My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 51 Going up the mountain
After lunch, Chen Ling and Wang Susu rested at home for a while before taking the cow and two puppies out of the house from the backyard.

It rained twice a while ago, but the last two days have been very sunny.

The sky was so blue, so bright it was blinding.

It is indeed getting warmer day by day, and the peach trees in the village are also budding.

Chen Ling let Wang Susu ride on the ox, while he led the ox.

Susu is light, and the little water buffalo can easily carry her.

The key thing is that it has become quite familiar with Wang Susu in the past two days.

Perhaps it was because Wang Susu carried Chen Ling's scent quite strongly, or perhaps it was because Wang Susu was very approachable, just like when she was with a little baby, that it didn't feel uncomfortable.

In short, Wang Susu can now not only reach out and touch it, play with it, but also ride on its back.

The two walked through the village. There weren't many people in the village today, only a few who were painting and refreshing family planning slogans. They were being led around the streets and alleys by the women's director, Wang Xiuhua.

"Ah Ling, I heard from Fifth Uncle that you came up with the slogans this time?"

Wang Susu sat on the ox's back and asked.

"Yes, Dongmei's sister said that the last slogan was only half painted before they stopped painting it, saying that it was the same old thing from previous years and wouldn't have the desired publicity effect, so they told us to come up with something new."

Seeing that Wang Xiuhua and the others were quite far away, Chen Ling didn't bother to greet them and continued, "It's nothing, just some slogans that the villagers can understand. I was just coming up with them."

"It's not just wild speculation; I heard even Brother Jusheng couldn't come up with one."

Wang Susu looked at a few slogans and found them quite novel. She looked them over from left to right and felt quite proud of Chen Ling.

But soon, her attention was drawn to a sentence: "If you don't get vaccinated when you should, the house will collapse; if you don't have an abortion when you should, the house will be demolished and the cattle taken away..."

After reading it aloud twice, Wang Susu frowned slightly: "Ah Ling, everything else is fine, but this is just too... well, isn't it?"

Chen Ling knew what she meant; she thought it was too explicit.

He smiled and said, "Since they've used this slogan, it means it suits their tastes. Let's not think too much about it."

After hearing what he said, Wang Susu didn't say anything more.

But she couldn't help but let out a soft hum to express her dissatisfaction.

Seeing this, Chen Ling gave her a reassuring smile and continued leading the cow out of the village.

Once you leave the village, which is to say, reach the west side of the village, you'll see a bustling scene of activity at the place where two pillars cover a large shed to the south.

Donkey carts and oxcarts, carrying thick bamboo poles, along with loads of cement, thick plastic sheeting, and other materials, were constantly being transported there.

Because after the tractor brings the materials, it can't go down the reservoir dam. Other roads leading out of the village are either too narrow, or full of potholes and steep slopes, making them impassable.

They could only transport the goods by donkey cart or oxcart, making trip after trip.

Seeing this, Chen Ling suddenly understood why Erzhu had called over so many people.

The materials for the 50-acre greenhouse alone would take several days to transport.

Moreover, cement piles need to be driven in later, otherwise the greenhouse simply cannot be supported.

After glancing towards the area where the greenhouses were being built, Chen Ling and his wife continued on their way to their own fields.

When Wang Susu arrived at the foot of the mountain and saw the trees that had been revitalized, her joy was beyond words.

In short, there was no longer any doubt about Chen Ling's proposal to plant fruit trees.

"Oh dear, the medicine basket is finished, but I forgot to bring it."

After herding the cattle around the edge of the field for a while, Wang Susu suddenly cried out in surprise.

He said with great frustration, "I was planning to come to the field to see how the trees were growing, and then go up the mountain to collect some herbs. Now that's not going to happen."

"It's okay if we don't bring a medicine basket. If we find any herbs today, we can mark them and come back to collect them tomorrow."

As Chen Ling spoke, he pointed south: "Now, the villagers are either working over there at Erzhu or busy with spring plowing. Basically, no one goes into the mountains, and even if we mark the area, no one takes the marks."

"Right."

Wang Susu thought about it and realized that was indeed the case. "Then, A-Ling, will you come up the mountain with me?"

"Of course we'll go together. How could I let you go alone?"

Chen Ling walked over and pinched her little nose.

"Hehe, let's go now."

Wang Susu immediately smiled sweetly, shook off his hand, puffed out her cheeks, and glared at him. So the two of them, leading the cow and two small dogs, headed up the mountain.

"Watch your step, Susu. There are lots of broken glass shards by the ditch ahead. Be careful not to cut your feet."

Chen Ling offered a reminder.

This piece of land at the foot of the mountain is less than 100 meters away from the path leading up the mountain.

There was a dry ditch in between.

It was dug by Erzhu's father earlier, firstly to discharge the wastewater from the lime factory, and secondly, to provide a ditch to drain the water during the rainy season in the mountains in summer, so that the lime factory would not be flooded.

But now it's been abandoned for over ten years. I don't know which unscrupulous person poured a lot of empty bottles into it, and they're all broken into pieces. You might get cut if you're not careful.

Especially in the summer when there is a lot of rain, the streams and ditches will fill with water and hide a bunch of frogs and toads. When children come to catch frogs, they are most likely to get their feet pricked.

"Okay, I'm watching."

Wang Susu responded sweetly, and with light steps, she bypassed the ditch and walked up the mountain path with the two puppies.

She grew up in a village deep in the mountains, often collecting medicinal herbs with her parents, and has an exceptionally strong affinity for the mountains and forests.

In the two years since their marriage, Chen Ling has quickly squandered all the wealth left by his parents, and Wang Susu has barely managed to make ends meet by collecting and selling medicinal herbs in the mountains.

Otherwise, the money from selling the grain produced on his ten acres of land wouldn't be enough for him to build.

Chen Ling used to be away from home all day, never returning until dark in the county's game rooms and video arcades.

During those days, she would go up the mountain alone to collect herbs, and then go to the village market or the county pharmacy to sell them.

How many dangers would she, a frail woman, have to face along the way?

Just thinking about that scene made Chen Ling feel heartbroken.

But now...

He found himself in another time and space, and everything got better.

Looking at Wang Susu's cheerful figure on the mountain path, Chen Ling couldn't help but smile.

"Ah Ling, hurry up!"

"Okay, here we come."

Chen Ling led the ox and quickly followed.

Although the mountain path here is narrow, it is not steep, and the little water buffalo can walk on it without much effort.

Of course, fed with the stream water and vegetables of Dongtian, it was no longer like an ordinary cow, and could still walk on steep mountain paths.

The young couple walked along, searching for medicinal herbs.

Suddenly, a gray shadow flashed past in front of me.

Chen Ling and Wang Susu were startled and before they could react, Heiwa and Xiaojin had already barked and dashed out.

"Don't chase them, come back quickly..."

Chen Ling then realized that it was a gray rabbit, quite large, much fatter than the rabbits from early spring.

Startled by them, it leaped and darted through the mountains and forests at great speed.

Heiwa and Xiaojin chased after them closely, but unfortunately they were too small to catch up.

Hearing Chen Ling call them, they reluctantly gave up the chase and ran back to the two of them.

"Two silly kids, running around on the mountain, aren't they afraid of stepping on animal traps?"

Chen Ling reprimanded him coldly for a couple of minutes.

At that time, there was no such thing as hunting being illegal, and people could freely enter the mountains and forests.

Whenever they go a while without meat, the villagers will find a way to go into the mountains to have a treat.

However, not every trip into the mountains yields a satisfactory result.

Therefore, setting traps in the mountains is a very common practice.

Special thanks to Brother Ya Nan for voting for this book every day since its inception. The author is doing his best not to disappoint you.

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(End of this chapter)