My 1995 Small Farm

   Chapter 254 The old turtle and the water monster

afternoon.

The dam of the    Reservoir is full of people, from east to west, from south to north, like a big fair, you squeeze me, I squeeze you, all leaning over to look into the reservoir.

  Some adults and children even climbed trees just to see what was in the water.

   Even Cui Laizi was leaning on crutches, trying to stand on tiptoe, stretched his neck and kept looking around.

   "Come, swim back again, look."

  In the crowd, I don't know who shouted, which instantly caused the audience to boil, and everyone shouted in high spirits.

   "It's Lord Turtle, have you seen it? Lord Turtle is swimming back again."

   "My God, we are really lucky, we can really see Lord Turtle once in our life."

   "Let me go, give me a sew, Lord Turtle is here, let my baby be blessed too."

  “…”

   When Chen Ling and Wang Susu came to the village with their son, they saw such an indescribably lively scene.

  Wang Zhenzhen and a group of little boys had already climbed to the tree of the dam, and at this time they also started to wave their little hands on the tree and shout.

   "Sister, brother-in-law, it's a group of big, big, big old turtles. The leader is bigger than our family's big mill. Come and have a look."

   "Go to see? How do we go to see? This man is so crowded that he doesn't even have a place to stand."

  Chen Ling glanced back and asked his daughter-in-law, "Do you want to see this big old turtle?"

  Wang Susu certainly wanted to see it. After giving birth to Rui Rui for so long, he hadn't been out of the house very much. Now it's rare to be so lively.

However, she is also a mother now, and it is not that she can do whatever she wants. When she glanced at her son who was staring at the crowd, she tilted her head and vomited at Chen Ling. Tongue, smiled: "I want to see it, but with Ruirui, there are so many people, I can't see it."

   "Hey, it's okay, what is this, I'll find a way."

   Chen Ling didn't take it seriously as soon as she heard this, took her hand, walked up the dam, and headed east.

   wandered back and forth for a while, finally found a place with acquaintances, and squeezed in.

   "Shuiwa, Qunfang, come and make room."

   Chen Ze and Chen Fang’s two disciples are looking at the reservoir with fascination, and they are looking at the reservoir reverently, as if they are praying.

   Hearing the voice behind him, they all turned around to look, and when they saw that it was Chen Ling's family of three, they suddenly smiled.

   "It's wealth, come, come, just come with your baby, hurry up and pray to Lord Turtle, the baby will be blessed in the future."

  The adults greeted, and the little children also called "Uncle Rich" and "Uncle".

  Chen Ling responded with a smile, took Wang Susu and his son to the front, and looked at the reservoir.

   Just looking at it, Wang Susu was taken aback, "This, this is such a big old turtle."

I saw that on the wide water in the reservoir, black giant turtles were swimming slowly. The one who could see the most clearly was the giant turtle at the front, because it was the largest, and it was exactly what Wang Zhenzhen said. Same, bigger than the big mill at Chen Ling's house.

Seeing that his daughter-in-law was in a trance, he stretched out his hand and hugged his son into his arms, "It's said that a thousand-year-old bastard, a ten-thousand-year-old turtle, look at this color, this head, I can't tell how many years I have lived, don't be. You're fine."

   In addition to size, many people here also like to use color to describe age, such as scorpions and poisonous snakes. The darker the color, the more molting times, which proves that the more poisonous it is and the longer it lives, which is more awe-inspiring.

   "Don't talk nonsense about riches and honors, what is good but not good, this is the turtle king from our side, who just brought those turtle generals to help us drive away the monsters in the reservoir."

   At this moment, Chen Ze patted his arm and warned gently.

On the other side, Chen Fang and Chen Fang's husband also had solemn expressions on their faces, and nodded in approval: "You can talk about other things for fun, but this is not something you can mess around with. Lord Turtle has a spirit, let the old man hear it, be careful. Biting your nose at night."

  Chen Ling hurriedly cooperated to restrain his smile when he heard the words, pretending to be very gregarious, but he still felt amused in his heart.

   When I came here just now, I was worried that if the garlic heads were discovered, they would cause some unnecessary trouble.

  Where did the villagers think it was "Lord Turtle", really... He didn't know what to say, but he just thought it was a little too absurd.

   But yeah.

   Such a big old turtle appears in front of people, not to mention in the countryside, even if it is placed in the outer city, it is excusable to be regarded as auspicious and monsters.

   "This is Lord Turtle? What kind of monster did Lord Turtle help us drive away?"

  Wang Susu turned around and asked Chen Fang.

"It's the monster that made trouble in the reservoir last year. It ate that thing from several ducks here. When we were making lunch today, the flood control person was talking by the water, and that thing sneaked out of the water when it saw people. When they came out, it seemed like they wanted to hurt people, but fortunately, Lord Turtle came over in time and drove them away in a flash."

  Chen Fang gave a vivid speech, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.

   "They? Not one monster, but several?" Wang Susu heard something wrong and asked hurriedly.

"Well... this, we don't know if this monster is one or several, but when we saw this thing escaping in the water, it was arched and arched, and I couldn't see the head, nor the tail, and could only see the water. Several streams of water came out of it, pulling the elders all the way, just like running a group."

  Chen Fang said so.

   But an elderly woman next to her said, "That's a way of squinting by a monster. You think, this monster dares to come out in the daytime. How can he be so small? It's thanks to Lord Turtle to keep him in check."

   "Yes, yes, I didn't expect Lord Turtle to come to us this year. It seems that there is no flooding here this year. It's all due to Lord Turtle."

   These words attracted a large group of villagers nearby to join in.

   Good guy, you said what I said, and Chen Ling was stunned when he heard it, thinking that even this kind of thing could be related.

   And, Lord Turtle, it’s been so many years and generations, and it can still be brought up again, and there are still so many people who believe it.

   "Turtle Lord" is a local legend that originated very early.

The legend of    is not related to Chenwangzhuang alone. It is widely circulated in the areas where the Jinshui River flows.

   means that every time in the late summer and early autumn, when the Jinshui River swells, people will see the "Lord Turtle" coming out to control the water.

   Lord Turtle is a mighty and mighty figure. Every time he goes out on patrol, he will be followed by a large group of "shrimp soldiers and crab generals".

   That battle was quite big.

   And every time at this time, people will always run and tell each other, and they will all run to the shore to watch.

   was even clearly written in the county annals, and was cited as a kind of "spectacle".

  A long time ago, in the area where the Jinshui River and the Nansha River crossed, there was a Dragon King Temple, which was built by the ancestors to suppress the flooding of the two major rivers.

  The magic is that whenever the team of Lord Turtle arrives here, they will stop and stop. Some years stay for a long time, and some years stay for a short time. People say that this is to worship the Dragon Lord.

   Dragon gave birth to nine sons. Lord Turtle is one of the nine sons of Lord Long.

  Some scholars even bluntly said that this is a dragon turtle, a scorpion, and it must be called the dragon prince, not the turtle king.

   But people still like to call it their own way.

   There is more than one legend about "Turtle Lord".

It is also said that before liberation, when the reservoir was still a big lake, some villagers saw a huge old turtle on a foggy day. It was trapped on the shore and could not go back. Later, it was wrapped in red cloth and was respected by others. It was carried back to the lake. Since then, the weather has been good for many years, and no one has ever drowned.

   is amazing.

There is also a relatively recent one. It was encountered in the great flood twenty or thirty years ago. It also appeared a huge turtle. It is said that the back of this turtle is wider than the ordinary table. It was rescued in the flood. many people.

  After the water receded, the locals cast iron kings to town the water.

   Since there are many rivers, there have been many floods from ancient times to the present. Legends like this are spread all over the place.

  If the previous stories were all hearsay, and there were many elements of rumors, what I saw with my own eyes is different now.

   is really happening right in front of you.

The visual impact of    is not generally great.

   Even the little guy in Chen Ling's arms felt the lively atmosphere, and hummed happily, although he didn't know what the other people were doing, he just followed blindly.

   "I like the fun so much, I will take you to visit more in the future." Chen Ling poked his little cheek, and then always kept an eye out for the approach of mosquitoes.

   At this time, Garantou and his few turtle men were already swimming closer and closer.

   At that time, Chen Ling left them in the reservoir because he was worried about some unknown creatures in the reservoir. After all, there were two holes as big as two on the shore back then, and they scared the little weasels so much that they had to be on guard.

   Exactly, garlic head is wise, and he will be slaughtered in the cave.

   After Chen Ling released it and explained the matter clearly, it would be able to keep it here.

  If something wants to hurt people, it can also bring a group of male turtles to fight against it to prevent unknown creatures from hurting people.

  Otherwise, he wouldn't worry that Wang Zhenzhen and the little boys in the village would come here to play again in the future.

   After all, these skin monkeys have a good mouth, and children are changeable. Who knows if they see something interesting and will suddenly change their minds.

   So if you can't find any unknown creatures in the reservoir, it's better to take precautions in advance.

   Now it seems that the decision made at the beginning was the right one.

   Today, it seems that the unknown creature ran out again. After being discovered by garlic, he drove away with a group of big duke turtles?

   "Lord Turtle is here, Lord Turtle has swum over, hurry up and say goodbye, hurry up and say goodbye."

   "Thank God, Lord Turtle came to our Chenwangzhuang."

  “…”

  The closer the garlic head is to this side, the greater the visual impact to people.

  Especially it took the lead, and the seven big duke turtles guarded him in an orderly manner like guards.

   This posture is unusual at first glance.

   Even many young descendants were cheered up, shouting Turtle Lord, and beckoning people to catch the chickens and ducks at home, offering incense and offering sacrifices.

   Pray for good weather and good harvest every year in the future.

   Even the three young guards who were sent for flood control silently bowed their hands twice.

   This scene is incredible.

  Chen Ling was entertained, but he was afraid that staying here would affect the garlic, so he hugged his son and dragged Wang Susu away quickly.

   "A Ling, people say that is Lord Turtle, why don't we say goodbye? Pray for Ruirui too."

   Being dragged out of the crowd by him, Wang Susu still turned her head three times and looked back, with a look of pity on her face.

   "Silly daughter-in-law, why have you become so superstitious."

  Chen Ling smiled and squeezed her little hand, "Let's go, it's not like there are such big turtles. They are very common in the sea. Didn't I tell you about turtles?"

   "And the whale, that guy is too big."

   "It doesn't mean that when you get big, you become refined."

   He said sentence by sentence, but Wang Susu was still a little hesitant.

   "But, they all worshiped the baby at home. If we don't worship Rui Rui, will we..."

   "No, it's not true, they can worship if they want."

  Chen Ling reluctantly dragged his daughter-in-law and walked outside, thinking that this silly daughter-in-law has become confused after giving birth to a baby. She taught her so much in vain before.

   I need to give her more lessons in the future.

  The three of them were walking under the dam when they came across Liang Guizhen who cut a piece of red cloth, wrapped it around a piece of bacon, and threw it into the river to feed the turtle.

   Behind this old woman, there is a staggering big head running on his calf. He didn't know where he got a piece of red cloth, and he chased after him closely.

  Liang Guizhen didn't even look at it, and then saw the big head pulling at her trouser legs. She was annoyed by the pulling, so she glared at her triangular eyes and scolded, "Go, get out of the way."

   Datou was stunned for a moment when he was reprimanded, and whispered aggrievedly: "Dada lets you give you a red cloth."

  Liang Guizhen had already turned her head, as if she hadn't heard her, she kept talking with her eyes closed.

   On weekdays, maybe other villagers saw it and made a few comments, but now everyone's eyes are on "Lord Turtle", how can they care about others.

   And it was so noisy at this time, you squeezed me, I squeezed yours, and soon the big head was squeezed out of the crowd.

   With tears in his eyes, he held the red cloth helplessly and looked at Liang Guizhen dumbly.

  Chen Ling and Wang Susu saw this scene and hurried over, fearing that the villagers would not pay attention at this time, crowding around and stepping on the little baby would be bad.

   "Big head, what are you doing here." When he walked to the front, Wang Susu crouched down and asked with a smile.

   Big head turned and looked at Wang Susu, not knowing what was wrong, feeling more and more aggrieved, rubbing his eyes, tears could not stop falling.

   "Auntie, I'll give the red cloth to grandma."

   At the end, he was already sobbing.

   This baby is now over two years old. Wang Jusheng and his wife have taught them well, and he speaks clearly.

   "Come and send the red cloth."

  Chen Ling squatted down when he saw this, stretched out his hand to wipe his tears, "Why are you crying, Uncle will bring it to you, and I will send it directly to Lord Turtle, okay?"

   Big head rubbed his eyes and wiped his tears, nodded vigorously: "Okay."

Chen Ling handed his son to Wang Susu, picked up the big head, grabbed a fish from the hand of the confused old man Chen Gannian next to him, wrapped it in a red cloth, squeezed in front of the crowd, and threw it into the river with force. .

   Strange to say, although the old turtles also ate the poultry and meat thrown into the river by the villagers, the leader, whom they thought was the "Turtle Lord", did nothing from beginning to end.

   Until now, when Chen Ling lost it so much, it suddenly surfaced and swam to the front, eating the fish in three or two bites, leaving everyone stunned.

   So much so that there was a brief silence on the dam.

   Afterwards, they followed suit and wanted to be the next lucky one, but unfortunately, the "Lord Turtle" didn't respond anymore and didn't eat what they fed at all.

   This made the villagers have to envy Chen Linglai, and only Liang Guizhen was the only one, her face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and her heart was also angry and jealous.

  You Qi was even more angry when he saw that Chen Ling was holding the big head in his arms and lost the red cloth in the big head's hand.

  Chen Ling was too lazy to pay attention to this thief old woman. Seeing that Datou stopped crying, he sent him home with Wang Susu.

  Today's incident, it's not that he deliberately created family conflicts for others, it's that Wang Jusheng's family knew it well.

The two of them thought that they would not show up, and asked their son to send a red cloth to Liang Guizhen, and a two-year-old grandson to ask, Liang Guizhen, a grandmother, can't refuse, let Liang Guizhen represent the family to King Turtle. Pray for a blessing, what a good thing this is.

  Unfortunately, things didn't go as expected.

   And there are so many people on the dam, the child is still so young, this grandma doesn't even bother to take care of it.

   Zhang Qiaoling was so angry that she cried and said that she would never do such a thing again, so as not to be disgusted by others.

  Wang Jusheng just sighed and sat on the threshold with his head suffocating and smoking, without saying a word.

   There is no comfort in such a thing, so Chen Ling and his wife left silently with their son in their arms.

   "What do you think Aunt Guizhen is looking for? In the past, she disliked Brother Jusheng's first-born daughter, so it was not good for Dandan. Now the big head is a boy, why is it still like this?"

   On the way home, Wang Susu was still a little uncomfortable, and her beautiful brows were all twisted together.

   "I don't know, and I can't figure it out either. Just say that Brother Jusheng's character, you just need to be a little nicer to him. When you get old, can he treat you worse?"

   "Uncle Fifth and Aunt Guizhen are each more shrewd than the other, and they are not fools. Anyway, I don't believe that they can't see the nature of their two sons."

   "But, after all these years, it still hasn't changed, alas..."

  Chen Ling said, smacking his lips, "There are all kinds of parents in this world, but it's really rare to have such a partiality."

   "There is another little doll with a big head, just like a kitten and a puppy. You have been kind to him since he was a child, and raised him since he was a child. Can he not respect you when he grows up?"

   "The fifth uncle is also true, he doesn't persuade anything, let the mother-in-law toss, the two of them have been shrewd people for a lifetime, and they are at home, and they are doing such stupid things."

   "I can't figure it out, I really can't figure it out."

  To say that Wang Jusheng is not his own, it must be nonsense. Wang Jusheng is the most like his parents, but Wang Juxiang is not.

   But when speaking to the outside world, Liang Guizhen has been as long as one day in my family, but my family is short, as if there is only one son.

  Wang Susu got worse and worse, hugging her son and sighing, "Anyway, we can't be like this in the future, treat Ruirui well, and be as good to future babies as well, and a bowl of water must be level."

   "I know, we definitely can't do this."

   Where can I use this? She said that Chen Ling was the most annoying of this, so she carried her son and walked to the front.

   "No matter if there are boys or girls in the future, it will be the same. The dolls in our family are all precious, and it is too late to feel distressed."

   (end of this chapter)