My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 564
After returning from Kinmen Village, I chatted with everyone about the amazing features of the yellow-throated marten, and that's all for today.

He holed up in the farm, planning to build a 'tiger's den'.

Although Ah Fu and Ah Shou only come back once every month or two, the dogs at home all have doghouses, so we can't leave them without a place to live.

It was indeed quiet today.

Apart from a family of three who are never home, even CCTV reporters and members of the Journey to the West film crew don't stay at the farm.

And not many people come here to loiter, fish, or catch birds anymore.

Those tourists who came from afar got a share of the prey last night and felt their trip was complete.

In addition, since the old turtle has not shown up recently, and we have lost the opportunity to see it in person, we are already considering leaving.

Many others brought their children, but the children were about to start school and they had to leave.

So the village was bustling as usual today.

They carried large and small bags, filled with local mountain products and specialties.

Wang Jusheng's pickled vegetables and chili sauce were especially popular.

Initially, these outsiders had heard about Wang Jusheng's family's plight and were mainly driven by sympathy and a sense of shared indignation.

But after trying the pickled vegetables and chili sauce, I immediately fell in love with them.

Even if I don't go back, I'll never forget this taste.

They all went to buy it.

It was only after Wang Jusheng went to the city with Chen Ling that the couple, along with Zhang Qiaoling's family, worked hard to pickle vegetables and make chili sauce; otherwise, they really wouldn't have enough to sell.

Besides these things, there were also cages.

It was filled with newly hatched chicks.

These were naturally the chicks hatched from eggs bought from Chen Ling's house.

For this reason, they often asked Chen Dazhi and Chen Baoshuan to weave bamboo cages.

The two of them have made quite a bit of money these days.

Before leaving, some of these people also went to check out the farms outside the village.

Having lived in the village for so long, they have developed a fondness for it.

I was still a little reluctant to leave.

Everything in this little village is very expensive, otherwise I would have brought back more good things. The little fish, dogs, cats, horses, eagles, and tigers that you can see without going to the zoo, they are all so lovely.

And the environment is amazing, with green mountains and clear waters. If it weren't for the high cost of accommodation, I would definitely stay here.

With reluctance and regret, they left one by one under Wang Cunye's puzzled gaze.

Later, Lynx brought over a few pilgrims who had ordered puppies from the farm. They chatted about dogs while taking a look. The puppies looked different every day, and they couldn't wait to take them home.

"This place is great! The scenery is beautiful, it's comfortable, and it's clearly a blessed land with outstanding people and resources. Even the puppies here are growing faster than other places; some can already run around."

They dared not approach, but they could see the puppies whining and peeking out of the livestock pen.

The lynx glanced at it and said, "Indeed, it will be ready to be weaned and taken away in another seven or eight days."

They chatted without bothering Chen Ling in the back, instead taking their slingshots and nets to find a spot to hunt birds.

They slowly strolled away, heading to the mountain to see the red-crowned cranes.

"The scenery is beautiful now, there are many birds, and many beautiful pheasants and wild ducks. Even great egrets and cranes have come to live here. This place was not like this before."

Lynx recounted the past to them, expressing his deep admiration for Chen Ling's efforts, noting that there was indeed some skill involved in everything he had accomplished.

"Wow, we heard there are quite a few TV crews filming here."

"Yes, besides filming about wealth and prosperity, we also come here to shoot scenes. The scenery here is hard to find now."

The changes around Lake Yamanaka in the past two years can be described as enormous.

Back when this place was known as Yerengou (Wild Man Valley), looking down from the foot of the mountain, the peaks and cliffs seemed strangely shaped, as if they would turn into man-eating demons and monsters at night.

In addition, it was located west of a cemetery and mass grave, surrounded by ruins left by lime factories, making it gloomy and desolate. Few people were willing to walk around here all year round.

Nestled in the embrace of mountains, the mountain lake naturally became a forbidden area.

Because they don't come here often, the villagers didn't even know when a lake had appeared inside.

It was in the last two years that Chen Ling and his family moved here.

That's how this place was transformed into a vibrant and thriving place.

Originally, the mountain walls here were steep as if cut by a knife and axe, and apart from the pine and cypress trees on the cliff top, everything was bare. But now they are covered with vegetation.

The stone gullies that used to be piled with rubble have now become streams, winding their way down the gullies. On the mountainside, long wild vines hang down along the mountain walls, creating a beautiful scene with the small streams and waterfalls.

No wonder that no matter who comes, even people who don't appreciate beauty will find this place beautiful and enjoy staying here.

……

At this time.

Chen Ling, along with Rui Rui and two tigers, searched for a suitable place behind the manor to build a tiger den.

I don't know how many people have come and gone from my house.

He was just burying his head in figuring out how to dig a tiger's den and lair behind Zhuangzi.

For the sake of convenience and safety, many zoos in later generations have kept lions, tigers, and leopards indoors.

Chen Ling would never do that.

Therefore, we still pursue a natural, untouched state.

At first, he thought of building a small castle in the back, still made of yellow earth and mud, mixed with wheat straw and thatch, with an entrance, so that Afu and Ashou could live inside.

After all, tiger dens and wolf caves are like each other; they don't need light inside.

This is the best way to treat them.

After thinking about it, I decided to build it with stones instead.

Alternatively, the interior could be made of loess, and after construction, a layer of stones could be piled on the outside, making it warm in winter and cool in summer.

As for where it will be arranged...

It was probably in the northwest corner of the village, where there were a few waterway openings. Two of the openings were connected to the irrigation canal, while the rest were blocked and only opened when there was heavy rain and flash floods that prevented water from draining.

This is just in case.

At this point, open the northwest corner and use it as the entrance to the tiger's den.

If a tiger lay down at the entrance of this hole, it could easily get in.

The real tiger's den, however, is separated by a wall and built outside the wall.

Create a structure outside the wall that resembles a raised tortoise shell, connecting it to the waterway. The ground elevation should be slightly less, so it doesn't need to be built as high as a house, with the main space still underground.

Imagine two tigers living comfortably in a cave that's like the interior of a tortoise shell.

Without hesitation, Chen Ling, who is quite skilled with his hands, took turns using a shovel and a hoe.

Rui Rui and the two little tigers were also lying on the ground nearby, digging in the dirt and playing around.

Chen Ling, annoyed by their mischief, deliberately threw a shovelful of dirt at them.

Instead of being disgusted, they excitedly rolled around on the ground, waiting for Chen Ling to continue throwing things at them.

Rui Rui even climbed into the small pit he had dug himself, excitedly squealing and pulling at the soil around himself to bury himself.

Afu and Ashou also squatted down on the ground, shoving dirt onto themselves and playing around, just like him.

This left Chen Ling feeling helpless.

Last time our badger escaped by digging a hole, the little rascal tried to climb into it.

This time, digging a hole gave him an opportunity.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou were at the age when they were learning new things, but he led them astray.

Fortunately, the pit had already been dug by then.

They can cause trouble here without any consequences.

After building the tiger's den, you can plant some grass and trees there, leaving no trace. Of course, once the grass and trees have grown thick, you can dig an entrance from the outside.

It looks like a burrow dug by a wildcat.

Tigers can come and go freely, both inside and outside the village.

However, when it comes to plants, Chen Ling suddenly remembered the lush and dense wild vines he had seen in the mountains, which formed strong and intertwined vine walls.

It looks very beautiful.

Perhaps I could do something similar outside the farm wall.

Hmm... If climbing the wall isn't good for the wall structure, then you could build a walkway or a vine bridge made of wild vines.

It's like some suspension bridges that connect the foot of a mountain to the top.

It's simply trained to grow by twining wild vines, with wooden planks placed in the middle for several vines. It's trained to twine around the vines once a year, and it will grow stronger and stronger over time.

Chen Ling thought about building a rattan bridge-like walkway, suspended in mid-air, within his own estate.

You can walk around on it and enjoy the scenery.

The rattan bridge itself is also very beautiful.

You can even keep birds on it sometime.

That felt pretty good.

With the spiritual water of this grotto, if others can't do it, I'm not afraid I can't.

As I thought about it, I started to get a little itchy.

He then took Rui Rui and the two tigers to the thatched hut in the bamboo forest by the lake in the mountains to test it out.

Chen Ling used wild grapevines as a local material.

First, set up a small frame, which is a fence structure made of bamboo poles, and place it on the ground.

Then he watered the plants to encourage growth, allowing the vines to grow around the framework of the fence. From time to time, Chen Ling would adjust the direction to ensure that the grapevines wrapped around every part of the fence.

It doesn't look very nice when the vines are sparse at first.

But when the grapevines had climbed around and around, the entire fence gate was completely covered with grapevines.

Chen Ling patted it with his hand. Goodness, it was rock hard, even sturdier than a door made of barbed wire.

To know.

Chen Ling built the frame for this fence gate, but he didn't secure it with ropes or wires.

The vines are wrapped around the two bamboo poles at the joint, just like they are woven by hand, which secures the bamboo poles firmly and makes them look like a whole. It's simply too beautiful.

"Tsk, beautiful, beautiful, this idea can definitely be implemented."

Once Chen Ling got into the mood, he even let them climb all over the fence with grapevines. The entire fence and gate of the small courtyard became a lush and beautiful whole, covered with small bunches of grapes, which was very pretty.

However, after finishing, he had a change of heart.

If you want to turn this into a vine bridge or a skywalk, then you can only choose from wooden vines.

As for gourd vines, loofah vines, watermelon vines, and the like, those are definitely not suitable.

It seems I'll have to go to the cave and experiment more in the next couple of days.

It's just that Rui Rui is still young and doesn't understand things, otherwise he wouldn't dare to let the brat run around outside and force plants to grow.

Looking back, he wasn't even paying attention to this side anymore.

He was carrying a tiger, struggling to pull down the big pumpkin behind the house.

Some of those big black pumpkins can grow to over a meter long; they are jet black, thick, long, and even have curves.

He found it strange and started swinging on it.

After playing for a while, he waited for Afu and Ashou to help him bite the pumpkin off the vine. Then, the three of them—he dragged it while Afu and Ashou carried it in their mouths—looked like they were going to pack it up and take it home.

In other words, the pumpkin was too big and too heavy.

No matter how hard the brat tried, he couldn't budge it.

However, Afu and Ashou could easily pick them up.

With its head tilted back, it took small, quick steps to pick up the items from Chen Ling's feet.

In no time, they had picked all the pumpkins behind the thatched hut.

A small mountain of pumpkins was piled up next to Chen Ling.

After Chen Ling came to his senses, he was startled: "Damn, you guys are really something, you can find something to do anywhere."

Then, staring at the brat who was still carrying pumpkins with Afu and Ashou, his face darkened: "Damn it, you brat, do you know how many pumpkins this is? If we can't finish them all, you and Afu and Ashou can have them. If you don't eat them, I'll beat you up."

Like loofah, a single pumpkin seed can yield a yard full of gourds.

Chen Ling's melons were especially large.

There are twenty or thirty pumpkins growing on a pumpkin vine on the slope outside the village, and they weigh two or three hundred pounds of each.

Chen Ling's side will probably see a doubling of that.

It weighs at least 500 jin (250 kg).

This doesn't even include those that were eaten by birds and wild animals.

How are we supposed to eat all this?

I'm giving it as a gift. Everyone has pumpkins this season.
Liang Jinke planted several vines at the school, and they produced so many melons that his family couldn't possibly eat them all.

That's enough for feeding chickens, ducks, and livestock.

Finally, Chen Ling took a few bags of urea, and he, Afu, and Ashou dragged three large bags back, leaving the rest in the cave.

After coming down the mountain, his father-in-law was surprised to see that Chen Ling had brought so many pumpkins. He said, "Why did you come into the mountains to get such things? They're not worth much, and you can't even eat them all."

Even Afu and Ashou were carrying a bag on their backs.

The two tigers were very proud and pleased with themselves, thinking that they were the ones who had picked it.

Chen Ling took the pumpkin bags off them and put them on the ground. They pressed them down with their paws, not letting the old man touch them.

The old man muttered to himself for quite a while.

Indeed.

Pumpkins aren't worth much, and right now, Chen Ling really has no interest in eating pumpkins.

Those who are interested should eat tender corn.

It's the perfect time of year.

“Ours are edible now, and the corn is quite big. Break some off for Susu and her mother to take with them.”

Wang Cunye instructed, "Send some to your Uncle Zhao and Uncle Zhong's families as well. They don't farm and can't afford corn on the cob."

Chen Ling agreed, picked out a few more large pumpkins, then broke off some corn cobs, and carried them to the village.

Rui Rui and the two tigers naturally followed.

These past two days, the three of them have finally gotten used to each other, and Afu and Ashou have even let Rui Rui ride them.

The two of them were not as steady as Heiwa and Xiaojin, who knew how to take care of babies. So when they walked faster, Rui Rui had to hold on tightly to the tiger's neck while riding on it, with his little hands gripping the fur so as not to fall off.

Fortunately, the tiger's back is quite broad, so it wasn't bumpy.

When they arrived at the thatched hut on the slope outside the village, the two old men were there, reading letters in Zhao Yubao's yard.

Seeing him approach, Zhao Yubao waved him over with a beaming smile.

“Fugui, you’re quite capable now. People are even asking you to write articles. They know you’re good at raising animals, so they asked me to ask you if you could write an article.”

"Huh? You want me to write an article? Uncle Zhao, are you kidding me?"

Chen Ling was greatly surprised and asked him to publish an article in the National Animal Husbandry Magazine. He struggled for two months but couldn't come up with more than a few words.

He's just not cut out for it.

Why did I choose him and commission him to write an article?

(End of this chapter)