Chapter 285 Too Challenging
"If you die of fullness, I'll pay with my life." Lin Heng said with pursed lips.
"Dad, I can finish it. I'm better than Mom!"
Xiaoxia tilted her head and opened her mouth to indicate that she had finished eating.
"Yes, yes, you are the best!" Xiulan pinched her little face and said unhappily.
Lin Heng finished drinking a glass of milk, poured out some of the milk in the basin and fed some to Xiongba and Fengshou.
Lin Heng was just observing the strawberries casually, but suddenly he made an unexpected discovery: "Hey, the strawberries are red!"
He reached out and removed the strawberry leaves to take a look. Sure enough, he found a red strawberry, only the size of a mineral water bottle cap.
Then he found two small red strawberries. These small ones should be the first to bloom and ripen quickly. The big strawberries the size of Xiaoxia's fist were only slightly colored and would take a few days to eat.
"The strawberries are red?" Xiulan came out curiously.
Xiaoxia jumped up and down and cheered: "I want to eat strawberries, I like strawberries!"
She knew what strawberries were. Lin Heng had told her when they were planted that they were a fruit that tasted better than raspberries.
"Three, one for each of us is just right." Lin Heng said with a smile.
He went into the house and washed them with water. He gave the two largest ones to Xiaoxia and Xiulan, and ate the smaller one himself.
It has a familiar taste when you take a sip, sweet with a hint of sourness, very delicious, the flesh is very textured and has a rich sweet aroma.
"It's so delicious!!" Xiaoxia gave the highest praise, looking at the strawberry field with longing eyes, wanting to eat more.
Xiulan was also surprised and said, "It's really good. It's so delicious and it doesn't even have seeds."
She fell in love with the taste at the first bite. The sweet and sour taste is her favorite.
"Actually, there are, but they are very small, right on the peel." Lin Heng explained, and touched Xiaoxia's head again, "In another week, they will all be ripe, and then Xiaoxia can eat as much as she wants."
There are at least seventy or eighty strawberries in the field now. After they mature, they can be eaten for the whole June.
Although the place is small, the fertile humus soil and sheep manure fertilizer are enough to grow and feed so many strawberries.
"That's great! I want to eat lots and lots of strawberries." Xiaoxia jumped up with joy.
"You guys play at home first. I'll go feed the shrimps and come back, then we'll deal with the strawberries together." Lin Heng said to Xiulan.
"Okay." Xiulan nodded in agreement.
Lin Heng walked towards Red Maple Mountain with the egg yolk in his hand. The sun was shining brightly, the breeze was pleasant, and all he could see was pleasing green.
When he arrived at Hongfeng Mountain, Lin Heng found that his eldest brother and parents were all there. His parents were still eating and his eldest brother was chatting on the side.
"Dad, the shrimps haven't been fed yet, right?" Lin Heng asked his father.
Father Lin shook his head: "No, but I took a look and saw a lot of shrimp fry."
"That's fine, I'll feed it." Lin Heng nodded, crushed the egg yolk and filtered it with gauze.
Newly born young shrimp are usually fed with soybean slurry or egg yolk.
Two egg yolks are too much; one egg yolk can feed a whole pond of shrimp fry.
After finishing, Lin Heng went to the hatchery and used a flashlight to gather the newly hatched shrimp fry together. The size of the grid was large enough for the newly hatched shrimp fry to come through, but not the large prawns.
After they gathered together, Lin Heng fed them with egg yolks. Under the light, he could clearly see the movements of these newly hatched, transparent shrimp fry, and he could see tiny yolk particles being eaten into their transparent bodies.
"Dad, big brother, please help me bring these two grids over to the other two incubation pools." Lin Heng said, pointing at the two grids.
Before the shrimp fry hatched, it was fine to keep them in one pond, but now that they have started to hatch, they have to be separated. Otherwise, one pond will not be able to hold them all, even with oxygen.
The other three incubation pools had been prepared long ago, and the water had been disinfected and stored, but they had not been used because it was too troublesome.
After finishing, Lin Heng fed the breeding shrimps again. In about three to five days, all the shrimp fry will hatch.
You need to be very careful during these days and observe the situation at all times. After about ten days, you can feed them normally, and after a month, you can put them into the pond for large-scale breeding.
"Dad, you guys work first, I'll go back and clean up the strawberries." After feeding the shrimps, Lin Heng washed his hands and said.
"Wait a moment, you and your elder brother are here, let me tell you something." Father Lin looked at Lin Heng and said.
"What's the matter?" Lin Heng turned his head and asked curiously.
Father Lin said as he walked, "It's about retirement care. Originally we said we'd wait a few years, but now the situation has changed and some things need to be made clear to avoid any rifts between you brothers."
"Don't say you don't need to. It's better to make things clear at the beginning so that the relationship won't be ruined in the end." Lin's mother also spoke up.
Lin Heng and his elder brother looked at each other and went into the house together.
Father Lin took a sip of water, sat down and said, "We didn't consider this matter originally. After all, your mother and I are still young, and it won't be too late to talk about it when we are over 50. We left 200 acres of forest and 20 acres of land for farming first, and then gave it to whoever takes care of us in our old age. But now the situation has changed."
Father Lin looked at his eldest son Lin Yue and continued, "Lin Heng has built so many businesses now. Those fruit trees will be worth a lot of money when they grow up. And we have not helped your family here. So I want to make it clear now."
Lin Heng probably understood that his parents were worried that his sister-in-law Liu Juan would have objections if he kept working for them.
Lin Yue shook his head and said, "Dad, you think too much. This is nothing. It's normal for you to work for my brother. He doesn't have anyone here. Now the land is planted with fruit trees, and we don't have much work to do."
Lin Heng also said: "I wanted to say this, no matter who works for me, I will pay them, whether it's my parents or my eldest brother."
"It's not about this. We don't talk about this when we're working together." Father Lin waved his hand and said, "We have to make this matter clear today."
"So Dad, what do you think we should do?" Lin Heng asked.
"Your mother and I have decided that we will eat by ourselves and will not share the meal with anyone else. But let's settle this matter first," said Lin's father.
Lin Yue thought for a moment and said, "Then you can choose for yourselves, Mom and Dad. Whether it's me or my brother, we are definitely willing to take care of you two in your old age. No one will treat you unfairly."
"Yes, just choose whichever family you like, there is no difference anyway." Lin Heng nodded. It is impossible for the other party to ignore their parents after the breakup.
It would be better to clarify this issue now so that there will be no gaps in the future due to it.
Father Lin thought for a moment and said, "We have decided to eat with Lin Heng in the future. We have decided to give you another five acres of orchard, Lin Yue, and the big yellow cow at home. The remaining two hundred acres of forest, ten acres of orchard, five acres of paddy field, and our property will all be left to Lin Heng. He will take care of us when we are old."
"Similarly, we will mainly help him with work from now on. It doesn't mean that you two brothers will do anything from now on, but just divide the property clearly first to avoid quarrels in the future."
Father Lin discussed with his daughter-in-law for a long time and decided to make things clear while they still had the authority and say.
Mother Lin got straight to the point and said, "We chose Lin Heng because he needed help and he has the money to support both of us in our old age. As for you, Lin Yue, you will be under enough pressure to find wives for your three sons in the future, so we won't add any more pressure on you."
They had no doubt about the filial piety of both of them, but they thought this choice was the most appropriate.
Although they are in the labor force now, they will become freeloaders in a few years due to poor health, and they will be a burden then.
In addition, they knew that their eldest daughter-in-law was not willing to bear the cost of supporting both of them in their old age, so there was no need to force her to do so.
Lin Yue nodded and said, "Okay, let's listen to our parents. We'll still live together after the separation. As for the cows and the orchard, there's no need for them. Since you guys are with my brother, just give them to him."
He felt a little lost and useless. His parents were right. When his three sons got married, he would be busy enough. He had relied on his younger brother to help him live his current life. He did not dare to promise that he would let his parents enjoy a good life in the future.
Lin Heng is happier. It is good for his parents to follow him. It can greatly reduce the burden on his elder brother, and he can also respect them well. For him now, it is a very easy thing to take care of his parents in their old age.
And this is what he should do. His parents paid too much to help him pay off his debts in his previous life, so he should let them enjoy themselves in this life.
"I said I would give it to you, so it's our decision." Father Lin said firmly.
"Yes, brother, just listen to dad." Lin Heng said.
"Okay then." Lin Yue took a deep breath and nodded.
"That's it. Brother and Dad, you guys go ahead and work first. I'll be over in a while." Lin Heng said with a smile again.
After saying this, he turned and walked home.
"Wait a minute, the five acres of orchard that will be allocated to your eldest brother has not been decided yet, don't you want to listen?" Lin's father shouted.
Lin Heng waved his hand: "Any five acres will do, it depends on your mood."
Walking back in the morning sun, Lin Heng cut a few branches and took them home. Xiulan looked at the branches he brought back and asked curiously, "What are you going to do with this?"
Lin Heng explained: "Cut some small forks and prop up the strawberry bunches in the air, otherwise the ones close to the ground will rot easily."
Those who specialize in growing strawberries lay plastic film on the ground to prevent the strawberries from coming into contact with the ground and rotting. It is also feasible for him to do so.
After saying that, he went back to the house and got two pairs of pruning shears. He and Xiulan each cut the branches into forks about seven or eight centimeters long.
Xiaoxia was playing with a wooden cart nearby, and Xiongba was pulling the cart. They were having so much fun that they had no time to pay attention to Lin Heng and the others.
"By the way, my parents suddenly decided to separate and live with us." Lin Heng said while cutting branches.
Xiulan looked up in surprise: "So suddenly, you've already passed it with us?"
"Yes." Lin Heng nodded.
Xiulan nodded: "That's great, I can help you now, and we will have money to support them when we get old."
Lin Heng was not surprised by Xiulan's attitude and continued, "Dad gave five acres of orchard and cattle to my eldest brother, and the rest to us. For the time being, they will eat alone and not come to join us."
"I guess my parents are afraid that they won't be able to tell the difference in the future, so they're doing it now to avoid arguments later." Xiulan quickly understood the reason.
There was nothing wrong with dividing the family property this way. Since ancient times, whoever took care of the family in old age would inherit more. As for the extra money given away, she didn't care as long as Lin Heng didn't care. Anyway, the family didn't need that little thing.
"That's right." Lin Heng nodded.
But in fact, his parents' worries were unnecessary. His eyes were not on this small piece of land at all. The upper limit of this piece of land was just that much. Any investment he made outside would yield higher returns than this.
Once his business is established, if he just gives some convenience to his elder brother, he can become a millionaire or even a billionaire.
Soon, the two of them cut a lot of small branches, stood up and took them to fork the strawberry bunches off the ground. They also cut off some old leaves to increase ventilation and avoid pests and diseases.
"Do you want to add some more fertilizer?" Xiulan said while sitting on the bench after they finished.
"I just took some lessons a few days ago, it's definitely enough." Lin Heng lay down with his head on her thighs, looking up at her, "I'll take a break and then go to work at Red Maple Mountain. Do you want to come over and play?"
Xiulan stretched out her slender fingers and picked off a few pieces of dandruff on Lin Heng's head. She looked at him with her big eyes and shook her head slightly: "No, I'll stay at home to take care of Xiaoxia and read some books. If I go there, my mother will be too polite and won't let me do anything. I will feel uncomfortable."
"Okay then." Lin Heng changed his position. Lying on Xiulan's legs and watching the sun was one of his favorite things to do.
"But we can go pick snails in a few days. I heard there are a lot of them in the fields. Or if you want to go fishing, I can accompany you to the Huangtan River to fish," Xiulan said again.
"Okay, let's go catch snails in a few days." Lin Heng nodded.
After lying on the soft thighs for three minutes, he stood up and returned to Red Maple Mountain.
The foundation of the cattle and sheep pen here has been prepared. If it hadn't rained, the foundation would have been laid. The original platform, which was 30 meters long and 6 meters wide, has been widened by more than two meters after it was prepared.
Seeing Lin Heng coming over, Father Lin asked, "Should we expand our cowshed? Otherwise, we won't be able to raise so many cattle and sheep."
"It's enough for now. We'll build it again if it's not enough in two years. Let's lay the cement floor today." Lin Heng said after thinking for a while.
The cattle and sheep pen that you build yourself is definitely not perfect. For the time being, it is enough to consider a few factors such as cleanliness and ventilation.
"Then let's use cement." Father Lin nodded.
The rented mixer had been returned, so they had to mix the cement manually. After mixing, the three of them pushed it up with a wheelbarrow and poured it on the ground to smooth it out.
They work in the morning and afternoon and take a break at noon. This job is not easy but they are not in a hurry and just take it slow.
Soon it was June 1st, and they had finally paved the foundation of the cattle and sheep pen and the road leading down into cement.
The slope leading to the sheep pen is thirty degrees, so it should be no problem for cattle, sheep or cars.
In the past few days, in addition to building the foundation and the road, Lin Heng has been taking care of the shrimp fry. Now that the shrimp fry have basically all hatched, the breeding has entered a new stage. Under his careful care, no accidents have occurred.
"Brother, do you want to go catch eels tonight?" After washing his hands, Lin Yue suggested with a smile.
"Sure, let's go catch some tonight." Lin Heng nodded.
"Then let's go back and have dinner and then leave. I'll come to find you then." Lin Yue said.
"No problem. Dad, are you going?" Lin Heng looked at his father.
"I'm not going. I'm going to have a drink and rest." Father Lin shook his head and continued, "It's just right to rest for two days. I'm going to spread fertilizer on the rice, and then I have to apply fertilizer to the corn."
"Okay then." Lin Heng nodded and said, "Chemical fertilizer works well, so don't spread too much. Just spread five or six kilograms of urea per acre."
Now is the time for rice to be divided. If you don't know the dosage, too much fertilizer will cause the rice to grow wildly. There are three more fertilizers to be applied later: flower-promoting fertilizer, flower-preserving fertilizer, and grain fertilizer. His father has never used fertilizer before, so he has to explain it clearly.
"I understand. You don't have to worry." Father Lin looked calm.
Walking back, Lin Heng first went to the field to pick some spinach and mustard greens. The spinach was planted when he decided to get pregnant, and the mustard greens were planted by his parents.
Spinach is high in calcium and folic acid, while mustard greens are high in folic acid. Every day he would prepare some vegetables that pregnant women need to nourish Xiulan's body, bacon at every meal, and venison from time to time.
"Eat these two tonight, and you can mix the rest yourself." Lin Heng walked into the house with the dishes and said to Xiulan.
"Try a strawberry. I've saved it for you." Xiulan fed him one.
"This is what I left for my dad. Let me feed him." Xiaoxia also grabbed one and handed it to Lin Heng.
"Thank you, baby." Lin Heng was very happy eating the strawberries fed by his wife and daughter. The strawberries have been ripening in the past two days and he can eat them every day.
Xiulan said with a smile: "You left some for Dad. If I hadn't stopped that greedy little cat, he would have eaten it all."
Xiaoxia pursed her lips a little embarrassedly and said, "I just wanted to help Dad taste whether it is sweet or not."
"Is it sweet?" Lin Heng asked with a smile and fed her another one.
"It's so sweet." Xiaoxia Xiaoxia said happily with her cheeks puffed out.
Lin Heng fed Xiulan another big one and said, "You should eat more too. It's good for your health."
"I've eaten a lot, this is left for you." Xiulan took it and fed it to Lin Heng.
"I also fed my mother a lot." Xiaoxia said from the side. She was pretending that she was taking care of her mother as well.
"Xiaoxia is such a good child. I'll give you another one as a reward." Lin Heng handed the tip of the strawberry to her.
Xiaoxia was eating strawberries with a smile on her face, and was happily playing in the yard.
"These strawberries are so delicious. I'll never get tired of them." Xiulan said with a smile.
"Of course." Lin Heng nodded, and pointed to the remaining seven or eight strawberries and said, "I'll keep the rest and make you something delicious tomorrow morning."
"What's delicious to drink?" Xiulan asked curiously.
Lin Heng smiled mysteriously: "You will know when the time comes. Let's cook and eat. I'm going to catch eels."
"Okay, I'll go cook." Xiulan nodded.
Lin Heng walked into the house to help Xiulan. Xiulan blanched the spinach and served it cold, while the mustard greens were stir-fried with minced garlic, which looked very tempting.
In addition, there is a dish of stir-fried bacon with green peppers and a dish of stir-fried pumpkin tips.
Xiulan had prepared the rice in a small pot outside early in the morning, so they could start eating right after frying the vegetables.
"Have you been feeling unwell recently?" Lin Heng asked with concern as he picked up two pieces of food for Xiulan and her daughter with chopsticks.
"No, how can I feel uncomfortable when the food is so good? It feels like the food is better than what the ladies in the past ate." Xiulan smiled and shook her head.
"It's good that you don't feel uncomfortable. I'll catch some plum fish in a few days and we can eat them." Lin said with a smile, "It's normal to eat well. After all, there are two of us. I won't let you eat fatty meat, and you won't gain weight. Eat as much as you want."
Xiulan was delighted to hear this and said with a smile, "Eat quickly, and be careful when catching eels at night."
"I'm not in a hurry. It's not dangerous to go there wearing water shoes." Lin Heng said with a smile. It was not dark enough yet.
After finishing his meal, he waited for a while before putting on his waders and going to catch eels with his elder brother.
As soon as he reached the edge of the field, Lin Yue exclaimed: "Hey, what a big red snake."
Lin Heng shone the flashlight and saw a red and black snake crawling under the stone step.
"Let's take a look at the eels." Lin Heng said. It is not uncommon to see snakes at night, and they can often be encountered when catching eels.
Walking towards the field, he saw a yellow eel as thick as a thumb after a few steps. Lin Yue said, "Brother, let's try it first."
Lin Heng walked over, grabbed it quickly and accurately, and threw it into the bag. With his skilled technique, he rarely made mistakes when catching big eels.
Then the two of them searched along the edge of the field. It seemed that there were endless eels in the paddy field. Last year, they caught nearly 30 kilograms, and this year there are still some, and many of them are big.
Although he no longer needs to make money by selling eels, the thrill of hunting still makes Lin Heng obsessed with catching eels.
The two men searched inch by inch with flashlights, and no large eel near the edge of the field could escape.
After catching the eels they usually caught in the fields, they already weighed six or seven kilograms. Then the two went to the river to look, but unfortunately there was nothing to catch.
"These are enough for two meals." Lin Yue said with a smile on the way home.
"Enough for three meals." Lin Heng said.
"Then let's kill it tomorrow and invite mom and dad to come to my house for a meal together." Lin Yue suggested.
"Okay." Lin Heng nodded.
When they got home, they divided the eel in half. Lin Heng prepared to fry it for Xiulan. Eel is also a good tonic for pregnant women, as it can prevent iron deficiency anemia.
Lin Heng put the eel in the bucket, washed up and went into the house. Xiaoxia was already fast asleep in the small bed. After all, it was already half past eleven.
"How many did you catch?" Xiulan asked curiously with her eyes wide open.
Lin Heng was surprised and asked, "You haven't slept yet."
"I can't sleep, I'm waiting for you." Xiulan said with a smile.
"Then go to sleep. I'm coming." Lin Heng took off his clothes and got on the bed. "There are eight kilograms of yellow eels in total."
"That's not bad." Xiulan said, moving her head closer.
Lin Heng turned off the light and asked, "Are we going to catch snails tomorrow?"
"Catch him, why not?" Xiulan nodded.
"Then go to bed. Your husband will take you to catch snails tomorrow." Lin Heng hugged her and kissed her.
He just wanted to peck her lightly, but she violated the rules and stuck out her tongue, which made him addicted again.
However, now he can only eat steamed buns and can't do anything else, which makes him feel very depressed.
"You are so bad. What should we do now?" Lin Heng looked at her.
"I'm helping you." Xiulan whispered. She missed it after not having sex for a long time.
Lin Heng felt Xiulan's little hand and whispered something in her ear.
"Why... do you have so many... bad ideas?" Xiulan blushed and actually let her bite.
Lin Heng whispered in her ear: "You were the one who started it."
Xiulan stopped talking. This was too challenging for her and she was not mentally prepared for it yet.
"Next, next time." Xiulan said in a low voice as she quickened her movements.
Lin Heng hugged her and whispered, "I'm just talking, it's okay, this is enough now."
"Yeah." Xiulan blushed and felt her hands trembling. It's not that she didn't want to, but it was just too challenging.
After a while, Lin Heng fell asleep holding Xiulan in his arms, feeling relaxed.
(End of this chapter)
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