My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 46 Herding Cattle
"Haha, I'll keep that a secret for now and tell you later."

Chen Ling only told Wang Susu that "Black Whirlwind" helped blindfold the little water buffalo so that it could be led back safely; he didn't say anything else.

Wang Susu immediately adopted a pitiful look, pouting and saying, "Fine, don't tell me then."

Chen Ling squeezed her little hand and smiled gently at her.

His wife is now much more open in front of him, not only daring to question him about some things, but also subconsciously acting coquettishly towards him, which makes him very happy and satisfied.

However, Chen Ling suddenly noticed that there were many chicks chirping in the bamboo basket in the center of the yard.

"Huh? Where did this chick come from?"

"My mother asked me to bring this over for Aunt Susu to take care of."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ni'er quickly chimed in.

Wang Susu nodded and said, "Sister-in-law Yuzhi hatched a lot of chicks at home, and asked Liu Nier to bring some over."

Wang Lixian's wife is named Liu Yuzhi. She is mute and rarely goes out except when she goes to work in the fields during the busy farming season.

It was fine before, but after having children, I was afraid of being laughed at, and the children also felt bad.

"Oh, that's how it is."

Chen Ling understood the situation and looked at Liu Nier: "Liu Nier, why haven't I seen you come over to play these past few days?"

"Hehe, Uncle Fugui, you don't know, do you? I started elementary school this year."

Liu Ni'er chuckled and sniffled.

Chen Ling glared at him: "You brat, you're in school now, why do you still have snot hanging from your nose all the time? Don't you know how to wipe it?"

"Uncle Fugui, the teacher said that Liu Ni'er is not hygienic."

At this moment, a little rascal stepped forward and complained.

"Yes, Liu Ni'er even picked her toes during class, and then lied to Liu Tiedan from Jinmen Village, saying that her hands were sweet, and made Liu Tiedan taste them. When Liu Tiedan found out, he got so angry that he fought with her, and the teacher punished him by making him stand for two periods of class."

"..."

At this point, all the little kids stood up to complain.

This made Chen Ling and Wang Susu, the young couple, laugh heartily.

Chen Ling couldn't help but flick him on the forehead, "Liu Ni'er, you're really something."

Liu Ni shrank back, chuckled foolishly, and seemed quite pleased with herself.

After playing for a while, the children were about to leave, so Chen Ling called Liu Ni'er back and asked her to take some vegetables and eggs with her.

It's only natural to return something if someone brings you chicks.

Liu Ni'er has been coming here often these days, so she didn't stand on ceremony with him. She slung her basket over her shoulder and followed her friends with great pride.

After the children left, the yard became much quieter.

Chen Ling took the key to the backyard, tied the little water buffalo to the old locust tree, threw it a large bundle of spinach, locked the door, and came out.

Then I went back to the front yard and cleaned up the old chicken coop that I had abandoned last year.

Chickens are usually raised in the village starting in the spring, with some chicks.

As winter approaches, they either take the chickens to the village market to exchange for money, or slaughter them to make wind-dried chickens, because raising chickens for winter requires feeding them grain, and for the villagers, feeding too many is not cost-effective.

Just like Chen Ling's family, now besides the chicks, there's only one rooster and three hens. They sold many of their chickens last year, leaving only these four, which they can easily feed with bran and leftovers.

These old chicken coops are the ones left over from last year. They've been cleared out so that when the chicks grow up, they'll have a place to lay their eggs.

……

Early the next morning.

After Chen Ling got up and washed up, he led the little water buffalo out from the backyard, ready to go out for a walk.

We've already bought the cattle, but it wouldn't be right to just let them roam freely and satisfy our craving for herding.

It was March, a time of bright sunshine and gentle breezes, and the weather was quite pleasant. In the warm spring air, the crabapple blossoms in our yard were in full bloom.

Smelling the fragrance of flowers, Chen Ling led the little white calf and two puppies out of the house and headed towards the fields at the foot of the mountain.

"Wang Wang Wang..."

Once outside the village, Heiwa and Xiaojin immediately became excited, running around and shouting with joy.

One moment it chases after butterflies fluttering among the roadside flowers, the next it runs back and yells at the little white calf, complaining that it walks too slowly.

The morning dew was quite heavy, and soon the two puppies were covered in mud, which only made them more excited. They chased each other and circled around Chen Ling.

"Go away, go away, go play somewhere else. I came out to herd cattle, not to run around with you guys."

Chen Ling kicked each of the two little creatures, gently pushing them away.

As a result, Heiwa and Xiaojin thought Chen Ling was playing with them, so they happily rubbed against Chen Ling's feet.

Well, that's great, he got mud all over his legs.

Chen Ling was furious: "If you two cause any more trouble, I'll lock you in a cage and not give you any food or water!"

And you know what? After that scolding, the two little ones immediately became much more obedient, whimpering twice as they followed obediently behind.

After Heiwa and Xiaojin developed their intelligence, they were indeed clever, but they were still only about a month old and had the mind of children, with a great deal of playfulness.

Upon seeing a wild rabbit appear by the roadside, it immediately pricked up its little ears, its eyes shining brightly as it ran after it.

A dog this small can't hunt, of course.

He's just too curious, like a child, always wanting to chase after everything he sees to see what it's all about.

Chen Ling ignored them and let them run around, while he led the cow slowly towards the field.

Before long, we arrived at the foot of the mountain.

The fields were covered in lush green grass, a large expanse of vibrant green, much taller than when I last visited.

In the morning sunlight, the glistening dewdrops on the grass blades shimmered, creating a very pleasant visual experience when viewed from afar.

Unfortunately, the soil has not been completely improved. Although the Dongtian Creek has brought life, the soil is still somewhat dry and hard.

However, after two deep tillings and turning over the soil, it looks much better than before.

At least the land is flatter now, unlike before when it was messy and sparse, and the half-dead saplings are more vibrant than before.

"Why don't we plant some fruit trees? With the magic of the Dongtian Stream, vegetables and fruits planted under the trees will grow very well..."

Chen Ling stroked his chin, weighing the options in his mind.

These past two days, Wang Susu has been asking him questions before and after meals, since the land of other families in the village has also been replanned in the last two days.

Now that the land we exchanged can grow grass, it proves that we can also grow something. Even if it doesn't grow as well as other people's land, we shouldn't let the land go to waste.

Thinking this, Chen Ling looked around. Of the trees that the village committee used to plant, only a few remained, less than fifty in total.

You should know that nearly two thousand trees were planted back then, but because of this land, less than fifty survived in more than ten years.

It's still half-dead, with leaves that are always withered and yellow. When it was planted, it was about the thickness of three fingers, but now, ten years later, it's only about the thickness of five fingers.

Although the county forestry bureau provided the saplings free of charge because they were not allowed to leave any wasteland in the village at the time, it was still a really tough situation.

"But today, your hard times are over..."

Chen Ling walked up to a ginkgo tree, scooped out a bucket of water from the pond in the cave, and watered it.

Although the pond water no longer shines after the fish and turtles have settled in, it still has unimaginable benefits for plants.

After the bucket was poured in, bubbles began to rise from the roots of the ginkgo tree, just as thirsty people in the desert found sweet spring water and couldn't help but drink it down.

A moment later, a rustling sound came from above Chen Ling's head. It was the ginkgo tree that had regained its vitality and was branching out at a speed visible to the naked eye.

In the blink of an eye, it had already grown into a graceful canopy.

(End of this chapter)