Su Luo counted down the days; there were only three days left until the end of the month. She would soon be able to settle her share of the profits with Nangong Qing, as well as the money for the spice packets.
Thinking this made Su Luo feel better.
"Su Luo, something terrible has happened!" The village chief's voice came from outside the fence, his voice so urgent that he could barely speak.
"Village chief, what happened?" The village chief looked pale with worry.
"Quickly, go check your fields! Something terrible has happened! Our Changping Village is doomed this year!" The village chief said, his chest drooping, unable to catch his breath.
Zhao Ruyun also came over, unaware of what had happened.
"Hurry, you two, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, go and see! The rice is infested with insects, it's full of insect eggs, the village is doomed."
The village chief was most concerned about the growth of the rice. He had listened to Su Luo's advice and thinned out the seedlings, which made the rice ears grow more and more, and he was very happy.
But who knew that he hadn't gone to the field for four days, and when he went to check on the rice this morning, he found that the leaves were infested with insects. He didn't know what kind of insects they were, but they were spreading very quickly, and the leaves were covered with insect eggs.
This insect not only eats the leaves, but also bites the rice ears. If they don't take timely action, they will have no harvest this year.
"Ah! How could it have turned out like this!" Zhao Ruyun frowned deeply. For her, she could live without other things, but not without rice; it was her life.
"I'll go check the fields right now!" Su Luo said.
"Alright, go quickly. I still need to inform the others and then report the situation to the magistrate."
Su Luo and Zhao Ruyun brought Yan Chuan and Yi Huan to the fields. Although they only had one mu of land with grain, it was all they had for the year.
"Mom, there are so many bugs," Yi Huan said, pointing to the rice leaves.
The rice was growing very well, with plump grains, and it would be ready to be harvested in just over a month. But who knew that it would be infested with insects during this lean season?
"Little sister, don't touch that bug." Yan Chuan pulled Yi Huan up, unsure if the bug was poisonous.
"Oh no, it's really over!" Zhao Ruyun's heart was bleeding. She picked off the leaves with insects one by one, but there were too many to pick them all.
Su Luo had never seen this kind of insect before. It had eaten the leaves into a net-like pattern, and the leaves were covered with its eggs and larvae.
It's not just Su Luo's family's fields that are like this; all the fields in the village are like this.
"We have no choice but to find a way to get rid of the pests, otherwise the rice will die."
The four stood on the dam, stunned. People from other fields in the village also started running over, and there were even cries coming from there.
"Su Luo, have your fields also been infested with insects?"
Chen Ping'an also came to the field. The couple saw that a small portion of the leaves in the field had turned yellow, and they were deeply disappointed.
"Yes, Uncle, I'm afraid all the fields in the village have become like this."
Chen Ping'an slapped his forehead and blamed himself: "It's all my fault. I came to the field two days ago. How could I not have paid attention?"
Su Luo bent down to examine the insect eggs more closely. They were only attached to the underside of the leaf, and if the leaf had not been damaged, they would not be visible from the front.
"Uncle, this might be a dormant insect. It's waiting for the right opportunity, waiting until it has multiplied in large numbers before it causes massive destruction."
What Su Luo said was just her guess. She had never encountered any insects when she planted rice and vegetables in her space before, so she didn't recognize this insect.
"What should we do?" Zhao Ruyun was at a loss.
"It's alright, Grandma. This is a natural disaster. It's not just our fields that have been affected. The entire Yongle County, and even the entire prefecture, may be like this. Someone will find a solution."
We also have village chiefs, county magistrates, and even the imperial court; they will take care of things.
Su Luo comforted Zhao Ruyun in this way, but if it were really like she said, and they just waited for someone else to take care of it, the rice would have been ruined long ago.
...
The village chief was the first to discover the insects, and he summoned the county magistrate that afternoon.
"My lord, as you can see, this is a large-scale insect infestation."
Magistrate Jiang was a thin man dressed in official robes, and the villagers dared not approach him. He was holding a book in his hand, observing the rice while flipping through a couple of pages.
"Alas, this is a leaf miner, a rare insect that appears only once in a century. I have no choice but to report it to the prefecture."
Jiang Bowen was heartbroken. He couldn't tell the villagers that if the crops were infected with this insect, there would be no harvest this year.
His official career was insignificant, but he still had to take care of the people of Yongle County. He needed to quickly write a letter to report the disaster situation so that the imperial court could allocate disaster relief funds and grain; otherwise, Changping Village would descend into chaos.
"My lord, something terrible has happened, my lord..." The clerk also rushed over from the county office.
"What's wrong now?" Changping Village alone was already giving Jiang Bowen a huge headache.
"Sir, this morning we sent people to various villages to inquire, and they all came back saying that the rice has been eaten by insects, and the same is true in the county. The entire Yongle County is doomed."
After the advisor finished speaking, Magistrate Jiang lost his balance, the book in his hand fell into the field, and he was about to fall over while standing on the field embankment.
"Sir, sir, be careful!" The village chief helped the magistrate up so he wouldn't fall into the field.
"Ma Tiancheng, what did you just say? The rice in the entire Yongle County has been eaten by insects?"
Jiang Bowen's legs trembled, and his heart felt like it was being squeezed.
"Yes, sir, all the village chiefs have come to the county government office, and no one knows what to do."
As the county magistrate's advisor, Ma Tiancheng stayed at the county office to work while the magistrate was away. Unexpectedly, he received news of a major disaster, which is why he came to Changping Village to find the magistrate.
“This is a big deal, Ma Tiancheng. Go to Fumanlou and find Young Master Zhao. Explain the situation to him. He might have a solution.”
Now we can only rely on Nangong Qing; his information is faster and can quickly spread the disaster information to the capital.
"My lord, I'll go right away! Be careful not to fall." The clerk took his leave and ran off to find Nangong Qing.
The village chief had been with the magistrate in the field for half an hour, but the magistrate still hadn't said how to get rid of the pests, and the village chief was getting anxious.
"Sir, what should we do with all this rice? It's our lifeline!"
Jiang Bowen was also at a loss. He had studied poetry and books for more than ten years, but he had very few methods for getting rid of insects.
"Village Chief Li, here's what we'll do: you take the villagers to the fields to find mugwort to burn and repel insects, and see if it works. But remember to be careful with fire. I'll also write a memorial to report this and see if we can be exempted from taxes this year. Sigh..."
With such a big incident, even Nangong Qing couldn't sit still.
When he and Ah Xu arrived at Changping Village on horseback at noon, the villagers in the fields were crying.
The magistrate could only offer them words of comfort.
"Fellow villagers, please do not worry. I will go back and immediately set up an altar to offer sacrifices according to our country's methods of pest control, and pray to the gods."
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