The peasant girl who escaped the desert: she cried when she found the cruel prince

Chapter 276 The menacing locust plague

What followed was a buzzing sound, the wings flapping and rubbing, and the sound became louder and louder. The whole sky darkened, and there was no gap in the sky.

"Locusts, locusts!" someone exclaimed after regaining consciousness.

Then many people began to realize that locusts were really coming, and panic began to spread from the bottom of their hearts.

Jingli shouted: "Quick, copycat, drive the locusts to the drying yard."

The tools to drive away locusts had been prepared a few days ago. They used two bamboo poles to prop up a large cloth net, and two people worked in pairs to lift it and drive it in the direction.

"Dalang, hurry up and light a fire!" In the drying yard, people in the shacks have already set up several fires.
More than a dozen groups of people began to drive away locusts from the drying ground. The net had just been erected, and there was a dense layer of insects on it. Even those with trypophobia would feel nauseous just looking at it.

The remaining people began to get busy helping the remaining families grab food.

The old ladies and men of the Jing family were also busy putting straw and straw into the house.

This is all fodder for livestock, so take whatever you can.

The locusts landed on the crops, and their rustling soon covered the entire plant. In the blink of an eye, all that was left of a heavy ear of rice was a bare pole.

Third Aunt Wang cried and used her clothes to fight the locusts: "Go away! Go away! You beasts, this is my ration!"

Wang Li was calling his eldest daughter-in-law: "Old man, please go back quickly and get the sheets. Bring everything in the house and wrap it up in sheets. Grab whatever you can."

After saying that, he asked his children and grandchildren to take off their clothes and cover the rice that had been cut before it could be transported back.

His eldest daughter-in-law didn't care about getting angry with Third Aunt Wang at this moment. She ran home quickly, took out all the mosquito nets from her home and the homes of her two younger sisters-in-law, and ran into the fields.

Zhang Siwei's mother-in-law was carrying a child on her back to hold rice. The fields were slippery after it had just rained. The woman slipped and fell into the paddy field with her child.

The rice stubble that had just been harvested instantly pricked the child's face, causing the child to cry out in pain.

His mother-in-law also started crying. God doesn't have eyesight and doesn't give people a chance to accept it. What should I do?
Tian Gengzi's old lady pulled the two of them up, untied Zhang Siwei's mother-in-law's strap, lifted up the skirt of her clothes and wiped the blood and muddy water from the child's face.

"Hurry up and collect it, I will hold the child for you!" Mrs. Tian held the child in her arms distressedly, fearing that the locusts would bite the child.

Mrs. Zhang Siwei wiped away her tears and hurriedly rushed to the fields.

The people in the shanty houses were not idle either. Some helped the remaining families in the village harvest, and more people went to the Jing family compound to help collect fodder.

A pile of green grass was gnawed away by locusts visibly to the naked eye. It was like magic. Some children were so frightened that they cried.

The locust chasers drove the locusts to the drying ground and surrounded the fire. Insects fell like rain, and there was a crackling sound from the fire, and a ripe fragrance filled the air.

A thick layer soon fell on the ground. The old ladies used shovels to shovel it into a pile, and the people behind them rushed over.

The sky gradually darkened, and a bright moon slowly rose.

Jingli called to everyone: "Hurry up and light fires. Light fires everywhere. Locusts love the light. They will take turns lighting fires tonight!"

Soon fires were lit in all the harvested fields, and many torches were set up along the direction of the fires, and swarms of locusts followed the light toward the fires.People near the fire continued to hold up the net and rush to the top of the fire. Some people were afraid that there would not be enough firewood to burn, so they led others to move out the piles of firewood at home overnight.

Anyway, there is no shortage of firewood next to the mountains, and no one cares about personal gains and losses.

Jing Li directed everyone to work until late at night, until she was forcibly pulled back by Mrs. Su who had finished working on the paper mill: "Hurry up and get some rest. You have only recovered for a few days, but you are so desperate for your life!"

Jingli returned to the house and fell on the bed, falling asleep without even washing her face. She was so tired. She had been worried about locust attacks every day since the harvest started six days ago, so she hadn't had a sound sleep.

Now the locusts have really arrived, but it's like another boot has dropped on the ground, and I can finally close my eyes and sleep.

Haitang tiptoed in, gently twisted the handkerchief and wiped Jingli's face, then her hands and feet.

Mrs. Su came over with the goat's milk. She originally wanted her daughter to drink it before going to bed, but she didn't expect that the girl had already fallen asleep.

"Look at you, you are more considerate to her than anyone else. She doesn't mind being dirty. Why don't you care about her!" Su said embarrassedly.

Haitang smiled softly: "Auntie, don't you feel sorry for her? Besides, Ah Li has been working really hard these past few days. She has been studying ways to fight locusts these past few nights and hasn't had a good sleep. Her health is not good to begin with. This time it’s even more tiring.”

But no, Mrs. Su also felt sorry for her girl from the bottom of her heart. Seeing that the girl was already asleep, she didn't want to disturb her anymore. She turned around and said to Haitang: "You should rest earlier. You can sew with the old ladies these days." Setting up the net is also very hard work.”

Haitang smiled and nodded: "Okay, Auntie, you should rest early!"

Jingli slept deeply and didn't get up until three o'clock in the morning. She hurriedly ran to the yard and found that except for the two old ladies who were sweeping away locusts, no one else was there.

"Grandma, why didn't you call me?" Jingli was worried because she actually slept in at this juncture.

Mrs. Ge said angrily: "The locusts are already here, what else can we do today besides killing them? There is no shortage of workers at home, why don't you take a good rest!"

Jingli looked up at the sky. It was still dark, but it was much better than yesterday.

"How long will it take to leave?" Jing Li asked the old ladies worriedly.

Old Mrs. Fan straightened up, slapped her sore lower back, and said with a numb face: "Eat all the edible food in this field and they will disperse!"

She is old and has experienced a locust plague in her early years. As long as it lasts for more than five days, there will be no turf left. It really makes people cry without tears.

Jingli rushed to the drying yard, where several hill-like piles of insects had already been piled up.

Fan Goucheng ran to Jingli excitedly: "Sister, these bugs are actually edible. They taste delicious! If you don't believe me, try it!"

Jingli told her family a few days ago that the locusts are edible, but she doesn't have time to take care of them right now. The children have almost harvested all that should be harvested, so they naughtily came over and tried to eat the insects. Unexpectedly, I felt pretty good after eating it.

Jingli had no time to pay attention to him, and was preoccupied with thinking about ways to speed up the pest control. What would happen to so many livestock if all the fodder was eaten up.

Fan Ershao was so angry that he slapped his son on the face: "I told you to eat, but it's been so damn long and you're still thinking about eating!"

The child immediately started crying. When the children in the shack who were picking up bugs to eat saw this, they were also frightened by the adult's ferocity. The children all grinned and started crying.

Jingli looked at the sky with annoyance. The locusts still showed no sign of decline. What should we do?
(End of this chapter)