My 1995 Small Farm.

It's inevitable that tigers will attract attention, but Chen Ling is already immune to them.

He brought Ah Fu and Ah Shou out so many times that he didn't care whether people would say he was deliberately showing off by bringing tigers out.

He now feels it's no different from walking a dog.

Let people talk about it if they see it; he's been through all sorts of rumors before, so he's long since become indifferent to them.

However, as Afu and Ashou finished defecating and furtively buried the hole, he noticed a comment being discussed by the crowd in the market.

"A giant turtle has appeared in Turtle City?"

The first thought that popped into Chen Ling's mind was: Garlic and the others have swum over.

So he took the two tigers over to inquire about the situation and, incidentally, to ask for directions.

When the town's market day arrives, the main road is blocked, so you have to check if it's convenient to go around from outside the town, and whether a tractor can get through.

Those people saw him walk past.

Regardless of age or gender, everyone was so excited their eyes were practically sparkling: "Are you Chen Fugui from Lingyun County?"

"It's me. How's the road outside your town? Can a tractor get through?"

"It's passable, but there's a section of dirt road with lots of potholes. It turns into mud pits after it rains, making it difficult to walk. Did you bring a shovel? You'll have to get off and shovel a few shovelfuls of dirt to fill the gaps."

"Yes, yes, thank you, fellow villager."

Chen Ling nodded. The cave was fully equipped with large and small shovels, farm tools, and various other equipment, even firearms and ammunition.

He even made several wild boar cannons, which were just as powerful as homemade hand grenades.

There are quite a few people who come to the market in this town.

Chen Ling even saw a stall where monkeys were being performed.

At this moment, he also joined the crowd to look at the two tigers behind him.

"Are you really Chen Fugui? You don't look like him at all." A boy of about half a year looked at the tiger curiously, then looked him over again, and then mustered up his courage to ask.

"Huh? I don't look like it?"

“No, people say Chen Fugui can fight a leopard by himself and tame a tiger. He’s tall and strong, with arms as thick as saplings. You’re not like him.”

It was actually because Chen Ling was too fair-skinned and refined, unlike the rumors about him.

This left Chen Ling somewhat bewildered.

"Are you stupid, kid? He's got a tiger behind him. Besides Chen Fugui, who would dare to lead the mountain king out? Nobody has the guts or the ability, understand?"

An old man glared at the boy and gave him a scolding.

Seeing this, Chen Ling laughed, then took out a cigarette and handed it to the old man, spreading it around.

Asking for directions and offering someone a cigarette is standard practice.

But it's quite rare to see someone like Chen Ling, who opens a package and immediately spreads the contents around.

After finishing one pack, he took out another.

Chen Ling lit a cigarette for the old man.

The old man suddenly felt proud.

No matter what kind of spicy snack he asked, or what kind of big turtle in Wangba City he was, he would answer everything without hesitation.

The others joined in the clamor, vying to answer.

Of course, their eyes were inevitably drawn to Afu and Ashou, who stared intently at them. None of them had ever seen a real tiger before, and they wanted to see as much as they could.

As for Afu and Ashou, they've long been unafraid of being stared at; they learned that from being at the zoo.

Their attention was now focused on the wisps of smoke exhaled from the mouths and noses of the group in front of them.

It tilted its big head back and sniffed hard.

It was as if they wanted to inhale all the secondhand smoke in front of them into their noses.

Chen Ling glanced at them but said nothing.

He had long since discovered this bad habit of the two tigers.

They not only like the smell of cigarette smoke, but also the smell of smoke in the kitchen and the smell of cooking oil from the engine.

Just like that old wild boar that often comes down from the mountain into the village, when no one is paying attention, it likes to chase after cars and inhale the smoke from the big chimney.

At the very beginning, Chen Ling discovered the wild boar's strange behavior when he was selling T-shirts during the Hong Kong handover.

Later, Afu and Ashou also developed this habit.

And it's incredibly addictive.

He had told them several times, but the two tigers didn't really listen. They couldn't help themselves, so he stopped trying to control them.

At this moment, onlookers on the outskirts of the town also noticed Afu and Ashou's actions.

Unlike the villagers of Chenwangzhuang, they didn't think that the tiger was smelling their scent and wanted to eat them.

They also saw two tigers taking deep drags on the smoke.

Everyone was astonished.

"Why is this tiger smoking?"

"Of course the mountain king smokes! Haven't you heard that many mountain demons take advantage of people going to the mountains to burn incense and then inhale the smoke rising from the incense and paper money? Inhaling it will turn you into a demon!"

"Huh? Does this mean the tiger is going to become a spirit...?"

Chen Ling was utterly speechless as he listened to these outrageous remarks.

You can attribute everything to mountain spirits and monsters, you've got it all figured out, haven't you?

He just found out about the spicy snack and the giant turtle.

I know it's not garlic or anything like that.

The big turtle from Chenwangzhuang is very famous; many people in Wangbacheng have seen it and know it.

Even if a giant turtle appears, it's not impossible to recognize it.

But to be called a "big turtle" and attract attention, it must be something special.

It is said to be larger than a millstone.

It's only two sizes smaller than the giant turtle from Chenwangzhuang.

I don't know if that's an exaggeration.

Chen Ling didn't want to chat with these people any longer and wanted to get there as soon as possible to see what was going on.

I was just about to leave.

A sharp scream came from behind the crowd, followed by the clattering sound of various objects rolling to the ground.

"Ah! Get out of the way! The monkey trainer has gone mad! The monkey has gone mad!"

"Get out of the way, the monkey is scratching people!" Many people shouted and hurriedly dodged while holding their children.

Chen Ling looked over and saw that the two monkeys led by the monkey trainer had broken free of their chains and were running wild in the crowd, making a mess of the stalls on both sides of the road.

These two monkeys are different sizes; I don't know if they're a male and female pair or something else.

At this moment, two monkeys bared their yellow teeth, squealed, and lunged at the people.

He looked like a frightened animal.

Seeing that this wouldn't work, Chen Ling hurriedly said to the two tigers, whose ears were perked up, "Afu and Ashou, go and hold them down."

Afu and Ashou are different from dogs. If Heiwa and the others were here, they would have been ready to pounce long ago.

They are the type who view everything with ease and disdain as long as Chen Ling and themselves are not threatened.

So I was just watching the two monkeys making a fuss out of curiosity.

They only took it seriously when Chen Ling spoke.

Without any visible movement, and without the crowd needing to move aside, they leaped and bounded through the gaps in the crowd.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the two monkeys were pinned to the ground by Afu and Ashou respectively.

Then the two tigers each grabbed the monkey by the scruff of its neck, and the two big cats looked at Chen Ling with blank expressions.

They don't like eating monkeys, so they don't know whether they should just kill them.

Chen Ling quickly went over: "Hey monkey trainer, where's the chain? Quickly tie up your monkey!"

The crowd erupted in a clamor, all saying that the tiger was indeed more powerful.

Chen Ling knew that the monkey's sudden madness was probably because it had been frightened by Afu and Ashou.

Thinking about it that way, I wonder if the two piles of excrement they buried outside the town will have any impact.

The country folk didn't know how to say thank you. The monkey trainer was a tall, thin man with a red face. After Chen Ling helped him tie up the two monkeys with the chains, he just kept saying nice things.

Indeed, the two monkeys, after being tied up, frantically crawled under the trainer's crotch, their bodies trembling like leaves, not daring to look at Afu and Ashou at all.

It was a domesticated monkey, unlike the bold and unruly wild monkeys.

Even if a wild monkey is subdued by Afu and Ashou once, it will still bare its teeth.

Just then, a young man suddenly chimed in, "Brother Fugui, let the tiger bow to us! Your tiger is so majestic, much more entertaining than a monkey show!"

"Yes, it looks much better. We'll pay!"

After saying that, someone picked up the gong that the monkey had knocked over, grabbed a few coins, and threw them in.

Seeing this, a lot of people behind them started making a ruckus and rushed to throw money inside.

Good heavens! Men, women, and children at the market, along with vendors selling their wares, all crowded around and tossed money into the gong. In the blink of an eye, the gong was full.

To be precise, the coins were full, while the banknotes and small bills were overflowing.

That's why people in Wangbacheng, which guards the mining area, are richer than those in other places.

This is evident from the fact that...

"Alright, alright, everyone, don't push forward, don't push forward. There are many children in the market, and it's easy for accidents to happen if people crowd together. I'll have Tiger bow to everyone."

As soon as Chen Ling said this, the crowd immediately fell silent.

Many older folks exclaimed in admiration, saying that Chen Fugui was a kind and righteous young man; despite all his commotion, he was still thinking about the children of his fellow villagers.

Chen Ling didn't know what to say. She thought to herself, "I really want to be rude, but I can't help it. Everyone knows me now."
I just asked for directions, how could I turn my back on them?

"Come on, Afu and Ashou, quickly bow to the villagers!"

Ah Fu and Ah Shou knew how to make this gesture. As soon as Chen Ling spoke, they sat on the ground like two huge tabby cats, crossed their two chubby front paws, and raised their hands a few times.

The sight thrilled everyone, with young people and children alike shouting excitedly.

At this point, the gong couldn't hold any more money, and in their excitement, they threw the money directly in front of Ah Fu and Ah Shou.

Each one of them was afraid of accidentally hitting the two tigers, so they all moved very gently and cautiously.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou were undoubtedly very clever. Sensing people's goodwill, they suddenly stood up straight, upright, scratching incessantly with their two front paws while howling.

I actually learned this from Rui Rui.

Rui Rui often runs around wildly, barking and gesturing wildly, playing with the village children.

He's pretending to be a tiger.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou didn't know what they were doing, they just thought it was fun, so they copied them.

The two tigers are now the same age as domestic cats and dogs, the perfect age to play with little kids. Plus, they're smart, so they learn a lot of things very quickly.

He's really mimicking Rui Rui's movements perfectly.

The sudden action of the two tigers naturally brought great surprise to people.

One by one, people spontaneously started clapping, cheering wildly, and throwing money around.

There was another guy with a lot of money who threw out several ten-yuan bills; he was incredibly enthusiastic.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou both loved being praised, especially being complimented, so they became even more enthusiastic.

Chen Ling was starting to feel sorry for them, thinking, "Will this ever end? It'll be noon soon."

They were having a great time.

These days, there are indeed very few entertainment options in the countryside, you could say they are pitifully few.

Performing operas and playing with monkeys are all old tricks.

What could be more exciting, novel, and thrilling than a tiger?

And so it became quite a lively affair.

A thick layer of money had been lost from the bodies of Afu and Ashou.

The monkey trainer kept helping Chen Ling pick up the money, and seeing that Chen Ling was embarrassed to accept it, he told him that this kind of money was given voluntarily by people, and it was good to accept it.

Chen Ling didn't really want it at first; so much loose change would be a hassle to carry around.

But seeing how accomplished Afu and Ashou looked...

The monkey trainer said the same thing.

He changed his mind and accepted the money.

However, the monkey showman still received 100 yuan.

After some pushing and shoving, the monkey trainer insisted on refusing to accept the money, finally only asking for twenty. His monkey had almost hurt someone, and if Chen Ling hadn't brought the tiger to help subdue it, he might not have even made any money today, let alone survived. Anyone with a conscience wouldn't want Chen Ling's money.

"I heard that a temple has been built in your Chenwangzhuang village as well?"

"Yes, it's the two days following the seventh day of the seventh lunar month every year..."

"Okay, I'll come to your village to perform with the monkeys then, and I'll come during the New Year too." (End of Chapter)