A small plot of land in a mountain village

Chapter 69 The Legend of the Leech

The news of Zhang Niu catching two thieves that night spread like wildfire throughout the village. Poor thieves, they didn't even manage to steal the ducks. Instead, they got a few claws from the wolves and then a lot of punches from the villagers. When the town police arrived, they recognized the two rascals and realized they were indeed troublemakers; this time they'd be locked up for a long time. As the police left, they reminded the villagers that many villages near Zhangjia Village had recently experienced sheep and cattle losses, urging everyone to be wary of unfamiliar faces and not let them get away with it.

After they left, the village chief played a notice at the village committee office, repeating what the police had said, reminding everyone to be wary of outsiders. If anything seems amiss, report it to the village. Don't come to the village only to have your belongings stolen.

Zhang Niu has been quite busy these past few days, busy with the important task of spring plowing. The reservoir has also started releasing water. Everyone is irrigating their fields and tending to their seedlings. A few years ago, before this large irrigation canal was built, people would gather at night to fight for water. Sometimes they would even get into fights. Now, with the canal releasing water, everyone can rest easy. The reservoir usually releases water for about a week, which is generally enough to meet the needs of each village.

The seedling cultivation methods at home have also become much more advanced. We no longer have to dig out a small plot of paddy field and scatter rice seedlings each time. Now we use plastic square seedling trays. We spread mud on the trays, scatter the seedlings, and then cover them with a thin layer of mud. When it's time to sow, we can easily sow the seeds using the square trays, which is much less strenuous than bending over and planting row by row. This method has gradually become popular in the village in recent years.

To plow the paddy fields, Zhang Niu's family paid fifty yuan to a villager to plow with a large yellow ox. They originally wanted to hire a tractor driver, but that guy was too busy with business and didn't have time to help. They couldn't wait, so they had to find an ox.

The spring plowing season lasted for about ten days. Zhang Niu worked in the paddy fields every day, his clothes and trousers covered in mud. Leeches appeared in the paddy fields as soon as spring arrived. They suck blood without regard for their own lives.

The water leeches in the fields aren't that dangerous; the most dangerous and numerous are the mountain leeches. The rumors in the village are terrifying. It's said that a woman once returned from the mountains and noticed some bloodstains on her feet, but didn't pay much attention. Soon after returning home, she started having headaches. Each time she washed her hair with hot water, the pain would subside. Later, she needed boiling water to wash her hair. One day, the husband came home to find his wife hunched over in a basin. Unaware of the problem, he grabbed her hair to wake her. But with a gentle pull, her skull and hair came out together. The man screamed in terror. When the villagers came in, they found no brain matter in her skull, only a whole nest of leeches. Only then did the husband understand why his wife had been complaining of headaches and needed hot water to relieve them.

When Zhang Niu first heard this story, he realized that mountain leeches were even more dangerous than those in paddy fields. He couldn't sleep all night. Water leeches usually stick to the feet, but mountain leeches burrow directly into the body, traveling along the blood vessels to the forehead. Later, when he was young, his parents didn't often let their children go up the mountain to play in the spring, which was why.

Along the dirt road in the village, Shengming's family was busy at work. Building a duck shed by the pond indicated they were planning a large-scale duck farming operation. Many villagers had already bought a considerable number of ducklings, hoping to make a good profit this year.

Zhang Niu just chuckled, worried that duck prices wouldn't be as good as last year and he might lose some money. But then he thought, since they were all fed rice and such, it wouldn't be a big loss. It's a different story if Shengming and his family were feeding them commercial feed.

This year, Shengming's business is booming again; they've even dug a pond. It seems they're much more motivated now. Last year, his family was considered quite well-off in the village. They sold ducks and fish, and the prices were pretty good. They also sold over a thousand kilograms of chestnuts from the mountain.

At the big camphor tree at the village entrance, a group of little kids were gathered together, doing something. Bored, Zhang Niu joined in to see. It turned out that Er Gou was holding a fluffy little bird. It was chubby and looked like it was starving, constantly opening its beak.

Only after asking Er Gou did they learn that it had fallen from the big camphor tree. Er Gou found it while standing under the tree. Some of the little kids nearby suggested taking it home and stewing it. Er Gou was still hesitating when Zhang Niu, who had just returned, saw it.

"Ergou, how about you give me this baby bird?"

"If Brother Zhang Niu wants it, then you can have it! We were just joking around." With that, she placed the baby bird in Zhang Niu's hand.

"Er Gou, you're such a good boy. Here, take this and sell it for candy." Zhang Niu wasn't planning on taking this bird for free. He pulled out ten yuan from his pocket and told the group to go buy candy.

"Thank you, Brother Zhang Niu!" The group ran towards the village store.

The children didn't know what kind of bird it was, but Zhang Niu knew all along. Every year, many owls nested in that big camphor tree at the village entrance. The tree had many hollow, dark, and deep cavities; no one knew how that silly bird fell down. Zhang Niu got lucky.

The little guy, holding Zhang Niu's hands, started pecking at Zhang Niu's fingers like they were food, watching Zhang Niu sweat profusely... This little guy is really funny.

Back at Happy Cottage, I placed the baby bird on the table and went inside to soak rice. The big red bird, perched on a treetop, fluttered down onto the table, preening its feathers. It kept glancing at the chubby little bird in front of it.

Zhang Niu went inside to soak rice. He didn't see the baby bird, which was still on the table, move towards Da Hong after Da Hong appeared, and Da Hong just stood there. Watching the baby bird move under its feathers and shake its head, Da Hong wondered if this chubby little thing was one of its kind.

When Zhang Niu came out, he saw that the baby bird on the table was nowhere to be seen. Then he looked at the chubby little guy under the big red bird and realized that it had run under the big red bird's feathers.

The softened rice grains disappeared into the baby bird's belly in no time. After its meal, it retreated back under Big Red's feathers, seemingly accepting Big Red as its new mother. Zhang Niu laughed heartily at the sight.

Da Hong also slept in the paper nest Zhang Niu had made at night, taking care of the chicks. Even Zhang Niu thought the chicks were incredibly lucky. Da Hong usually ignored the other birds, perhaps because of their chubby appearance.

With Da Hong taking care of him, Zhang Niu didn't need to worry about freezing to death at night. Although it was early spring, he still needed a quilt at night to prevent frostbite, especially since someone as sensitive to the cold as Zhang Niu...

Zhang Niu was woken up by the baby bird in the morning. It was Zhang Niu's fault for forgetting that ordinary baby birds need to be fed several times a day because they get hungry quickly. Otherwise, the mother bird wouldn't be so busy flying in and out every day.

It was drizzling outside early in the morning, so it seemed the road construction outside the village would have to be suspended for another day. The cement road inside the village was already more than half completed. It had just reached the spot where Zhang Niu climbed the slope last time.

With nowhere to go due to the rain, Zhang Niu stayed home. He boiled some sweet potatoes in the kitchen, put on a raincoat, and went to the pond to fish. The rain wasn't heavy, which was perfect for fishing. Fish that surface in the rain are more plentiful and easier to catch. The deep-sea fish he caught last time ended up being taken home by Boss Wang.

First update. Tonight's update should be either 4K or 6K, with many recommendations and favorites.