My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 733 Rural Food, a Profound Knowledge

Once it reaches 10 o'clock in the morning, the hustle and bustle of the greenhouse is no longer relevant to Chen Ling.

The reason is obvious: he had to go home to cook lunch.

Moreover, today, because the weather has improved, Zhao Hongbo and his team continued working, and Wang Laochou has started providing them with lunch every day.

Chen Ling had to go over and tell them not to do it today; Zhao Hongbo was, after all, an old classmate.

They've been working in the village for so long, it's time to invite them over for a meal.

Even outsiders like Old Wu have been fed.

It would be so unreasonable not to invite an old classmate over for a meal.

Chen Ling wasn't afraid of what people would say; it was just that he felt it wasn't right.

Zhao Hongbo did not refuse this time either.

The previous times he mainly led a group of people and did physical labor. It wouldn't be good for him to go to Chen Ling's house for a meal by himself, and it would be even worse to bring people with him.

Now that Chen Ling's own house is under construction, they're also cooking in a large communal kitchen, so there's no need for just a few of them, and everything will be fine.

The longer they worked in Chenwangzhuang, the more they realized that Chen Ling was completely different from what they had imagined.

They were nothing like the nouveau riche who suddenly made a fortune and were always acting all high and mighty, as they had imagined or had heard rumors about.

Zhao Hongbo would definitely want to associate with someone like that.

Otherwise, no matter how rich you are, if you look down on others, no one will want to come near you.

Actually, they were quite envious; it was a blessing for the village to have someone like that.

I heard that people have donated money to the school, and it's going to be renovated soon.

Those educated professors and university teachers also need to give lectures on campus. If it weren't for the distance, they would all want to send their children here to study.

It's normal for Zhao Hongbo and his group to have this kind of thinking.

In truth, it was only Chen Ling himself who was unaware, or rather, hadn't read the mailed letters carefully enough.

If you read his article, you'll know that there are quite a few people who want to send their children to school.

This includes those who have already visited Chenwangzhuang.

There were also some who had never been here before.

In short, as long as you understand the general situation here.

Those who are financially well-off rarely remain unmoved.

The teachers are excellent, and there's lots of fun stuff to do. Even if it's just for a short one or two months, it'll be great.

……

“Fugui, you’re doomed. The messenger just came and told me that the zoo staff are coming to catch the tiger themselves in the next couple of days. They’re complaining that you didn’t reply to all the letters they’ve written to you, and they’ve even called the county government.”

Chen Ling had just come from outside the village carrying a bundle of vermicelli when Wang Laishun came up to him and started yelling.

"Come on, come on, we'll provide food for you."

Chen Ling said with a smile.

He also knew that the zoo's business had been very poor recently since Afu and Ashou left.

The problem is that the two tigers, Afu and Ashou, are too young psychologically. Living in the zoo for so long makes them like children who live in the school dormitory. Once they return home, they don't want to go back.

Chen Ling was also willing to let them stay at home for a while longer.

They weren't sent back in time.

"What can I say about you, kid?"

Wang Laishun was speechless: "I heard that they came in a hurry to take the tiger back because it was something important. The county mentioned it briefly, and it seems that Beijing also issued a document. I don't know what they're going to do."

"Huh? Beijing? You're not going to take Afu and Ashou to another place to sell tickets, are you?"

Chen Ling frowned, thinking that when he picked Zhenzhen up from school in the afternoon, he would call Professor Feng Yi and ask him to inquire first.

As long as you don't provoke the tiger too much, there's nothing to worry about.

Wang Laishun: "I don't know about that. Aren't you raising the tigers now? When they come over, they'll definitely have to ask for your opinion."

Chen Ling nodded, no longer thinking about it, and said to Wang Laishun, "How's the geese attracting here, Uncle Wu? I saw a flock on the riverbank of the old river bend this morning, but not many in the wheat field."

"Oh, geese! There are actually quite a few flying in today. You can't see them from here. Go deeper into the wheat field, and you'll see a lot of goose droppings."

Wang Laishun was very happy when this was mentioned: "These things are very clever now. When you are working in the east, they will choose the time to land in the west of the village, eat for a while, and then fly up to eat in another place."

You didn't see it? They flew in from the west and south today. The cawing and squawking all over the place was deafening...

The wheat seedlings have been eaten by them, and large patches of them have fallen down quite a bit.

Then we'll use a stone roller or something to roll it over the ground a few times.

I'm not worried about it growing too vigorously this winter.

"Okay, that's fine then. I was saying today that if it didn't work, I'd let out my geese every day to lure them over. But it seems that's not necessary now. Even fake geese can attract real geese."

Chen Ling smiled and said, "Alright, I'm going back to the village to cook. For lunch, I'll have pork stew with vermicelli. Uncle Wu, come over and eat when you're done."

Wang Laishun didn't go to help at the greenhouse today. First, he was going to build a temple and lead people to choose a site. Second, the statue of the local earth god needed to be replaced. Although it wasn't a new earth god temple, the earth god needed to be informed of the new temple, and the old statue needed to be broken down and replaced with a new one.

"Hey, you go back and cook. Don't worry about me. Jusheng's aunt said she's coming today. I don't know if she'll come at noon or in the afternoon." Wang Laishun waved his hand.

Chen Ling didn't say anything more, hurriedly went back to soak the vermicelli, and started to cook the dishes.

At the same time, he also let Er Tuzi out to wander around the yard and bask in the sun.

Even though Er Tuzi has been eating and drinking well since he came home, he is still bald and hasn't grown a single hair.

Chen Ling planned to put it in the cave tonight to soak it in water, and also cut off its eagle claws and beak.

Just like what was said in that article about the eagle's rebirth.

Since all the hair has fallen out and it's already bald like this, let's just go for the whole set.

"Lingzi, let me take Ertuzi out for a walk too. There are some kids digging mouse holes over there in the greenhouse. We'll catch a mouse and feed it to them."

The father-in-law drove the sheep over here, carrying a large, belly-filled bamboo basket full of loaches, for Chen Ling to use for cooking.

"Okay, let's bring those two eagles out and feed them too, let them get some fresh air."

Chen Ling had just finished stir-frying the pork belly and taken it out, leaving the drained oil to cook other vegetables.

I glanced at the loaches in the bamboo basket; each one was plump and incredibly succulent.

Then I scooped out some of the fragrant oil with a spoon to save for stir-frying the loach later.

"Dad, these loaches are really fat. It rained all day yesterday, how come there are still so many in the trap?"

"This is too much? The water level is low and the current is weak at this time of year, which is the perfect time for loaches to swim in... If your Uncle Zhao and the others hadn't had their traps leak and their nets broken, how could there be so few loaches?"

It's a bit of a pity about Wang Cunye.

Fish generally like to swim against the current. The faster the current, the more they like to swim upstream. During heavy rains or when the water level rises, fish often rush out of the water against the current, which is what is known as 'upstream fish'.

Fish only swim downstream in winter.

Because it's getting cold, they will find places to hide in low-lying areas to spend the winter.

At this time of year, find a small river, set up two fish traps and a net, throw in some bait, and check back every half day; the river will be overflowing with fish.

Sometimes, when a big fish gets inside, the trap is too small, and after a few struggles, it falls apart.

This is also why Zhao Yubao and his team's trap leaked.

"Alright, I'm going to take a stroll over to the greenhouse. Someone from our family needs to go and keep an eye on things."

Wang Cunye took a couple of sips of water, then shouldered his sheep-herding whip, picked up his eagle cage, and walked away in silence.

Although Wang Lixian and the others were there, and everyone was very enthusiastic about the work, it was just building a mud shed, and since no one was watching over it, they weren't worried about cutting corners or anything like that.

But the old man felt it wasn't good that Chen Ling came back alone, without any family members there.

Even if he just herds sheep or feeds eagles nearby, not doing any work is better than not being around at all.

After arriving at the area where the greenhouses were being built, the old man saw He Jiawen and his group sitting on the ground in the wheat field with Wu Lao and his gang, having a heated discussion.

He put down the cages of Er Tuzi and Lao Ying, went over to listen, and immediately couldn't help but laugh.

It turns out that He Jiawen, this upright university teacher, was teaching Wu Lao and his group his health preservation secrets.

Moreover, it's a rather mysterious health regimen.

Cooking in the countryside is not as simple as it seems; it involves a great deal of knowledge.

For example, he referred to the earthen stove in the countryside as "the earth element of the Five Elements".

He described the firewood in the stove as "wood of the five elements".

The iron pot was described as representing the element of metal in the Five Elements theory.

Anyway...

He Jiawen described cooking rice in a traditional earthen stove and iron pot in the countryside as having "all five elements."

I often cook for myself and eat by myself, which makes me very healthy.

How could Wang Cunye not laugh when he heard that?

This guy, a university teacher, actually believes in this? That's way too exaggerated.

If earthen stoves and iron pots were really that good, rural people would never get sick.

Although he knew that the soot from the bottom of the pot and the soil from the earthen stove were both medicinal materials and medicinal guides, he didn't think they were as magical as the claim that they were "complete in all five elements." He also thought that eating farm food regularly would prevent illness, which was just a very healthy practice.

"Hey, Brother Wang's here. Can you tell them if all your wood ash is a treasure?"

Upon seeing Wang Cunye, He Jiawen's eyes lit up, and he pulled him over to speak.

Wang Cunye knew what kind of talk these people liked to hear—they liked to exaggerate everything, and he knew exactly what they were capable of.

He was an old herbalist who had spent half his life collecting herbs. He even knew how to prepare snake-attracting medicine, and his belly was full of stories.

You can hear whatever you want to hear, and they can tell you a story that's half true and half false.

After chatting for a while, Old Wu and the others were astonished, "Young Chen's father-in-law is no ordinary man either."