My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 45 Taming
After entering the cave, Chen Ling removed the blindfold from the little water buffalo's eyes. Upon seeing a stranger in front of it, the little water buffalo was so frightened that it took several steps back.

"Don't be afraid, come with me, and I'll take you to eat and drink the best food."

Chen Ling held the cucumber out to it.

The little water buffalo smelled the familiar fragrance and was immediately tempted. It wanted to go forward but was too afraid. Its big, dark eyes blinked as it hesitated.

Chen Ling put the cucumber on the ground, turned around and walked away. Only then did it dare to come forward, pick up the cucumber, and start crunching away.

After only two or three bites, he squinted his eyes in enjoyment, as if the cucumber was incredibly sweet.

Seeing this, Chen Ling went into the thatched hut and brought out a large bunch of spinach.

These spinach leaves are old. Although they were grown in a cave and taste better than ordinary vegetables, they have too much fiber, which gets stuck in your teeth and is difficult to eat. They also don't taste as good as fresh ones.

Now it's perfect for feeding the cows.

"Come on, come and eat."

Chen Ling squatted down and waved to the little water buffalo.

The little water buffalo was enjoying its cucumber when it suddenly smelled a tempting aroma and stared at Chen Ling with its dark eyes.

"Come and eat..."

Chen Ling threw a spinach in front of him.

The little buffalo twitched its ears, hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over, lowered its head, curled its tongue, and ate the spinach.

After it finished eating, Chen Ling threw a few more pieces in front of him, which the little water buffalo ate one by one.

Gradually, it loosened up and Chen Ling would pat its head a couple of times while it was eating, and it stopped dodging.

"Good, just be a good girl."

After finishing the large bunch of spinach, Chen Ling patted the little water buffalo on the head.

Actually, the calf isn't that small. It's already over six months old and about 80 centimeters tall, with a body length of about 1.4 meters, which is still a bit short. An adult buffalo is at least 2 meters long.

"You've eaten your fill, now let me give you some water."

Then, Chen Ling brought over a small bucket of stream water and placed it in front of the little water buffalo.

"Moo~"

The little water buffalo immediately noticed the difference in the water, let out a happy cry, and lowered its head to drink it down.

After quickly finishing her drink, she stared at Chen Ling with her big, dark eyes. Seeing that Chen Ling didn't move, she stuck out her tongue and licked his hand, her eyes full of flattery.

Clearly, he still wanted to drink water.

"You can only drink this much at a time; it would be a waste to give you more."

Chen Ling patted its head and tied it to the jujube tree behind the thatched hut.

The pear and jujube trees behind the thatched hut were brought in from outside. They bore fruit as soon as they were planted, but apart from using the plow to boil water for drinking, he didn't eat many of the jujubes.

Thinking of this, Chen Ling picked two dates, threw them into his mouth, and then left the cave.

……

Chen Ling returned to Chenwangzhuang at four o'clock in the afternoon.

I cycled for two hours on the road, mainly because the mountain roads were difficult to navigate and I had to cross a river.

That river is not the same as the Nansha River; it's called the Jinshui River, named after the many people who panned for gold there in the early years.

Like the Nansha River, it connects to the reservoir east of Chenwangzhuang Village, but this river is much wider and more turbulent than the Nansha River.

To cross this river, you need to go around through a village called Kinmen Village next to it.

Therefore, it takes four hours to travel to and from the market in Changle Township.

As soon as Chen Ling rode his bicycle into the village, he was met with a chorus of barking dogs, because a cow was following behind him on his bicycle that day.

As soon as the unfamiliar animal entered the village, the village dogs sensed something was wrong and surrounded it, barking at the little water buffalo.

"Go away, all of you, get out of here."

Although the little water buffalo was no longer afraid of Chen Ling, it was still a little timid when surrounded by several dogs from the village, so it stopped and didn't move forward.

Chen Ling had no choice but to get off his bicycle and chase the dog away.

Many villagers came out to see what was happening and saw Chen Ling leading a small white water buffalo back to the village. They knew that the boy must have gone to the market in the countryside.

"How could that good-for-nothing Fugui buy such a cow? He must have been cheated again."

Some nosy village women started gossiping.

"That's for sure. This lazybones has never worked in the fields, how would he know how to look after cattle? He's bound to get ripped off. What's gotten into him this year, making him mess around with the fields?" "How would I know? His father passed away, and his elders have been advising him to be more ambitious, but he won't listen. Now he's exchanging land with Erzhu and buying cattle. Who knows what's gotten into him?"

"..."

Unaware that people were talking about him behind his back, Chen Ling led the cow with one hand and pushed his bicycle home with the other.

The little buffalo is quite curious about unfamiliar environments. As long as it doesn't encounter strangers or dogs, it looks around like a curious child.

Soon they arrived home, where Wang Susu was sitting in the yard making clothes. Liu Nier and her group of little kids were also there, gathered around a bamboo basket in the yard, looking at something.

As soon as Chen Ling pushed open the door, Heiwa and Xiaojin, the two little guys, ran over to greet him, barking and wagging their tails fast.

These two little ones are almost a month old. Because they drink goat milk mixed with water from the Dongtian Stream every day, their little bodies are growing rapidly and they are now bigger than a normal two-month-old dog.

The children, including Liu Ni'er, lost interest in them, saying they weren't as fun as when they were kids.

"Ah Ling is back?"

"Uncle Fugui!"

Wang Susu and a group of children came over to greet them.

At this moment, Heiwa and Xiaojin, who were frolicking around Chen Ling's feet, suddenly stopped, their tails stood up, and they barked loudly at Chen Ling's back.

But it was Little Water Buffalo who peeked out from behind Chen Ling, its big, dark eyes wide open, curiously peering into the yard.

"Oh dear, it's a cow. Uncle Fugui brought a cow back."

Liu Ni'er's eyes lit up immediately, and she ran over like a gust of wind.

"White cows are so beautiful."

Other little children also gathered around to look intently.

Wang Susu frowned slightly: "Ah Ling, why did you buy a white cow? In the summer, it will attract a lot of flies and mosquitoes, and if it gets bitten a lot, the cow will easily get sick."

"It's okay. I have a solution."

Chen Ling smiled indifferently and parked his bicycle in the yard.

The little buffalo was still peeking in from outside the door, too afraid to come in.

However, it is very docile when faced with the little dolls that come to it. It does not dodge the little hands that touch it, but instead enjoys squinting its eyes and letting the little hands stroke its body.

"That 'Black Whirlwind' wasn't lying to me. This little white calf isn't afraid of people at all; it's afraid of unfamiliar adults..."

She clearly has the personality of a shy young woman.

Chen Ling smiled and beckoned to the little water buffalo: "Come here quickly."

The little water buffalo thought Chen Ling was going to feed it something good, so it slowly walked into the yard and came to Chen Ling's side.

"Ah Ling, this little white calf is so obedient."

Upon seeing this, Wang Susu opened her mouth in surprise.

Chen Ling smiled slightly: "Susu, you don't know, this little water buffalo is actually very shy. It's afraid of strangers and only likes to play with little children. It can't even be sold at the market..."

Chen Ling then recounted the story of the little water buffalo.

Wang Susu found it amusing after hearing this, and didn't mention that white cows attract mosquitoes.

"But it's being so well-behaved now."

"Can I touch it?"

"Come to me and try touching it from behind, or it will kick you."

Wang Susu nodded, indicating that she understood.

Then he walked up to him and carefully touched the little buffalo's head and its short horns.

Sure enough, as soon as she reached out, the little buffalo seemed to shyly dodge away, turning its body to hide behind Chen Ling, only showing half of its head, secretly sizing up Wang Susu.

"Oh, it's so shy."

Upon seeing this, Wang Susu immediately cried out in surprise, her heart filled with compassion.

"Ah Ling, how did you manage to make it not afraid of you and so close to you?"

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(End of this chapter)