My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 185 The Little Leopard

Sprinkle some medicinal powder and blow a bamboo whistle.

It can not only lure snakes out of their holes, but also attract them to people.

Chen Ling was deeply impressed by such skill.

Moreover, after the fire chain snake crawled up to Wang Cunye and was caught in his hand, it did not make any violent moves. It simply slowly curled up its body and coiled into a ball.

"Before the Minor Snow solar term and after the Beginning of Winter, this is when snake worms are at their fattest..."

Wang Cunye held the snake in his arms and stroked it. Seeing his son-in-law's surprised look, he immediately smiled and said, "I'll teach you later, and you can try it too."

"Huh? I can do this too?"

Chen Ling asked curiously, "Dad, didn't you say that snake-attracting medicine is passed down only to sons and not daughters?"

Wang Susu didn't even know how to prepare the snake-attracting medicine, so how could her son-in-law be so eager to get it? He only came here with the intention of seeing something new and interesting.

Hearing him say that, Wang Cunye knew exactly what he was thinking and found it quite amusing: "Passing down the knowledge to sons but not daughters is an old-fashioned thing. Who cares about that now? Besides, this thing isn't worth much, and people don't care about it these days."

“Your eldest and second eldest brothers, I tried to teach them, but they wouldn’t learn.”

At this point, she glanced at Chen Ling and said, "I didn't teach Su Su. She's a girl, and neither your mother nor I ever thought of letting her do this."

Chen Ling was immediately ashamed.

"If you want to learn, I'll go back and give you the recipe, and you can prepare it yourself at home."

Wang Cunye held the fire chain snake in one hand and gently stroked it with the other: "However, this snake-attracting powder cannot be used too often, otherwise if you catch too many snakes, you will anger the Snake Goddess and suffer retribution."

“In the past, when we were collecting herbs, we would catch a few snakes along the way. Some herbs were next to worm nests, which were full of poisonous worms. With snake-attracting powder, we felt more at ease.”

The father-in-law spoke in a low voice.

He explained to Chen Ling as they walked.

Once the snake attractant is scattered, it can attract all snakes within a range of about ten meters.

It can not only attract snakes, but also make them docile and obedient.

Some snakes that are temperamental and aggressive will not bite even if they are caught in your hand.

Therefore, it is also known as "lock snake".

That's quite amazing.

However, because of this, catching snakes is too easy. In the past, herbalists from other villages who caught too many snakes suffered retaliation from them.

My father-in-law said that hundreds of venomous snakes entered the house at that time, but I don't know if it's true or not.

It was later widely rumored that catching too many snakes angered the Snake Goddess of the mountains.

Chen Ling naturally did not believe such a statement.

However, everything in excess is as bad as deficiency. Whether they are hunters who hunt or herbalists who collect herbs and catch snakes, they all abide by their own rules.

This is the wisdom of surviving in the mountains.

The sun rose higher and higher.

The weather has been lovely these past few days. Walking up the mountain and through the forest, the warm early winter sunlight filters through the gaps in the branches and leaves. When the breeze blows, the rustling of the leaves and the babbling of the stream complement each other, creating a melodious and ethereal sound.

Wang Cunye has difficulty walking and walks slowly, but he often walks in the mountains and has quite good endurance, which is far superior to that of most teenagers.

Then he discovered the snake's tracks again. He told Chen Ling to stop with the two children and not to wander around. He then walked alone along the forest path, pacing back and forth, searching both sides to confirm.

"This is it."

After two or three minutes, Wang Cunye turned around and walked to Chen Ling's side: "Come on, open your arms."

Once Chen Ling opened his palm, the snake-attracting powder was poured from the gourd into Chen Ling's palm.

Then he taught Chen Ling how to follow the snake's tracks and sprinkle snake-attracting powder.

"Take three steps and look back, take five steps and wave your hand, don't scatter the snake-attracting powder carelessly, watch your step and the ground behind you..."

The father-in-law gave instructions.

There's nothing mysterious about it.

It's meant to make people pay attention to wind direction, water flow, and poisonous insects hidden in the trees under their feet.

If the wind direction is wrong, or if the snake is near a water flow, the poison powder may become ineffective and fail to lure out the snake. Poisonous insects in trees and at your feet can sometimes be fatal.

There are also some crucial details regarding the application of medicinal powder.

Chen Ling did as instructed.

After the powder was used up, he returned to the original spot and blew the bamboo whistle as his father-in-law had taught him.

A gentle mountain breeze blew, and the faint sound of bamboo whistles lasted for less than two minutes before snakes of all sizes crawled out from the grass, tree holes, and crevices in the rocks. Some of the snakes were over a meter long, almost two meters long, while others were only as thick as a thumb. Some were venomous, while others were non-venomous.

At first, they crawled over one by one and were fairly docile.

But after a yellow grass-headed snake with black stripes appeared, many small snakes fled and tried to escape. Only a few white snakes with black stripes were suddenly greatly agitated and began to wrestle and struggle with the thick grass-headed snake.

Chen Ling's little servant was staring at him intently.

Wang Zhenzhen proudly raised her head and said, "Dad, I told you my brother-in-law is amazing! Look, he can summon so many snakes at once and even make them fight."

Wang Cunye was immediately at a loss for words, thinking to himself, "Do you think this is some kind of acrobatic performance?"

I don't know what to say.

Only Chen Ling realized something was wrong, because the snakes were fighting and none of them were coming near him. So he took off his bamboo whistle and asked, "Father, am I doing something wrong?"

"Hmm, you didn't blow the whistle properly."

Wang Cunye nodded, then pointed to the snakes wrestling together and said, "The other snakes are grass snakes, and they're scared. There are only a few white-flowered snakes, probably because they're mating. They're in a bad mood at this time and are prone to fighting with other snakes, so they weren't scared away by the grass snakes."

The white-flowered snake is the banded krait. This snake has a relatively late mating season, mating in late autumn and early winter, and laying eggs the following summer. During the mating season, it is easily angered, and it is quite normal for it to fight with fierce and domineering grass snakes.

The grass-headed snake, also known as the king snake, is found in areas where there are generally no venomous snakes, and other small snakes are also rare, as they will be eaten by the grass-headed snake.

But there are no absolutes.

During this season, various snakes begin to hibernate, eat less, and are less alert.

Otherwise, if they smell the scent of the grass snake, they will stay far away.

As the saying goes: "Where there is grass, there are no poisonous snakes for miles."

It describes the ruthlessness of the grass-headed snake.

While talking to Chen Ling, the father-in-law used a snake hook to separate the snakes that were fighting, then picked out two male white-flowered snakes, grabbed them, and handed them to Chen Ling.

"Look, with the snake-attracting medicine, no matter what kind of snake it is, it will behave once it's caught."

Chen Ling grabbed one in his hand, gripping its head tightly. He dared not be careless; this was a banded krait, and the two little ones were following nearby. If it got bitten, things would be terrible.

However, the snake-attracting drug was indeed very effective. The white-spotted snake, which was just over a meter long, was fighting angrily with the grass snake, but now it was quiet and there was no sign of it struggling at all.

"How about it?"

Wang Cunye asked with a smile.

"Yes, it is indeed very well-behaved in my hand and doesn't move around much."

Chen Ling said, glancing at the one in his father-in-law's hand, which was also very obedient.

I thought to myself, no wonder snake-attracting drugs are not allowed to be used indiscriminately.

Sometimes, too strong an effect isn't good either.

"Haha, let's just catch these two. The rest can still produce baby snakes next year."

Wang Cunye looked at the sun in the sky: "It's almost noon, we should go back for lunch."

Then, using a snake hook, it lifted the grass-headed snake that hadn't crawled far away from the ground and sent it flying far away.

Without the grass-headed snake, the other snakes will stop fighting.

However, the snake-attracting powder was still effective, and the snakes continued to linger nearby.

In response, Wang Cunye said, "Don't worry about it. They'll leave after half an hour when the herbs stop working."

We walked back.

Chen Ling held her little nephew in her arms.

They teased him and asked him questions. Little Tongtong was very well-behaved. After getting used to him, he would sometimes tell stories to his grandfather and uncle in a clear and cheerful voice, and other times he would ride on Chen Ling's neck, flipping through his hair with his little hands to look for gray hairs. Wang Qingwen had a lot of gray hairs, and he thought Chen Ling had some too, but he couldn't find any for a long time.

"Why doesn't my uncle have any gray hair?"

Xiao Tongtong asked curiously, "Dad, Uncle has gray hair, and he always makes me pluck it after he washes his hair..."

"Haha, Uncle is still young, he's not old enough to have gray hair yet."

Chen Ling smiled, moved the baby from his neck to his arms, and then lifted him up a few times, making the little baby giggle.

"Can they all write yet?"

"I can write three characters, which is my name."

"Uncle, can you write my name? Grandpa said my name is the hardest to write because it has so many strokes."

"Huh? How do you write it? Uncle doesn't know how. Can you write it for Uncle?"

"Okay, Uncle, please put your hand out."

As soon as Chen Ling stretched out his hand, Xiao Tongtong wrote stroke by stroke on his hand.

He wrote and read aloud: "王, 政, 通".

"Uncle, have you learned it yet?"

"Got it, is that how you write it, Tongtong?"

Chen Ling wrote on his chest and stomach with his finger, and the ticklish little guy laughed again.

Wang Cunye watched from the side and laughed along.

Chen Ling smiled at his father-in-law and said, "Brother, you really know how to name a child. The name you chose for the child shows ambition."

"Political harmony and social stability"—this phrase clearly comes from a cultured person.

"He wouldn't give the child a humble name, because he thinks a humble name makes the child easier to raise. Look at this child, he's been sick all the time since he was little..."

Wang Cunye shook his head: "Susu and Zhenzhen both have nicknames, but your older brother absolutely refuses to give them to you. He thinks they sound awful and is afraid that if you call them that for a long time, you won't be able to get used to it."

"That's true."

Chen Ling nodded. His mother had never given him a nickname before, and instead gave him a very grand name, Chen Lingyun, saying it matched the county name perfectly and that he would go to university and become a high-ranking official in the future.

Later, he was often sick, so he changed his name, and his grandfather even gave him a few nicknames.

Although this was a bit superstitious, Chen Ling was still quite interested.

He was unaware that his wife had a nickname; Wang Susu had never mentioned it.

Just as I was about to ask, I suddenly heard Wang Zhenzhen shouting from ahead, and two dogs were barking wildly.

The father and son were immediately startled and quickly ran over.

Unexpectedly, Wang Cunye had difficulty walking and, in his haste, tripped and fell to the ground.

"Lingzi, go quickly, go see what's wrong, don't worry about me..."

When Chen Ling turned around, his father-in-law hurriedly waved his hand at him, signaling him to ignore him for now.

Chen Ling didn't care about anything else, put down his little nephew, and ran over as fast as he could.

Actually, Wang Zhenzhen was not far ahead.

Chen Ling arrived quickly.

The little girl was hiding behind a large rock, her face full of fear. Two dogs were beside her, their heads tilted back, their eyes fixed on the trees around them, looking back and forth, and whimpering softly.

"What's wrong, Zhenzhen?"

Seeing this, Chen Ling hurriedly asked.

“There’s a leopard! Brother-in-law, it’s a fierce leopard! It’s this big, it leaped up into the tree in one go…” Wang Zhenzhen was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she gestured with her hands.

"A leopard? Are there leopards this small?"

Seeing his sister-in-law gesturing, Chen Ling looked around, but there was nothing on the trees. "You're not mistaken, are you? Maybe the mountain fox went by."

There are many kinds of mountain leopards. Some mountain leopards look very much like leopards, with the color and spots on their fur almost identical to those of a small leopard, but they are very rare.

"It's not a mountain raccoon, it definitely isn't."

Wang Zhenzhen vehemently denied it; how could she not recognize a mountain cat?

"That's a leopard. I don't know what it was carrying, but it was eating it in the sun. When it saw me, it pounced on me like a gust of wind. I thought it wanted to eat me, but it jumped up into a tree instead."

"What happened? Zhenzhen, are you alright?"

At this moment, the father-in-law also limped over, leading his grandson.

"Dad, there was a leopard just now..."

Wang Zhenzhen recounted the situation again.

When Wang Cunye heard what his youngest daughter said, his expression was the same as Chen Ling's before.

"Are you sure you're not seeing things? There's no way a leopard could be this small."

"Leopards don't come out during the day, could it be that they've mistaken a civet for a leopard..."

There are indeed leopards and wolves in the mountains here, but over the years, I haven't heard anyone say they've encountered either of them during the day; they all come out at night.

Those cats that come out during the day to look for food are wild cats, or what the locals often call mountain cats.

As they were talking, two dogs barked loudly and rushed down the hillside.

They stopped after walking a short distance.

Chen Ling walked over and saw bloodstains under the tree.

Xiao Jin sniffed around the area and quickly spotted the target. He ran forward hurriedly, while Heiwa was stopped by Chen Ling and followed beside him, watching his father-in-law and the two children.

"Whether it's a leopard or not, let's get our weapons ready first."

The father-in-law, who often traveled in the mountains, was quite easygoing. He took out a bow and arrow, the arrowheads of which had been coated with poison beforehand. He also had Chen Ling hold a steel fork, and even Wang Zhenzhen picked up a wood-chopping knife, constantly looking left and right.

The little girl was quite frightened just now, and she still feels a chill in her heart.

Having never encountered wild animals in the mountains face-to-face, I can't understand that kind of fear. It's so scary that you don't dare to move, and the hair on your whole body stands on end.

“Don’t be afraid, Zhenzhen. Have you forgotten how many wolves Heiwa and Xiaojin have killed in our village? With them around, even leopards aren’t a threat.”

Chen Ling comforted her.

"understood……"

The little girl nodded with a stiff face, her words seeming somewhat insincere.

She grew up listening to stories of jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards, but she had only ever seen wolves and leopards from afar. This was the first time she had ever been so close, and her legs went weak with fear.

Xiao Tongtong shrank back, holding his breath, not daring to utter a sound.

After walking less than half a mile, Little Jin started barking ahead.

Apart from Xiao Jin's cries.

There were also bursts of fierce "crackling" sounds, like the baring teeth of a wild beast, mixed with the rustling of tree branches, making a very loud noise.

Wang Zhenzhen reacted the fastest, pointing to the top of the tree ahead and shouting, "Leopard, Dad, brother-in-law, look! It's that one from just now!"

When they looked up, they were dumbfounded. A small leopard, no bigger than a civet, was carrying a small, furry creature in its mouth, with blood dripping from its lips. At the top of a nearby tree stood a group of monkeys of all sizes, with golden fur, upturned nostrils, and pale faces, looking quite strange.

At this moment, they surrounded the little leopard, baring their teeth and letting out a series of sharp and angry roars.

"Oh, it's a grass leopard. It's alright then."

Wang Cunye's expression softened, and he smiled at Chen Ling, "Judging from this situation, it must be that this beast was up to no good and secretly caught a monkey cub to eat, and was cornered by the golden monkeys."

The father-in-law finally relaxed.

Chen Ling, however, didn't blink, his mind filled with novelty.

That's a golden snub-nosed monkey!

Having lived two lifetimes, this is the first time I've ever seen wild golden monkeys! It's so exciting!

(End of this chapter)