In Yongle County, the sacrificial ceremony ended, and even if Nangong Qing knew this, it wouldn't make any difference.
But there was nothing they could do. He and Ah Xu sat in the county government office to rest, but even though they hadn't slept all night, they couldn't bring themselves to sleep.
"My lord, my lord, the village chief of Changping Village has come to report that they have a prescription for insecticide and are outside the door requesting to see you." A yamen runner ran in to report.
What's most important right now? Of course, getting rid of pests is the most important thing. Upon hearing about a method for killing pests, the county magistrate, without even hearing which village chief it was, quickly stood up and said, "Quick, quickly call him in."
"yes!"
Nangong Qing couldn't sit still either, so he and Axu went to the yamen gate to wait.
"Village Chief Li, it's you!" Ah Xu stepped aside to let the village chief into the county government office.
"Ah Xu, where is the magistrate?" The village chief had eaten with Ah Xu, so he only knew Ah Xu. He had also met Nangong Qing yesterday, but the village chief still did not know his identity.
"It's inside!"
The village chief was about to bow when he saw the county magistrate.
"Enough! Quickly tell me what medicine you have to kill the insects?" The magistrate stood in front of the village chief, extremely anxious.
The village chief took the prescription Su Luo had given him from his bosom and gave it to the county magistrate. After the magistrate read it, he gave it to Nangong Qing.
"Young master, what do you think?"
Nangong Qing didn't understand pharmacology, but he knew about lime, which was mentioned in the prescription.
"Where did this recipe come from?"
Nangong Qing held up the prescription and asked the village chief, "Add lime. This is obviously a poisonous prescription, but only poison can kill insects."
"This was made by people in our village, and we tested it in the field this morning. The leaf miners and their eggs are dead, and the rice is unaffected by the pesticide."
The village chief didn't mention Su Luo's name directly. He was afraid that if a woman said it, the county magistrate wouldn't believe Fang Zi. He planned to give Su Luo credit for the success of the project once it was done.
"Really? It really works that well?"
The magistrate thought that the village chief, a villager, wouldn't dare to lie to him about this. The medicine must have some effect. They had just finished the sacrificial ceremony in the morning, and someone presented the prescription at noon. This must be because Heaven received their sincerity. Thank you, God.
"Village Chief Li, I'm asking you, who gave you this prescription?"
Seeing the familiar handwriting on the prescription, Nangong Qing trembled. It was Su Luo's handwriting. Could it be that this prescription was Su Luo's?
He wasn't sure; he wanted to hear it from Village Chief Li himself.
"this!"
Well, since this young master has asked this question, and the magistrate treats him with great respect, his identity must be quite extraordinary.
"This prescription was developed by Su Luo, the daughter-in-law of the second branch of the Chen family. This morning, she went to her own field to test it, and it really works to kill insects. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared to report it to you, the magistrate."
Since the matter has been brought up, the village chief should also make his intentions clear, otherwise something might go wrong.
"Your Honor, this prescription is effective, but we need to buy herbs to make it. We villagers have no money. Please, Your Honor, save us."
"this……"
The magistrate is incorruptible. If the entire Yongle County needs this medicine, where would he get so much money? By the time the disaster relief funds arrive from the capital, the farmers will have already gone.
Nangong Qing stared blankly at the prescription in his hand. If someone else had given him a prescription, he would have verified it, but Su Luo…
Su Luo gave him a strange sense of trust. Was she catching leaf miners in the field yesterday to research pesticides to control the pests?
He was in a bad mood yesterday and even yelled at the three of them, which made Nangong Qing feel guilty.
"Ah Xu, make several copies of this prescription and send them to the various county and prefectural governments. Be quick about it."
Nangong Qing first needs to write a secret report to the capital. He can pay the money first, and he will save as much grain as he can. Fumanlou has also earned a lot of money during this period.
"Magistrate Jiang, find a few people to go to the Chamber of Commerce and buy back the necessary medicinal herbs. I will pay for it. Buy as much as you can."
"Yes, but young master, Yongle County has so much land. Even if you take out all your assets, it might not be enough."
The magistrate's concerns were not unfounded. Even if they had a prescription for eliminating the insects, they didn't have the money to buy the medicine. What should they do?
At this moment, the village chief bowed to the two men and said, "Sir, when the villagers came, Madam Su said that if you can't come up with that much silver, she has a way to help you."
"What did Su Luo say?" Nangong Qing now unconditionally believed Su Luo.
"Lady Su said that we can raise funds and have the merchants of Nanning Kingdom contribute money."
With his hands behind his back, the county official sighed softly, "Alas, merchants are driven by profit; it's difficult to get money from them!"
"My lord, Madam Su said that we should hold a merit-making fundraising event. The more silver the donors give, the more merit they can do. At the end of the year, during the sacrificial ceremony, you, the county magistrate, will personally place the merit tablet on the altar and, through your official career, report the merits of everyone to the immortals."
Ancient people were superstitious and always believed that they could obtain everything through sacrifices.
Social status has always been ranked as scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, with merchants at the very bottom and of low status. If a person with official prospects were to perform a sacrifice and pray for blessings and report the merits, it would surely cause merchants to rush to donate.
"This is a good idea. What's a little sacrifice for the people? I never expected that the person who came up with this idea was a woman. When I see her next time, I must thank her properly on behalf of the people of Yongle County."
Nangong Qing gently tapped his palm with his fan, wondering how Su Luo's brain worked and how she could always come up with such unexpected ideas. Was she really an ordinary woman?
Magistrate Jiang and Nangong Qing acted quickly, preparing all the necessary herbs by noon. They first had a carriage take them to Changping Village, and then sent people there to learn how to prepare pesticides.
In order to witness this moment, Nangong Qing and Magistrate Jiang went to Changping Village. The villagers waited anxiously at the village entrance and finally the village chief and the medicinal herbs arrived.
The large iron pot has been set up, just waiting for the herbs to arrive so we can start simmering them.
While waiting for everyone, Su Luo taught them how to make a spray bottle out of bamboo, which is essential for spraying pesticides.
"Su Luo, the magistrate has bought all the medicinal herbs. We'll follow your instructions on how to prepare them," the village chief said.
“Okay, then let’s divide the work. The men will fetch water, the women will stay and start the fire and add firewood, and I will prepare the medicine.”
Regarding the question of survival, everyone was very proactive and quickly got everything done, while some people continued to make watering cans for everyone.
"Village Chief Li, please take me and my son to see your experimental field for this medicine and see how it works."
The county magistrate also wanted to see the results before writing a memorial to send to the capital.
"Very well, I will take you and this young master to see him."
When they arrived at Su Luo's field, just as the village chief had said, the insects and their eggs were all dead. In the other fields where no pesticides had been applied, leaf miners were still flying around.
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