Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

"What are you babbling about? If you want to hear it, stay; if not, get out!"

His voice was loud and clear, and he was tall and strong. When he stood in front of the skinny village chief, he looked like a mountain, making people feel uneasy.

"Who...who are you?"

"I'm here to deliver something to my great-aunt! Anyone who dares to bully the Huo family is going against my master! My master could wipe out your entire village and no one would dare utter a sound! Understand?"

Got it!

The Huo family certainly has a powerful background!

Although they were exiled here, they never go hungry. Every meal is filled with the aroma of food in the courtyard, and they can even afford to keep dogs!

He should just continue to turn a blind eye!

"Then why did you call us here? I need to go back and check on the crops..." a man asked cautiously.

Sang Ning saw that quite a few people had come, and even those who hadn't come would surely hear what everyone was saying.

She doesn't take up other people's time.

"I'm here today to tell you about the large number of locusts that have recently appeared in the fields..."

After Sang Ning finished speaking, everyone was in an uproar!

The village chief was dumbfounded.

His family owns five acres of land!

Even though the drought means we can't harvest much grain, it's still better than harvesting now!

"I've lived this long and never encountered a locust plague! You pampered young ladies from the capital who don't even know how to farm dare to spout nonsense!"

"No, Uncle Village Chief, this year's grasshoppers are really different from before. They don't taste good, their skins are thick, and they fly fast, making them hard to catch," one person said worriedly.

"Madam Sang, are you serious? A swarm of locusts might be coming?" Zhu Fansheng asked in surprise.

"Yes, very likely. You only have that much land, so don't delay, hurry up and harvest it!"

"Okay, I'll take it!" Zhu Fansheng said readily.

His friend grabbed him, "Are you crazy? Retreat now? It's about to rain!"

"Dapeng, Shanzi, you two hurry up and collect them too. Madam Sang won't harm anyone."

He knows this best.

While grain was selling for exorbitant prices on the streets, she was selling two skewers of gluten for a penny, essentially providing relief to people in disguise.

If it weren't for the occasional presence of government officials, someone would have already started causing trouble.

This family are kind people.

Moreover, there are indeed many locusts now, and the streets are full of vendors selling roasted locusts.

"Go ahead and take it if you want, we won't. Even if you lose money, the Huo family will help you out. What do we have?"

Da Peng's tone was filled with intense jealousy.

Shanzi, too, looked displeased.

Zhu Fansheng was somewhat stunned.

Then he chuckled and turned his head away with a cold expression.

This is brother!

Damn it, he asked Sang Niangzi again yesterday if she needed help making charcoal, thinking of giving his brother a hand.

Looking back now, brothers can go hungry together, be poor together, but they can't stand up for each other!

"Go and harvest the rice. I hope you won't regret it," Dapeng said again, as if cursing.

Zhu Fansheng became a sensation.

This guy is unacceptable!

"Then don't regret it! If the locusts really come, not a single grain of rice will be left. If I harvest now, at least half of them can be saved!"

"Bah, what a beautiful thought!"

Wang Dapeng turned and left. As he walked, you could see that there were still scabs on his palms. His waist and legs looked strange when he walked.

Huo Chang'an watched his retreating figure and gave a cold laugh.

The person who fell down the wall that day.

There are three people in total. I wonder if Zhu Fansheng is among them?

Everyone's arguing, but nobody seems to be taking it seriously.

Huo Chang'an shouted again, "I've told everyone everything. You can decide for yourselves. Also, Master Xu Wude's family has already started harvesting. If you have any questions, go ask him!"

He passed the question to Xu Wude.

After all, if the locusts didn't come, these people might dare to dart around in front of them, but they wouldn't dare to do anything to Xu Wude.

Upon hearing that Xu Wude had started collecting grain, the villagers' earlier, seemingly insignificant chatter turned sour.

I'm really scared.

Only then did they begin to realize the seriousness of the situation.

Many people immediately ran towards Xu's house.

The remaining people surrounded the village chief, bombarding him with questions.

How would the village chief know what to do?

Some people started studying the locusts, and the more they looked at them, the more terrifying they found them. They noticed that their teeth were sharper than ordinary locusts.

“I’ve seen these locusts before.”

A figure with a wooden plank tied to his leg, leaning on a wooden stick, and walking unsteadily walked over.

"Second Grandpa."

"Second uncle."

The Huo family members spoke up.

"Second brother, what brings you here?" The old lady frowned and stepped forward.

Looking at his legs with concern, she said, "Didn't the doctor say not to walk around for now?"

“It’s alright, sister-in-law. I just heard the gong sounding over here and couldn’t sit still at home.”

Huo Baohong stepped forward, took the locust from the villager's hand, and examined it carefully again.

“That’s right, it’s this kind of black-spotted round-headed locust. I’ve seen it before. Twenty years ago, in Jingzhou.”

Jingzhou?

He who controls Jingzhou controls the world.

Is this Jingzhou the same as the historically important military location of Jingzhou?

Where is it located?

Sang Ning looked at Huo Chang'an questioningly.

Huo Chang'an didn't know what he interpreted it as, so he secretly patted the back of her hand, his gaze carrying a meaning she couldn't understand.

"soon."

What do you mean?

What's fast?

There's a bit of a lack of teamwork, bro.

"I'm asking you, where is Jingzhou?"

Huo Chang'an was taken aback, something flashing rapidly in his eyes.

"...Yes, I am..."

Just then, the old lady spoke up: "Second brother, are you referring to the locust plague in Jingzhou?"

"That's right. I remember my older brother went there too."

The old lady remembered it very clearly, of course.

The people of Dongyang should find it hard to forget.

"That's right. To be precise, it was nineteen years ago that a locust plague, which was once a century-old event, struck more than a dozen cities, including Jingzhou, Fancheng, and Bashu."

The imperial court sent the second prince, who is now the emperor, to provide disaster relief, and your elder brother accompanied him.

"Oh, right, Ning'er's maternal grandfather was from Jingzhou. I remember Sang... your father and your mother went there too."

Sanning: "..."

Her maternal grandfather lived in Jingzhou!

After a careful search of my memory, it really was true!

Damn, now I know what Huo Chang'an's look meant.

He said soon, meaning he would soon be free of his criminal status and be able to go to Jingzhou?

Sang Ning looked up at the sky, refusing to look at him.

Let her think whatever she wants, she is Sang Ning'er anyway.

"I remember too!" the village chief said tremblingly.

"I remember that for two years, you couldn't buy a single grain of rice in Liangzhou!"

"Let alone Liangzhou, even in the capital, you can't find good rice. Rice is sold at exorbitant prices, on par with ginseng," the old lady said.

Because the Jingzhou area is the place with the highest rice production, almost the entire area was affected, and it took two years to recover.

The village chief looked at the locusts in horror and asked Huo Baohong, "You mean the locusts back then were this kind?"

"Yes, that's right! Exactly the same! Long wings, black spots, round head, sharp teeth, and it spits out black liquid. The local chronicles over there record the terrifying nature of this locust."

"It's so far away, can you fly all the way to Liangzhou?"

“It’s a thousand miles from Jingzhou to Bashu, and there are even more mountains and forests there. They all suffered one after another. Do you think it’s impossible to fly to Liangzhou?” Huo Baohong asked rhetorically.

Anyone who experienced that locust plague dares not recall it.

If these locusts are found in Jingzhou again, the people there will harvest the crops without hesitation, even if only 10% of their crops are left!