The magistrate gave the old man a deep look, and without further ado, said, "Thanks to His Majesty's good fortune, His Majesty has indeed devised many countermeasures. You should go back and begin preparations immediately, without delay."
After sending away the village heads and wardens, the magistrate was still not at ease, so he sent yamen runners to various places to supervise and ensure that the preparations were carried out.
For four days, all the people in Donglin County were busy with their own village leaders and wardens. Those skilled in handicrafts were responsible for cutting rattan or bamboo strips to weave large nets, strong laborers carried hoes to dig large pits, and the elderly and children were responsible for going up the mountain to collect firewood and dry grass.
Once all preparations were complete, Zhu Chumo handed the herbs to the county magistrate, instructing him to distribute them to the village heads and wardens, and then waited for the locusts to arrive.
That morning, the people of Donglin City were all wrapped up tightly, even their faces were covered with cloth, leaving only three holes for breathing and looking. The elderly and children hid in their houses and dared not come out.
The people had been waiting since the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), and by noon they saw a huge, dark mass of locusts covering the eastern mountains, blotting out the sky, as they surged towards Donglin City.
Some timid people felt their hair stand on end and their scalps tingle at the sight, trembling and screaming before running home as if their lives depended on it.
This scene was truly terrifying. People nowadays already had some belief in ghosts and gods, and they were always hesitant to go against the will of Heaven. They wondered if killing these locusts would anger the heavens and bring them even greater divine punishment.
Zhu Lin had anticipated that some people would have such inexplicable emotions, so he sent people to keep an eye on things in various places. There are a total of eight towns in Donglin County. Several senior brothers and sisters were assigned to one town each, and Zhang Xiantao and Zhao Mingyue were sent to oversee the remaining town.
At critical moments, they play a commanding role. For example, when locusts are swarming in, they can decisively give orders like, "What are you waiting for? People over here, light the fires immediately! People over there, set up the nets! Everyone, be alert and get ready!"
At first there were some bumps along the way, but once everyone got into the combat atmosphere, they all got into the swing of things. Some villagers even tried eating the roasted locusts and immediately recognized their flavor.
"It's really edible, it smells delicious, just like meat."
Hearing this, the others became even more excited. As long as they could eat, nothing was more important than food. If the locusts ate all the grain, they would eat the locusts instead.
In fact, the locusts' passage is very short. They almost devour the crops in the fields in a flash. So from the arrival of the locust plague to its end, it takes less than half an hour.
Because of prior preparation, the people of Donglin City caught a lot of locusts, almost filling the large pit. They also caught a lot of locusts with rattan and bamboo nets. It can be said that not many locusts managed to escape in the end.
Several surrounding counties and prefectural cities also received news of the locust plague and took corresponding countermeasures. However, the situation in other places was much better, unlike in Donglin City where the locusts had wiped out all the grain.
For a long time to come, people will have to rely on eating locusts to survive. To be honest, if a family is well-off and can afford oil, they can fry locusts in oil. But most people can't afford oil, and they only dare to put a drop or even no oil at all when cooking vegetables.
It's impractical to fry grasshoppers in oil; they can only be roasted or steamed. After a while, they become quite unpalatable. People are content as long as they can fill their stomachs and dare not hope for more.
However, if the way of eating can be improved without spending money or effort, the people are willing to do so.
Although the people's families didn't have much food, they still had some left over. Xingxing had a method to teach everyone: first, dry the locusts in the sun, then grind them into powder, and then mix them with coarse grains such as black flour and white flour to make steamed buns. Eating them this way would taste much better than eating locusts dry.
"It's a pity that the trees and grass on the mountain have been ruined by locusts. Otherwise, it would be delicious to pick some wild vegetables and make vegetable buns with locust powder." Xingxing had many ideas in her mind, but unfortunately, not many of them were applicable.
The main problem is that everyone is too poor; they've lost all their crops and greenery, so it's very difficult to manage.
"After such a great disaster, it should rain eventually. Wheat can't be planted, but sweet potatoes and corn should be able to be planted." Xingxing thought about having Zhu Lin bring out some sweet potato vines from his space, give them to the county magistrate, and then have the magistrate distribute them to the people.
Now that the people of Donglin City have locusts to eat, they no longer give them sweet potatoes, but only sweet potato vines and corn seeds, so that they can grow their own food.
It should still be possible to plant another batch at this time of year, but the harvest may be a bit smaller. The north is cold, unlike the south where two seasons can be planted, so we can only make do with what we have.
I hope next year will be an auspicious year, and that peace and stability will be restored in all regions as soon as possible.
After resolving the matter in Donglin City, Xingxing and his group did not linger any longer. This time, they did not head directly south. They received news that a plague had broken out in a village in the neighboring prefecture, resulting in many deaths and many people fleeing the area.
"We must get there as soon as possible. If the villagers in that village spread the disease too quickly, it will soon infect other places. Hopefully, we can control it in time." Zhu Chumo's expression was solemn. One disaster after another has come. Not to mention that the emperor would be overwhelmed, even they, who have been running around recently, are feeling mentally and physically exhausted.
If it weren't for their junior brother's insistence on helping with disaster relief, they wouldn't have bothered.
To control the epidemic, many essential herbs were needed. Zhu Chumo didn't have enough on him, so he naturally took them from Fu Lin's space. Zhu Chumo had no choice but to start making medicine day and night again.
Xingxing felt bad for always troubling her senior brothers and sisters, but without their help, it would be difficult for her to help the people on her own.
"Don't look so upset. Just do whatever you want. Whatever you want to do, I'll help you," Zhu Lin said calmly.
"You all worked so hard to help me, didn't you? Sigh, why can't I grow up quickly so I can do more things?" Xingxing felt that all she could do now was talk and give orders to others, but she wasn't the one who actually did the work.
“You’ve done so much already. You helped Fourth Senior Brother when he was making medicine, and you also helped when he was making mixed grain pills last time. You even grew the sweet potatoes and corn in the space. You’ve really done a lot.” Zhu Lin listed them off to her one by one.
Xingxing opened her mouth slightly in surprise, "Really? I had forgotten all about this until you mentioned it. Xingxing is indeed very capable. I can't be discouraged; I must keep working hard."
Little Lucky Bag needs to be full of energy every day, how can she not have confidence?
Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye. In these three years, Xingxing has been traveling around to provide disaster relief and has tried her best to solve the difficulties of the people at critical moments. Her efforts have been effective.
Perhaps her good fortune really did spread to various places. Starting half a year ago, there were no more natural disasters in the Great Jin Dynasty. The weather was favorable in various places, and the refugees were gradually resettled. With no more natural disasters, the number of refugees would not increase.
After being resettled, the refugees who had fled earlier began to settle down and start living again. With the support of the imperial court, the severely affected areas were able to begin reconstruction in the shortest possible time.
After that, as long as agriculture is vigorously developed, ensuring that people have both shelter and enough to eat, what is there to worry about in achieving peace and prosperity?
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