Chapter 55 The village chief asks for advice again
At this time, those men picked up something and threw it into the fire. Only then did Gu Xixi see clearly that it was a large sack.
There was obviously a living creature struggling desperately inside the sack, and it was making squeaking screams when it encountered fire.
Gu Xixi's scalp tingled as she watched, "Are these filled with rats?"
The old man was fiddling with the fire with a long stick in his hand, not even looking at Xixi, looking listless.
"Yes, several villages to the west have been plagued by rats. There have been significantly more rats in our village in the past few days. If we don't deal with it quickly, our fate will be the same as that of other villages."
"Oh, this damn beast runs fast, so I have to put it in a sack and burn it. Oh, how many sacks will be wasted..."
As the old man spoke, his voice became lower and lower, and gradually turned into a muttering to himself.
Mu Nanzhao and Gu Xixi looked at each other and continued to drive forward.
Gu Xixi said solemnly, "If the rat infestation is not contained, it will soon spread to Huachidu Village."
“We need to prepare for this early.”
Although rat infestation does not spread as quickly as locusts, its destructive power is much more comprehensive than that of locusts.
The extremely hungry rats would not only turn the fields upside down and eat the crops to the roots, but would also break into people's homes and damage furniture, granaries, and even livestock.
In ancient times, especially in rural areas, medical and health conditions were poor, and the spread of rat infestation was likely to lead to an outbreak of plague.
Mu Nanzhao's face didn't look good either.
Having once served in the imperial court, he was aware of the more dire consequences.
Once the rat infestation causes a large-scale epidemic and more and more people die, it becomes the responsibility of the local government.
If the spread cannot be contained, the county government may resort to the most extreme measures in order to report to its superiors.
For example... setting fire to a village.
What was burned was not just the village and the rats, but also all the people and living things in the village.
Mu Nanzhao said, "Go back and tell Mr. Jiang about this matter first, so that we can make preparations early."
"In addition to rodenticide, we also need to prepare some medicine to control the plague."
Gu Xixi nodded, "I wonder if Lao Qian has heard the news."
In Huachidu Village, Lao Qian is already at Gu Xixi's house.
The old doctor checked his pulse and said with a smile, "You must have felt it yourself recently."
Old Qian originally cared the most about his illness, but today he was a little absent-minded and looked towards the door several times.
"Yeah, much better."
"I get up less often at night, and my waist doesn't ache when I work. Even my wife..."
He suddenly realized that he had let the cat out of the bag and almost said something inappropriate, so he quickly changed the subject.
"I wonder when my niece will be back?"
Aunt Zhang, who was picking vegetables under the eaves, said, "It's already this hour, it should be ready soon."
Old Qian waited until the old doctor gave him the new medicine, but still sat there and refused to leave.
Aunt Zhang was a little puzzled, but she didn't know how to ask, so she just chatted with her.
Finally, he heard the sound of wheels rolling and donkey hooves stepping on the ground outside the door, and Lao Qian immediately jumped up from the small stool.
"My eldest niece is back. I'm going to help unload the car!"
Aunt Zhang saw Old Qian running out in a flash, and asked the old doctor in confusion, "What happened to him today?"
The old doctor smiled and shook his head, "It is indeed different from usual."
Outside the door, Lao Qian hurriedly called Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao aside.
He looked around to make sure no one heard him, then whispered, "There may be a rat infestation in Stone Village!"
"I went out to ask around, and found out that several villages in the west have already been destroyed, and now it's Shitou Village's turn."
"We may be the next one!"
Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao looked at each other.
Gu Xixi said, "We already know."
“When I came back, I saw people from Stone Village burning rats, so I stopped and asked a few questions.”
Old Qian said with a worried look on his face, "I have no idea what to do."
"So, apart from you two, I haven't dared to tell anyone else about this for now."
"Of course, we should prepare early and solve the problem at the source," said Gu Xixi. "Eradication of rats."
Old Qian was embarrassed. "Niece, it's easy to say. We all know that we should kill this beast that harms people, but the problem is that we can't kill it all."
"I heard that in those villages to the west, the whole village did nothing but catch mice all day long, but it was still useless to throw a spoonful of salt into the river."
He sighed heavily, "Although we haven't heard of any deaths yet, if things continue like this, I'm afraid it won't be long before people get infected with the plague."
Gu Xixi said seriously, "When I say rat extermination, I don't mean just catching and beating them one by one by manpower."
“This is really inefficient.”
Old Qian said excitedly, "My niece said so, so you must have thought of a solution?"
Gu Xixi said, “We should inform every household in the village in advance, seal the granaries and cellars, and make preparations in advance.”
"Then we sprayed poison in the courtyard, on the road, and in the fields, and made honey bait to lure and kill the animals."
Old Qian pondered, "The purchase of highly toxic medicinal materials is restricted by the government. The quantity is small and the price is high. Although this plan is good, it is impossible to implement it."
Mu Nanzhao looked at Gu Xixi and said, "Just tell me what you need."
Gu Xixi smiled helplessly, "I'm about to get to the point, why are you rushing me?"
Old Qian had no idea what Mu Nanzhao and Gu Xixi were talking about and looked at them in confusion.
Gu Xixi said to Lao Qian, "I want three things: a lot of oleander, including branches and leaves. As much honey as possible, and the residue left over from squeezing soybean oil."
"Okay!" Lao Qian agreed without thinking.
"There are plenty of oleander trees in the mountains. You can cut as many as you want. Honey... I know a few families have a lot of it on hand."
"As for the remaining oil residue, I know two oil mills. I will go and find a way tomorrow."
Gu Xixi thought of the role of oleander in stabilizing the soil and retaining moisture, and finally added:
"Only cut the branches of the oleander, do not damage the trunk, and do not pull it up by the roots."
"Uncle Qian, please remind everyone."
Old Qian was stunned for a moment.
He looked at Xixi's serious expression, and even though he didn't understand the reason, he still agreed solemnly.
"Okay, I will explain it clearly to each of them. They must remember it."
Gu Xixi nodded, "Please."
Oleander is highly adaptable, and cutting off its branches and leaves when the weather turns cold will actually help it grow rapidly in the next spring.
The next morning, Gu Xixi got up and went to the experimental field on the west side of the back mountain.
After transplanting several tea trees, they were covered with the newly purchased oilcloth and stones were placed on the corners to prevent them from being blown away.
She was busy and having fun when Chen Dafu came running over.
"Boss! I finally found you!"
He just went home and found it empty, but Aunt Zhang said the boss was here, so he hurried over again.
Gu Xixi saw that he looked anxious and asked, "What happened?"
Chen Dafu took a breath and said, "When I went to work this morning, I found a lot of rat holes in the fields!"
Gu Xixi was shocked. Is it spreading so fast?
But on second thought, it's unlikely. It's common to have voles in fields.
"Tell me the details of the situation."
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