After Lin Wanwan returned, she went around the fields and saw that they were planting very well. They had already planted two seasons last year and had accumulated experience, so they were able to manage the crops in an orderly manner even though she was not present this year.
The winery has been completed, and the dozen or so steamer barrels and iron pots she ordered have also been made and sent to the workshop.
Although the imperial court here does not control winemaking, it strictly controls the koji used in winemaking. The koji must be purchased from the government, otherwise your business will be closed down and the brewed wine will not be allowed to be sold.
She led people to brew the first batch of sorghum wine. She kept the first wine and further purified it for use as alcohol, but the tail wine had too many impurities and tasted bitter, so she had to pour it away and use it as fertilizer.
The first batch of wine was made in a short time, less than half a month, just to familiarize people with the process. If you want to make good-tasting liquor, the fermentation cycle will take at least two months. Even the best liquor, for example, has to go through nine steamings, eight fermentations, and seven extractions, which takes at least a year!
She wanted to use these as the base wine for making fruit wine, and she was familiar with the process. She would first brew the grains, and then she would make some delicious high-end wine to sell.
A few days later, someone suddenly came to the capital to announce the good news. This time in the spring examination, Chen Li passed the exam and won the first place!
He did not come back because he had to prepare for the palace examination in a month. He only sent two letters home, one of which was to Lin Wanwan, telling her that he was doing well in Beijing and asked her not to worry.
The whole village was excited and ran to his house to congratulate him. Lin Wanwan was also overjoyed and asked people to bring him many gifts, including five hundred taels of silver notes and a reply letter, telling him to prepare well for the exam and not to worry about anything else.
For several days, she was in high spirits, as if she had won a multi-million-dollar lottery. She was still dreaming about becoming the wife of a top scholar. Wouldn't she be envied by everyone wherever she went in the future?
Unfortunately, she soon learned what it meant to be overjoyed and then be sad.
As May begins, the sun is scorching, the temperature rises sharply, and it has not rained for more than twenty days.
"857, why is the weather so hot recently? It's only May! And it never rains. What should I do?"
"Ding! 857 detection, it will still be sunny in the next 15 days. Be careful of heat stroke in the hot weather!"
"Oh my god, it hasn't rained for fifteen days in a row? Are we going to die of drought?"
"Yes! The water level of the surrounding rivers and ponds has dropped by 40%, and the soil moisture has been lost in large quantities. Without water, this year's crop yield will be less than 20%!"
"What? Am I experiencing a severe drought?"
"Yes, Wanwan, hurry up and store water! 857 Friendly reminder, a lot of locusts are flying from the north. They have already arrived in Yanzhou. They will fly to your side in five or six days. Wanwan, be careful!"
"Uh... can locusts be eaten? How about we fry them and eat them?"
"No, Wanwan. Locusts gather together in large numbers and produce toxins. Frying them can remove some of the toxins, but you can't eat too many of them. They eat and reproduce very quickly. They may have eaten up all the crops before you catch them!"
"What should we do? 857 Do you have any ideas?"
"857 is just a money-making system. It will not interfere with weather disasters when it has sufficient energy. It must abide by the interstellar treaty. However, it is recommended that Wanwan use the method of eliminating natural enemies!"
Huh? The natural enemies were eliminated? Yes! How could she forget about those 100,000 chickens and ducks?
"OK! Thanks 857!"
"You're welcome, Wanwan. I'll give you 1,000 energy points!"
"!!!"
Humph, this 857 knows the energy value every day!
Lin Wanwan asked them to quickly put some water into the fields and water the crops without waiting for it to rain. While there was still plenty of water in the river,
She ran to the county government office, found Magistrate Gao, and told him about the locust plague.
"Well, I just found out that this locust plague came from Jingzhou, crossed Yanzhou, passed through the northern part of our Yanzhou, and then went all the way to the northwest. Alas! I'm afraid it's all over this year!"
"Don't worry, sir. I have a plan. As the saying goes, birds eat worms. We can collect a large number of birds, chickens and ducks, and release them when the locusts come! Let them kill the locusts!"
County Magistrate Gao nodded continuously and said, "You also know that distant water cannot quench immediate thirst. How can you have so much time to collect these?"
"Sir, my grandparents have raised more than 100,000 chickens and ducks in Shili Village. They will all be at your disposal!"
"Bang!" The county magistrate slapped the table and instantly felt much better. He smiled and said, "If that's the case, let's give it a try!"
He passed the order down, and because of the locust plague that caused a large number of birds, chickens and ducks to be collected, every household sewed net bags to catch locusts.
There are high mountains on the east and south sides of Yun'an County. The locusts can only come from the western plains, enter Yun'an County from Anhuai County, and then go all the way north.
Five days later, the vanguard of the locusts had arrived in Yanzhou and entered Anhuai County. Under the persuasion of County Magistrate Gao, the county magistrate of Anhuai County also collected a large number of chickens and ducks. After seeing the overwhelming locusts, he gave an order to release all the natural enemies of the locusts. Everyone took woven nets to catch them. At night, they dug pits in the ground and lit fires. When the locusts saw them, they would involuntarily rush into the fire. The captured ones were thrown in and burned to death and buried.
Yun'an County has also been prepared and arrangements have been made in Yuhe Village, which is closest to Anhuai County. Lin Wanwan asked her grandfather's family to transport all the chickens and ducks to Yuhe Village.
The next afternoon, a swarm of locusts slowly approached from a distance. Magistrate Gao saw that the situation was almost over and ordered all the birds to be released.
The birds, which had been hungry for two or three days, saw a swarm of locusts and their eyes lit up green. They swarmed over them, disrupting the locusts' formation and causing them to slowly fly toward the ground.
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