My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 13 Making a Fool of Themselves

However, Chen Ling was unaware that before he even left the village in his donkey cart, many people had already started laughing at him behind his back.

It's not really his fault...

Blame it on Wang Laishun's stubborn donkey.

Perhaps because he got up early, this guy absolutely refused to let the cart be harnessed, yelling "Ah, ah, ah!" and even adding two bushels of fodder to Wang Laishun's cart didn't help.

The noise was so loud that all the neighbors heard it and came out to see what was going on.

In the end, Chen Ling took out a handful of peanuts grown in the cave and fed them to it, which allowed it to be hitched up and driven away from Wang Laishun's house.

Those outside saw that it was Chen Ling, the notorious lazybones, driving a donkey cart.

I immediately felt a sense of wonder.

This kid either sleeps all day or hangs out aimlessly in the county town.

His wife does all the housework, and he's never had to worry about it. Why is he here to borrow a donkey cart from the village chief today?

Everyone was quite curious, so they asked Wang Laishun. Good heavens, it turned out that the young man had gone to the county town to buy a plow and harrow to plow the land.

It's still that abandoned land that Erzhu's family had left for over ten years.

Upon hearing this, people were both surprised and amused.

Everyone in the village knows what happened to Erzhu's land before.
If it could be fixed by simply plowing and tilling the land a couple of times, why would we need to wait for Chen Fugui to do it?

Could it be that this kid got a beating from his brother-in-law and damaged his head?

Otherwise, how could someone whose heart is divided into eight parts, with seven parts devoted to eating, drinking, and having fun, possibly be willing to farm?

He still wants to rely on plows and harrows to till the land. Doesn't he know how much lime is underground?
That's absolutely hilarious!
So the news of Chen Fugui making a fool of himself spread quickly throughout the village.

There were hardly any entertainment options in the mountain villages of that era.

They laugh at others today, and are laughed at by others tomorrow. There are all sorts of stories, like which wife is cheating on her husband, or which man is shamelessly peeping at a widow bathing.

However, it's rare to see someone like Chen Ling, whom everyone in the village makes fun of.

Previously, people laughed at him for being a good-for-nothing and beating his wife. But a few days ago, his wife's family came to his door, and he was pinned down in the yard and beaten badly. He was so badly beaten that he cried for his parents, and the whole village laughed at him.

Who knew that today they would go to buy plows and harrows to till the wasteland, looking like they were all ready to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

It looks like another big joke is about to happen.

……

It was around seven o'clock in the morning.

Chen Ling drove the donkey cart out of the village, completely unaware that he was being laughed at again.

Even if he knew, he wouldn't care; instead, he would laugh at those people for not understanding the times.

What is the right timing?

The floods this year were perfectly timed.

With favorable timing and location, the flood came and the wasteland was transformed into fertile fields—isn't that a case of favorable location?

As for how it turned into fertile land, Chen Ling didn't need to bother explaining.

At that time, most people still believed in miracles and divine intervention.

Unlike in later generations, people wouldn't take pictures of anything unusual and post them on social media, attracting a bunch of self-righteous know-it-alls.

Moreover, in their remote mountainous areas, science popularization is still inadequate.

After the flood, wasteland turned into fertile fields. Even if scientific theories can't explain it, that's not a problem anymore.

Just like a few years ago, Erzhu's father was someone no one dared to mess with, and his reputation was terrible.

But after an earthquake, everything was gone, even his underwear was lost.

People say this is retribution for doing too many bad things.

The same principle applies to all of them.

He hummed a little tune, reveling in the warm spring sunshine and the fresh, beautiful mountain scenery, and was in a very good mood.

Although Chenwangzhuang is not far from the county seat, it is surrounded by mountains on three sides and water on one side, making it a very remote mountain village.

Or rather, the provincial capital they live in is very remote, with many mountains and rivers, and inconvenient transportation.

Although the scenery is beautiful, it is nothing like the bustling tourist area it has been developed into in later years; it is a completely poor place.

Chen Ling headed east, passing the reservoir dam east of the village and winding around two mountain ridges until the county town came into view.

At this time, Chen Ling drove the donkey cart to a secluded place and transferred the peanuts from the cave to the cart.

The cart was quickly filled to the brim, weighing about 500 to 600 pounds.

I peeled open two and tasted them; they were indeed completely dried out.

These days, all they sell are dried peanuts.

Fresh, wet peanuts don't sell well, whether in the county town or the countryside.

Because wet peanuts weigh more, a pound of peanuts contains only a tiny amount, much less than dried peanuts, so it's better to buy a piece of meat instead.

"Hmm, this truckload of peanuts is quite a lot. Let's go to the farmers' market first and see how it goes. We'll talk about it after we sell them all."

Chen Ling thought to himself.

After catching his breath, he continued driving the car towards the county town.

Going to the farmers' market to sell peanuts, soybeans, and other grains, nine o'clock is not considered late; it's considered an early morning market.

If it's a morning market for vegetables and fruits, there are hardly any people there if you go at 7 o'clock.

In the mountainous area, people rush over to wholesale vegetables and fruits at 3 a.m., and if they're fast, they're usually sold out by 5 a.m.

Before long, they arrived at the farmers' market on the western outskirts of the county town. Chen Ling was about to drive the donkey cart inside when he was stopped at the gate.

Since he was carrying peanuts on a donkey cart, it was clear he was going to sell them at the market, which would require him to pay a temporary stall fee.

If the car is empty, you don't need to pay.

Chen Ling paid 50 cents and drove his car towards the grain section.

It was already past seven o'clock, and there were only a few people left selling vegetables and fruits, but there were still quite a few breakfast stalls.

Wonton, tofu pudding, fried dough sticks, heluo noodles...

The aroma of various dishes wafted through the air, and Chen Ling, who had already eaten breakfast, felt hungry again because of the dazzling array of food.

Fried dough sticks and tofu pudding are fine; you can eat them whenever you want.

The key is that heluo noodles. Although they still exist in later generations, they have long lost the taste I remember.

Looking at the bowls of heluo noodles, with their red oil broth covering the meat sauce, the bluish-gray noodles steaming hot, wafting in the air, exuding an enticing aroma.

Taking a big bite, the taste...

Chen Ling's mouth watered instantly.

Just as I was about to order a bowl, a surprised voice came from behind me.

"Huh? These are fresh peanuts?"

"Are new peanuts already harvested this season?"

Chen Ling turned around and saw a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties standing next to the donkey cart. He was wearing a dark black Zhongshan suit, was tall, but slightly hunched over.

At that moment, he was staring at the peanuts on the donkey cart with a look of astonishment on his face.

Beside him was a woman of similar age, wearing a red scarf with a dark brown wool coat, slightly curly hair, and high-heeled leather boots. This outfit was quite avant-garde in 95.

Moreover, she has a fair complexion and a rather outstanding appearance and temperament.

Even with many wrinkles on her face now, her graceful charm remains undiminished.

It's easy to see that this woman was definitely a beauty when she was young.

Are you two looking to buy peanuts?

"These peanuts just came from the greenhouse, dried, and are being sold for the first time. They still smell of dust..."

Chen Ling began to speak.

He walked over to the donkey cart, grabbed a handful of soil from it, rubbed off the dry dirt, and handed it to the two men.

"You can try it."

"Grown in a greenhouse?"

Both the man and the woman were surprised to hear Chen Ling's words.

Then one of them grabbed some from Chen Ling's hand.

After peeling it open and tasting it, the two couldn't help but exchange a glance, their surprise deepening.

"These are definitely fresh peanuts, and they taste better than any other peanuts I've ever eaten."

"Young man, are these really peanuts grown in a greenhouse?"

the man asked.

"Of course, otherwise where would we find fresh peanuts this season?"

Chen Ling said with a smile.

However, he could also tell that these two people didn't seem to be peanut buyers.

He asked, "Are you two going to buy it? If so, let's discuss the price and weigh it!"

Sure enough, the man smiled apologetically upon hearing this and said, "We were just taking a stroll, and we couldn't help but be curious when we saw your cart full of fresh peanuts."

The woman glanced at Chen Ling and said, "I didn't expect that people in my hometown would be growing crops in greenhouses."

His tone was filled with emotion.

Chen Ling was a little confused at first, but then he realized that the two people had come back from outside.

No wonder this outfit is out of place in a small county town.

"Young man, here you go. Growing in greenhouses isn't easy. If you need any help, feel free to contact me or my husband."

"We won't disturb your peanut selling any longer. Let's go wander around for a bit."

Seeing that Chen Ling was a little stunned, the woman smiled gently and handed him two business cards.

Chen Ling glanced at it; it read Liang Hongyu's name, along with a phone number and address.

The other one was written as Qin Rongxian, with only a phone number and no specific address.

I looked up and saw the two people who had already walked away.

Chen Ling finally realized that this aunt was a strong woman.

No wonder that man, despite the intimacy and tacit understanding between them, also showed her a strange respect; it turned out that the woman was stronger than the man.

"Liang Hongyu?"

After thinking for a while, Chen Ling could only think of Han Shizhong's wife; he had never heard of such a person in the area.

However, judging from his actions and demeanor, he does seem to be supporting the development of his hometown.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have given him their business card as soon as they heard he was growing crops in greenhouses...

"Forget it, whatever she does, I'll go sell my peanuts!"

(End of this chapter)