My 1995 Small Farm

  Chapter 399 Maverick Probe

   "Yes, crake eggs are not bad, but today, let's prepare a braised old yellow quail with wine. Since there is such a good thing, it can't be wasted."

  As soon as Chen Ling said this, Wang Jusheng knew that he must have agreed to go, so he said with a smile: "Let's just say, I still have to find something different to invite you before you are willing to go."

"Okay, I'll go back first, and then go to Laohewan to lay a few beard cages to see if I can catch two more old turtles. At this time, the old turtles are laying eggs, which is easier to catch than other times. Grab some fish and shrimp, and drink together at night."

  Wang Jusheng pushed on the rattling bike and walked out of the courtyard. Just as he was about to get on it, he turned his head and reminded him: "Oh, that's right, don't forget to call the sea when you come at night."

  Chen Ling hurriedly said he knew, waved to him, and watched him leave.

  At this time, Ruirui was driving a walker and two big dogs were standing side by side with him outside the door, looking at Wang Jusheng's back as he was leaving.

  Chen Ling glanced down at him, and said with a smile, "Come on, let's go back and build two beard cages to catch old turtles, and let your mother stay here first."

   Then he took him out of the baby walker, put the baby walker in the yard, and shouted: "Susu, let's go back first, pick some apricots, and bring them over when we go to Brother Jusheng's for dinner at night."

   "Understood, you are optimistic about Ruirui."

  Chen Ling responded, and walked out with his son in his arms, and said to the little thing in his arms, "Let's go, Ruirui, tell mom that we're leaving."

  Ruirui still likes to do such playful actions. As soon as Chen Ling said it, he tilted his head with a smile and shouted vigorously: "Mom, um, let's go."

  With an indistinct little milk voice, that's really cute.

   Seeing this, Chen Ling praised him, and he shouted excitedly halfway.

  The father and son took the two big dogs and played all the way back to the farm.

  Chen Ling put his son next to the straw mat on the sand pile and asked him to play with Gao Xiulan first, then he took two beard cages from the backyard and prepared to go down to the small river ditch.

  The whiskers used to catch turtles are specially made, much larger than those used to catch fish.

The beard cage made of wicker or bamboo strips looks a bit like a wine bottle with a big belly, or a sawn off waist gourd, with a very thin opening and a funnel-shaped beard head. The sharpened bamboo strips inserted are the inverted beards of the beard cage.

  Once the old turtle enters, it will be trapped by these "beards" and cannot escape at all.

  The two beards that Chen Ling took were not made by himself, they were made by Wang Zhenzhen and Liu Nier when they were playing outside.

  The little dolls are no worse than adults when it comes to playing.

   But it's not enough to have a whisker.

  The bait to lure the old turtle to take the bait also needs to be carefully prepared.

  The old turtle is slippery. Although it is easy to catch during the egg-laying period, if you want to catch it accurately, you have to spend some time on this bait.

  They usually catch frogs or toads, kill them on the spot, and stuff them into beard cages.

   Only then can the old turtle be seduced.

   That is to say, if you want to catch turtles in a beard cage, you have to catch frogs first.

Of course.

  Whether it's catching frogs or fishing for frogs this season, it doesn't take much trouble.

  Especially outside the farm, frogs and toads hop around in the grass every day, big and small everywhere, easy to catch.

   It is also okay to go fishing exclusively.

This thing is blind and can only see moving things. Just tie a grasshopper with cotton thread and dangle it by the edge of the puddle to attract the frog to jump out. Pounce, one pounce is accurate, very easy to catch.

  And there are countless frogs outside the farm, and there is no need to catch them.

  Chen Ling often finds a rock to sit on in the orchard, or finds a place to squat by the canal.

  As long as he remains still, within a minute or two, frogs will jump to his feet one by one.

  He leaned over and grabbed it, because he wanted to catch a few.

   "Dad~"

  As soon as she saw Chen Ling about to go out with two big beard cages, Ruirui immediately became energetic, twisted her little head, turned around and wanted to crawl here.

  Gao Xiulan pulled the handle back when she saw this, and said helplessly: "This little thing, you have to take care of everything you see? If you want to play, play here."

   "Isn't that right, it's too difficult to make him calm down." Chen Ling also smiled when he saw this, walked over and carried him on his shoulder, and slapped him twice on the buttocks.

  The little thing didn't feel any pain at all, just waving his limbs on his shoulders and struggling non-stop.

   "Lingzi, I heard from your father that there is a spring in the mountain to the west of us, and water flows from the mountain wall. Do you think it was made by the two earth dragons you brought into the mountain?"

  Gao Xiulan was washing clothes, suddenly asked about this matter, and even dragged Xibian Quanyan to Tulong.

Chen Ling smiled helplessly when he heard the words, and said: "Mother, the earth dragon is not a mountain-piercing dragon, nor is it a dragon flying in the sky. To put it bluntly, they are two strange fish with long scales. How can they be so capable? They can also dig mountains Is there a spring?"

   "Oh, isn't it? I heard that the earth dragon is very good at digging holes in the soil..." the old lady said with a confused expression.

   "It's not the same thing, don't listen to those people in the village talking nonsense."

  Chen Ling didn't know how to explain it to his mother-in-law. The old lady had little literacy, so even if she told her about alligators and crocodiles, she would definitely not understand what was going on.

   put his son down, ready to go out to put the beard cage.

   As a result, the little thing quit. As soon as he was put down, he put his arms around Chen Ling's neck, shrank his calves, and refused to come down.

   Seeing this, Chen Ling slapped him on the buttocks again: "You brat, don't you want to be with grandma anymore? It's okay not to be with grandma, then go out with daddy to catch frogs, and then you have to behave yourself."

   As he spoke, he called out Heiwa Xiaojin, two good baby-carriers, plus a big leather cradle, and then took the beard cage and went out.

  Going to the orchard outside, I quickly caught four or five frogs, found a piece of angular stone, disemboweled each of them, threw them into the beard cages, and went to the small river ditch to put the beard cages.

  After placing the shago, I went to the apricot forest area in the orchard to pick ripe apricots.

  As long as there is something to do, Chen Ling puts Ruirui on Heiwa's body, and lets this big guy who is as sturdy as a calf carry him on his back.

  The little thing rode on the dog and watched Chen Ling catching frogs, laying beard cages, and picking apricots with relish.

  That is really well-behaved, more obedient than ever.

Wang Cunye drove a large herd of cattle and sheep over, and when he saw his grandson's posture, he smiled and teased him: "Ruirui, riding a dog is rotten crotch, your father let you ride a dog since you were a child, so you don't want to have good pants when you grow up. Oh, it’s bad for crotch every day.”

Although Ruirui can learn to speak a few words now, how can she understand the meaning of the old man's words? She just sits on Heiwa's broad back, grabs Heiwa's ear with one hand, and reaches out to catch the old man's hand with the other. sheep whip.

   "What are you doing? You need a whip. This whip is too big for you to hold. Grandpa will tie a small whip for you to play with."

  Wang Cunye smiled dotingly and handed over the whip for his grandson to play with.

   Then he said to Chen Ling: "What are you doing, you picked it up and sent it to the city now?"

   "Ang, send two baskets to the city, before a large number of them are cooked, let us try it first."

  Chen Ling responded, raised his head and continued to look for ripe apricots.

  Little Sheep will drive to the city tonight, pick two baskets for him to take there.

   By the way, eat some at home, and give some to relatives and friends first.

   After all, my family has opened the park this year.

   "That's right. Give some to your friends in the city. Every time they come here, they don't come empty-handed, and let them try it."

   "I know, but there is no need to give them a gift. When the park officially opens, just call them and ask them to come and eat."

  Chen Ling smiled at his father-in-law.

   Then it took more than an hour to pick three full baskets of apricots.

  After picking, they put on the ox cart and took their son with them. The father and son drove the ox cart and sent the lamb to two baskets in the village.

  The remaining basket was given to Wang Lixian and Wang Jusheng, and the whole basket was divided.

  Of course, I will not forget to keep some, but not many, twenty or thirty.

  Guarding the orchard, just pick it if you want to eat it.

  It's the end of spring and the beginning of summer, and the days are getting longer and longer. With Chen Ling's busy work, it's not dark yet after half an afternoon of tossing around.

  He carried his son in his arms and drove the bullock cart to Wang Jusheng's house to deliver the apricots. It was the last trip.

At this time, Wang Jusheng was setting up nail boards in the yard to kill eels. After the eels fell unconscious, they hung on the nails of the nail board. A group of kids around his family, Dandan, Datou, etc. watched with relish.

   Seeing that the father and son were coming in an ox cart, the kids all ran over with a whoosh, yelling for Uncle Fugui, rushing to hug Ruirui.

   "Come, come, eat apricots."

   "Hey, Fugui, why are you father and son calling Susu over?"

   "I brought you apricots first. The apricots in the orchard are beginning to ripen. I'll call her when I get back."

   "Farewell, you are already here, why go back and run, let your sister-in-law call Su Sude, come here and help cook."

  Wang Jusheng chuckled, he was counting on Chen Ling to cook, now that everything has been taken care of, the old turtle and the old yellow quail have also been killed.

   Now it’s just some fish and shrimp.

   "Okay, then I will trouble my sister-in-law. Dahai is still laying wires on the mountain. I told him to come here at night."

   "Hey, what's the trouble, sit down quickly, brother Jusheng has been nagging you for a long time, and I'm waiting for you to cook."

   After joking around, Chen Ling set his eyes on the two plucked old yellow quails in the water basin next to them, which were similar to two half-sized roosters.

"His grandma's, I haven't seen this old yellow quail for many years. I ate it when I was a child, and I thought it was quite big. Now I look at it, come on, it's not much bigger than the wild quail I usually see. It doesn't have much meat, let alone We three old men, let the three-year-old baby Datou eat it, and he can finish the whole thing."

Wang Jusheng shook his head when he heard it and said: "You are wrong, I weighed these two things after I caught them back. The small one is more than seven taels, less than eight taels, and the big one is just over a catty. How many wild quails can it hold?"

  Wild quails are smaller than domestic ones, weighing only one or two taels, and larger male quails weigh no more than two taels.

  Old yellow quail is a kind of yellow-feathered quail to put it bluntly. There are also yellow and white feathers, which are very beautiful. The ratio of toes to body is larger than that of ordinary quail, and its body is several times larger, almost like a turtle dove.

  Ordinary quails are not much bigger than sparrows, and quails that can hold three sparrows are considered big.

   "In other words, these two old yellow quails are no worse than killing a young rooster." Chen Lingti sneaked up and took a look, and it was indeed good, the meat was fresh and tender.

"It's definitely not bad, but you and Dahai both have big appetites. I know that if there are fewer dishes, it will definitely not be enough. Didn't I get some rice field eels and crayfish? Hehe, cooking another pot of shrimp later will be enough for us to eat. "

  Chen Ling gave a thumbs up immediately after listening.

  Wang Jusheng specially prepared this for Chen Ling, knowing that he is good at handling these fresh fish and wild game. The taste is much better than ordinary meals, and it goes well with wine.

  So at night, there is a dish of spicy crayfish, a dish of braised rice eel, a dish of braised soft-shelled turtle, and a dish of fried yellow quail with mountain mushrooms...

  The remaining soft-shelled turtle eggs were made into steamed eggs for the three dolls in the family to eat.

   This thing is not easy to handle. If you steam it directly, the egg white will be thin after cooking, unlike eggs and duck eggs, the egg white will solidify after cooking.

  So it’s better to make steamed eggs.

   After seven o'clock in the evening, nearly eight o'clock, Zhao Dahai came here covered in dust. After a simple cleaning, everyone started eating and drinking.

   "Dandan, Datou, don't take Ruirui to play with those shrimps, come and eat."

  The three little guys were sitting on the bullock cart, fighting with a few crayfish, laughing constantly and having a great time.

   "I'll take them to wash their hands."

  Wang Susu walked over to pick up her son, and took the other two little guys to wash their hands.

The men here have already started to drink. After drinking a glass of wine, Wang Jusheng said: "Fugui, you see, my family is three years old, and I don't have a proper name yet. You are an uncle, give the baby a name." ? I think the name you gave Ruirui is quite good, Jingrui, look at the sea, it sounds cultured."

   "That's right, Fugui will give one to Datou. Jusheng and I don't think your education is considered low, but in fact, you are still rough and rough, and you can't get a good name."

   "Come on, I'm also confused about naming things. When will my uncle come and ask him to get one for Datou. He is good at this..."

With a baby in the family, there will naturally be more talk about the child at the wine table, especially at a family gathering like theirs today, what to name, when to go to school, and after the mother-in-law and the baby are seated, the topic of conversation is even more entangled Do not open these.

   It's just that the wine is half drunk, and an unexpected guest comes to the door.

Ruirui discovered this uninvited guest. The little thing was sitting on Wang Susu, eating steamed eggs with a small spoon. He was suddenly attracted by the movement outside the courtyard, and tilted his head to look over. His eyes instantly lit up when he saw it. up.

   "Dad~"

  He quickly turned his head and shouted at Chen Ling.

   "Ah? What's the matter?" Chen Ling looked at his son in doubt. There are a lot of little things, and when there are many little babies, he will be more peaceful when playing together, and he is not so honest when eating at home.

  Zhang Qiaoling said with a smile on her face in surprise: "Hey, seeing that Ruirui called her daddy well, when will she call her daddy? The last time I called Susu's mother, it's only been a few days."

"Well, this kid is cute. I like him. Wenxia likes him too. Wenxia can't stop laughing when she sees him." Zhao Dahai looked at the little guy cheerfully, "Ruirui, come on, what do you want to eat? Uncle will clip it for you."

  The little guy wasn't paying attention at all, he raised his head and called out to Chen Ling for his father, then pointed his chubby little hand in the direction of the courtyard gate.

   Tell him to look over there.

  Now the weather is not cold, and the moon is shining brightly, so everyone eats and drinks in the yard.

  Rui Rui pointed there, and everyone looked over in unison.

   It turned out to be a half-grown yellow ox, poking its head out and looking at the yard like a thief.

   "Good guy, whose cow ran out this late at night?"

  (end of this chapter)