Chapter 37: Locust Plague (Part One)

As the saying goes, many hands make light work; though they couldn't harvest everything, they could at least gather more than before, and recovering even a little was always good.

The neighboring villages were all deeply grateful to the people of Yuping Village.

They didn't dare stop even when it got dark.

On Yuping Village's side, firewood had already been laid out thick and full across the fields.

Everyone was somewhat nervous; in all their years they had lived through floods and droughts, but never a locust plague.

"They say when locusts pass through, not a blade of grass remains. Is it truly that terrifying?"

"I'm not sure either, but I've heard the older generation speak of it."

"There are so many of those things—could they eat people?"

"No," Chi Nan Yi said softly. "They don't eat people, only crops and such. They blot out the sky and cover the earth, quite frightening."

Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but feel curious: "You're so certain—have you seen it yourself?"

"I read it in a book."

"Those who've studied truly are different." Most people in the village hadn't studied; men either farmed or went to town to do manual labor, and women married into some household early on.

Someone like Chi Huaijin who had books to study was extremely rare.

"Little sister, what book did you read? It actually recorded such interesting things—I'd like to read it too, may I?"

Chi Nan Yi was taken aback; she never expected her second brother to press further on this.

"I saw it before in Jingcheng. I've forgotten what it was called. If I see it next time I go out, I'll tell you, Second Brother."

Zhao shi heard this and gave a cold laugh: "Still talking about reading and buying books. If we can just get through this winter, I'll count my blessings. I truly don't know what that Chi Family couple is thinking. They don't even look at whether their child has what it takes—they're not really dreaming of becoming the mother of a top scholar, are they!"

Chi Nan Yi heard this and frowned tightly. Zhao shi spoke extremely softly, and with the situation urgent, she couldn't be bothered to argue with someone like that.

Still, this Zhao shi's mouth was truly obnoxious.

At this time, besides the few villages desperately harvesting, villages under the other towns had also received word and were harvesting crops through the night, gathering as much as they could.

Inside the county yamen, lights blazed bright; wave after wave of guards reported on the locust situation.

"Your Excellency! I'm afraid that by daybreak, the locusts will have arrived." Qing Zhuo's voice was hoarse and strained: "Your Excellency, you've just taken office and already met with such calamity—your career prospects..."

"What does my career matter? If this locust plague is severe, the ones who will truly suffer are the people of the entire Qingjun County. By the way—has the village that first discovered the locust plague done anything?"

"No particular actions, except that this afternoon many people from their village went up the back mountain to chop firewood. We don't know why."

Xie Yuwei frowned tightly and said in a low voice: "Someone, prepare the horses!"

"Your Excellency, you are..."

"To Yuping Village."

The villagers of Yuping Village stood watch in the fields, waiting to light the fires when the locust army arrived. Chi Huaijin was originally a bit drowsy; Chi Nan Yi produced a water skin and handed it to him: "Second Brother, drink some water and perk up."

One mouthful of water down his belly, and the fatigue in his body vanished in an instant.

"I say, little sister, did you put something in the water?" Chi Huaijin said mysteriously: "Otherwise, why is it that every time I drink your water, I feel completely refreshed?"

Chi Nan Yi smiled: "Second Brother just loves to tease me. It's just water—what else could it be, some divine dew?"

"Really?" Chi Huaijin scratched his head, unable to help thinking to himself: But I really do feel a huge difference from ordinary water! Could it be that I'm just overthinking it?

Just then, the sound of horse hooves came from not far away.

Xie Yuwei was still wearing his official robe from the daytime, only his attire was somewhat disheveled—the originally neatly pressed official robe was now creased and rumpled.

"Greetings, County Magistrate." Zhao Xifeng stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Your Excellency comes in the dead of night—may I ask what business you have?"

"What are all of you doing?" Xie Yuwei looked at the firewood laid out across the fields: "What is this firewood for?"

"This..." Zhao Xifeng looked back at Chi Nan Yi: "Perhaps it's best to let the Chi Family girl explain!" Xie Yuwei heard this and his gaze fell on Chi Nan Yi: "Miss Chi, please enlighten me."

"To reply to Your Excellency: this humble girl once saw a method in a miscellaneous book—using smoke to fumigate locusts can temporarily strip them of their ability to fly. If the smoke is thick, it can kill them outright. Furthermore, the historical records state: 'Take those hairy thieves and consign them to blazing fire'—this refers to lighting fires at night to lure the locusts to their own destruction. Thus it's clear that both fire and smoke have a certain effect on exterminating locusts. The plant ash produced by burning firewood in the fields can enrich the soil, and the locusts killed by the smoke can be used to feed chickens and ducks."

"Truly?"

"This is only a method this humble girl saw in a book; it hasn't been tested, and I cannot fully guarantee it will work."

"No matter—as long as there's a method, we must give it a try." He turned to Qing Zhuo and said: "Tell this method to the other villages and towns." A glint of brightness flashed in Xie Yuwei's eyes: "If this method can truly control the locust plague, nothing could be better!"

"Yes." Qing Zhuo took the order and departed.

"Miss Chi." Xie Yuwei bowed solemnly to Chi Nan Yi: "My thanks to you this time. I, on behalf of all the people of Qingjun County, thank you, miss."

"Your Excellency, what are you doing? I can't even be certain whether this method works." Chi Nan Yi hurriedly helped him to his feet.

"Whether it works or not, I offer my thanks in advance."

Seeing this, Chi Nan Yi understood clearly in her heart—this Xie Yuwei was truly exactly the same as in the previous life.

"If this locust plague can truly be brought under control, I shall report your contribution to the imperial court."

"Then many thanks to Your Excellency."

Wen Zhilan came to Chi Nan Yi's side, her face full of worry: "Yi'er, will this method truly work?"

"Mother, don't worry!"

She didn't say it aloud, but when laying out the firewood, she had already sprinkled medicinal powder on it. What would truly kill these locusts wasn't the thick smoke, but the medicinal powder vaporizing along with it.

For her, concocting insecticide was a trivial matter of minutes, but liquid insecticide wasn't practical here, so she sprinkled insecticidal powder on the firewood. As the firewood burned and the powder vaporized, any locust that came into contact with the powder was guaranteed not to survive.

Just then, a fine, dense buzzing reached Chi Nan Yi's ears.

Chi Nan Yi's heart stirred, and she called out loudly: "The locusts are here."

"What?" Xie Yuwei frowned tightly: "The guards reported earlier that they wouldn't arrive until around daybreak..."

"The wind direction," Chi Nan Yi said softly. "For the locusts' flight direction, they're currently traveling with the wind, so their speed is naturally faster than usual."

The wind direction?

Xie Yuwei's heart stirred—how had he not thought of that?

"But Miss Chi, how did you know the locusts had already arrived?"

"The sound. I heard the sound of the locusts."