Chapter 105 Zhang the Rascal's Wife

Cheng Wanwan tried to pretend she hadn't seen it.

Magistrate Shen called out Zhao Ergou's name.

Zhao Ergou had spent four or five days with the magistrate that time, and had become quite familiar with him. He immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Magistrate."

Cheng Wanwan had no choice but to bow and follow suit.

"Ergou, why didn't you come to see me when you came to town?" Shen Zheng asked, somewhat annoyed. "What, can't I get you to come to me?"

Magistrate Shen swept a cold glance over him: "Ergou is the same age as you, and he has already learned to do business with his mother, while you only know how to cause trouble and create problems."

After saying that, he looked at Cheng Wanwan and said, "I have failed in my duty to raise my son, and Er Gou's mother has made a fool of herself in front of everyone."

Cheng Wanwan shook her head: "My Er Gou is also unruly at home. Teenagers are all like this. Your Excellency, there is no need to get upset about it."

The magistrate lowered his voice: "What I just saw..."

"Your Excellency, please rest assured, I saw nothing and heard nothing."

Cheng Wanwan looked completely innocent, and it was impossible to tell that she was lying.

The magistrate nodded in satisfaction, his gaze falling on the little duckling beside him: "Has Er Gou's mother changed her profession? Is she now selling ducks?"

Zhao Ergou said, "Reporting to the magistrate, these are ducks that my mother bought for the villagers, about a dozen or twenty per household."

Shen Zheng asked curiously, "Why are you raising so many ducks?"

Magistrate Shen glared at him: "You naturally wouldn't understand farming matters for peasants, and you wouldn't understand even if you asked."

"Ducks can eat locusts to prevent locust infestations," Cheng Wanwan said. "Recently, a lot of locusts have been found in the fields, which is to prevent a repeat of last year's locust plague. We are taking precautions now, but ducks alone are not enough."

Magistrate Shen's expression changed drastically: "What did you say? There are locusts in the fields?"

He was genuinely terrified.

The recent search for water sources and the digging of ditches led to him being summoned by the prefect. This was the first time he had been summoned by the prefect during his seven years as an official in Ping'an Town.

Because Ping'an Town was the first area to dig ditches, its yield per mu should be the highest during the harvest season. Similarly, the tax revenue collected will also be the highest. With tax revenue and no disaster victims, the government's achievements will be enhanced...

But now, upon hearing the words "locust plague," the county magistrate was utterly distraught.

He thought of last year, when there was a complete crop failure, granaries were opened to provide relief, refugees roamed everywhere, and bandits ran rampant...

Cheng Wanwan asked, "Does the imperial court have any methods to deal with the locusts?"

Magistrate Shen smiled bitterly. He did have a method, but it wouldn't work. There were just too many locusts. One wave would drive them away, and another would come. Human effort would be exhausted, but the locusts wouldn't. They wouldn't stop until they had eaten all the crops in the fields.

“If the number of locusts is not large, there are ways,” Magistrate Shen said. “Burning Artemisia argyi can drive away the locusts, or we can bury them in ditches or use bonfires to lure and kill them.”

Cheng Wanwan had seen these methods in books. They were suitable for small-scale locust control, but once a disaster occurred, they would be difficult to prevent.

"If, after investigation, I find that this is indeed the case, I must report it to the Prefect!"

Magistrate Shen left in a hurry.

Zhao Ergou scratched the back of his head: "Mom, what if the locusts don't come?"

Cheng Wanwan shook her head.

She had previously harbored such wishful thinking, but after reading that book, she became certain that there would definitely be a locust plague this year.

Drought is a catalyst for locusts. In such weather, locust eggs are produced and hatched in large numbers. When the time is right, locusts swarm in from nowhere, covering the sky and devouring the crops.

The mother and son returned to the village with four hundred ducks.

The women who had pre-ordered ducks came to collect them with money, including Zhang the scoundrel's wife.

She raised her slender eyebrows and said reluctantly, "Seven coins a duck? That's robbery! I remember it was only six coins a duck before. Did Aunt Dashan make an extra coin? Four hundred ducks, that's four hundred coins, almost half a tael of silver..."

Cheng Wanwan was so angry she laughed.

If you were to buy such a large duckling in town, who would sell it to you for less than twelve coins?

She was thinking of her fellow villagers, who trusted her, and she didn't want them to suffer losses, so she bought larger, easier-to-raise ducklings for seven coins each, which was the publicly listed price in town. Although she made a profit of two coins, she had a clear conscience.

“Da Gang’s mother doesn’t think much of these ducks.” Cheng Wanwan took the ducks back from her hand. “It just so happens that Mud Loach’s mother wants to buy a few more. I’ll take these twenty to Mud Loach’s mother.”

Aunt Wang from next door happened to be nearby and immediately took the duck from him: "It's Da Shan's mother who thinks of me the most. I'll give you the 140 coins later."

Cheng Wanwan smiled as she looked at the crowd that had gathered around her: "If anyone else thinks it's too expensive, they can return it, it's no problem."

Indeed, some people still complained about the price, but dared not say anything more. If they offended Aunt Dashan, they would have to go to town to buy ducks themselves, and they might not even be able to run into the duck seller. They would make a wasted trip and delay things at home.

After dividing the ducks, Cheng Wanwan instructed, "It's too hot, so you must pay attention to the hygiene of the ducks to prevent them from getting sick. If one gets sick, it will spread to the other ducks..."

She shared some disinfection and cleaning methods, saying, "The people who sell ducks taught me these methods; they said that doing them this way will reduce the chances of the ducks getting sick."

The group thanked them and took the duck home.

Zhang Wulai's wife stood by the roadside, so angry she was practically grinding her teeth to powder.

She'd said something out of turn, and the duck she was about to catch had flown away. How was she going to explain this to Zhang the Scoundrel when she got back? She took a deep breath and said, "Auntie Dashan, I was just being paranoid. Do you have any more ducks? Ten would be fine too..."

Cheng Wanwan smiled enigmatically: "If I sell you ducks, you'll curse me behind my back for being greedy for your money. Why should I bother with something that won't please me?"

Zhang Wulai's wife's expression changed instantly: "Do you expect me to beg you? I'll go to town to buy it myself tomorrow. Do you really think other people don't have legs?"

She flicked her sleeves and left.

When Cheng Wanwan returned home, Zhao Sidan rushed over and said, "Mom, I caught so many locusts today and locked them all up."

If you have a basket at home, you can put the locusts inside, cover them with a straw hat, and they won't be able to fly out.

The four baskets were filled with buzzing locusts.

Cheng Wanwan's expression was somewhat complicated. Just three or four days ago, it was still a bit difficult to catch locusts by hand, which meant that there weren't many locusts. But now, Sidan, a child, had caught so many in just one morning. The locusts were increasing and were silently devouring the crops. Her experiment had to proceed quickly.

We just whipped up some flatbread for lunch, and two flatbreads each was enough for us.

The makeshift workshop in the backyard became busy. Cheng Wanwan asked Cheng Zhao to go up the mountain with her so she could find some herbs mentioned in the book.

When Cheng Zhao went up the mountain, he was still polishing the abacus beads. Each abacus has forty-nine beads, and without special tools, polishing them was particularly difficult. Only after the beads were polished could the abacus be made.