Chapter 135: Disaster Coming One After Another ( 6 )

Chapter 135: Disaster Coming One After Another ( 6 ) Fu Chen’an and his soldiers stayed for another 3 days in Yang Village until they finished watering all the fields with the Sha Wu Hen water.

Due to the peaceful days after the thunderstorm, people living near the northern border were skeptical about the rumors regarding the locust plague.

Today was the 8th day of the 8th month during the 3rd year of Tianwu. There was only 1 month left before the crops were ready for harvest.

At this moment, the people who visited the towns and cities located near the northern border hadn’t received any news about the locust plague.

At a roadside noodle stall, several commoners were discussing the powder distributed by the government.

"Have you heard any news about the locusts?" one of them asked.

"It has been almost a month since the government told us to use that strange powder and harvest our crops early. They keep saying that there will be a locust plague, but it’s almost a month now and not even a locust has been seen."

"I think, ah, these must be some plots used by those people to win people’s hearts," another one said in a hushed tone.

"That can’t be, right? I heard that this Sha Wu Hen powder is very rare. Those big shots couldn’t even buy it even when they had the money."

"Who knows if that powder is real or fake? Doesn’t everything depend on what the officials say?"

"Brothers, you shouldn’t discuss court matters here. If you want to die, you can go to other places. Don’t pull me down with you," the stall owner said with a frown.

Who didn’t know that the court was corrupt and the royal family was a mess?

Even if everyone knew about this, who dared to talk about it in public?

Unless they thought they had lived for too long, did they dare to discuss it out loud?

After the stall owner’s reminder, the commoners finally shut up and ate their noodles.

As everyone was treating the news about the locust plague as rumors, the morning sky suddenly darkened.

They thought that another thunderstorm was coming and looked at the sky. Unexpectedly, what they saw was not a thundercloud but a massive swarm of locusts.

The moment they saw the locusts, everyone was shocked.

"Locusts! Locusts are really here!"

As soon as someone shouted, everyone regained their senses.

"Oh, no! I have to go back! I haven’t harvested my grains!"

"Quickly, go back to the village!"

Most of the people coming to the town were villagers living nearby. Despite the warnings and reminders from the government, only 10% of the villagers were willing to harvest their grains earlier.

Therefore, the moment they saw the locust swarm really coming, their minds went blank, and they were stunned.

Some of them didn’t even bother to rush back, as they knew that it was useless. They slumped down and cried on the ground.

"It’s over! It’s over now!"

"What sins did we commit that the Heavens punished us like this?! One disaster after another, when will we be able to live a good life? Heavens, ah, please show us mercy!"

The street was filled with their wailing, cries of regret, and the thunderous buzzing of the locusts.

At the same time, in Yang Village, Fu Chen’an and his soldiers were just leaving the village entrance when they saw the black cloud coming over.

"Quick, go back and warn the villagers. Locusts are here!" Fu Chen’an shouted.

As soon as the soldiers heard this, they quickly ran back to the village and shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Everyone, locusts are here!! Close your doors and windows! Make sure your grains are stored properly!"

With their loud shouts, the villagers learned about the locusts and barely managed to store away the grains being dried in the yards.

Those who hadn’t harvested their crops quickly ran to the fields with their tools, trying to save as much grain as they could.

When the soldiers thought that what they were doing was futile, they saw the swarm of locusts suddenly fall to the ground after eating some of the leaves.

"Hey, look, the locusts are dying!" one of the soldiers pointed at the fields.

The villagers who had just arrived also saw the scene. They were stunned and stared at the locusts falling to the ground one after another with widened eyes.

"What are you all waiting for?! Quickly harvest the crops, or all will be eaten by the locusts!"

Thanks to the Village Chief’s reminder, the villagers came back to their senses and rushed to harvest their crops.

Although the powder was able to kill the locusts, the number was too high.

By the time all of the locusts died, their crops would also be finished. Since the powder was able to slow down the locusts, they still had a sliver of hope to save at least one-third of their grain.

Fortunately, there were only 7 families who hadn’t harvested their crops. With the help of all the villagers and the soldiers, they managed to save some of the grain.

Looking at the barren fields, those families could only wail in regret.

Seeing them like this, the Village Chief was annoyed and shouted, "What are you crying about?! If you listened to the government and harvested your grains, you wouldn’t have lost so much grain!"

"Now it’s good! You were unwilling to lose 100 jins of grain but lost 600 jins of grain instead! Go back and lock your doors. Otherwise, you won’t even be able to save the rest of your grain!"

The villagers didn’t dare to say anything after being scolded by the Village Chief. After everyone returned to their houses, they locked the doors and windows and stayed at home.

There were still stalks and leaves left in the fields that they hadn’t had time to clean up, so the locusts were eating those right now.

At this moment, the villagers watched as the locusts continued dying one after another after taking a bite of the vegetation.