Sister Han is good at farming

Because of the mud on the riverbed, everyone saw hope. The water in the reservoir was full, and the water in the channel became more abundant. Everyone's minds became active.

The fields cannot be planted, and the land cannot be planted either, because the fields were previously planted with wheat and rapeseed.

But it does not prevent ordinary people from using their brains well.

The villagers of Zaoziling were especially indoctrinated with how to make compost and burn manure for months. Their toilets, pig pens, and cattle pens had been scraped clean, so suddenly they came across river mud fertilizer. How could they let it go?

They immediately started to reclaim the land and plant potatoes and sweet potatoes.

Ruan Qingqing's family is no exception, especially the old house.

Last year, they made ten taels of silver just from selling potato flour. Not to mention the crystal clear cold noodles, which Liu saw being snapped up bowl by bowl. So this time, they were determined to open up more land to grow potatoes.

When they took action, all the people in Qingshui County were mobilized.

"What? A potato egg as big as a fist! Could it be that the potato egg has turned into a spirit?"

"What the hell? Didn't you hear from our relatives in Zaoziling? They have a good way of farming and can produce 1,000 kilograms of potatoes per mu!"

"One thousand pounds!"

The sound of people gasping for air was heard one after another.

"How do you plant it? Uncle, tell us about it!"

"The key is naturally to use enough fertilizer?"

"Tsk, who doesn't know this? Isn't it true that everyone has emptied their family's fat?"

"What are you going to empty? Isn't there a lot of river mud drying near Qianlong River?"

“Is river mud really fat?”

"No, can the people in Zaoziling clean up the mud in the nearby river?"

"You don't understand this, right? Planting potatoes requires not only applying enough fertilizer, but also some tricks to applying fertilizer!"

"What's the trick? Explain it to everyone in detail!"

Such discussions are taking place in Qingshui County and even in surrounding counties.

The people, who were originally depressed due to the drought, seemed to have found a panacea and started to plant potatoes and sweet potatoes like crazy.

After everyone finished planting potatoes and sweet potatoes, they started irrigating the wheat.

"They say it will be sunny during Qingming and rainy during Guyu. There is not a single cloud in the sky, so where is the rain coming from? I'm afraid this will be another bad year! Sigh!"

In Zaoziling, elderly people gathered under a banyan tree, puffing on their pipes and sighing.

Ruan Qingqing, who was passing by, curled her lips bitterly. Isn't it just a bad year? The drought will continue until next year!

"I heard that the water levels in reservoirs and ditches have dropped dramatically as families water their wheat fields. We don't know if we can survive this bad year! We are all about to die, yet we are hit by such a dangerous natural disaster!"

"Well, let's just be content! The great drought forty years ago lasted only half a year. How many people starved to death? Our grandparents' generation was so miserable! Many starved to death in order to save food for their sons and grandchildren."

"That's right! This drought is fine, but I'm really worried that there will be a locust plague... We old people have lived to a ripe old age, and even if we die, our children and grandchildren still have a long way to go!"

"Locust plague!"

Ruan Qingqing felt like a bolt from the blue.

Previously, she had been busy trying to find ways to draw water from the Qianlong River to alleviate the drought, trying to get everyone to harvest as much food as possible, trying to get everyone to have income, but she forgot that droughts are often accompanied by locust plagues, and forgot to remind everyone to prevent locust plagues...

"Daya, what's wrong with you? You look so bad? Are you sick or are you tired recently?"

When Wang saw Ruan Qingqing’s pale face, she hurried forward to ask.

Ruan Qingqing waved her hands tiredly, "Mom, I'm fine!"

But how to prevent locust plagues?

In Ruan Qingqing's memory, locust plagues like to break out in places with water. During droughts, the water levels of rivers and lakes drop significantly. Locusts lay eggs in the weeds on the lakeside, riverbank, and coast after the water level drops. When the eggs hatch into locust nymphs in the summer of the following year, locust plagues begin.

They started experiencing drought last year, and the water level in Qianlong River and nearby reservoirs had dropped before, so there was no guarantee that locusts would not lay eggs in the weeds on the river bank and reservoir embankment after the drop. Although the water level rose again later, it did not last long.

In other words, they are still at risk of a locust plague.

What should she do? How can she prevent locusts from invading? If it were modern times, they could be killed with pesticides, but here...

No! There must be a way!

In China, in addition to pesticides, there is also a biological method of pest control, which is to use birds, toads, spiders to eat locust nymphs, locusts, etc., as well as "raising ducks to control locusts."

"Raising ducks to control locusts! Yes! Raising ducks to control locusts!" Ruan Qingqing was so happy that she jumped three times on the spot. She thought she was at a dead end again, but unexpectedly, she tasted the joy of a sudden turn of events.

"Why are you so listless one moment and jumping around like a madman the next?" Wang was frightened by Ruan Qingqing's repeated actions. "Did something dirty touch you?"

"Mom, can you seduce a duckling?"

Ruan Qingqing's question made Wang even more confused.

"Why do you want to fuck the duck again?"

"Mom, isn't there an old saying that severe droughts are often accompanied by locust plagues? I'm worried that there will be a locust plague this year, so I want to raise more ducks first, so that the ducks can eat the locusts and prevent them from becoming a major problem. Thus, there will be no locust plague."

The vegetables Wang was picking fell to the ground. She stood up and hurriedly walked to Ruan Qingqing, kicking over the basket of vegetables with her foot.

"Daya, a locust plague is no joke!"

"Mom, do I have the time to joke around? Mom, don't we have a lot of duck eggs at home? How about brooding a batch of ducklings as soon as possible? Let's let the ducks eat the locusts before they grow up. That way, fewer of them will grow into locusts in the future."

Wang swallowed her saliva, looking incredulous. "Can ducks really kill locusts?"

"Well, but they need to be in groups. If there are too few ducks, they won't be very effective." Ruan Qingqing reminded.

"A lot of ducks..." Wang lowered her head and thought, "How could I forget this? Your grandmother knows how to cook ducks, but I don't know if she is free now?"

"Mom, you prepare the duck eggs at home. I'll go to the market first to try my luck. If I can't buy enough ducks, I'll have to go to Ga Po's house."

"Okay! I know."

When Ruan Wantie heard about this at the dinner table, he immediately said, "I think I should go to your Ga Po's house this afternoon and invite her to stay for a few days. If we really want to eradicate the locust plague, it won't be enough for us to raise a few ducks. Maybe the whole village or even the whole county will have to raise ducks. When the time comes, the ducks cooked in the kang will be sold!"