My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 221 Childlike Fun and Longing for Children

This spring has seen a fair amount of rain. After several light drizzles, a gentle breeze caressed our faces, and spring arrived. Peach blossoms were in full bloom, willows were green, grass was growing tall, and birds were singing. The bright sunshine and the warm breeze brought everything to a fresh new look.

The rolling mountains have turned lush and green, and melodious birdsong is everywhere. Swallows have returned, carrying mud to build nests under the eaves and on the roof beams, and the birds in the forests are singing joyfully in the bright spring sunshine.

That morning, Chen Ling led the cow to the old river bend. He saw a few large trees scattered along the riverbank, now covered in new green leaves. Colorful wildflowers bloomed in profusion along the river, with a cluster of wild roses standing out, their blossoms as white as snow and exuding a sweet fragrance.

I casually plucked a sturdy, tender shoot from a wild rose bush, peeled off the outer skin, and popped it into my mouth; it tasted sweet and crunchy. Squatting down for a closer look, I saw groups of tiny black tadpoles swimming slowly, swishing their tails, among the lush green water plants by the riverbank.

Chen Ling picked up the strainer and started scooping. In just a few scoops, he filled almost half the basket with fish—there were just too many.

Small fish, shrimp, and tadpoles are good feed for chickens and ducks. For farmers, the more grain and bran they can save, the better. With more food from the wild, chickens and ducks will lay more eggs, which is a win-win situation.

He came to Laohewan this morning not only to feed the chickens and ducks, but also to give the little white calf a bath and wash it. After all, the little white calf had been helping with farm work for more than half a month, and it deserved a rest and some comfort.

In the past two weeks, with the help of his father-in-law and mother-in-law, wheat and rapeseed have been planted, watermelons have been planted, and a two-acre vegetable garden has been set aside. Chen Ling has also planted a lot of all kinds of vegetables, and sweet corn and sorghum have been planted along the ridges of the fields. It's all very well-off.

After plucking two handfuls of water plants and feeding the little white calf, Chen Ling took off his shoes, rolled up his trousers, and led it into the water to wash its body.

Seeing the little white calf comfortably squint its eyes, its whole body gradually sinking into the water, and happily kicking its legs to swim towards the deeper water, Chen Ling smiled gently and followed closely behind.

He took the cows to play in the water, and kingfishers would occasionally skim across the surface, splashing water droplets and catching fish and shrimp.

Several large, fearless white geese were swimming and playing in the river, preening their feathers.

A flock of ducks were lying face down in the river, foraging for food from the bottom, with only their rear ends visible and their heads not. This comical and unique way of foraging was truly remarkable.

"You stay here and play, I'm going to take a walk in the mountains."

After washing the little white calf, Chen Ling saw it sinking to the bottom of the water, blowing bubbles, swimming around, and having a great time. He patted its head and turned to walk ashore.

When I stepped on a smooth river clam on the riverbed, I didn't bend down. Instead, I used my toes to pry it out of the mud and kicked it, sending the large clam flying onto the shore.

"Ouch, that hurts! Why didn't I feel that when I was a kid and you kicked me like that?"

Chen Ling took a breath of cool air, rubbed his feet, and walked ashore.

Then he picked up a river clam, grabbed two handfuls of withered reeds to wipe his feet clean, put on his shoes, and stood up to whistle twice into the distance.

Soon, a yellow-clawed falcon flew in from a distance, screeching, and landed on his shoulder.

Chen Ling reached out and touched the hawk's curved beak, then fed it two mouthfuls of spiritual water.

Then he pointed to a flock of sparrows on a field ridge not far away, and said, "Go."

At a command, the hawk on the shoulder immediately took flight, swooping down towards a flock of sparrows not far away, transforming into a sharp arrow that shot into the grass.

As the sharp claws fell, the sparrows let out a series of startled chirps and scattered in all directions.

The hawk flapped its wings and returned, landing in front of Chen Ling with a bloodied and mangled prey in its beak.

"Impressive! This is far superior to the kites of the kite hunters," Chen Ling exclaimed in admiration.

Just as he was thinking of taking the kite up the mountain for a stroll, a few weasels sneaked over. Little Yellow and Little Fatty rubbed against him affectionately.

The three smaller birds stood upright, gazing longingly at the sparrow in the hawk's beak, chirping softly like greedy cats.

The hawk was startled, its feathers bristling, and it became very wary.

"Go away, go away! You want to steal food from the hawks? One swipe of your claws and you'll behave." Chen Ling gently kicked them away and scolded them.

Recently, the swallows have returned, and the sparrows that had been occupying the swallow caves on the dam and surrounding earthen cliffs for the winter have been driven away again. The swallows are much more vigilant and united than those old thieves, the sparrows. These little creatures rarely succeed in attacking the swallows.

Other birds are also nearing the time to lay eggs, so they are not easy to catch. The insects have not yet grown up and are as small as shrimp, which is not enough to fill their stomachs.

Before the winter was even over, the weasels started to stay at home all day, freeloading off food and drink.

Now that they see the hawk has caught a sparrow, they want to come and get a piece of the pie too.

"Come on, let's go up the mountain for a walk, and I'll find you something to eat when we get back."

They all listened to Chen Ling and ran around at his feet as they walked up the mountain.

Soon, the hawk also ate the sparrow and flew over.

Fortunately, not many people were going up the mountain at that time, otherwise they would have been quite shocked to see this scene.

Indeed.

If he were to replace the hoe in his hand with a bow and arrow, and the weasels beside him with dogs, along with the hawk on his shoulder, it would truly be a picture of a spoiled young master going hunting.

……

In fact, Nanshan has the gentlest slope among the three mountains, and it is the most popular place for people to visit. In the past, the spring water on Nanshan was exceptional, and people would go up the mountain to fetch water every day. The second most popular place was Xishan, because Xishan had the most wild fruits, medicinal herbs, and mushrooms, which could be exchanged for money.

The place I least like to go is Beishan near Chen Ling's farm, because there are too many wild animals and poisonous insects, so it's not a good place to go.

In the old days, wolves, insects, tigers, and leopards all appeared from the north mountain. Even the highest peak was named after the wolf-carried rock, which gives a glimpse into the area.

Once inside the mountains, we took out baskets and hoes to dig up bamboo shoots, pick wolfberry leaves, and gather wild garlic...

In spring, fresh and tender green wild vegetables are everywhere.

Malan and other wild vegetables can be found everywhere along the ridges and roadsides. Gao Xiulan has made vegetable buns and vegetable dumplings for them several times these past few days. The vegetable dumplings, in particular, are very fragrant when dipped in sesame oil, vinegar, or chili oil.

However, if you want to stir-fry it with meat, you should use bamboo shoots as the main ingredient for the best flavor.

After digging up half a basket of bamboo shoots and picking half a basket of wild vegetables, Chen Ling prepared to head down the mountain. Suddenly, several weasels straightened up and began to howl softly at a bush in one direction. Then, they looked back at Chen Ling, appearing eager to attack.

It seemed they had discovered something and were asking him if he wanted to rush over.

Before Chen Ling could react, there was a rustling sound in the bushes, and a grayish-brown mother pheasant led a group of chicks running wildly into the distance.

"It's a pheasant. I thought you guys had seen something else."

The pheasant ran away, and Chen Ling didn't bother to send out kites to chase it. He simply called to the reluctant weasels and they turned to head down the mountain.

Next, the weasels found quite a few bird nests in the trees above their heads.

It is already March, and the birds in the mountains are starting to incubate their eggs and breed. There are bird nests in tree branches, tree holes, and rock nests, and most of them have adult birds incubating their eggs.

This made the three little weasels very hungry, and they kept begging Chen Ling to let them eat the bird eggs.

Chen Ling ignored them.

If he were a child, he would have climbed the tree and taken them all by himself without the little creatures reminding him.

As for now, he certainly wouldn't do that.

Even in winter, he used bird-catching nets to catch birds, but he released the beneficial birds he caught, leaving only the more harmful ones like thieves, magpies, and doves. These creatures were rampant in the mountains, everywhere, and they damaged many crops.

However, even birds like these should not be hunted excessively.

Since 1998, pesticides have been used extensively in their area, causing a significant decrease in the number of birds in the mountains. For many years, sparrows have become rare.

Chen Lingyou remembers that for several years, he often saw dead sparrows, swallows, magpies and other birds in the fields. Some birds even died after eating poisonous insects containing pesticides and falling to the ground while flying.

These swarms of birds, which had become an unbearable plague, soon dwindled to a pitiful number.

For example, the swallows were reduced to a few scattered individuals, and they no longer became a significant species.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Ling naturally had to be careful not to recklessly capture any birds, whether they were beneficial or harmful.

Otherwise, with hawks and weasels around, none of the pheasants, big or small, would be able to escape.

Just as I was thinking about pheasants, another pheasant clucked and flapped its wings as it took flight from the grass beside the mountain path, its feathers fluttering down like catkins in the air.

Upon seeing this, the weasels immediately swarmed towards the spot where the pheasant had flown out.

Chen Ling followed him over.

Sure enough, it was another pheasant nest, and there were more than ten wild eggs.

"This guy, the mountains really do come alive in spring, with bird nests and eggs everywhere."

Chen Ling was overjoyed. He picked up a few wild eggs that had rolled out of their nests and put them into his bamboo basket.

Wild chicken eggs are different from bird eggs.

You can take wild eggs, but be careful not to take them all.

The villagers love finding wild chicken eggs and wild duck eggs; it's like finding a windfall, a gift from nature.

Wild animals generally can't count. As long as they don't take all the eggs from the nest, leaving half, or even just a small portion or three to five eggs, after a few days, there will be more than a dozen more eggs inside, making them almost indistinguishable from those raised by your own family.

Of course.

If you take all the eggs at once, it won't work. It's like a hen at home; sometimes if you take all the eggs from the nest, the hen won't lay any more eggs there.

Seeing Chen Ling take a few wild eggs, the three little weasels thought they were for them and climbed into his basket to eat them, but Chen Ling grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and pulled them out.

"Don't worry, I said I'd take you to find something to eat later. I still have a use for these eggs."

The old hen at home is brooding, so it's a good time to hatch some chicks and ducklings. We can also try hatching a few of these wild eggs and raising them.

……

We walked down the mountain.

The little white calf was still enjoying playing in the water.

Chen Ling looked around. The wheat seedlings were growing tall and stalked, spreading thickly and green across the fields. Wildflowers by the roadside were budding. There weren't many people in the wheat fields at this time, and they were all busy working in the distance. So he put down his bamboo basket, went to a secluded spot, took out a bucket from the cave, filled it halfway with water from the river, and led a few weasels to fill the rat holes.

I saw several newly dug mouse holes in the grass beside the mountain road. Judging from the piles of rubble at the entrances, these mouse holes must be quite large, enough for weasels to have a good meal.

Then they found the nearest mouse hole and started pouring water into it.

Since it's not autumn now, the ground rats won't be storing food in their burrows; you can just pour water in.

The bucket of water quickly filled the mouse hole.

Several weasels and hawks gathered around, watching with curiosity and anticipation.

Within two minutes, the ground rats inside couldn't hold their breath any longer and came out to peek out and check the situation outside.

Seeing people standing outside, along with a weasel and a falcon—three natural enemies—the wet ground mouse was so frightened that it scurried back inside.

Chen Ling ignored it and continued to irrigate.

The mouse could no longer hold on and, dragging its wet body, desperately rushed out.

At this moment, Xiao Huang and Xiao Pang reacted the fastest. With a pounce, they caught the two mice and quickly killed them.

Immediately afterwards, several rats escaped from the other hole.

The three little weasels also set out and scattered to chase after it.

But there were too many rats, and the weasels couldn't catch them all.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling shrugged, and a yellow claw and black shadow flew out, then rapidly fell from the sky, heading straight for the bushes. It was the hawk that had also been dispatched.

Well, now none of the field mice escaped. As is customary, Chen Ling fed the hawk some spiritual water as a reward.

Then they picked up buckets, filled them with water, and poured out all the rat holes along the surrounding mountain paths.

It took about twenty minutes, and none of the ground rats in these rat holes managed to escape; they were often taken down by the weasels in a single encounter.

What the weasel couldn't catch, the hawk was watching, and none of them missed.

“Great! You can train with Heiwa and the other two for a bit more, and then you can go hunting with them.”

Chen Ling happily touched them and praised them.

After eating the mouse, the three little weasels were full of energy, sniffing around and quickly running away.

Chen Ling ignored them and, as it was almost noon, prepared to call the little white calf home.

The three little creatures suddenly came running back, barking wildly and jumping around.

Chen Ling crouched down to take a look. "What happened? Did you get stung by a scorpion?"

These little rascals are having a bit of a run of bad luck... Now that the weather is getting warmer, scorpions and other venomous insects are coming out to play.

Given their restless nature, it's normal for them to provoke scorpions.

"Hey, it's not a scorpion, it's a bee."

When the three little guys came to lie down at his feet looking aggrieved, Chen Ling noticed that one or two bees had landed on each of their noses.

Unlike wasps, bees have stingers connected to venom glands inside their organs. Once an attack is launched, the barbs on the stinger hook onto the skin, pulling out the internal organs and making it difficult for the bees to fly away.

Reach out and help them remove the bees with their stingers from their faces and noses, then toss them aside.

Chen Ling then noticed that there were many bees buzzing around collecting nectar in the wild rose bushes on the riverbank not far away.

Wild roses are also called "white withered flowers" in their area, and they easily attract bees and butterflies in the spring.

"Serves you right for being so disobedient. Of all things to do, you had to provoke bees. You deserve to be stung."

Chen Ling flicked them on the head and didn't pay much attention to it. Being stung by bees wasn't a big deal; the swelling would go down in half a day.

Just then, the little white calf swam over from the river.

The commotion when we came ashore startled the bees in the flower bushes, causing them to scatter in large swarms.

"This guy is something else, he's stirred up a hornet's nest."

He went over to take a look and found that it really was a beehive, with many yellowish-brown spots scattered on the leaves of the wild rose.

Even a child who has cleaned a beehive knows that it's bee droppings.

Where there is a lot of bee droppings, there is bound to be a beehive.

Because bees are very clean animals, they will expel feces from their bodies before going out to collect nectar or flying back to the hive to ensure the cleanliness of the honey.

Therefore, it makes sense that people dare to eat honey directly.

"Goodness, I found wild eggs and almost disturbed a beehive. I'm even more adventurous than the kids in the village."

Chen Ling smiled.

I thought to myself that it would be even more fun to bring my own child here to play when they can run around.

Then he couldn't help but laugh at himself, saying that his wife still had half a year before giving birth, so why was he already looking forward to having a child?

(End of this chapter)