My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 208 Small gathering
Hawks belong to the sparrowhawk family, and if you catch one and train it, the process is roughly the same as training a hawk.

They didn't let the eagles rest for six or seven days in a row, they fed them hemp balls to scrape off their oil, they tripped up the eagles' feet...

Chen Lingguang was already having a headache just thinking about it, not to mention that he would have to accompany her the whole time. This method was just asking for trouble.

This hawk had always treated him differently, secretly following him before, but was caught fighting with magpies near his home several times in a row.

After encountering it so many times, it stopped hiding and simply made its home outside the yard.

Now they've taken over the magpie's nest on the Chinese toon tree outside the courtyard.

Previous attempts have shown that the hawk wasn't preventing him from getting close, but rather was afraid of being hurt again, so there was no need to use the method of taming the hawk.

Knowing that the kites hadn't been leaving their nests much lately due to the snow, Chen Ling brought a bamboo ladder, climbed up, and stuffed a sparrow into its nest.

At this moment, the hawk was sleeping in its nest, its head tucked in, its feathers ruffled and standing on end, looking like an owl. The noise Chen Ling made startled it, but it gradually calmed down after it saw that Chen Ling had put the sparrow in again.

Then it called out to Chen Lingming, pressed the sparrow under its claws, and tore it apart with its sharp beak. It quickly ate the sparrow, leaving only a pile of bloody bones and feathers.

Chen Ling then handed the remaining one to it to eat.

Two sparrows a day, not too full, not too hungry either.

Recently, bird-catching nets have been able to catch many birds every day.

The chicken coop soon became too big for them, so I came back every day to feed the kites.

At the beginning, I fed them four or five a day.

Then came the three.

Now we eat two a day.

In the future, we may have to reduce it to one.

That's how you keep it suspended.

As December arrived and heavy snow covered the area, food in the wild became scarce. After getting used to being fed by him, Chen Ling was no longer worried that it wouldn't ask for food on its own.

……

Also worth mentioning.

Chen Ling called this hawk "Brother Eagle" incorrectly; it's actually female.

It was only a while ago that Wang Lixian accidentally saw this kite outside the courtyard and was able to identify whether it was male or female.

They say male kites don't actually come that big.

"If we don't call him Brother Eagle, are we supposed to call him Sister Eagle from now on? That sounds awful."

Chen Ling muttered something to himself and carried the ladder home.

……

On the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the snow stopped, and in the morning, the sounds of brooms and shovels could be heard everywhere in the village again.

These past two days, Chen Ling has been at home helping his wife make bed sheets and blankets.

The rest of the time he would either brave the wind and snow to scatter grain near the orchard and set two traps, or sit by the stove playing with the bow and arrows his father-in-law had given him. Of course, he mainly made arrows, because Wang Cunye had only given him this big bow and three arrows.

Not only were the arrows few, but the bowstring was also broken. It was only after he returned that Wang Li presented him with a new bowstring.

This bow was left to Wang Susu by her grandfather, and it's quite old.

They were found when they were looking for medical books for Wang Susu.

Chen Ling took a liking to it at first sight. This bow was much larger than ordinary bows, and since it was of no use to Wang Cunye at home, he let him bring it back.

After clearing the snow from the yard and the front door in the morning, Chen Ling began to draw his bow and shoot arrows at the old tree stump at the base of the south wall, which was left to be used as firewood.

“Duo”, “Duo”, “Duo”...

The sound of arrows hitting wooden stakes echoed in the courtyard.

He didn't care about accuracy; he just wanted to have some fun.

……

"Ah Ling, the water pump is frozen again. Quickly bring a kettle of hot water over."

"okay."

Once winter arrives and the ground starts to freeze, it's quite common for water pumps to freeze solid.

For those who find it troublesome, simply fill the water tank in advance so it can last for several days.

Today, they used up all the water in their two large water tanks.

Two more cylinders need to be filled.

So Chen Ling put down his bow and arrows, went to the kitchen to fetch a kettle of hot water, and walked to the hand pump well.

Icicles were hanging from the water outlet of the water pump next to the well, and the rubber gasket and iron trough inside the water pump were frozen solid together.

Chen Ling tried pressing down on the handrail, but it was frozen solid and wouldn't budge at all.

"I'll pour it."

Wang Susu took the kettle and poured the water into the iron trough of the water pump.

When you put boiling water on it, the ice inside immediately melts away.

Taking advantage of the moment, Chen Ling pressed down on the handrail a few times. It creaked and groaned, initially feeling hollow and weak, but as the hot water entered the pipe, it began to feel a tight suction.

This means the well water has been drawn up.

Then, after pressing down a few more times, a clear stream of water shot out from the drain and splashed into the tin bucket that had been placed there.

Fill one bucket with water, then fill another.

After filling the two buckets with water, they were taken to the kitchen and poured into the water tank.

Then it was Wang Susu's turn to pump the water, while he carried it.

After several trips back and forth like this, a large water tank was filled with water.

"Uncle Fugui, I've come to visit you."

While the two of them were busy in the yard, Liu Nier and Wang Lixian, father and son, came over for a visit.

"Carrying water brings wealth?"

"Okay, the water tank is empty, fill it with two tanks of water, it'll be ready in no time."

Chen Ling smiled and responded, then patted Liu Ni'er's head before continuing with his work.

He's very efficient at his work now.

They quickly filled the other water tank with water as well.

"Auntie, I heard from my aunt that you're going to open a pharmacy at home to treat patients after you give birth. Is that true?"

"It's true! What's wrong?"

"Can you tell me why I always have a runny nose? No one else has a runny nose anymore, but I still do. What if they all start calling me 'snotty baby' in the future?"

Wang Susu couldn't help but laugh after hearing this: "Yes, Auntie will get you some medicine. Take it home and brew it like tea. It will stop your runny nose after the New Year."

"Wow, Auntie, you're so kind. I'll help you take care of the baby after you have it."

After Chen Ling finished fetching water and put the lid on the water vat, Liu Ni'er was already playing in the snow outside, sniffling, and chatting with Wang Susu.

They quickly ushered the father and son inside.

Once inside, hot tea was brewed.

Wang Lixian explained his purpose: "The mushrooms in the mushroom shed at home have grown well. Let's go pick some later. We can't go anywhere because of the heavy snow. Let's all go to the shed and have some fun. I'll also call Jusheng over, and we'll have a drink at noon."

"Sure, I've been thinking of getting you two together for a couple of days now."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling slapped his thigh and laughed, "In this kind of weather, it would be such a waste not to sit down and have a drink together."

In fact, it was time for Wang Lixian's mushrooms in the greenhouse to be picked and sold at this time.

However, the heavy snow blocked the mountain roads, making it impossible to go to the county town for the market. We can only wait for the snow to melt.

"Alright, I'll go call Jusheng now. You guys should head over early later."

When Wang Lixian heard Chen Ling agree, he nodded happily, got up, and pulled Liu Nier outside.

After seeing them off, the couple didn't linger and immediately packed their things, preparing to go to Wang Lixian's house later.

"I was just thinking about where to get a free meal when Brother Xian showed up. I'll go catch a chicken and bring it over later."

"Okay, I'll go change my clothes."

Wang Susu went inside to change her clothes, and Chen Ling caught a big rooster from the chicken coop.

The hen is still laying eggs, so it's best to avoid eating it if possible.

Soon, Wang Susu came out of the house, all bundled up tightly.

The two locked the door and headed toward Wang Lixian's house, carrying the rooster.

The three families don't really need to be so polite.

However, the Wang Lixian and Wang Jusheng families were very generous. When they slaughtered sheep, they would send over ten or eight jin of mutton alone. So he couldn't be stingy, and naturally he couldn't go empty-handed.

……

Wang Lixian's mushroom shed was built on their private plot of land on the east side of their yard.

It doesn't occupy a large area, less than two-tenths of an acre. It's a sloping earthen shed built with three earthen walls. The snow has been cleared very clean, and now a thick layer of thatched mats covers the plastic film, which is used for warmth at night and on rainy or snowy days.

On sunny days, roll up the quilt-style straw mat with a rope, allowing the plastic film to be fully exposed to the sun.

During the day, it receives sunlight and at night, it is kept warm, so the temperature inside is often kept above 12 or 13 degrees Celsius. When the sun is out and the temperature is high, it can even approach 30 degrees Celsius. If it gets even higher, ventilation is needed to dissipate the heat.

After Chen Ling and his wife left the rooster at Wang Lixian's house, they followed Wang Lixian to his mushroom shed.

No sooner had they arrived than Wang Jusheng and his family of four followed.

They came with Liu Yuzhi.

The group chatted and laughed for a while.

The women led a few children into the greenhouse to pick mushrooms.

Chen Ling and the others weren't in a hurry. Instead, they went to the top of the greenhouse, chatting and looking around.

Men, no matter how old they are, still like climbing high and low in their bones.

Except for the rectangular back wall, the earthen walls on both sides of this shed are right-angled triangles, just like a winnowing basket.

So by walking up the slope along the earthen walls on both sides, it's easy to reach the roof.

……

Wang Lixian's home is located on the northeastern edge of the village.

Next to it are farmland, ponds, ditches, a sandy beach, and wild woods to the east of the village.

Now it's all covered in snow.

Chen Ling and Wang Jusheng don't come here often. When they pass by the dam, they only glance at it from afar. So now they look around with great interest.

Later, when they saw the old stage that had been left over from before, they even came down from the roof and had Wang Lixian lead them on a big tour of the farmland on this side.

He then returned and went into the mushroom shed.

The mushroom shed has a low door with a thick cloth curtain hanging above it.

Even someone as tall and strong as Chen Ling had to bend over to get in.

As soon as you enter the shed, a warm feeling washes over you from all directions.

Looking around, the walls inside the shed were made of stacks of mushroom bags.

The wall was covered with mushrooms of all sizes, layer upon layer.

These are all oyster mushrooms. They look thick and plump with a uniform color, much better looking than the oyster mushrooms that grow in the mountains.

The women were leading their children around picking mushrooms, creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere filled with laughter.

"How about it, Fugui? Let's build a shed next year. Look how well these mushrooms are growing."

Wang Lixian picked a very large mushroom. If this mushroom were to grow any longer, it would become too old, so if it couldn't be sold, he had to pick it and eat it quickly.

"Let's get one, we'll get one next autumn."

Chen Ling gave a perfunctory reply.

The baby will be born by this time next year, and he won't have the time or inclination for that.

Then I picked a particularly large mushroom and took it.

Goodness, it's quite heavy in my hand, I'd guess it weighs over a pound.

If you sprinkle a little water on them when you sell them, the weight of that basket of mushrooms will increase to over 100 jin (50 kg).

"Brother Jusheng, don't eat this stuff randomly. It looks clean, but it's actually full of dirty stuff. You can't eat it raw."

Chen Ling turned around and saw Wang Jusheng crouching down behind him, picking two tender mushroom pieces that had just sprouted and stuffing them into his mouth.

"It's okay, it's okay, I've already thrown it up."

Wang Jusheng chuckled and quickly spat out two mouthfuls of saliva.

He did attend a junior college, but I don't know if it's because he didn't have enough to eat when he was a child, but he still has this bad habit of wanting to put anything in his mouth.

From small wheat seedlings and grass sprouts to large fruits and vegetables, nothing is overlooked.

Chen Ling had seen him several times, roughly wiping eggplants, green peppers, and green beans on his clothes before stuffing them into his mouth, crunching them as if they were quite delicious.

He can understand eating tomatoes and cucumbers raw, but he simply can't bring himself to eat other vegetables raw.

Of course, this excludes things like scallions, ginger, garlic, and cilantro.

Just then, after saying he had vomited, he turned around and exclaimed, "Brother Xian, these mushrooms taste pretty good! They taste almost the same as the ones from the mountains. Once the snow melts in a few days, we can take them to the city and sell them. The price will definitely be high."

Wang Lixian smiled and said, "Actually, I was a little regretful a while ago, but after seeing this whole shed full of mushrooms, I immediately felt much more at ease. I thought that even if the mushrooms don't turn out well this year, I can still grow some vegetables here next year and I definitely won't lose out."

Chen Ling agreed with this.

Although the place is small, it's easy to make a fuss about it.

Planting something is no trouble at all.

Whether to sell or eat is up to you.

"Brother Jusheng, it seems you've eaten wild mushrooms from the mountains before? You know the taste so well."

"I've eaten it before. What haven't I eaten?"

"What about dog urine moss? Have you ever eaten it?"

Chen Ling turned around and asked him.

"No, I'd be crazy to eat that stuff. It grows from dog pee in the ground and it's poisonous."

"Oh."

After a moment of silence, I don't know what went wrong.

Wang Jusheng smacked his lips, as if savoring the memory, "You know what, although this dog urine moss is hard to eat, it really doesn't taste like dog urine, it's just a bit musty."

"..."

"Damn, you've actually eaten it."

"Uh, I haven't eaten, I just heard about it from a friend."

The three chatted and laughed as they picked mushrooms. Before long, they met up with the women and children, and then the group continued to pick the larger ones.

After spending more than half an hour in the greenhouse, we picked a large pile of mushrooms, and everyone was sweating profusely and had flushed faces from the heat.

When it was time to go out, worried about catching a cold from the sudden change in temperature, they all wrapped themselves up tightly before heading out one by one.

"Phew, it's cooler now. This thing was so hot inside I could barely breathe."

Wang Jusheng was panting, supporting his lower back.

Indeed, although it's warm inside the greenhouse, it's stuffy and there's not much fresh air coming in, so it's very uncomfortable. It's definitely much fresher and cooler outside.

Then he turned to a group of children behind him and said, "Dandan, Liunier, hold onto the mushrooms. Your Uncle Fugui will cook a meal for us later, and we'll use these mushrooms. Whoever throws away a mushroom won't get to eat."

The two little children immediately became serious and expectant.

"You guys are really something! I came here to freeload, why are you making me cook?"

Chen Ling immediately protested his innocence.

Zhang Qiaoling also scolded, "Fugui, don't listen to him. You're such a grown man, why don't you watch your words?"

"No, Auntie, it's because Uncle Fugui is a good cook that we're willing to let him cook."

Liu Nier then said, "Uncle Jusheng must think the same way, so don't blame him."

"Haha, goodness, Liu Ni'er can even say nice things to people now."

Hearing this, Wang Jusheng happily picked up Liu Ni'er and wiped her nose. "You look thin, but you're actually quite heavy. In two more years, when you're seven or eight, I won't be able to carry you anymore."

Actually, those guys were just joking around; none of them really took it seriously.

On the last day, not only did Chen Ling not cook lunch, but no one else really did much of the cooking either.

They simply used the seasonings Chen Ling brought to make a hot pot meal.

A pot is placed on a red clay stove, and various meats and vegetables are constantly dipped into the boiling pot, making people sweat profusely while eating.

"Come on, cheers! There's still so much meat left, don't rush to eat it, we have to drink well too."

Wang Lixian's family had a lot of leftover meat from their engagement a few days ago, and Chen Ling and his companion brought a lot with them as well, which was more than enough for them.

They ate hotpot, drank wine, and chatted idly.

The meal lasted until dark. Amidst the winter snow, the three families gathered around the fire for a lively chat, adding warmth to the cold winter month and subtly spreading the festive spirit of the New Year.

(End of this chapter)