My 1995 Small Farm.

With the nourishment from Chen Ling's family's resources, there's really no need to worry too much about Du Juan's childbirth.

However, the families are now closely connected, so they still need to make appearances when necessary.

After going to the hospital, just as Chen Ling had predicted, Du Juan had already given birth to a baby boy.

Just like Kang Kang, she was born slightly weak and her cries were not loud.

This will require further care and treatment.

It's not a big problem at the moment.

It's good that both mother and child are safe.

The hospital doesn't need to keep too many people; both the Shanmao and Zhao Dahai families are busy.

Chen Ling and Liang Yuemin made a brief appearance, chatted for a few words, and then both came out again.

“Great, now the next generation is all here in your circle, and they’ll be growing up soon.”

Liang Yuemin smiled and said, "I finally understand your considerations. Some people say that children and grandchildren have their own blessings, but in fact, we should still try our best to provide them with a good environment."

"Right, hamsters and toilet rats are both rats, but they grow up in completely different environments."

Chen Ling didn't say much about this matter because he already had a plan in mind.

"Let's go, buy some couplets and 'Fu' characters, and put them up in a few courtyards in the county..."

It's the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, and the county town is bustling with activity.

Popcorn vendors, candy vendors, vendors selling new tables and chairs, vendors selling fresh beef and mutton.

Various "Fu" characters, statues of gods, banners, tea sets, cooking utensils, and all sorts of other items filled both sides of the street.

There were even jugglers.

It wasn't a market or temple fair, but it surpassed all previous markets and temple fairs.

In previous years, heavy snow would block the mountains, but there was never such a lively scene.

In previous years, the most common stalls in the county town were selling meat, auspicious couplets, and new cooking utensils.

Even melon seeds, peanuts, and candies are not being sold at stalls.

Because it's so cold, everyone buys their supplies well in advance, before the twelfth lunar month, or from small shops in their respective villages.

Do you need to buy one for your home?

"No need, Uncle Zhao and the others wrote it by hand at home."

"Okay, since everything's alright at home, I'd like to go back and call everyone out so we can go for a walk."

Leung Yuet-man really belongs to the type who has a job but no family.

Now that I have some free time, it goes without saying that I want to take my family out for a stroll.

It's only when it's lively and bustling that I feel comfortable, like celebrating the New Year.

“Okay, then let’s go back and bring them all over to the market.” Chen Ling replied.

Today's market is much more lively than usual, and since Liang Yuemin wants to go, then everyone should come.

So the two of them went home to pick up their loved ones.

With a large family, one car is definitely not enough.

Chen Ling then drove the tractor again.

"Is this considered the annual market?" Liang Hongyu asked.

"Yes, it's the annual market, but the annual market used to be small-scale. In our area, heavy snow often blocks the mountains in December, so not many people go out to buy things."

Chen Ling helped the old man into the car.

The annual market starts every year after the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month.

This will continue until the 29th of the twelfth lunar month, at least three or four days.

These kinds of gatherings happen in almost every place.

After all, every household needs to buy things for the Chinese New Year.

"Susu, are you done yet? We're just waiting for you." Chen Ling shouted into the room.

Women are more troublesome to go out than men. It's slow before having children, and even slower after having more children.

Wang Susu doesn't plan to take Kang Kang and Lele with her today; her sisters Si Ni and others will be staying at home.

But before leaving the house, she always makes sure to check on the two babies, taking out their bottles, diapers, and other essentials, otherwise she's always worried.

"Mom, come out!"

Rui Rui also shouted from inside the car.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming out now."

Wang Susu's voice came from the wooden building.

Three or four minutes later, she came out, all bundled up tightly.

She never tries to dress up; she is naturally beautiful and graceful, and looks good in anything.

I just always bring a lot of things with me when I go out.

It's the same this time.

Chen Ling always forgot this point. Seeing her rushing out, he asked her, "Why did it take so long? You told us, but you still made us wait a few more minutes."

"The kids are all coming along, shouldn't we bring some drinks?"

As Wang Susu spoke, she showed her floral backpack, which contained two thermos cups. "You said there are a lot of people at the market, what if we don't have a cup of hot water?"

"Okay, okay, get in the car."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling pursed his lips but said nothing.

Liang Hongyu kept praising Wang Susu for her thoughtfulness, but she overlooked this point.

It wasn't that she ignored it; it was that, like Chen Ling, she thought she could find food and water anywhere.

"Go back! Go back now! Don't follow us!"

The chubby boy shouted a couple of times towards the back of the car.

Chen Ling turned his head and found that Erhei and the others had followed him.

Nothing special has happened in the village lately. Erhei, the dog village chief, has nothing to do and nothing to be busy with.

He took over all of Er Tuzi's work, driving geese around every day. He couldn't herd sheep, so he got to enjoy herding geese instead.

But this was ultimately Er Tuzi's job, and once Er Tuzi unleashed his power, they dared not cause any more trouble.

Out of boredom, she wanted to go out and have some fun with Chen Ling.

"They're always staying at home, they're not allowed to come along."

Chen Ling pointed behind him, and Rui Rui, with a serious little face, shouted, "Go home."

Only then did Erhei and the others stop.

Only Wang Lixian's little yellow dog and a few wolfhounds were still foolishly trying to keep following.

However, when they saw Chen Ling pull the crank handle out of the tractor, their previously feigned excitement immediately vanished.

At the same time, pairs of eyes looked innocent and puzzled.

I don't know why Heiwa and Xiaojin can follow, but the others can't.

With Heiwa and Xiaojin by their side, they can take care of the kids, watch the cars, and manage a bit of everything.

And they run so fast, what can they do by following them?
What if Erhei goes along and gets involved in everything?
Erhei has been to the small courtyard in the south of the city. If he goes there this time and treats it as his own home, the vendors who set up stalls in front of the door will be driven away by him.

In serious cases, would they bite someone else?

It's even less likely that Wang Lixian's few puppies are there.

It wasn't originally our dog; it was either a little yellow dog we gave away or a wolf puppy that hadn't been properly trained yet.

I've just been coming here to play with the dogs these past few days.

If they misbehave when taken out, Blackie and Little Gold might bite someone if you're not careful.

Taking them around doesn't make it fun, and it adds a lot of trouble. What's the point?

"Should we buy more things for Dad's grave this year?"

After Wang Susu got on the tractor, she sat very close to Chen Ling and gave him a reminder.

"We have enough at home, so we don't need to buy anything else. We can just take the three kids and talk to him when the time comes."

Chen Ling thought for a moment and realized that his father, Chen Juncai, didn't like these things, and besides, he was no longer around.

The quality and quantity of offerings made at gravesites are merely reflections of the living. Wang Susu was a traditional, demure woman.

As a daughter-in-law of the Chen family, I thought that now that life is getting better, I should let my father-in-law know.

May he be happy down there, and may he bless his children and grandchildren to succeed.

“My dad doesn’t care about those things. He just knows that the family is doing well.”

"Well, it's up to you."

Wang Susu nodded gently. Not long after she married into the family, her father-in-law passed away.

But I have a deep impression of my father-in-law.

He was a very upright and gentle old man.

And he treated his son Chen Ling with utmost kindness.

It is quite different from the strict fathers and feudal patriarchs in the countryside.

After the car and tractor set off together, the sun was warm, and it wasn't actually cold on the tractor.

Children also prefer to sit in such a large space and play along the way.

Everyone was chatting up there.

Even while being held by Little Chestnut, Rui Rui wouldn't stay still, constantly shaking her head and spitting bubbles at the two big dogs next to the tractor.

He's been having a blast these past few days, and I don't even know which kid he's picked up and learned to blow bubbles with his saliva.

Moreover, his bubbles were very strong, like the kind made with laundry detergent, and they could actually fly out.

The chubby boy, wrapped up like a ball, was playing with a lump of clay with Zhao Dahai's daughter, Ya Ya, as they prepared to sculpt a parrot.

His parrot was staying at his maternal grandmother's house, and after many days of trying to teach it, it still couldn't speak.

It's nowhere near as smart as the one Rui Rui taught.

The adults and children chatted and played along the way, and finally arrived in the county town.

After getting out of the car, Chen Ling looked back, worried that his dog or his little blue horse might sneak up and follow him.

They ate too much good food during the Chinese New Year holiday, and their stomachs were so full that they wanted to run around and have fun, just like little kids who couldn't stand being cooped up at home.

Fortunately not.

"Ah Ling, wait a minute, let's go to the market later."

"The tractor is just parked in the open space by the Nansha River Bridge," Wang Susu called out.

"What? Does someone need to use the restroom?"

Chen Ling blurted out instinctively, "Bringing women and children out is usually like this."

Especially Rui Rui and the others, they're always either pooping or peeing.

"No, I saw Sister Qiumei and Xiaoyun..."

As she spoke, she called out and greeted the two of them.

Goodness, the team has grown huge again.

"Young men, are you parking? This is a parking lot for you, tractors or cars are fine. There are quite a few cars coming back for the New Year this year. Look over there, you're not the only ones..."

Don't worry, it's only two yuan an hour!

People from Liangjiaqiao were shouting "Watch out for the car!"

He was an old man wearing a dog-skin coat, and he looked like a hunter.

Chen Ling glanced at him again, just about to ask a question.

But then the old man suddenly saw two big dogs, one black and one yellow, beside him. He immediately stopped talking, looked up at Chen Ling, and muttered, "So it's Chen Fugui from Chenwangzhuang. No one will dare to cause trouble then."

After saying that, he didn't say anything more to Chen Ling, turned around and walked away with his hands behind his back.

"Hey, grandpa, don't go! Please keep an eye on it for us. The dog follows us to the market; it doesn't want to watch the cars here."

Chen Ling also noticed that there were too many people today, and with so many children following along, he figured the dog should come along too.

Upon hearing this, the old man turned around and walked back, laughing, "You're the local bigwig. Even without the dog, no one dares to touch your car. Go to the market. I'll watch over your car and tractor for you."

Chen Ling knew that this was just a polite remark.

Judging from the old man's claim of charging by the hour, it's clear he's trying to rip off these wealthy drivers.

Otherwise, this open space would all belong to the small village of Liangjiaqiao.

Elsewhere, the market was crowded today, and everyone was standing.

The car can't drive in, and it can't park anywhere else.

Chen Ling and the others came to the hospital by going around through the forest and the river embankment.

Now, it's almost noon, the busiest time of the day. There's no way to get around from that direction; we can only go around Liangjia Bridge via Nansha River.

"Here's ten yuan for two cars."

Before Chen Ling could take the money, Liang Yuemin quickly came over and gave it to him.

"Oh, very good! Chen Fugui's friends are so generous!"

The old man praised him, and he was completely satisfied.

"This old man is here to rip people off. He didn't even give Fugui a friendly look, but he's acting like he's seeing his own mother when he sees money."

Upon entering the market's stall area, Liang Hongyu couldn't help but complain.

"Hey, it's Chinese New Year, let him make the money."

Chen Ling didn't say much.

"This year is really different. The festive atmosphere is stronger than anywhere else I've been."

Looking at the crowd, Qin Rongxian couldn't help but sigh.

There were indeed a lot of people today.

Everywhere you look, there are stalls and people.

It was comparable to the scene of a huge crowd when the Turtle King appeared before.

"I've noticed a characteristic of the people here: they're usually quiet when they go to the market to sell their goods, but they all start shouting during the Spring Festival."

Liu Yinhuan chimed in, saying that she could hear people shouting "Dog meat for sale!" in the distance.

Dog meat is not served at the banquet.

Especially during the Chinese New Year, it is not allowed to be served in public; it is only eaten as a snack or to accompany drinks at other times.

On the contrary, more people are buying it.

“You’re right. I’ve been to markets in the south, and they’re very different from here. In the south, people shout to attract customers, but here we just set up a stall, sit down, and wait for people to come and ask.”

Liang Yuemin followed up on his wife's words.

"But it's all the same during the Lunar New Year. There are vendors hawking their wares everywhere. It's so lively!"

"Yeah, yeah, why are there so many people? Where do they usually hide?"

They hadn't been to the countryside much, so they found it strange.

"Little one, you look just like the chubby baby in the New Year's picture. You're so fair-skinned, like a porcelain doll. Want some candied hawthorn?"

A woman selling fruit near the bridge saw Rui Rui and took out a candied hawthorn and waved it around.

Rui Rui glanced at it and shook his head. He had eaten this before, and it didn't taste good.

Because he is too young, he can hardly bite it and can only hold it in his mouth.

You should suck on the candied hawthorn until it's soft and melted before eating it.

But it didn't taste good.

“My younger brother can’t eat this. I really like candied hawthorn, but the ones you sell are too small. There are no sesame seeds on them, and the sugar pieces are too small. They’re not as pretty or delicious as the ones my uncle makes for me.”

Little Chestnut looked at it and then shook her head.

However, what she said made the woman running the stall very angry, and she simply fell silent.

Children speak without restraint, but the truth is the most hurtful.

Chen Ling quickly pulled them away.

There were many people today, so he carried Rui Rui and Xiao Lizi on his shoulders, one on each side, so that the two children could see far away and shouted excitedly.

The chubby boy didn't have time to be envious, because this was truly his first time attending such a festive market.

It excitedly howled and jumped around like a groundhog that had just left its burrow. (End of Chapter)