Era: Started from raising livestock in the mountains

This light rain lasted all day. After the rain stopped the next day, every household was busy planting vegetables in the fields. This kind of spring rain is so rare that no one wants to miss it.

This morning, after breakfast, the golden sun came out and the sky was blue and clear, which meant that today would be a very good day.

After eating the chive box made by Xiulan, Lin Heng smiled and said, "Let's go to Hongfeng Mountain. Today is a good day. We need to move a new home for the sheep. I will take you to see the new cattle and sheep breeding pen built."

"Okay." Xiulan nodded in agreement.

The two packed up and took the three children out. Now they don't need to bring a stroller when they go out. They can just hold them and put them down when they get to Hongfeng Mountain.

Lin Heng didn't walk, but drove a sidecar tricycle with his wife and children to Hongfeng Mountain.

Caiyun didn't go to school today. When she came to Hongfeng Mountain, she called out to the three children and said she wanted to play with them.

"Oh, let me hug you too. Grandma made egg pancakes this morning. Does anyone want to eat?" Lin's mother also shouted with a smile.

"Walk... Walk..."

Du Heng, who was hugged, struggled and said he wanted to walk and didn't want to be hugged.

"Okay, okay, you walk." Lin's mother put him down and pulled him to walk.

The little guy staggered and walked in a proper manner. This look was also quite cute. This age is the cutest time.

"Son, Xiulan, don't you want a pancake? There are potato pancakes and cold toon." Lin's father looked at Lin Heng and said with a smile.

"I want to try cold toon." Lin Heng walked over with some surprise.

They picked the toon on the road in the suburbs, but he had never eaten it cold.

"It's pretty good, with a strong fragrance." Lin Heng was a little shocked after eating it.

She picked up a piece of Chinese toon with chopsticks and fed it to Xiulan. Xiulan chewed it and asked in confusion: "Mom, how did you make this cold-mixed Chinese toon? It's delicious."

"I just blanched it with a little sesame oil and added a little minced garlic. I'll make it cold and teach you at noon." Lin's mother was very happy.

"Okay."

Xiulan smiled and nodded.

After chatting for a while, they went up the mountain together, walked up along the cement road, and soon came to the first platform.

From the outside, this is a rectangular red brick house with only a little gap under the eaves.

This year it is completely different. It is divided into three areas. There are three rows of suspended sheep pens on the sheep pen side.

They walked along the corridor outside the suspended sheep pen. All the facilities inside are ready, and they have been sprayed with disinfectant for disinfection. Now they just need to put the sheep in.

Lin Heng explained to everyone, Xiulan nodded and said: "We can release the sheep today, let's put them in now and see the effect."

"Yes, we have never seen such a sheep pen, let's put them in and see the effect." Lin's mother also said.

Lin's father said beside him: "I have already separated the sheep. The original batch of sheep bought and the newly born last year have been separated. Many ewes are in heat and now there is no place to breed."

Lin Heng nodded and said: "Then let's do it now, take the children away first, it's not good for them to stay here."

"I don't want to, I want to stay here to watch the sheep." Xiaoxia was the first to shake her head.

Lin Heng said with a serious face: "Wait until the cattle and sheep are released, then you can come and see, there is no room for negotiation now."

"Dad~" Xiaoxia still wanted to act like a spoiled child, but it was useless now.

Lin Heng was good to her, but it didn't mean that he had to obey her in everything. When he was serious with a serious face, it meant that there was no room for negotiation.

Cattle and sheep were very dangerous. They had no time to take care of the children when they had to drive the sheep into the pen. If they were not careful, they would be injured by cattle and sheep.

Seeing Lin Heng's expression, Xiaoxia pouted and snorted: "Just go, I don't like you anymore."

After saying that, she walked out angrily, and Caiyun and Xiulan chased after her with Luming and Duheng in their arms.

After settling the children, everyone blocked several key intersections. Lin Heng went in with a large pile of fresh grass and released the sheep with his father.

They first released the three big rams, then the twenty or so castrated sheep that had been fanned, and finally the 54 newborn lambs born last year.

Lin Heng lured them with grass in front, and his father drove them from behind.

"Baa baa baa!!"

The big ram called and ran towards the fresh grass in Lin Heng's hand.

Under the leadership of the head sheep, they successfully drove the sheep into the sheepfold on the first platform.

"Finally drove them in, but there was sheep shit everywhere." Mother Lin said as she looked at the sheep that had entered the pen.

"Aren't the remaining ewes going to be released?" Xiulan asked curiously.

"Let them go, but we have to separate them first, and don't let the rams and ewes stay together." Lin Heng explained.

Although the sheep born in October last year are only five months old now, they already have the initial reproductive ability, but now is not the best age for reproduction. They have to wait until the next estrus in May or June to reproduce.

And we need to find two brand new male black goats. They are close relatives of the male black goats in the pen now, and the offspring are prone to disease.

Therefore, they need to be separated.

After entering the sheep pen, Lin Heng first pulled out the three big rams and locked them in a compartment alone, and then he and his father picked out the little rams one by one and locked them together with the big rams.

"Can these little rams be fanned?" Father Lin asked while grabbing them. The sheep started to fight.

"Yes, we'll use a different castration method this year, without surgery." Lin Heng said with a smile. This batch of sheep will not be castrated and the eggs will not be eaten.

"What method?" Father Lin was a little curious. He really didn't know the method without surgery.

"It's just to tie up the eggs with a rubber band. Generally, it will be naturally sterilized in a week." Lin Heng explained with a smile.

"That works, so let's try it then." Father Lin was a little surprised that it was this method.

Soon they picked out the sheep. There are now 29 rams and 25 ewes.

Natural birth, under normal circumstances, the ratio of males to females is one to one.

The rams were picked out, and the castrated sheep were also divided. The main reason is that there are many subdivisions built, and it is also convenient to raise them separately.

After all these were done, they went to drive the batch of ewes that had given birth once and bought the year before last and locked them in a special subdivision.

"Tie these bands on the ewes." Lin Heng took out the plastic bags specially purchased from the city, with seven colors, to distinguish different generations.

The first generation of ewes were tied around their necks with red bag straps.

After finishing, Lin Heng and his father went to the warehouse, pulled hay and silage with a sidecar, and poured them into the trough for feeding.

Seeing the food, the sheep all stretched their heads out of the fence in rows and ate the grass.

Many sheep excreted bean-like feces before they had even eaten a few bites. These feces fell from the holes and fell on the ground under the sheep pen, without any residue.

Mother Lin looked at this scene and said, "It looks really good. All the sheep feces have leaked out, and there is no need to drive the sheep away to clean up the feces."

"My son is so good at thinking of ways. In this way, even if the sheep feces below are shoveled every day, it will only take more than ten minutes." Father Lin also praised.

"Now you don't have to be so diligent. Just deal with it once every three days. You can use water to flush it directly into the ditch next to it and shovel it together." Lin Heng said with a smile.

This modern sheep pen is not only clean and hygienic, but also easy to clean.

After watching the sheep eating grass for a while, everyone was very happy. Although there was a strong smell of sheep, so many sheep were their own property, so how could they not be happy?

After watching the sheepfold for a while, Lin's mother took a broom and swept all the sheep manure on the road to the side of the road.

The big rooster in the chicken coop was clucking. Spring has come, and now the hens are starting to lay eggs.

There are still 12 hens, 6 roosters and two geese. The number of chickens is much less than before.

This is because a batch of them were killed and eaten during the New Year, and some were frozen.

Although there are many golden pheasants, there are not many. After killing the golden pheasants, they are only about one pound, while the free-range chickens are about four or five pounds, and the big roosters can grow to ten pounds.

"Today, there are six eggs, which is really good." Xiulan came over after picking up the eggs and said happily.

"These eggs can be taken back to hatch chicks. I want to hatch some more. We keep some for ourselves, and the extra ones can be sold." Lin's mother said.

There is no shortage of eggs in the house now. With so many chickens laying eggs, one egg per person is enough for one person every day.

This is because conditions are good now and we can raise more chickens, otherwise there wouldn't be enough food to feed so many chickens.

"I'll hatch some when the time comes, but I don't want to raise black chickens anymore. I'm going to exchange some eggs from three-yellow chickens for hatching." Xiulan said that she wanted to raise a different breed of chicken.

"I heard that there are reed chickens for sale in the next town, and those chickens are also very beautiful." Lin's mother said.

The two were very interested in talking about hatching chicks, and they went back home talking and laughing.

Lin Heng and his father continued to work, using a sidecar to transport hay to the warehouse in the cattle and sheep pens on the mountain.

The distance is several hundred meters, and it is unrealistic to transport it by manpower alone.

However, it doesn't need to transport much, and the first crop of grass in spring can be harvested soon. This time, a part of it can be directly placed on the first platform to make silage or hay.

After transporting the grass, the two put on water pants to clean the feces in the sheep pen below, and sprinkled lime for sterilization and disinfection.

The back pen is simply used to raise cattle, and red mane horses and red dates can also be raised in it.

Including 4 dairy cows, his family now has 14 cows, plus 1 horse, the cowshed below is only half full, and they can raise more than a dozen more.

The nine female yellow cows all have round bellies, and they are not far from giving birth. If everything goes well, his family can add another nine yellow cows in May and June, and then there will be 23 cows.

As for sheep, there are now 106 black goats and 3 white goats.

After cleaning up the cattle and sheep pens, Lin Heng looked at his father and said, "Dad, do you think you should buy a few more cows to raise? Anyway, there is definitely enough pasture to eat now."

"It's not necessary. We can breed our own cows slowly. Besides, the cowshed is not big. If you buy more, you may have to expand the cowshed next year."

"Okay then." Lin Heng did not refute. The price of cattle and sheep has risen now, and you won't make much money if you buy more.

"Go downstairs to eat."

Father Lin patted his shoulder and said.

It was already past twelve o'clock, and the sun was warm and even a little hot. The two of them washed their water pants under the faucet and took them off to dry.

"Dad, hold me up high." Seeing Lin Heng coming back, Xiaoxia ran towards him, having long forgotten what happened before.

"Come, I'll hold you." Lin Heng smiled and picked up his daughter and turned her around in the air for a few circles. She immediately smiled happily.

"There are so many dishes for lunch."

After returning home, Lin's father looked at the table full of dishes and smiled.

"These are some braised meats left over from the Chinese New Year. If we don't eat them, they won't last long in this weather." Lin's mother said.

Lin Heng took a few big bites of the dishes first, then clinked a glass of rice wine with his father, and then took a bite of cold-mixed Chinese toon.

Xiaoxia and Luming Duheng are both very keen on braised chicken. They almost eat all the braised chicken every time. The loose chicken with the aroma of braised chicken is really tempting.

After dinner, there was nothing to do in the afternoon, so they did some trivial things here in Hongfeng Mountain. Lin Heng found a large bluestone by the mountain stream and lay down to rest. It was very comfortable to cover his head with clothes and bask in the sun.

Xiulan and Caiyun were picking some blooming roses on the edge of the fence, preparing to go back to make flower essential oils. After a year of growth last year, these roses are now very lush, basically surrounding the entire Hongfeng Mountain. Whether it is people or wild animals who want to come in, they have to face this thick rose fence.

The next morning was Qingming Festival. It seemed that because of the rain the day before, there was suddenly a lot of green in the mountains. The grass grew up, and the poplars and willows took the lead in pulling out new green leaves, which looked very pleasing to the eye on the bare mountains.

This tender green is the most beautiful season in spring, giving people a feeling of vitality. When the tender green turns into that dark green, it will be normal.

After taking the whole family to worship the ancestors and sweep the tombs, they went to the well ditch. The wet toon trees on the edge of the ditch had grown out. They were more than ten centimeters long, plump, ruddy and shiny, and looked very good.

Breaking toon, prickly old buds, fern, and pulling small garlic are all activities that must be done in spring. Everyone goes together to feel the beauty and freshness of spring, which is a double enjoyment of the spirit and body.

When you don’t have to worry about life anymore, there is a wonderful life everywhere in the countryside.

“Son, come quickly, there are morels and gastrodia elata here.” Suddenly, Lin’s father made a surprised sound.

Lin Heng came over to see that it was indeed true. Although there were not as many morels as last year, they were all plump and looked very pleasing.

"Beautiful, there will be delicious food when we go back this year." Lin Heng said with a smile. It is a great enjoyment to make a soup or stir-fry fresh morels.

"Let's go and see if there are any more." Lin's father grinned.

The two searched again, but found nothing and took the harvest home. At noon, they made some green balls to eat, and more importantly, fried eggs with toon and bracken fried meat, as well as morel soup.

After the meal, the deliciousness of spring was fully consumed. Needless to say, the deliciousness of it was naturally delicious. After the meal, Lin Heng made a pot of tea and drank it in the yard with his parents, wife and children, watching the green mountains gradually turn green.

Because the most important work was initially completed, everyone was ready to rest for two days and then do spring ploughing. The result was that something unexpected happened the next day. (End of this chapter)