My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 718

Chen Ling quickly walked to Afu's side and looked into the stone cave...

Inside the dark stone cave, some branches and feathers were scattered about. The branches and feathers were spread out haphazardly, and a large, bald bird with a curved beak was perched on one of them. When it saw Chen Ling, its eyes lit up and it chirped excitedly incessantly.

Sure enough, it was Baldy Er inside.

"Damn, Baldy, why are you bald again?"

When Chen Ling saw his hawk in its current state, his excitement turned to astonishment.

He had previously thought that the bastard had found a mate and was hiding outside incubating eggs.

However, this season is clearly not the season for incubating eggs, so wild birds do not choose to incubate their eggs in winter.

I just found out that this guy has gone bald again.

Seeing that Er Tu Zi seemed to have difficulty moving, Chen Ling reached out and grabbed the excited, silly bird, only to find that all the feathers on the bird's chest and two wings had fallen off.

Only the neck, back, and tail feathers remained intact.

It went from looking majestic and spirited to being a naked, bald chicken.

"Good heavens, what did you fight with this time? You've turned into a bald bird again."

Chen Ling held it in his arms and spun it around to check its injuries. Er Tu Zi was very excited to see him, as if they had been separated for eight hundred lifetimes. It rubbed against him and gently nibbled on his clothes. Its joy was indescribable.

"You're so happy to see me, you don't even know to go home earlier."

After much effort, Chen Ling finally finished examining the bird amidst Er Tu Zi's excited commotion, only to discover that the silly bird had no obvious injuries.

"Huh? You didn't fight with any other birds? Then how did you get bald? This is the third time you've gone bald. You should change your name to 'Three Bald Guy' from now on."

Chen Ling was also very happy to see this silly bird, and kept muttering to himself.

But then it got dark.

Chen Ling was able to see in the night and did not want to stay in the mountains for long, so he took Er Tuzi into the cave.

Then we'll check if there's anything else in this stone cave.

After inspecting the place, apart from Er Tuzi's temporary lair and a pile of bone and flesh remains, there was nothing strange inside.

Then Chen Ling looked at A Shou on the other side of the sinkhole, who was still standing motionless guarding the old tree.

So he quickly went over there to take a look.

Afu hurriedly followed, making "ah-woo ah-woo" noises, seemingly trying to remind him of something.

Chen Ling wasn't afraid of poisonous snakes or anything like that, so he boldly went over.

When they got to Ah Shou's side, Ah Shou's tiger was different from Ah Fu's. It didn't try to curry favor. When it saw Chen Ling arrive, it just followed its own nature, grabbing one of Chen Ling's legs with its two big front paws and resting its big head on the back of Chen Ling's foot.

This startled Chen Ling.

That's how felines are; not only are they agile, but many of their movements are also unexpected. You might not even notice them, and they're right at your feet or climbing onto your lap.

How could it not be scary?

Chen Ling waved his hand, taking the lazybones into the cave as well, and then, under the tall old pine tree on the cliff, he observed the situation inside the cave...

He crouched down and peered inside. Two pairs of eyes, full of untamed wildness, came into view, but their gazes were filled with panic. As the two hooked heads swayed and dodged, a bloody smell wafted out.

"This is... Eagle Cave?"

Chen Ling narrowed his eyes. Eagles like to build their nests on cliff tops, and sometimes in winter they will move their nests into caves or crevices in the rocks to avoid the cold wind.

Traces of Eagle Cave can be found in the sinkhole near the large pond.

I didn't expect to find it here.

Then Chen Ling noticed a large, fat, black and red cat lying next to the pair of eagle claws.

His skin was torn open, his head was ripped open, and he had been dead for a long time.

This cat looks even bigger than a civet cat, like a small leopard, but its fur color is definitely not that of a leopard.

There's no such color as a leopard; even a black leopard isn't like this.

"Afu, pull this stray cat out of there. Yes, that's the thing."

Chen Ling pointed into the cave, afraid that if he reached in rashly, the eagle inside would peck at his hand. He then directed Afu to pull the large, black and red cat carcass out of the cave.

The eagles inside had their cave entrance blocked, and they didn't even cry out, seemingly too afraid to resist.

Chen Ling glanced at the dead cat at his feet. It was very strong with its muscles bulging. Its face was plain, with only two simple lines on its head and forehead, making it look fierce and ferocious.

He couldn't tell what species it was, only that it wasn't a leopard or a civet, so he threw it into the cave as well.

What should we do with these two eagles?

"Should we capture it and raise it? Or should we take it into our grotto and raise it for now?"

Chen Ling had long harbored the idea of ​​training more falcons and letting Er Tu Zi be the leader to manage them. This would be very useful for training pigeons and geese, organizing hunting trips, and protecting the farm's poultry from falcons and other birds of prey.

Chen Ling thought that he should first take them into his cave and slowly get to know them and build a relationship with them.

There's no need to train the eagles; just slowly lure them with food and gently seduce them with sweet words, and they'll naturally become inseparable from you.

"Then let's take it into the cave first. Such an opportunity to block Eagle Cave is hard to come by, and we will definitely regret it if we miss it."

Having made up his mind, Chen Ling quickly took out a large net from the cave, the kind used for catching fish, which could also be used to catch chickens.

Catching an eagle at this time would definitely not be a problem.

The cave in front of them wasn't large, and there wasn't much to hide in. Chen Ling stretched the net inside, and the two eagles were caught in the net together.

With a thought, he was directly taken into the cave.

It was getting dark, and he didn't have time to think too much. In order to get back as soon as possible, he took Afu into the cave and ran home by the same route.

Although the return trip is relatively quick, it is still in the mountains, a long journey that would take ordinary mountain dwellers half a day to complete.

He rushed as fast as he could and finally made it home before 9 p.m.

Of course, even though it's said to be before nine o'clock, it will be nine o'clock very soon.

Seeing Chen Ling covered in sweat, his clothes tattered, followed by Afu and Ashou, each holding a strange-looking, bald bird in their arms.

Not only was the whole family worried, but the family dogs also surrounded him, sniffing him intently. "What happened? Why are you back so late, and in such a state? Have Afu and Ashou run off again? I think you should release them into the mountains earlier in the future, or take them up the mountain more often to hunt some game, so they won't go off and not come back, and you won't have to go looking for them..."

“Susu is right. Our tiger is so powerful that nothing in the mountains dares to mess with it. Last time, it came back the next morning and slept soundly in its den.”

"Brother-in-law, what are you holding in your arms?"

"dad……"

"You two stop causing trouble and let your brother-in-law change his clothes."

Seeing the family's concerned expressions, Chen Ling grinned and said, "It's nothing, it's just that Afu and Ashou found Ertuzi. I don't know if that silly bird got into a fight with other birds or what, but it's hiding in a cave on the mountaintop. Look, all its feathers are gone!"

"Huh? Is this Baldy Er? He's bald again?"

The family was very surprised.

Er Tu Zi was so happy to be home that his eyes were shining, and he kept turning his head like a little kid trying to get everyone's attention.

Now that everyone's eyes are on him, he doesn't want to attract any more attention.

She turned her head away immediately, snuggling closer to Chen Ling.

"What happened? Was it magpies? Didn't Lynx and Uncle Han say that when they have nothing to eat in winter, they steal food from eagles? Could it be that Baldy was robbed by them?"

Wang Susu frowned and said angrily, "These rogue birds are so annoying."

"I don't know yet, but there's an eagle cave next to the cave where Er Tuzi is hiding. There's a pair of eagles in the cave. I'm in a hurry to come back, so I blocked the entrance with stones. I'll catch them tomorrow morning."

Then, half-truthfully, he started talking about how Afu and Ashou blocked the entrance to Eagle Cave and guarded the entrance to Ertuzi Cave.

The sinkhole is too far away.

He couldn't tell his family that he had made the round trip.

It can only be described as being on a nearby cliff.

My father-in-law can't climb up there, so he wouldn't know.

In short, the family members had different reactions after hearing Chen Ling's words.

Wang Zhenzhen said, "It turns out that Afu and Ashou saw Ertuzi and were afraid that it would be bullied, so they went to protect it."

Then I patted the heads of the two tigers.

"Ah Ling, you said there's an eagle's den next to where Er Tu Zi is hiding? Is it because he secretly hatched some eaglets outside but refused to bring them home?"

Wang Susu guessed.

Wang Susu sometimes couldn't understand the behavior of wild animals and birds in the mountains.

For example, the fact that the mother fox chased away all three cubs made her depressed for a long time. It would have been so nice if they could have come to her house to play together more often.

Why do we have to drive them away when they grow up?

Now she immediately thought of the eagle in the eagle cave, which might have been the little eagle that Er Tuzi had driven away before.

"No, those are a pair of eagles, a couple."

Chen Ling shook his head, feeling that his wife's thoughts were sometimes quite naive and simple.

But.

The behavior of that pair of eagles was indeed very strange.

Just now, when he was almost home, he released Er Tuzi and Afu Ashou from the cave. Er Tuzi didn't seem to have any hostility towards the two eagles.

With the two bald men by their side, the eagle couple were no longer as panicked and afraid as before, and their eyes changed from arrogant and wild to gentle and calm.

Chen Ling planned to go into the cave that night to see what was going on.

"Daddy, Daddy, Sparrow..."

Rui Rui stood on tiptoe, trying to see the bald boy in his arms.

Zhenzhen also craned her neck to look.

Chen Ling put Er Tu Zi down so the two children could see him.

Er Tu Zi was too ashamed to face anyone. After Chen Ling put him on the ground, he curled up into a ball and didn't even raise his head.

Rui Rui looked at it strangely, frowned, squatted down, and tried to poke it a couple of times with her little hand.

The bald man didn't move either.

After several attempts, Er Tuzi remained completely still.

Rui Rui raised her little face in a panic and said to Chen Ling, "Daddy, Que Que has been washed!"

Upon hearing what the brat said, before Chen Ling could say anything, Er Tu Zi couldn't hold back any longer.

Enraged, it let out a loud cry, jumped up, flapped its wings, and began pecking fiercely at the soles of the child's shoes.

Rui Rui screamed in fright and quickly hid behind Chen Ling, crying, "Daddy, Que Que is naughty and fierce."

Baldy was furious, the last feathers on his neck bristling, like an angry pigeon. He turned and gave the little boy a hard thud, then stopped looking at him.

The adults in the family found it amusing. They had been startled earlier, but seeing the bald bird chasing after the little kid's shoes and pecking at them without looking fierce, they knew that the bird was still as well-behaved as before.

Gao Xiulan said to Rui Rui, "Who told you to make such a fuss? Er Tu Zi is losing fur and it hurts. You must have hurt it."

Wang Cunye laughed, "You little rascal, you're quite something. You've angered Er Tuzi, who's never lost his temper before."

When Rui Rui heard "amazing," he thought it was a compliment, so he tugged at Chen Ling's trouser leg and giggled.

Wang Susu rolled her eyes at her son's reaction and said, "You're shameless."

Wang Zhenzhen didn't make a fuss. Instead, she said with great concern, "Brother-in-law, Er Tuzi is so pitiful because he has no hair. Let me take care of Er Tuzi. I've already raised Little Crow and Little Cuckoo. I'm sure I can take good care of him."

"Okay, okay, you can take care of me!"

"Erhei, go get a basket."

"Da Mao, go and gather some wheat straw. Never mind, you don't know what wheat straw is, Heiwa, you go..."

(End of this chapter)