My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 348 New Livestock Arrives at Home

We have a lot of toys at home, but little Rui Rui just really likes other kids' toys.

I don't know what's wrong with it.

Fortunately, Rui Rui perfectly inherited the genes of Chen Ling and Wang Susu. She was born extremely beautiful, fair-skinned and chubby, with delicate features, like a porcelain doll. She was clean, cute, and extremely lovable.

The village children loved playing with him, and they always wanted to give him the best food and toys.

Everyone was looking forward to Rui Rui running around on the ground, so they could take him out to have fun.

After staying at Wang Jusheng's house for a while, seeing that he was about to prepare lunch, they decided not to stay any longer and ran back home with their child in their arms.

Wang Jusheng noticed that Zhou Weijun was eyeing the dried sweet potatoes, so he got him most of a bag to carry. The old man was overjoyed and immediately gave Wang Jusheng half a pack of good cigarettes.

“Your village has so many good things. I usually film in the Jiangnan region, and I rarely stay in the rural areas of the north for so long. I don’t want to leave your village.”

As Zhou Weijun walked, he stuffed dried sweet potatoes into his mouth, munching away like a big rat, while Rui Rui perched on Chen Ling's shoulder, watching him intently.

"This is nothing, Lao Zhou. You've only eaten some small trinkets. You haven't even tasted the real good stuff yet."

As Chen Ling spoke, he casually gave him a few examples—those that fly in the sky, swim in the water, and run in the mountains—making Zhou Weijun drool with delight.

"Goodness, then I'll have to stay a while longer."

There's so much delicious food here, and I sleep so well. Zhou Weijun really doesn't want to leave such a wonderful place.

I just wanted to meet my pen pal and have a casual chat, but I never expected to give him such a big surprise.

No household here has a television or any kind of entertainment.

But there are still plenty of games to play.

I had only been in the village for a few days when I felt as if my soul had been cleansed. My mind and body were much calmer and my restlessness had disappeared.

In the morning, I wake up to the melodious chirping of birds, and in the evening, I enjoy the gentle breeze, take a walk in the mountains, or walk my dog ​​in the fields.

Or they could go with Chen Ling to a nearby village to find some elderly people to learn some simple ventriloquism.

I also learned many interesting facts about the local birds.

For example, the four-note sound of the cuckoo, "quack quack quack."

Locals have turned its melodious and tranquil call into rhyming sayings, such as: "Caw caw caw caw, sharpen sickle and hoe, croak caw caw, thresh wheat and sow rice..."

Hearing its frequent calls means that the wheat harvest season is approaching.

Later, when its call changes, it will call out: "Suanhuang suange, suanhuang suange..."

Why is it called that? Because it's about to rain, and if the wheat ripens and can't be harvested in time, it will cause huge losses.

Zhou Weijun also learned the story of the lazy man who delayed the wheat harvest and turned into a cuckoo.

In short, this old literary youth, who looks like Iron Man, gained a lot from this trip.

The countryside offers a vast and promising future; this is absolutely true.

People are not isolated from the world; they just lack things like televisions and computers, which are considered popular forms of entertainment by outsiders.

In fact, you can tell from a young age that they have quite a lot of entertainment activities.

They had a lot of fun catching fish and shrimp, climbing trees and catching birds.

Adults also know the nature of fish by living near water and the sounds of birds by living near mountains.

There are stories about turtledoves.

The azalea has a story.

Even tits have stories.

In their leisure time, people often imbue these animals with human qualities based on their calls or their lazy or diligent nature.

In just a few days, Zhou Weijun, an old literary youth, was dazzled and captivated.

I find this much more interesting than the city.

But he didn't get to stay for long; after only five days, someone called and took him away.

Old Zhou is an interesting guy.

Despite looking like a primary school student, he has a bit of an artsy vibe.

However, he wouldn't bother anyone too much when he visited, and because he was generous, the villagers quite liked it when Chen Ling took him to their homes.

When they drove away, Wang Jusheng accompanied Chen Ling to see the old man off, because the old man had bought all of his family's chili sauce and dried sweet potatoes before leaving.

They also bought a lot of cured meat from other villagers.

Chen Ling gained a lot of favors from people, who told him to visit his home more often next time such friends came to visit, and not to worry about causing them trouble.

Chen Ling was speechless. So, he had actually generated revenue for everyone?
……

Old Zhou, my pen pal, is gone.

Chen Ling, however, still often strolls around outside with her baby in her arms.

He's still looking for a suitable female cat.

There are quite a few female cats in heat during the spring.

Unfortunately, Chenwangzhuang is hard to find. These past few days, he has often taken his child on his motorcycle to visit old friends in other villages, or go to the market to find a few cats and pick out some livestock.

After several attempts, they finally managed to select the right livestock.

As spring warms up, large livestock such as mules and horses go into heat more often, making it the peak season for frequent trading.

However, due to the drought this year, many livestock have fallen ill.

The price is lower than in previous years.

Whether it's low or not, it doesn't bother Chen Ling.

It's not like the price has been halved. Whether it's a few hundred dollars cheaper or a few hundred dollars more expensive, it doesn't make much difference to someone like him who has his own ulterior motives.

You should still buy it.

"Uncle Fugui, it's been a while! The kid's grown so much! Can he run around yet?"

Chen Ling was driving his motorcycle through Kinmen Village when Erni'er and her husband Liu Hongxing saw him and greeted him.

In Chen Ling's arms, a small baby was tightly bound to her with a baby carrier.

The little baby, wearing a hat and a brown outfit with a bunny pattern, was happily sipping water from a water bottle.

When it sees someone speaking, it quickly looks over with its two bright black eyes.

"No, how can it run now? It's only eight months old, it's just learned to crawl on the ground."

Chen Ling stopped his motorcycle and smiled.

My rascal may look fair and handsome, but he doesn't know anything about cleanliness. Every morning when I feed the puppies and kittens, he crawls around on the ground with the little creatures for a while. He crawls so fast, drooling and laughing, scratching and clawing at the puppies, chasing them away in all directions.

Even Heiwa Xiaojin couldn't do anything about him.

It means that he is small but strong, and his bones are well developed, which other little kids can't do.

Wang Susu kept complaining, saying that the baby was only eight months old and the clothes were already dirty in less than half a day; what would happen when the baby grew older?

Chen Ling didn't care; taking a shower every night was fine.

"Rui Rui is so amazing, he can crawl on the ground already. Let your big sister hold him." Er Ni'er came over with a smile and reached out to hug him.

But the brat wouldn't have it. He usually likes to hang out with young girls, but today his dad took him out for a motorcycle ride, and he loves the feeling of the motorcycle whizzing along the road.

Sure enough, he was dodging Erni'er's outstretched hand while vigorously patting the motorcycle's fuel tank with both little hands, frowning and grumbling as he urged Chen Ling to hurry up and go.

"Ha, look at him now, he wants me to take him around everywhere, he just doesn't want to see you..."

Chen Ling chuckled and pulled the brat tighter into his arms. These past two days, he had been using the baby carrier that Wang Susu had made to hold his son securely in his arms every time he went out.

Even little ones can enjoy the scenery.

Erni pinched his chubby little face angrily: "You little thing, you fell asleep in my arms last year and wouldn't come out."

Then Liu Hongxing and Chen Ling chatted and laughed for a few more minutes before watching the father and son ride away on their motorcycle.

Today is market day in Changle Township. Chen Ling wants to visit the mule and horse market and pick up a few oxen and other livestock.

He's been wandering around these past few days, and he's heard a lot of people say that livestock are cheap now.

When I arrived at the mule and horse market, sure enough, many of the horses and donkeys were sick. No wonder they were so cheap.

The smell in Luomashi is awful.

The little baby Rui Rui coughed and sneezed several times because of the fumes.

Therefore, Chen Ling was unable to make a proper selection.

I happened to see some familiar figures leading livestock for sale.

For example, the white donkey and white mule I saw last year still haven't been sold.

Moreover, that man's white horse was kicked to death.

Old Yang Yu'er from Yangtougou, I don't know if he got a replacement little green horse or if he gave him some extra money.

Anyway, he's selling things there now, leading a group of people dressed in green and white.

Chen Ling stepped forward and asked the price, which was indeed not expensive. Without saying a word, he paid the deposit and went to buy a new faucet.

They bought all of them, one green and one white.

The blue horse is a mare, and the two white horses are a mule and a donkey.

All that's missing is scalpers.

Seeing that her son couldn't stand the smell here, Chen Ling decided not to buy anything this time and would come back on his own next time.

He then rode his motorcycle, plucked two bundles of grass and a leafy branch from the cave, placed them on the back of the motorcycle, and lured them to follow behind.

This little mare runs too fast and has a fiery temper.

While fighting for food, they kept kicking the donkey and mule.

Seeing this, Chen Ling had no choice but to abandon this method.

Upon reaching the riverbank, while the livestock were being fed and watered, they seized a secluded moment and secretly stored everything away in the cave.

It's better to keep it simple this way.

They only released them when they reached the outskirts of Kinmen Village quickly.

He tied a rope to the motorcycle, and slowly made his way home with the three animals.

As soon as the two figures, one in green and one in white, entered the village, the villagers gathered around them.

The main reason is that Chen Ling brought back two more white donkeys and a white mule. Everyone thought he liked white things and specifically chose to buy white ones.

Chen Ling quickly said no, only that he had seen it last year and knew the situation. This spring, there were more sick donkeys and horses, so he was too lazy to choose and just bought this familiar one.

When everyone asked about the price, it was indeed cheaper than last year.

I thought about buying one, but then I remembered what Chen Ling said about the many sick livestock, and I was worried about wasting money, so I had to give up the idea.

Liu Ni'er and her group of children rode on the big Chinese toon tree in the village, picking tender buds.

In spring, this thing is a vegetable, delicious and free, so parents often send these restless kids up the tree to pick it.

The trees in the village are often used by them to climb, step on, and swing on; they have many horizontal branches, making them easy to climb.

There were little children in the tree, and a group of them under the tree, carrying baskets and shouting.

Just then, Chen Ling and his son rode up slowly on their motorcycle, followed by three large animals. Liu Ni'er, perched in a tree, shouted, "Uncle Fugui, you bought livestock again? Are you buying them to raise for meat during the New Year?"

"Oh, how did you know?"

Chen Ling stopped his motorcycle and looked up at them.

"Hehe, is there a prize if I guessed right?" Liu Ni'er squatted on the tree branch and chuckled.

Chen Ling also found it amusing: "There's a prize. When we kill the meat, I'll let you come and eat it. Tell me how you guessed it!"

"Hehe, you have a tractor now? That's a metal animal, not as strong as this live animal, right? You must have bought it to eat, am I right?"

"Okay, that makes sense, you're right..."

Chen Ling chuckled, gave a thumbs-up, then started the motorcycle and continued on his way: "You guys have fun, but be careful."

"Don't rush off, Uncle Fugui. Here's some toon leaves for you. We picked a lot."

The children shouted and presented Chen Ling with a bunch of tender toon leaves.

Chen Ling prepared lunch for everyone.

The best part about Chinese toon is its freshness and tenderness.

Stir-fried eggs with toon leaves, and tofu with toon sprouts.

Once you've prepared two dishes, wash the rest, put them in a bowl, sprinkle with salt, cover it, and let it marinate for a day or two before eating.

It has a unique flavor.

Chinese toon is something to eat in spring.

Although this stuff isn't worth much in the countryside, people crave it if they don't eat it for a year. So when they suddenly got to eat it, Chen Ling's whole family ate it with great relish.

Chen Ling planted many fruit trees in the cave.

Ordinary trees are rarely transplanted, and he treated this Chinese toon tree as an ordinary tree, always ignoring it in the past.

I planted two cuttings this time so they can grow, and it will be convenient to eat them whenever I think of it.

In the afternoon, Wang Susu had nothing to do, so the young couple took their son and led the three livestock back to the farm to settle them in.

When new livestock arrive at home, they are not fed or given water in the village because we are afraid they will defecate and urinate indiscriminately.

Once you arrive at the farm, they'll be kept in the orchard, so it doesn't matter.

After settling them down next to the sheepfold, I brought a bucket of water and fodder to feed them.

The water in the house is diluted spiritual water; livestock that drink it will be cured of illness and strengthened if they are not sick.

To avoid getting sick from not adapting to the new environment when you arrive at your new home.

These three animals may have underlying diseases. Chen Ling had just fed them a few buckets of water when they defecated and urinated in the pen, and the excretion time was extremely long.

This made Wang Susu, who was unaware of the situation, very worried.

After finishing the exercise, she felt much better and was relieved.

Chen Ling was delighted to see this, so he cleaned up the excrement and rinsed the pen with water.

There are many poultry and livestock on the farm, and it's inevitable that there will be some odor when the weather gets warmer.

So Chen Ling would often rinse it with water, then gather some fallen leaves, light a fire, and use the smoke to remove the odor, which worked very well.

Wang Susu quite liked the three large animals; one was green and two were white, and they were quite pleasing to the eye. She handed her son to Chen Ling to hold, saying that they were so beautiful, and their previous owner hadn't taken good care of them. They were so dirty. After saying that, she was about to start washing them herself.

But just as the water was prepared and before she could even start washing, the little white ox rushed over from not far away and approached Wang Susu.

Goodness, even the usually good-natured little white calf is jealous.

He stopped Wang Susu from rolling around on the ground, acting spoiled and preventing her from washing Yi Qing and Er Bai.

This cow is so big, yet it's rolling around on the ground acting cute and even grunting.

Chen Ling watched from the sidelines, thoroughly amused.

"Ah Ling, stop laughing! Come and get Xiao Bai away!" Wang Susu was so anxious that she stomped her feet, not knowing what was wrong with her cow.

"Sigh, Little White feels like it's fallen out of favor. It's not getting its fur brushed, but instead being groomed by the new animals. It's probably just jealous and upset."

Chen Ling chuckled and said, "You and Rui Rui take Xiao Bai to play. I'll take care of the new animals. They're dirty, so you won't get them all over you."

Wang Susu had no choice but to hand over the task to her husband.

When Chen Ling saw his wife carrying their son and taking the cows for a stroll in the orchard, he shook his head and smiled. He then put on his rubber boots, sleeves, and old clothes to wash the three new animals.

(End of this chapter)