My 1995 Small Farm.

Chen Ling ignored their reactions.

She just watched her dolls and pets bathe in the river.

The little blue horse is the least presentable, lacking the heroic and spirited appearance of the horse on the shore.

After entering the cool river water, it was like a dead horse.

With his eyes closed, he grinned, showing off his big white teeth.

Then he lay down on his side and sank into the water.

It's about immersing yourself in this coolness.

When it finally cooled down completely.

They started rolling around happily in the water, splashing up big sprays of water.

Chen Ling took a bristle brush, dipped it in soapy water, and carefully scrubbed its fur.

The little blue horse squinted its eyes, looking quite content.

Ah Fu and Ah Shou were still in the shallow water, only their bellies and limbs were submerged, their big heads tilted back, snoring and looking around.

Chen Ling scooped water into a wooden basin and slowly poured it onto their backs, then rubbed them with his hands.

Ah Fu felt so comfortable that the "gurgling" sound coming from his throat became even louder.

Ah Shou even rubbed his head against Chen Ling's hand.

Little Iron Egg is the funniest.

After it felt comfortable, it imitated the little blue horse and the two tigers, and swam towards the deeper water.

As a result, he forgot that he was "short-legged" and as soon as he entered the deep water, he was completely submerged and frantically paddled around in terror.

Chen Ling quickly scooped it up. The little guy was still shaken, but refused to go ashore. He insisted on staying in Chen Ling's arms and letting him hold him while he washed it.

Ultimately, the little white calf is the most elegant, now standing quietly in the water, letting the current wash over its body.

The sunlight shone on its snow-white fur, reflecting a soft sheen, making it look like a mythical beast in the river.

The little water buffalo, on the other hand, was a glutton and acted alone in order to eat more water plants.

Chen Ling enjoys the feeling of letting her family's pets roam freely, as she washes the little white calf.

Rui Rui and Xiao Ming had already stripped down to their underwear and were splashing and playing in the water, having a water fight with the village kids, their laughter carrying far and wide.

Just then, Heiwa and Xiaojin also ran over.

They stayed at home for a while, and seeing that their two little masters had been taken back to the house by Gao Xiulan for a nap, they felt relieved and came to the river to find Chen Ling.

The two dogs drank some water on the shore first, and then cautiously went into the water.

They also don't like to be completely wet; they just stand in shallow water and let Chen Ling help them wash their abdomens and limbs.

"You two are even more particular than Afu and Ashou," Chen Ling said with a smile as he washed them.

Seeing this scene, Li Lianjie suddenly said to his assistant, "Qiang, do you believe that there really are reclusive masters in this world?"

Mr. Chen is that kind of person.

He doesn't compete or fight, yet he has everything; he lives in a mountain village, yet he's connected to the world; he looks ordinary, yet he's the most extraordinary of all…

The assistant wholeheartedly agreed: "Brother Jie, I think Mr. Chen's greatest strength is not his animal taming skills, nor his ability to make money, but rather that... that reassuring power."

Look at him, he does everything with such composure, as if even the biggest problems are nothing to him.

They don't know what "Buddhist-style" or "lying flat" means yet.

Li Lianjie simply nodded in agreement: "Yes, there is a kind of peaceful and serene tranquility that is detached from worldly strife."

The assistant lowered his voice and said to Li Lianjie, "Brother Jie, I'm starting to really wonder if Mr. Chen knows magic... Have these animals become spirits?"

Li Lianjie didn't say anything more, he just took a deep breath.

……

The frolicking on the riverbank continued, water splashing everywhere, laughter echoing through the air.

Li Lianjie sat under the shade of a tree, feeling a long-lost sense of ease and tingling in his legs. He was completely captivated by the surreal scene before him.

It was as if the pain of the past few days and the hustle and bustle of the city had been washed away by the clear river water and the simple, honest local customs.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps and shouts came from the riverbank.

"Fugui! Uncle Fugui! Where are you?"

The crowd looked in the direction of the sound and saw Wang Laishun and two boys from the village running along the riverbank, their faces showing a mixture of excitement and anxiety.

Chen Ling was standing in knee-deep water with his trousers rolled up, using a large brush to scrub Afu's satin-like fur.

Afu squinted his eyes and made a comfortable purring sound in his throat, like an oversized cat.

Hearing the shout, Chen Ling stopped what he was doing, straightened up, and replied, "Fifth Uncle, over here! What's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"

Wang Laishun ran up, panting, and without even greeting Li Lianjie, pointed in the direction of the reservoir: "Fugui, this is incredible! Just now... just now the people at the construction site saw something big!"

"Tell me slowly, what did you see?"

Chen Ling walked ashore, picked up a towel and wiped his hands, his expression calm.

This composure infected Wang Laishun. He caught his breath, but his tone was still exaggerated: "Fish! Good heavens, a lot of big fish suddenly appeared in the reservoir!"
It must be at least a meter long!
Not just one or two, but entire groups of tourists!
A dark, shadowy mass swayed beneath the water!

The young man next to him gestured eagerly, his face showing lingering fear: "There were several more... The old folks said they looked like, like river hogs! They were chasing schools of fish in the reservoir, leaving the villagers who were reinforcing the dam completely dumbfounded!"

Li Lianjie and his assistant looked at each other in bewilderment as a group of large fish, each over a meter long, appeared.

Is there a creature called "Jiangzhu"?

The reservoir in this mountain village is truly amazing.

Upon hearing this, Chen Ling's eyes flickered slightly, and he already understood.

Most of those big fish were Chinese sturgeon, and as for the river pigs, they were naturally Yangtze finless porpoises.

It seems that the strange, sentient fish at the bottom of the reservoir has either attracted its own kind or its offspring have grown up and formed a new ecosystem.

But he remained outwardly calm, only asking, "Oh? That's quite strange. But have their appearance affected our dike repair? Or have they injured anyone?"

"That's not true!"

Wang Laishun quickly waved his hand: "The project is not affected. The big fish and river pigs are in the deep water area and not near the shore."

It's just... Fugui, didn't you say that once the dam is almost ready, we'll organize people to catch crayfish, and at the same time clear out the miscellaneous fish in the reservoir, sell them, and then start releasing our own fish fry next year?
Now so many big guys have suddenly appeared, wow, what a sight!

When it's time to cast the nets, I'm afraid... I'm afraid the fish will break the nets!
And with them around, would those crucian carp and grass carp we want to catch dare to come near the shore?

This makes sense.

If a top predator or large creature suddenly appears in a reservoir, the existing fish ecosystem will definitely be disrupted, and fishing plans will inevitably be hindered.

"Those are the Yangtze finless porpoises..." Chen Ling squinted.

This kind of thing wasn't too rare in the lower reaches of the Jinshui River in the 1990s, but it was quite strange that several of them appeared at once and even went into the reservoir.

"Fugui, what do we do now?" Wang Laishun looked at Chen Ling expectantly.

The children on the riverbank also perked up their ears, and even the little blue horse and little white calf playing in the river quieted down, as if waiting for Chen Ling's command.

Chen Ling glanced at the sky, then at the large family around him, and suddenly smiled: "Perfect timing, aren't we all here?"

He turned to Wang Laishun and said, "Fifth Uncle, go back and tell the workers not to worry. I'll go to the reservoir this afternoon and try to lure these big fish and river pigs away so we can catch fish in a couple of days."

"Really?" Wang Laishun's eyes lit up. "Fugui, do you have a way?" "Give it a try. Have Uncle Niwai and those who own boats prepare two boats. I'll wait for him at the reservoir dam around 3:30 in the afternoon."

"Alright! I'm going right now!" Wang Laishun, having received confirmation, turned and jogged away in a flash.

The two boys, who were still growing up, surrounded Chen Ling and began to call him "Uncle Fugui" repeatedly, recounting the strange sight they had just witnessed.

The children playing in the river heard this and gathered around, their eyes sparkling.

"Brother Sanwa, how big is the fish? Is it as big as that big bluefish we caught last time?" Liu Nier asked eagerly.

“They’re way bigger!” Sanwa exclaimed, spreading his arms wide. “I bet even the smallest one is a meter long! The biggest one… well, who knows? But anyway, its dorsal fin sticks out of the water like a little sail!”

Li Lianjie, listening intently under the willow tree, couldn't help but interject, "Mr. Chen, there are... finless porpoises in your reservoir?"

“Not before.”

Chen Ling shook his head, but he understood a bit: "They probably came from the lower reaches of the Jinshui River. There has been a lot of rain downstream this year, and the river has risen very quickly. These guys just drifted along the waterway to the reservoir."

As he spoke, Chen Ling stepped out of the river, water cascading down his body.

He tossed his hair and called to the animals still in the water, "Alright, come on up, we have important business to attend to later."

The little blue horse snorted reluctantly, but still obediently walked ashore.

The little white calf also slowly swam back from the deep water to the shallows.

Afu and Ashou shook their massive bodies, splashing water everywhere and creating countless small rainbows in the sunlight.

Rui Rui followed Xiao Ming to Chen Ling's side: "Dad, are we going to the reservoir to see the big fish this afternoon?"

"Ah."

Chen Ling patted the two children's heads: "But you have to be good and not run around. The reservoir is deep, unlike this little ditch."

"We will definitely be good!" the two children said in unison.

Xiao Ming said again, "Uncle, I will definitely take good care of my little brother."

With his assistant's help, Li Lianjie stood up and asked curiously, "Mr. Chen, how do you plan to lure away those big fish and river pigs? Do you need any help?"

Chen Ling looked at his bandaged leg and smiled, "Mr. Li, you can't get your leg wet. How about this, if you're interested this afternoon, you can take a boat to get a closer look, but stay far away so you don't get splashed on the wound."

"That's great!"

Li Lianjie nodded quickly: "I promise I won't cause any trouble."

When the group returned to the farm, it was already past 2 p.m.

Chen Ling first went to the back room to remove the maggots for Li Lianjie.

After two rounds of maggot removal, the ulcer on Li Lianjie's knee has become clean and rosy, with the necrotic tissue basically removed, and the originally dark purple edges now showing a healthy pink color.

"The recovery is better than I expected."

After a careful examination, Chen Ling said with satisfaction, "After using the maggots twice more tomorrow and the day after, we can switch to the tissue-regenerating ointment. Combined with oral Chinese medicine, it should heal in about half a month."

Looking at his visibly healed wound, Li Lianjie was so excited that his hands trembled slightly: "Mr. Chen, I can't thank you enough! This... this is like having a new leg!"

"It's because you can endure it."

While bandaging him, Chen Ling said, "Many people would turn around and leave as soon as they hear that maggots are needed. If you can persevere, this injury will be half cured."

After bandaging Li Lianjie, Chen Ling told him to rest for a while and then went to the kitchen.

Wang Susu was cleaning up the wild boar from this morning.

The pig had already been cleaned by Wang Cunye and cut into several large pieces, which were then hung under the eaves.

"Ah Ling, are you going to use wild boar meat to feed the fish? Ah Fu and Ah Shou won't have enough to eat, will they?"

Wang Susu was somewhat reluctant, mainly because she didn't want Chen Ling to go into the mountains.

"Don't worry, I won't let Afu and Ashou go hungry."

Chen Ling comforted him, "Anyway, this pig is sick, and I don't want to feed it to the family, but these bloody things are a top delicacy for the creatures in the water, so it's a good way to make use of waste."

Then he brought over a dirty, discarded bucket from behind the kitchen.

The bucket contained the fresh internal organs of this diseased wild boar and a large piece of loin meat dripping with blood.

It was leftover food from his father-in-law to feed the eagles, and Chen Ling didn't plan to keep it either.

"Sixth Sister, you and your younger siblings can only watch from the dam. You are not allowed to go near the water, understand?" Chen Ling instructed.

"Uncle Fugui, I understand!" Liu Nier replied crisply.

Chen Ling then looked at the animals around him: Little Blue Horse, Little White Ox, Afu and Ashou, Blackie and Little Gold, Little Iron Egg...

Good heavens, this lineup is more spectacular than a circus tour.

"Ah Fu and Ah Shou, you two can't go today."

Chen Ling said to the two tigers, "I have important business to attend to today. Stay home and guard the house well. I'll give you extra food tonight."

Afu let out a pitiful "woof" and rubbed its big head against Chen Ling's leg.

Ah Shou also lay down, watching longingly.

"There's no point in acting like a baby."

Chen Ling remained unmoved. "Be good, and I'll bring you fish to eat when I get back."

After calming the two big cats down, Chen Ling led the team off.

The little green horse carried Chen Ling, the little white ox followed slowly beside him, Heiwa and Xiaojin guarded him on the left and right, and Xiao Tiedan hopped and skipped ahead to clear the way.

Liu Nier led the children behind, chattering like a flock of birds released from their cages.

Li Lianjie and his assistant rode in a cart pulled by pack animals, following at the end of the procession.

It's about three or four miles from the farm to the reservoir.

The reservoir dam is already taking shape. It is about ten meters high and is made of stone and concrete. It stretches between two mountains and looks rather spectacular.

On the dam, dozens of workers were finishing up their work. When they saw Chen Ling arrive with such a "surprise force," they all stopped what they were doing and looked around curiously.

Old Niwai was already waiting on the dam, with two middle-aged men standing beside him, the most experienced old fishermen in the village.

"Fugui, you've finally arrived!" Old Niwai greeted him, pointing to the reservoir's surface. "Look, those are the guys!"

Chen Ling walked to the edge of the dam and looked around.

The reservoir is quite large, with a wide expanse of water that shimmers in the afternoon sunlight.

At this moment, about 100 meters away from the dam, there was indeed an unusual sight in the water.

Seven or eight huge gray-black spines could be seen faintly visible beneath the water's surface, each over a meter long. The largest one had its dorsal fin protruding above the water, just as the boys had said, resembling a small sail.

They swim slowly and steadily, occasionally flicking their tails and turning around, creating ripples on the water's surface.

Even more eye-catching were the few finless porpoises.

About four or five fish, each about 1.5 meters long, were lead-gray all over with round heads, and were darting happily around the school of fish.

They sometimes leap out of the water, revealing their smooth backs and pectoral fins, creating a splash.

It would sometimes dive underwater, and then emerge from another spot a moment later, spewing out tiny jets of water.

"Tsk tsk, he really is a Jiang pig."

Chen Ling squinted, surprised, and said, "My father saw it downstream of the Jinshui River when he was young, but it became less common afterward. I never expected it to appear in our reservoir." (End of Chapter)