Sweat drenched their clothes, but no one stopped working. Under the blazing sun, everyone felt like they were trapped in a steamer. Sweat streamed down their foreheads like streams, streaking down their cheeks and soaking their collars. The sweat on the men's naked upper bodies formed shimmering lines of water, dripping onto the cracked earth and disappearing instantly. The women's clothes clung to their backs, their once vibrant colors darkened by sweat. But their hands remained restless, installing insect screens without slowing down. Sweat dripped from the foreheads of those carrying pesticide barrels, blurring their vision, but they casually wiped them with their sleeves and continued their focused spraying. The heavy barrels left deep marks on their backs, and the sweat seeped into the marks, causing bursts of stinging pain, but they seemed unaware of it, mechanically moving forward, leaving no corner untouched. An elderly man's sweat ran into his eyes, irritating them, but he simply blinked, swallowing the discomfort as he continued hammering away at the stake. A young girl's hair was wet and clung to her scalp, with a few strands clinging to her cheek. Too busy to brush it away, she gritted her teeth and diligently fixed the insect screen. The children, their tiny bodies drenched in sweat, their clothes sticking to them, but they never stopped passing tools, their tender faces brimming with stubborn determination. Despite the sweat soaking their clothes and the exhaustion clogging their bodies, their eyes were filled with determination, their work never pausing.
However, the scale of the infestation far exceeded expectations. No sooner had one area been contained than another suffered severe damage. On the battlefield of the fierce battle against the infestation, those who had just basked in the joy of successfully controlling one field were instantly struck down by the harsh reality. Here, workers had finally erected a tight insect net, successfully keeping the locusts out of a certain area, and were about to breathe a sigh of relief. Suddenly, from another field in the distance, desperate cries rang out. The patch of cropland, which had once shone with a hint of green, was instantly covered by a black swarm of locusts. The locusts devoured the crops frantically, and the sound of stalks snapping could be heard, as if the land were groaning in pain. People hurried over to see a horrifying scene. The once thriving crops were now incomplete, their leaves devoured, leaving only bare branches trembling in the wind. An old farmer slumped to the ground, watching the fields he'd painstakingly cultivated destroyed. Tears streamed down his face, his hands pounding feebly against the ground, "How am I going to survive?" The newly prepared pesticide had barely been sprayed before new areas of damage began to appear. Traps here piled with the carcasses of locusts, while elsewhere, swarms surged through, leaving a barren wasteland. "How could this happen? We've given it our all!" someone shouted angrily, their voice filled with helplessness and resignation. Xiao Yi watched this scene, his heart aching with anxiety, but he knew he couldn't panic. "Don't lose heart, keep fighting! We'll find a way!" he shouted, encouraging the demoralized crowd. However, the scale of the infestation was so immense that the small victory they had just achieved in one area seemed insignificant in the face of the vast stricken area.
In the fight against the insect infestation, resources like pesticides and pest control equipment are running low. The warehouses, once overflowing with pesticide barrels, are now dwindling. The supply manager paced anxiously, looking at the empty shelves with a frown on his face. "What should we do? At this rate of use, we won't be able to hold out for more than a few days," he muttered to himself. Insect nets faced a similar dilemma. As the infestation spread, more and more farmland needed protection, and the existing nets simply couldn't keep up. "We've used up all the materials we could find, and it's still not enough," the worker in charge of making the nets said helplessly. Pesticide sprayers were also breaking, but there weren't enough parts to repair them. Those sprayers that were still working were beginning to falter under the intense use. "Without pesticides, how can we fight these locusts?" someone began to complain, their voices filled with anxiety. Xiao Yi felt a growing sense of pressure as he watched the dwindling resources. He knew that without sufficient resources, the battle against the insect infestation would be even more difficult. "Don't worry, let's think of a solution together." Xiao Yi tried to calm everyone down, but his eyes also revealed deep worry. In order to save pesticides, people had to reduce the amount of spraying each time, but this greatly reduced the effectiveness of insect control. "Can some resources be allocated from other places?" someone suggested. "I've already contacted them, but distant water cannot quench immediate thirst." Xiao Yi sighed. Faced with the dilemma of resource shortages, people's mood became increasingly heavy, and the fight against the insect plague became increasingly difficult.
Xiao Yi once again had to face a difficult decision: should he prioritize protecting some crops, or distribute resources evenly and try to minimize overall losses? Standing beside the insect-ravaged farmland, Xiao Yi looked at the desolate scene before him, his heart filled with entanglement and pain. He frowned, his eyes wandering between different areas of farmland, constantly weighing the pros and cons of the two options in his mind. If he chose to prioritize protecting some crops, it would mean abandoning some areas. Those abandoned farmlands would suffer a devastating disaster and yield nothing. However, the areas where resources were concentrated for protection might have a better harvest, at least guaranteeing the basic survival needs of some people. However, if resources were distributed evenly, although it seemed fair, due to the shortage of resources themselves, not every farmland might be effectively protected, ultimately leading to even greater overall losses.
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