My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 178 Crispy cheese
This is truly an unexpected delight.

Since this was convenient, Chen Ling naturally wouldn't refuse, so they ate while discussing when to start work.

Chen Ling had looked at a lot of building materials during this period and had a general idea of ​​what was needed. Once the start date was set, preparations were quick.

"In a while, we'll be going to various counties to install new transformers, lay power lines, and plant utility poles. Sigh, this work is never-ending. We haven't had a break since the beginning of spring this year."

The transformers used at that time were very outdated.

Not only is it prone to high energy consumption and noise, but it is also extremely unsafe.

Therefore, once the new type of transformer is developed, it is required to be installed in various counties as quickly as possible to complete the replacement.

As a result, even though Zhao Dahai was a leader, he had to keep busy, running around everywhere and rarely home.

"Since that's the case, let's have a great time today and relax properly. It's not easy to bring your sister-in-law and Yaya here."

"Haha, we're definitely going to have a blast. This afternoon we'll go to the village to find Jusheng, and tomorrow we'll all go to my sister's house for the temple fair. Let's have some fun!"

Zhao Dahai scrambled to his feet and helped Chen Ling clean up the debris on the ground.

No one would have the heart to ruin such a beautiful place.

The two then filled in the two bamboo rat holes they had dug up.

At this point, he also realized that Chen Ling wouldn't be able to go around visiting relatives and friends for the next few days, which made him quite regretful.

"There's nothing to regret. We have three temple fairs a year here, so there's always a suitable time."

"Sister-in-law Wenxia, ​​come over here too. The water is wider here, the sunlight is better, and there are places to sit."

Deep within the bamboo forest, there is another wide, shallow stream with smooth stones on the bottom. Some of these stones protrude from the water, smooth and huge, and have been warmed by the sun. Other stones on the sides are covered with lush green moss.

"The scenery here is amazing. Honestly, if it weren't so far away, I would want to book this whole mountain and this whole lake."

Zhao Dahai muttered something under his breath, then went to Chen Ling's side, plopped down on the large blue stone opposite him, and then exclaimed, "Ah, this stone is so cold!"

When his daughter saw him, she grinned, showing her baby teeth, and giggled, enjoying seeing him make a fool of himself.

"This place is really nice. I'll ask our Party Secretary later. The village held a meeting before and they were thinking of leasing out the reservoir and the surrounding forests. It shouldn't be a big problem."

"If all else fails, we can divert a stream from the opposite mountain and bring in the small ditch next to the orchard, and circle it around the orchard twice to plant lotus and raise fish. That would make it look nicer. Otherwise, the water flow is too small and slow, and it will easily smell bad."

Chen Ling did have some ideas, but it wasn't appropriate to make it too big right now. At most, he would just do what he suggested, divert a small stream down, and use it for decoration and embellishment.

In short, there's no rush now. Just take it one step at a time.

“Sister-in-law Wenxia, ​​Sister Qiumei, you sit up here. It’s warmer here. The rocks over there are cool and the sun doesn’t shine on them.”

"Oh my, it really is! The stones here are very warm."

After they sat down, Chen Ling took out a deck of cards from his pocket: "Come on, come on, now that you've eaten and drunk your fill, let's play cards. The sun is so nice, it's so comfortable to bask in it, we can't waste it."

Zhao Dahai was stunned for a moment, then exclaimed in surprise, "You've got everything! You've brought oil, seasonings, and even playing cards!"

"Of course, it's all there."

Chen Ling laughed and started shuffling the cards. "Actually, this is the only thing that's easy to handle. If you want to play chess or mahjong, I'm out of ideas."

Then the group sat deep in the bamboo forest by a mountain stream, basking in the late autumn afternoon sun, playing cards. Chen Ling experimented with various games, and laughter filled the air as they enjoyed themselves immensely.

...After having a great time, I got home around 2 p.m., just as the yogurt was almost ready. However, it was a little undercooked, so the yogurt wasn't very thick and was a bit too sour.

However, this kind of yogurt also has its benefits.

It's perfect to juice the wild fruits picked from the mountains and drink it together. It's sweet and sour, very delicious, and there's almost no fishy or goaty smell from the goat milk.

After finishing his bowl, Zhao Dahai let out a comfortable sigh: "It's really good. Only you, Fugui, have the time and inclination to tinker with these things. Every time I come here, I see something new. To be honest, everything at your house seems so good. I don't want to leave. I want to try everything. Hahaha."

"Get lost, the riches are for Susu, there's no use in being envious."

Xiang Wenxia glared at her husband, then asked Chen Ling how he made this yogurt.

Chen Ling didn't hide anything; of course, the method for making yogurt wasn't anything special.

After finishing his explanation, he added, "Mine is actually a bit short on time. The yogurt is a little too thin. Take this yogurt made with rice wine, for example. If it's made well and has enough time, it can be made into a soft and bouncy texture like steamed egg custard. After it's done, you can add some red dates, goji berries, hawthorn, or something similar, and eat it with a spoon. It has a mild wine flavor and a light sour taste, making it perfect as an after-dinner snack. You can eat it all year round."

"Sister-in-law, if you want to make this when you get home, remember to pay attention to what I said. It's great for the kids."

Xiang Wenxia was overjoyed to hear this and praised him highly, while Qin Qiumei also nodded in approval.

Wang Susu, who was watching from the side, was delighted and couldn't help but feel proud. She also felt a sweet warmth in her heart, knowing that her husband was spoiling her in every way, which made her feel even happier and more content.

She sat quietly to the side, resting her chin on her hand, without saying a word, just watching Chen Ling and listening to him talk to others.

Chen Ling, however, didn't care at all, waving his hand and saying, "I just read a lot of books. You've read Dream of the Red Chamber, right? When Yuan Chun visited her family to test Jia Baoyu's learning, she later bestowed a dish of steamed sugar-coated yogurt on him and Xi Ren. But the maids in the house stole it. What is this steamed sugar-coated yogurt? Don't be fooled by its fancy name, or the fact that it's something that imperial concubines eat. To put it bluntly, it's just yogurt that we make using rice wine as a starter..."

Everyone was even more amazed, realizing that there was such a story behind it.

Zhao Dahai laughed and said, "You're really something, Fugui. Who paid attention to this when we were reading Dream of the Red Chamber?"

"So what did you watch?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than his wife, Xiang Wenxia, ​​suddenly asked him a question.

What kind of question is that? What else could a restless boy possibly care about?

Zhao Dahai immediately stopped laughing, like a rooster being strangled. He could only stammer, "This, this happened a long time ago, I've long forgotten about it."

This made everyone burst into laughter.

The fat man was quite afraid of his wife. After making a fool of himself, he quickly dragged Chen Ling to the village to bring Wang Jusheng back.

Then there was another round of excitement.

And so it continued until dusk.

Today was truly a fun and enjoyable day. Even though we couldn't all attend the temple fair together, it wasn't a big deal. Everyone had a great time.

After dark, and after seeing off the guests, Chen Ling and his wife went to Fourth Grandma's place for dinner and to help out. After finishing pressing the paper, they returned home and went to bed early.

Get enough rest.

In the middle of the night, Chen Ling got up and went up the mountain with Chen Dazhi and a few other older men to dig a grave. They were experienced and arrived at three in the morning. It took them about two hours to dig the grave. When they returned, each of them received a few packs of cigarettes.

This took a relatively long time, mainly because there are many intricacies involved in tomb excavation, and various aspects need to be considered.

In addition, in recent years, the graves have been moved to the western hills to prevent further encroachment on farmland.

There were too many rocks on the mountain, making it difficult to dig. It was time-consuming and laborious, and it couldn't compare to the old cemetery near Chen Ling's orchard.

By the time they finished digging the grave and returned, it was already past 5 a.m., and everyone was too lazy to go home, so they stayed to wait for breakfast.

Today is the third day of the mourning period. After breakfast, there were many people paying their respects. So there's no going back to catch up on sleep; I'm back to work and busy again.

Once the mourners arrive, they enter the mourning hall to kowtow, offer incense, and burn paper money.

Chen Ling and his men set off firecrackers outside.

At this point, the number of firecrackers doesn't matter, as long as it's an odd number of bangs.

The master of ceremonies called out, "Return the courtesy!"

The filial sons and grandsons on both sides of the mourning hall knelt down, kowtowed to the ground, and began to wail, while the trumpet player also played his instrument.

The trumpet maker still plays the straight score every morning, which is a straight curve or a straight note.

Before pressing the paper in the evening, they would play mournful tunes such as "Reporting to the Temple" and "Crying at the Seven Passes".

But during the funeral, without exception, the piece played was "Su Wu Herding Sheep".

This is the only fixed piece of music besides the daily score.

This piece is deep, heavy, desolate, and tragic. Compared to the straight notes played every morning, it is more likely to bring tears to one's eyes, making it a very tear-jerking suona piece.

With a "snap," Chen Ling struck a match and lit another cigarette.

He then walked to the base of the wall, picked up a few firecrackers, placed them between two bricks, and lit them with his cigarette. As a wisp of smoke rose, Chen Ling turned and walked away. Behind him, a loud bang rang out, and the fire shot into the sky and exploded.

Accompanied by mournful melodies inside the courtyard, the sound of cannons boomed continuously outside.

There were indeed quite a few people attending the funeral today, and Chen Ling kept setting off firecrackers for most of the day.

"Fugui, dinner's ready. Set off a few more firecrackers to let us know..."

At this moment, Wang Laishun wrote down the gift list and came out to inform the giver.

"Huh? Should we wait a little longer? The people who came to pay their respects came in quick succession, and the firecrackers were almost continuous. Nobody paid attention. If we announce that it's time to eat now, everyone will think it's a funeral. Some will come, and some won't. What should we do then?"

Chen Ling said, "You're right, let's wait a bit longer, don't release it for a while."

Wang Laishun nodded, turned around and looked at the time: "Wait another twenty minutes or so, and it will be 12:30. Whether we set off firecrackers or not, people will come over for dinner, but the food won't be hot."

"Alright, you should take a rest too."

Soon, lunch was served.

Perhaps knowing that the body would be laid to rest for five days, not many people came to pay their respects in the first two days. It wasn't until today, the third day, that groups of people started coming.

The funeral hall was piled high with wreaths.

In the afternoon, someone replaced Chen Ling, so he stopped setting off firecrackers outside, but he wasn't idle either.

After a group of mourners left, he took the opportunity to refill the trumpet player's water.

Outside the mourning hall, trumpeters sat in a circle, facing the coffin.

These people were already quite familiar with him, and when they saw him coming, they all nodded in greeting.

In this situation, it was impossible to smile, so they all nodded silently to each other, whispered a few words like "If you need anything, just let us know" and then stepped aside.

Until the old man who painted the coffin came to the door.

The old man was a meticulous painter; he always knelt on the ground when painting a coffin, saying it was out of respect for the deceased.

Therefore, the two sons of the fourth grandmother prepared two layers of burlap sacks and hemp cloths, the same as those in the mourning hall, to be laid next to the coffin so that he would not have to kneel on the ground.

The painting of the coffin begins; first, the white stubble on the coffin needs to be painted red.

The old painter had a very steady hand, and he painted both carefully and quickly.

Before long, the red stubble was applied, and the old painter began to paint "The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars".

He even brought over a young painter to help him with color mixing.

He knelt there and drew, his hand never stopping, until nearly dusk.

So Chen Ling would bring him food and water.

The old painter ate as he painted. After he finished painting each filial piety scene, the official in charge of rites would lead the filial sons and grandsons to him to present him with a reward, shouting, "Look—the reward—!"

They then kowtowed to him, and the old painter also knelt down and shouted back, "Thank you!"

Such meticulousness is all part of old customs and traditions.

After dark, the coffin was finished, and the Eight Immortals carried Fourth Grandmother into the coffin, completing the encoffining.

...And so the days went by. After four days of mourning and memorial services, the day of the final funeral arrived. People came and went, preparing and waiting for the hour of the funeral to begin.

It was past noon when the funeral procession officially began.

At first, no one cried; relatives and friends dressed in mourning clothes stood silently in a line.

The eldest son, Chen Yongsheng, stood at the front holding his great-grandmother's portrait, followed by the second son, Chen Yonggang; the third son, Chen Yongfu; nephews; daughters-in-law; nieces-in-law; grandchildren; married daughters; nephews...

Led by the master of ceremonies, the procession first circled the bonfire lit at the main gate three times clockwise and then three times counterclockwise. The men circled from left to right, and the women from right to left, before marching out of the village in a grand procession.

Arriving at an open area outside the village, Chen Yongsheng stood on a high stool that had been placed there beforehand, holding the portrait in his left hand and pointing southwest with a long stick in his right hand, saying, "Mother, face southwest, there is a bright road to the southwest."

As he spoke, Chen Yongsheng broke down in tears.

But everyone had to endure it; this was the most silent part of the entire funeral.

The procession returned to the mourning hall to see Fourth Grandmother one last time.

The man and woman then each spin around three times.

After a brief pause, the master of ceremonies shouted, "The funeral procession is about to begin!"

"Wow——"

Suddenly, cries erupted, deafening the heavens, and the entire procession staggered backward as they cried.

Wang Susu and her daughters-in-law, who were of the fourth grandmother's generation, helped the children to the front door.

At this moment, under the guidance of the master of ceremonies, Chen Yongsheng knelt down and smashed a tile, then poured out a jar of rice water.

This sound marked the official start of the funeral procession, and the crying reached its climax as Fourth Grandmother's children wailed together.

The son was somewhat better, being more reserved, but the fourth grandmother's youngest daughter cried so hard that she lay on the ground, unable to be pulled up, her white mourning clothes covered in dust.

In the end, they all cried sobbing and fainted.

Some villagers came out to watch the spectacle. According to the elders, the more people who come to watch the funeral, the better, as it is said that this will bring good fortune to future generations.

Seeing this, some of the more sentimental among them couldn't help but shed tears.

Chen Ling's grandchildren and great-grandchildren, including Chen Yuqiang, wore mourning caps and carried mourning sticks. They walked at the back of the procession, also shrouded in weeping, their eyes red.

"Bang bang bang."

With each cannon shot, the funeral procession moved forward slowly, and the cries grew increasingly sorrowful. The trumpet players no longer played a single tune; one after another, they played "Crying at the Seven Passes," "Su Wu Herding Sheep," and "Crying at the Grave," each one heavy and mournful.

The sound of cannons, cries, and melodies.

They traveled westward until the coffin was buried, at which point wreaths and mourning sticks covered it.

When they returned, Chen Ling and the others tore off the mourning caps, folded them into white cloth, and helped tidy up the miscellaneous items at Chen Yongsheng's house. After having a banquet that evening, the matter was finally settled.

...After Fourth Grandmother was buried, the anniversary of Chen Ling's father's death was getting closer and closer.

His father, Chen Juncai, died on the first day of the tenth lunar month.

It will only take seven or eight days.

He had originally planned to accompany his wife back to her parents' home after visiting the grave.

Now, however, he had no interest in preparing anything. He took out the jar and iron lock left by Chen Juncai and examined them again and again. He also found the old envelopes and looked through them thoroughly.

Childhood photos, group photos, and letters from my parents—I looked through them, then carefully put them away and sealed them away.

The sun hadn't come out in the morning, and the wind carried a chill.

After the items were sealed away, a gust of cold wind blew Chen Ling back inside.

"It's so cold! There's an extra leap month in August, so it's already the beginning of winter before October even arrives this year."

Chen Ling went back inside and put on a thick coat. He then said to Wang Susu, who was milking goats in the woodshed, "I'm going out for a walk."

"Go ahead and come back early. We need to pickle vegetables this afternoon, and I can't do it all by myself."

"understood."

He answered, picked up his fishing rod and bamboo basket, and headed towards the reservoir.

The sky was rather gloomy today, unlike the clear blue of the previous days. Migratory birds such as geese had also gradually left, and after arriving at the reservoir, there were hardly any water birds to be seen on the vast water surface.

"Fugui, fishing again?"

"Yes, we came here to catch a couple of fish to eat. What are you doing, sisters-in-law?"

No sooner had Chen Ling arrived at the dam than several women from Chen Dazhi's and Chen Guoxing's families arrived at the village entrance, pushing bicycles and carrying baskets.

"Going to the market, it's market day in the village."

Wang Xiuying said with a smile, then called out to Chen Jiang's house next to the dam, "Xinghua, Xinghua, aren't you done packing yet? It's time to go."

"Sister-in-law, don't worry. Let me stuff some stuff into the crops of the chickens and ducks first. Otherwise, they might poop out before we even get to the market. That would be a huge loss."

Xinghua hurriedly responded from inside, then dragged the chicken coop to the front of the door and stuffed bran and pebbles into the crops of the chickens and ducks in front of them. She was so busy and flustered that the women burst into laughter.

This is a little trick for selling things at the market.

As winter approaches, there are fewer insects and food in the wild. If you want to raise chickens and ducks to survive the winter, you have to feed them grain. The villagers are reluctant to do so. The grain they feed for the whole winter is almost enough to feed a strong man. So every year at this time, they have to take them to the market to sell.

However, when selling them, they don't want to let excrement and urine delay the sale and cause them to lose weight, so they stuff the chickens' and ducks' crops full beforehand. It's better if they can't poop out once they're inside, and they can sell them for more money.

"Fugui, are you selling your chickens and ducks? If so, hurry back and call Susu. We can look after each other."

"What are you talking about? Fugui definitely won't sell them. I heard from Zhenzhen that he's going to accompany Susu back to her parents' home in a few days. He'll definitely take all the chickens and ducks to his in-laws, right, Fugui?"

Chen Ling didn't say much, just nodded with a smile.

The women burst into laughter again upon seeing this.

(End of this chapter)