Return to the small mountain village in 1983

Chapter 281 Double Surprise
"What happened to make you so excited?"

Xiulan asked curiously. She was rubbing the skin of the sika deer in her hands. Now that it had been processed, she only needed to knead it until it was soft before use.

"I found that Lin Shek seems to be giving birth?" Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and said excitedly.

"Really?" Xiulan raised her head with surprise on her face.

"It's most likely true, mainly because I've never seen forest musk deer give birth to cubs." Lin Heng said.

Xiulan put down the deerskin, stood up and said, "Then let's go take a look. Maybe we need help."

Lin Heng nodded and went to the front yard to pick up his daughter and watch the forest musk deer give birth to her cubs together. Xiaoxia followed Lin Heng knowing the rules and said nothing.

"How many do you think we can give birth to?" Xiulan asked in a low voice while walking. This was also the first time he saw forest musk deer giving birth to cubs.

"It is said that they are similar to sheep, with one to three litters per litter, and usually two litters are the most." Lin Heng replied.

"Then I hope there will be two, preferably both females." Xiulan whispered.

Lin Heng thought the same way. Although the female does not produce musk, it can quickly expand the population size.

Observe the animals giving birth quietly, and do not disturb them if you are mainly interested in peeking. Once they stood on the hillside, they could clearly see the situation in the forest musk deer circle.

"One fell down so quickly."

Looking at the situation in the circle, Xiulan couldn't help but show surprise.

"Wild animals give birth very quickly." Lin Heng was not surprised.

Only Xiaoxia opened her eyes wide. This was the first time she saw an animal giving birth.

The little forest musk deer was still twitching on the ground after being born, unable to stand up for a long time. The fetal fluid on his body was too heavy and seemed to hinder breathing.

The female forest musk deer didn't help but was very anxious. There was also a forest musk deer that seemed to be stuck and couldn't get out.

"Is it difficult to give birth?" Xiulan asked doubtfully.

"Because the second female forest musk deer has been delayed in giving birth and is suffocating without licking the fetal fluid. She needs artificial assistance. Please help me."

Lin Heng nodded and put Xiaoxia down and asked her to stay where she was. Then he washed his hands in the bucket next to him and went with Xiulan to help the female forest musk deer give birth.

After gently entering the forest musk deer circle, the female forest musk deer retreated to the corner nervously. Lin Heng quickly petted the female forest musk deer, and when she calmed down, she handed over the comforting work to Xiulan, and he came to help give birth.

He first lifted up the hind legs of the young forest musk deer, removed the fetal fluid from the mouth and nose to prevent it from suffocating, and then checked the condition of the female forest musk deer.

This second forest musk deer's legs came out first. No wonder it was difficult to give birth. Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and said, "You held its neck down."

"Okay." Xiulan nodded and pressed the female forest musk deer on her lap.

Lin Heng took hold of Xiao Lin She's legs and tried to slowly help with the delivery. He had done this job many times and had specialized in veterinary medicine in his previous life.

I was supposed to wear gloves, but I didn’t have any suitable ones at home, so I had to use them.

With his help, the second baby musk deer was successfully delivered soon after. Lin Heng removed the fetal fluid from its mouth and nose and placed it next to the female musk deer.

The female forest musk deer has now taken the initiative to lick the fetal fluid, which means that she will only give birth to two cubs this time. Both Lin Heng and Xiulan showed disappointment on their faces.

"It's so rare to have three babies. We should be lucky that we didn't have one." Lin Heng smiled and shook his head.

Xiulan nodded: "Indeed, and both of them are female, which is already good news."

Lin Heng nodded. The two young forest musk deer will be able to give birth in October next year. Three female forest musk deer can give birth to five or six musk deer a year, and the population will soon multiply and expand.

"I'll go back and cook some wheat bran for Lin She to eat first, and you can take care of the placenta." Xiulan said again and walked back with her daughter.

On the way, Xiaoxia asked all the questions she had accumulated, which made Xiulan regretful that she had not handed her over to Lin Heng.

Lin Heng waited for a while, until Xiulan brought over the cooked wheat bran and polenta, but he didn't see the placenta being discharged.

"What should we do?" Xiulan asked worriedly. If the placenta is not discharged, it will cause great damage to the mother's body.

Lin Heng brought the food over, thought for a while and said, "If it hasn't been passed out in four hours, don't worry."

"Then you watch, I'm going back first." Xiulan blinked, patted Lin Heng and turned around to go back.

After Lin She finished eating and replenished her nutrition, the placenta finally began to be produced. Lin Heng helped take it out and carry it home.

The musk deer fetus, like the deer fetus, is a very precious traditional Chinese medicine. Lin Heng picked it up just to chop it up, cook it and feed it to the female forest musk deer. If she eats it directly, it may cause problems.

After all, the forest musk deer's stomach can only digest grass, so it would definitely be too much for such a large piece of meat to suddenly come in.

It won't be a problem if you cook and chop it several times.

"I'm going to tell my parents to make them happy." Lin Heng said with a smile after returning to the house.

"Go and take Xiaoxia with you." Xiulan nodded and said.

Lin Heng went to take out Hong Zao, who hadn't ridden for a long time, and took Xiaoxia to ride the horse.

"Okay, riding a horse is great!!"

Xiaoxia was as happy as a little fool sitting on the horse.

When she arrived at the breeding base, Xiaoxia couldn't wait to shout: "Grandpa, grandpa, the forest musk deer has given birth to a cub."

"The forest musk deer has fallen?" Lin's father said in surprise.

Mother Lin picked up Xiaoxia and asked, "My dear granddaughter, how many young forest musk deer have you laid? Are they male or female?"

"Two." Xiaoxia stretched out two fingers, tilted her head and continued, "Dad said they are all female forest musk deer."

"Two females, that's great." Mother Lin said happily.

Father Lin also nodded and said: "Our forest deer enclosure is almost completed. We will move them here in a few days when the weather is good."

"I think so too." Lin Heng said with a smile.

These days, he and his father have initially built a 30-square-meter forest musk deer pen. His father is making wooden rafters. In a few days, the pig pen will be built and the roof will be built.

Lin Heng went into the house and looked at the green shrimps holding eggs. He found that a lot of residue had accumulated in the water. He used a pipe to siphon the residue away, and then put some clean water in.

The freshwater shrimps that are holding eggs consume more oxygen, and the aerator is running non-stop these days.

After looking at the green shrimps, Lin Heng went to look at the pastures. Every one of them was ridiculously lush, and only one or two points of land had been cut to feed cattle and sheep.

These pastures are completely ready to be harvested, chopped with a grass chopper and dried in the sun for storage.

"Dad, there are thornberries over there." Xiaoxia pointed to the bushes above the pasture and said crisply.

"Keep your eyes open." Lin Heng touched her little head and took her over to eat thornberries.

Almost all the thornberries are red now, and they will be out of season if you don’t eat them.

Xiaoxia has eaten a lot these days. Her grandmother and grandfather always bring her a lot of thornberries when they come back from the mountains, but she still hasn't eaten enough.

Evenings in the summer when the sun has gone are perfect for walking, and it would be even better if there was a gust of wind like now.

They were eating raspberries, and a lot of green-bearded buggers were flying around in the bushes in the distance. Lin Heng had no interest in beating them this year.

After eating the raspberries, Lin Heng brought Xiaoxia down. He looked at his mother and said, "Mom, I want to buy you two more lambs. What do you think?"

"Okay, they all have to be released anyway. There is no difference between two more and two less. I suggest you buy another heifer so that it can be used for breeding." Mother Lin said with a smile.

"Then I'll go check the situation in a few days and buy two good varieties." Lin Heng nodded. There is no shortage of forage now, and he can definitely expand the number of breeding animals.

Coupled with the fact that he has veterinary knowledge and is there to help, some minor illnesses can be solved.

Then, he said: "By the way, Mom, we won't be grazing the cattle tomorrow. I'll ask Xiaoxia to come over and help cut the grass, dry it and store it."

Now ryegrass and alfalfa are about to bloom and bear fruit, which is when they are most nutritious and are very suitable for cutting for feed.

"Okay, then I won't go over to milk the cows tomorrow morning. Bring me whatever you can't finish." Mother Lin nodded.

After playing for a while, Lin Heng took Xiaoxia home and took a walk looking at the beautiful scenery on both sides of the river.

At night, the female forest musk deer was fed some paste made from wheat bran, with part of the placenta added to it.

The next morning they finished their exercise as usual and after breakfast, they took Xiaoxia and three dogs to Hongfeng Mountain.

"Mom, I brought the milk for you. You can drink it directly after it has been heated." Xiulan walked into the room and said with a smile.

Mother Lin took the milk and said with a smile: "Don't tell me, this milk is very nutritious. Your dad and I have been drinking it for two months and we feel much more energetic when working."

"That's natural. In the past, I could only barely survive, but now this is life." Lin Heng said with a smile.

People who live a daily life of making cornbread and not seeing meat and fish for three days must not have the energy. It is God’s blessing that they don’t get sick.

"Well, I should beat you a few more times, maybe you can wake up early." Father Lin said with a smile.

Lin Heng: "..."

After their parents finished breakfast, Lin Heng and his father went to build the unfinished pigsty, Xiulan and Lin's mother went to cut the grass with sickles, and Xiaoxia played with the three bull dogs in the yard of the warehouse.

In one morning, they also built the pigsty. Father Lin looked at the many bricks left and said, "Son, why don't you go buy some more cement. Then build a cattle pen and a sheep pen. There will be too many cattle and sheep in the back, and the old house won't be able to raise them."

Lin Heng nodded and said, "I think so too. I am also planning to build a small dam on the stream to store water and try to raise plum blossoms at the same time."

He has studied carefully these days and found that there is an area of ​​​​the mountain stream that is suitable for building a small dam. It can be 70 to 80 meters long and about 5 to 6 meters wide.

It doesn’t need to be built very high, just three or four meters, which is equivalent to a small fish pond.

"Okay, there is little farm work this year, so I can help you." Father Lin nodded.

"That's fine, let's go back and build slowly." Lin Heng agreed with a smile.

The two discussed the location of the cattle pen and finally decided to build it more than 30 meters above the pasture to the west, that is, the side away from the mountain stream.

There is a flat land thirty meters long and five or six meters wide at this location, which is more than enough to build a cattle pen and a sheep pen.

Then the nearby hillsides can be completely reclaimed to plant pasture, so there is no need to worry about the problem of forage.

Lin Heng is no longer planning to transform the 80 acres of hillside above the warehouse into a pond according to his previous plan.

The original decision was still a bit hasty. It would be too laborious to transform this place into a pond without an excavator. It would be better to resolutely open up the land and plant grass or medicinal materials.

When I make a lot of money in the future and plan to build a villa on the mountain, I will decide what to transform this place into.

After the place was chosen, Lin Heng and his father took a hatchet to clear a suitable road, and then slowly transformed the rest. Of the eighty acres above, sixty acres are relatively easy to transform and can be slowly transformed into land.

People in this era like to have more children because children are the labor force. When they grow up to five or six years old, they can help with work. When they grow up, they can help open up wasteland and mountainous areas, and the family industry will gradually increase.

It is a very typical small-scale peasant economy and has been like this since ancient times.

However, this economic situation will gradually be eliminated with the explosion of modern productivity.

It was already noon when the three-meter-wide road was cleared, and Xiulan and the others had only cut more than half an acre of grass, because Xiaoxia made trouble along the way and they couldn't cut quickly.

"Go back and rest."

Lin Heng shouted. It was already eleven o'clock, and the sun was so bright that it made people irritated.

After returning to the house and washing up, everyone drank water and rested for a while. The majestic wind blowing under the eaves made people stretch their necks comfortably.

Lin Heng suddenly remembered something and turned to look at Xiulan: "Xiulan, today seems to be the 18th of the Gregorian calendar, right?"

Xiulan was stunned for a moment, then said: "I would have forgotten if you didn't tell me, it's really already the 18th."

"What happened on the 18th?" Father Lin asked curiously, and Mother Lin also looked confused.

Lin Heng walked up to Xiulan and asked, "I remember your relative is number 16 or 17."

Xiulan's face turned red and she nodded: "I forgot if you didn't tell me. It's true that I didn't come. I'm usually very punctual."

Lin Heng said in surprise: "Doesn't that mean you are pregnant and I have a child again!"

Mother Lin slapped him: "You only think of such an important thing now, and you still let Xiulan work. You deserve a slap."

"That's right, Xiulan has forgotten this kind of thing, how can you still forget it?" Lin's father also said angrily.

"I don't blame him, I didn't notice it myself." Xiulan shook her head, and then said, "Besides, it's not necessarily true. Sometimes it's not impossible to get confused."

"It's his fault." Mother Lin snorted, then pulled Xiulan and said, "From now on, just stay in the house and don't do anything else, and don't cut the grass in the afternoon."

Xiulan said helplessly: "Mom, even if you are pregnant, you can't stay in the house every day. You need to exercise properly."

Lin Heng also said: "That's right, Mom, don't worry about it. I'll take Xiulan to the city hospital for a checkup in two days. It will be easy to confirm."

Mother Lin said unhappily: "You know nothing about it. You mean I don't need to care about it. I can't care about my grandson."

Lin Heng said helplessly: "Mom, you'd better go cook. There's nothing to get excited about now. Let's wait until we get pregnant."

After hearing this, Mother Lin calmed down, nodded and said, "Then I'll cook."

"Dad, mom, are you going to give me a brother?"

After Lin's mother left, Xiaoxia took Lin Heng's hand and asked curiously. She could roughly understand what the adults said.

"Maybe it's a younger brother, maybe it's a younger sister." Lin Heng looked at her and said.

"Okay, I want younger siblings." Xiaoxia jumped up excitedly and said.

Xiulan said quickly: "Be careful, don't fall."

Xiaoxia came over and pulled her mother and said, "Mom, when will my younger brother and sister be born?"

"It's still early." Xiulan pinched her little face and smiled.

Xiaoxia tilted her head and thought for a while, then murmured to herself that she wanted to play various games with her younger siblings.

Lin Heng looked at Xiulan and said, "I'm going to buy calves and lambs in a few days. You come with me to check them out."

"It's not necessary. You will know in a few days." Xiulan shook her head.

"It's definitely necessary. Just come with me then." Lin Heng said without refusal. Although there is no B-ultrasound now, it is still necessary to go to the hospital.

Xiulan pursed her lips and said nothing. She wanted to go in and help Lin's mother cook but was kicked out. She could only sit on the chair in a daze.

After a while, Mother Lin prepared the meal. Mother Lin kept serving Xiulan vegetables at the dinner table. The vegetarian ones were fine, but the fat ones were too difficult for Xiulan.

Lin Heng said: "Mom, the book says that she should eat light food during pregnancy, so don't let her eat fat meat."

"Then you can eat more lean meat." Mother Lin said with a smile, and gave Xiulan another chopstick of lean meat.

"Thank you, Mom." Xiulan reluctantly picked up the bowl and started eating. Fortunately, we didn't live together now, otherwise it would be too difficult for her to eat like this every meal.

After dinner, Xiulan went to help with the work, but Mother Lin refused to let her go.

"It's okay, Mom, it's good to exercise." Lin Heng said.

"We'll wait until the sun sets completely." Mother Lin insisted.

Xiulan had no choice but to stay at home with Xiaoxia.

In the afternoon, Lin's father and Lin Heng both went over to help cut the grass, leaving only a third of the land with fresh grass, and all the rest was cut.

As for the cow and sheep pens, there is no rush, there is plenty of time to do it slowly.

Without Xiaoxia causing trouble, the three of them cut the grass much faster, cutting more than half of the grass in two hours.

"Oh my god, what a big black-tailed snake!!"

Suddenly, Mother Lin let out an exclamation.

Lin Heng and the other two looked over and saw a big black snake with a thick wrist burrowing into the uncut grass.

"This must weigh three or four kilograms. It's a good medicinal material." Lin Heng wanted to grab it. The black-tip snake meat was quite delicious.

"Forget it, don't catch it." Father Lin waved his hand, not wanting to catch such a thing.

Lin Heng didn't insist and continued to cut the grass. They finished cutting the grass at half past four.

After transporting the forage, Lin Heng went to the warehouse to take out the grass chopper, threw the grass in, chopped it, and dried it to make hay that could be stored for a long time.

Lin Heng started the machine to chop grass, and Lin's father told Xiaoxia a story from a distance. He was telling the story of Huang Long's fight for the title, a mythical story about their place.

It is said that once upon a time, a cowherd met a snake with legs on its head and could talk. He asked the cowherd what he looked like. If he was told that he looked like a snake, he would have failed in his quest for title. If he was told that it looked like a dragon, he would be able to transform into a dragon. , and will repay the cattle herders.

Another one is that there is a three-cornered mountain in Shimen Village. There are two caves on it, a Huanglong Cave and a Black Dragon Cave. A man rewarded Huanglong with gold chopsticks for building the temple, and then the man asked for a gold bowl and a gold basin. , and finally the story of the angry Huanglong being swept away by the flood.

Lin Heng heard his grandfather tell it many times when he was a child, and even went to Shimen Village to look for it. Unfortunately, it was just a legend.

After hearing this, Xiaoxia asked as many questions as Lin Heng did when he was a child. It's just that many Lin fathers can't answer it, they are just legends.

"I'm here to help you." Father Lin stood up and said.

"Okay." Lin Heng told his father about the precautions of the grass chopper, then let him use it, and spread the chopped grass with a fork.

We worked until the sun set at seven o'clock, and half of the sky was dyed red by the bloody sun. The afterglow of the setting sun deep in the mountains also has a unique artistic conception.

"Let's chop the rest tomorrow. Once it's almost dry, we can pack it up." Lin Heng pointed at the chopped forage and said.

In addition to dry forage, there is also silage fodder, which is simply piled up and fermented for a month. Under the action of lactic acid bacteria, these forage can be maintained for a long time without losing nutrients.

However, the production of green storage requires sealing with plastic bags or building a green storage tower for sealing, which is troublesome after all.

The advantage is that nutrients are not lost, and cattle and sheep prefer to eat green grains than dry pasture. Lin Heng planned to check out the situation and buy some plastic bags to try making himself.

Although it is very laborious to do without a silage machine, you still have to learn. Green silage is an indispensable thing for raising cattle and sheep. Good silage is as nutritious as concentrated feed.

"I'll chop it up when I get up tomorrow morning." Lin's father nodded and said.

"That's good." Lin Heng nodded. In fact, hay must be kept sealed, otherwise it will be prone to insects and mold.

Then he went into the house to check on the shrimps, fed them, and then walked back with a large bundle of grass and Xiulan Xiaoxia.

Xiulan took Xiaoxia and two dogs and wandered slowly on the road, while Lin Heng quickly returned to the house carrying the grass on his back.

The reason why there are two dogs is because the green wolf dog Laifu is tied up as a guard at Hongfeng Mountain. The four-month-old dog is almost five months old and it is time to perform tasks. Lin Heng has also taught some basic commands these days. .

He had given up on teaching the two dogs more profound commands. Even routine training such as shaking hands and squatting took him a long time.

In fact, they are quite good. They are quite easy to train as a breed of dog. However, compared with the talented dog Xiongba, it is inevitable that people will be a little disappointed.

Lin Heng now only hopes that Xiong Ba's sons and daughters will inherit some of his wisdom in the future.

"hiss!!"

"BAA Baa baa!!"

"Moo!!"

As soon as Lin Heng came to the back mountain with the forage, a group of animals started barking, and their eyes lit up when they looked at the forage that Lin Heng was carrying.

"Everything is available." Lin Heng said with a smile and fed the cow first. The belly of the female cow was gradually getting bigger. It had been broken for more than a month when I bought it. It is expected to be in September or October this year. They will give birth.

Thanks to the careful raising of the whole family, it lives a good life.

Next to the cow were the female forest musk deer and the ewe. Lin Heng also fed them. The young forest musk deer can now stand up and looks a little timid in the pen.

On the ewe side, the three lambs are also very healthy. Although the little ram was very weak at the beginning, after careful care, it is now as big as the other two sheep.

Lin Heng then fed male forest musk deer, red dates, large oxen and young male cows.

"hiss!!"

As if he was dissatisfied with Lin Heng's delay in coming to feed him, he grabbed a handful of grass and shook it, scattering it everywhere.

"That's all, waste it and starve." Lin Heng patted it on the head.

Hongzao neighed again, quite dissatisfied. Lin Heng used to bathe it once every three to five days, but now it is once every ten days, three times a month is considered good.

The main thing is that now that we have a tricycle, we have less use for it.

Lin Heng had fed the animals, but Xiulan and Xiaoxia hadn't come back yet. He probably wandered around the village, so he immediately took a bucket to water the fruits at home. It hadn't rained for several days, and the ground was a little dry. .

"Dude, look what I hit!"

Suddenly, Lin Yue's voice came from outside.

(End of this chapter)