"I feel really unwell right now. My head hurts a bit, my chest feels tight, and I feel uncomfortable all over." Zhang Xiantao leaned against someone's chest, looking completely helpless.
Xingxing blinked her big, watery eyes, and before Zhao Mingyue could notice, Zhang Xiantao gave her a subtle glare.
Xingxing: "?" She knew this guy was faking it.
Zhang Xiantao recovered from her illness, and after resting in the dilapidated temple for a few days, everyone's spirits were restored. The next day, they were to continue their journey. As for whether the dilapidated temple was haunted, they had no idea. In any case, they stayed in the dilapidated temple for many days without encountering any ghosts.
The group began to travel at a rapid pace again, getting closer and closer to the south. In another ten days, they would be able to cross the northern border and reach the south. However, at this moment, Xingxing suddenly had a visual prompt in her mind.
In a county town to the southeast, it has not received rain for more than four months. The wheat that the people planted is about to die from drought. However, this is not the worst of it. In about half a month, there will be a locust plague.
When locusts swarm, it's like the end of the world; nothing grows, and crops will fail completely.
In this way, the stars could not continue south. They had to find a way to solve the locust plague problem first. She told Zhu Lin about this, but the boy was also helpless. He was already a mortal, and many of his abilities were limited. The magical artifacts in the mustard seed space were also useless in this world.
There's no good solution to this in the short term; we'll have to think about it slowly. But before that, we need to tell Bai Yushuang so that she and Bai Yue'e can return to Nanyang Prefecture first.
"I'll have a few skilled guards escort you south. We have an urgent matter to attend to and cannot travel with you."
After Zhu Lin finished speaking, he asked Zhang Xiantao, "Miss Zhang, what are your plans with Zhao Mingyue? Why don't you go with Aunt Bai and the others?"
"That won't do," Zhang Xiantao said, raising her eyebrows. "I want to go with you. Aunt Bai and the others can be escorted; we don't need to come. What are you going to do? I want to go too."
Zhu Lin had already guessed that this was her plan. After making arrangements for Bai Yushuang and her group, he ignored Zhang Xiantao.
Bai Yushuang was in a hurry to find her daughter, so she naturally agreed. "Thank you, Young Master Zhu. Then we'll head south first. Please be careful. I hope we can meet again in Nanyang Prefecture."
Bai Yushuang's plan was to first go south to pick up Chen Yueru. After the family rested in the south, they might return to Changping City to find Chen Tu and his son. If Zhu Lin and Xingxing's group returned to Nanyang Prefecture too late, they might miss each other, and it was unknown when they would meet again.
Zhu Lin couldn't say for sure when they could go back. After the locust plague, who knew what other disasters might occur? Unless Xingxing didn't receive any more hints, they would be busy.
After seeing Bai Yushuang and the others off, Xingxing and her group hurried towards Donglin City. Their original location was ten days' journey from Donglin City, and after they arrived, they would only have five days to prepare.
During the day they traveled non-stop, and at night they would gather around the campfire to think of ways to kill the locusts. Killing them was very difficult, but Zhao Mingyue gave them a reminder.
Zhao Mingyue said, "Grasshoppers are edible. Da Zhuang, Da Ze, and I have both roasted grasshoppers to eat."
Da Zhuang Ze nodded vigorously and said, "It smells very good and tastes quite delicious. When you can't catch prey, grasshoppers are still meat, just as delicious as cicadas."
Xingxing thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "I remember now, grasshoppers are indeed edible. Back in Yegou Village, my second brother also roasted grasshoppers to eat. He dares to eat anything."
Zhu Lin agreed wholeheartedly, “Right now, the people are short of food. When the locusts pass through, the crops will be destroyed. The people of Donglin City will probably have to flee again. If we can make use of these locusts, the people can get through this period without having to leave their homes and flee.”
"Junior Brother means to eat locusts as food and have the people catch locusts?" Zhu Qiuyu immediately understood his subtext.
“Yes, locusts are meat too, and they might not be any worse than eating grains,” Zhu Lin nodded.
Xingxing immediately made a decision, "Let's do as Brother Lin says. We'll rush to Donglin City and have the government issue a notice to inform the village heads and wardens to gather the people and make preparations in advance. Then all the people of Donglin City will catch grasshoppers together."
So on the rest of the journey, they racked their brains for ways to catch locusts while they traveled. Zhang Xiantao suggested using fire, since locusts are afraid of fire, so they could use fire to attack them.
Zhu Qingruo suggested using tree branches to beat it, and also suggested using a burlap sack to cover it. The group came up with quite a few ideas.
"We can also use nets. Since we don't have fishing nets, we can weave a big net from rattan or bamboo strips. A big net can catch a lot of locusts." Xingxing also came up with a great idea.
Seeing that everyone had a solution, Zhu Chumo also spoke up quietly: "I have a kind of herb here that can attract locusts. We can dig a big pit, put some herbs in it, and then set the locusts on fire after they are attracted. This way, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Fourth Brother's method was unanimously praised by everyone; it was indeed a brilliant idea.
When they arrived in Donglin City ten days later, they went directly to the county government office to find the magistrate. When Qingyan and Qingluo took out their tokens to show that they were sent by the emperor, the magistrate of Donglin City was stunned. Why would the emperor suddenly send people?
Could it be that the Emperor is dissatisfied with him? But he hasn't done anything to offend the court or the people, so why is that? Besides, he's just a minor county magistrate, surely he doesn't deserve the Emperor's attention?
"The Imperial Observatory observed the celestial phenomena and predicted that in five days, on June 6th, Donglin City will be plagued by locusts. Therefore, His Majesty specially dispatched us to assist Magistrate Zhong in resolving the locust plague." Qingyan said in a serious tone, trying to deceive people.
The magistrate of Donglin City was named Zhong Li. Zhong Li was a fifty-year-old man. Because he was from the south, he was rather short and thin. His abilities were average, but he was still a decent county official. At least he had never done anything to oppress the people.
If he were to figure out how to solve the locust plague on his own, he certainly wouldn't be able to do much, but if someone guides him, he can do things very well.
The next day, Zhongli invited all the village heads and village chiefs from various towns to the county government office for discussion.
"What? A locust plague? Is this true or false?" The crowd was skeptical.
The magistrate was prepared for this. He said sternly, "Extreme drought breeds locusts. When locusts invade, the crops will fail completely. Donglin City has been experiencing drought since last year, with no rain for a long time. Haven't you noticed that there are many more locusts in the fields recently? Some time ago, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau also predicted that a locust plague was about to arrive in Donglin City."
Upon receiving His Majesty's secret order, I immediately dispatched men to check various locations for any unusual activity. Guess what happened?
"How is it?" the others asked, as expected.
The magistrate frowned deeply. “Some branches and leaves in the mountains and forests are covered with insect eggs. After some investigation, it was confirmed that the insect eggs covering the forest are locust eggs. If the locusts are allowed to emerge, Donglin City will suffer a great disaster, and several nearby counties will also be unable to escape it.”
"Ah? Since the imperial court and the county magistrate have both confirmed this matter, it seems to be true. We should indeed make preparations as soon as possible. But what is the way to resolve this matter?"
One of the oldest village heads immediately reacted. This man was shrewd and quickly understood that the Emperor had issued a secret decree, and the county magistrate had specifically consulted with everyone; they must have a plan.
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