My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 398 Old Turtle Egg

When I mentioned this idea to my father-in-law, he didn't say anything. He told him to go ahead and do it. In the past, many of my sons-in-law's ideas seemed unreliable, but in the end, it turned out that his impromptu ideas had all sorts of amazing effects.

However, we don't know if the spring here is stable or not. We shouldn't rush to build a water tower, only to have it stop flowing later. Wouldn't that be a waste of effort?

"Yes, that's what I'm worried about too. Let's check the situation of the spring here first. There's no rush to build the water tower. We'll do it if things are stable."

Chen Ling just had this idea on a whim because the water flowing from the spring was so cool. If it doesn't work, it's no big deal; he can just buy another refrigerator.

Zhao Dahai planted utility poles on the mountains near the farm for him, and they're busy setting up the lines now. Once they're up and running, the power supply will be much more stable than before, and installing a refrigerator won't be a problem.

Wang Cunye nodded: "It's good that you know what's going on. There are still so many bluestones piled up by the reservoir at the village entrance, but nobody wants them anymore. They'll be more than enough to build a small water tower in the future."

"Yes, I know. By the way, Dad, the apricots in our orchard are almost ripe. They can be eaten now. They're crisp and sweet, without any sourness. I plan to pick two baskets to sell."

"Oh dear, the apricots are almost ripe! I forgot about that. I hope they don't ripen at the same time as the wheat. If they happen to be together, it'll keep us busy to death."

"It's alright, Dad. I'll pick some ripe ones first and have Little Sheep send two baskets of apricots to the city so Liu Jiancheng and the others can try selling them. If they sell well, that would be great. If not, we'll find another buyer. At the very least, there's Chuangzi's cannery, hahaha."

"What are you saying? If you could sell it properly, why send it to a cannery?"

Chen Ling chuckled, picked up the small bucket and put it aside. Then he called Erhei to go home and get a shovel to dig a small ditch around the spring. Otherwise, the water would flow erratically and create a large, wet, muddy area.

The father-in-law and son-in-law were busy for a while. When Gao Xiulan came back and saw them working, she went home and started preparing lunch. After Wang Susu returned from the village with the child, the family ate lunch, and then Chen Ling took the child to Chen Yongsheng's house in the village to find Little Sheep.

Today it's the turn of the fish vendors on their side.

Gao Xiulan was very well-informed and knew that Little Sheep had stayed at Chen Yongsheng's house for lunch.

Recently, tourists have gradually left Chenwangzhuang, and the stalls on the reservoir have stopped being set up. Little Sheep no longer needs to come specifically in the morning and evening as before.

"Fourth Grandfather, have you eaten yet?"

When they arrived at Chen Yongsheng's house, they saw Chen Gannian sitting on a half-millstone outside the door, peeling melons with a sickle and eating them. Chen Ling casually asked him a question.

"It is a rich and noble meal. I have already eaten. It's just that when people get old, they can't eat too much proper food. I ate half a bowl of noodles but I'm still hungry. I'll have a melon to tide me over."

"These melons were given to you by Li Xian's son-in-law. I'll go get them for you. You can try them, and let the children try them too."

The scarred old man stood up, chuckled, and said something before heading back to get his things.

"Don't take it, Fourth Grandfather. I've already eaten. I just came to talk to Xiao Fang about something."

Chen Ling carried the baby into the house. Little Sheep was squatting under a tree in the yard, slurping noodles with a bowl in hand. Her trousers were rolled up, and she was holding two cloves of garlic in her chopsticks. She was eating noodles and garlic, sweating profusely.

He was wearing dirty, faded old clothes and green rubber shoes.

He looked exactly like a country youth, a stark contrast to his unconventional appearance when I first met him.

"Boming, you're eating. The fish in the village are almost all gone, aren't they?"

Chen Ling walked over with a smile, and casually greeted Chen Yongsheng and his wife, who were squatting by the wall in the courtyard eating noodles.

"Okay, almost done. Uncle Fugui, you're back from the city! I haven't seen you for almost half a month."

When Little Sheep saw Chen Ling coming over, she quickly stood up, ate the remaining noodles in her bowl, and put the bowl and chopsticks aside.

Then he took out a cigarette, handed one to Chen Ling, and then offered cigarettes to Chen Yongsheng and his son.

This kid may look unkempt lately, but he's been making a lot of money transporting fish back and forth, and his pockets are bulging.

"Oh dear, I forgot Uncle Fugui, you don't like to smoke. Here, have a melon. I picked it from a field by the roadside on the way here. That bastard blocked the road with stones so the car wouldn't pass, so I got off the bus in the middle of the night and stole two big bags of melons from him..."

The boy grinned sheepishly, turned around, grabbed two melons, and handed them to Chen Ling.

"Good heavens, you little rascal, how come you've become so cunning now?"

Chen Ling chuckled and made a joke.

At this moment, Chen Yongsheng brought over a small stool: "Fugui, don't stand, sit down."

Chen Gannian also handed him a kitchen knife, asking him to cut off the bruises on the melon.

Just then, Chen Yuqiang and several cousins ​​walked into the courtyard. Seeing this scene, they laughed and said, "Haha, Uncle Fugui has a lot of influence. He's treated like a relative visiting his wife's family as soon as he arrives."

Chen Yongsheng's wife, Wang Xiuhua, then laughed and said, "Yuqiang, when are you going to have another baby? Come over to our house, and Uncle Yongsheng and I will fawn over you, serving you tea and water."

"Come on, I'm not as rich and powerful as Uncle Fugui, I dare not have any more children."

The group laughed and then found places to sit in the yard.

They pooled their resources to sell fish together.

"Uncle Fugui, is it time to sell your fish again? Surely not so soon?"

Chen Yubin asked.

"No, it's just that the apricots in the orchard are almost ripe. I asked Bo Ming to help me send two baskets to the city to sell, see how that goes?"

Upon hearing this, the little lamb immediately understood and said, "Let's give it to Liu Jiancheng, Uncle Fugui?"

"Yes, send it to him. When you go there, let him try to sell it. If it doesn't work, then find someone else."

"Okay, I understand. Apricots are available in the city now, but not in large quantities. If things don't go well with Liu Jiancheng, I'll call Xiaojing and have her talk to you. You can make the final decision, Uncle Fugui."

Little Sheep is very efficient now, no wonder Wang Lixian has changed his opinion of him so much. There are still some discussions about Sannier in the village, but there is almost no gossip about Little Sheep behind his back.

Chen Ling had only been back from the city a few days ago, so he knew there weren't many apricots for sale. Therefore, he instructed Xiao Mianyang to have Liu Jiancheng sell the apricots at the market price after they arrived. After discussing this, they lingered at Chen Yongsheng's house for a while before carrying the child back to their own home in the village.

Now Rui Rui can already distinguish between the farm and home. As soon as he turned into the alley near his home, he stretched out his little hand, called out "Mommy" and pointed in that direction, meaning that his mother was there.

Unless something special happens, Wang Susu brings him here every day, puts him in his walker, and lets him play with Heiwa in the yard.

Recently, Xiao Jin was added to the family, and the two adults are now taking care of the little one at home.

Wang Susu can now focus on treating patients and dispensing medicine without worry.

"Come on, Daddy will take you home to find Mommy."

Chen Ling smiled and kissed his cheek, then whistled softly. Sure enough, soon the figures of two large dogs, one black and one yellow, appeared before them.

They arrived here early to wait for them.

As I walked to the door and looked into the yard, I saw that Wang Susu had also arrived and was drying the herbs in the yard.

Many herbs need to be sliced ​​after being dried. Wang Susu does all of this herself at home. Fortunately, she enjoys doing this and doesn't find it boring.

Chen Ling put her son in the walker, and the young couple squatted together in front of the bamboo grove in the middle of the yard to process the medicinal herbs.

The two of them basked in the afternoon sun, processing medicinal herbs, carefully cutting them into small sections or thin slices with a cleaver, enjoying the peaceful moment.

Rui Rui, that rascal, is still not well-behaved. There's nothing we can do; it's rare for little kids this age to stay still.

They like to run around on the ground and don't want to be carried by adults anymore.

Although Rui Rui isn't very good at walking on his own yet, he's already very comfortable in his walker. With the walker holding him in place, his two little legs can take off and run very fast. If the adults don't keep a close eye on him, he runs around like a little puppy, riding his walker and chasing after two big dogs all over the yard.

It whizzed past Chen Ling and Wang Susu again and again, leaving behind a string of crisp giggles.

"Dad~"

A moment later, he suddenly stopped in front of the bamboo cage at the corner of the east room, pointed at the two little birds inside the cage with his little finger, and called out to Chen Ling.

Those are Wang Zhenzhen's baby crows and cuckoos. Now they are fully grown and their feathers are all in full bloom. They look no different from adult birds, except that they can't fly yet.

"What's wrong? What do you want now?"

Chen Ling turned his head and glanced at it. This little thing was very busy and curious. It wanted to explore everything it saw.

Wang Susu glanced over there and exclaimed, "Ah Ling, look! The bird in the cage is gone. Did something come and eat it while we were having lunch?"

"Huh? No way."

Chen Ling looked and saw that the cage was indeed empty.

But seeing that his two dogs didn't react, he got up and went to look around the bamboo cage.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that the two little birds had somehow escaped from their cage and were sleeping in the shade by the wall.

"You little rascal, you've got sharp eyes."

Chen Ling pinched her son's little face, grabbed the two little birds, and said to Wang Susu, "I don't know how these two little things got out. It must have been because the sun was a bit too hot these past few days, and they couldn't stand it, so they ran out to hide in the shade."

"Then let's move them to a different place."

Wang Susu came over and took a look. She realized that her sister had indeed left the bird in the sun for most of the day, and now that the weather was getting hot, the bird couldn't stand it.

Then she squatted down, pinched her son's cheeks with both hands and rubbed them: "You naughty Rui Rui, you're quite capable of managing things. Did you see the bird run out?"

"Hehe, Mom~"

The little rascal grinned smugly, then broke free from Wang Susu's hand and continued to run wildly around the yard in his walker.

Chen Ling and Wang Susu ignored him and continued to process the medicinal herbs.

After working for more than half an hour, Wang Susu put the processed and categorized medicines into the medicine cabinet.

Just then, the clanging sound of a bicycle came from the courtyard gate, and the next moment Wang Jusheng was seen pushing the bicycle in.

"Fugui, are you free tonight? Come to my house for a drink. I caught two rare things today, I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"Hey, Jusheng, your wallet's bulging now, you're daring to brag, huh? What good stuff is it?"

Chen Ling laughed and said that quite a few people had asked him to drink these past two days, and the snacks to go with the drinks were all kinds of things. However, compared to the past, they were all quite generous and willing to spend money.

Farmers are not very educated and don't know how to have fun in different ways. When they make money and are happy, they don't have much else to do but cook a few hearty meat dishes and have a couple of drinks.

"Who's exaggerating? It's really good stuff. Yesterday, my husband found a nest of turtle eggs at the old river bend. Today, I knew there were a lot of turtles there, so I went to look for them during lunchtime when no one was around. I actually caught a turtle! And not only a turtle, I also knocked down two yellow quails with a slingshot..."

Wang Jusheng chuckled and puffed out his chest, saying, "How about it? Tell me, what do you think of my haul? Isn't it good stuff?"

"My goodness, you're really something! You can even take down an old quail, let alone a turtle."

Chen Ling was genuinely surprised. Old yellow quail are quite rare. They are actually a type of wild quail, but their feathers are slightly yellowish, and their necks are colorful like those of a partridge. Their meat is extremely delicious, much better than wild quail or pheasant, and has no muddy or fishy taste at all.

"That's right. There are a lot of old yellow quails this year, as well as wild quails. I also see a lot of moorhens. In about twenty days, they'll be laying eggs by the water. We can go and collect the moorhen eggs then."

Wang Jusheng grinned and said happily.

Rails appear in their area in late spring and early summer, much later than wild quails and the like. However, their meat doesn't taste very good, but their eggs are alright. Like soft-shelled turtles, they are also fishy, ​​but the mountain people used to be poor and couldn't afford to eat proper meat. Over time, they developed a knack for eating eggs and naturally knew how to prepare them.

(End of this chapter)