My 1995 Small Farm.

Just after leaving the cave, I had barely started writing down my thoughts and simple stories when an acquaintance came to the village.

This familiar person was none other than his youngest female apprentice, Shen Jiayi.

I made a special trip here, not only to visit their family again, but also to discuss the theme song for the animated film.

She was very touched that her mentor, Chen Ling, knew about her voice condition and still gave her this opportunity.

Therefore, their attitude was extremely serious and responsible.

They specially commissioned someone to write several children's songs.

Bring them over for Chen Ling to choose from.

Chen Ling looked at the songs and, based on his own feeling, picked two with lyrics that he liked.

One of them is: How thick is the earth, how high is the sky, the stars twinkle, the moon draws a question mark...

One of them goes like this: A small farm, a wonderfully mysterious place; rabbit, rabbit, hopping high; turtle, turtle, running slowly; rooster, rooster, crowing… The sun is rising, but Blackie is still fast asleep…

In short, it's simple and childlike, yet fun and playful, making it perfect for kids.

"Hehe, I knew Master would pick these two, so I put them on top. Sure enough, once you see these two, you can't even look at the others."

Shen Jiayi's eyes instantly turned into little crescent moons, and she jumped for joy with a grin.

The girl came with her mother this time, and Shen's mother smiled and said, "Jiajia is only a little mischievous with you and Susu now. She keeps talking about coming here to play again at home."

"If you have fun in the countryside, come back more often."

As Chen Ling spoke, he glanced at his female apprentice and noticed that she was much more cheerful than before.

Just by looking at their complexion, they look completely different.

When I first saw this girl, her face was deathly pale, her eyes were lifeless, and she had heavy dark circles under her eyes, making her look like a female ghost.

And he looks quite old.

Now, with her mischievous and playful demeanor, she looks no different from a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl.

"Yes, I'll come more often... but I definitely won't bother you too much, Master. I'll just come for a few days each month. That way it'll be fresh and new, and there will be something new every time I come."

As Shen Jiayi spoke, she waved to Rui Rui, who was next to the little white ox, and said, "Rui Rui, come and play. I won't take your baby away."

The new thing she was talking about was Jerusalem artichokes.

Rui Rui was standing next to the little white cow, his little bottom sticking out of his open-crotch pants, babbling away as he played with the Jerusalem artichokes he had dug up.

If you look closely, you'll see that he's arranging the Jerusalem artichokes from smallest to largest.

This brat has been addicted ever since he dug up Jerusalem artichokes once.

In the past two days, when I went out to herd sheep with Wang Cunye, there was nothing to do except dig Jerusalem artichokes.

The key is that he is smarter than other children. He learned to dig with small stones after only a couple of tries, which is easy for him.

Shen Jiayi and her mother came to the village after seeing him digging Jerusalem artichokes with Wang Cunye on the hillside. They greeted him and asked him questions before coming here directly.

Otherwise, if we go to the farm to find Chen Ling first, we'll definitely be disappointed.

Rui Rui heard someone calling him, but he pretended not to hear and continued to mutter to himself while fiddling with the Jerusalem artichokes.

"Hey, he's ignoring me now. When I gave him some snacks earlier, I told him to call me 'sister,' and he did."

Shen Jiayi stomped her feet in anger.

At this moment, Wang Cunye squatted at the gate of the courtyard, turned his head and laughed, "He, I don't know who he learned it from lately. If you call him and he doesn't want to pay attention, he will pretend not to hear you. Sometimes at home, he won't respond no matter how many times you call him."

But you should go see him; that rascal has a smile on his face and is just waiting for you to come.

"Oh? I'll go check!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Jiayi ran over to Rui Rui and teased him.

The two, one big and one small, had a great time.

However, Rui Rui still treasured Jerusalem artichokes and wouldn't give her a single piece.

He would only tiptoe and feed the calf when it looked over.

The little white calf was very cooperative, opening its mouth to bite it, squinting its eyes as if it were smiling, and flapping its ears, making a crunching sound as it chewed the Jerusalem artichoke.

Even Shen Jiayi was tempted by what she saw.

On her way to the village, she heard Wang Cunye say that this stuff was delicious, and she was really looking forward to it.

"I'll make you a stir-fry of Jerusalem artichokes tonight. They're still fresh from what Rui Rui dug up."

Chen Ling said.

The female apprentice arrived, and the theme song was also decided.

So the animated film will be released in the next two weeks.

Moreover, it's a story about their own family.

This is certainly a good thing.

In fact, this animated film could have been released much earlier.

Because the theme songs for these kinds of cartoons are not that complicated.

You can just throw together any decent children's song and it'll be released first.

The theme song can be changed later.

But why was it delayed for almost half a month after National Day?
According to Shen Jiayi, the environmental protection concept suggested by Chen Ling has been taken seriously by CCTV.

Xiao Han, who was in charge of this project, originally thought it would be a simple matter of making some changes and adding a few lines about environmental protection.

This is unexpected...

Some leaders attach great importance to it.

So they reviewed it again.

In this day and age, a two-week delay is actually not slow; in fact, it can be considered quite fast.

"By the way, Master, you're a veterinarian too, right?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

“When my mother and I arrived, we found that someone from the village was taking an old man to the old river bend in the south to treat his cattle. Isn’t that stealing your business from your territory?”

Chen Ling was momentarily stunned upon hearing this.

Veterinarianship isn't his profession, and he doesn't expect to make a living as a veterinarian. What's wrong with people coming to the village for medical treatment? Besides, it's the villagers' freedom to choose who to see a doctor for.

Wang Cunye, who was outside the courtyard gate, was also laughing while holding his sheep-herding whip: "I saw it too. Jiajia was talking about Lao Ba from the village. It is said that Lao Ba went to the county town for the market and met a family surnamed Guang from the village, so he called them over."

"Jiajia, your master got into a fight with this guy surnamed Guang last year. Their cow is in trouble now, so it's normal they didn't contact your master."

"Huh? Master, you can fight too?"

"Jiajia, has your voice gotten better but your brain gone? How dare you talk to your master like that?"

Ms. Shen gave her daughter a reproachful look. People said they had a fight, and she was still asking about it.

In the countryside, once a fight breaks out, the enemies are basically bound for life.

My daughter is so insensible, bringing this up again.

Chen Ling quickly said it was nothing, but didn't continue the topic. He looked up at the sun and realized it was getting late.

He then took Shen Jiayi and her daughter back to the farm.

Chen Ling led the little white calf, while Wang Cunye herded a flock of sheep.

They chatted as they walked, and of course, they didn't forget to help Rui Rui carry his precious Jerusalem artichoke.

I've accumulated quite a few Jerusalem artichokes at home these past few days.

Besides what Rui Rui dug, Wang Cunye also dug it with him.

The old man thought that the leftovers from cooking at home were too little to pickle, and it wasn't worth the effort.

But Rui Rui digs them up every day and brings them home.

It would be a shame not to eat it.

Then dig up more and pickle a jar of vegetables.

By now, those Jerusalem artichokes have been drying for two days. Once we get back, we can slice them and pickle them in a jar.

As they walked out of the village talking, they saw a group of men and women returning from picking wild fruits on the mountain. In addition to the fruits and mountain goods they carried on their backs or shoulders, they also carried many pheasants, rabbits and other such things in their hands.

Chen Ling assumed that Little Sheep had come over that day and collected a lot of these two types of items, so the villagers had spontaneously come to exchange them for money.

But now, after meeting them, these people greeted him with smiles, but told him that most of these pheasants were found by hand.

Just like the ones Zhenzhen and Liuni found last time, they had been bitten on the neck and had their blood sucked, and were scattered all over the mountain.

Even the pheasants caught in their snares were torn off by wild creatures...

Even if I tear it off, I still won't eat it.

They are still being dumped haphazardly in the mountains.

"Fugui, isn't this strange? Could it be that some kind of old monster, like an old pig spirit, has appeared in our mountains?"

Chen Ling was taken aback, then shook his head: "What are you talking about? Things like the old pig demon aren't so easy to come by..."

Listening to them talk about these things, both Shen Jiayi and her mother felt a little uneasy.

The mountains are pitch black at night, and there are often ghostly howls and wolves, which is scary enough.

What kind of old monster might be hiding there? That would be terrifying.

Although the "old monster" these villagers were talking about was different from the monsters they had previously understood, they had seen photos of the so-called old pig spirit and had also seen its huge skeleton outside Chen Ling's farm.

If such a thing really exists in the mountains, eating people would be a minor matter; it would be a simple matter.

"But I have seen the old wild boar that often comes to our village secretly picking and eating pheasants in the mountains... That's not the same thing!"

As Chen Ling spoke, he also frowned.

At this moment, some of the young men spoke up: "Uncle Fugui, do you think there are more wild things in the mountains these past two years? There are so many pheasants and rabbits that they're overflowing. These wild things don't have to worry about food anymore; they're just too full to eat."

They started becoming picky eaters, playing and fooling around, only sucking blood and not eating meat.

"Huh? It's not impossible for you to think that way."

Chen Ling thought that it was indeed the young man who dared to think so, and he couldn't help but laugh when he thought about it.

“I’m going to the county town tomorrow. I’ll stop by Jinmen Village on my way back and ask Uncle Guangli. There are fewer hunters in our village these days, and the old folks don’t go into the mountains as often as they do in Jinmen Village. They just don’t have much experience.”

"Yes, yes, but what's even stranger is that this thing only catches pheasants, it catches all kinds of pheasants, but it doesn't catch any rabbits or anything like that. Uncle, why do you think that is?"

The young men couldn't understand it, and the men and women in the village were even more confused.

It doesn't matter whether Chen Ling knows or not; it's just casual conversation, and since we've already come this far, I might as well ask.

"Why else? Because pheasants are easier to catch than rabbits."

Chen Ling's answer was simple.

"Hey, yeah, we were overthinking it. What your Uncle Fugui said is true. Pheasants are best caught at night when winter is approaching."

Rabbits have burrows to live in, and they hide inside their burrows.

These pheasants are different. When it gets dark and they can't see very well, they'll just lie down anywhere with a burrow and sleep. If they can't go back to their burrows, it's common for them to sleep in the wheat fields outside our village… Wild animals can sniff them out and catch them instantly.”

Many villagers clapped their hands and said.

Chen Ling was speechless: "Fourth Brother, Fourth Sister-in-law, what's wrong with you? You don't know anything, you haven't figured anything out, you don't even know what killed these pheasants, and you dare to pick them up and eat them?"

"Hey, didn't you and Zhenzhen pick them up last time? If you're not afraid, then we're not afraid either."

"Alright, alright, you guys are pretty cunning..."

Chen Ling immediately smiled.

After a few laughs and banter, they went their separate ways home.

In short, many families in the village follow his example and do things his way, which does make people feel more at ease.

Sometimes, people in the countryside are poor, honest, and stubborn. They are not stupid or foolish; they just lack the opportunity to boldly try and make mistakes.

This is definitely not so absolute.

But for some people who want to achieve something and are unwilling to settle for mediocrity, it is a very distressing problem.

So now it's not just the people of Chenwangzhuang in this village who are learning from Chen Ling and doing some business; many surrounding villages, towns, and counties are doing the same.

For example, there are many cattle farms around the county.

Of course, raising cattle is something Chen Ling would be happy to see.

Because in later generations, the local yellow cattle were almost extinct, and there wasn't a single cattle farmer in the countryside, which pained him just thinking about it.

He is truly happy that so many people are now following his lead in raising cattle.

In addition to those who learn from him, there are also many who imitate him.

This afternoon, Lao Ba treated the cattle for a family surnamed Guang. After he finished, he came to sit with Chen Ling for a while.

There was a family in Yangtougou who were young and had just gotten married. They raised a large flock of sheep. Some time ago, they often encountered wolves coming down from the mountain. One day, they saw an injured wolf caught in a trap.

He could tell from the wolf's appearance that it was a pregnant female wolf, but it was very thin and bony, with only its swollen belly hanging on the ground. He couldn't tell whether the wolf cubs inside her were alive or dead.

He felt sorry for the wolf, and besides, there's a custom in the mountains not to kill pregnant animals with cubs, so he let the wolf go.

They also gave us some food.

It was supposed to be food, but it was really just two pieces of freshly made chestnut cake from home.

There are so many wild chestnuts in the mountains here, just like persimmons. If we can't finish them all, we make chestnut cakes, persimmon buns, and the like.

Such semi-staple foods are kept at home by rural people and can be taken with them when they are working, which can keep them from getting hungry.

It's far better than just drinking water and eating cold steamed buns.

Of course, chestnut cake is oilier, so it's more fragrant and softer than persimmon cake or similar treats.

The wolf was so hungry that it actually ate it.

The man from Yangtougou didn't actually know at first that the mother wolf had eaten the chestnut cake.

After all, wolves are cunning, cautious, and wary; once released from the trap, they run away.

It was only a day later that he saw the wolf again, circling around the ditch at the foot of the mountain, limping and slowly making its way toward him.

They maintained a distance of about ten meters.

He cracked his whip a few times, accompanied by the whistling of the whip and stomping his feet to drive the wolf away. The wolf quickly turned its head to the side, pretending not to see the shooing, and then looked for an opportunity to continue rubbing against him.

After doing this several times, he became a little scared because he only had a machete with him, not a gun.

He started walking towards the village, but when he reached the edge of the village, the wolf was still limping slowly following him, sniffing around the spot where he had just left.

Only then did he realize that it was a hungry wolf, probably looking for food.

Then he tossed over two more pieces of chestnut cake.

Then they drove the sheep a little further away and watched from a distance. Sure enough, the wolf walked over, sniffed it once, and then began to eat it in large mouthfuls.

Only then did he realize why the chestnut cake that had been thrown near the trap that day had disappeared; it turned out that the wolf had eaten it, and he had thought that something passing by had eaten it.

As for why the wolf kept eating raw meat, he figured it was because it was starving.

Not to mention that this is a pregnant she-wolf.

What happened next was simple: every day when he was herding sheep, the wolf would come over and ask for food.

Over time, the wolf actually became familiar with him.

He even gave birth to the wolf cubs behind his sheep pen.

When the people in Yangtougou Village found out, they all said that the boy had gone mad, daring to raise wolves.

Even if mountain people don't kill mother animals with cubs, they just don't kill them. They release them, or at most chase them away. They certainly wouldn't bring them home, let alone raise them.

It turns out this person was also stubborn.

When the villagers talked to him about it, he got all worked up.

They also talked about Chen Fugui from Chenwangzhuang, saying he could raise tigers and make tens of thousands of yuan selling puppies.

It's not uncommon to see those puppies mating with wolves.

He'll definitely be able to sell these wolf cubs for money once they're grown up.

This story has practically spread throughout Changle Township.

Chen Ling was a bit far away, so this was the first time he had heard of this.

After listening to Lao Ba's explanation, his first thought was that there were many such lone female wolves and lone old wolves everywhere lately.

Secondly, it's not a good thing if everyone imitates him.

Raising wolves is just too dangerous.

Even if a wolf recognizes a person, it will only recognize one person. If it is kept near your home, it is still very easy for it to hurt your family members.