Chapter 12 – Chapter 12 Signs of the Insect Plague_1

With just Fenggu Farm alone offering so many fertile fields, there were a couple of hundred tenant farmers too?

Wang Shouzhe looked across the patchwork of fields, crisscrossed with large and small irrigation ditches, and felt somewhat moved internally. This was indeed the family business that had been handed down for hundreds of years.

“Our Fenggu Farm adheres to traditional winter wheat and summer fallow crop rotations. Now is exactly when the winter wheat is about to mature, and it’s a busy season for cultivating summer fallow seedlings,” said Wang Shounuo, with a slight joy on his face. “This spring, ample rainfall did not flood the field, while the abundant sunshine did not scorch the plants, which is very beneficial to the growth of winter wheat. It seems that it will be a bumper harvest season.”

At this, Wang Shouzhe was somewhat pleased. The difference between a good harvest and a poor one of grains was significant. More grain harvest meant the family had more funds for development.

“That’s not right,” Wang Luo Jing, who was like a little tail-following insect, began to pout. “Third brother, you’re wrong. I’m afraid it will be a poor harvest for this year’s winter wheat.”

What?

Wang Shounuo’s smile became a bit rigid instantly, and he sternly said, “Luo Jing, you little girl can’t talk nonsense. Even Grandpa and some of the old experienced tenant farmers say that there is an eighty to ninety percent chance of a bumper harvest this year. You’re so young, what do you understand? If Grandpa hears you predicting a poor harvest, I’m afraid he will scold you again.”

Frightened by his words, Wang Luo Jing instantly hid behind Wang Shouzhe.

“Third brother, our fifth sister is still young, children are innocent. Why are you fussing over her?” Wang Shouzhe comforted her by rubbing her head a couple of times with a smile.

“Fourth brother, there’s something you don’t know,” Wang Shounuo reluctantly chuckled, “What you don’t know is that though our fifth sister is young, she is quite eccentric. She loves to play with all kinds of insects all day. When she was two or three years old, she could sit in the yard and watch ants for days. Some time ago, she even begged me to catch a ‘grass something king of the insects’ for her. She cried and threw tantrums when I wouldn’t, forcing me to wander all over the mountains for four or five days to catch just two~ I was bitten all over by mosquitos.”

“It’s the king of the grass-bug, as recorded in the ancient Insect Scripture.” Wang Luo Jing stuck out half of her head from behind Wang Shouzhe and corrected Wang Shounuo seriously, “Brother, it’s shame you are so handsome but empty-headed. Even though the Profound Martial prominent family establishes itself with martial force, cultural literacy and knowledge are also the foundation of a family’s heritage.”

Especially the latter half, she mimicked the way Wang Shouzhe scolded them to mock Wang Shounuo.

No doubt, Wang Shounuo’s face turned dark and he grumbled, “Yes, yes, yes, I’m not knowledgeable. Next time you beg me, I won’t help you catch bugs anymore.”

“I’ll ask fourth brother for help. Fourth brother is ten thousand times more capable than you,” Wang Luo Jing said, hugging Wang Shouzhe’s clothes tightly, seemingly having found her backbone, and her tone was full of confidence.

Wang Shouzhe couldn’t help but laugh seeing this. It seemed she was indeed quite peculiar, just a little reserved in front of him, so much so that she almost made Wang Shounuo faint due to frustration.

“Alright, alright, Luo Jing, tell me, how is it going to be a poor harvest this year with such favorable weather?” Wang Shouzhe casually asked, “Don’t be afraid, it’s okay even if you are wrong.”

With the backing of Wang Shouzhe, Wang Luo Jing emboldened herself, “The winter last year was too warm, there was only a slight snowfall.”

Wang Shounuo immediately rolled his eyes: “It’s true there’s a saying that ‘a timely snow promises a good harvest,’ but it’s just an old saying. Do you mean that if it does not snow, there will definitely be a poor harvest this year?”

“It’s different,” Wang Luo Jing said earnestly, “The winter last year was warm, and indeed the rainfall this spring was good. But, it has not rained for more than ten days now, and the weather is dry and hot.”

“Luo Jing,” Wang Shounuo said nonchalantly, “We have already opened the sluice gate of the Fenggu tributary for irrigation. The winter wheat won’t lack water. Besides, the good sunlight helps the wheat grains grow fuller.”

“But it also helps aphids grow,” Wang Luo Jing countered, rolling her eyes.

Aphids?

Wang Shounuo shivered, hesitating, “The appearance of aphids is unavoidable, they crop up every year, causing some reduction in yield… Furthermore, last winter we did spread Insecticide Powder in the fields.”

However, as he spoke, he sounded somewhat unconvincing. Aphids are the natural enemy of winter wheat. A small-scale outbreak is still manageable; it may result in a reduction of grain yield at most. But a massive outbreak would be a disaster.

According to the Wang family’s records, the most severe instance was an aphid disaster 73 years ago. This disaster spread across Longzuo County causing an 80% reduction in winter wheat yield that year. The grain prices soared in a short period. The prominent families could survive on their reserves, but many poor freemen had to resort to selling off their children.

What’s more terrifying is that this insect disaster lasted for three years. Even some of the prominent families couldn’t withstand it. If the Purple Abode Academic Palace hadn’t intervened by importing a large amount of grain into Longzuo County and mass-producing traditional Insecticide Powder, Longzuo County would have probably turned into a desolate land with corpses everywhere.

Wang Shouzhe frowned, “Luo Jing, do you have any evidence to support what you’re saying?”

Fenggu Farm and Prosperous Farm are the Wang family’s two main grain production bases. If there were really an outbreak of aphids, it would be worse for the present Wang family.

“Brother, try examining a few wheat spikes that are in the filling stage.” Wang Luo Jing also looked a bit serious.

The words made Wang Shounuo a bit nervous; he walked into the field, randomly picked a wheat spike, flipped through, and noticed some tiny green spots on the wheat spike which had just started to fill.

After turning a few more spikes, some had more, some less, but undeniably, these were all aphids.

Wang Shouzhe was at the High Level Six of the Vital Energy Refining Realm. His physical strength and eyesight far exceeded that of ordinary people. Looking around, he saw that the green spots were all chubby little insects. He was slightly taken aback, “Aphids?”

Wang Shouzhe had few accumulated knowledge about this. He could hardly guess that it was a kind of aphid. He was not interested in agriculture, hence powerful algorithm apps did not push this kind of content to him.

“It’s true the number of aphids this year is more than usual.” Wang Shounuo said, puzzledly, “But that doesn’t mean we’re going to have a locust plague, right? They can be controlled with a mixture of wood ash juice and insecticide powder. At most, the production will slightly decrease compared to last year.”

“Brother!” Wang Luo Jing stopped in her tracks, “I’ve already said that there’s a big problem with the climate. Too many insect eggs were left in the soil last year. Soon, maybe tomorrow or the day after, a large number of aphids will emerge from the ground. In seven or eight days, it will likely trigger the second wave.”

You guys come over here”. Wang Shouzhe called out to a few tenant farmers not far away who were working, “Pull out the wheat in this small patch and turn the soil.”

“This… Young Master Shounuo…” The tenant farmers shrank back, looking at Wang Shounuo with doubts. They dare not, and they were reluctant to do it. The wheat would be ready for harvest in another ten or so days. It was precious food.

“Listen to the Clan Leader.” Not wanting to offend Wang Shouzhe, Wang Shounuo went forward and started to pull out the wheat.

The tenant farmers also picked up their hoes and started turning the soil.

In a short while, all the wheat in the small patch was pulled out, and the soil was turned over.

“This…” Wang Shounuo carefully inspected the roots of the pulled-up wheat, his face gradually changing from serious to shocked. “How could this be? How could this be?”

Many white spots on the roots were truly terrifying. Most of the wheat roots had them; the only difference was the number.

There were also many white spots in the turned-over soil, if you looked carefully.

A shudder came over Wang Shounuo. He had a bad feeling about this, “Quick, go get grandfather.”

“Quickly, notify grandfather, and tell all the tenant farmers to quickly soak the stored wood ash.” Having studied agriculture with his grandfather for two years, Wang Shounuo had learned some basics.

The tenant farmers began to busy themselves.

In a short while, Grand Elder Wang Xiaozhi had arrived. His face was extremely distressed: “How could this be? How could there be so many aphid eggs growing in the soil? After the autumn harvest last year, like always, we deep ploughed and spread insecticide powder. Could there be something wrong with the insecticide powder?”

“Grandfather, last year was a warm winter…” Wang Luo Jing gently reminded him.

“You little girl, I’ve been farming all my life, could I not understand as much as you?” Wang Xiaozhi scolded, as if his tail had been stepped on. “Ten years ago, it was also a warm winter, and the climate was exactly the same as this year. Yet, Longzuo had a bumper harvest with grain abundantly stored! In my opinion, the problem lies with the insecticide powder. That damned Qian Family’s store, they must have sold fake insecticide, and I even stocked up on a large quantity of their insecticide when it was cheap!”

Listening to their discussions, Wang Shouzhe remembered some fragmented knowledge and couldn’t help but furrow his eyebrows: “The Qian Family’s stores are all over Longzuo. They always pay attention to their reputation. If their fake insecticide led to a locust plague in Longzuo, they certainly wouldn’t be able to bear the consequences. Could there be a possibility that aphids, no, honey bugs, have survived through repeatedly resisting the insecticide, particularly the ones with strong drug resistance, and have gradually spread?”

Although his previous life’s Wang Shouzhe did not deal with agriculture, he still knew that whether it was bacteria, viruses, or organisms, they would all constantly undergo genetic mutation and evolution. This evolution was almost unpredictable, but most of them would be eliminated by nature.

Those honey bugs that evolved towards drug resistance, and survived and proliferated during the constant battles with the insecticide, were also reasonable.

But Wang Xiaozhi couldn’t understand what biological evolution meant. He just frowned and said: “Shouzhe, don’t talk nonsense here. The previous insecticide worked fine, why doesn’t it work this year?”

“Grandfather, I think my fourth brother is right.” Wang Luo Jing said, “Grandfather, you forgot, you’ve been complaining these years. It seems like the insecticide is becoming less and less effective. Why are there aphids every year?”

Wang Xiaozhi’s face stiffened, and his expression became increasingly difficult to look at. In recent years, especially since the bumper harvest ten years ago, there was a gradual increase in the number of aphids. However, because the overall impact was still within tolerance, he only found it a nuisance.

Wang Shouzhe was almost certain that resistant aphids had proliferated. The warm winter of the previous season allowed most of the insect’s eggs to survive. So, the current situation arose due to this year’s climate being suitable for aphids.

This is a big problem. Even Wang Shouzhe felt his scalp tingling. He’s not capable of mixing up new “pesticides”…

Indeed, misfortunes never come singly! With this disaster, the days of the Wang family will become even more difficult, won’t they?

“Fourth brother.” Wang Luo Jing pulled on Wang Shouzhe and took him aside. She whispered, “I have a way to solve the aphid problem, but I’m scared of Grandfather, so I dare not say it!”

What?

Wang Shouzhe was taken aback. He looked at her in disbelief.