My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 55 Legend
“I’ve told you about this before. It was about an old bachelor from Kinmen Village who ate the flesh of Wong Tai Sin and later even took the skin of Wong Tai Sin to the market to sell.”

"As a result, he died at the doorstep as soon as he got home from the market. His stomach was swollen like a ball. My father said that it was because Huang Daxian was not dead and was casting a spell inside his stomach."

Liu Ni'er chimed in.

"Huh? Really?"

Xizi's face turned deathly pale.

"Of course it's true! Later, Huang Daxian ate the old bachelor's heart, lungs, and intestines clean, and they crawled out of his throat. From then on, no one in Jinmen Village dared to mess with Huang Daxian."

Liu Nier said with a serious expression.

"Yes, that's right. That's what my grandpa said too. It's really scary."

Xiaosen nodded seriously, indicating that Liu Nier was right.

Xizi was even more frightened now.

The little girl's innocent and bewildered eyes were filled with deep fear.

However, children love to hear these strange and bizarre stories. The more frightened they are, the more they like to hear them and the more they want to understand them.

"Then, I'll ask Liu Tiedan on Monday to see if that's really the case in their village."

Xizi said in a slightly trembling voice.

"What does Liu Tiedan know? All he does is cry and tattle on others to the teacher. I don't like playing with him."

Liu Nier pouted and snorted, looking particularly displeased.

Then he said to Xizi, "Xizi, you shouldn't play with him either. If you want to hear the story of Huang Daxian, just go back and ask Grandpa Sangui. Grandpa Sangui often goes to Jinmen Village to do carpentry work, and he knows everything about Jinmen Village."

"Okay, then I'll go back and ask Grandpa at noon today, instead of asking Liu Tiedan."

Xizi nodded obediently, listening to Liu Nier's words.

Chen Ling, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh.

These little kids are at an age where they are innocent and naive. Today they have a fight and never speak to each other again, but tomorrow they are as good as brothers and sisters.

Carefree and free of worries.

As for the legend of the weasel that Liu Nier and Xiao Sen told him, he didn't take it to heart at all.

This thing is just very vengeful. If it were really as mysterious as people say, wouldn't weasels rule the world?

"Ah Ling, come help me move this cabinet."

At that moment, Wang Susu's voice came from inside the room.

"Hey, here we come!"

Chen Ling quickly responded and went inside.

The three little children followed behind, hopping and skipping.

"Aunt Susu, what are you doing?"

Seeing Wang Susu standing on a stool in front of the wardrobe, Xizi couldn't help but ask curiously.

"It's getting warmer, and my aunt was preparing to air out the bedding when she accidentally knocked some things off the wardrobe into the crack between the wardrobe and the wall behind it."

Wang Susu got off the stool and patted Xizi's little head.

"What were you talking about with your Uncle Fugui just now? I heard Liu Ni'er shouting and yelling. Did she get scolded at school again?"

"No, I've been very good this week."

Liu Ni'er immediately shouted, "I was talking to Uncle Fugui about Huang Daxian..."

Then Liu Nier told the story again.

Wang Susu laughed when she heard this: "You guys, that's just your parents scaring you..."

"I've also heard of that guy from Kinmen Village. It wasn't Wong Tai Sin taking revenge on him; he stole raw wheat from someone's field and ate too much of it, so he swelled up to death from the wheat grains."

"Huh? That's it!"

"Then why did he eat raw wheat? Why didn't he cook it first?"

The little children asked curiously.

"Because we were poor back then. The famine had just ended, and everyone's family didn't have much food. If you secretly took someone else's wheat back home, you would be beaten to death if you were discovered. So you would eat your fill in the fields before going back."

"He was terrified of hunger, otherwise why would he have eaten weasels before?"

Wang Susu explained.

Hearing this, the children nodded blankly. Although they didn't quite understand what famine meant, they felt that what Wang Susu said made sense. "After hearing what you said, Susu, I know who he is now."

"This old bachelor has made quite a few jokes before. The most famous one was many years ago when people were encouraged to do good deeds and become unsung heroes. He got so excited that he got up at two or three in the morning and plucked all the unripe corn in someone's field. Three whole acres of corn! The owner was so angry that he beat him half to death."

At this moment, Chen Ling moved the wardrobe aside, tidied up the fallen items, and then spoke up.

“I know the unsung hero, it’s Lei Feng. We should learn from Lei Feng, he’s a great role model. There’s even a holiday commemorating him on the calendar.”

Liu Nier raised her hand and shouted loudly.

"A holiday to commemorate Lei Feng? Is it on the calendar? I don't know about it."

Wang Susu was completely bewildered.

Chen Ling was also taken aback, but quickly realized what he meant and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You're right not to know. The calendar says Frost's Descent. Liu Ni'er has only been in school for a few days and hasn't even learned how to read yet."

Wang Susu was stunned for a moment before she realized what was happening, and then she laughed until tears streamed down her face.

"Sixth Sister, you really are..."

The jokes that followed were endless, and everyone had a high threshold for laughter.

But now there aren't so many fancy things; even a simple mistake in recognizing a character can make Wang Susu laugh until her stomach hurts.

Liu Ni'er's attempt to show off failed, and seeing how much Wang Susu was laughing at her, she scratched her head and chuckled foolishly.

……

"Chicks for sale! Chicks for sale! Mother hen for chicks!"

Just then, a long, drawn-out shout came from outside the wall, growing louder as it approached.

"Oh, is the chick seller here? Come on, let's go out and take a look..."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling called Wang Susu and went out.

The weasels have decimated our chicks, so we should get some more.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw an old man wearing a straw hat carrying two very flat baskets on a shoulder pole, walking towards the village street.

"Grandpa, how much are the chicks?"

Chen Ling called out.

"One old hen can be exchanged for thirteen chicks, and they cost two cents each."

The old man came over carrying a shoulder pole and opened the lid of the basket.

Suddenly, a hundred or two chicken heads swarmed around, some yellow and some black, chirping and clucking.

The children, including Liu Ni'er, quickly gathered around, craning their necks and watching with glee.

"Grandpa, what kind of chicken is this? It looks different from the chicks my mom hatched."

"They're all free-range chickens, what's the difference?"

The old man grinned and reached out to block two chicks that were trying to jump out.

Then he looked up at Chen Ling and said, "I'm from Taoshugou. I come to your village every spring to sell chicks. You can buy with confidence. If they die, I'll replace them."

Jinmen Village and Taoshugou are the two villages closest to Chenwangzhuang.

Kinmen Village is in the north, and Taoshugou is in the south. Neither of these villages is very big, and there are no schools built there. So many children from the villages come to Chenwangzhuang to attend primary school.

So the people from the three villages interact quite often on a regular basis.

"Okay, pick out twenty for me first."

With the cave dwelling there, Chen Ling wasn't worried about the chicks dying.

He then asked Wang Susu, "Would twenty be alright?"

"Okay, we can't raise too many."

Wang Susu nodded obediently and gave him a slight smile.

The old man chuckled and said, "You two are a good couple; you seem like you can live a good life together."

“Go out and see for yourself now. It’s rare to see a man who has two or three kids and still speaks nicely to his wife. Your daughter is a lucky one.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Susu blushed deeply and hurriedly waved her hand.

"No, no, these are other people's kids who came to our house to play. We don't have children yet."

(End of this chapter)