My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 81 Bull Roar
"Please come in and have a seat, gentlemen. I'll make you some tea."

Wang Susu first nodded and smiled at Wang Jusheng and his wife as a greeting, and then led Qin Qiumei and Zhao Dahai into the main room.

"No need to trouble Su Su, we're just here to see the eels, we'll be leaving in a bit."

Qin Qiumei smiled, but her eyes looked rather uneasy.

After having this meal, she had come to regard Chen Ling as a friend, and thus became somewhat impolite towards him.

But he forgot that he didn't know the woman well. When she came to his house, he treated her like a leader and received her with great care, which made her suddenly feel that it was quite presumptuous of him to come to her house like this.

"It's alright, it's no trouble at all."

Wang Susu remained enthusiastic; she hoped Chen Ling would make more respectable friends.

I'm also quite concerned about having children in the future.

So when Qin Qiumei, the family planning official, came to their home, they naturally wanted to treat her well.

Chen Ling knew exactly what his wife was thinking, so he played along, saying, "Then let's go see the eels first, and then we'll have tea when we get back..."

When Qin Qiumei saw that Chen Ling had spoken, she smiled at Wang Susu again and didn't say anything more.

Zhao Dahai was immediately drawn to the two magnificent and powerful dogs, his eyes darting towards them, and he forgot all about talking to anyone.

As Chen Ling took the keys and walked towards the backyard, two dogs followed with a group of rabbits.

Zhao Dahai's eyes lit up when he saw the two dogs running.

“These are two excellent hunting dog foals. Fugui, whenever you want to go hunting in the mountains, be sure to call me. I got a greyhound from a friend before the New Year and have been wanting to take it out for a walk, but unfortunately I haven’t had a good opportunity to go out with it.”

Chen Ling had just unlocked the gate when he heard this and gave him a strange look. This guy, a fat man weighing over 200 pounds, was thinking of going mountain running. It was questionable whether he could even make it up the mountain with that size.

But since they had only just met, he didn't say anything else, just smiled and nodded in agreement.

The group entered the courtyard while talking.

Chen Ling's backyard didn't seem as appealing as the front yard. It was just an ordinary mountain village courtyard. Apart from the vegetable garden that Wang Susu had cultivated along the east wall, there were two old locust trees and several water vats placed in front of the old house to the north.

Before they even got close to the water tank, a large white head popped out of the window of the house to the west, startling them.

"It's alright, don't be afraid, it's my cow."

Chen Ling smiled helplessly, patted the little white calf's big head, and told it to go back.

There's nothing I can do about it; that's just its nature. It needs to check on anyone who comes to the house before it feels at ease.

"Why is this water buffalo white? It's so beautiful."

Qin Qiumei muttered to herself, "Women, after all, like things that are snow-white and beautiful."

"Yes, I bought it because I thought it looked nice."

"But it has a bad temper, let's go look at the fish first."

Chen Ling said something and then led them toward the water vat in front of the old house.

Most of the water tanks were upside down, with only two large and one small tanks containing water.

The small water tank contains red eels, while the two large water tanks contain grass carp and common carp. We can catch them whenever we want to eat them.

These fish are still the same size as when they were first put in, not quite grown, and haven't grown much in the tank.

"Are these the two red eels that the rich man wouldn't sell for two thousand dollars?"

Chen Ling led the group to the small water vat, where they gathered around and peered inside.

Because Chen Ling would collect them into the cave every night, the two red eels have grown rapidly in size recently, almost half a meter long, and their bodies are extremely robust, with their colors becoming increasingly bright and eye-catching.

It is extremely conspicuous underwater.

These two red eels, which have been watched by people for a long time, do not avoid people who approach them. They play and frolic around the edge of the water tank, sometimes intertwining with each other like snakes, sometimes swimming with their heads on the water plants, or sometimes connecting mouth to mouth and coiling around the bottom of the water tank, like a big red ring inlaid at the bottom of the tank.

Qin Qiumei and Zhang Qiaoling were seeing this strangely colored eel for the first time, and they couldn't help but marvel at it. Da Tou also woke up at this time, but after looking at the eel in the water tank for a while, he lost interest and stretched out his arms to Chen Ling, asking him to hold him.

Wang Jusheng was so angry that he tugged at his son's ear twice and said with a laugh, "You brat, you don't even look for your own father here, all you know is to go to your Uncle Fugui."

Big Head couldn't understand what he was saying, he just kept stretching his arm toward Chen Ling.

Chen Ling laughed and took Da Tou from Zhang Qiaoling's arms, then squatted down to play with the little rabbit with him.

Wang Susu had just come from the front yard when she saw how much the little kids liked Chen Ling, so she couldn't help but smile and came over to play with Da Tou together.

"Fugui, are you not planning to sell this eel, or do you think two thousand yuan is too little?"

After the group had been looking at the eels for a while, Zhao Dahai suddenly asked a question.

Chen Ling glanced at him and saw the fat man standing in front of the water tank with a furrowed brow. His fat face was unusually serious, as if he had discovered something special about the red eel.

"What's up, Brother Dahai? Do you want to buy it?"

"I'm not interested in these weird and wonderful things, but I have a friend who's really obsessed with them. A couple of years ago, he even dragged a bunch of us into the mountains to catch wolves so he could breed his hunting dogs."

"That guy is crazy. If he takes a fancy to your fish, he'll get it for you on the spot, not just for two thousand, but for twenty thousand."

As he spoke, Zhao Dahai, supporting his knees, struggled to his feet, his fat jiggling all over. He said to Chen Ling, "I'm going to drive my sister to the city the day after tomorrow. If possible, I'd like to call him over for a visit. What do you think?"

Chen Ling did not respond immediately after hearing this.

But soon, he noticed that Wang Susu's two little hands were clenched tightly, clearly having taken Zhao Dahai's words to heart.

With a slight sigh, he nodded to the fat man: "Then let's call him over and take a look."

Whether the eels are sold or not is irrelevant; with Dongtian around, he actually has other options.

……

After looking at the red eels, the group sat in Chen Ling's front yard for a while, drank two cups of tea, and then left.

However, as dusk approached, Zhang Qiaoling returned carrying Da Tou, along with a large piece of lamb chop and a pile of mutton, saying that she couldn't let Chen Ling's efforts today go to waste.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling and Wang Susu refused to accept the offer, but Zhang Qiaoling insisted on staying, saying that she had come to find Wang Susu to go to the movies together and that if she went back, there would be no seats available.

Wang Susu reassured her, saying that she, Wang Lixian's daughter, and Yuqiang's wife had already reserved seats, with several benches and chairs already set up, so there was no need to rush.

However, Zhang Qiaoling just made up an excuse on the spot, so there was another round of back and forth, but in the end she still insisted on leaving the lamb chops and lamb.

Then I accompanied Da Tou in the yard, chasing rabbits and quails, having a great time.

In the evening, Wang Susu left Zhang Qiaoling at home for a simple dinner, and then went to Chenwangzhuang Elementary School to watch a movie with Dani'er, Yuqiang's wife, and several other young women and wives.

Chen Ling didn't join in the fun. Goodness, he had been busy all day and had no interest in watching movies. He should go to bed early.

He's the kind of person who can fall asleep the moment his head hits the pillow.

But today, the little rabbit and the toy at home were having a blast playing together, and the excitement hasn't worn off yet. The rabbit keeps jumping on the bed and bouncing all over him, which is making him so irritable that he can't fall asleep.

So they called over Heiwa and Xiaojin, and carried all the little creatures outside, keeping an eye on them and preventing them from entering the house.

Now things were peaceful, but after only a short nap, the two dogs started barking loudly in the yard again. A little while later, Xiao Jin even ran into the house and barked at the bed.

"What happened? Did something get into the house again?"

Chen Ling knew his dog's intelligence and immediately realized something was wrong. After all, they usually wouldn't react so strongly to strangers entering the yard.

He hurriedly got out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and went outside.

No sooner had they stepped outside than they heard a cow moo from the backyard. The sound was filled with raging anger, and it boomed like a muffled thunderclap in the night, making one's heart tremble.

Chen Ling's expression immediately changed drastically.

(End of this chapter)