My 1995 Small Farm

Chapter 587

 Take another closer look.

 Hey guys, the crabs are coming down the mountain.

I saw in the northwest corner of the back mountain, in the small stream connected to the entrance of the small river ditch, crabs of all sizes formed a winding line, crawling sideways and quickly along the ditch towards the orchard.

This ditch existed before, but before Chen Ling did not divert the water specifically, it was just a small section naturally formed by long-term rain erosion.

 When it rains heavily, the water from the mountain flows out through this and flows into the small river ditch at the foot of the mountain.

 But the small river ditch was a stagnant and smelly ditch at that time. Even if there were fish, there were no crabs.

 Let alone crabs coming down the mountain.

 Chen Ling has seen crabs climbing trees and ashore many times. After heavy rain, the river water swelled, and they would climb to high places to avoid the water. Or when it rains heavily and there is a lack of oxygen in the water, they will also climb onto reeds and trees by the river.

 But this "crabs coming down the mountain" thing he had never heard of since he was a child.

Especially when I look up, the team of crab soldiers is almost full along the ditch above. The winding queue is very long. It is really orderly and spectacular.

 Compared with the shrimp soldiers and crab generals we saw in the reservoir, it is even more strange.

“Okay, okay, it’s better to have more fish, shrimps and crabs. You can encounter all kinds of wonders.”

Chen Ling clapped her hands happily, picked up the bucket, and hurried home to get her camera.

This spectacle is definitely not to be missed.

  There is a sense of excitement that the paparazzi reporters have captured first-hand footage.

 There is another novelty and surprise of witnessing the legends told by the old people.

 Just because the crab came down the mountain, there is a saying.

 Old people often say, seven ups and eight downs.

 The so-called seven ups and eight downs mean that in and before the seventh month of the lunar calendar, most fish are active on the water surface. After the eighth lunar month, the weather slowly turns cooler and most fish are at the bottom of the water.

 Before the seventh month of the lunar calendar, many fish like to go upstream, and there are more fish in the upper water. After August, they tend to go downstream, and there are more fish in the water.

Although this kind of situation mostly refers to fish, many things in the water are also the same.

The same goes for crabs.

 Before the seventh month of the lunar calendar, crabs like to grow in small streams and rivers. After the eighth month of the lunar calendar, crabs move downstream to large rivers.

 Many elderly people have seen this and describe this situation as crabs descending from the mountain.

 Chen Ling was taking photos with high spirits while taking a bucket to pick it up. After picking up half the bucket, it was not enough, so he took out a ground cage and a chicken cover and pressed stones to block the outlet of the stream and ditch.

In this case, you don’t even need to put out bait, they will just fall into the trap and line up to get in.

Then we looked down the mountain wall on the west side to see the stream there. It was steep here and the stream flowed from top to bottom. When the water was small, it would flow down the bottom of the ditch. When the water was big, it was like small waterfalls, clear and clear. The water flowed directly down from the heights, but no crabs came down.

“Well, since autumn, there has been a lot of rain, so I haven’t gone to the mountains to see much yet. I want to see where so many crabs come from.”

After looking up twice, Chen Ling hung the camera on his chest, then carried the bucket and headed up the mountain.

When we got to the back mountain, we discovered that nothing unexpected happened in this stream. The crab came from the mountain lake.

They took a detour only because the west mountain was too steep and the stream flowed fiercely.

 This seems to be too much.

 Chen Ling took a closer look and found that the crab team was indeed quite large.

Even if there is a large group of egrets, as well as red-crowned cranes, white cranes and gray cranes, wild cranes with their long legs and their own little cranes and little egrets are standing by the stream pecking away.

 The size of this team does not seem to have much damage.

“Oh, this is such a beautiful scene. This autumn scene, with the pictures of cranes and herons catching crabs, is even more beautiful than the scenes specially shot here on period TV.”

Chen Ling's eyes lit up when he saw this, and he picked up the camera to take pictures.

Especially the sight of the little crane and the little egret in the mirror, fighting for each other with crabs in their mouths, running around by the stream, and splashing on the stream, it is really wonderful and moving.

Moreover, the line of crabs is so long, stretching from mountain to mountain, so far away, which is very rare.

 You will regret it if you don’t take a photo and specify it later.

 “Tsk tsk, birds also like to eat these fat crabs.”

After taking the photo, Chen Ling saw in the distance, at the edge of the woods some distance away from the cranes and herons, a large group of magpies jumping around to catch crabs to eat.

Suddenly he was speechless and said: "You are really everywhere, I would like to call you the well-deserved protagonists of Wuyun Mountain."

 It didn’t rain heavily last night.

But there are also places where water accumulates on the mountain. Chen Ling took a closer look and found that the puddle was really not shallow. It was probably formed by the continuous accumulation of siltation after several rains.

 Some places are quite deep.

Chen Lingcong put down the bucket and took out the net that was thrown into the cave.

 This website goes on…

 Hey guys, there are not only crabs, small fish and shrimps, but also a nest of big fish.

 Eels, loaches, crucian carp, and even palm-sized turtles.

This is no longer a wheat field tortoise, but a grass tortoise. It is very active and has great strength. Chen Ling grabbed it from the net, and the tortoise slipped from his fingers with a kick of its hind legs.

I didn’t worry if I fell to the ground and fell on all fours. I stretched my neck and turned over with a strong push. I used my four legs together and swiss, swish, and I crawled very fast.

 In the blink of an eye, he got under the stone next to the big tree.

 Chen Ling was too lazy to catch any more. He just looked in the net and didn't see any good fish, so he dumped them all into another stream to the east.

Let them follow the stream, go down the water, and enter their own ditch.

The net is lowered at the outlet of the stream in the northwest corner. If the net is not lowered here, they will not enter the net again.

lest the water in the puddles dries up and the fish and shrimps die.

 Then we walked towards Lake Yamanaka.

 Specially choose places where there are few birds.

Before we even reached the lake on the way, we discovered that there were many mountain loaches and small loaches with beautiful patterns in the stream, following the current and following the army of crabs down the river.

 “Hey, these little things are pretty, just like clown fish.”

 Chen Ling turned over the stone, blocked one and grabbed it in his hand. He took a closer look, his eyes were filled with joy, and he quickly grabbed a few more and threw them into the bucket.

 In the past, fish was caught just for eating and little attention was paid to appearance.

 Even some fish have very beautiful hair color.

 He only cares about whether it tastes good or not.

Now that he has a waterscape tank, he has gradually begun to appreciate all kinds of strange little fish.

What's more, this little mountain loach is also a bottom-dwelling fish. Like the yellow pepper, it likes diamond-shaped seams.

This is exactly what Chen Ling lacks in the tank.

“Hey, it’s really fun. When it grows up, it can’t swim out of the tank and becomes unsightly. You can still catch it and eat it.”

Think about the fish you keep in the tank now. Except for koi and goldfish, which cannot be eaten, and turtles, which cannot be eaten, all other fish are edible.

The taste is pretty good.

 “Hey, that’s it, it’s both ornamental and edible.”

The lynx no longer wants to raise fish and has to find someone to sell them to.

He doesn’t need this, he can just catch it and eat it himself.

“Well, let’s catch some big crabs first and look for fish while catching them.”

Chen Ling muttered.

Today when he came to the mountain, he didn’t let anyone follow him, not the dog, not the eagle, not the weasel.

 Sometimes it’s hard to be alone.

 At this time, whether it is playing or doing anything, it is easy to get involved.

 For men, it is a kind of enjoyment to sometimes have fun alone without being disturbed.

 Let’s catch crabs.

 Catch the big ones.

 Around the Mid-Autumn Festival on August 15th, the crabs are fat.

The unique environment around the farm means that even if we are still young and have not been able to breed unique crab varieties for ten or eight years, the taste of these big fat crabs now is definitely delicious enough.           It’s a pity that I am pregnant, so I will definitely not be able to eat these crabs this year.

But it’s okay, I brought beef and roasted chicken with me, and then I can get some of her favorite pig’s trotters.

“Well, we have to raise some in the cave and some in the fish tank. When she is out of confinement, we will find a chance to make crabs... Then we will talk about the crabs in the tank.”

Chen Ling was catching crabs alone, thinking about something in his mind, and he really got into it.

 Actually, the cave is not without crabs.

 But not as much as the outside world.

They cannot reproduce on their own, and most of the small crabs will be eaten by fish, shrimps, turtles, and turtles.

 This thing can only dig holes, climb reeds, and climb to the shore, otherwise it would have been eaten up long ago.

 Just because once shrimps and crabs shed their shells, the smell is very attractive to the creatures in the water.

Especially the fish in Dongtian are extremely ferocious, and it is very difficult for most shrimps and crabs to shed their shells.

 Therefore, it cannot spread even if it exists.

“We still have to carve out a special place to raise crabs, just for our own consumption.”

 Chen Ling has been eating small crabs and shrimps with wine every now and then in the past two years, but he has never eaten this big crab.

 In previous years, at this time, I would only focus on watching the green grass or letting the dogs go hunting.

 My mind is no longer on this aspect.

The more I thought about these big fat crabs this year, the more I couldn’t help myself.

 There is something good to eat.

 Otherwise it is pure waste.

There are three to four ounces of big crabs, certainly no worse than the so-called Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.

Furthermore, in terms of species, there is no difference between the Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs and the crabs here. They all belong to the Chinese mitten crab species.

 That is to say, the crabs here have not been optimized and screened.

 Also belongs to wild crab.

 But Chen Ling believes that the quality of the crabs grown in the waters around the farm is certainly not inferior to that of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs.

 In a short period of time, I caught more than half a bucket of crabs, all of which were large.

 Steamed, braised, or chopped into pieces and fried, it will definitely taste delicious.

 Chen Ling looked at the crabs crawling in the bucket and couldn't help but drool.

 But after going down the mountain and returning home, he still endured it. It was troublesome to deal with the crabs. He planned to soak them in clean water first and then take them back to the county town to do it later.

“Dad, the crabs are coming down the mountain. I put down a net and a chicken trap at the outlet of the back mountain ditch. Remember to collect them.”

The father-in-law was still herding sheep at the same time, and at the same time he was taking a few puppies to hunt for grasshoppers in the grass. Hearing this, he responded: "There are crabs, that's great. Let's fry crabs for lunch." .”

 “I won’t eat in the village at noon, so I have to go back to the county town.”

Chen Ling said: "Dad, put away the small crabs and leave the big crabs. I will make another big pot when I come back in the evening. Don't turn on the stove at noon. I left the beef and steamed cakes."

"Okay, then I can take the puppy to the **** to play for a while. Li Xian's family is busy down the **** today. I will let the little yellow dog meet someone."

—

 In other words, there is no concept of recognizing one’s master.

But no matter what, it’s better to get acquainted with people.

Wang Lixian often came over to tease the little yellow dog he picked, or Liu Nier would catch a bird or something, cut it into pieces and feed it to him.

The little kids in the village are very wild. If they catch a bird, they dare to open its stomach and pull out its intestines with bare hands.

　　After feeding the dog, my hands were covered with mud, and I had to wipe the snot that flowed to my mouth.

 But little dogs still like to eat like this.

Wang Cunye sometimes doesn’t like to let them feed them so much. If he feeds them too much, it will be less fun for him to take the puppies to herd the sheep.

When the puppy's belly is full, he no longer pounces on grasshoppers, nor chases away frogs and birds. This is not a lot of fun.

 Chen Ling knew what the old man was thinking, so he thought that after Zhao Gang sent the puppies over, he would keep the puppies for a while and let the old man keep them at home and play with them.

 Then, go back and replace the crab bucket with clean water and soak it in water.

 Carrying the fish bucket, we went to the middle hall of the wooden building to feed the fish.

These days, the door of the central hall has been open every day, allowing sunlight to shine in during the day. This huge waterscape tank follows the activities of fish and shrimp, making it look beautiful and pleasing to the eye.

It has only been a few days, and the fish inside are no longer afraid of people.

 Chen Ling used a net to fish a spoonful of small fish and shrimps into it. Oh my god, it was like boiling water. The big fish and small fish in the fish tank rushed up like their heads were squeezed.

 Some fish even made a rattling sound against the wall of the tank.

In addition to wild fish, these fish, even koi and goldfish, are raised outside the pond. Except for the mullet fish, which is silent, other fish basically eat everything and have a very mixed diet.

 It’s just that the two pig-nosed turtles are still a little uncomfortable.

Hide on two turtle-like front feet, hiding in the corner motionless.

However, after being raised in the cave for one night, the blemishes on their bodies and the diseases on their heads have disappeared, and they are generally healthy.

 But it’s not beautiful enough and needs to be raised for a while.

Chen Ling disliked them for not moving.

 Aren't the crabs and shrimps active yet?

After feeding a few spoonfuls of fish and shrimp, I saw that the fish were full and full of water. Many of the fish and shrimp were eaten in pieces or were injured, and they hurriedly hid along the corners of the fish tank wall.

 Chen Ling stopped feeding and hid aside, waiting for the reaction of the two pig-nosed turtles, one black and one gray.

Sure enough, after people walked away, they became bolder, and first went to pick up some leftover leftovers with crabs and shrimps.

As you eat, you gradually become more courageous.

Swim around in the tank like a turtle to catch injured fish.

 The smell of fish that is injured is very attractive.

However, after eating these injured fish, they were not satisfied and chased some small fish to eat.

Chen Ling was looking at it interestingly, and he didn't care about them eating fish.

 The more I look at it, the more fascinated I become.

 Not only turtles, but also crabs, shrimps and river clams, they are also very interesting.

River mussels have parasites.

 It cannot be avoided even if the water quality of the farm is good.

 At first, he kept them in clean water for several days, then selected a few and threw them in.

Unexpectedly, after throwing them in, these few had no parasites, but when it was time to lay eggs, a lot of larvae were sprayed.

 Luckily, Chen Ling put a lot of catfish in the tank.

Small fish such as catfish are also interesting. They have a symbiotic relationship with river mussels.

 When their female fish lay eggs, they lay their eggs inside the mussels.

When the river mussel lays eggs, it sprays out the larvae and sprays them onto the gills of the catfish, where they parasitize.

This thing is called hookworm, and it is very harmful to other fish.

But there is no problem with the catfish. When they lay eggs, they will come into contact with the river mussels, and all the scabies will be hooked on them.

 It will not harm other fish.

 Chen Ling has good eyesight, and the fish tank is very bright when the sun shines on it.

 So you can clearly see the interaction between fish and shrimp, the spawning of catfish, and the spraying of eggs by river clams.

 The more he looked, the more fascinated he became.

Until almost noon, Wang Cunye called him and told him to go back quickly if he wanted to go back to the county town, otherwise his lunch would not be served there.

At this moment he was willing to move.

 (End of this chapter)