My 1995 Small Farm.

As we emerged from the cave, the sun was just about to set.

That evening, Yu Qi'an said he was going to make braised pork intestines, ribs, and chicken. There was a lot of pork intestines in the bucket, and he also bought a lot of ribs.

Chen Ling decided to be generous today and catch two old hens from his home to stew.

but……

Are two old hens considered generous?
Yes.

The chickens at his farm are too big.

They far exceed the so-called "nine-pound yellow" (a type of yellow rice), each weighing over ten pounds.

Two chickens are enough for a large family.

Even if we call Dujuan and the others over, there will still be enough food.

At dusk, the chickens were still searching for food on the mountain.

Free-range chickens are naturally wild.

They are used to running around in the mountains and cannot be kept in captivity. Even when food is greatly reduced in winter, they still want to roam around in the mountains every day, scratching and digging everywhere.

They absolutely refuse to go back to the chicken coop until dark.

Chickens raised this way produce high egg production, delicious eggs, and high-quality meat.

However, its drawbacks are also obvious: it is too wild and extremely difficult to catch when it wants to eat.

Even Chen Ling, their owner, couldn't catch them outside.

Even with a net clip, it can't be fastened.

Letting a dog scratch you is even worse.

These chickens were usually quite obedient to the dog and were very compliant.

If a dog scratches you twice and scares you, you'll become disobedient.

Not worth the candle.

So Chen Ling called them back to the chicken coop and let them catch the chickens themselves.

"Cuckoo..."

Chen Ling carried a tin bucket out of the orchard and banged on it while shouting at the foot of the mountain.

Under the dim light, there was no movement on the back mountain at first, but in just a short while, the mountain was in an uproar, as if a pot had been boiled over.

Large flocks of free-range chickens clucked loudly as they raced down the mountain.

One by one, with their thick, strong chicken feet, they ran wildly along the path in the woods.

Some of them ran while flapping their wings, chirping as they flew over ditches and bushes on hillsides, rushing downhill.

In an instant, chicken feathers flew everywhere in mid-air.

The flock of chickens, all sorts of colors, including pheasants, all rushed down the mountain.

The scene is quite spectacular.

Such a lively scene naturally attracted Afu and Ashou, who still harbor a strong curiosity about most things, so they quickly ran over to see what was so interesting.

With its big head tilted back and round cat eyes wide open, it circled around, watching the flock of chickens flying everywhere.

I'm getting a little restless; I almost want to pounce on a couple.

Actually, Chen Ling had already released them into the mountains to eat in the afternoon.

But for tigers, hunting is instinct.

Moreover, Ah Fu and Ah Shou are still at a playful age, so it goes without saying.

"Cuckoo..."

Chen Ling pursed his lips and led the chickens into the chicken coop.

If this happened during the day, trying to lure these chickens back to the coop would be impossible; even sending dogs to chase them wouldn't work.

Fortunately, in the past two years, they have developed the habit of returning to the chicken coop at night.

So when Chen Ling shouted that, they all rushed into the chicken coop with a bang.

Inside the chicken coop, there are not only individual chicken coops but also chicken sheds.

The small, private chicken coop must be quite luxurious, with a clean straw nest inside.

The chicken coop was much simpler, consisting of just a few long bamboo poles.

At night, chickens would huddle together on the long bamboo poles, sleeping on one leg.

at the very beginning.

Chen Ling was thinking of making more chicken coops.

Although he doesn't have obsessive-compulsive disorder, once he starts something, he'll do it as well as possible.

He never expected that a hierarchy would emerge within the chicken flock.

Several roosters even fight each other, battling fiercely every day to become the leader of the flock.

There are different ranks among hens.

Chen Ling then abandoned the idea of ​​continuing to build the chicken coop.

Each time the flock of chickens expands in size.

He simply added two more long bamboo poles to the chicken coop.

Simple and convenient.

The chicken liked it very much.

If it gets colder in winter, this won't work.

Chen Ling plans to slaughter a batch of chickens that don't want to lay eggs to reduce the density. The rest will be covered with dry grass under the chicken coop so they can find their own place to sleep at night. It'll be warm enough if they huddle together.

The rumbling continued for a full seven or eight minutes before all the chickens finally crawled into the coop.

This time is relatively short. After all, poultry can be naughty and disobedient at times. When they get to the chicken coop, they insist on showing off. Many young chickens don't like to walk properly and insist on flapping their wings to rush in, making their feathers fly everywhere.

Even a mature chicken can fly in.

They land on the ground, just like chickens on bamboo poles in a coop. They spontaneously line up on the ground first, then fly up to the bamboo poles one by one. After landing, they find a good spot along the bamboo poles, quietly fold their wings, and prepare to rest.

This isn't something humans teach them; it's like chickens flying up trees to sleep—it's all based on their own experience.

Chen Ling deliberately chose two unsteady chickens to stew.

But considering they are still young and have many eggs yet to be laid.

I suppressed that impulse.

No matter who in the village saw this approach, they would all nod in agreement and say it was the right thing to do.

In rural areas, when hens have passed their optimal egg-laying stage and roosters have passed their prime, they must be killed or sold. Otherwise, the quality of chickens and eggs will not be properly improved, and the chicken meat will become less tender and flavorful as it was at the beginning.

To achieve the best of both worlds, the chickens must be slaughtered and sold in stages.

Chen Ling naturally refused to sell the chickens he raised himself.

He looked around and waited until all the chickens were in their places before going into the coop and closing the wire mesh cage door.

They searched around for the marked hens that were laying fewer and fewer eggs.

In the countryside, marking poultry has always been a simple and crude method: just smear ink or used ballpoint pen refills on obvious spots on the chicken's body.

The two extremely large hens that Chen Ling picked were standing perfectly on the bamboo pole. Their plump rear ends were bulging outwards, like two gourds, all bulging and full of meat. In Yu Qi'an's words, these chickens looked delicious.

That's true. You can tell when you slaughter a chicken; it has much more fat in its belly than a regular chicken.

How could it not smell delicious after stewing?

It wouldn't be surprising if such a chicken weighed over ten pounds.

Chen Ling successfully caught two hens, grabbed them by their wings, and walked out.

Moreover, once it gets dark, the chickens go into the coop and climb onto the bamboo poles, making them easy to catch and preventing them from making a fuss.

Chen Ling grabbed a chicken and walked out of the chicken coop.

Seeing this, Afu, who was looking out, quickly closed the chicken coop door like a lackey, his face full of flattery and ingratiation, begging for praise.

Ah Shou, the little male tiger, wasn't so clever. His eyes were fixed on the chicken in Chen Ling's hand, and he peeked around innocently, licking his lips repeatedly.

It's just a stupid tiger that only knows how to eat; it can't even pretend to be nice.

Just as they caught the chicken, Yu Qi'an and his wife arrived, carrying a basket. They called out that they had bought a large piece of good beef from the countryside, and the seller had even given them the cow's head and tendons as a bonus.

There's only one beef seller in the village, Niu Laosan.

I heard from the villagers that Niu Laosan has been very generous in his business lately. At first, some people thought that his temper was too much to bear, but the fact is that he slaughters live cattle and the beef is all done right under everyone's noses, and there is no problem at all.

It was only later, when Zhao Hongbo and the others told them, that they learned that Niu Laosan had been possessed by an evil spirit and was doing good deeds, even becoming filial to his old mother.

Zhao Hongbo and his colleagues often had to go to the countryside to work, running back and forth every day, and they heard a lot of things.

Chen Ling had heard several stories in the past few days about being possessed by evil spirits and encountering monsters at night.

He didn't take it seriously; at most, it only stirred his interest in cultivating new species when he entered the cave these past two days.

Yu Qi'an was unaware of what was going on and felt he had gotten a bargain. He was overjoyed and told everyone he met that the beef he bought today was a great deal.

If Chen Ling hadn't already mentioned that the greenhouse would be built soon, there would be no need to elaborate on the fact that meals would be provided.

I'm afraid quite a few people have been tempted by Yu Qi'an's words and have come over to freeload a meal.

"I'll cook today. If you really want to, go kill the chicken. We can have the beef another day."

Chen Ling really didn't trust Yu Qi'an's cooking skills.

"Oh? Not having beef today? I just bought it, it's very fresh."

Yu Qi'an was a little disappointed, but he quickly raised an eyebrow: "Wait, are you going to start building the greenhouse in the next couple of days?"

Chen Ling nodded: "Building the greenhouse will definitely have to wait until the weather clears up, but tomorrow I plan to drive the tractor to Wangba City to find some building materials."

Upon hearing this, Yu Qi'an beamed with joy: "Alright, alright, I'll help you herd cattle and geese tomorrow. We can eat the beef when you build the greenhouse."

That old rascal is just greedy.

Moreover, when he cooks, he never thinks about how delicious something is; he just buys a lot of food and cooks it without considering whether he can finish it.

We finish eating and there's a lot left over, but we can't bear to throw it away even when it's spoiled.

Like today, with two such plump old hens, he only saw how delicious they were, without thinking about how much meat they contained. Add to that the fatty intestines and ribs, and it would probably be enough to start a meal right away.

They also want to add beef, and even a cow's head that big.

He probably didn't do the math; that bull's head with some miscellaneous side dishes would be enough to feed seven or eight people to their hearts' content.

Bai Huining doesn't cook much, and she's not really sure what she's doing. When she arrived, she went upstairs to find Wang Susu to watch the baby, and then flipped through the manuscripts written by Chen Ling, reading them with great interest and reluctant to leave.

When Yu Qi'an was killing the chicken, Gao Xiulan quickly came over to help, pouring a basin of clean water and sprinkling some fine salt.

Tell Yu Qi'an to kill a chicken and bleed it.

It has to be said that the chickens Chen Ling raised were indeed robust and strong; Yu Qi'an almost couldn't catch them.

Gao Xiulan helped hold the chicken's head.

Yu Qian quietly grasped the chicken's wingtips and its two thick feet.

Then the old lady reached out and, with a sizzling sound, plucked the feathers off the chicken's neck. She grabbed a cleaver, and with a swift, deft motion, severed the hen's trachea, causing blood to flow.

Blood was gushing out of the incision at the chicken's neck.

When the liquid was dripped into the prepared basin of water, the basin immediately turned bright red.

The old hen soon passed away.

After draining the chicken blood, Gao Xiulan skillfully tucked the chicken head inside the wing and tossed it at her feet.

After swatting away Ah Shou, who was looking around and trying to get closer, it was time to kill the second one.

In fact, Yu Qi'an knows how to kill chickens, and he's quite skilled at it. It's just that he ran into Chen Ling's chickens and got completely flustered.

The old lady had to help.

This is the second one, and he insisted on doing the knife himself.

The process of killing the chicken and bleeding it out went very smoothly.

Of course, the chicken blood also needs to be stirred constantly, otherwise it will settle too quickly and become difficult to handle.

After killing two old hens, a basin full of bright red blood will accumulate. Once it solidifies, cut it into pieces and stir-fry or make soup; it will taste delicious.

Then the two chickens were thrown into a bucket and scalded with boiling water. After scalding, the feathers were plucked, and the chickens were gutted...

When it comes to food, both Chen Ling and Yu Qi'an are very serious about it.

Chen Ling started tidying up the food, and Afu and Ashou would get slapped if they tried to come over.

Until his father-in-law brought Rui Rui back.

They were going to the city to pick up Wang Zhenzhen, and Heiwa and Xiaojin accompanied them the whole time, and they had a great time.

"father!"

Back home, Rui Rui led the two dogs and rushed towards Chen Ling, shouting as she ran, "Daddy, puppy, puppy!"

Chen Ling had just come out of the kitchen when a delicious aroma wafted from it.

"What puppy?"

"He said that a lot of puppies have appeared in the stray dog ​​pack outside the city, and those puppies are quite cute. He wants you to help him catch them," Wang Cunye explained with a smile.

"Brother-in-law, you can't catch stray dogs, they can kill someone if they bite." Wang Zhenzhen put down her schoolbag and rushed over to interrupt, not even bothering to greet Yu Qi'an and the others.

"Yes, what's the point of catching stray dogs? When Dad goes to the city again, I'll catch all of Uncle Lynx's puppies for you, okay?"

Chen Ling coaxed her son.

Wang Cunye continued, "Lingzi, more people came to the village just now, several of them from CCTV. They heard from the villagers and teachers that we're from the same family, so they stopped us to talk and even tried to feed Heiwa and the other two..."

Just then, Erhei ran over from outside the gate, barking.

The old man quickly added, "Yes, yes, we also fed Erhei. Erhei and the others are very obedient and never eat anything given by strangers."

As he spoke, he patted Erhei's head and continued to say to Chen Ling, "Those people were with Teacher He and the others, and they kept asking about our family. When they saw Rui Rui and me come back, they even said they wanted to come to our house for dinner."

Before Chen Ling could react to the old man's words, Yu Qi'an suddenly perked up: "CCTV, do you mean they're making you bring your dog on the Spring Festival Gala again? I'll go out and check."

He went out excitedly, but soon came running back, panting.

Upon returning, he waved his hand at Chen Ling: "No, no, these people are no good. I know some of them. Our Little Brother was forced to withdraw from the Spring Festival Gala by that bastard."

"what?"

Chen Ling was taken aback upon hearing this. Before he could think about it, Yu Qi'an, who hadn't even gotten to know Chen Xiao'er well, knew that Chen Xiao'er had a conflict with someone at CCTV. Then someone knocked on the door.

As dusk settled, the courtyard filled with the rich aroma of meat. Coming to the door at this hour, they really are here to freeload! (End of Chapter)