And because there is no concept or practice of using pesticides here, Lili has put in a lot of effort to effectively prevent pests in the absence of chemical methods.
In order to manually reduce pests, people here usually clean the fields very frequently, removing diseased plant debris and weeds, and destroying the pests' habitat.
Lili also considered introducing natural enemies of pests, such as ladybugs that prey on aphids and Trichogramma wasps that can parasitize pest eggs.
However, a single Trichogramma wasp is only a fraction of a millimeter long, making them extremely difficult to catch; they are practically impossible to find.
So Lili could only ask her older brothers to catch some ladybugs when they went out to play and put them in the field.
There is another method, which is not very efficient, but it can still be somewhat effective.
That is to make an ancient version of the insect-attracting lamp.
Insect-attracting lamps primarily work by using insects' phototaxis to lure and trap pests, thereby reducing the damage caused by pests to crops to some extent.
A simplified version of the insect-attracting lamp can be made using insecticides and solar-powered lights.
But there are neither pesticides nor solar lights here.
So Lili could only take a broken net bag and put a candle inside.
However, this method used too many candles, and they might be blown out by the wind at night, so Lili gave up after two days.
"Li Bao is amazing! She knows so much more than her older brother!"
After finishing her day's patrol, Lili rode on Shen Jiahao's shoulders, and the two of them went home in the sunset.
"The guys helped Lili a lot too!"
Lili kept running into the fields, and the villagers got used to it. At first, they found it novel, but as the Shen family's rice grew more and more outstanding, many villagers began to imitate Lili's methods.
Seeing the rice growing plump and cute, Lili felt happy.
"Is Pear Baby hungry?"
I'm hungry!
"Let's go home for dinner!"
Lili swayed her two little pigtails as Shen Jiahao effortlessly carried her, walking steadily step by step.
My uncle went to the prefectural city with His Highness the Crown Prince a few days ago, and I reckon he should be preparing to go to Xixiang County by now.
Lili quickly calculated that her uncle was bound to have a miraculous encounter.
Hehe, the rice is growing well, Dad is going to take the imperial examination, and Uncle has a wonderful encounter.
Life is wonderful!
As they walked back to the Shen family home from the fields, at the fork in the road that led to the back mountain, Lili suddenly patted Shen Jiahao on the shoulder, signaling him to stop.
"What's wrong, Pear?"
Lili pursed her lips, and for some reason, she could always smell a faint smell of blood.
Lili looked up at the mountain.
As the sun sets, the mountains are shrouded in a golden veil, and the afterglow spills onto the peaks, outlining their rugged contours like a magnificent painting.
The mountaintop was dyed orange-red, like a burning flame; the mountainside was warm yellow; and the foot of the mountain was pale purple.
A mountain breeze swept by, causing the grass and trees to sway and rustle.
As always, it was peaceful and beautiful.
"Hey buddy, someone's fainted!"
Lili pointed to the mountain peak, and Shen Jiahao looked in that direction, but it was lush with green trees and could not be seen.
"Huh?" Shen Jiahao asked in confusion, "Where? I don't see anyone here."
At this time, every household is cooking, and wisps of smoke rise and fill the sky above the village. Few people are outside, let alone at the edge of the village.
"It really exists!"
Lili was getting anxious; any later and that person would be dead!
Shen Jiahao had already lifted one foot, ready to go home, but Lili looked very serious and anxious.
Shen Jiahao believed his sister; she wasn't the type to say such things without reason.
Shen Jiahao changed his posture, carrying Lili on his back, holding her tightly with both hands, and then strode into the mountain, heading towards the summit.
During this period, Shen Jiahao was either training or on his way to train, and his already taller physique than his peers became even more robust.
Carrying Lili up a mountain is a piece of cake for her.
Lili nestled against her brother's warm, strong back, feeling only peace of mind.
Sigh, her older brother could smash a rock the size of her head to pieces with one punch. Lili thought that no one with any sense would dare to provoke her.
Shen Jiahao's steps were firm and powerful. The setting sun stretched their shadows long. Shen Jiahao deliberately quickened his pace and finally climbed to the top of the mountain in half an hour.
Shen Jiahao took a breath and carefully put Lili down: "Libao, we're here. Quickly look around and see if anyone's here?"
As soon as Lili landed, she went straight to a secluded spot where several large trees stood close together, their branches intertwined. Under the thick trunks, an old man lay dead!
Next to the old man was a basket about half the size of a person, filled with all sorts of herbs, which were being poured out.
Lili quickly ran over, followed closely by Shen Jiahao, who was shocked the moment he saw the old man.
The old man's face was as pale as paper, devoid of any color.
His eyes were tightly closed, his brows were furrowed, and the pain seemed to be frozen on his face. The wounds on his body were shocking, and blood kept seeping through the layers of fabric, staining large areas of his clothes red.
The old man was breathing weakly, his eyelids were so light that they were almost invisible, and his right hand was tightly clutching his lower back, from which blood was constantly flowing.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, can you hear me talking?"
Lili knelt down and whispered in the old man's ear.
The old man's lips trembled slightly as he struggled to open them a little, but then closed them again weakly.
Some of the blood on his clothes had already dried, indicating that he had been injured for some time.
Lili noticed a herb with its head cut off next to the old man. She gently lifted two fingers of the old man's hand that was pressing on his lower back and saw that there were roughly torn pieces of herb stuck in the wound.
Lili didn't recognize what it was, but she thought that the herb must have had some effect, otherwise he would have bled to death so quickly.
The old man was almost stained red with blood. Shen Jiahao had never seen such a bloody scene before, but he was still worried that Lili would be scared: "Lili, don't be afraid. Brother will carry him down and let Doctor Zhu save him!"
"Um!"
There was no other way at the moment. While the old man was still breathing, we could only take him away and then go find Doctor Zhu to take a look.
Shen Jiahao squatted down and carried the old man on his back. Lili thoughtfully used a handkerchief to pad the herbal medicine on the old man's wound, placing it between the wound and Shen Jiahao's back.
The old man noticed the movement, his eyelids twitched again, and he let out a soft gasp, perhaps because his wound was being pulled and was in pain.
"Grandpa, don't be afraid, you'll be alright. We'll take you down the mountain to find a doctor!" Shen Jiahao carried the old man on his back and turned to tell Lili to follow.
Lili was worried about being late, and she didn't know how long it would take to walk on her short legs: "Guoguo, you go first, don't worry about Lili!"
"That won't do! It's getting dark, and you'll be in danger alone!"
Shen Jiahao was also somewhat anxious. One was a seriously injured old man who was on the verge of death and looked like he could not hold on at any moment, and the other was his younger sister who was alone on the mountain and was in danger.
Lili wanted him to go first again, but then she caught a glimpse of the overturned basket on the ground and quickly ran over to pick it up: "Here it is! Lili, sit in the basket, and Guoguo, carry the basket in front of you, okay?"
There was no better way at the moment; he would never leave Lili alone on the mountain.
"Okay! Lili, sit in the basket!"
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