My 1995 Small Farm.

After Zhao Yubao and Professor Zhong, Qin Rongxian and Liang Hongyu's family also arrived.

Upon arrival, there was nothing else to do but immediately get busy with all the preparations for the Chinese New Year.

In the morning, we make rice cakes, and in the afternoon, we steam them. At the same time, we also start chopping dumpling filling and steaming New Year buns.

This is something the women have to do, but they need the help of men like Chen Ling.

During the Lunar New Year, the chores were usually done by the women in the family, and the men were almost always there to help. That's how it was in every household.

For example, steaming New Year's buns.

Making steamed buns for the Lunar New Year requires a lot of flour, and kneading the dough is no small matter.

My wife isn't strong enough to do it all by herself.

How do you knead dough?
It's pretty much like the story of Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian, where the two of them use a big rolling pin to press each other down.

"The weather is warm this year, so we won't steam too many New Year's buns. Just enough for three or four days will be fine."

Wang Susu said with a smile, "There's no need for A-Ling and the others to help. Let him chop the meat. He's strong and his meat filling will taste better."

In the past, we would steam several bags of New Year's buns every year, enough to last the entire first month of the lunar calendar.

Because I'll be busy for the whole year ahead.

During the first month of the lunar calendar, farmers rarely get a break. They steam enough buns for a month in advance so they don't have to work much.

Later, it gradually evolved into half a month.

After the Lantern Festival...

Because everyone is poor, they need to start working early, going out to find work and earn money half a month in advance.

Due to the special circumstances this year and the weather, families don't need to be busy for too long; steaming New Year's buns is just a matter of one big pot.

During the Spring Festival, there are plenty of meat and vegetables, so we eat as much as we want, and the steamed buns are all gone in three or four days.

To prevent it from easily breaking when the weather gets warmer.

"Okay, I'll chop the meat."

Chen Ling's tofu is fried, and there's nothing else to do.

Other New Year's snacks such as meatballs, rice crackers, crispy pork, and fried fish can be made during the leisure time after dinner.

He is quick and efficient, and doesn't need to spend extra time on it.

"However, for the dumpling filling during the New Year, we need to use fresh meat. So we should first go to the village and bring out a pig, slaughter it in the morning, and then have soup for dinner."

After Chen Ling finished speaking, Zhao Dahai raised his hand and said:
“I’ll help Fugui. Shanmao, you go and write couplets and the character ‘Fu’ with Uncle Zhong.”

"Alright, Dahai has the strength, come with me to the village to catch pigs."

"What about me? What about me? Make arrangements for me too!"

Zhao Yubao stared wide-eyed, not wanting to fall behind.

In front of the villagers, he jokingly tried to slack off.

At Chen Ling's house, since they were going to celebrate the New Year together, he didn't want to be idle and do nothing.

It made him seem neglected.

"I forgot to mention, Uncle Zhao, could you pick some mushrooms later, water the vegetables in the greenhouse, and feed the dogs well? These past few days, make sure the dogs at home are well-fed and don't let them go out to find food."

"Okay, fine. It's the New Year, everyone should rest, so let the dogs rest too. They're always guarding the house and worrying about everything, staying up all night. These next few days, let them eat well and go out to play more."

Zhao Yubao was very empathetic to all sorts of things. He taught Chen Ling this skill, saying it was a basic requirement for becoming a writer.

So the whole family got busy with their own tasks.

Chen Ling and Zhao Dahai drove the tractor to the bottom of the slope on the north side of the village, not far from the primary school, to catch pigs from the old house of their fourth grandfather.

These were raised by Chen Yongsheng.

The first time that male wild boar was caught, it was cornered against a wall.

There is a sow and three castrated boars.

Chen Ling knew that the castrated boars in their family were well-raised.

They deliberately didn't go to Wang Lishan's house to choose, but instead chose the pigs from this area.

“Fugui, Ruirui and Xiaolizi ran out with me, and they even brought their dog. I can’t control them.”

Chen Ling and his group had just parked their tractor outside the old house.

When Chen Yongsheng and his wife, as well as his fourth grandfather, arrived.

Zhao Yubao shouted from the slope.

Behind him, a little boy wearing a blue cartoon padded jacket, round and chubby like a bear, was grinning and sneakily pulling two little girls' hands to hide behind him.

That little rascal is so slippery, his two short legs are incredibly fast.

The two young ladies next to him couldn't hold him back at all.

“There’s a river here, I’m afraid Heiwa and Xiaojin won’t be able to keep him in check.”

Zhao Yubao gave a helpless, bitter smile. He was too old to take care of a child; a dog would be better suited to do so.

I really don't have the energy to deal with a bratty kid's antics.

Indeed, it's true that today it was just Heiwa and Xiaojin taking care of the kids at home.

But...

If Rui Rui were so easy to please, he wouldn't be Rui Rui. Besides, he spends all his time with the two dogs.

Heiwa really dotes on him.

Even Xiao Jin turned a blind eye and let him cause trouble.

Xiao Jin used to be very serious.

Even more rigid than Erhei, he was very rule-abiding and always stopped Heiwa and Ruirui from fooling around.

Now they're starting to spoil them more and more.

"Uncle, don't worry about it, I'll bring them over."

Chen Ling found the old man's helpless expression amusing.

Fourth Grandfather and the others found it both funny and a little endearing, and waved to Rui Rui, saying, "Come on, come on, your father is going to slaughter a pig."

"There's meat to eat, so we'll leave you the pig's tail."

Little kids are fine if you ignore them, but if someone calls out to them or gives them a smile, they immediately get more excited than anyone else.

So Rui Rui stopped dodging and, with a big smile on her face, sprinted towards them with her short legs.

As he ran, he shouted, "Daddy, chicks, chicks, Daddy, catch the chicks!"

If it were someone else, they might think this is catching chickens, or playing some kind of game like Eagle Catches Chickens.

But as soon as Chen Ling heard this, he realized that wasn't the case.

They were probably playing with those two little deer at home again.

Even when they grow to adulthood, the Reeves' muntjacs are only the size of a small lamb, making them extremely tiny and adorable.

No little kid dislikes them.

In winter, the mother and son become a bit lazy. They only come out to sunbathe at noon, and otherwise stay huddled in their doghouse.

The doghouse was made by Chen Ling for the puppies, the same doghouse where Erhei and the others lived when they were little. It was quite sheltered from the wind.

Although the weather is warm this year, there are quite a few windy days, so it's very cozy to stay inside.

The babies are too noisy and energetic, and the mother and baby muntjac can't stand them, so they go back to their den.

They couldn't do anything about it.

"Let's stop catching the muntjacs and come watch the pig slaughter. Dad will take you to slaughter the pig, and after we're done, we'll go to the village to pick up Xiaoming."

Chen Ling easily crossed the river, carrying the children one by one in her arms.

Heiwa and Xiaojin also jumped into the river.

It wagged its tail and followed beside me.

"Fourth Grandfather, please keep an eye on them for me while we load the pigs onto the truck."

"Alright, Rui Rui, come with your uncle..."

Fourth Grandfather liked Rui Rui very much, so he took him to the side to pick up small sticks made of dried leaf stems.

You can use this to make little animals for them, and the kids love it.

Chen Ling, on the other hand, had also chosen his pig. He pointed to the fattest spotted pig in the middle and said, "This one has a big head and big ears."

"Hmm? Aren't you planning to target the black pigs this year?" Zhao Dahai asked, puzzled.

He knew that Chen Ling had a strange obsession with black pigs.

"This is it. There's no difference. They're all the same. Anyway, it's not a foreign pig."

Chen Ling waved his hand dismissively.

Seeing that Chen Ling had chosen the pig, Chen Yongsheng jumped into the pigpen without saying a word, grabbed the pig's ear with one hand and whipped its rump with the other. The spotted pig squealed in pain and nimbly left the pigpen.

Chen Ling and Zhao Dahai were also very efficient.

Zhao Dahai didn't have many problems. He was exposed to the wind and sun all day long and wasn't afraid of doing dirty work. He took the rope and cooperated with Chen Ling to press the pig to the ground and tie it up tightly.

Then the two of them worked together to lift it upwards.

With Chen Ling's strength, this pig, weighing around 200 pounds, was no problem at all as long as it didn't move around recklessly; he simply swung it onto the truck.

After hearing the pig's screams, the neighbors came out to see what was happening. They learned that Chen Ling had taken a pig from Chen Yongsheng's family, and they were extremely envious.

Everyone knows that Chen Ling offered high prices to the villagers.

They expressed their envy, saying that Chen Yongsheng had made a profit, earning a hundred yuan more than he could outside.

After a brief discussion, they all started teasing Rui Rui again:

"RuiRui, what are you looking at? Your dad slaughtered a pig for you, and you're still playing over there. Hurry up and follow me!"

This year, due to the warm weather, households do not need to prepare much meat or other New Year's goods.

Therefore, many households seem to have more leisure time.

Especially young people, some of whom have just gotten married, are feeling proud and smug.

They're still wandering around outside at this hour, some even discussing going to watch Chen Ling's family slaughter a pig.

“Since you’re all so free, why don’t you go clean up the local temple and replace the tiles? All you do is wander around aimlessly…”

"We're welcoming the new Earth God tonight, and you all are so ignorant! Aren't you afraid the Earth God won't bless you next year?"

Elders in the family then joined in the scolding. (End of Chapter)