My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 528 Piranhas?
'Goodness, you talk like you know my cow better than I do.'

Chen Ling was speechless, but he noticed the fear on their faces and that they were talking about performing rituals.

He then stopped talking.

After watching the white calf lead the mother and calf of the yellow ox into the woods to the north, he followed them.

Rui Rui is such a small child that he can't stay at home. He likes to go outside to play. The farther he goes and the more things he sees, the happier he is.

However, Little White Cow is not like Blackie or Little Gold; he won't be spoiled and allowed to run around on his own.

Whenever he wanted to play near the water, in the thicket of thorns, or near a leaning, about-to-fall tree.

She would then use her mouth to hold the brat's clothes, letting him dangle in mid-air, kicking his legs and flailing his arms and legs, before gently placing him in front of Chen Ling...

Then it 'mooed' and asked Chen Ling to discipline it.

At first, Rui Rui was so anxious that she almost cried, yelling, "Niu Niu is bad, I'll hit you!" She rushed over, pushing and shoving the little white calf, hitting it with her hands and kicking it with her feet.

Not to mention that the little white calf is a gentle cow, always kind and tolerant of the brat, and besides, this amount of force is almost like a tickle to it.

Let the brat run wild. He can be beaten or kicked as he pleases. If he tries to run away, just grab his clothes and pull him back.

After several repetitions, Rui Rui found it quite amusing. He giggled as the little white cow held his clothes in mid-air, and he didn't even want to come down.

"Niu Niu, again, again~"

The little white calf was happy to play along with him, as long as he didn't run around.

Playing like this was perhaps interesting, so much so that the curious little yellow calf forgot to eat grass and watched for a while before eagerly approaching. However, the little white calf swung its neck and used its thick, curved horns to push it away, afraid that it might hurt the little child.

The little yellow calf dared not come up again.

They just kept staring longingly.

Calf and lamb are no different from puppies and kittens; they are curious and like to play with people.

"See that? This guy's big white cow is something else. It can even look after the kids."

"Yes, people say that the white ox's eyes are different; they can see ghosts and ward off evil spirits. Why don't you ask someone to lead the ox to the place where people drowned in the Dumb River?"

"Forget it, they have a baby at home, and it's so young. It's bad luck."

"Oh yes, that's true. Then let's ask someone to perform a ritual."

In many places, it is believed that water ghosts seek substitutes. If people frequently drown in a certain area, it is believed to be the work of water ghosts, and a master must be invited to exorcise them.

This belief is, of course, somewhat superstitious.

Many people go swimming and playing in the river when it's hot; men and women, adults and children alike, and every year some drown.

I've seen plenty of places by the sea and by the river.

Taboos may be taboo, but there's nothing strange about this kind of thing.

So when Chen Ling heard their discussion, he didn't take it to heart and immediately led Rui Rui and the little white ox deeper into the forest.

I'm too lazy to listen to their nonsense anymore.

In fact, few people come to the north side of the forest farm, which is more desolate than the south side, with more lush vegetation. The narrow dirt road is completely blocked by wild grass and vines on both sides, leaving only a narrow gap.

There are also a lot of mosquitoes.

However, they brought mosquito-repellent sachets with them, so mosquitoes wouldn't get close.

In addition...

There are disadvantages, but there are also advantages.

The advantage is that this place is sparsely populated and has a lot of wild animals. There are high-quality singing insects and beautiful and interesting insects everywhere. Rui Rui was overjoyed and kept begging Chen Ling to catch them in the grass and trees. He was having a great time catching them.

They found insects and later discovered many wild animals hiding in burrows in the grass and at the roots of trees.

Such as Badger Cave and Mountain Fox Cave.

There are many traces of their activities here.

Although there aren't as many as in the mountains, it's not a small amount here in the forest farm.

Chen Ling remembered the hole he'd encountered yesterday while watering the fields; he still hadn't figured out what it was.

I was thinking that I should go back and check on things again tonight.

Now, all sorts of things are emerging in the wild outside the village, making it feel like we've returned to the area before and after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

I heard that back then, when working in the fields, there were many wild animals. Wild rabbits and pheasants would often run past you, and rabbit holes and pheasant nests were extremely common.

On rainy days, especially during the light drizzle in spring and autumn, you can hear the long, drawn-out mooing of cows while working in the fields, but when you go looking for them, you can't see anything.

People call this thing 'earth bull'.

But it's unclear whether it's a beast, a bird, or an insect.

Back then, there were so many strange things whose names and appearances we didn't know.

Now I'm starting to feel that same feeling again.

With so many rare and interesting things around, Chen Ling felt happy.

There's a sense of accomplishment in finding something you once owned.

They were eager to see what lived in that cave.

However, he didn't have time to go back that day.

As the sun was setting, the family was in the yard making wontons with the leftover dumpling filling when they heard a commotion outside.

Someone shouted, "The Turtle King is on a trip! The Turtle King is on a trip! The Turtle King is here to protect us! He just rescued the girl who fell into the Liangjia Bridge at the Dumb River! Come and see!"

Is the Turtle King on an outing?
Chen Ling was completely taken aback. How did Garlic Head reappear in front of everyone?!

Then I realized something was wrong. I used to often have Garlic carry me around to various rivers and lakes when no one was around at night, indulging in the fantasy of being a river god on patrol.

The garlic plants are already very familiar with the local rivers and lakes.

Moreover, ever since that giant, strange fish disappeared from the reservoir, he had instructed Garlic to keep an eye on it and be on guard.

They have now appeared at the Dumb River.

Could someone have drowned there, and it was that strange fish causing the trouble?
Think about it this way.

It's not incomprehensible that a strange fish over ten meters long would attack or eat people.

"Oh my, the Turtle King has finally gone on a trip this year, he hasn't missed a single one... Lingzi, go buy some raw meat and catch two fish, I'll go get two red cloths, we'll go pay our respects to the Turtle King later."

Upon hearing this news, the old lady became extremely excited and urged Chen Ling to prepare offerings.

It was quite a coincidence.

Garlic first appeared around the seventh or eighth month of the lunar calendar, and it seems to be more active during this time than at other times.

People subconsciously felt that the so-called "Turtle King's Travels" took place in this month.

It's really a perfect match that it appeared again this year.

"Yes, Ah Ling. You can hear them shouting outside. The Turtle King has saved people. The Dumb River will be safe from now on."

Wang Susu, with her pregnant belly, stood at the door with Rui Rui by her side, smiling happily as she spoke.

Blackie and Little Gold stood in front of their mother and son, wagging their tails slowly, staring curiously at the crowds running back and forth on the street outside.

"Okay, I'll go buy it right away. You and Mom stay home and don't move. There are so many people outside right now, so just stay home and take good care of Rui Rui. I'll go buy the offerings when there are fewer people tonight."

Chen Ling agreed and led the little blue horse out.

Given the growing crowd, he didn't go to the place where garlic was known to be around at this time, but instead took a less crowded side road back to the village.

They took out the large fishing net they had woven earlier and threw it into the cave.

If we encounter that strange fish when we go there at night, we can just take it into our cave and be done with it.

As the saying goes: at seventeen or eighteen, when people are quiet, the moon shines.

After the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar, the moon rises later and later, only just peeking out after 10 p.m.

Chen Ling chose to go there in the middle of the night, when it was quiet and peaceful, which was a good time.

So, on that very night, when the moon was high in the sky and the stars were few, Chen Ling quietly arrived at the Dumb River.

The Dumb River is a very peculiar river.

Because there are no croaking frogs here, the entire river is silent and very quiet, so it is called the Dumb River.

Because the area east of the forest farm is remote and desolate, the river water is very clear.

Under the moonlight at night, the river water glistens and flows gurglingly.

The air was filled with the melodious chirping of insects on both banks, and fireflies danced in the sky.

It appears tranquil and beautiful.

Those who came to worship the Turtle King had already dispersed before midnight.

It is said that these large turtles disappeared into the river before nine o'clock.

All that remained were remnants of incense and paper ash, along with the strong sulfurous smell of various firecrackers, which dispelled the eerie atmosphere that had prevailed over the past twenty days in which three people had died.

However, the place was completely silent.

Chen Ling didn't know if Garlic and the others were still there.

Following the same method as before, after approaching the riverbank, I reached out and gently patted the water's surface with a slow and steady rhythm, making a splashing sound.

However, it is a pity.

I tried several times, but it still didn't appear.

Garlic and the others have disappeared.

He rode his horse at night, searching along the river for a long time. He also went to Nansha River and Dumb Lake. He called out every now and then, but there was no trace of him.

The noise from the riverbank resumed the following morning, the day of the county market.

Under a sky obscured by dark clouds.

Outside the city, the Nansha River was flowing and rushing. Several huge monsters, like sea beasts, had appeared on the wide river surface at some unknown time. The leader, in particular, was the largest, resembling a giant round boat floating on the river, or a huge island.

Huge waves surged in the river, pushed by water from the west.

This is exactly what garlic and garlic are like.

Moreover, it wasn't just these large turtles that appeared; behind them, many schools of fish swam, and some were quite large as well. There were even bright white fish leaping out of the water to chase and prey on the smaller fish.

The fish were gathering in greater numbers, surrounding the large turtles.

The scene looked quite impressive.

It was just like the dragon palace procession in mythology.

This immediately ignited the emotions of all the onlookers. More and more people gathered on both sides of the riverbank, and the crowd became excited, shouting loudly. As the turtles moved, the crowd also moved eastward.

Those who were herding ducks or fishing in the river quickly moved to the shore, not daring to offend anyone in the slightest.

Chen Ling's family also saw it. Wang Susu hadn't been out for many days, and since it wasn't sunny today and the weather was relatively cool, she took her mother and daughter out to graze the cattle and stroll around. Unexpectedly, they encountered them swimming over.

'These old turtles are really getting bigger and bigger.'

Chen Ling wondered to himself, 'I haven't fed them any more spiritual water, so they must have mutated from staying in the cave for too long.'

Just thinking about this.

Then, a loud "moo—" like the bellowing of an old ox was heard from the river.

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then erupted into an even more enthusiastic shout.

"Listen, it's a dragon's roar! It's a dragon's roar!!!"

"The Turtle King is also the son of the Dragon King, and it can roar like a dragon."

"I knew it! This must be the old turtle king who lived here all those years ago. Knowing that we, the common people, sincerely worship him, he has come out to tour again."

With his arrival, our area will surely enjoy favorable weather and abundant harvests, and everything will go smoothly.

The floods, water disasters, water ghosts, and water monsters were all driven away, too frightened to return.

"And another thing, the Turtle King can also save people."

"Yes, it can still save people, so you won't have to worry about water ghosts looking for substitutes anymore."

"..."

Wang Susu and her son were also incredibly excited. Standing on the riverbank, their faces flushed, they shouted loudly. Rui Rui even stepped onto the back of the little white calf next to her, holding onto its horns, so that the little white calf could lift him up a little.

The little white ox was tall and strong, its feet seemingly rooted to the ground, forming a white wall behind Wang Susu and her daughter, preventing the surging crowd from getting any closer.

Upon seeing this, Chen Ling scolded the mother and daughter a few times, and together with the little white ox, they pushed through the increasingly surging crowd and led them out.

Seeing that Chen Ling was a little angry, Wang Susu realized that she had forgotten her pregnant status in her excitement, and stuck out her tongue guiltily: "The Turtle Prince let out a dragon roar, A-Ling, why aren't you excited at all?"

Rui Rui was still trapped under Chen Ling's armpit, struggling and kicking her legs with her little bottom sticking out, crying and wanting to run out to see.

After Chen Ling slapped him twice on the buttocks, he immediately became obedient.

"What's there to get excited about? I was just worried about you and the baby... Have you forgotten you're pregnant? You dare to stand by the river? Aren't you afraid of being pushed in by the crowd? You were just watching the show."

Actually, with the little white calf blocking the crowd and guarding them steadily, the mother and son were fine.

But, better safe than sorry.

Moreover, Chen Ling finally caught his wife making a mistake, so he definitely had to seize the opportunity to bully and teach her a lesson.

Wang Susu was indeed very afraid of his temper. Her face, which had become even whiter and fuller due to her pregnancy, was covered by two strands of hair. Her cheeks were slightly puffed out as she looked at him and whispered, "This is not just watching the show. The Turtle King is a god in the river. I also want to share in his good fortune."

This posture is just like that of a newlywed bride.

Chen Ling's heart softened, and he casually made up a story: "If the Turtle King has a spirit, getting too close would be offensive. It's better to worship him quietly."

She said this, then put on a fierce look: "I still won't let you go out before you have the baby. If you bump into something in a crowd, our whole family will regret it... If you dare to run around, you'll end up like Rui Rui, and I'll spank you."

Rui Rui was nestled under Chen Ling's armpit, tilting his little head and looking at his father and mother with a mischievous grin. Then the little rascal smiled and chuckled.

There's nothing else. The brat doesn't understand anything else, but he understands the word "spanking" perfectly; he's practically a conditioned reflex to it.

"Snapped."

Chen Ling's face darkened. He switched the brat to his other hand and slapped him: "How dare you climb on a bull's head! You think you're so capable... I haven't even settled this score with you yet, and you still dare to laugh at your old man."

"Wow, Mommy, I'm looking for Mommy."

Rui Rui burst into tears with a loud "waa".

……

At this moment, the strange, muffled bellowing of the cow outside continued intermittently.

The crowd grew increasingly excited.

At one point, the already lively noise was amplified by an even louder commotion.

"The water monster is coming! There's a monster in the water!"

"The monster dragged the boat away."

"The Turtle King has appeared and killed the water monster."

(End of this chapter)