My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 165 Abnormality
The three months of July, August, and September in the lunar calendar are the time when local wild mushrooms ripen. There are many varieties and a large quantity. You don't need to go out of your way to find them. You can pick half a basket of mushrooms just by wandering around for a while.

With plenty of mushrooms, Chen Ling put a lot of effort into today's mushroom soup base. First, he made a soup base with about ten kinds of dried mushrooms, and then added three kinds of fresh mushrooms along with some venison and deer meat. After a lot of work, the heat was just right and the ingredients were properly combined, resulting in an exceptionally delicious soup.

When eating mushroom hot pot, you don't need too many seasonings; just use the natural flavor of the mushrooms for seasoning.

For example, butter mushrooms can be used to color and flavor mushroom soup, making it yellow, bright, and also giving it a slightly spicy taste.

Pairing it with red mushrooms and deer antler mushrooms, both of which have a smooth texture, makes the mushroom soup richer. Morel mushrooms are also added to enhance the natural mushroom flavor.

Finally, add some goji berries and a small amount of other herbs, and season with salt.

This mushroom hot pot has a clear and delicious broth, with a delicate mushroom aroma that is unforgettable.

The saying goes that mountain delicacies surpass all other flavors.

The hot pot base is paired with wild mushrooms, and the meat is cooked with venison and roe deer meat that are native to the mountains.

The taste is absolutely amazing.

"So fresh, so fragrant, how can a clear broth hot pot smell so good?"

It was Zhong Xiaoyun's first time eating at Chen Ling's house. Her family was well-off and she had seen a bit of the world. At first, she didn't think that a home-cooked meal would be anything special, but she was amazed by the first bite.

"That's nothing. Chen Fugui is incredibly skilled. He can make vegetarian dishes taste better than meat dishes. My brother said that even the top chefs in the city can't compare to him."

"We're only able to enjoy this meal today because of Susu; otherwise, we wouldn't have had the chance."

Qin Qiumei smiled and showered her with compliments.

"Alright, alright, let's eat. I'm thick-skinned, so you can praise me however you want without me blushing. But my Susu is very sensitive; you've made her blush with all your praise."

Wang Susu was indeed shy; her face was already flushed, and she secretly reached her little hand behind Chen Ling's back to exert force.

This amused the two female guests.

Everyone chatted amongst themselves, creating a harmonious and joyful atmosphere.

"It's so delicious, but I feel a bit hot all over."

Qin Qiumei's cheeks were flushed, and sweat was starting to bead on her nose.

This is already the case even though they were being held back from eating freely because they were guests.

"There was no chili in the pot, and it felt a bit hot while I was eating it."

Influenced by her husband, Wang Susu eats quickly. Even while taking care of the guests, she ate quite a lot. Now, she was sweating profusely. If she weren't pregnant, she would have already taken off her long-sleeved shirt.

"Is it hot? Then I'll go make you some juice."

Chen Ling ate more than the three women, and didn't feel hot at all.

After thinking about it for a moment, he guessed that it might be because of the addition of a few herbs. Although the amount was small, the effect might be quite significant for ordinary people because they grew in the cave.

"No need, no need, don't bother, we'll just pour some cool boiled water to drink."

Although the two female guests were not very polite, it was out of consideration for Wang Susu's feelings. Otherwise, if she was too reserved in her home, it would be inappropriate and make the host feel that she was not being taken care of properly, and she would feel uncomfortable.

But in reality, they weren't really being impolite, so when they saw Chen Ling get up and walk out, the two of them quickly stopped him.

"It's okay, we have all the things we need at home, it'll be easy to set up, no trouble at all."

Chen Ling smiled; he didn't care about any of that.

So I took out a few clean cups and left the kitchen.

We have plenty of fruit at home, so when we're bored, we can go up the mountain to pick some. Wild fruits are plentiful this season, and we can eat them or use them to make juice.

He bought the juicer; last time he went to the county town for drinks, he specifically picked out a juicer to bring back.

The purpose was to make fruit juice drinks for my wife on a regular basis.

This juicer is semi-automatic and quite easy to use. It consists of a metal trough, a pressing plate, a spout, and a crank handle. You put fruits like pomegranates, pears, and cherries into the metal trough, turn the crank handle repeatedly, and the juice will be squeezed out of the fruit by the metal plate and flow out through the spout.

Actually, a few families in the village still have juice-pressing stools, which are also called sugarcane stools in some places, and can also be used to make juice.

However, it's been too long, and he usually can't bear to use it as firewood. He's probably kept with some other things after losing it, so Chen Ling is too lazy to borrow it.

Lunch was a bit late today, and the afternoon sun was so bright it was blinding.

Chen Ling put the wild grapes and pears into a large basin next to the well, filled it with water to soak them, and then got up to peel the pomegranates first. The women in the kitchen saw that there were a lot of things, so they came over to help. Qin Qiumei and another woman went to wash them, while Wang Susu peeled the pomegranates with Chen Ling.

After washing, the pears are cut into chunks and the grapes are cleaned. They are then put into the iron trough of the juicer. Several people take turns turning the crank, and with a creaking sound, the juice is squeezed out and flows from the spout into the ceramic jar below.

It didn't take long for the grape juice, pear juice, and pomegranate juice to be pressed and then stored separately.

You can drink whichever you like, or of course, you can mix two or three together.

This pure fruit juice is sweet and sour, very refreshing and delicious. It's the perfect match for hot pot.

For the two female guests, lunch that day was undoubtedly the most unforgettable meal they had ever had.

Not only does it taste delicious, but it also leaves you feeling refreshed and in a good mood, making it a truly wonderful experience for both body and mind.

...After that day, they would come to see Wang Susu every few days, and sometimes they would bring people with them. These were women who came to see the doctor, and after these patients came once, they would come to her on their own.

At first, Chen Ling thought that if things continued to develop this way, his family might be able to open a pharmacy. Actually, this would be good, as it would allow Wang Susu to stay at home to see patients and prescribe medicine, saving her from being idle all day, having to tidy up the house, and worrying about the work in the fields.

Unfortunately, Wang Susu was still too naive and firmly refused to let Chen Ling do this. It wasn't until Qin Qiumei came to ask her if she wanted her to get an individual medical practice license, saying that regulations would become stricter in the future, that she finally considered it.

However, after thinking it over, I decided to wait until after the baby is born before doing it, and I don't want to do it immediately.

Chen Ling couldn't help but laugh at his wife's hesitant manner, thinking that she would be busy once the baby was born and wouldn't have time for these things.

However, his wife was unwilling, but he didn't force her. He said they would take it slowly and wait until the child was older before doing it. Anyway, his family didn't have to worry about money.

So these days, apart from working in the fields for a while, Chen Ling has been helping Wang Susu dry the medicinal herbs. After drying them, he simply slices or grinds them for later use. In addition to the commonly used ones, there are also occasional patients who come to see him, so he prepares more to avoid trouble when he needs them.

In addition, the sachet of the deer was also taken down.

Chen Ling even went out of his way to find out how to collect and preserve this thing, and after learning that it could be stored for a long time, he lost the idea of ​​selling it for money.

It was placed together with the deer tail and antlers.

"Quack, quack, quack."

That morning, Chen Ling was collecting eggs when he suddenly heard a series of sharp, rapid bird calls, followed by the fluttering of feathers. Turning his head, he saw seven or eight magpies circling the treetops in the distance, emitting angry cries, as if they were attacking something.

Seeing this, Chen Ling went back to the kitchen, put the eggs away, and then took his slingshot and went out. He didn't care about anything else; he just shot at any magpies he encountered. These magpies weren't forgetful of being beaten after being eaten; rather, once one group was driven away, another group would come running.

They're not a group, but sometimes when people aren't looking, they'll still come down and mess around.

So if there are any near your home, just shoot them if you see them.

Upon exiting the courtyard, it was discovered that magpies were attacking the kite.

Good heavens, these old rivals are at it again. So many magpies have come and gone around here, and every time one tries to settle nearby, it inevitably runs into a hawk.

Magpies are not to be trifled with. Corvids are ferocious and like to attack in groups, so hawks have never come out on top. Even if they manage to kill one or two, they are often left with injuries.

Seeing that it was about to be bullied again, Chen Ling picked up a few pebbles to help it out.

To my surprise, just as I took aim, I realized that this time the hawk wasn't in the same sorry state as before.

Even when outnumbered, they showed no weakness, their eyes sharp and fierce, constantly seeking opportunities to attack the magpies.

A typical hawk is about the same size as a magpie, but this hawk, which often roams near its home for food and drink, looks rather large, even unusually large for a hawk. However, during the fight, it was exceptionally agile, circling the locust tree and darting up and down, preventing the magpies from getting close.

Perhaps they sensed Chen Ling approaching.

It suddenly let out a loud cry and became fierce, seizing one of the magpies and chasing it relentlessly, pecking it from the sky to the ground, until its feathers flew off and blood flowed freely.

The other magpies tried to help, but one of them was pinned to the ground by the hawk as soon as it flew down. In just a few moments, the hawk pecked a bloody hole in its forehead. The ferocity of the hawk not only terrified the magpies, but also greatly surprised Chen Ling.

Then Chen Ling watched helplessly as the hawk displayed its might, driving away all the magpies. Afterward, it glanced at Chen Ling, picked up a dead magpie, flew to its nest in a tree, and began to eat with great relish.

"call out……"

Chen Ling, intrigued, tilted his head back and whistled twice at the hawk. Actually, Wang Susu always said he wanted to trick the hawk down, which was both true and false. He had only gradually developed a liking for imitating bird calls and animal sounds after returning from the mountains, influenced by several old hunters. Of course, this was just a pastime in his spare time.

However, he also learned the calls of hawks and falcons quite well. Although the hawks still hid from him, when he imitated the calls of falcons, chickens, ducks, and quails were often frightened, and weasels were sometimes fooled, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

Whether Chen Ling's imitation of the call truly bewildered the hawk and made it understand the meaning, or whether it was simply annoyed by the noise, it actually flew down from the magpie's nest again, picked up the last magpie it had pecked to death, dropped it in front of him, and then flew back to the tree.

"For me?"

Chen Ling was pleasantly surprised and smiled at the tree: "Thanks, Brother Eagle."

The hawk ignored him and simply retreated back into the magpie's nest, refusing to show its face again.

However, Chen Ling didn't care. He even whistled and threw two small snakes to it as a return gift.

Recently, quite a few baby snakes have emerged from their dens. The two dogs and the weasels often bring home the ones they can't eat, and they play with them like toys.

The couple didn't stop them when they saw it. This thing wasn't anything special; if it got killed while being played with, it could just be fed to the chickens and ducks, so it wouldn't be wasted.

Not bad, the hawk was quite cooperative this time. It threw two small snakes up, retrieved them, and ate them back at its nest.

Seeing that it had finished eating and retreated back into its nest, Chen Ling stopped paying attention and went back to the yard to clean up the poultry and livestock droppings. After cleaning, he fed it.

The two ewes were given special care. They weren't afraid of people; after all, they had been fed and cared for well in their new home, and lived comfortably. They weren't stupid; they naturally knew to be affectionate and ingratiating towards people. As soon as Chen Ling walked towards the cowshed, they stood up from the ground, slowly walked over, twitched their nostrils, raised their heads, and bleated at him.

After feeding and watering them, Chen Ling squatted down and touched the two sheep's gills and bellies. After carefully checking them and finding nothing unusual, he turned back to prepare pig feed.

No special pig feed needs to be prepared, but the quantity should be larger.

Wild boar piglets grow quickly, changing almost every two or three days. When they were first brought back, they were only the size of an adult's palm, but now they are about 30 centimeters long, about the size of a mongrel dog. They grow fast, and they get hungry fast too. Chen Ling poured the mixed pig feed into the trough, and the five little wild boars excitedly huddled together, "huffing and puffing" as they scrambled for the food.

The piglets at home, including Liu Nier and the others, were raised like ordinary pigs after Chen Ling gave them some water at the beginning so that they could survive.

The plan was to slaughter each pig once it reached a certain weight, so they ate happily, which pleased Chen Ling. He even thought that perhaps letting them out to exercise more in the future would make the meat taste even better.

After thinking about it, I realized it was a bit of a hassle. This little piglet is lively and active, and likes to run around everywhere. Taking it out to roam is a good idea, but it's hard to catch a pig if it runs around. So I decided against it.

The pigeons are very well-behaved and their wings no longer need to be clipped. They spend their days collecting dry branches and bringing them back to their nests to tend to their little homes. They will be able to lay eggs by next spring at the latest. The quails and rabbits are already gestating and incubating their offspring, and they are quite diligent.

After feeding the cow, Chen Ling led it to the fields.

Chen Ling has been coming here more often lately, and there's not much work to do in the fields. After finishing his work, he went up the mountain and chopped two large bundles of firewood, which were taller than him when he carried them. The scrap wood left over from building the house a few days ago had all been burned, so now he wanted to chop more to take back. When cooking for his family, firewood still smells better.

Besides firewood, he also took a few chrysanthemums and orchids from the cave and brought them back with him. Of course, he didn't forget the two large geckos either.

After descending the mountain, they carried the firewood on the ox's back, and the man and the ox slowly made their way back.

When they got home, they weren't in a hurry to eat. They wanted to call Wang Susu out to show her what they had accomplished that day. The two of them planted some flowers and plants and looked for a place or flowerpot to transplant them, but then they heard Wang Zhenzhen's laughter coming from inside the house. Only then did they realize that their sister-in-law hadn't gone to school today.

So he put down the flowers and plants, went inside, and went into the bedroom. There he saw Wang Zhenzhen sitting cross-legged on the bed, holding a book in one hand and touching her sister's belly with the other, muttering something.

"You're back? I'll heat up your food." Wang Susu got up as Chen Ling entered the room.

"Lie down, lie down, I'll take care of it."

Chen Ling quickly pressed her back down, "Have you eaten? How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine, I'm okay."

Wang Susu laughed and said, "Zhenzhen insisted on dragging me along, saying she wanted to tell her little nephew a story."

"This girl..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling glared at his sister-in-law. He had wondered what was wrong when he saw his wife lying in bed unusually today.

"Brother-in-law, please stop causing trouble here. I need to tell my nephew and niece a story. Go and eat your meal."

Wang Zhenzhen pouted and waved her little hand at him with disdain, shooing him outside.

Chen Ling chuckled upon hearing this: "Hey, you silly girl, even the doctor doesn't know how many babies your sister is carrying, how do you know it's two, one boy and one girl? What if it's three, or even four?"

"I just know it."

Wang Zhenzhen pouted and wiggled her pigtails: "My sister says it's best to have both a son and a daughter, so it definitely is. What you say doesn't count."

After saying that, she continued to gently stroke Wang Susu's belly and said, "Little baby, when you grow up, Auntie will buy you candy."

Seeing this, Chen Ling laughed again. Just as he was about to say something, a strange movement suddenly occurred in the Sun and Moon Cave, making his heart tremble.

(End of this chapter)