My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 343 Motorcycle Dog Hunting
The New Year came quickly and went quickly.

The weather is getting warmer, and the snow that accumulated all winter has melted.

Chen Ling had also taken off a layer of her thick clothes early on.

He had just gotten up to sweep the yard in the morning when a flock of pigeons suddenly appeared on the farm.

These are pigeons raised at home. They've always lived in the village, but even after settling down, they don't stay indoors all day; they often fly around.

They would land at the farm every now and then.

Sure enough, after flying over, it stood on the rooftop and walked back and forth, making a bunch of cooing noises early in the morning.

After walking around on the rooftop in the sun for a while, it saw Chen Ling sweeping the floor, so it flew down and followed behind him begging for food.

Pigeons are like that; sometimes even if you're not their owner, they'll land in your hands when you try to feed them. They're very docile and will even let you touch them while they eat.

Pigeons are docile and endearing, but their begging for food can be incredibly frustrating.

People hadn't even had breakfast yet, but these pigeons were more eager to eat than anyone else. Chen Ling had no choice but to fill a bowl with corn kernels. Before he could even scatter them on the ground, the pigeons flew onto his hands and arms, flapping their wings and scrambling to grab them. The bowl full of corn kernels was gone in no time.

Being able to eat is a blessing, so Chen Ling ladled out another bowl and continued to feed them.

The pigeons from last year have grown up and are now mixed in with the flock. Most of them are still gray and black, but there are one or two exceptions with mottled backs.

The so-called "spotted back pigeon" has a stubby beak, beady eyes, and an almost entirely white back with extremely small black spots, making it more colorful and beautiful than ordinary pigeons.

Simply put, its wings are black and white, like fish scales, with spots arranged in a neat and orderly fashion.

The mottled back isn't the back; the white spots with black patches are the pigeon's wings.

In short, Chen Ling was quite satisfied with raising two pigeons of different colors.

I'm thinking of doing more selective breeding to produce some even more beautiful pigeons.

White doves, black doves, spotted doves—we need all sorts of colors and types.

Anyway, he likes pigeons, eagles, and any fun birds. He'll bring the parrots out another day; those parrots are really good, and they've already started incubating their eggs in the cave.

I'm raising more and more birds. When I have some free time, I'll go to the city market to sell them.

That's also very pleasant and fun.

Feeling quite pleased with himself, Chen Ling fed the pigeons, then went to feed the chickens, ducks, and sheep, and cleaned up their droppings.

That's the downside of winter; there's no food outside, so you can't let all the food out.

They eat, drink, and relieve themselves all in the enclosure. You have to feed them, add water, and clean them. You have to take care of everything.

Fortunately, we don't feed them commercial food, and the water source at home is relatively good. Even though they urinate quite a lot, we clean it up promptly every day, so it doesn't smell too bad.

This is not so obvious in chickens, ducks, and sheep, but it is more obvious in pigs.

The stench of feed-fed pig manure is overwhelming, while that of domesticated pigs is much better.

The food and drinks at Chen Ling's house are all high-quality stuff, so naturally they don't taste very good.

Even the sheep with a strong urine smell smell much milder than those from other places.

After cleaning up the manure, we go to milk the goats.

The farm now has five dairy goats, and the rest are all black goats.

Rui Rui has recently been weaned and will be eight months old in a few days. There's no need to buy formula for him anymore. Just boil some goat milk every day, mix it with millet porridge, and give him some egg puree.

……

January is a quiet month. As the weather begins to warm up, villagers often gather at the market on warm afternoons to weave baskets and chat, continuing the projects they started in the winter months.

Chen Ling had some free time. With nothing to do at home and no need to visit relatives, he simply took Wang Lixian and a few others to Wangbacheng to buy a tractor.

In addition to the tractor, they also got a motorcycle.

There weren't many people when we went, but after we brought the tractor back, word spread quickly.

The children spread the word and went home to tell their parents to go see it.

"Grandpa, Uncle Fugui has brought back a new tractor. It's at the farm. Let's go take a look."

"Da, Uncle Fugui's family bought a motorcycle, a bright red one, with wheels that high up, you can drive it without pedaling, it's really fast..."

As the villagers arrived one after another, Chen Ling's family was welcoming the new machine into the farm.

Under the warm sunshine, a series of firecrackers crackled and popped at the farm, instantly enveloping the open space outside the farm in blue smoke. The familiar smell of gunpowder mingled with the smoke, startling a large flock of birds in the woods. Villagers who had come to watch the commotion craned their necks with smiles, looking at the tractors and motorcycles parked outside the farm.

The brand-new farm machinery was brightly colored, and with the large red ribbon on the machine and the sound of firecrackers, a festive atmosphere immediately arose.

The motorcycle was also red.

They used ropes and supports to secure themselves to the tractor and pull it back; Chen Ling and the others had already ridden it several times.

However, motorcycles are not needed; what is welcomed are large machines, the iron beasts that can work at home, such as tractors.

After the firecrackers stopped, Chen Ling took out cigarettes and distributed them to the men. Then, under the hopeful gazes of men, women, and children, he got on his motorcycle and sputtered around on the dirt roads and in the fields.

"Uncle Fugui, can I try riding it?"

After watching Chen Ling return from his ride, a group of young people craned their necks, swallowed hard, and were eager to try it themselves.

Chen Ling glanced at the crowd and saw the expectant looks on the faces of the young and old men. He smiled and said, "Wen Chao, Xiao Jiu, come on and ride around. Everyone, take your time, don't rush."

The younger ones go first, and the older ones go a little later.

Where is the gear shifter, where is the accelerator, and where is the brake?

After teaching them one by one, not only the men, but even some of the women rode on the bikes and learned how to ride around.

I was terrified when I was learning it.

Chen Ling bought a big motorcycle. If the women are not tall, they can't put their feet on the ground, so it's a bit difficult to ride. Shifting gears is also difficult, and they don't have much experience riding motorcycles. In the end, they dare to ride but dare not stop.

After all, your feet can't touch the ground, so you can't even support yourself with your feet.

In the end, it took the men to surround and clean up the mess.

After the thrilling motorcycle ride, they drove a tractor, making it as lively as a wedding celebration.

Chen Ling let them drive as they pleased. In the end, the little ones still weren't satisfied, so Chen Ling rode on himself, taking five or six little ones with him at a time, whizzing back and forth across the dirt roads and wheat fields, the little ones shouting excitedly.

"Still so rich and generous. This machine keeps burning oil, and that costs a lot of money."

"Fugui, it seems you're planning something big this year. You've bought a tractor and a motorcycle. Are you planning to build a greenhouse too?"

The villagers praised Chen Ling for his generosity, but Wang Laishun felt that Chen Ling wouldn't buy these two items for no reason.

"No, at least not this year."

Chen Ling shook his head. Growing in greenhouses is too tiring. If he were to do it in the future, he would hire people to do it, but he definitely wasn't in the mood for it this year. He just wanted to raise fish, dogs, and cattle, and he'd think about the rest later.

Moreover, prices have changed again this year, so we should just stick to our original plans and do our own thing steadily.

Now we don't need to go to the market to sell eggs anymore.

The salted eggs will be ready for someone to come and collect them.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Liu Jiancheng came to the farm and took away a batch of salted eggs, which had been arranged before the new year.

Two days later, Liu Jiancheng returned from the city, saying that after delivering the gifts, his wife and mother-in-law tried selling them in the city, and the sales were so good that they surprised themselves.

During the first month of the lunar calendar, many people visit relatives, so salted eggs sell very quickly, especially salted duck eggs.

These salted eggs are delicious; once you've tasted them, you'll never forget them.

Therefore, even outside of holidays and festivals, there will be places to sell them, so there's no fear of a lack of buyers.

"So you're going to raise fish? I saw that when you built your farm last year, you built several irrigation ditches, and they're full of fish."

"Yes, raise fish and sell them."

Chen Ling planned to take his well-raised ornamental fish out for a trip after the first month of the lunar calendar, not just within the city, but also to both the south and north of the Yangtze River.

Wang Laishun misunderstood, thinking it referred to edible fish, and asked, "You bought a tractor so you can deliver it yourself?"

"It's too much trouble to deliver it to someone else. This tractor is meant to be used like livestock, for doing farm work at home during busy seasons."

Chen Ling's words and the expression on his face made everyone burst into laughter. He said to Wang Laishun, "Fifth Uncle, look at the question you asked. Is Fugui that kind of person? He wouldn't do such strenuous work."

"Fugui, will these fruit trees bear fruit this year? It looks like these thirty acres of land will yield a harvest soon."

"Yes, there should be a harvest, but the flowers haven't even bloomed yet, so we don't know how the harvest will be."

"What's there to be afraid of? Don't you have a good friend whose family owns a cannery? Even with a bad harvest, you can still break even."

Chen Ling didn't say much about it, but smiled and invited people into the farm for tea. He and Wang Lixian drove the tractor and motorcycle to the back of the farm.

The fruit trees should be bearing fruit this year.

But the harvest is uncertain; those who actually lease mountains to grow fruit trees don't have it as simple as Chen Ling.

To ensure a good harvest and fetch a good price, fruit trees require meticulous care.

It's really more tiring than growing crops; it's far from something that Chen Ling can do with his leisurely lifestyle.

Of course, he doesn't support his family by growing fruit trees.

They are emboldened by this.

He relied solely on the good land and water resources, and was not worried about the fruit tree harvest.

……

Chen Ling's family bought a TV last year and farm machinery and a motorcycle this year, which inspired many villagers.

But after what happened at Guangyun's home, no matter how many people were envious, they dared not provoke Chen Ling's family.

Chen Ling's attempt to train bees failed, but he did manage to drive away snakes in the cave using a bamboo flute and a modified snake-attracting medicine.

Even wild venomous snakes will behave when they encounter him, and with patient training, they will even exhibit various reactions.

I believe that in the not-too-distant future, we will be able to raise snakes to guard our farm.

So he wasn't afraid at all.

In the evening, after having dinner early, Chen Ling pushed his motorcycle out. Wang Susu sat behind him, holding a chubby baby wrapped up tightly. The headlights were on, and a group of burly dogs were beside the motorcycle.

Although these puppies no longer look like chubby little dogs, they are not skinny either. Before they start shedding their thick winter coats, they still look chubby all over, like little bear puppies, but their legs are strong and long, and their size is even bigger than the village dogs.

"Go, go, go, all of you, move forward."

Tonight, Chen Ling is taking these kids hunting outside the village.

This was also the first time they had broken away from Heiwa and Xiaojin's guidance and hunted alone.

Hearing him give commands to the puppy, the little guy sandwiched between him and Wang Susu also started to mimic him, flicking one of his little feet and making a muffled "go away" sound at the puppy.

The puppies scattered and ran quickly across the wheat field, covering a distance before dispersing.

Chen Ling turned on the motorcycle's headlight and rode along the dirt road, the headlight constantly sweeping across the wheat field.

"There are rabbits to the east, quickly send them to chase them."

Wang Susu pointed, and Chen Ling quickly whistled. Instantly, a chorus of slightly childlike barks rang out as they chased after the rabbit.

Seeing this, Chen Ling also drove his motorcycle into the wheat field, and the three of them, along with their dogs, chased after the rabbit.

Facing the night breeze.

Wang Susu held the baby tightly, clutching Chen Ling's clothes. The baby in her arms babbled excitedly, constantly craning its neck to follow the flashing lights of the motorcycle as it searched for the puppies.

"Wow, we caught it!"

The rabbit darted left and right, but still couldn't escape the ferocious puppies' encirclement.

He was pinned to the ground in no time.

Wang Susu shouted excitedly and pointed in the direction for her husband and son to see.

But the puppies were only interested in eating. After catching the rabbit, they didn't bring it back. Instead, they fought over it, tearing it into pieces and gobbling it down.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling slapped his forehead, realizing he had much to teach this person.

(End of this chapter)