My 1995 Small Farm

   Chapter 188 Picking a Dog

  The next day, on the twelfth lunar month, there is a fair in Fenglei Town.

   After dinner at dawn, the whole family went down the mountain.

  The workhorse of Wang Qingzhong's family worked for several days and injured his hoof. It looked fine yesterday, but after one night, he limped.

   So today, I let the little white cow carry things, and Wang Zhenzhen led it down the mountain.

   And Chen Ling is still carrying Wang Susu on his back.

  The whole family was talking and laughing. After they got out of the stockade and walked onto the plank road, Wang Zhenzhen suddenly pointed at the horse team in front and called out, "Dad, look at them, they have harriers."

"what?"

Wang Cunye stood on tiptoe and looked around. Sure enough, he saw the rear of the pack horses in front of him. There was an old man and a young man walking with two long poles on their shoulders. The Harrier was looking at them with a stern look.

   Seeing this scene, Wang Cunye immediately glared at his little daughter: "Don't shout, it's the Harrier, be careful and take you away later."

   When Wang Zhenzhen heard this, his face turned pale with fright, and he honestly held the cow and didn't dare to say a word.

   "Father, what is this harrier? Isn't it easy to mess with?"

  Chen Ling was very curious and asked in a low voice.

  Because his father was a postman in the two townships here, he had not heard much since he was a child, but this was the first time he had heard of it.

   "Oh, it's not that it's not easy to mess with, it's that there are all kinds of people in this group of people..."

   Wang Cunye sighed and spoke softly.

   This Harrier is also called Harrier.

   In fact, it also belongs to the Jianghu people who go south and north.

   They eat hundreds of families' meals, travel thousands of miles, and make homes all over the world, and there are all kinds of people in them.

   In the past, when the Harriers came to the village, the little ones were the happiest.

  Because the Harrier is equivalent to juggling.

   The harriers trained by them have all kinds of abilities. With a single order, the harriers on the harrier pole will fly out and make all kinds of magical skills.

  Children are often fascinated by the sight and are easily lured away.

  Because there are often Harriers who do this kind of abduction and trafficking of women and children, over time, the reputation will naturally stink, and even more and more bizarre, saying that these Harriers dare to kill and so on.

   Even now, no matter which village or village they come to, people hide far away, close the door and close their doors, and they will not answer if they come to ask for water, and sometimes they will be kicked out of the village.

   Fenglei Town is at the junction of the three provinces. Harriers often pass by here.

   They also do business, small business.

  The Harrier is trained to attract people, just like a loudspeaker shouting at people, to attract people to the front so that they can do business.

  The second is for vigilance, or when the business is not good, let the Harrier go to the mountains to hunt birds, birds and beasts, and you can simply eat and eat.

   "Really, can you recognize that is Harrier?"

   Wang Qingzhong asked with a smile when he saw that the little sister was afraid to speak.

   Actually, many of the sayings about the Harrier are exaggerated. They are meant to scare people, specifically to scare little dolls.

   Otherwise, something really happened, and there is no place to regret it.

"Yes, there is a Harrier living outside the yard of my sister's house. I heard that it was wounded by a gun before and fell into the yard in the middle of the night. My brother-in-law rescued it and it didn't appreciate it, so I gave it something to eat. I don’t care. When we are outside, it hides far away, and when people are not there, it always makes a noise outside the yard, fights with magpies every two days, and even robs magpies’ nests…”

  Wang Zhenzhen often heard adults talk about how fierce and barbaric the Harriers were when he was a child, and he was really scared.

   Hearing the second brother's question, his face improved, and he slowly became lively again.

  The two little nephews also gradually became fascinated.

   "Good guy, this harrier is really powerful."

  Wang Qingzhong smiled, turned to Chen Ling and said: "Why don't you hook it up, this thing has been trained, and if you plant something in the field, it can chase birds and usually watch the house."

"No way."

  Chen Ling shook his head: "That Harrier was almost shot to death by someone with a gun. He was very afraid of people. When he saw the little doll with a slingshot, he was so frightened that he couldn't lure him at all."

   He also tried hooking up when he was bored at home, but the results were not ideal.

   That Harrier has become a bird of fright.

   Even if you help it open its wisdom and let it have a lot of wisdom, it will take a certain amount of time to change.

Once bitten, twice shy.

  People are like this, not to mention the Harrier, the damage caused by the shotgun can make it remember for a lifetime.

   It can be different for Chen Ling, a savior, and it is actually quite difficult to settle down close to home.

The old man, Wang Cunye, also agreed: "This eagle and a scorpion, who often fly in the sky, know how high the sky is and how big the ground is, and they are easily disobedient. It is not easy to train them well, it is better to raise two more. Dog, save your worries and troubles..."

   When he came down the mountain this time, in addition to rushing to the market to sell medicinal materials, he wanted Chen Ling to help him pick one or two puppies and bring them to the mountain to raise.

   In the future, the youngest daughter will go to school in the county town, and there is no way to come back often. The two young grandsons should also go to the Yuhong class and go to elementary school.

   In addition, seeing the spirituality of Heiwa and Xiaojin in the past two days also made them strangely jealous. This is also one aspect.

   joked all the way down the mountain.

   After getting off the Camel Cliff Plank Road, we crossed a mountain road, passed through the village of Dacangyukou, and then crossed the Xihegou, and the ancestral hall in Fenglei Town came into view.

   It was just after eight o'clock, and the stalls in the town were already set up. As for the medicinal herb shop, there was even a long queue.

  There are many medicinal farmers in the villages below Fenglei Town. Even if they grow grain and tea, the economic benefits of the mountains are the same. In some cases, the grain produced is not enough for the whole family to eat.

   In addition to farming, collecting herbs and hunting, they can sustain and fill their stomachs.

   "Susu, Xinping and I are lining up here, what are you going to do?"

   Gao Xiulan helped to remove the medicinal materials from Xiaobai Niu, and said cheerfully to several people.

  Although the son-in-law is very good now, after all, the first time he returns home after marriage, he still has to be entertained, and no one can wait in line with them here.

   "Okay, mother, sister-in-law, let's go around first."

  Chen Ling smiled and nodded.

Then he continued to ask his daughter-in-law if she had any discomfort after going down the mountain. Wang Susu was pregnant and had just eaten. It was cold in the mountains in the early winter, so even if she carried her down the mountain, she would inevitably inhale the air-conditioning in her stomach. Chen Ling was worried that she would be ill. reaction.

   When Wang Susu said there was no adverse reaction, he left with his old husband and second uncle.

   "Hey, it really hurts."

   Gao Xiulan whispered softly, thinking that I haven't cared about my daughter yet, and my son-in-law is more careful than her mother-in-law.

   Then he said to his little daughter and two little grandsons: "Don't run around, be honest with me, or you won't buy anything for a while..."

  The three little guys who were jumping around and hopping around, instantly behaved like three little rabbits.

...Chen Ling and the others turned around and walked in front of them. The packhorse caravan with the Harriers went straight to the pier. They went to the town middle school to find Wang Qingwen. As a result, the couple had just had breakfast. go to a meeting.

  Today is Saturday, but there are leaders who are coming over, and the main class teacher cannot easily leave.

   So they had to come out of the town middle school and continue to the Luoma Market, which is east of Fenglei Town.

The big fair in Fenglei Town is also in the shape of a "well". In terms of scale, it is smaller than Changle Township, but the flow of people is not much at all, even more and more dense. The booths are close to the old buildings of Ming and Qing Dynasties. The door panels were supported, and various things were placed, densely crowded on both sides of the main street, and there were many people from the neighboring provinces who came over the mountains to rush to the market.

Chen Ling even saw several groups of people wearing Miao costumes from Miao villages in Lin Province, but they were the "North Miao" north of the Yangtze River. They were a branch that migrated during the war and are now in Lin Province. became a small mountainous county.

"This kind of cross-province is a common occurrence in the slack season. Many of us here are walking around each other like this, rushing to the market, doing some business, medicinal materials and grains. Often, we can make a big profit by selling two mountains to the neighboring province... "

Seeing his brother-in-law staring at the Miao people over there, Wang Qingzhong said, "Your second sister-in-law and I often teamed up with others to run to the Miao Village. At that time, the price was good and we earned a lot. We went back and forth every time. It takes six or seven days to go, and I don’t sleep a lot and don’t feel tired because I can make money and I’m full of energy.”

   "But it can't be done now. Everyone knows the price, so it can't be done."

  The second uncle said that this is the difference in the regional price of the food earned. When the other party's information is not timely, you can make a lot of money, but the longer it takes, the more difficult it will be.

   "Second brother, listening to you, is the price of food high over there?"

  Chen Ling questioned.

   "It's not high, it's low. They suffer less damage and are much cheaper than us. They collect food from there and sell it to us."

  Wang Qingzhong shook his head and explained: "Our road is the hardest, the traffic is not good, people are poor and food is expensive..."

   "It's okay now, it's dropped a lot, but there's not much profit to be made by a grain reseller like us."

   "The price of grain will be lower in the coming year, especially for peanuts and soybeans. This year, it costs two or three yuan. Next year, there will be more people planting them. The price will not be able to be seen by then."

   Having said this, he smiled at Chen Ling: "But in the end it is oil extraction. You can grow enough to eat at home if you want."

   Obviously, he was afraid that Chen Ling would think that he would make a lot of money by selling peanuts and soybeans this year, and he would expand the planting next year, so he reminded him not to work hard and be thankful.

  Chen Ling responded and didn't say much.

  Wang Cunye listened to his son and son-in-law talking behind him, and did not interrupt, but just happily led Heiwa and Xiaojin on the set.

After the two of them finished speaking, they said to Chen Ling: "This dog is really good, it's so smart, if there is a tiger's head yellow later, Lingzi, please help me pick it out, and teach me how to do it in the next two days. training."

  Chen Ling responded, and the three of them soon arrived at the Luoma Market.

The mule and horse market on the side of Fenglei Town is just an open space at the foot of the mountain. At the beginning, there are poultry and dog sellers at the entrance. Going inside, there are pack horses, donkeys, mules, pigs and sheep. As for the cattle here It's rare.

Listening to the noisy human voices and the barking of all kinds of poultry and livestock, the three found a dog dealer nearby, and surrounded them with a large bamboo cage. There were five or six puppies in it, pure black and pure. Yellow, iron-clad gold.

   "Brother, are you a tiger-headed yellow? It doesn't look like it."

   Wang Cunye asked the old man who sold the dog.

   "It's tiger-headed yellow, you don't look like it, you're still young, just full-term, just grow longer..."

   The old man raised his head and smiled, then lowered his head and tugged at the puppy inside twice, and stuffed a dirty thick cloth cushion into the bamboo cage. It was cold down the mountain in the morning, and he was afraid that the dog would be frozen.

   "How do you see this dog?"

  Wang Cunye turned around and asked Chen Ling.

  Chen Ling squatted down and looked at them carefully. These puppies who were just full moons were chubby and cuddly.

But if he wanted to pick a good dog, there were some ways, so he squatted down and barked "tsk tsk tsk", two puppies immediately looked over, Chen Ling hooked his hands and barked twice, and finally there was only one Running to the front, jumping alive, the other just watched him gently wagging its tail and didn't move.

   "Lady, these two big dogs you brought are very handsome, you also like to play with dogs?"

   The old man who sold the dog laughed as he looked at the two dogs who had come to Chen Ling's side and watched the puppy with him.

   "Yeah, I like dogs, come and have a look."

  Chen Ling responded indiscriminately.

   Indeed, some people who like to play with dogs, even if they don’t buy it, they still come to see it every time.

There are many such people, some have raised good dogs, take them to the market to show off, let others bid and not sell them, just to satisfy their vanity, and some are worried about missing a good dog, go to the market to find a dog, in order to Find the best hound seeds in your mind.

   Then Chen Ling stood up and pointed at the lively puppy, indicating that the old man is good and has a likable personality.

   So Wang Cunye squatted down and tried to bark at the puppy twice. Sure enough, the puppy had a good personality, kept wagging his tail, and licked the palm of his hand.

   He was very happy and was about to ask the price.

At this time, another middle-aged man came over. He was small and thin. He walked in front of him with a bamboo basket on his back. After glancing at the puppies in front of Wang Cunye, he turned his attention and squatted in front of the bamboo cage. The cubs all grabbed and looked at.

Then he picked the yellow puppy that Chen Ling had just called and didn't come to him, then put down the bamboo basket on his back, took out a blue cotton-padded coat from the bamboo basket, and let the little yellow dog smell it. When the little yellow dog had no special reaction, he put the little yellow dog back again, got up and left.

   did not say a word the whole time.

   This special way of picking dogs made Chen Ling very curious.

   "He's from a couple villages. He likes to play with dogs. He comes here every time he's on the field, and he's here to pick snakes and dogs..."

   Wang Cunye immediately became happy when he saw this man: "Let's go, follow him around first and see how he chooses."

The old man can’t pick dogs, but he has collected herbs for many years and is familiar with all kinds of herbs. Find a way to train a hunting dog that specializes in hunting snakes. This kind of dog is called a snake dog.

  Chen Ling was also very interested, and the three followed behind the man to see how he picked the dog.

  This man obviously knew Wang Cunye, but he didn't know him very well, so he simply nodded to him and let them follow.

   "Dude, don't you want a male dog?"

  Chen Ling saw that he was specifically picking little bitches, so he handed a cigarette and asked.

  The man shook his head gently, "No."

He glanced at Chen Ling, then looked at the two dogs beside Chen Ling, stunned for a moment, then took the cigarette he handed over and explained, "A male dog is not as stable as a female dog, and he is not as good at catching snakes as a female dog. "

   He squatted in front of another dog seller, grabbed the puppy, and carefully looked at the whiskers, nose, paws and toes, and tail.

  Chen Ling found that he didn't care about the color of the coat, and whether it was a tiger-headed yellow or an ordinary local dog, he only chose his own way.

On the other hand, Wang Cunye has been picking yellow tiger heads, and this dog seller happens to be the same. The three puppies here have the feeling of tiger head yellow, two yellow and one black, all of them have wide heads, big ears, and very square heads. The board, the mouth is also very generous, fluffy, and fleshy, like three little bear cubs.

   "Pure-bred tiger head yellow, no, the **** carry them all, so they certainly won't fool people."

   Seeing that there were so many of them, all of a sudden, four people gathered around, and the dog seller warmly introduced them.

   said, he took the three puppies out, led the tiger-headed yellow **** beside him, and made it stand up. The three puppies immediately ran to the **** and began to whimper coquettishly.

  Chen Ling found that this **** was very thin, the dog milk was heavy, the hair on the back was very sparse and messy, and it looked very thin and old.

   But what is different from other dogs is that when he sees Heiwa and Xiaojin, he does not show ingratiating and fearful colors, but his eyes are just calm and calm.

   After Chen Ling observed this, he felt that the three puppies should be no different.

   At this time, the man from the two villages also picked a little bitch, grabbed the front and back, and let the puppy smell his cotton coat, but the puppy's reaction still didn't satisfy him.

   "If you want to pick, this one is not bad."

   said the man.

  Chen Ling stepped forward, looked at all three carefully, and shook his head at the old man.

   "Isn't the tiger head yellow?"

   "It's tiger-headed yellow, but these three puppies are dogs who recognize their masters, and they can easily hurt people when they grow up."

  Chen Ling explained.

   He tried it just now, and it was good in other aspects, except for one thing, that he refused to open his mouth. He wanted to see the color of his tongue and couldn't do it.

   The three puppies rolled their eyes, but they still kept their mouths shut.

  Break apart, of course, but it is easy to hurt the dog.

   This kind of dog is stubborn and stubborn, and the temper is too hard and too stubborn. It is a very good hunting dog seed in Hutouhuang.

   Only recognize one master in a lifetime.

   But unfortunately, it is not suitable for my father-in-law to raise.

   What he needs is company to relieve boredom, not only mischievous but also able to take care of the home.

   To put it simply, he is looking for a puppy with a personality like Heiwa, and he likes it very much.

   Hearing Chen Ling's explanation, the father-in-law also felt it was a pity, while Wang Qingzhong squatted on the other side and cut the price with the horseshoe seller.

   His workhorse injured his legs and feet and needed new horseshoes.

  There are people who sell horseshoes, which means that they will sell livestock, and there are very few people who sell dogs.

   After buying horseshoes, he followed the men from Liangkouzhai to the last two stalls selling dogs.

  It was not wasted effort, but it really allowed this man to find his favorite snake and dog seedlings.

   is a small white dog about two months old.

   As soon as he handed over the sleeve of the padded coat, the little white dog reacted extremely strongly, wagging its tail and barking frantically.

   "This one is not bad, it's a good seedling."

   He squatted on the ground, raised his head and smiled at Chen Ling.

   He also heard what Chen Ling said before, and looked at Heiwa and Xiaojin beside him, and regarded him as a kind of person who played with hunting dogs and had a natural sense of intimacy.

   said, put his hand into his sleeve and grabbed something, it turned out to be a snake inside.

  It was cold, so he tucked into his padded jacket.

  After the snake was released, the little white dog barked even louder, his front legs lay on top of the bamboo basket, and roared for a while.

   After he paid for it, Chen Ling congratulated him.

   "This puppy isn't bad, but it's hardly the best."

   He seemed to have some regrets, and took the puppy to show Chen Ling and the others.

   "The slits on both sides of the nose are still a bit big. When you exhale and inhale, the snail meat in the nose is not well sealed..."

   "This kind of snake and dog seedlings, looking for Sao, Nassau, can only use hot Sao, not cold Sao."

   He was mainly explaining this to Chen Ling, thinking that he understood dogs.

   But Chen Ling knows a lot about hounds, but he really doesn't know anything about snakes.

   But he can understand the slang the man said.

  Looking for Sao and Nassau is to smell the smell of the prey, follow the track, and can't break it. If it is broken, it will become a broken show. If it is not broken, the prey is successfully captured. This is called Nassau, which means that it is obtained.

  Leng Sao means cold trail, which means that the scent of the prey's trail has a long interval, it has cooled down, and it is not obvious.

  Resao means heat trail, which means that the prey has just left a trail, and the smell trail is still hot and fresh.

   So this guy is a little dissatisfied.

  Because Nare Sao is simple, Nalen Sao is quite difficult. Anyone who can Na Leng Sao is a good hunting dog that can be found in a thousand miles.

   After buying the dog, this person said a few words to Chen Ling and the others, and then went to the front to pick up the pack horses.

  Chen Ling took his father-in-law and second uncle to continue picking dogs.

   "Huh? This little green dog is so pretty!"

   When walking back, Wang Cunye saw a small green dog, two months old, with blue-yellow hair, erect ears and thick tail, quite beautiful.

   The green dog on their side is a small wolf dog born from a cross between a local dog and a wolf, mostly blue-yellow or gray-yellow.

   This kind of dog has grown up, and its appearance looks similar to that of a wolf. Although it is not as fierce as a tiger-headed yellow, it is also a good housekeeper.

   But after Chen Ling observed it carefully, he shook his head again.

"Or not?"

  The old man was taken aback.

   Good guy, this made Chen Ling feel a little embarrassed.

"Dad, look, is the beard on this dog's mouth different from other dogs? Normally, a dog's whiskers are backwards, but its whiskers are forward. Look at the puppy next to it, It's normal, it's just different..."

  Chen Ling took the old man and pointed it to him.

   "Ah? Really, what's the matter? Such a dog is not good?"

   "Well, such a dog can't be kept."

  Chen Ling nodded, and pointed at the little green dog's eyeballs to show him: "Dad, look again, this little dog's eyeballs are still red, let alone ask for it."

"There is also a formula for picking a dog. There is a saying that a dog must bite forward and bite people with bloodshot eyes. This little green dog has both, and if you buy it back, it will bite people 100%, and it will bite people. ."

   "Huh? No!"

  Wang Cunye was taken aback.

   Don't say it's him, all the dog sellers are frightened.

  The dog sellers are also ordinary mountain people, and they don't know much about this. They hurriedly grabbed the little green dog and looked at it. When they looked up again to ask, Chen Ling and the others had already left.

   "Lingzi, it's up to you to choose, I won't choose."

  Wang Cunye was actually too picky.

   "It's okay, dad, you can look for the right eye, as long as you don't bite people, you can grow your temper slowly in the future."

  Chen Ling comforted.

   After that, there was another wandering.

   Unconsciously, he turned to the exit, and reached the first old man who sold dogs. At this time, the lively little yellow dog had already climbed out of the bamboo basket, biting the rope hanging from the bamboo basket and tearing it for a while.

  The old man thought it was noisy, so he slapped it, picked it up and threw it into the bamboo basket, but the little guy climbed out again after a while.

  Wang Cunye watched from the side, he thought it was pleasing to the eye, he patted his head, and it was over.

   I kept talking about it when I went back, talking about it for a long time, but it was the first time I picked the right eye. I knew that I would buy this one at the beginning.

   (end of this chapter)