My 1995 Small Farm.

Chapter 514 Shooting Cranes
Yu Qi'an found it all quite strange.

Bai Huining is even more like that.

The joy and amazement they showed upon seeing the little clouded leopard was indescribable.

It's not that they haven't been to the zoo.

But how can the animals in the zoo compare to those you actually encounter in the wild, especially when they are someone else's pets?

It felt like the legendary stories Yu Qi'an had told were actually happening right before my eyes, and I even started to imagine the love-hate drama between the little leopard and Chen Ling's family.

Originally, she didn't go up the mountain to see the red-crowned cranes yesterday because Yu Qi'an told her it was dangerous up there, and that egrets and red-crowned cranes could peck people.

She was still a little disappointed and unhappy.

But the little leopard I saw today was a clouded leopard I'd never heard of before, and all my little emotions vanished.

It's a pity that this adorable little clouded leopard wouldn't let anyone touch it, otherwise the trip would have been truly perfect.

But that’s okay.

When Chen Ling and his group were driving the oxcart for the second time to transport goods to the reservoir dam to set up their stall, they were taken to the woods behind the local temple to see the egrets' nests. Some were in the trees, and some were in the tall grass, and they had already started laying eggs.

Peeking through the tall, lush grass at egrets calling out as they incubate their eggs and feed each other is a novel experience.

Bai Huining even began to fantasize that since honeymoons had become popular in the capital, she wouldn't go anywhere else but here.

A little bit of romance is creeping into my heart.

They didn't even notice that Yu Qi'an, whose true nature had been completely exposed, had started taking Rui Rui everywhere to chase birds.

……

Setting up a stall on the reservoir dam is quite fun.

Because Chenwangzhuang had seen large numbers of tourists several times before, the small vendors were already very familiar with the area.

So early on, a whole bunch of food and toys were laid out.

The villagers of Chenwangzhuang also set out their own things.

For example, some whole grains such as peanuts, soybeans, mung beans, and red beans.

There were also vendors selling tobacco leaves, bamboo crafts, farm tools, hunting equipment, and clothes.

Chen Ling stayed with the villagers.

Wang Lihui, who sells clothes, is right next to the store.

Together with his father-in-law, they set up a straw mat and curtains. He wrote the four characters "superior wheat seed" on a sign, and then the family sat together with a beautiful white water buffalo lying there slowly grazing behind them.

The little baby climbing up and down around the white buffalo is quite eye-catching.

Wang Susu followed as well.

However, not long after, her two best friends, Qin Qiumei and Zhong Xiaoyun, came to find her, saying they had come to their temple fair. Wang Susu then led them around for a while, and then called Bai Huining to join them on their way back.

Only Chen Ling and a few other grown men remained.

"Rui Rui, come and play, I'll take you to buy some food."

Liu Nier and the others started shouting.

After the children called out "Rui Rui," the adults also called out "Chen Ling."

"Fugui, it's ten o'clock, come over and set off the firecrackers."

It was Chen Dazhi and Chen Baoshuan calling him.

Today is the first temple fair, and they'll be setting off firecrackers at the appointed time; these are the salutes.

At this time of year, many people rush to set off the fireworks.

This is purely for fun.

"coming."

Chen Ling got up and jumped out. Together, the group untied a large plate of firecrackers from the sack and set them off in a flurry.

After setting off firecrackers and then double-bang firecrackers, Rui Rui followed a group of mischievous kids from the village to watch under a big tree not far away. He stuck out his little bottom, shrank his little head, and imitated the others by covering his ears and laughing non-stop.

Even the street vendors joined in the excitement.

After the firecrackers were set off, around noon, the village started beating gongs and drums, and suddenly, it truly felt like a temple fair.

This sudden surge in business even attracted many inquiries and buyers for Chen Ling's wheat seeds.

"Good heavens, Fugui, what's with this fancy new look you're sporting?"

"Exactly, do you even need to set up a stall?"

It was Old Ba from the village's livestock station, who brought his son-in-law, Station Chief Li, to check on the livestock.

Today at the temple fair, there are still many livestock vendors at the intersection east of the reservoir.

"Let me see, it's still selling wheat seeds. How much money can this fetch?"

"Haha, just out for fun. It's our village's first temple fair, so we're just joining in the fun. Old Ba, come over for lunch."

"..."

"Fugui? Is that Chen Fugui, the tiger hunter? What's he doing?"

"Hey, you're just a street vendor, who knows what you're selling? Hey, uncle, isn't that Chen Fugui from your village? What's he selling?"

Many people, upon hearing his name and learning from the local villagers guarding the donation box, discovered the remarkable qualities of his high-quality wheat seeds.

It has high yield, plump grains, and strong disease resistance.

Many people were tempted after hearing this.

Think about it, it's already the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and the autumn harvest won't be long before then.

Wheat should be planted after the autumn harvest.

Now that we've found such good wheat seeds, it's time to get started.

If it's within your own village, you can simply exchange wheat seeds for an equivalent weight.

But since Chen Ling is selling it at a stall, it will definitely be more expensive than ordinary wheat.

However, this is something that most rural people can afford.

In addition, the land in the mountains is small, so we can't buy many wheat seeds.

It only costs three to five yuan.

It doesn't look particularly eye-catching, and it seems like not many people buy it, but actually, people keep coming over to ask about it.

Not long after noon, several large bags of wheat seeds were sold out. As there were so many people coming and going, even the straw mats and curtains that the father-in-law had set out to display were gradually sold out.

Farm produce is usually not very expensive at these kinds of gatherings and temple fairs.

So no one who bought it felt like they'd overpaid or anything. On the contrary, after buying it, they all said they'd bought something from the tiger-fighting hero's family, and they were all beaming with joy, telling everyone they met.

……

"Daddy, food!"

A chubby little baby was riding on the back of a big golden dog, waving his little hand at Chen Ling with a grin.

Beside her was Gao Xiulan, carrying a basket, picking some vegetables in the village courtyard.

"Lingzi, call your dad, it's time to come home for dinner."

"I'm coming."

Chen Ling rolled up several bags of urea and a small steelyard balance, put them on the oxcart, and called for the crowd to make way, slowly driving it away.

"Fugui, are you still setting up your stall this afternoon?"

"Sure, I come over whenever I have nothing else to do, since my father-in-law is here anyway."

"Okay, I'll save you a spot."

"okay."

Chen Lingchong and Wang Lihui nodded with a smile, then called out to his father-in-law, who was haggling with someone at a tobacco stall not far away, "Dad, let's go home and have dinner first."

While shouting, he drove the oxcart to the village entrance.

He first picked up the brat Rui Rui from Xiao Jin's body and rubbed his little face: "There are so many people, and you're still riding your dog around everywhere. Aren't you afraid of being kidnapped by beggars? When you get back, see if your mother will spank you."

These days, going to the market is fine, but if it's a temple fair, beggars will always arrive early. Not far from where incense is offered, they sit or lie down, mostly pretending to be blind, mute, crippled with rotten legs, or even naked in winter.

It was used to gain sympathy.

Those who come to burn incense are never short of people who do good deeds; give them a few coins.

However, among these beggars, there are sometimes human traffickers who abduct women and children.

"It's nothing. Rui Rui was quite well-behaved today. He just went with Liu Ni and Xi Zi to watch the firecrackers, bought some snacks, and stayed here watching over me while I did the laundry. He didn't run around much."

The old lady put the vegetable basket on the oxcart, picked up the little guy and laughed, "Besides, with our two big dogs watching over him, no one will dare to come near him."

Chen Ling knew this, which is why he dared to let him run around and play nearby for a while.

As he spoke, the father-in-law squeezed through the crowd, walked over, sat on the oxcart, and shook his head and sighed: "That old man who sells tobacco leaves is really a rock in a latrine, stinking and hard, and he won't give me any discounts."

The old lady glanced at him and said, "It would have been better if you hadn't bought it; you would have saved money."

"I can't explain things to you."

The father-in-law was sullen.

He then smiled at Chen Ling and said, "The tobacco leaves in Fenglei Town are not as good as those here. I'll buy some to take back and smoke."

Chen Ling also planted some wild tobacco in the cave, but it was too strong for his father-in-law to smoke.

So I just said that if the tobacco is good to smoke, it doesn't matter if it's a few cents more expensive, so as to save myself the trouble of arguing.

"Yes, yes."

Wang Cunye chuckled, but judging from his expression, he clearly hadn't taken it to heart.

The family drove the oxcart, swaying and rocking, back to the farm from outside the village.

……

With guests present and friends coming to the temple fair, the lunch prepared today was naturally much more lavish.

After Wang Qingwen and Su Ligai returned from picking mushrooms in the mountains, Su Ligai had already started stewing cured pork. Once the cured pork was tender, she cut some fresh mountain mushrooms into it.

I also added some rehydrated dried mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, and other ingredients.

Then I took out a bottle of light tea oil and made a plate of cold dishes.

Chen Ling then took out a small basin of pickled fish from the water tower.

I cooked a few hearty dishes.

The remaining donkey meat was stir-fried; this was a braised dish.

I also stir-fried the preserved duck with chili peppers, and heated up a large pork knuckle in a pot. The pork knuckle only had a simple salty seasoning, which was meant to be eaten with a dipping sauce.

After the meal was served, everyone sat around and kept saying how delicious it was.

Each person held a large bowl, and Chen Ling used a wooden spoon to scoop rice into them until it was overflowing.

Bai Huining quickly said that she couldn't eat that much.

Chen Ling had already scooped a large spoonful of cured pork stew with mushrooms from the pot and poured it over the mushrooms.

An enticing aroma of meat wafted straight to my nose.

Bai Huining couldn't bring herself to say what she wanted to say next. She couldn't help but swallow, then sat back down next to Yu Qi'an and buried her head in her rice.

After she finished eating the vegetables, Wang Susu scooped up a full spoonful and spread it on top of her rice.

Bai Huining was too busy eating to even say thank you.

I finally understand what Yu Qi'an meant. This food was really delicious, no exaggeration.

Chen Ling had already finished eating a large bowl of rice. While serving the rice, he said to the others, "We won't drink alcohol at noon. I'll make you crayfish for dinner, and you can have some ice-cold beer. The weather is just right."

Upon hearing this, Bai Huining felt her stomach, which was already quite full, begin to rumble.

After finishing the meal, the girl rubbed her eyes a little awkwardly and choked up, saying, "Brother Ling, sister-in-law, you are so happy."

Seeing this, Yu Qi'an exclaimed jokingly, "Oh no, this is so delicious it's made them cry."

This prompted Bai Huining to clench her little fists and punch them repeatedly.

Everyone burst into laughter.

……

After meal.

Yu Qi'an strolled around the orchard with his young girlfriend.

Bai Huining couldn't help but say, "Brother Ling and his wife are such nice people. Being with them feels like being with family I've known for a long time. It's so comfortable. No wonder you're willing to come here to play."

"Yeah, you know Old Ma from last time, right? That old guy is a wicked bastard with a belly full of black water. But since he came to Fugui, he doesn't want to play tricks. Everyone needs a few good friends they can get along with in their life."

Yu Qi'an laughed heartily and pointed to the farm, saying, "This is it."

Whether you say Chen Ling is a carefree wanderer or lacks ambition, it's precisely because of this that many people who get to know him for business or to make money eventually become good friends.

But if you're always thinking about making money, then you're definitely missing out.

The birdsong in the orchard was not as loud in the afternoon as it was in the morning.

The frogs' croaking also sounded weak and listless.

At the foot of the mountain, in a small ditch, a huge green leopard stood quietly in the water with its long legs, its head bowed as it gazed into the water, motionless.

I don’t know how long.

With a "splash," Qingzhuang's long, sword-like beak plunged into the water, snatched up a large fish, swung it in mid-air, and with a graceful flick of its beak, firmly held it in its mouth before flying to the top of a tree to enjoy it.

The commotion startled Yu Qi'an and his wife, causing them to turn around abruptly.

"Fugui, is Brother Fugui there? We're from the provincial TV station."

As luck would have it, a few people, dressed in a respectable manner, walked in from outside the orchard.

Yu Qi'an knew something might be wrong, so he quickly replied, "Yes, I'm at the estate, putting the kids to sleep."

These people's intentions were very simple.

I heard recently that red-crowned cranes and egrets have come to Chenwangzhuang and have built nests and laid eggs, as if they intend to settle down here.

In this day and age, this was clearly big news for their local area.

Moreover, a giant turtle that was thousands of years old was once found here.

With this connection, the audience could tell that this place was clearly different, full of amazing things.

I came to see Chen Ling because I had been here a few times before and we knew each other. I had also stayed at the farm for a short time.

The way people interact with Chen Ling's family is clearly different from how they interact with the villagers.

They also knew about the relationship between Chen Ling and Zhao Yubao, among others.

Didn't you see that Zhao Yubao's article was all about him?

However, after learning their purpose, Chen Ling replied, "We can't take pictures. They are currently in their egg-laying season, and if disturbed, they may abandon their nests."

People finally migrate here and are about to settle down. To scare them away over something like this is just asking for trouble.
The TV station staff agreed, and the group pondered for a moment.

Q: "If we're not shooting for a long time, is it okay to just take two shots from a distance?"

"That's fine. Early in the morning and late at night, when it's just getting light, their guard is at its lowest. You can take pictures from a distance at these times."

Chen Ling nodded.

"I told you, we should have asked you, Brother Fugui, about this first."

Otherwise, you might accidentally do something wrong with good intentions.

The junior leader, rubbing his hands, said somewhat awkwardly.

Chen Ling smiled and didn't mind: "The egrets are fine, but there are only a few red-crowned cranes. Even the villagers only dare to get close to look at the egrets."

Recently, egrets and red-crowned cranes have become increasingly fierce in protecting their nests. In the past, if the kids were pecked and injured, their parents would go up the mountain early in the morning to destroy the egret nests.

However, with the presence of both the turtle king and the crane in the past two years, the villagers have become increasingly appreciative of these things and believe that their village is a place of great feng shui.

Knowing that the red-crowned cranes nest and lay their eggs here, they strictly forbade them from going up the mountain to cause trouble.

Stealing eggs to take home and hatch baby cranes is something you shouldn't even think about.

(End of this chapter)