Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.
Those who were closer looked and, sure enough, the crab was using its large pincers to grab the rice seedlings!
The village head, in particular, felt a sudden jolt of fear, as if the field was about to collapse.
If mud crabs really do eat rice seedlings, then there's truly no hope left.
If we really had to rely on people to catch them, I don't know if we could catch all these golden apple snails!
"Tch, I think it's just a bunch of charlatans! All that talk about natural enemies is just a bunch of nonsense! What are you trying to prove? You're really making a big deal out of nothing!" Yang Dadan sneered from the side.
He held a grudge; his right leg was injured because of Gu Lili and her brother.
Now that Gu Lili is the county magistrate, he dares not openly oppose her.
But he still dares to make veiled criticisms.
As soon as Yang Dadan finished speaking, Wang Xiuer glared at him fiercely.
Seeing this, Yang Dadan quickly fell silent, not daring to say anything more.
He wasn't afraid of Gu Lili, but he was still very afraid of his own wife.
Because of Yang Dadan's questioning, people in the crowd gradually began to whisper among themselves.
Everyone's whispering that Gu Lili is probably unreliable this time.
Lin Xiyao couldn't stand others questioning Gu Lili, and immediately lost her temper.
"You ungrateful wretch! Do you know that Lili has been busy all day trying to solve this snail problem, and you're still making sarcastic remarks!" Lin Xiyao pointed at Yang Dadan and started cursing.
Chang'an, standing to the side, also looked displeased, waiting for Yang Dadan to utter any more offensive words before stepping forward to give him a beating.
Many people who worked at Gu Lili's house couldn't help but speak up for her.
"Yang Dadan, who do you think you are? Even if Lili's idea is wrong, she meant well. Instead of offering your own suggestions, you're just spouting nonsense here!"
"Exactly! Instead of wasting time talking, why don't you think about how to solve the problem of golden apple snails!"
"......."
Hearing everyone defend her, Gu Lili felt a warmth in her heart.
Yang Dadan didn't see anything clearly, yet he's indirectly cursing Gu Lili.
Gu Lili said that she would remember this grudge.
Now is not the time to argue with him; we'll settle the score with him properly later.
Gu Lili smiled and said to everyone, "Everyone, take a closer look. Is this blue crab eating rice?"
After hearing what Gu Lili said, everyone looked more carefully into the wooden barrel.
The crab was seen using its pincers to grab the rice seedlings, but it didn't put them in its mouth; it seemed more like it wanted to clear the rice seedlings away from its face.
Wang Xiuer slapped Yang Dadan on the back of the head and yelled, "Are you blind? You didn't even see clearly before you started babbling on. Get out of the way and stand at the back!"
Yang Dadan winced in pain, clutching the back of his head, and sullenly pushed himself away.
The crowd burst into laughter again.
"Laugh! Laugh! What are you laughing at..."
Before Yang Dadan could finish speaking, he was hit on the back of the head again and immediately fell silent.
Those bachelors who had just been watching felt a sharp pain in the back of their heads and quickly shrank back, just like Yang Dadan.
After the commotion subsided, everyone stared intently at the crabs in the bucket. They observed for almost the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, but no crabs were seen stuffing rice seedlings into their mouths.
“Lili, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but this matter concerns our food and clothing for the rest of the year. Maybe we’re not hungry if we don’t eat these crabs now,” Tie Dan’s mother suggested.
Everyone agreed that Tie Dan's mother made sense and nodded, looking at Gu Lili.
Gu Lili was naturally not angry, since no one had ever seen this situation before.
Gu Lili casually grabbed a few apple snails from Grandma Yang's rice paddy and threw them into the bucket.
She knew that it was better to let everyone see for themselves than to waste words explaining to them.
As soon as Gu Lili threw a few apple snails into the bucket, the crabs were startled and kept waving their pincers.
After a while, seemingly having caught a whiff of the golden apple snail, one of them used its pliers to grab a snail and put it directly into its mouth.
The other one seemed a bit clumsy, and after several attempts, it finally managed to pick up a slightly smaller apple snail. Without any hesitation, it put it directly into its mouth and ate it.
Everyone was stunned; it turned out that what Gu Lili said was true.
"Lili, where should we buy blue crabs?" Tie Dan's mother asked hurriedly.
Other villagers, having witnessed the crabs eating the golden apple snails, quickly went over to inquire.
"Lili, how much does a blue crab cost?"
"My family has five mu of land, so how many kilograms of mud crabs should we buy to put in the fields?"
"......"
Everyone knows that there are blue crabs on the beach at the east end of the village, but they are not easy to catch.
Moreover, with so many villagers, if they all went to catch them, they definitely wouldn't be able to get many.
Although you can go find a little bit every day, rice seedlings don't wait for anyone.
They had just witnessed firsthand that many of the newly planted rice seedlings had already been eaten by golden apple snails.
Obviously, time is of the essence, and the fastest way is to buy blue crabs from Gu Lili.
As everyone was asking questions, Yang Dadan's sarcastic remarks came out from behind again.
"Tch! After all that fuss, it turns out they just want to sell crabs to everyone! They'll make money off any kind of silver, they have no conscience at all. If I were the county magistrate, I would give the crabs away for free, since they have gold bestowed by the emperor!"
Gu Lili was about to answer everyone's questions, but she was so angry at Yang Dadan's naive and insensitive remarks that she laughed.
It's utterly ridiculous. Just because you have money doesn't mean you have to give it away for free.
What shameless remarks!
Gu Lili earned her money herself. Even when she asked the villagers to help, she didn't shortchange anyone on their wages!
"Exactly! Isn't this what scholars call 'the rich are heartless'?"
Those bachelors who had been there earlier also joined Yang Dadan in making a fuss.
Gu Lili's eyes darkened, and she said coldly, "Chang'an, bring those two people up!"
She never put on airs of a county magistrate in front of her fellow villagers, and even made a point of waiving the villagers' formalities.
However, it seems now that it's time to put on the airs of a county magistrate.
Chang'an, holding one in each hand like a chick, dragged Yang Dadan and Lai Mazi to Gu Lili.
"Chang'an, tell me, shouldn't he be beaten for constantly insulting the county princess?" Gu Lili looked at the two people in front of her with a half-smile.
Before the two could react, Chang'an kicked them both to their knees.
Seeing Gu Lili like this, everyone dared not make a sound.
I used to think Gu Lili was kind-hearted and gentle, but I never expected her to have such a ruthless side.
·
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com