Signs of an Insect Plague

Fenggu Farm alone had this much fertile land, along with two hundred tenant households?

Wang Shouzhe looked over the crisscrossing field paths and the interwoven ditches of varying sizes, feeling deeply moved. This was the family foundation built over a hundred years of inheritance.

"Our Fenggu Farm follows the traditional rotation of winter wheat and summer grain. Right now, winter wheat is nearing maturity, while summer grain seedlings are being cultivated—it is the busiest season." A hint of delight appeared on Wang Shounuo's face. "This spring brought abundant rain without flooding, and plentiful sunlight without scorching heat. It has been extremely favorable for the winter wheat. It looks like we are in for a bumper harvest."

Even Wang Shouzhe brightened at that. There was an enormous difference between an abundant harvest and a poor one. More grain meant more funds for the clan's development.

"No, no." Wang Luojing, trailing along like a little tagalong, pouted and said, "Third Brother, you are wrong. This year's winter wheat may well suffer a poor harvest."

What?

Wang Shounuo's smile stiffened at once. He sternly said, "Luojing, you little girl, do not talk nonsense. Even Grandfather and the experienced old tenant farmers say there is an eighty or ninety percent chance of a bumper harvest this year. What could you possibly know at your age? If Grandfather hears you cursing us with a poor harvest, he will surely scold you again."

Frightened by his rebuke, Wang Luojing immediately hid behind Wang Shouzhe.

"Third Brother, Fifth Sister is still young. Children's words carry no taboo—why argue with her?" Wang Shouzhe smiled and rubbed her head a couple of times to soothe her.

"Fourth Brother, you do not understand." Wang Shounuo gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Our Fifth Sister may be young, but she is terribly odd and clever. All day long, she loves playing with all kinds of insects. When she was two or three, she could squat in the courtyard and watch ants for days on end. Some time ago, she even begged me to catch some kind of grass-whatever insect king for her. If I refused, she cried, fussed, and rolled on the ground. I had to scour the mountains and wilderness for four or five days before I caught two of them—I got bitten all over by mosquitoes and bugs."

"It is the Lacewing Insect King. It is recorded in the ancient Insect Classic." Wang Luojing poked half her head out from behind Wang Shouzhe and earnestly corrected Wang Shounuo. "Brother, that is so embarrassing. Your handsome head is completely empty inside. Although the Profound Martial Aristocratic Clan establishes itself through martial arts, cultural and scholarly foundations are also the bedrock of a family's inheritance."

Especially that latter sentence—it was something she had learned from Wang Shouzhe when he scolded them, and now she was using it to mock Wang Shounuo.

Sure enough, Wang Shounuo's face went black. He could only say sulkily, "Yes, yes, I am ignorant. Next time you beg me, I will not help you catch insects either."

"I will ask Fourth Brother for help. Fourth Brother is ten thousand times better than you." Wang Luojing clutched Wang Shouzhe's robe as though she had found a powerful backer, brimming with confidence.

Wang Shouzhe could not help but smile. She really was a quirky little thing; she was merely reserved in front of him. Wang Shounuo was so angry he was practically about to faint.

"All right, all right. Luojing, tell me—how could a year of favorable winds and timely rains lead to a poor harvest?" Wang Shouzhe asked casually. "Do not be afraid. It is fine even if you are wrong."

With Wang Shouzhe backing her up, Wang Luojing grew much bolder. "Last winter was too warm. It only snowed once."

Wang Shounuo immediately rolled his eyes. "Though they say auspicious snow heralds a bountiful year, that is only a saying. Does no snow necessarily mean a poor harvest?"

"It is different." Wang Luojing said with great seriousness, "Last year was a warm winter, and this spring's rainfall was indeed good. But it has not rained for over ten days now, and the weather has turned dry and hot."

"Luojing." Wang Shounuo did not take it seriously. "We have already opened the sluices from the Fenggu tributary to irrigate the fields, so the winter wheat will not lack water. Besides, strong sunlight helps the wheat kernels grow plump."

"But it also helps Honey Insects grow." Wang Luojing rolled her eyes.

Honey Insects?

Wang Shounuo shuddered. Hesitantly, he said, "Honey Insects cannot be entirely avoided. They appear every year, and it is normal for them to cause some reduction in yield... Besides, last winter, we spread Pest-Exterminating Powder over the farmlands as well."

Yet he lacked confidence as he spoke. Honey Insects were the natural enemy of winter wheat. A small outbreak was manageable, causing at most a reduction in grain production. But a large-scale outbreak would be a disaster.

According to Wang Clan records, the worst Honey Insect disaster had occurred seventy-three years ago. The calamity had spread across all of Longzuo Prefecture, reducing that year's winter wheat harvest by eighty percent. Grain prices had soared within a short period. Some aristocratic families had been able to sustain themselves with stored grain, but many free commoners with scant assets had suffered miserably. Countless people had sold their sons and daughters.

Even more frighteningly, that insect plague had continued into its third year. By then, even some aristocratic families could no longer hold on. Had the Purple Mansion Academy not intervened, transferring massive amounts of grain into Longzuo Prefecture and refining large quantities of the ancient Pest-Exterminating Powder formula, the entire prefecture would likely have been littered with starving corpses for a thousand miles, utterly deserted.

Wang Shouzhe frowned. "Luojing, do you have any way to prove what you are saying?"

Fenggu Farm and Xingsheng Farm were the Wang Clan's two major grain-producing bases. If aphids truly erupted, it would be adding frost to snow for the Wang Clan in its current state.

"Brother, try checking several more wheat ears that are filling out." Wang Luojing's expression had become somewhat grave as well.

Wang Shounuo felt uneasy after hearing that. He walked into the field, casually grabbed an ear of wheat, and turned it over. On the wheat ear that had only just begun to fill out were tiny green specks.

He checked several more ears in succession. Some had more, some had fewer, but without exception, they were all Honey Insects.

Wang Shouzhe was at the high stage of the Sixth Layer of the Qi Refining Realm. His physical fitness and eyesight far surpassed those of ordinary people. With one glance, he saw that those green specks were plump little insects. He was slightly startled. Were these aphids?

Wang Shouzhe had accumulated little knowledge in this area and could only barely guess that they were some type of aphid. He had no interest in agriculture, so those apps with their clever algorithms naturally would not push such content to him.

"There are indeed more Honey Insects this year than in previous years." Wang Shounuo was full of doubt. "But that does not necessarily mean there will be an insect plague, does it? A mixture of plant ash water and some Pest-Exterminating Powder can deal with them. At worst, the yield will be slightly lower than last year's."

"Brother!" Wang Luojing stamped her foot. "I already said there is a major problem with the climate. Too many insect eggs from last year remain in the soil. In as little as tomorrow or the day after, or at most three or four days, huge numbers of Honey Insects will emerge from the ground. After another seven or eight days, there is a very real chance of a second wave erupting."

"You few, come here." Wang Shouzhe beckoned to several tenant farmers working nearby. "Pull up the wheat in this small area and turn over all the soil."

"This... Young Master Shounuo..." The tenant farmers hunched their shoulders and looked uncertainly at Wang Shounuo. They did not dare act, nor could they bear to. The wheat would be ready for harvest in just over ten days. It was all gleaming white grain.

"Listen to the Clan Leader." Wang Shounuo did not dare offend Wang Shouzhe and personally stepped forward to pull up the wheat.

The tenant farmers also hefted their hoes and began turning over the soil.

Before long, all the wheat in that small patch had been pulled up, and the earth had been thoroughly turned.

"This..." Wang Shounuo carefully inspected the roots of the uprooted wheat. His face gradually shifted from gravity to utter shock. "How could this be? How could this be?"

The roots were covered in countless tiny white specks, a sight that was truly alarming. Most of the wheat roots had them, differing only in number.

There were also numerous white specks in the overturned soil, if one looked closely enough.

Wang Shounuo's heart skipped a beat, and a sinister premonition arose within him. "Quick, go call Grandfather."

"Quick, notify Grandfather, and tell all the tenant farmers to immediately soak the stockpiled plant ash." Wang Shounuo had studied agriculture under his grandfather for two years and possessed at least some basic knowledge.

The tenant farmers began bustling about.

Before long, Fourth Grand-Uncle Wang Xiaozhi arrived. His expression was dreadful in the extreme. "How could this be? Why are there so many Honey Insect eggs growing in the soil? After last autumn's harvest, we clearly plowed the fields deeply and spread Pest-Exterminating Powder, just as we always did. Could there be something wrong with that Pest-Exterminating Powder?"

"Grandfather, last year was a warm winter..." Wang Luojing cautiously reminded him from the side.

"You little girl, I have farmed all my life. Could I possibly understand less than you?" Wang Xiaozhi snapped angrily, as though someone had stepped on his tail. "Ten years ago was also a warm winter, and the climate was exactly the same as this year's. The result was a bountiful harvest throughout Longzuo, with granaries filled to bursting! In my view, the problem lies with the Pest-Exterminating Powder. That damned Qian Clan Trading Firm must have sold us counterfeit Pest-Exterminating Powder! I even took advantage of the low price to stockpile a huge batch of it!"

As they spoke one after another, Wang Shouzhe recalled some scattered bits of knowledge and could not help frowning. "The Qian Clan Trading Firm operates throughout Longzuo and has always valued its commercial reputation. If it sold counterfeit Pest-Exterminating Powder and caused an insect plague in Longzuo, I doubt it could bear the consequences. Could it be possible that, through repeated battles with Pest-Exterminating Powder, some Honey Insects with stronger resistance survived and gradually developed widespread resistance?"

Though Wang Shouzhe had not worked with agriculture in his previous life, he knew that bacteria, viruses, and living creatures all underwent continual genetic mutation and evolution. Such evolution was almost entirely unpredictable, and most mutations were naturally eliminated.

But it was entirely reasonable that some Honey Insects evolving toward greater resistance had survived repeated encounters with Pest-Exterminating Powder and gradually reproduced in greater numbers.

Wang Xiaozhi, however, could not comprehend what biological evolution meant at all. He merely frowned and said, "Shouzhe, do not spout nonsense here. The Pest-Exterminating Powder worked perfectly well before, so why would it suddenly stop working this year?"

"Grandfather, I think Fourth Brother's words make sense." Wang Luojing said, "Grandfather, have you forgotten? Over the past few years, we have always heard you complain that the Pest-Exterminating Powder seems to be growing less effective. Why are there Honey Insects every year?"

Wang Xiaozhi's expression froze, then grew increasingly ugly. In recent years, especially since that bumper harvest ten years ago, Honey Insects had gradually become more numerous. But since their overall numbers had remained bearable, he had merely found them troublesome.

Wang Shouzhe was now almost certain that highly resistant aphids had already multiplied and spread. The warm winter of the previous season had also allowed most of the eggs to survive, while this year's climate was ideal for aphid growth, resulting in the scene before them.

This was serious trouble. Even Wang Shouzhe felt his scalp go numb. He had no ability to concoct new "pesticides"...

Truly, when the roof leaked, it rained all night! After this disaster, the Wang Clan's days would grow even harder, would they not?

"Fourth Brother." Wang Luojing pulled Wang Shouzhe aside and whispered, "I have a way to deal with the Honey Insects, but I am afraid of Grandfather and do not dare say it!"

What?

Wang Shouzhe froze and stared at her in disbelief.