My 1995 Small Farm.

Chen Ling rushed there and rushed back.

It was all for nothing.

Nothing's wrong with Liang Hongyu.

Although it was somewhat surprising that he knew and still came to my house so late.

But the old lady reassured him that it was nothing serious; he was just impatient and angry about the messy things at home in Beijing, so he shouldn't worry.

Chen Ling was relieved and sat down for a short chat before visiting Zhenzhen and her second brother and sister-in-law in the small courtyard in the south of the city.

So they returned to the village.

Meanwhile, at Wang Xuecheng's house, the goose stew was almost ready.

Everyone looked over when they saw Chen Ling return.

"Fugui's back? Is everything alright with your aunt?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing, just a false alarm."

"It's good that you're alright. The goose is almost ready. Sit down and wait to eat."

"By the way, you said that fish is best eaten raw, but we don't know how to cook it. It's good that you're here, otherwise we would have had to ask Brother Jukun to cook the fish."

"Hey, this is easy. Just slice it into sashimi with a knife. I'll do it."

Chen Ling slapped the little green horse on the rump, letting it run back on its own, and then rolled up his sleeves to catch the fish.

At that moment, Wang Xuecheng and his father were busy cooking other dishes on a private stove.

We invited seven or eight people over tonight, but the meal consisted of only one stewed goose in an iron pot and the fish that Chen Ling brought, which made the meal seem rather sparse and monotonous.

It's a bit embarrassing to present.

Villagers may not be as particular as city dwellers, but they are very hospitable. When they invite guests over for a meal, even if the dishes are slightly inferior, they will still offer a wide variety of options.

It appears abundant.

"This fish should be prepared by Fugui. If I were to do it, I couldn't slice the fish meat so thinly!"

When Wang Jukun saw Chen Ling slicing the fish meat thinly and evenly with a knife, he couldn't help but smack his lips in amazement.

"It's true that people like Fugui are rare. He can not only eat well but also cook well, and he can cook better than others."

"Ha, stop praising me, you're going to exaggerate my abilities."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a small figure sneaked into the kitchen from outside and slapped Chen Ling on the leg.

He turned his head and saw his own brat cowering beside him, grinning at him.

"Hey, you little rascal, look at the sweat on your head."

Chen Ling tapped him on the head with the back of her hand, which was free of fishy smell.

"Daddy, Rui Rui is a wolf! Awoo! Awoo!"

Rui Rui tilted his head back, stretched out his little hands, and made a fierce face.

He was just playing this game with Liu Nier and the others. Liu Nier, being a big kid, coaxed him and played along, letting him pretend to be a wolf and chase them.

It made him very happy.

He chased the two dogs all over the yard.

The brat thinks he's so great and powerful.

As a result, when he saw that his father came back but didn't talk to him or call him, he couldn't help but run over and pretend to be a wolf for him again.

"Okay, okay, you're the wolf, you're the strongest! Go out and play with your older brothers and sisters!"

Chen Ling smiled helplessly, put the fish slices into a plate, and was about to take it out.

"Rui Rui is so smart. Don't go yet, come on, brother will give you some goose meat."

Wang Xuecheng lifted the pot lid, scooped up two pieces of goose meat with a spoon, blew on them while they were still hot, and put them in a bowl: "Fugui, you hold this for him."

Chen Ling turned around and walked back: "Then take a few more pieces. There are several kids outside. Take a few more pieces for them to eat!"

Old man Wang Jukun also said, "Pick out a few pieces for them with fewer bones, easier to gnaw on. This goose weighs quite a bit, enough for us to eat."

"Okay, here, this piece isn't too hot anymore, Rui Rui can eat it first."

Wang Xuecheng smiled and bent down, letting Rui Rui reach into the bowl to get something.

Rui Rui didn't know how to be polite. He kept calling out "Meatball" and reached out his hand.

Chen Ling quickly stopped him: "Hey, wash your hands first, look how dirty your little hands are."

I scooped up some water in the kitchen and gave the little guy a quick wash.

"Alright, here you go."

Rui Rui couldn't wait any longer and grabbed it, stuffing it into his mouth.

After taking a bite, her eyes lit up: "Dad, it's delicious!"

“This wasn’t made by Dad, it was made by Xuecheng, the brother who gives you meat,” Chen Ling said, pointing at Wang Xuecheng.

"Haha, Rui Rui thinks it's delicious. You'll come with your dad again next time. When your younger brother and sister can run around, I'll cook a big pot of meat for you."

Wang Xuecheng served a bowl of meat to the children and smiled.

Rui Rui's face was covered in oil from eating, and she smiled shyly.

He only catches the gist of what the adults are saying.

I wonder what Wang Xuecheng is saying.

Chen Ling smiled helplessly: "Silly boy, come on, let's go out and eat with Brother Liu Ni'er and the others."

"This little kid is just so lovable," Wang Jukun said with a smile as he stood by the stove, ladling goose meat into a bowl.

Then, looking at Wang Xuecheng, he said, "Hurry up and have another one while you're still young. Fines are fines, and if all else fails, you can go into hiding. You still need a son in the family."

"Oh, I know. That's exactly why I wanted to ask Fugui if he had any folk remedies. The ones Aunt Xiufen gave me weren't very effective."

"Alright, take it out."

Wang Xuecheng grunted in agreement and carried a large porcelain basin of fragrant goose meat out of the kitchen.

He then invited everyone to start eating and drinking.

Once the eating and drinking started, the courtyard became even more lively.

Everyone says that goose meat and Chen Ling's fish are delicious.

As for Chen Ling's fish, it's so expensive, it's only fair that it's delicious.

Even if you eat it raw.

This thing is just too expensive.

Even if it's just average, you can still taste something extraordinary about it.

But the wild geese are different.

In previous years, some villagers also hunted geese.

But it's not something they eat regularly. Although there are so many geese, they are actually quite difficult to hunt, so they eat relatively little of them.

"You've learned this skill quite well. This stewed goose is just as good as the stewed chicken we had at the rich man's house."

“Yes, city people are so craving those free-range chickens raised by the wealthy. You’ve really mastered them by following Brother Jukun.”

This guy kept praising Wang Xuecheng, making him smile from ear to ear.

She was so beautiful she almost blew snot out of her nose.

He quickly waved his hand and said no, it was just something he did blindly, how could it compare to wealth and honor?

“What’s wrong with that? Look how much Fugui is enjoying his food. We’re praising you here, but he doesn’t say a word. He’s busy gnawing on that goose leg.”

"Fragrant Bar, Rich and Powerful?"

Chen Ling held a goose leg in his hand, gnawing on it while nodding, "Mmm, it smells delicious. It's really worth learning this skill."

After saying that, he casually held up a greasy finger.

The braised goose in an iron pot today was indeed delicious.

The main reason is that it takes a long time to stew.

The heat is just right.

It's important to know that goose meat, like pheasant meat, has a firmer texture compared to domesticated meat.

For example, pheasant, if you don't use a pressure cooker, you have to spend time simmering it over low heat.

The good thing about goose meat is that it's not as firm as pheasant meat, but it's more flavorful.

In other words, it has neither the earthy smell of pheasant nor the watery smell of wild duck.

"Look, even Fugui is giving you a thumbs up. If you learn this well, you can go out and cook banquets with Brother Jukun." "Haha, come on, if you ask me, I'm nothing special. I'm just waiting to drink the full moon celebration of Fugui's second and third sons. Fugui will personally cook the banquet for us. Just thinking about it makes me so hungry."

With a single sentence, Wang Xuecheng shifted the conversation back to Chen Ling.

Of course, he also felt that the goose meat he made today was tastier than most of the dishes he usually made, and he ate it non-stop.

"Let's wait and see about the full moon celebration. If it doesn't work out, we can talk about it when winter comes. I have a lot of friends here."

Chen Ling raised his glass and said, "Come on, let's have a drink. The food was so good today, I was so busy eating."

"Alright, Fugui has spoken, let's offer a toast."

Everyone raised their glasses and downed a cup of wine.

As a result, after a cup of wine, many people realized they had acted hastily.

Chen Yubin and his three or four young men, in particular, were so flustered that their faces turned red and their necks bulged.

"Hiss... Ha, Uncle Fugui, your corn liquor is really strong."

"Yes, that was too much force. Go slower, go slower..."

"Haha, it's okay, just drink slowly. This wine doesn't really give you a headache."

Chen Ling laughed heartily.

People in the mountains like to brew their own corn liquor, which usually has a slightly higher alcohol content.

However, he was taught how to brew this wine by his father-in-law, and it was only last year that he first tried it out, half learning and half experimenting.

But the wine that came out was quite good.

On the contrary, the corn liquor I brewed later, once I got more skilled, was never as good as the first one.

That's how it works sometimes.

You could say it's a period of good luck for beginners, or you could say it's a period of protection for beginners.

But no matter what, their liquor is strong, and it really doesn't give you a headache at all.

Wang Lixian and Wang Jusheng both knew about this, so they nodded in agreement with Chen Ling's words.

"Don't worry, the corn liquor brewed by your Uncle Fugui is really fine. Even my third son-in-law, who's such a softie, dares to drink a couple of cups."

Wang Lixian is referring to this as a little lamb.

Upon hearing this, everyone's courage returned.

While eating and drinking, they ate the fish that Chen Ling brought. They said that raw fish was not as fragrant as goose meat, but it was the fastest thing to finish.

The sauce I made was sour and fragrant, and it was very delicious when used to dip the fish.

"Is Brother Xian's greenhouse all cleaned up?"

"Not yet, but it'll be soon. Anyway, we're growing vegetables and mushrooms at the same time."

"Brother Xian is doing very well this year. He has three sons-in-law helping out with his greenhouse farming. They are all very filial, so we don't need to help him."

"That's right, otherwise why would Uncle Lixian remember this and even help his son-in-law raise a puppy?"

"Hey, stop talking. I'm just benefiting from Fugui's good fortune and taking advantage of his fame."

"Hey, look at what Brother Xian is saying. Let's not talk about the past, just look at this year. How many people in our village haven't benefited from him?"

"By the way, Uncle Fugui, you raise so many packhorses and deer, do you make a fortune from those two things?"

"...What fortune? They really want to raise sika deer, and they want me to catch baby sika deer. Where am I supposed to find them this season? The adult male deer have only just started mating. I can only catch a few more to raise..."

Chen Ling said helplessly, "Anyway, there's no harm in raising them. If we don't want to raise them anymore, we can just kill them and eat them. As for the packhorses, Old Yu brought them back from Fenglei Town and Miao Village. He was in a hurry to go back to Beiji and asked me to raise them for him. They haven't been transported away yet... I heard from Old Zhou that the old guy is probably busy with his wedding. His bride's family is getting involved, so he can't take care of them right now."

Yu Qi'an, Zhou Weijun...

These two pen pals of Chen Ling are well-known in the village.

Yu Qi'an was a bit of a rascal; he liked to tease children and get the adults and kids in the village to get him birds and birdcages.

Zhou Weijun ate persimmons from Wang Jusheng's house until he had a stomachache and almost lost half his life. People have been laughing at him ever since.

As soon as Chen Ling mentioned Lao Yu and Lao Zhou, everyone knew who they were.

"Hey, isn't that why rich people have so many friends?"

"Yes, with so many friends, it's hard to get them all together. This full moon celebration will probably have to wait until winter."

"Ah, I'm afraid of heavy snow blocking the mountains when winter comes."

"Then it should be fine. Everyone says it's warm this year, a mild winter."

When men eat and drink, they become quite talkative. The good thing is that apart from their love of boasting, they don't have any other bad habits.

Chen Ling was also willing to chat with them about all sorts of nonsense.

After discussing astronomy, geography, and national affairs, they started talking about the turtle king in the water, the old pig spirit in the mountains, the wolf, the wolf god, the wolf king, and so on.

The conversation eventually turned to Chen Ling's greenhouse farming.

Chen Ling said this last year at Wang Lixian's house. Back then, when they were building a second earthen shed for Wang Lixian, everyone was eating and drinking at Wang Lixian's house.

Chen Ling casually mentioned that he also wanted to set up a shed to give it a try.

But at that time I was thinking that at least the child would be a little older by next year.

In addition to growing vegetables and mushrooms, you can also put beehives, fish fry, chicks, ducklings, and other animals inside during the winter.

Nowadays, it seems like kids never stop going on until they're in middle school.

You still have to do what you have to do.

Chen Ling actually had the idea of ​​building a small greenhouse after holding a full-month celebration for Lele and Kang Kang this year.

……

Chen Ling and his friends were having a lively time eating and drinking in the village, unaware that Liang Hongyu and her companion in the city were unable to sleep until very late.

He was leaning against the bed with the light on, his face looking pale.

"How could she do this? She doesn't care about the child herself, and she won't let us take care of him either. What kind of mother is that?"

Liang Hongyu was still furious when she talked about it.

It turns out that today's events weren't related to Liang Hongyu's family's messy affairs.

It turned out that they had spoken on the phone with Chen Ling's mother.

"Sigh, it's not that she doesn't care about Fugui, you know her temper, she's stubborn and headstrong, and she cares a lot about her reputation. If we hadn't gone back to Lingyun, she might have secretly been thinking about Fugui..."

Now that she knows we're back, and she's still getting so close to Fugui, it suddenly makes her seem like a terrible mother... With her temper and her pride, she's bound to explode.

Qin Rong sighed, her mind also in turmoil.

Think of Chen Ling and Wang Susu, the adorable Rui Rui, the two little babies who are only a month old, and the lively and energetic Wang Zhenzhen who is like a mischievous monkey...

What a wonderful family.

If you asked them to be grandparents, they would be a thousand times, ten thousand times willing.

such a pity.

"Why would she explode like that? Her own mother doesn't care about her child; she hasn't contacted her for years, and the child even thought her mother was dead. And you say she secretly wants to get rich? With someone like her..."

If you secretly have such thoughts, even if it wasn't easy for people to go back to the mainland before, does that mean you can't write letters anymore?

How dare you tell me what to do? You called Yue Min and Yue Ru and started yelling at them...

So what if I'm close to my nephew?
Is it any of her business?

Liang Hongyu grew angrier and angrier as she spoke, until tears welled up in her eyes.

"Well, they have something to say too... Didn't you hear what they said on the phone? They said you've changed your surname to Liang, so you're no longer family with them, and you have absolutely no connection to their son."

They can manage it if they want, and they can leave it alone if they don't. What business is it of yours?

He insisted on coming over to claim his nephew as his own, acting like they were closer than his own mother. Isn't that like a wild monkey wearing a straw hat—he's quite the actor!
"Did you notice me?"

Qin Rongxian handed a handkerchief to his wife while saying helplessly.

These are mostly Chen Ling's mother's original words.

When Liang Hongyu heard this on the phone, she was so angry that she started cursing.

"Ah, she said I was a wild monkey wearing a straw hat and pretending to be human. She doesn't want her son, so she just stays silent. Why did she come back to scold us with her fur standing on end?"
Damn it, we were so careful, we didn't dare to acknowledge Fugui. What did she take me for? She thought I had come back here and told the children everything.
Speaking ill of her in front of the children?
She even said I'm no longer family, so why am I getting involved in her affairs...

That being said, was it my choice to change my surname to Liang?

It's all because we sent her away back then. She wanted to be someone else's daughter and live a good life, but she suffered mistreatment and then ran back home.

She couldn't stand the disdain she received, so I went in her place.

Did she think I was willing to leave my own parents and be someone else's daughter?

Liang Hongyu held a handkerchief, but the more she wiped her tears, the more they flowed. (End of Chapter)