He immediately asked the students studying blacksmithing in the school to make three sets. Li Xiaorui, Li Changfeng, and Li Yunfan all liked them very much. When they didn't want to play with bicycles and scooters, they would put these small kitchen utensils out to make food for themselves.
At this time, Li Xiaorui saw Li Qiao coming back and waved enthusiastically: "Uncle, come and try the shrimp omelette I made! Both Erbao and Brother Ju praised it as delicious."
Li Qiao heard this and walked over with a smile.
Not to be outdone, the two little guys, Li Changfeng and Li Yunfan, immediately raised their little hands: "Daddy, I steamed chestnut cakes!"
"Daddy, I made fried sausages!"
“Awesome!”
Li Qiao walked to their table in a few steps, smiled and tasted the cooking skills of the three of them one by one. After dozens of practices in the past six months, the cooking skills of the three of them have improved by leaps and bounds. The food they cooked is still not exquisite, but the taste has passed. went.
After Li Qiao tasted it, they each rubbed their little heads and praised them.
"Uncle, I want to eat fried golden cicada, but my father won't let me."
Li Xiaorui said, his big eyes looking straight at Zheng Qianqian who was standing aside.
This season is the season for eating golden cicadas, which Li Xiaorui loves to eat.
Zheng Qianqian rolled her eyes: "That little iron pot of yours can't do deep-frying at all. If you want to eat fried golden cicadas, ask the kitchen to make them for you. However, you can't eat more. You can only eat five at most."
"But I want to do it myself."
Li Xiaorui snorted dissatisfiedly and pouted his little mouth.
There are only five, who can enjoy it?
"We'll talk about it when you're older."
Zheng Qianqian still didn't allow it, as if there was no need to discuss it.
Li Xiaorui immediately looked at Li Qiao for help and said in a protracted voice, "Uncle, please advise my father~"
"Xiao Rui, wait until you are older and have a more stable temper before making fried food. Otherwise, your little face will be bruised again, and your uncle will feel sorry for you."
"If you really want to do it yourself, how about we burn Jin Chan?"
Li Qiao also refused, but gave him a second choice.
"Want to burn it... ok."
Li Xiaorui reluctantly agreed.
Of course, the golden cicada is fried and delicious. It is fried until it is caramelized and crispy. Sprinkled with cumin and other barbecue ingredients, the taste is really amazing.
But now I can’t get enough of fried food, so I’ll make do with grilled food.
Burning golden cicada is to throw golden cicada into the fire. This is the way many people in the countryside eat it.
For example, Tao Zhu's family was poor and could not afford meat. Summer golden cicada was one of the few meats he could taste.
After the rain, the caught golden cicadas are burned directly on the fire. They are delicious without adding any seasoning. After eating, they go straight down the mountain without being noticed by Tao Shu.
Soon, the golden cicada frozen in the icehouse was brought over, and Li Xiaorui threw it directly into the stove to burn. The golden cicada was easy to ripen, and the fragrance soon wafted out.
As the daughter of a wealthy family, Fan Yuanyuan had never eaten such "bugs" before. After marrying into the Li family, she tasted the fried golden cicada and liked it very much.
Li Xiaorui burned a bunch of golden cicadas and took them out. She also picked them up and ate them directly with her hands.
The fragrance of the golden cicada is very strong, and the fragrant Zhao Cong in Li Xia's arms - Li Xia and Zhao Shen named their second son Zhao Cong, which coincides with Li Rui and Li Zhi.
The little guy Zhao Cong couldn't help but look towards the stove because of the scent. Everyone in the circle laughed.
Li Xia and Zheng Qianqian both grew up in the countryside, and they talked about the time when they ate golden cicadas.
"I not only like to eat golden cicadas, I also like to eat grasshoppers. Grasshoppers are delicious when burned on fire." Li Xia said.
His family's financial situation was not good, and natural meat such as cicadas and grasshoppers were beautiful memories of his childhood.
"I've eaten it too, and it's really delicious." Zheng Qianqian also said.
Fan Yuanyuan on the side heard this, her already round eyes widened even more, with a look of disbelief on her face: "Brother Qian, Brother Xia, have you ever eaten locusts?"
"Yes, it's quite delicious. Just burn it on fire."
Li Xia nodded.
"The fried ones are also delicious. Sometimes my dad will fry a plate to go with the wine." Zheng Qianqian originally smiled, but when he mentioned Butcher Zheng, he couldn't help but purse his lips.
He missed his family.
Fan Yuanyuan: "..."
She was extremely shocked, her dark eyes turning back and forth on Li Xia and Zheng Qianqian.
She used to be a bit unconventional and only thought about eating and drinking all day long.
But after marrying into the Li family and staying in Shantang Academy for a long time, she knew the suffering of the people at the bottom. But now that Li Xia and Zheng Qianqian both said they had eaten locusts, she was really shocked.
Not only Fan Yuanyuan was suppressed, but Li Xiaorui, Li Changfeng and Li Yunfan were also surprised. Eat locusts?
Li Qiao laughed when he saw it: "I've eaten it too, your Uncle Zhu has eaten it, and Ershan has eaten it too. Everyone in the Li family has eaten it."
"Then I want to eat too, uncle, I want to eat!"
Li Xiaorui immediately shouted, everyone in the family had eaten, so he had to eat too.
The same goes for Li Changfeng and Li Yunfan. When their twins started shouting, the three-year-old Li Erbaoju also started shouting too.
For a moment, the persimmon tree was filled with the loud shouts of them wanting to eat locusts.
"Okay, okay, okay, when your grandma comes back, I'll tell her to let the tenant farmers catch some locusts." Li Qiao was so noisy that he quickly shouted to stop.
"Catch more. I want to fire and fry them."
Li Xiaorui warned.
"Then you should really stay in Xishan Province right now. There is a locust plague over there. The locusts are flying in the sky like dark clouds, covering up the sun."
Li Qiao couldn't help but sigh when he thought of today's bad things.
"ah???"
"What? A plague of locusts?"
"Locust plague?!"
…
The adults and children in the yard never expected that Li Qiao would say this. They were all shocked and looked at Li Qiao.
Locust plague...
That's what's in the books and what other people say, but now there's a locust plague happening in Xishan Province?
"Yes, it's a plague of locusts." Li Qiao frowned and knitted his eyebrows together: "The locusts on the tree trunks are pressing one layer after another, and the corn stalks more than one foot high are bent under the pressure. Use a broom to casually stick to the tree. One scoop is a big basket of locusts."
If someone with trypophobia sees it, they will definitely feel uncomfortable.
Zheng Qianqian: "..."
Li Xia: "..."
The two of them grew up in the countryside, but in their memories, there was no locust plague in Pingcheng.
They eat grasshoppers purely because they are delicious...
Fan Yuanyuan's face was already a little pale. She looked at Li Qiao blankly: "Uncle, what should we do... Is there a locust plague in Jincheng Mansion?"
Her hometown is in Xishan Province!
"It has not affected Jincheng Prefecture yet, but the situation is not optimistic. In the 17 counties where the locust plague occurred, people tried their best to catch locusts, but the effect was not great because there were too many locusts. They quickly destroyed crops, leaves, and crops that they could eat. The flowers and plants flew away after eating, and the number of people could not compare with the locusts. Even if everyone came together, there would be a limit to what they could catch."
Li Qiao smiled bitterly.
In this era, after the locust plague comes, what people can do is really limited.
The advice he gave Sheng Hong today was nothing outstanding. He suggested that people weave large nets to catch all the locusts, then cook them, dry them in the sun, and grind them into powder. This can be called protein powder, which is rich in nutrients. It works well to feed chickens and ducks.
People can also eat it, but don’t eat too much, because many people think the locusts in the locust plague are poisonous, but many people have eaten them.
Therefore, to be on the safe side, eat less people and more chickens and ducks.
"this……"
Fan Yuanyuan was stunned, a little frightened.
Li Xiaorui, Li Changfeng, and Li Yunfan are already governors, and their little eyebrows are also wrinkled. There is a plague of locusts...
The younger Li Erbao and Brother Ju didn't know the dangers of the locust plague yet, but the adults looked serious and didn't speak. They just shook their little heads and looked left and right.
The atmosphere in the yard was dull.
It wasn't until before dinner, when the sky turned dark and Tao Zhu returned home, that the atmosphere at home became better.
Tao Zhu was surprised and worried when he learned about the locust plague, but he couldn't do anything. As for donating, that would have to wait until later.
Thanks to the paving of cement roads, news from various places reached Shengjing much faster than before.
Six days later, news came from Jincheng Mansion, Yuncheng Mansion, and Changzhi Mansion.
The locusts have already affected some counties in their three prefectures, but when the locust plague first broke out in the five central prefectures, several magistrates in these seventeen counties sent them letters, so although they were hasty, they were still prepared.
The prefects of these three prefectures ordered the people to try their best to catch locusts, especially the prefect of Jincheng Prefecture, who set up first, second and third prizes out of his own pocket.
The first prize is up to one hundred taels of silver, and there are three places.
The second prize is fifty taels of silver, and there are five places.
The third prize is twenty taels of silver, and there are twenty places.
These quotas are based on family units and are not individual competitions.
Moreover, the prefect of Jincheng Prefecture also gave the same solution as Li Qiao, which is to catch the locusts first, then cook them, dry them in the sun, and grind them into powder, which is perfect for feeding chickens and ducks.
Seeing the prefect's behavior, the Fan family also set a bonus.
The Fan family has strong financial resources and has given a relatively large number of places, a total of 200 households.
In addition, because Li Qiao opened a duck shop and fried chicken shop in Jincheng Prefecture, the Fan family also raised some chickens and ducks, so the Fan family also posted a notice to purchase locust powder.
In this way, it will not only help ordinary people, but also add some nutrition to our own chickens and ducks.
Stimulated by the money, ordinary people were immediately motivated to catch locusts.
