Chapter 47: Erecting the Greenhouse

“Moo~”
The young water buffalo was drawn over as well, stretching its neck to reach the tender new leaves sprouting on the tree.
Chen Ling paid it no mind and, carrying a bucket, proceeded to water the trees one by one.
Before long, the watering was complete.
All the trees now brimmed with vitality, their branches flourishing with lush foliage once again.
Though their trunks hadn’t thickened much in such a short time, still roughly the width of five fingers.
Ten years ago, the village collective had planted phoenix trees and ginkgo trees here. There were still quite a few phoenix trees, but only a handful of ginkgo trees remained.
Now, as they regrew, individual trees were scattered about rather than neatly aligned as before, largely because the earlier saplings had been bare and unremarkable.
“Hmm... now that the trees have grown well, planting fruit trees here isn’t out of the question.”
In this era, as long as it wasn’t too outrageous, no one would scrutinize too closely.
After all, if trees can grow back, planting fruit trees seems perfectly reasonable.
Chen Ling mused inwardly, reaching out to shake a phoenix tree before him. It was now solid and sturdy, not swaying at all.
This was a far cry from before when a mere push would topple the sickly saplings.
“Let’s plant fruit trees then. Even if floods come fiercely, or mudslides snap the trees, it doesn’t matter.”
“As long as the roots remain, a soak from the spring water will let them regrow quickly — simple and effortless...”
For a lazy man like Chen Ling, having the spring water at his disposal made planting fruit trees a one-time effort with lasting rewards.
Once planted properly, he could harvest crop after crop every year.
Relying on the miraculous power of the spring water, he felt bold and unafraid; no matter how great the flood, its impact on him would be minimal.
Perhaps, when the time came, he could even report it and receive some post-disaster relief.
In fact, from 1995 to 1998, floods were fairly frequent, with 1996 bringing widespread flooding across the entire basin.
But for this region, the most devastating was the flood of 1995, which affected 20 million people in the province and caused losses amounting to 7 billion yuan.
Although casualties were nearly negligible, the economic damage was truly severe.
“Natural disasters and human calamities are unavoidable; there’s nothing I can do…”
Chen Ling sighed inwardly. He then noticed the young water buffalo trailing behind him, quietly munching grass and obediently following.
Nearby, Blackie and Little Gold, those two little scoundrels, were darting excitedly around the grassy area beside the graveyard.
Upon closer look, they were besieging a four-legged lizard.
The lizard was tawny with several dark green stripes along its back, a common harmless species in the area.
Few people usually ventured into the graveyard, partly because of creatures like this and the abundance of scorpions in summer.

The two puppies emitted low growls, issuing threats as they continuously drove the lizard back. Whenever the lizard tried to run, one puppy would pounce and pin its tail with both front paws.
As soon as it was released, the lizard would scurry again, only to be chased down by the other dog. Round and round they went, the lizard trapped in their relentless circle.
Every attempt to slip through a gap was thwarted by a puppy suddenly appearing and slapping it down.
When one puppy’s paws were lifted and the lizard flipped onto its belly to escape, the other dog would immediately attack again.
Before long, the lizard was battered and bruised, barely clinging to life.
However, the puppies were too playful to stop; they continued pawing and teasing, trying to get the lizard to run once more.
But by then, the lizard lay motionless, lifeless — clearly played to death.
“Woof! Woof!”
Blackie barked in dissatisfaction, grabbed the lizard in his mouth, and shook his head angrily, tearing the creature’s body into two.
Chen Ling had expected he’d eat it, but instead, Blackie, with Little Gold in tow, trotted over to him.
They dropped the lizard at his feet and sat expectantly, gazing at him with pleading eyes.
“Well, well, the toy’s broken — coming to me for help?”
Chen Ling chuckled inwardly but said nothing stern. Instead, he fetched half a bucket of spring water from the grotto to offer the two puppies.
Without a word, they eagerly lapped up most of the water, ignoring their already round little bellies.
“This is your reward. Next time you catch something, bring it to me, got it?”
Chen Ling patted their heads. Though he knew they weren’t yet aware of hunting or retrieving, it was time to cultivate the habit.
Afterward, he gave the remaining spring water to the young water buffalo, gently pushing away its friendly licking tongue.
“All right, all right, full and satisfied — time to head home.”

...

After letting the cattle out to graze in the morning, Chen Ling was in high spirits.
But when he returned home, he heard the clattering of pots and pans from the house opposite.
Then came the sharp curses of Qin Dongmei, punctuated occasionally by the helpless voice of a man.
Yes, Wang Chun Yuan from next door had come back.
He had returned yesterday and caused a ruckus immediately. Qin Dongmei, the elder sister, couldn’t calm him down and ended up leaving with the township leaders.
Yesterday, when Chen Ling returned from the market in Jinmen Village, he had seen their group but they didn’t notice him, and he didn’t bother greeting them.
Now, hearing the commotion next door again, Chen Ling smirked and silently thought, “Go ahead and quarrel. No one will intervene this time.”
Qin Dongmei had offended all the neighbors; when the couple fought, nobody got involved.
He returned home and led the cattle into the backyard.

Then he went inside for breakfast. These past few days, Chen Ling hadn’t cooked much for breakfast, instead eating pickled vegetables from the Wang Jusheng family.
Surprisingly, they were quite tasty.
At the table, Wang Susu, knowing he had taken the cattle for a stroll outside the village, brought up the topic of what to plant in the fields again.
To ease his young wife’s mind, Chen Ling prepared to share some of his ideas.
Just then, as if on cue, Wang Lixian arrived at their home.
“We’re just eating, Fugui.”
“Oh, Brother Xian’s here? Come on in.”
Chen Ling hurriedly got a bamboo stool for him.
But Wang Lixian waved him off. “No, no need to sit. I just came to find you to go build greenhouses west of the village.”
“Greenhouses?”
Chen Ling was puzzled. “What greenhouses?”
“Didn’t Er Zhu come back and find you? He’s building greenhouses and plans to start work today.”
“He’s calling on everyone living here to help; ten yuan a day each, including lunch.”
Wang Lixian frowned, somewhat doubtful, asking, “Are you sure he didn’t look for you?”
He seemed to suspect Chen Ling was too lazy to work.
Chen Ling shook his head. “No, I had no idea about this.”
Seeing Wang Lixian still hesitant, Wang Susu added, “Er Zhu really didn’t come. Yesterday afternoon, after Liu Ni’er brought the chicks over, they played here a long time; we didn’t see Er Zhu at all.”
Now Wang Lixian believed them and muttered, “That kid Er Zhu, he said he’d get the greenhouses up quickly but kept dragging it out till now. Guess he’s in a hurry.”
“He even hired specialists to build the greenhouses and then went around rounding up everyone in our Seventh Brigade.”
“I thought with your and Er Zhu’s connections in the county, he wouldn’t have left you out...”
Chen Ling shook his head again.
“Who knows what he’s thinking? If he doesn’t invite me, I just won’t go.”
In his heart, Chen Ling knew it was because last time in the county, he hadn’t agreed to help watch the greenhouse, which had upset Er Zhu.
Well, if he’s upset, so be it.
From what Er Zhu said last time, it was obvious he was trying to trick Chen Ling like a fool. Chen Ling considered himself lucky that he hadn’t slapped him in the face right then.