My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 529 Sheep Eat Birds?
"What water monster? A bunch of people are just making things up. It's a herd of water buffalo."

"Hey, it really is! We don't have any paddy fields here in our county. It must have swum over from the east of the city!"

"They must have swum across the Dumb River too..."

How did the water buffaloes from those villages east of the city end up in our county town?

"Oh, is that even a question? It must be because of the hot weather and the stuffy conditions today. The water buffaloes are having fun playing by the water and have run far away."

"Is that so? Something doesn't seem right to me."

"..."

"No, look! These water buffaloes were so frightened by the turtle king's imposing presence that they capsized the boat."

On the wide expanse of the river to the east, a group of water buffalo watched in panic as the giant turtles approached, each one frantically running towards the shore.

The scene resembled humans crossing a river with African buffalo.

Several of the small boats that went out to fish or raise ducks were capsized.

There were also a few well-dressed city dwellers, probably among the first to arrive after seeing the news about the Wild Boar King.

These people had little experience on the water, and when the panicked water buffalo charged at them, they were all knocked into the water.

Although the people on the other boats could swim and were familiar with the water, they couldn't be helped in this situation.

These people were thrashing about in the river like ducks that can't swim, and they were about to drown.

Just then, Garlic and its group of large turtles swam over, without making any move.

A powerful current surged up from the riverbed, carrying those who had capsized and fallen into the water directly to the shore.

"Look! The Turtle King has saved someone again!"

The crowds on both sides of the Nansha River erupted in uproar.

"The Turtle King is simply a living bodhisattva; he truly is a benevolent deity who protects our region."

"..."

"Yes, every township and village in our county should build a temple for him, and a bigger one should be built in the city as well."

The crowd erupted in praise.

It seemed as if these giant turtles had suddenly become a source of pride for them.

Moreover, they were no longer satisfied with simply bringing shrines into their homes; they even wanted to build temples.

Even the locals are like this.

Those who were rescued climbed ashore and excitedly kowtowed to the group of enormous beasts.

When they arrived, they thought the local giant softshell turtles were wild, uncivilized creatures that lived in deserted rivers and lakes and never interacted with people.

Now they're even saving people.

The experience of being rescued by such a colossal beast in person stirred a strong and inexplicable emotion within them that welled up from their chests.

Shock, excitement, awe... there were just too many emotions to express in a short time.

So he just trembled all over, kowtowing with the local residents and shouting things like "Turtle King, Immortal, Living Bodhisattva."

After the group of giant turtles finally disappeared from people's sight.

Local residents, villagers who came to the market, and vendors were reluctant to leave, hoping that the turtles would reappear.

More people hurriedly took or bought some offerings and began burning incense and worshipping again.

It's clear that today's market can't continue.

The vendors have lost interest in selling their wares.

The city folks who came to visit, disregarding their soaked state after falling into the water, hurriedly went to find a phone booth to make a call, excitedly telling their relatives and friends to come and see the immortals. When their relatives and friends heard this, they thought the folks had gone crazy after visiting the countryside.

Chen Ling listened to the shouts of 'gods' and 'bodhisattvas' outside while at home, and felt a sense of helplessness.

The garlic cloves appearing during the day is definitely suspicious; there's probably something going on behind the scenes.

But with so many people around, even Gao Xiulan couldn't listen to advice and insisted on going out to burn some incense and candles, praying for the Turtle King's blessing.

After all, these big turtles really do know how to save people.

The old lady thought it wouldn't hurt to believe it.

Chen Ling also couldn't go out to communicate and interact closely with Garlic and the others.

After waiting and waiting, Gao Xiulan finally returned.

He left the two dogs and the little white calf to keep the mother and daughter company and guard the house. He then took Rui Rui and rode the little green horse eastward, choosing a less crowded place. He used a bamboo flute to transmit some signals and left some raw meat in several places in the Dumb River.

Then I stopped caring about it. Now there are too many people and too much noise, which is annoying.

Chen Ling then turned his horse around and galloped towards the village.

He's been quite busy lately.

We need to build haystacks, arrange the pig king's skeleton, and prepare for the dogs to give birth.

...These are all things he's interested in, so he's very motivated.

I take Rui Rui home for a walk whenever I feel like it.

……

The sky was overcast, and the air was muggy and humid.

Chen Ling and his son rode their horses at breakneck speed home; the fast pace made the journey quite refreshing.

It was about to rain, and the sky was filled with swallows and swarms of birds, making the little baby shout all the way.

Once we arrived in the village, it was much quieter.

The main problem is that it's too far from Nansha River, and we don't know what happened yet.

Chen Ling rode his horse to check out the courtyard in the village, glancing at the two neighboring houses across the street, but didn't see anything amiss.

He fed the pigeons for a bit, then headed to the farm.

At the farm, the brother-in-law was herding sheep and talking with Zhao Yubao and the others.

Old Zhong is teaching the children to draw with twigs.

Draw birds in the sky, cats and dogs on the ground, fish and shrimp in the water...

Upon seeing Chen Ling and his son, he happily greeted them and said that good things had been happening to them lately.

The little egrets on the mountain have started to hatch.

The baby red-crowned cranes will arrive soon too.

The people from the provincial TV station are now reluctant to come down the mountain; they're taking turns filming in two groups.

The little egret is one thing.

But the little red-crowned crane is different; it is considered very special by both the general public and professionals.

They are the first group of red-crowned cranes to settle and lay eggs in the area.

If it could be fully recorded, it would be incredibly memorable.

It will be a source of pride for the locals in the future.

"Also, your dog is about to give birth. You didn't notice it when you came over yesterday, did you? Qingwen said your dog still has some wolf-like traits..."

They've started digging holes these past two days.

Perhaps, like wolves, they feel safer giving birth in their dens.

Chen Ling frowned upon hearing this: "Tsk, this dog is so annoying. It's pregnant with puppies and still digging holes. Doesn't it worry about getting into trouble?"

Wang Qingwen glanced at his brother-in-law: "Uncle Zhong said that it's very likely that these dogs feel insecure because you and Susu aren't home, and Heiwa and Xiaojin aren't home either, and there aren't any family members guarding the house, so they dug holes."

Chen Ling was taken aback, then nodded silently: "What Uncle Zhong said makes sense. I come back so often because I want to watch over them when they have puppies. I can't let Heiwa and Xiaojin come back for the time being, otherwise the puppies will definitely feel different when they are at home."

In these days, county towns are sometimes even more chaotic than villages.

Petty theft and burglaries by scaling walls at night are very common.

Even during the day, it's not safe.

Wang Susu, a pregnant woman, and Gao Xiulan, an old lady, were both unfamiliar faces. It would be more reassuring to leave the dog and cow behind.

"What? Is the tunnel finished?"

"No, how could someone pregnant with a puppy dig a big hole? At most, she would dig a few pits, which Qingwen filled in a long time ago."

Old Zhong laughed and said, "It's only because your dog is smart and sensible that it knows Qingwen is one of our own, otherwise it would have pounced on him and bitten him long ago."

Wang Qingwen laughed heartily, saying with a hint of pride, "I even chased them away to stop them from digging holes outside at night. They didn't bark or bite me. As soon as I chased them away, they obediently went back to their kennels. These dogs must know that I am one of their own."

"Oh, speaking of which, these dogs also frequently go into that big hole in the cornfield..."

Zhao Yubao patted his bottom and stood up, looking at Chen Ling: "When I went to the county to mail a letter yesterday, I called Old Han and asked him. Old Han said that there are quite a few like this that can both dig holes and store grain."

"What? Quite a lot?"

Chen Ling was a little confused upon hearing this; none of them, native mountain people, had ever heard of such a thing. "Did Uncle Han say what kind of creatures have this strange habit?"

"Old Han said there were some badgers and some rats. I've never seen or heard of any of the scientific names he mentioned. I was afraid I'd forget them, so I wrote them down on a piece of paper. I'll get them for you when I get home."

Zhao Yubao frowned and thought for a moment, but couldn't remember. He then handed the sheep-driving whip to Chen Ling and walked out of the orchard.

"A badger? What kind of rat?"

Chen Ling also frowned.

He knows badgers all too well.

The "cha" in Lu Xun's writings is a fierce little beast that steals melons.

They also like to eat grains.

It eats a variety of foods, including corn, sorghum, peanuts, wheat, and beans, and it doesn't discriminate between meat and vegetables. It also eats birds, insects, mice, and crabs.

If the food stored in the cave belongs to them, it's not impossible.

"A badger? Isn't that also a mountain badger?"

Wang Qingwen asked curiously, "Is there any other explanation?"

"Well, there are two types of badgers: Eurasian badgers and hog badgers. One looks like a dog and the other looks like a pig... Eurasian badgers are quite common in the deep mountains here, but most people here can't tell them apart."

Chen Ling said, glancing at Rui Rui, who was squatting in the pile of dolls next to Old Zhong, scratching at the ground with a twig.

He then asked his brother-in-law to keep an eye on him while he himself went into the cornfield to check on the large hole.

Perhaps it's because people and dogs come here often.

There was no sign of the cave's owner returning.

There were few footprints on the soil, and the weeds at the entrance of the cave remained unchanged.

They looked abandoned.

Such a hole is of little value.

Chen Ling sighed inwardly. Having too many powerful dogs at home also had its downsides; these small animals were so frightened that they didn't dare to go back to their dens.

So they took out all the wheat and sorghum ears and kept them to feed the chickens, ducks, and pigeons, so as not to waste them.

Especially with chickens, if you throw them ears of wheat and sorghum, they will peck them off themselves, so you don't need to do much to them.

"Fugui, Fugui, come out quickly."

Old Zhong called out in the orchard.

follow closely.

His brother-in-law also called him to come over quickly.

"What's wrong?"

As Chen Ling spoke, he left the sorghum and wheat ears in the furrow and strode out.

"Your geese are amazing. They've blocked the people from the provincial TV station on the mountain again, preventing them from coming down."

With a smile on his face, Old Zhong pointed to a place far to the east: "Hurry up and call the geese back."

Wang Qingwen nodded and said, "These geese you've got are pretty strange. They don't peck people when you're home, but if you're not home, they peck whoever comes in... The other day, when your sister-in-law came back from picking mushrooms in the mountains, they wanted to peck at her too. But Erhei found out it was one of their own and stopped them with the pack of dogs, so they stopped chasing after her."

Erhei didn't care about these people; he'd been pecked at several times in the past few days.

However, once they cross this ditch, they won't chase them anymore; but if they do, they'll catch them and peck them to death.

"Haha, that's right, the area inside the ditch is the dogs' territory, it's not their business."

Chen Ling smiled. These days, those people from the provincial TV station have been hanging around on the mountain, so he won't run into them when he comes back.

Then he quickly clapped his hands and shouted "dududu!" to call the goose back.

These geese were indeed obedient. When they heard his voice and knew he was going home, they folded their wings, raised their heads, and swaggered away slowly.

……

"Oh my, Brother Fugui, you're finally back! Your geese and roosters are fiercer than dogs!"

After a junior leader from the provincial TV station came over, he poured out his grievances.

Even the village dogs can be scared away, but these things are fearless. Even if you chase them away, they'll find another chance to come back, and they hold grudges.

It's all tears when I try to talk about it.

"What? There's a rooster involved in this?"

Chen Ling knew that his geese would peck people, but he had never heard of roosters doing that.

Lately, no one has talked to me about this when I come home every day, which is a bit strange.

"Yes, ask the kids in your village."

"..."

"Uncle Fugui, your rooster is so fierce, I'm terrified of it."

"Grandpa Wu is also afraid. He can't be a good village chief. Even the chickens don't like him. They keep pecking at him these past few days, and they even fly up to peck at him."

Chen Ling couldn't help but laugh when he saw them all nodding vigorously.

"You still have the nerve to say your fifth grandfather is bad? You got pecked yourselves, did you do something bad too, but you won't tell me?"

Upon hearing Chen Ling's question, the group of children couldn't help but laugh shyly. The younger ones, with their slightly thinner skin, blushed and scratched the back of their heads.

Chen Ling understood that these mischievous kids must have suffered at the hands of the goose and the rooster, but they just didn't dare tell him.

Why don't you dare?

They must have done something bad.

He's just a little kid...

"Uncle, we're innocent! We didn't do anything wrong. We just wanted to build two secret bases on the hill behind your house."

"Yes, we also raise chickens here, and lay eggs just like your chickens, Uncle Fugui."

"..."

"A secret base? Sure, I was just about to build one with haystacks. I'll build a few more, and you guys can help me out so you can have as much fun as you want."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling's eyes lit up, and he revealed a kind smile.

"Come on, get on the tractor and help your uncle haul wheat straw."

……

evening.

It was cloudy today, got dark early, and didn't rain during the day.

But as evening approached, thunder rumbled.

After seeing off the wailing toddlers, Chen Ling and his brother-in-law led Rui Rui out to herd sheep.

Chickens, ducks, and geese don't need any care; they know to go back to their roosts when it gets

The sheep was a bit silly.

They run around aimlessly, with no one to guide or urge them on, and rarely know when they will go home after dark.

In other words, you can just find any place to hide.

That's it for today.

Seeing that it was about to rain, Chen Ling and the others went home to pack their things, but when they came out of the orchard, the sheep were gone.

Not a single one can be seen.

"Huh? Where did the sheep go in just a short while?"

"Did they run into the cornfield?"

Seeing this, Chen Ling found it a bit strange. "That's not right. They don't usually go to the cornfield."

With these questions in mind, Chen Ling circled around several livestock pens and the path outside the cornfield, but he didn't find a single sheep. He did, however, see quite a few sheep droppings.

"Lingzi, you take Rui Rui and look around first. I'll go back and get a flashlight."

The brother-in-law hurriedly went back to get a flashlight. After all, so many sheep was no small number, and he was even more anxious than Chen Ling.

Just then, Erhei, the steward, came running over from the foot of West Mountain, barking loudly.

Chen Ling quickly picked up his son and went over. He had good eyesight and could see the situation clearly without a flashlight.

He looked them over and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Holy crap, have these sheep gone mad? They're jumping all over the cliff face in the middle of the night..."

"Damn it, hurry up and get down! To be able to climb such a steep place is more agile than those wild goats and mountain donkeys!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Qingwen swept his flashlight across the area and exclaimed, "Wow, it really went up there, and so high!"

Suddenly, Wang Qingwen narrowed his eyes: "Wait a minute, they're sticking their heads into the egret's nest to eat... This, this, some of the baby egrets have just hatched, are they going to eat the baby egrets?"

(End of this chapter)