Chapter 104 Family Matters
Chen Ling thought this matter would be over, but the next day, early in the morning of the 16th day of the fifth lunar month, Chen Guoping came to his house with his sister-in-law Xiufen and gave them two plates of fruit. , it is said that it is put on the offering table from the fifth day of May to the fifteenth day of May. After enjoying it, the gods and Buddhas will be full of blessings. It is a good thing.
Not to mention, I don’t know if it was for psychological reasons, but Chen Ling tasted two of them, and they were indeed sweeter than ordinary fruits.
After delivering the fruits, I chatted with the two elders in the house for a while. Since the village doctor from another village was coming to Chenwangzhuang today, Chen Guoping had to go to the clinic to pick up the doctor, so he didn’t stay any longer. .
However, when Chen Ling and his wife sent them out, by chance, a small gray thing fell from the tree. Sister Xiufen was frightened when she saw what it was. One jump: "Wong Tai Sin!"
In fact, it is a yellow-skinned cub. When it is first born, it is covered with black hair, and then the color gradually becomes lighter and lighter. When it is one month old, it is almost the same color as a mouse, gray-brown, and it will become darker when it grows older. Slowly turns into light yellow and brown.
Sister-in-law Xiufen was obviously familiar with this thing. She recognized it the first time she saw it. Suddenly, another chubby adult yellow-skinned creature ran down from the tree. It was very fast, picked up and fell to the ground. The cub swooped up to the treetops.
A few people looked up and saw two adult yellow skins standing on the thick trunk, with three little yellow skins staring down quietly with their black beady eyes. Watching them.
“Good fellow, there is a whole nest of yellow skins living here, and I don’t know where the holes were made. You should be careful, rich and noble, and watch the chickens and ducks at home. Don’t let this thing harm you. "
Chen Guoping raised his head and looked at it in surprise, and couldn't help but remind him.
Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, Sister Xiufen slapped her on the arm. Then she saw the old lady bowing to the yellow men on the tree several times, closing her eyes and muttering a few words silently. She should be saying some unintentional offence. Something like that.
Chen Guoping shook his head helplessly when he saw this, smiled silently at Chen Ling and Wang Susu, and left with his hands behind his back.
After Sister-in-law Xiufen finished talking and left, Wang Susu said worriedly: "Why are these yellow-skinned chickens here again? Why don't we go to the village market tomorrow and sell the chickens to prevent them from entering our house? It’s a disaster for chickens and ducks. If they are bitten to death, it will be difficult to sell them.”
“My silly wife, how can you sell chickens and ducks as soon as they lay eggs?”
Chen Ling shook his head and smiled when he heard this, and said to Wang Susu: "Don't worry, nothing has happened in the past two months, and there will definitely be nothing in the future. Our chickens are running outside during the day, and they fly to sleep in the trees at night. , Our dog is not a decoration, Huang Pizi dare not come in.”
"If it doesn't work, I will lay two more wire meshes in the duck pen. The ducks will come in at night and don't have to worry about it."
Chen Ling built a duck pen a few days ago. After all, his own ducks are better than Chen Ying's. The chickens at home are growing well. Not only are they very fat, but they have also started laying eggs in the past two days. It would not be a problem if they keep running into the chicken coop like before.
Because the weather has been getting warmer in the past, the chickens at home generally did not go to the chicken coop except for laying eggs or feeding. They would fly directly to the trees when sleeping at night. In this case, the ducks lived in it at night It's okay, but once you start laying eggs, you can't mess with them anymore. It's better to build a new duck pen.
In fact, not only ducks lay eggs, but the spring chicks are also growing up and laying eggs one after another. Even quails don’t know when they will lay eggs. However, unlike chickens and ducks, quails lay eggs every day. I just laid one egg. It's almost two months old now. It's an adult quail. It's normal to lay eggs. Moreover, quails have a short growth period. They will nest after they have six or seven eggs in a nest.
But the chickens and ducks at home have only been around for more than four months from the beginning of spring to now.
The growth cycle of a native chicken is as fast as about half a year, and can grow to about five or six kilograms, and as slowly as one year. A hen can grow to almost six kilograms, even if it is very fat. Big roosters rarely grow. When weighing more than ten kilograms, ducks look fatter than chickens. In fact, they only weigh about ten kilograms when they reach adulthood, which is not much different from native chickens. Villagers raise chickens and ducks in spring and kill some during the New Year and festivals. Eat them and wait until the New Year to sell them, but only a few egg-laying ones will be left.
Food is rarely fed during this period, except in the winter, when at most some bran is fed, or sweet potato dregs mixed with cornmeal are fed. In other seasons, they are released, and the mountains and plains are filled with pecking insects, Grass seeds, sediment...
If raised in a free range like this, the growth cycle is still relatively long, which is incomparable with the fast-growing broiler chicken and duck that can be produced in thirty or forty days in later generations.
But in rural areas, Chen Ling's chickens and ducks lay eggs really fast, and double yolks often appear, which surprises Wang Susu every time, so Wang Susu is reluctant to sell them at this time. .
Chen Ling still couldn't explain Huang Pizi to her, so he had to use other methods to dispel her doubts.
However, within two days, Wang Susu was no longer worried.
Because the yellow cubs were clumsy and often fell from trees and walls, she initially wondered why these yellow cubs were so courageous. Later, she was surprised to find that her own Hei Wa and Xiao Jin were not very good. No matter what, usually even if they see it, they will ignore it, which makes the three little guys even bolder. They often start to run around in the yard without paying attention, either mixing in the group of little rabbits, or going to two small rabbits. They rubbed around the dogs and even slept together with the little rabbit under the bellies of the two dogs.
The two big yellow ones were a little worried and anxious at first. Later, after seeing that the children were not in danger, they began to come down often to eat and drink, and they were guests at home openly.
Wang Susu was stunned for a moment, wondering what was going on. But fortunately, they did not harm the chickens and ducks. Instead, they made the mice in the front and back yards disappear. In the past, the vegetable cellar, Rats often get into the rice vat, causing piles of feces and urine, and the smell is extremely unpleasant. But recently, there are really no rats at all.
“We don’t bury treasures at home, do we? Aling, look at these birds, pigeons, and yellow-skinned pigeons running towards our house.”
During breakfast that day, after Wang Susu threw some chicken bones to Xiaopang Huang, she looked at the various birds on the trees outside the courtyard in trance.
It’s been almost half a month, and I would be woken up by the chirping of these birds in the early morning. I didn’t take it seriously before, but in the past two days, there have been more and more people gathering together.
In addition to cleaning the excrement of chickens, ducks and cows at home, the couple also had to clean the excrement of birds outside the yard.
"Maybe, there were wealthy families in our village before."
Chen Ling took a sip of porridge, nodded seriously and said: "The name of the village is Changle Township. We are the only one in Chenwangzhuang. This village was originally filled with wealthy families.”
"Eh? There is such a saying?"
Wang Susu was surprised, and then asked: "What about Kinmen Village and Taoshugou?"
"These two are based on Jinshui River and their village. There is nothing much to say about the names given to the terrain..."
Chen Ling smiled: "It is mainly Zhuang, Tun, Fort, Ying, Zhai, Pu, etc., excluding the Northeast dialect names, Tunhe camps, such as Gogeying and Kuishan Tun in the south of our county, are places where troops were stationed in the past. Forts and villages are places where people used to gather together to set up camps to resist banditry. Later, these places developed into The village is called "Pu" according to these characteristics. Name it, such as Shilipu, Shiwulipu, Sansanlipu, it can reach up to Eighty Milepu. Why not Ninety Milepu? Because once it goes beyond Ninety Mile, it becomes another boundary. "
Wang Susu suddenly realized after hearing this, and her eyes lit up instantly when she looked at Chen Ling: "Aling, you know so much."
"Haha, I just didn't study hard in school. I just read miscellaneous books. "By the way, speaking of miscellaneous books, have you read the two books that Sister Xiufen gave you?"
When Sister Xiufen and her husband came over two days ago, during their chat, Wang Susu couldn't help but ask about folk remedies. Sister-in-law Xiufen didn't take the treatment seriously at first, but Wang Susu told her a few folk remedies and she started to take it seriously. Later, the two of them talked about something unknown, and the old lady gave Wang Susu two books the next day. The book comes in tattered thread binding. "After looking at it, there aren't many useful things. They are all nonsense things, such as talisman paper, Feng Shui, worshiping gods and so on. My brain hurts after looking at it too much. Even looking at our house is like looking at a Feng Shui treasure land."
"Grandpa's books are better. Grandpa said they were given to him by his comrades during the war, including Miao and Tibetan medicine. They are the real thing. It's a pity that he forgot where to put them. I can’t find it no matter how hard I look for it.”
It's been almost twenty years now, and Wang Susu still feels it's a pity when she thinks about this incident.
"Then after I visit my father's grave this year, I will accompany you back home. After we see my parents, we will go to grandpa's house and look carefully."
Chen Ling While talking, he had already finished breakfast.
He went to the county town twice before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, and also looked for such unsophisticated medical books. None of them were for sale, and some were large ones.
“Yeah, that’s okay.”
When Wang Susu heard what he said, her nose couldn't help but feel sore, but her heart felt warm and filled with emotion.
This was the first time that Chen Ling proposed to accompany her back to her parents' home. Although Chen Ling had been considerate and protective of her in the past few months, making her as happy as if she was soaking in a honey pot, but The more this happened, the more she missed home, and wanted to take Chen Ling back to show her parents, elder brother, second brother, and younger sister how much better Chen Ling was now.
The prodigal son returns with gold, which proves that she did not choose the wrong person in the first place.
Unfortunately not, because Chen Ling’s father passed away a few months after they got married. According to their customs, they have to celebrate two memorial days before they can return to their parents’ home. If their parents can take the initiative to visit, , but the girl cannot go back with mourning, unless she gets divorced.
So other girls can go back to their parents’ home before and after the Dragon Boat Festival, and after fertilizing and planting corn, they can still pursue the festival. The pursuit of festivals means that after the daughter visits her mother around the Dragon Boat Festival, the mother-in-law comes to her home again. Visiting relatives, but their family could not, made Wang Susu very envious and missed her family very much.
During the two years of marriage, except for the eldest brother's visit once, I have never been back, nor have I seen my parents or relatives. Fortunately, Chen Ling is a good husband now, otherwise this life would be really difficult.
Chen Ling saw that his wife's eyes were a little red, and she couldn't bear it. But rules are rules, and some customs are quite outrageous. Just because you don't believe it doesn't mean others don't believe it. If you don't take it seriously, others will still think it. It's a taboo, so you still have to abide by it.
Of course, this is because the father-in-law and mother-in-law are too old to go down the mountain, especially when the father-in-law accidentally fell while collecting medicine. Although he was saved by Chen Ling's father, the root cause of the disease also fell, and his legs and feet became weak. Flexible, otherwise I would have come here if I knew my daughter had been wronged.
......
After breakfast, Wang Susu went to wash the pots and dishes, and Chen Ling went to pick up the eggs and duck eggs. Now that the chickens and ducks have begun to lay eggs in spring, they can pick up more than half of the baskets every day. , just selling the eggs every month at the big market can make a lot of money.
The quail eggs were not moved, because the male quail was already incubating the eggs in the henhouse.
For quails, it is not the female that incubates the eggs, but the male that incubates them. When Chen Guoping and his wife came that day, they said that if there is no male quail, the female can lay the eggs herself. Like Yunying eggs, they are unfertilized eggs. At this time, the female quail will hatch them, but they will not be able to hatch any eggs.
“Quails, doves, and doves have ten nests a year.”
Quails and doves are also a type of turtle dove. Quails are just like this thing. In addition to not laying eggs or carrying nests in winter, other Eight or nine months are spent in the breeding season. The eggs are laid with great force, and a nest of quails can hatch in half a month. If they are not killed or sold, the whole yard will be filled with quails in half a year.
Chen Ling couldn't help laughing when he thought of that scene: "After the flood has passed, we will build a circle of walls outside the orchard and surround it with thirty acres of land. Then it will be built into a small village. , no matter how many things you raise, you don’t have to worry about it.”
Thinking like this, I saw the two male quails in the henhouse stood up, flexed their paws, and began to turn over the quail eggs one by one. This was to warm one side, and to warm the other side.
Seeing how hard they were working, Chen Ling went to the lotus pond and scooped a ladle of water, mixed it with bran in a stone trough and fed it to them. Chen Ling would add the water from this pond to the stream every two days. , not only is it more convenient to feed chickens and ducks, but it is also convenient for dogs and rabbits to drink water when they are thirsty.
Of course, the consequence is that there are more and more birds and pigeons around his yard.
Chen Ling didn't pay much attention to this. As long as he didn't cause harm everywhere in the yard like magpies, he didn't care. It just happened to add some life to his house.
After doing this, Chen Ling went to the backyard to weed the vegetable garden with a hoe. Wang Susu had a good meal and took the cow to pick mulberry leaves. These days, the silkworms are growing bigger and bigger, and they eat the mulberry leaves. It’s getting faster and faster. In the past, one basket a day was more than enough. Now I have to eat at least two big baskets a day, and more and more will be eaten in the future until the silkworms start to form cocoons.
In fact, this was not a solution. In the afternoon, Chen Ling was going to go out for a walk up the mountain, find a mulberry forest, and pick a few big bags of mulberry leaves.
Before they even left the village, they saw Liu Nier and a few dolls leading a postman on a bicycle rushing towards him, waving at him and shouting loudly from a distance.
"Uncle Fugui, your letter is for Aunt Susu."
"For Susu?"
Chen Ling was stunned for a moment.
At this time, the postman rode his bicycle and stopped in front of him. On the back seat of Erba was a document bag filled with a pile of newspapers and envelopes.
“Please collect the letters from your wife’s family.”
The postman is a man in his thirties, with a middle parted hair, a stubble on his chin, and a smile Then he handed the envelope to Chen Ling, showing his big white teeth.
"Okay, thank you."
Chen Ling also smiled at the other party and took it in his hand.
However, the next moment, after holding the envelope in his hand, he was stunned.
——
PS: After the National Day, the weather in BJ was really too cold. It suddenly dropped below 10 degrees. I almost got sick from the cold and my typing was a lot slower. (Brothers from other sites, please come to Qidian to support us)
(End of this chapter)