Fields in Dahe Village.
The swarms of locusts flew over from the mountain, buzzing and blocking the sun in the sky.
Cheng Wanwan was shocked when he saw locusts crossing the border for the first time. It can be said that he could catch at least five or six locusts with one hand.
She felt shocked, but other villagers in Dahe Village felt lucky.
Last year's locust plague was much scarier than this one. On that day last year, under the bright sun, countless locusts came from all directions. Before anyone could react, thousands of acres of rice fields were eaten clean and full. After the drunken locusts crossed the border, they crossed the Dadong Mountains and went to another village.
The locusts slowly gathered in one village after another, from thousands to tens of thousands, and then to hundreds of thousands, covering the sky and the sun, as if the end was coming.
The number of locusts crossing the border this time is obviously not as good as last year. This is all due to the killing order issued by County Magistrate Shen a while ago, otherwise things will only get worse.
Dahe Village started practicing how to eliminate locusts seven or eight days ago. Although people were panicked, the actions were orderly.
First drive all the ducks in the field back, and all the family members, old and young, will be dispatched.
"Everyone, please light the fire and put the lantana on it!"
"All the old women here use sheets to slay the locusts, while the men dig holes and bury them on the spot!"
"Children can take whatever they want to stop the locusts from eating the rice!"
Although the rice is sprayed with pesticide, it will take only one bite for the locusts to die. Even if one locust takes just one bite, the thousands of acres of land will not be enough to eat.
More than a hundred fires were burned around a thousand acres of rice fields, and countless lantanas were thrown in. These were all collected and accumulated by Li Zheng's orders, and they were all burned. Thick smoke billowed, and countless people coughed, but everyone's The movements did not stop, even children of three or four years old were running around in the fields with sticks. When the locusts were frightened, they would temporarily fly away from the fields. After reaching high altitude, they would be suffocated by the rising lantana smoke and fall. Locusts that were swatted down with bedsheets did not die that quickly. They had to dig holes and bury them until they died of suffocation.
More than a thousand people in the village, all except babies who could not walk, participated in killing the locusts.
Those who are used to being lazy and slippery on weekdays, such as Zhao Fugui and Zhang Lai, are typical gangsters in the village. Even people like them have never thought of lying at home. They took tools to join in the locust extermination. The team fought a protracted battle with the locusts.
From three poles high in the sun to the west mountain in the sunset.
The number of locusts flying all over the sky gradually decreased, and the scattered few hundred or thousands finally fled and flew to the other side of Dadong Mountain.
Everyone in Dahe Village sat down on the field ridge, sweating profusely, miserable, and dirty.
The rice in the fields has been lost. Basically every rice ear has been eaten by locusts, but there is still some left. It’s good to have some left. The worst thing is that no grass will grow after the locusts pass by.
"The locusts were driven away by us!"
"Great! We defeated the locusts and we saved the rice fields!"
"If it had been like this last year, this whole year wouldn't have been so difficult..."
"Don't think about last year, let's look forward!"
The whole village burst into tears of joy, crying and laughing at the same time.
Li Zheng stood up with his hands on the ground and looked at the rice fields in front of him. Although the locusts were dead and the few remaining ones had all flown away, every dead locust had rice in its belly.
The food they had worked so hard to grow was still not completely preserved, with about two-thirds left.
Originally, due to drought, the rice in the fields was not as full as in previous years, and one-third of it was eaten by locusts. Indeed, this year will be better than last year, but it is still a tough year, and we still have to tighten our belts to get through it. Harvest until next spring.
Naturally, Li Zheng would not say these words to hurt the villagers. He said loudly: "The whole village united as one to repel the locusts. This is the first time in a hundred years that Dahe Village has defeated a natural disaster. The locusts flew away to the east and will not come back again." Come back, everyone, if you persist, we will harvest the rice in three or four days, and then we will have a full meal."
The whole family in the village dispersed.
Cheng Zhao was so tired that he almost collapsed on the ground. He was weak and was assigned to pull the bed sheet to slay the locusts. He pulled the bed sheet and ran all over the field. He made a rough calculation and found that he had killed at least a thousand locusts with the bed sheet he took. , this sense of accomplishment made him particularly excited, more excited than finishing reading a book. Apart from being excited, he was also a little worried, wondering whether the locust extermination in Chengjia Village would go as smoothly...
Wu Huiniang also participated in this locust extermination operation. Many women with children in the village gathered together to throw lantana and burn it.
This job is not tiring, and Wu Huiniang was not as embarrassed as others when she came back.
She cleaned herself and then made a fire to cook.
After working like this for a long time, everyone was tired. She took the initiative to stew dry rice, stew a pheasant soup, and braise a pot of rabbit meat.
After the whole family washes away the strange smell, it's time to eat.
"Sister-in-law, your cooking skills are getting better and better!" Zhao Sidan said with a mouth full of oil, "Especially the rabbit meat, it's so delicious!"
Wu Huiniang deliberately teased him: "I don't know who it is, but I cried when I ate rabbit meat for the first time."
Zhao Sidan swallowed the rabbit meat and said without blushing: "I didn't know rabbit meat was so delicious before. It's really delicious."
Cheng Zhao nodded and said: "Dashan's wife's cooking skills are indeed good, comparable to the canteen of Nanfu Academy."
Wu Huiniang's face turned a little red after being praised like this: "Cousin, don't coax me on purpose."
"Scholars never tell lies." Cheng Zhao said sternly, "Zui Xian Lou in Hekou Town also has braised rabbit meat. The taste is only about three-fifths of what you make."
Wu Huiniang's face turned a little red when she was praised: "My mother taught me this."
"What I cook is not as delicious as what you cook." Cheng Wanwan said with a smile, "It seems that Dashan's wife has the potential to be a cook. When we have money in the future, maybe we can open a restaurant in the town. , let Dashan’s wife take charge.”
She can only tell how to do it, but if you really ask her to do it, she can only make a different look.
Hui Niang, on the other hand, was able to grasp the essence of cooking the first time she made it, and was able to optimize the steps she mentioned. The taste of the braised pork she made was not much different from modern ones, but the main reason was that the seasoning was limited.
The spices she took out secretly were still missing some, but she didn't dare to take out too much.
If there is a chance to open a restaurant in the future, let’s talk about it.
After dinner, Cheng Zhao and the four boys went to the ancestral hall to prepare for class.
The children in the village came early. They all put on the cleanest and most decent clothes, washed their faces, cleaned up their noses and eyes, and all sat obediently at the table.
The oldest one should be Zhao Dashan, who is eighteen years old this year, and the youngest one is a five-year-old child who is also the eldest grandson of that family.
Although the children are of different ages, there is not much difference in their educational level. Zhao Tiezhu and Zhao Sidan know slightly more words, while Zhao Ergou is slightly more proficient in arithmetic.
Cheng Zhao secretly planned to divide the children into two classes according to their learning level in a few days, one with a faster pace and one with a slower pace, plus an advanced class for Ergou and Sidan.
Outside the ancestral hall, Li Zheng walked around with his hands behind his back, nodding constantly. They also had a school in Dahe Village. Although they didn’t know how long Cheng Zhao would stay here, he could stay for a while...
After the inspection, Li Zheng walked towards Cheng Wanwan's home.
