The larvae of this insect prefer tender, sweet, moist, and dark environments.

Therefore, the tender core, new leaves, silks, male and female ears, sweet kernels inside the husks, sweet sap inside the stalks, and pith of the ears are all its favorite parts, and it starts to frantically gnaw on the crops at night.

As soon as it gets light, before the sun even rises, they will hide in the heart of the corn husks, which are like big trumpets, and curl up into a ball to sleep.

Or you can climb down the corn stalks and crawl under the clods of soil at the base of the corn.

The insects, grayish-black in color, blended into the soil, making them impossible to spot.

To kill this pest, farmers need to use various methods, such as applying pesticides and spreading wood ash.

This insect is also the most cunning; it develops resistance to a drug after using it multiple times.

Therefore, the quickest and most effective method is also the most cumbersome method.

The best approach is to take advantage of the time when it's almost dawn and the insects are still feeding on the leaves, then simply crush them with your hands or pick them off to feed the chickens.

For the landowner, it is very satisfying to crush a one-centimeter-long, round worm through a leaf!

So every night you could see firelight flickering in the fields, as every household lit torches and used long bamboo tongs to catch insects, competing with these tiny creatures for food.

Catching insects also requires skill; you need to be careful and steady.

Because insects play dead when they get cold, they instantly roll into the gaps between leaves or among the clods of mud on the ground, making them invisible to people.

On the mountain, Jiang Zhi was also catching insects.

Apart from a small portion of corn, the hillside is mostly covered with cotton.

The cotton bollworm is also a pest.

They are similar to corn borers, except that cotton plants don't have large, tender buds; these borers directly gnaw on the tender leaves and bolls of cotton plants.

Cotton bolls that have been gnawed will stop developing, inevitably leading to reduced yields.

Every day, when Grandpa Xiaoman goes into the field to tend to the cotton bushes, he also picks out insects, making a loud cracking sound as he does so.

However, most insects fall to the ground and hide before people even get close.

Finally, Grandpa Xiaoman used a basket to take the family's chicks to the field.

A few days later, the chicks got used to being with people.

When startled insects on the cotton leaves try to escape by rolling on the ground, they end up falling right into the chicken's beak below.

Insects lay eggs continuously, generation after generation, so simply catching insects is not very effective.

There are no chemical pesticides here, so we can only use chili water and eucalyptus leaf infusion to kill the insects.

Jiang Zhi cut down a horse chestnut tree and used the toxins in its roots, stems and leaves to kill insects.

You can't kill them by killing them directly, but you can make the insects avoid eating them, thus controlling the damage caused by the insects eating them.

Farm work is like that, full of small, seemingly endless tasks, sometimes done but never done.

Before the rainstorm, Jiang Zhi spread the word that she wanted to buy materials, but before she could even get any timber business, the livestock dealer introduced by the vendor who sold her tender corn came to her.

More than a month had passed, and Jiang Zhi thought the matter was over. Unexpectedly, the livestock dealer arrived, bringing three cows, a mule, a basket of piglets, and several lambs.

The whole village gathered around and circled the livestock.

To buy or not to buy?

Every household would definitely want to buy it.

Tian Gui, Xu Gen, and a few others surrounded the three robust calves, their eyes seemingly glued to them.

The cattle dealer patted the calf's neck and praised, "Look at this, it's only eight months old. If you raise it well, it will be ready to be harnessed next year."

Thick legs, thick neck, and plenty of energy—he'll be a good worker in the future. Your village isn't big; three cows will be enough!

Tian Gui nodded involuntarily: "It's a good animal!"

Xu Genyou stroked the smooth, silk-like back of the calf, looked into its dark eyes, and said with great affection, "It's a fine calf!"

These farmers felt more attached to cattle than anything else.

Nearby, several women were looking at the piglets around the pig basket: "This pig is good, with a round head and a short snout, it will definitely eat well."

As they were watching, several pigs suddenly started fighting, biting each other's ears and rubbing their buttocks, which made the women burst into laughter.

The children clung to the lambs, refusing to let go.

"Hey, this sheep looks nice, I want it."

"No, I want this one!"

Tian Xiaoquan put his hands on his hips and said, "Is your family rich? If you want to buy it, just pay up."

Tian Tao'er also asked, "We also need pigsties and sheepfolds. Do you have any?"

The children shook their heads: "No!"

In the village, let alone buying things, everyone was still living in shacks and there were no sheep pens at all.

The children's eyes were all fixed on the adults next to them.

Sure enough, after the initial excitement, the women let go, their faces showing reluctance.

Half a year later, Li Laoshi went up the mountain again, but this time the journey was not smooth.

He had only gone halfway when, in a forest of oak trees, he was stopped on the road by a fierce wild boar.

The dark brown bristles stood upright, making the wild boar's physique appear even more robust.

If Li Laoshi doesn't move, the wild boar doesn't move; but if Li Laoshi moves, the wild boar also moves.

Li Laoshi felt a chill run down his spine, his back went cold, his mouth tasted bitter, and his legs went weak: Is this Peppa Pig?

So much time has passed, the wild boar has grown up, no longer has a braid on its head, and is covered in leaves.

He could no longer tell whether it was domesticated or wild.

If you admit your mistake, you'll have to crash into the wild boar, and with your physique, you'll be used as a kite by the wild boar and sent flying down the mountain.

With the two sides at an impasse, and neither side willing to leave, Li Laoshi was on the verge of tears.

He slowly approached a tree, then peered out and called out in a low voice, "Peppa Pig, it's me! I'm Li Laoshi, your Uncle Li, have you forgotten?"

The wild boar didn't grunt; instead, it took two more steps without making a sound, getting closer and closer to Li Laoshi.

“Peppa, pork belly, it really is your Uncle Li, you don’t remember me, do you?” Li Laoshi shouted at the wild boar while looking for a place to hide out of the corner of his eye.

Just as he was about to climb onto a rock, a wild boar suddenly charged at him.

Li Laoshi screamed in terror, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground: "Damn it, I'm going to be fed to the wild boars today!"

But when the wild boar ran up to him, it lowered its head, grabbed his belly with its long snout, and thrust forward, so Li Laoshi ended up on the boar's back and was carried several steps.

"Hahaha, it's Peppa Pig! You little rascal, you did it on purpose, you scared the hell out of me!"

Li Laoshi was startled but quickly realized what was happening. He got so angry that he grabbed the pig bristles and yanked them hard twice.

I almost peed my pants in fright, but Peppa Pig was still playing.

After walking a few steps with Li Laoshi on his back, Peiqi abandoned him and started rummaging through his clothes looking for something.

Li Laoshi knelt on the ground, trembling, but clung to the wild boar's hair, refusing to let go: "You've scared my legs so much, you have to carry me up."

He also became attached to the wild boar.

After several tugs and pulls from the man and the wild boar, the boar finally agreed to let Li Laoshi pull on its tail to climb the mountain, and then it calmed down.

When Li Laoshi arrived at Laoyun Cliff, he told the two families who were making mosquito coils that the livestock dealer had delivered cattle, and everyone was immediately overjoyed.

Xiaoman patted Peiqi's neck: "Peiqi, I'll go down the mountain and pick a little wife for you."

Errui immediately prepared bamboo baskets to carry the pig. It had been agreed long ago that a sow must be raised on the mountain so that it would be convenient for them to slaughter pigs and eat meat in the future.

Jiang Zhi asked Li Laoshi, "How do Tian Gui and the others plan to buy the cattle? Who will pay for it?"

Buying cattle requires counting silver, so Jiang Zhi wanted to ask everyone's plans first.

In farmers' homes, cattle are considered family wealth and cannot be treated as ordinary livestock.

According to Li Laoshi's honest price, in the past and under normal circumstances, a good working ox would cost at least eight taels of silver, which was comparable to the simple warehouse he built himself.

Even for a calf that can't work yet, two taels of silver are always required.