Chapter 192 Locusts

Liu Yinyin suddenly felt a surge of fear. It was not uncommon to see locusts in the countryside.

But it is extremely rare to see so many locusts gathering together...

When drought is severe, locusts will appear. Liu Yinyin couldn't help but worry. If a locust plague occurred, the consequences would be disastrous.

This year the weather was dry, but not all villages had no harvest, like Shuangxi Village...

The growth of sweet potatoes, potatoes and other crops in the fields is not very good, but it is not to the point of total failure.

But if a locust plague occurs...all the crops that have not yet matured will be destroyed.

After struggling for a while, Liu Yinyin got on her bike and went back to Huang's house.

No matter what, now that I've noticed something's wrong, I can't just pretend I didn't see anything.

"Yinyin, why are you back again?" Huang Xiaoyue couldn't help showing a hint of doubt on her face when she saw Liu Yinyin riding a bicycle back home.

Huang Laizi took a morning off and is now staying at home instead of working in the fields.

Liu Yinyin told them about the locusts she had just seen on the road, and added: "Locusts reproduce very quickly. If we don't find a way to control them, it won't be long before they become a disaster."

There will be locusts after a long drought. It is a truth that an elderly person like Huang Laizi must know.

His face was solemn as he said, "There are more locusts in the village this year than in previous years."

But the villagers didn't think about the locust plague...

Liu Yinyin advised: "It is better to believe it than not to believe it. This kind of thing cannot be taken lightly. It is better to make preparations in advance to be safer."

If the people in Shuangxi Village thought she was making a fuss, Liu Yinyin would have nothing to say.

Huang Laizi obviously didn't think so. He stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go tell the captain."

No matter what, the crops in the fields are the villagers' food for the next year, and there must be no mistakes.

Liu Yinyin didn't say much. As for the method of controlling the infestation of locusts, the village was full of authentic farmers and they definitely knew as much as she did.

Huang Xiaoyue saw that she was going to go back, so she tried to persuade her to stay, "It's so late, why don't you have lunch here?"

Liu Yinyin didn't agree: "No, I have to go back and tell my parents about this, and also tell other people in the village."

If a locust plague really happens, the whole village...even the entire county or provincial capital will probably be affected.

After returning to Liujia Village, Liu Yinyin first visited Liu Changquan's family.

However, Liu Changquan was not at home.

"He should be in the ground right now," said Li Chunfang.

As long as there were people working in the village, Liu Changquan would be there to watch.

This year, eighty to ninety percent of the land in Liujia Village has died of drought. The remaining land should still yield some harvest, so we can't just leave it alone.

Liu Yinyin asked her to help pass a message to Liu Changquan, saying that a large number of locusts were found in Shuangxi Village and there might be a locust plague.

Li Chunfang was horrified when he heard this: "God really doesn't want us to live!"

Drought has occurred for two consecutive years, and if there is another locust plague...by then the wild vegetables and tree barks in the mountains will be gone, how will the people survive?

Liu Yinyin was also panicking: "So, we have to be prepared in advance."

There is no time to waste. In the face of a possible locust plague, we must make preparations in advance.

Li Chunfang knew the seriousness of the matter, so she immediately said, "I'll go find someone out there and tell them about this."

After a long journey, Liu Yinyin was sweating profusely when she got home.

Jiang Cuihua asked, "Why did it take you so long to come back?"

Liu Yinyin drank a sip of cool well water, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Don't mention it. On the way back, I saw a large group of locusts. I was afraid of a locust plague, so I went to the village chief to tell him about it."

The smile on Jiang Cuihua's face froze for a moment, and her eyes widened: "Is this true?"

Liu Yinyin nodded: "Of course, how could I make a joke about this? Uncle Huang has said that there are more locusts in Shuangxi Village than in previous years, and now is the time when locusts reproduce in large numbers. If the situation continues like this, there is a high possibility of a locust plague."

Jiang Cuihua was shocked: "Oh my God, what should I do?"

Liu Yinyin didn't want to cause panic among the people, but she had to say that if a locust plague really broke out and no one was prepared at all, the losses would definitely be more serious.

Liu Yinyin thought: "I will go to the end of the village in the afternoon and collect all the vegetables and sweet potatoes from the fields..."

After thinking about it, Liu Yinyin was reluctant to dig up the sweet potatoes because they were not ripe yet, so she said, "I'll go back and make some big sheets. If there are locusts, I'll cover the sweet potato field."

In fact, it is more convenient to cover it with plastic sheeting, but at this time, plastic sheeting is not available outside.

Using straw doesn't work, so we have to think of other ways.

You can also burn it directly, but that will be harmful to arable land.

Liu Yinyin's family didn't plant many sweet potatoes, so it wasn't that troublesome. She could cover the sweet potato field by sewing two large pieces of cloth.

Moreover, the fabric can be washed and reused, so it is not a waste.

Jiang Cuihua also said, "I will sew some cloth later."

Most of the vegetable fields in the Liu family's yard were planted with sweet potatoes today.

Liu Yinyin didn't know whether other people in the village had made preparations.

But she does what she says.

In the afternoon, she stayed at the end of the village and harvested all the vegetables from the fields.

The long-lasting vegetables were piled among the sundries, while the short-lasting ones were left by Liu Yinyin to dry in the sun.

The sun is so strong that one day is enough.

The pumpkins planted in the corner have harvested all that is needed.

There are unripe watermelons in the vegetable garden and fruits on two fruit trees.

The watermelon field will also need to be covered, but the same cannot be done with the two fruit trees as they are too tall and difficult to handle.

Anyway, the fruits on the trees had not grown well and looked unpalatable, so Liu Yinyin was too lazy to care.

Liu Yinyin also checked the doors and windows of the house to make sure there were no gaps.

After working for an entire afternoon, Liu Yinyin finally finished taking care of most of the household chores.

Tomorrow, she plans to go to the mountain and cover the sweet potato field with plastic sheeting. The sweet potatoes that she has grown with great effort cannot be destroyed by locusts.

There is no need to worry about the house on the other side of the compound. There is just a small piece of land there with shepherd's purse planted on it, but it hasn't sprouted yet.

Moreover, there is no arable land in the county town, so it is estimated that locusts will not run into the county town.

When the sun was about to set, the people from the Liu family and Gu Cheng came down from the mountain.

Gu Cheng was holding two pheasants and a bag of pheasant eggs.

He also dug some wild vegetables, but at this time the wild vegetables on the mountain were all old, so Gu Cheng gave them to the Liu family so that they could be fed to the pigs.

I heard Liu Yinyin talk about the locusts.

Gu Cheng's face also turned serious. He said, "I'm going to the village chief's house."

Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Yinyin said, "How about we stay in the countryside tonight?"