Cheng Wanwan wanted to pretend not to see it.
Magistrate Shen called out Zhao Ergou's name.
Zhao Ergou had been with the county magistrate for four or five days that time, and he was already familiar with him. He immediately bent down and said, "I have met the county magistrate."
Cheng Wanwan had no choice but to bend down and salute along with him.
"Er Gou, why didn't you come to see me when you came to town?" Shen Zheng said somewhat unhappily, "Why, I can't call you anymore?"
Magistrate Shen glanced over with a cold look: "Er Gou is the same age as you and has already learned how to do business from your mother, but you only make trouble and cause trouble."
After saying that, he looked at Cheng Wanwan and said, "I don't know how to teach my son, so I'm making a fool of myself."
Cheng Wanwan shook his head: "My two dogs are also out of character at home. Teenagers are like this. The county magistrate does not need to be angry about this."
The magistrate lowered his voice: "The scene I just saw..."
"Don't worry, county magistrate, the civilian woman didn't see or hear anything."
Cheng Wanwan had a frank look on his face, and it was impossible to tell that he was lying.
The county magistrate nodded with satisfaction, and his eyes fell on the little duck beside him: "Have you changed your business? Is she selling ducks?"
Zhao Ergou said: "To tell you the magistrate, these are the ducks my mother bought for the people in the village. There are about ten or twenty ducks for each family."
Shen Zheng asked curiously: "Why do you raise so many ducks?"
Magistrate Shen glared at him: "Of course you don't understand the farm work of farmers, and you won't understand even if you ask."
"Ducks can eat locusts to prevent locusts." Cheng Wanwan said, "During this period, a lot of locusts were found in the fields. We are also afraid that last year's locust plague will happen again, so we are taking precautions now, but ducks alone are not enough." It doesn’t matter.”
Magistrate Shen's face changed greatly: "What did you say, there are locusts in the ground?"
He was really scared.
Not long ago, he was summoned by the prefect for finding water sources and digging ditches. This was the first time he was summoned by the prefect in his seven years as an official in Pingan Town.
Because Ping'an Town is the first area to dig ditches, the yield per mu should be the largest during the harvest. Similarly, the taxes collected will also be the largest. With taxes and no victims, political achievements will be invisibly increased...
But now, when he heard the word locust plague, the county magistrate felt bad.
He thought of last year, when there was no harvest, warehouses were opened for relief, refugees were running around, and all kinds of bandits were rampant...
Cheng Wanwan asked: "I wonder if the imperial court has any methods to deal with locusts?"
Magistrate Shen smiled bitterly. There are ways, but they are ineffective. There are too many locusts. If they are driven away again and again, the manpower will be exhausted. Locusts cannot, and they will not give up until they eat all the crops in the field. .
"If the number of locusts is not large, there are ways." Magistrate Shen said, "Burning mugwort can drive away the locusts, or bury them in trenches, or trap them with bonfires."
Cheng Wanwan has read these methods in books, and they are suitable for killing locusts in a small area. Once a disaster occurs, it is impossible to prevent it.
"If I find out that something is true, I must report it to the prefect!"
Magistrate Shen left in a hurry.
Zhao Ergou touched the back of his head: "Mom, what if the locusts don't come?"
Cheng Wanwan shook his head.
She had had such luck before, but after reading the book, she was convinced that there would be a locust plague this year.
Drought is the catalyst for locusts. In such weather, insect eggs will hatch in large numbers. At the right time, locusts will swarm out of nowhere, covering the sky and eating up all the crops.
The mother and son returned to the village with four hundred ducks.
The women who had ordered the ducks came to pick them up with money, including Zhang's wife.
She raised her slender eyebrows and said reluctantly: "Seven cents for a duck, this is money grabbing. I remember that it only cost six cents for a duck before. Did Dashan Niang make an extra penny by passing it on? Four One hundred ducks, that's four hundred cents, almost half a tael..."
Cheng Wanwan laughed angrily.
If you go to town to buy such a big duckling, who would sell it without twelve cents?
She was thinking of her fellow villagers, who were willing to trust her, and she didn't want everyone to suffer a loss, so she bought a bigger duckling that would be easier to feed for seven cents each. This was the price disclosed in the town. Although she made two yuan from it. The price difference was only a small amount of money, but she had a clear conscience.
"Ms. Dagang doesn't look down on these ducks." Cheng Wanwan took the ducks back in her hand, "It just so happens that the Loach Girl wants to buy a few more. I'll give these twenty to the Loach Girl."
Aunt Wang next door happened to be nearby and immediately took the duck over: "Da Shan Niang is still thinking of me. I will give you one hundred and forty coins later."
Cheng Wanwan looked at the people gathered around with a smile: "If anyone else thinks it's too expensive, you can return it, it's okay."
It is true that some people find it expensive, but they don't dare to say anything. If they offend Dashan Niang, they will have to go to the town to buy ducks by themselves in the future. They may not be able to bump into the duck sellers. It will be a waste of time to go to the house and delay things at home.
After dividing the ducks, Cheng Wanwan warned: "The weather is too hot. You must pay attention to the hygiene of the ducks to prevent the ducks from getting sick. If one becomes sick, it will be passed on to other ducks..."
She said some disinfection and cleaning methods, "The duck seller taught me this, saying that by doing this, the ducks will be less likely to get sick."
Everyone thanked him and went back with the duck.
Zhang Lai's mother-in-law stood on the roadside, her teeth almost broken because of her anger.
She said one more word, and the duck she got flew away. She went back to explain to Zhang Laiyi. She took a deep breath and said: "Da Shan Niang, I was too worried just now. Do you have any ducks over there? Ten of them will do." …”
Cheng Wanwan smiled half-heartedly: "If I sell you a duck, you will scold me behind my back for coveting your money. Why should I go through such a thankless process?"
Zhang Lai's mother-in-law suddenly changed her face: "You still want me to beg you in a low voice? I will go to the town to buy it myself tomorrow. Do you really think that others don't have legs?"
She shook her sleeves and left.
When Cheng Wanwan returned home, Zhao Sidan rushed over and said, "Mom, I caught a lot of locusts today and locked them up."
There is a backpack at home, and the locusts can be shut in and covered with straw hats so that they cannot fly out.
The four baskets were all buzzing with locusts.
Cheng Wanwan's face was a little complicated. Just three or four days ago, it was a bit difficult to catch locusts manually, which meant that there were not many locusts. But now, Sidan and one child have caught so many in one morning. The number of locusts is getting more and more. More and more were silently eating away at the crops, and her experiments had to be carried out quickly.
I randomly tossed in some noodles for lunch, and two cakes per person was enough.
The temporary workshop in the backyard was busy. Cheng Wanwan asked Cheng Zhao to go up the mountain with her. She wanted to find some herbs mentioned in the book.
When Cheng Zhao went up the mountain, he was still polishing the abacus beads in his hand. There were forty-nine beads in an abacus. Without special tools, polishing was very difficult. Only after the beads were polished could the abacus be made.
