Chapter 615: 615: Full of Worries

Liu Xuer felt helpless and could only accept: “Don’t worry Sisi, your older sister will remember this favor…”

After Liu Xuer left, Liu Zhi’er became exceptionally melancholic: “The three of us sisters aren’t often able to gather together, and now, after only half a day, we must part again. Who knows what year and month it will be by the time we meet next?”

“Once a woman grows up and gets married, this situation is inevitable. Regardless of your wishes, there are many things in life that one must do. Life is full of such helplessness.”

“Indeed! It truly is helpless.” Liu Zhi’er woefully sighed.

The two sisters fell silent, and no one spoke. After a while, Liu Sisi stopped by the side of a field ridge.

“Second Sister, as we’ve journeyed along, have you noticed anything unusual?”

Liu Sisi frequently looked back.

“What’s unusual? Are you talking about mom? She is always in tears, nothing unusual about that.” Liu Zhi’er was puzzled.

“No, not that! I’m talking about these locusts. Don’t you think there are too many of them?”

Liu Sisi casually pointed towards the grass on both sides of the path. A thick layer of locusts was flying up and settling down, over and over again. There were green ones, brown ones, gray ones… both big and small. There were so many they couldn’t be counted!

“There are indeed a lot! So many locusts… there won’t be a locust disaster, will there?”

Brows furrowed, Liu Zhi’er couldn’t help but express her concern: “I’ve heard people say before that there have been locust plagues in our area. But thankfully, we have a network of small rivers, big rivers, and hidden underground rivers so a locust plague here wouldn’t be too disastrous. It’s the other side of the mountain that suffers more when there’s a plague.”

On the way home, Liu Zhi’er shared the stories she had heard.

“Supposedly! Over a hundred years ago, a locust plague broke out on the other side of the mountain. People on our side of the mountain didn’t pay much attention as it was understood that locust plagues never crossed the mountain. But that year was different. One afternoon, the sun in the sky was as hot as a stove. Locusts crossed the mountain from the other side, darkening the sky with their sheer number. The sight rushed everyone into a panic…”

Liu Sisi listened as Liu Zhi’er recounted the locust plague, immersed in thought as she looked at the dense, surrounding locusts and the crops that had been gnawed to bare stalks. It seemed she would have to take some preventative measures soon.

By the time they returned to the official residence, it was already dark.

The three children, who had been out for a stroll, were each sleeping in their nannies’ arms, appearing fine. Only then did Liu Sisi relax.

She had been genuinely concerned that being out in the high heat with the children might make them ill.

After some thought, she had a chilled sugared white fungus dessert brought over for the nannies to consume, hoping it would help them cool down.

She then went to the study to find books about locust disasters.

When Di Yelei entered from outside, he saw Liu Sisi using a ladder to search the study.

Most of the books in the study were collected from external bookstores during the construction of the official residence. Neither of the couple knew exactly what books they had.

“Sisi, what book are you looking for? Do you want your husband to help you find it?”

Di Yelei had been standing below for a while, but Liu Sisi up on the ladder hadn’t noticed him.

It wasn’t until she heard his voice that she looked down and smiled at him: “No need. I’m looking for history books or biographies that record the locust plagues. How about you? Have you eaten?”

As she spoke, she descended from the ladder.

“I’ve had dinner. Be careful, don’t fall. This is not a joke.”

Di Yelei quickly caught her: “What do you want those books for? Have you discovered anything?”

“I really have made a discovery. Didn’t I take the three kids home for ’emergence from the month of confinement’ today? On the way back, I saw swarms of locusts on the grass, in the paddy fields, and on the fruit trees. I suddenly recalled the matter of a locust scarcity.”

“Are you worried that if this drought continues and it doesn’t rain, our county Macheng will have a locust disaster?” Di Yelei understood immediately.

“Yes! Right now, the new county magistrate of Macheng hasn’t been assigned, and you’re acting as the magistrate in charge. If a locust plague really breaks out, I’m afraid you, as the captain, will be held accountable.” Liu Sisi expressed her concern.

“Isn’t that too presumptuous of you?”

Di Yelei responded with a laugh: “Our Macheng County is rich in water resources and produces a wealth of goods, with lush vegetation on the mountains. Even if it were to suffer from drought and lack of rain for two or three years, it wouldn’t be prone to a locust disaster due to the drought!”

He was assured because of the several small rivers in Macheng territory, similar to a spider’s web. Some of the sources of these small rivers were from the accumulation of mountain streams, while others came directly from the underground hidden river outlets, flowing year-round.

“But… there really are a lot of locusts!”

Liu Sisi emphasized: “Why don’t you go outside tomorrow and see? Go a bit farther, it would be best to go to places further from the river.”

Di Yelei thought about it and eventually couldn’t resist Liu Sisi’s big bright eyes: “Alright, I’ll set off from the west gate tomorrow and keep heading west, walking towards Dacheng County. There isn’t much rainfall and there are no rivers.”

Liu Sisi immediately smiled: “Yelei, you’re so good…”

She was well aware that her worries were, in essence, unwarranted and that most men would have grown impatient, yet Di Yelei agreed.

He pinched her nose: “Ah, you, you’re still so mischievous.”

“Not at all! Let me tell you, Yelei, there are many ways to control a locust plague, let me slowly explain it to you. Firstly, you need to plant more trees and construct water control projects, achieving ‘no floods with heavy rain, and no droughts without rain.’ At the same time, seize the opportunity to restore farmland irrigation construction and conduct comprehensive management of the mountains, water, fields, agriculture, forest, and roads…”

That night, she kept pestering Di Yelei, telling him how to control locusts throughout the night. These methods were naturally obtained from the internet in her previous life, as well as some insights she found from browsing the books just now.

She talked until her mouth was dry and was so engrossed in talking that Di Yelei yawned again and again. For the first time, he discovered that Liu Sisi could also be so nagging.

“Using chickens and ducks, along with birds, can be one way to control them. Also, one method of dealing with locusts involves leveraging the surrounding water sources…”

As Liu Sisi spoke passionately, she suddenly glanced up and realized that Di Yelei had already fallen asleep at some point.

Quietly exhaling, she stopped talking and sighed to herself. It seemed that she had made it through the night.