My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 18 Enlightenment

"hunt?"

"The village is redistributing land this month, and spring plowing will begin after the land is distributed. Why are you out hunting in the mountains now?"

Chen Ling was puzzled.

Even after the Awakening of Insects, the hoe never stops.

We'll be busy right now.

Even households that grow winter wheat still need to prepare for irrigation.

Moreover, we are now facing a major event: the redivision of arable land.

At this time, the men in the house generally wouldn't easily go out.

“My family hasn’t eaten meat all winter. My fifth sister is taking the college entrance exam again this year and will be going back to school in a few days.”

“My father said that we must make sure that Fifth Sister has two meals of meat before she goes back to school.”

“I went up the mountain alone after lunch yesterday.”

Liu Ni wiped her nose with her sleeve and chuckled as she spoke.

“In the past, Brother Xian was very good at catching rabbits and pheasants. In recent years, he has had more children at home, so he often works outside to earn money. He hasn’t been to the mountains for many years.”

At this moment, Wang Susu also spoke.

At the same time, they pulled Heiwa and Xiaojin away from the wine jar containing goat milk.

These two little guys are only a few days old, but they are very clever.

After finishing a small bowl of goat milk, he still wanted more, so he circled around Wang Susu, whining and begging.

When she refused to give it to him, he followed the scent and climbed onto the wine jar, intending to drink it himself.

The goat milk was mixed with water from the Dongtian Stream, and the two little guys knew it was a good thing, so they were still greedy and wanted more.

Seeing that their bellies were already round and full, Wang Susu refused to give them any more water.

Ignoring the pitiful looks of the two puppies, he pushed them apart and picked up the jar again.

"Wang Wang Wang..."

Seeing that the drink was being taken away, Heiwa and Xiaojin were furious and started yelling as they tried to tear at Wang Susu's trouser legs.

Chen Ling was a little unhappy when he saw this, so he walked over and flicked his forehead.

"Hey, you two little ingrates, you fawn over people when there's food, but when there isn't, you yell at people..."

"If I had known you would be so unreasonable, I wouldn't have brought you back."

I don't know if she can really understand Chen Ling's words or what.

After Chen Ling's scolding, the two little creatures immediately ran to him like children who had made a mistake, their heads bowed and eyes downcast.

She tucked her little tail between her legs and rubbed against his leg, whimpering softly.

It's like she's begging for forgiveness in a coquettish way.

Wang Susu was amazed: "What a smart puppy! It's so small, yet it can understand what you're saying."

“My words have no effect.”

Chen Ling smiled helplessly and said, "Maybe it's because I brought them back that they remembered my scent."

He secretly guessed that this was mostly due to the Dongtian Creek water, which, in addition to enabling plants to grow rapidly, might also have unknown benefits for animals.

Then, with a stern face, he said to the two little ones, Heiwa and Xiaojin, "If you dare to do this again, I'll give you away immediately."

The two little ones looked even more pitiful after being scolded, and they didn't dare to rub against Chen Ling's legs anymore.

Squatting on the ground, her dark, round eyes looked at Chen Ling with a wronged expression.

It looked like she was about to cry.

Wang Susu found it hard to bear watching.

"Alright, Ah Ling, they're so small, a few words of discipline will do. Don't be too harsh. Dogs have the best memory when they're young."

“If you train them once, they won’t dare to do it again.”

As he spoke, he gently patted Heiwa and Xiaojin's heads.

"Heiwa, Xiaojin, be good."

This time, the two little ones were indeed much better behaved. When Wang Susu touched them a couple of times, they even rolled over and played with her, sticking out their pink little tongues to lick her.

After playing around with Wang Susu for a while, they ran to Chen Ling one after the other with their little tails wagging, whimpering and rubbing against his hand.

Both its eyes and its voice were different from before.

The contrast between the two events surprised Chen Ling.

Thinking that it was probably after drinking the stream water of the cave several times that Heiwa and Xiaojin had gained wisdom.

It's well known that Border Collies are famous for their high intelligence among dogs, but they weren't always this smart when they were puppies.

"I knew it, those two puppies must have mistaken Uncle Fugui for their parents, I'm sure of it."

"I want to pick up two unweaned puppies in the future too." "Me too."

The little children watching for so long were increasingly envious.

What he said made Chen Ling very upset.

Having two intelligent puppies was something to be very proud of.

But once these mischievous monkeys said it, it instantly took on a different meaning.

"Sixth Sister, quickly take everyone back to their homes."

"Otherwise, when it gets dark, your family will all have to come out looking for you."

"You'll definitely get beaten up then!"

Chen Ling stood up and urged them to leave, and the children realized it was indeed getting late.

Everyone started eating, and the aroma of food wafted through the air.

They walked out of the courtyard with reluctance.

"Uncle Fugui, I'll come see the puppy again another day."

"I want to come too!"

"..."

Chen Ling is generally disliked by adults, but not by children.

He idled away his days, and in the past, he would catch cicada nymphs with the kids in the summer and steal bird eggs at night with a flashlight.

The little kids love playing with him too.

"Liu Ni'er, wait a moment."

Just as Liu Ni'er stepped out of the courtyard gate, Chen Ling suddenly remembered something and called him back.

Then he cut off half of the pork he bought, wrapped it in oil paper, and said, "Here, take it back and cook it. Your fifth sister is taking the college entrance exam soon, so she should eat more meat to nourish her body."

Liu Ni'er, who is usually the most mischievous and resilient, was suddenly stunned.

He glanced at Chen Ling, then at Wang Susu, and remained silent for a moment, head down.

"What's wrong? Why are you looking so listless?"

"Hurry up and take it home, it's getting dark soon, your mother will worry if you don't get back soon."

Chen Ling handed over the pork, but Liu Ni'er pushed it away.

"Uncle Fugui, I don't want it."

"You silly child, other people are polite to their uncles, why are you being so polite to your uncles?"

Chen Ling frowned. "Take it quickly."

Wang Susu also said, "Liu Ni'er, your uncle gave it to you, so just take it."

"I don't want it, my family still has a huge debt."

Liu Ni'er stubbornly shook her head, "My father said we can't take things from others for free, because things taken for free are the hardest to return."

"Hey, I asked you to bring food to your fifth sister. When are you going to return it?"

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow. He knew that Liu Ni'er's family was struggling, with many children and they couldn't afford meat all winter.

Wang Lixian would go hunting in the mountains just so his children could have a piece of meat.

That's when he thought of having Liu Ni'er take a piece of meat back with her.

Who knew this child would be so stubborn.

"Take it quickly, I'll need your help again in a while."

"What? What kind of help does Uncle Fugui need from me?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Nier perked up and looked up to ask.

"I'll tell you later, hurry up and take the meat home."

Chen Ling stuffed the meat into the boy's arms and pushed him out of the courtyard.

"Hey, Uncle, just let me know if you need anything, and I'll definitely do a great job for you."

Liu Nier sniffed and patted her chest.

"Okay, I got it, now go home!"

Chen Ling waved his hand.

Seeing Wang Susu following behind, he smiled and said, "When we got married, Brother Xian helped us a lot. Now he has many children and it's quite difficult for him. He even ruined his back from working."

"Let's help out however little we can."

"Ah."

When Wang Susu heard Chen Ling bring up their wedding, she stared at him for a few seconds and softly replied.

(End of this chapter)