and the others shone their flashlights over and saw four or five small civets huddled together on the shovel, shivering and making incessant whimpering noises. These little creatures had heads that were narrower and longer than those of domestic cats, and they had a somewhat pointed snout and monkey-like appearance. They were not as cute as kittens.

Wang Susu was startled and quickly waved her hands, saying, "My dog ​​doesn't eat this."

"If you won't eat it, then I'll throw it away. This thing is too unlucky; it's better to let it drown." With a shovel, Grandma Wang scooped up the little civet that was trying to climb down and was about to throw it into the rainwater. The water outside the yard was already ankle-deep, and this tiny creature couldn't even walk yet. If it was thrown in, it would definitely die.

"Don't lose them, sister-in-law. They're still lives."

Seeing this, Liang Hongyu obviously couldn't bear it and hurriedly spoke up to stop her.

“Aunt Su Su, this cub has been tainted by human scent. Even if you throw it to the adult cubs, they won’t recognize it and will bite it to death. It’s better to let the rain wash it away so we can have some peace and quiet.”

Grandma Wang's words make sense. Mountain civets are extremely wild and temperamental. Their offspring are doomed if separated from their parents, especially if they are exposed to human presence.

But Liang Hongyu still couldn't bear it, so she pulled Qin Rong through the rain and carried her back.

"Auntie, Uncle, listen to my advice, this thing won't survive."

The elderly couple turned around and smiled. After all, how many lives are there? They couldn't just throw them into the water to drown, could they? Hearing this, Mrs. Wang pursed her lips, muttered something, and turned to go home with her shovel.

Actually, not to mention Grandma Wang, even Wang Susu felt that these things were difficult to raise. Heiwa had brought back a few before, but they all died before the next day. At first, Chen Ling even helped to revive one, but these things are very wild and basically have the nature of ingrates, disappearing without a trace the next day.

So Chen Ling scolded Heiwa, telling it to stop bringing that thing back. It couldn't be eaten, and it couldn't be tamed; it just caused trouble.

However, since the elderly couple were guests, and they had brought these little things back, he and Wang Susu couldn't say anything.

In fact, Liang Hongyu and her companion understood this. It was their own business to be soft-hearted, but they couldn't cause trouble for others. So they didn't stay in the front yard any longer and took the little raccoon to the back yard. Before leaving, they also took a bag of malted milk powder to prepare for the little raccoons to drink.

It just so happens that they brought Chen Ling some malted milk powder, otherwise they would have had to brave the rain to buy milk powder.

"Ah Ling, it's raining so hard and it's cold at night. Why don't you go to the backyard and bring another blanket? The previous blanket is a bit too thin."

Wang Susu was heating water, and the two were preparing to take a hot bath when a gust of cold wind suddenly blew in, making her shiver.

This also reminded her of the elderly couple in the backyard.

Chen Ling nodded, feeling a bit chilly as well, so he grabbed a blanket and a thermos and went to the backyard.

Once inside, the elderly couple were busy tending to the civet cats, putting them in baskets, lining them with straw, and laying out clothes for them. Liang Hongyu even put her own red headscarf inside.

"Uncle Qin, why don't you and Auntie soak your feet and go to bed early? I've brought you another thermos of water."

After putting down the blanket, Chen Ling reminded him.

"Alright, alright, you and Susu should get some rest too. I've really bothered you too much today."

"Oh, it's nothing, it's what we should do."

……

Except for Chen Ling, no one expected the rain to last so long. It rained heavily for three days and three nights, and only on the fourth day did it subside a little. Many people had just breathed a sigh of relief when another heavy rain came that night, pouring down non-stop.

On the tenth day of the sixth lunar month, after finishing breakfast, Wang Susu glanced at the still unabated rain outside and couldn't help but sigh: "This is never going to end. This year's rain is a bit strange."

It wasn't just Wang Susu who was saying this; everyone in the village was talking about it too. Generally speaking, even during the rainy season, it only rained intermittently a few times. In many people's memories, heavy rainstorms never lasted more than three days. But this year's rainy season has been incredibly torrential. It's been almost a week, and the rain is getting heavier and heavier, showing no signs of stopping.

"Oh God, please let the rain stop! At this rate, the crops will all be ruined."

After seven days of continuous heavy rain, the corn in the field is definitely doomed. The rain is too heavy, and there is no chance for people to go to the field to drain the water. In this situation, there is no need to bother to check, the corn seedlings have definitely been drowned.

"Oh dear, look at this rain, I hope there won't be any flash floods."

Qin Rong squatted on the threshold, a worried look on her face.

He and Liang Hongyu had been staying at Chen Ling's house for seven days, and the rain still hadn't stopped. The first few days were quite pleasant. After the rain flooded the area, fish and shrimp were jumping around, and crabs were crawling into the house. You could easily pick up a whole pot of them. Eating a river fish hot pot while it was raining and drinking some wine was truly a delightful experience.

But as the days went by, the rain not only didn't stop, but it got heavier and heavier, making people feel uneasy.

(End of this chapter)