My 1995 Small Farm

   Chapter 62 Reservoir

   went back to the front yard for lunch, and at two o'clock in the afternoon, there was no sign of the sun showing up, and the fog still hadn't dissipated.

  Chen Ling drove the bullock cart out from the backyard and waited on the reservoir dam for more than half an hour.

   Sure enough, he didn't see the saplings coming, so he didn't wait any longer, turned around and drove the ox cart to his own fields.

   Then taking advantage of the heavy fog, no one came from the fields, and no one went up the mountain.

   Several acres of peanuts and vegetables have been planted. After the harvest is completed, the soil can be improved indirectly.

   By the evening, there were more than 7,000 catties of peanuts in Dongtian, and bundles of vegetables were piled up in the thatched hut.

  These vegetables are not eaten by the family, they were sold by Chen Ling when he delivered peanuts to the oil factory.

   After all, I want to eat vegetables at home, and those in the cave can’t finish it.

After    packed up in Dongtian, Chen Ling drove the ox cart home.

   When passing by the weir pond in the village, he found his two puppies and a group of local dogs in the village besieging a cauliflower snake that was over one meter long.

   This snake's sturdy body was wet and covered with mud, as if it had swum over from a weir. At this moment, being harassed by dogs is very annoying. He spit out letters and made a "hissing" sound. He looked very angry, but he was stalked by a group of dogs, and he couldn't get away if he wanted to go.

  Chen Ling stopped the bullock cart and watched with interest.

   Today is a foggy day. The two puppies encountered this kind of weather for the first time.

  I came back at noon to eat some food, and then went out again. Taking advantage of the white fog, I wandered the streets and alleys in the village, and it was a joy to play.

   No, now he is fighting with snakes here again, this cauliflower snake is unlucky to meet them.

   "Wang Wang Wang..."

   Seeing Chen Ling approaching, the two puppies immediately became eager to express themselves, jumped out of the group of dogs, attacked the cauliflower snake very quickly, and bit the belly of the cauliflower snake.

  The cauliflower snake was already provoked by the group of dogs. Naturally, not to be outdone, he fought back with his head held high and even wrapped around a leg of Xiaojin.

   But how can the two puppies be compared to ordinary dogs, no matter how much they resist, it is useless, and they are bitten to death without fighting back and forth.

  Then Xiaojin grabbed the cauliflower snake by the neck and dragged it to Chen Ling. Together with Heiwa, he shouted at Xiaobai Niu who was provocative and showing off.

   "Have been crazy outside for a day, not being honest, do you want to be cleaned up?"

   "Let's go home soon..."

  Chen Ling glared at two small things, picked up the cauliflower snake and threw it on the trolley.

  Cauliflower snakes are very common in mountain villages, especially in spring and summer, when there are often cauliflower snakes at home to eat mice, or eat swallows under the eaves.

  Sometimes they will settle on the beams of the house and in the cracks of the walls, and they will be a nest all their lives.

  When farmers see this stuff, they usually become meat on the table. Whether it is fried, fried, stewed or boiled, it is delicious.

   Not only relieves cravings, but also has the effect of clearing away heat and removing fire.

   After returning home, Wang Susu peeled the skin of the cauliflower snake in twos and threes, took out the snake gallbladder, tied the bile duct with a thread, hung it under the eaves together with the snake skin, and soaked the snake meat in a water basin.

  Chen Ling went to pick up two pieces of Huangjing. The last time he went to the mountain, Huangjing and Tianma were collected a lot, and they were not dried on the bamboo plaque.

  Chen Ling used the name of going to the backyard, but it was actually Huang Jing from Dongtian.

  I picked it up before, and planted two pieces of Polygonatum chinensis and Gastrodia elata in the woods in front of the Dongtian thatched hut, and now a large area has grown under the tree.

   So Chen Ling made more than half of the pot of snake broth for dinner, simmered with two pieces of Huang Jing, the snake meat was soft and fragrant, and fed a bowl to the two puppies, and the rest of the couple enjoyed themselves.

   Delicious snake meat was eaten by most of the pot, and there was no soup left.

  After night fell, the young couple had a wonderful night.

  …

   The next day, the sky was clear and there was not a single cloud.

   The sky is blue and barking, with a special cohesion that makes people unable to help but look up and concentrate.

   There was nothing to do today, so Chen Ling moved a reclining chair in the yard and read novels while lying on his back.

   is a book called "Xing Xing Xing".

   When Chen Ling read Jin Yong's other novels, he read the novels first and then watched the TV series.

  Only this "Xia Ke Xing" is a novel that you read first after watching the TV series.

   So much so that when I read the novel now, the protagonist's brain is filled with actor Dong Jian's face.

  Unfortunately, that version of the TV series "The Xia Xing Xing" will take several years to be filmed.

   He was reading a novel on the reclining chair, and Wang Susu sat quietly beside him, making new clothes for spring, slender and white fingers threading needles, looking extremely dexterous.

   From time to time, he even glanced at him with moist almond eyes, and a sweet smile appeared on the corners of his mouth.

   Also, today's Wang Susu is indeed a bit more beautiful than in the past, with a strange coquettishness in her purity, and her face is flushed, like a delicate flower blooming in the spring breeze.

  The eyes are like water, the eyebrows are full of spring mountains, and every smile and every smile exudes charm, which is very intoxicating.

   The two of them were like this, bathing in the warm spring sun, quietly enjoying the unspeakable warmth.

   It was almost noon when the loudspeaker of the village committee rang suddenly.

   said that the people from the forest tree seed station had arrived and asked Chen Ling to go to the reservoir dam to pull fruit saplings.

   "It's too early today, three hours early..."

  Chen Ling got up, put down the book, and stretched.

   "After all, it was delayed by the foggy day yesterday."

  Wang Susu also got up, "I'll go with you."

   "No, you can cook at home, I'll be back when I go."

  Chen Ling went into the house and changed into yesterday's old clothes, and drove out the ox cart.

   When we arrived at the dam of the reservoir, two young people from the forest seed station were standing there, talking while watching the people below catching fish with nets in the reservoir.

   Seeing Chen Ling driving the ox cart over, he walked up to him and helped him carry the saplings to the cart.

   "Sorry, bro, I couldn't come over in the foggy weather yesterday. The twenty fig saplings on the top were sent separately."

After    moved, the two young people apologized to Chen Ling.

   "It's alright, have you two had lunch? Go to my house for a bite to eat before leaving?"

  Chen Ling said with a smile after handing them the money for the five hundred saplings.

  The two young men even said no, and said that they would try to come over at 2:00 in the afternoon tomorrow, so as not to cause him any trouble, they drove away.

   "Fugui, are you planning to plant fruit trees this year?"

   At this time, Wang Lixian and a group of people carried a large bamboo basket of fish and went up to the dam of the reservoir.

   Say hello when you see him.

   "It's Brother Xian, I just didn't see it clearly with the straw hat on. Are you guys going to have lunch?"

  Chen Ling glanced at the bamboo basket behind them and found that there were fish, shrimp, and mussels in it.

   "Well, no one wants the fish and shrimp in the reservoir, so I come here every day to get some cooking. The grandson Erzhu also wants to save money."

   Wang Lixian responded.

   A few people behind them laughed and said that Erzhu was fake and generous. It was a foggy day yesterday. They said that the wages were doubled and they added five yuan.

   Of course, this is echoing Wang Lixian's words, not talking to Chen Ling.

   They didn't have much contact with Chen Ling. The few who went out to work with Chen Ling even had a holiday with him, so naturally they wouldn't take the initiative to talk to him.

  Chen Ling didn't care, and said, "This fish doesn't look good. I haven't even offered the two big ones you gave me a few days ago."

"Yes, there are fewer and fewer big fish in the reservoir. When was the year before the new year, a foreigner came to us to do some investigation, and as a result, he put a lot of crayfish in the reservoir. As a result, the reservoir is full of this stuff now. There haven't been as many fish in two years, let alone big fish."

   Wang Lixian said angrily.

The Chenwangzhuang Reservoir covers an area of ​​more than 1,000 mu. It was built in the 1950s and 1960s to build water conservancy. At first, it was mainly used for flood control and irrigation. Through the river bend at the foot of the south mountain, the cultivated land in the three directions of north, south and west can be irrigated to .

   Later, it was contracted by people in the county until the late 1980s.

   Up to now, the reservoir has been neglected, and now it is almost a wild reservoir. Anyone who wants to eat fish can come and catch a net.

  Chen Ling wasn't very interested in this reservoir, but when he heard the crayfish, he was a little greedy: "There are so many crayfish, so people in our village don't eat them?"

  Wang Lixian shook his head after hearing this: "That stuff is not tasty, it's bitter."

   (end of this chapter)