My 1995 Small Farm.

Just as Wang Zhenzhen was leading the two people toward the farm, Chen Ling was surrounded by a group of snotty-nosed kids sitting in a circle, their faces full of anxiety and anticipation.

"Uncle Fugui, have you done the math? Do we have enough money to buy a car?"

Chen Ling counted the last child's change, weighed the two handfuls of coins in her hand, and clicked her tongue, saying, "It's basically enough to buy a big car, but if you want to buy a small car like your aunt's, it's not enough. You'll have to save up some more."

Now, we are approaching the year 2000.

People's living standards have improved.

Products have become increasingly diverse, with a focus shifting from practicality to trendiness.

Wang Zhenzhen's new-style small bicycle is much more expensive than the old-fashioned 28-inch bicycle.

These snotty kids don't have enough money to live on.

"Isn't that enough? We've saved much more money this year than in previous years."

Liu Ni'er squatted down at Chen Ling's feet, resting her chin on her hands, sniffling as she spoke.

"That's not enough. Only Xizi among you has enough to buy. The others will have to save up."

Chen Ling said with a smile.

This poor little girl, Xizi, has finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel this year.

Chen Baoshuan knew he was being good to this adopted daughter.

Needless to say, Chen Sangui was also involved.

The two couldn't bear to take away their children's saved pocket money like other parents in the village did.

So even though Xizi didn't earn as much money as Liu Nier and the other boys from collecting cicada shells and catching scorpions, he still managed to save it all up.

Just moments ago, Xizi was helping Chen Ling calculate the money for the children. Now, she looked up and said, "Uncle Fugui, I'm not buying a car. I'm saving money for Grandpa, and also for Uncle and Aunt."

"It's okay if Xizi doesn't buy it, I'll carry you there."

“I can carry you too. I bought it, and you can ride it.”

"..."

Seeing them chattering away, Chen Ling said, "So, you want to buy a large truck?"

Liu Nier looked at her group of friends and nodded emphatically: "Yeah, we'll buy the big wheel."

"However, Uncle Fugui, you'll have to go to our house and put in a good word for us, otherwise my parents definitely won't let me spend money on this."

"...Pleading on behalf of someone is a minor matter."

Chen Ling looked at them and said, "You've saved up so much money with great difficulty. If you just spend it like this, the big bike won't be easy to ride, and it won't be so easy to save up to buy a small bike later."

or……

"Would Uncle like some more for each of you?"

Liu Nier and the others were taken aback at first, then looked at each other again and shook their heads firmly: "No, Uncle, we can't spend your money."

We want to buy a car with our own savings.

"Yes, we should buy our own cars with our own money. Once we buy them, I can let whoever wants to ride them ride them. If my parents make me unhappy, they can forget about riding my cars."

"Uncle Fugui, in your words, it's my car, I'm in charge."

Chen Ling was speechless, thinking to himself, "How old are you? How can you be so rebellious?"

However, it must be said that these little rascals are quite resourceful; in just over two years, they've saved up a considerable amount of money.

Besides catching scorpions and selling cicada shells for money, and exchanging prey for cash, they also earned a lot of pocket money from tourists from other places who came to visit before.

I don't know whose idea it was, but we saved up all the money.

If it weren't for their parents collecting a portion each time, there would be even more.

"Alright, I'll visit your house tomorrow and talk to your family... After that, I'll have your Uncle Dahai ask around and see if we can get a discount on all these cars."

Maybe I can even buy that little bicycle.

Chen Ling thought about it and decided that it wasn't a bad thing for the children to have this intention.

If Rui Rui is influenced by them and becomes sensible and independent at a young age, that would be even better.

"This... Uncle Fugui, do we still need to buy these cars from the city? Aren't there cars in the county? There are also cars in Wangbacheng."

"Yeah, I think the big car that the bald guy who came to the village bought is pretty good."

This is referring to Chen Xiaoer.

"It's not bad, but he's only buying one. Since there are so many of you, each of you needs to buy one, so of course we have to find some discounts."

Chen Ling said with a smile.

That's certainly true at the time; prices can differ significantly between two adjacent counties.

After all, prices are not as transparent as they were during the era of advanced internet technology.

When Zhao Dahai and his team were setting up power lines, they traveled all over the county-level cities under the city's jurisdiction. They knew many people, so they could easily find out where the cheapest options were by asking around.

"Uncle Fugui is really quick-witted. If it were me, I would never have come up with this idea in my entire life."

One of the little kids said with a look of disgust, "Uncle, to tell you the truth, if our families didn't forbid us from working for you, we wouldn't have bought a car."

We want to be like you, raising chickens, ducks, and fish.

"Yes, we can make a lot of money too."

They were all shouting excitedly, their pride soaring.

Chen Ling was speechless and utterly dumbfounded.

I couldn't help but think of how they used to secretly raise wild boars in the graveyard.

They really know how to stir things up.

"Alright, alright, it's getting dark. Take your money and hurry home for dinner, or you'll get scolded again when you get back."

The group of children chuckled and ran away, sniffling.

Chen Ling went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

The lights were on in the central hall of the wooden building behind. Shen Jiayi's family really liked the big fish tank and often spent most of the day looking at it.

Shen Jiayi, in particular, has been in increasingly better spirits since she started looking after the fish tank.

These past two days, Mr. and Mrs. Shen have felt much more at ease and are now more willing to help Chen Ling take care of Rui Rui so that their family can do some farm work.

"Jiayi, call everyone back for dinner."

Chen Ling called out, and Shen Jiayi responded crisply, running out to go to the orchard to call for help.

This afternoon, Wang Qingzhong and his wife, along with Wu Fei and the others, were picking pears in the orchard and making beehives. They were having a great time.

However, Wang Qingzhong and the others returned as soon as Shen Jiayi left.

Behind them were Wang Zhenzhen and two strangers.

Wang Zhenzhen ran over and stuffed some food into Shen Jiayi's hands. She then ran home shouting, "Brother-in-law, your pen pal is here! Come out and see! It's a Japanese devil!"

The little girl spoke with an excited, curious tone, as if she had discovered a new breed of monkey.

Li Zhongyi and Chishima Miyoko wore stiff smiles, their expressions unreadable.

As soon as they arrived, this little girl named Wang Zhenzhen started shouting to her family that they were Japanese devils.

Only then did they realize that this little girl was actually related to Chen Ling.

That's really cunning, really cunning, and extremely wicked.

"Little devil? Japanese?"

Chen Ling had just put dinner on the table when he heard this and was also very surprised.

"...No way, some of my pen pals are foreigners?"

It has to be said that the pen pals he found were a pleasant surprise for him.

It's one thing for Chen Xiaoer to be performing in a skit, but there are even foreigners involved.

He was just bored when he saw Zhenzhen writing letters to someone, so he randomly sent messages to the group.

Those letters were all the same, just with slightly different wording, and then they were sent out.

After all, it's the first letter.

Only if there is a response will we gradually exchange some practical information.

When people first meet, they are always polite to each other.

We need to communicate more to gain a deeper understanding.

I probably sent out over a hundred letters at the beginning, but later I could only suggest about ten pen pals to contact.

But writing letters at this time is not like chatting on WeChat in later generations; you can't be glued to your phone all day.

While it's more sincere than online chatting, it's still impossible to get to know everyone deeply.

"A man and a woman, are they going to move into the village too? These are Japanese devils."

"Shh, even if they're Japanese devils, you can't shout that in front of people, it's so rude."

As Chen Ling spoke, he followed the little girl outside.

"Brother Chen, I am Li Zhongyi. I'm so glad to finally meet you in person."

As soon as Chen Ling went out, Li Zhongyi excitedly stepped forward.

The man was dressed in a suit and tie, and was quite good-looking, tall and thin. His smile was humble but also somewhat deliberately polite.

Upon seeing the man's smile, Chen Ling thought to himself, "He's really living a simple life."

Although Xiao Rizi and the Chinese are both Asian and of the yellow race, it is easy to tell them apart by their expressions, even if they do not speak.

It just goes to show that cultural environment really does have a significant impact on people.

That kind of temperament is ingrained in one's very being.

The woman next to Li Zhongyi was even more obvious.

"Welcome, welcome! Brother Zhongyi, your writing is truly remarkable. I never expected you to be a foreigner." Chen Ling shook hands with him with a smile.

Influenced by Zhou Weijun, he also liked to address people as brothers in his letters.

"Haha, Brother Chen, you've misunderstood. I'm actually not a native Japanese..."

Li Zhongyi thought to himself, "Pen is still the best."

That little girl was really rude to these villagers.

So he explained his situation to Chen Ling.

Miyoko Chishima was also introduced in detail.

It turns out that Li Zhongyi is a descendant of the Japanese soldiers who invaded Northeast China back then.

However, his father's generation did not accept that they were descendants of Japanese devils, and even after learning about their origins, they were unwilling to "recognize their ancestors and return to their roots".

He said he was Chinese until his death.

Unfortunately, the issue of his origins remained a thorn in his side, and he didn't live to a very old age.

Li Zhongyi's father died when he was very young, leaving him all alone. Later, when he was a teenager, he went to live in Japan with a visiting group.

After China opened up its mind to new ideas, he returned to China.

As for this Chishima Miyoko, he claimed to be his fiancée, who admired Chinese culture and knew that he had been born and raised in China, so she wanted to settle down here.

"Uh, this..."

After listening to Li Zhongyi's story, the others had different expressions, as if they had never expected that this person had such a story.

Chen Ling looked slightly surprised and said, "Brother Zhongyi, your situation is a bit special. If you want to settle here, you need to report to our village committee."

Only if the village collective has no objections can you find a place to build houses and register your household.

The voice just fell.

A voice came from outside the farm gate: "No need to report anymore, we absolutely will not allow the Japanese devils to live in the village."

But Wang Laishun walked over with his hands behind his back and a sullen face, followed by a large group of men, women, and children.

Liu Nier and the other children also returned, but they hadn't had time to put the boxes and bottles containing the money back home yet.

“Fugui, we can’t let the Japanese devils into the village. As long as I’m still the Party Secretary, I absolutely won’t allow it.”

"Yes, Fugui, your fifth uncle is right. The Japanese devils are the worst. Didn't you see the movies? How they harmed us?"

"..."

Chen Lingxin said, "I didn't say they should move to the village."

I didn't expect the villagers to react so strongly.

Even the little kids joined in the screaming.

"Uncle, we can't let the Japanese devils stay in our village."

"Yes, Uncle Fugui, strip them naked and throw them out."

Li Zhongyi and Chishima Miyoko turned pale upon seeing this, opening their mouths but not knowing what to say.

In this situation, even if they sought help from Chen Ling, there was nothing he could do.

Li Zhongyi, after all, grew up in Northeast China and knew about the situation in villages across the country.

"Professor Zhao and Professor Zhong have arrived. Let them say a few words."

"..."

"Ahem, since the elders and villagers asked us to speak, then I'll say a few words. Actually, our country is quite generous. They can come back to the country and visit the village. However, as I said before, they are not allowed to settle down in the village."

"If you ask me, Professor Zhao, you and Uncle Fugui are just kind-hearted. If it were us, we wouldn't even let them into the village, in case they were spies."

"Exactly, I just can't stand them."

"..."

"Ahem, Fugui, come here for a moment. Secretary Wang, come here."

Zhao Yubao called Chen Ling and Wang Laishun outside the gate and whispered a few words to them.

Chen Ling raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, greatly surprised: "Han Ninggui actually gave a warning, and the police also believe that the previous group of tomb raiders colluded with foreign countries."

Wang Laishun wasn't surprised; after all, those Japanese devils were all bad.

Although Chen Ling wasn't that extreme, and there were good people in his life, like the Japanese Communists back then, he did feel that Li Zhongyi and the other two were a bit off.

They didn't explain the situation before they came.

They only told us after we arrived.

It's not a big deal that Chen Xiaoer doesn't disclose his profession, but the situation of these two is quite special.

"Professor Zhao means that we shouldn't let them settle down in the village, but we can let them come to the village to play, and see if they can give themselves away?"

Wang Laishun immediately perked up.

"Yes, as long as you pay, we'll treat you like an international friend."

Zhao Yubao winked and made faces.

Wang Laishun immediately understood. He realized that his family had been disliked by tourists this year, and no one had come to stay or buy local specialties, so he hadn't made any money. He figured he could target these two Japanese devils instead.

"Alright, Fugui is busy, so I'll keep an eye on them."

……

Seeing the crowd's agitated state, Li Zhongyi and his companion thought they were going to be driven out of the village that night.

Unexpectedly, Chen Ling and the other two said something that made them stay.

Although we still won't let them settle down.

After this incident, the two of them worked very hard for the next few days to prove that they were harmless and different from those despicable Japanese devils.

Not only did he help Chen Ling's family with farm work, but he also helped other villagers with the autumn harvest, never minding the dirty or tiring work.

Of course, they also chose families that were easy to talk to.

People from the countryside are kind and simple.

Gradually, many families stopped reacting so strongly to the two of them.

Some would even treat them to a meal after they helped with the work.

This made the two of them less nervous and apprehensive.

Li Zhongyi's wish to live in Chen Ling's farm has not yet been fulfilled because Chishima Miyoko is afraid of dogs. In addition to Erhei, Heiwa and Xiaojin have also returned. These two dogs are even more robust and frighteningly large.

Miyoko Chishima was already feeling guilty, so how could she possibly dare to live in such an environment, guarding such a pack of ferocious dogs that were comparable to wild beasts?

Li Zhongyi felt it was a real pity that he hadn't been able to experience such a wonderful place.

However, Chen Ling's other two pen pals didn't live at the farm either, so he wasn't that upset.

"How wealthy are they? Is there something wrong with those two?"

Wang Laishun rarely had the chance to interact with Chen Ling, so he's been coming here frequently these past few days.

They came over very early in the morning.

"We haven't found any problems yet. They really look like a young couple who want to settle down in the countryside. They work very hard when it comes to farm work."

Chen Ling laughed and said, "Don't worry, I've had Erhei keep an eye on things."

Heiwa and Xiaojin are back, so Erhei can be released.

“That works. Erhei is more attentive than a person. With him around, there won’t be any problems.”

Wang Laishun praised.

Everyone in the village knows that Heiwa's eldest son is a dog who isn't good at hunting, but who is very controlling and manages everything, even more so than the village secretary.

Previously, I only managed Chen Ling's family affairs.

Later, as Erhei grew up and its territory expanded, it would interfere in everything that happened in the village.

He manages things very well.

In light of this, some people jokingly refer to Erhei as the 'dog village chief'.

The way they called him "Dog Village Chief" and "Dog Party Secretary" really annoyed Wang Laishun.

"Oh, by the way, I just went to use my net and caught a brood of quails and a few pigeons. Do you want them?"

Wang Laishun lifted a corner of the bamboo basket lid, and there was a rustling sound inside.

"Quails? With such big holes in the netting, how can it keep out these little creatures?"

"No, the wild pigeons are from the net, but these little quails are from the grass. I found a nest of them when I was harvesting sweet potatoes this morning."

"Oh, I see. Oh, Uncle Wu, you caught a wild pigeon? Wild pigeons are not easy to catch; they don't usually land on the ground."

Chen Ling was delighted to hear this and said, "Then you can keep the wild pigeons. I don't want the quails; I have plenty at home."

"Wild pigeons? Are there wild pigeons?"

Hearing them talking, Shen Jiayi and her parents came over, wondering what was going on, and couldn't help but glance into Wang Laishun's basket.

Sure enough, there were several blue-gray pigeons, their wings and feet bound, huddled together in a huff.

"Huh? What's this? A chick? Why is it so small?"

The wild pigeons didn't see anything special about it, but they were attracted by the few tiny chicks with black stripes all over their bodies in the basket.

"They're not chicks, they're baby quails. This brood is a bit small. The baby quails we used to catch in the fields were about the size of a finger, but this brood is only about the size of two fingernails."

Wang Laishun chuckled as he finished speaking to them. Seeing Rui Rui muttering to himself, he laid out a pile of puppies on the steps. "Fugui, if you don't want these quails, I won't be able to raise them even if I take them back. Just leave them in your quail shed. They'll get good food and water with the big quails."

When he's a little older, Rui Rui can play with it too.

“That works too. These little quails are so small and weak. They must be the last brood of the year. They’re a bit malnourished… I was just thinking of getting an earthenware jar for Rui Rui to keep in.”

Han Chuang took his concerns to heart. When he went to the glass factory to order canning jars, he brought him two glass fish tank samples. They weren't very attractive, so he decided not to keep fish in them. He filled them with soil, decorated them a bit, and used them as earthenware tanks to raise quails.