That day, Chen Kai saw his father soaking rice seeds in the yard again and asked curiously, "Dad, isn't it time to transplant rice seedlings? Why are you soaking so many seeds again?"
Old Man Chen sighed and said helplessly, "My dear son, there are a lot of insects on the rice seedlings we planted. I estimate that some of them will die. I'll soak some seeds now and then replant some later."
Chen Kai thought for a moment. He had heard of the Buddleja officinalis used to catch fish last time. It seemed to be used as an insecticide, but the concentration had to be controlled, otherwise it would burn the seedlings.
“Dad, do you remember that kind of grass we used to catch fish last time? Since that grass can kill such big fish, maybe it can be used to make pesticides to kill pests on crops!” Chen Kai prompted his father.
Old Man Chen thought Chen Kai's words made sense, so he said, "I still remember that kind of grass. This afternoon, when you're cutting pig feed, have Daya bring some back to try!"
Chen Kai said, "Dad, I think we should try to find out how much water to dilute with the juice of that grass. We don't have much experience, and we don't know if it will damage the seedlings."
Old Man Chen thought for a moment and said, "Well, let's try several different ratios, spread them on several fields, compare them, and see the effect after a few days."
Since he sprinkled the Buddleja officinalis juice mixed with water on the rice seedlings in several plots of land, Old Man Chen has been inspecting the fields every day. At first, there was no effect, and he had to manually catch the insects.
After a few days, I sprayed different proportions of Buddleja officinalis water every day, and it worked; most of the insects were killed. A small portion of the Buddleja officinalis juice was diluted too much, and some seedlings were burned to death. In another part, the concentration of the Buddleja officinalis juice was too low, and not many insects were killed; some seedlings still had insects on them.
That day, Old Man Chen had Daya and the others cut a large amount of Buddleja officinalis to make insecticide.
Old Chen chose a plot of land with the best insecticidal effect and used the juice of the butterfly bush to mix with water to spread the remaining seedlings.
Old Chen was so happy he almost cried when he saw that there were significantly fewer insects on the rice seedlings. Finally, he had found a way to deal with the insects, and the crops were saved!
Old Chen said excitedly, "This grass really can kill insects! Our grain yield will definitely increase a lot this year."
Chen Lao Er also said happily, "Little brother is truly our family's lucky star! Our family will have a good harvest this year."
When Old Man Chen got home, he immediately picked up Chen Kai and said happily, "My good son, you are truly our family's lucky star! The method you mentioned really works to kill insects!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou asked in surprise, "That kind of grass we used to kill fish last time, can it really be used to kill pests on crops?!"
Old Man Chen said, "That's right! This method of killing insects is a lifesaver for us farmers! Eldest son! Tomorrow, come with me to the county town with some insect-killing herbs and tell the county magistrate about this method so he can report it to the Prince's Palace. This will greatly increase our country's grain production in the future!"
"In a few days, once there are no more insects in our rice seedlings, we'll tell the villagers about this pest control method so they can also have a good harvest! We'll also let them see our rice seedlings, so they won't disbelieve us."
After hearing that the juice of this herb, when diluted with water, could kill insects on rice seedlings, Chen's wife said, "Our vegetable garden has also been infested with a lot of insects. I wonder if this can kill the insects on the vegetables?"
Chen Kai said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, you can try sprinkling a patch first, there's no harm in it."
His sister-in-law said, "Okay, I'll give it a try first. If it works, our family will have more food to eat."
"By the way, Dad, when the fourth and fifth brothers were composting last time, I saw that the mud they dug up was pretty good, so I asked them to put some compost in the vegetable garden too. Now the vegetables are growing really well, that mud really fertilizes the soil!" the eldest son's wife suddenly said.
Old Man Chen asked in surprise, "It really fertilizes the land! Then let's quickly make more."
Although Old Man Chen initially agreed to let his fourth and fifth sons help Chen Kai and Xiao Tian with composting, he didn't really pay attention to how well they did it.
Chen Kai said, "Dad, don't worry. A few days ago, Fourth Brother and Fifth Brother already put a lot of compost in the field. They even dug two more pits for composting!"
Old Man Chen said, "No, that's not enough. We need to dig more!" With that, Old Man Chen put Chen Kai down and ran out.
Chen Kai had long wanted his father to go and take a look at the fields. His sister-in-law could tell that the rotten mud could fertilize the land, so his father would definitely be able to tell as well, which would allow them to get more fertilizer.
Chen Kai never expected his father to be so generous this time, telling the villagers and even the Prince's Mansion about the insecticide method for free. He never imagined his father had such a brilliant idea!
When Old Man Chen returned from the county town, he said happily, "This time, the county magistrate rewarded our family with another fifty taels of silver!"
With the Prince's Mansion as their backer, the county magistrate wouldn't be so heartless this time, and directly rewarded them with fifty taels of silver.
Old Man Chen asked his eldest and second sons to take some Buddleja officinalis to the homes of Chen Kai's uncles and his eldest sister, to tell them that the juice of this herb, when diluted with water, could be used to kill pests on crops. He also told them the dilution ratio and where to find this herb.
A few days later, Old Man Chen started having his children spread the word throughout the village that Buddleja officinalis could be used to kill pests on crops. If they didn't believe him, the government would issue a notice soon.
At first, the villagers didn't believe it, but after seeing that there were no insects in the rice seedlings in the Chen family's field, they were too excited to speak.
Not long ago, the Chen family invented a new sled that could improve farming efficiency, and now they have discovered grass that can be used to kill pests on crops. The Chen family is really lucky!
However, the villagers are very grateful to the Chen family for increasing grain production. Now, when the Chen family walks around the village, everyone they meet praises them, making the children in the family a little arrogant.
Seeing that the kids in the family were getting a little cocky after being praised, and were even looking down on people, Xiao Tian said, "The method wasn't your idea, so what are you so proud of? Your uncle isn't like you."
"Have you finished the housework? Have you trimmed the flowers you collected? Have you dried and dyed the flowers?"
Hearing Xiaotian's series of questions, the group of little kids lowered their heads in shame and said, "Xiaotian, we know we were wrong, we'll go do some work right away!" After saying that, the group immediately went to find work to do.
Chen Kai watched with satisfaction, thinking that Xiao Tian had finally come to regard everyone as family.
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