Locust plagues are definitely terrifying, especially in recent years, there have been several large and small locust plagues, and that time it was not that the locusts did not grow anywhere.

Hong Chengchou predicted that there was a high probability of locust plagues in Henan next year, which attracted Mao Wenlong's attention. In the past, the imperial court did nothing, and any such disaster occurred on the land.

Mao Wenlong will not sit still, he thinks of the natural enemies of locusts, and wants to use the natural enemies of locusts to eliminate locusts as soon as possible, so as to prevent such a disaster from happening. The idea is very good, but unfortunately, Mao Wenlong also doesn't know what the natural enemies of locusts are?

As far as he knew, chickens and ducks ate locusts, but chickens and ducks could not destroy locusts. Moreover, when the locust plague comes, the locusts that chickens and ducks can eat are very limited, and they are not enough to pose a threat to locusts.

In addition, chickens and ducks have to be raised, and raising too many chickens and ducks will inevitably cause a greater burden on the people. So, to sum up, it is not feasible to raise livestock to get rid of locusts.

Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou frowned and pondered in the study, but they still couldn't think of the best way to get rid of the locusts until the evening.

Haoda hurriedly walked in, and said to Mao Wenlong: "Chief soldier, Madame called you to go to dinner." ”

Mao Wenlong sighed helplessly, nodded and said, "Let's go." ”

In the cafeteria in the backyard, Chen Lan and Hong Ziyan had already prepared a sumptuous dinner and were waiting. The two children in the family were already drooling at the sumptuous meal on the table, and when they saw Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou coming late, the two immediately rushed up and pulled the two of them one by one, one by one, and shouted at the table.

The child's noisy sound made Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou temporarily forget the worries in their hearts and concentrate on eating dinner with their families.

Under Mao Wenlong's rule, there is no shortage of food and money, and now the grain production in Xuzhou alone is enough for everyone in the entire north to eat. However, at present, the population of the entire north is less than one-tenth of the former heyday, that is to say, according to the situation that Mao Wenlong thought, the grain of Xuzhou alone is far from meeting the future expenses.

Whether it is to attract people from the south to the north, or to recruit some displaced people to settle here. Mao Wenlong must ensure the stability of the entire north in advance and no more wars.

This first point, Mao Wenlong has done it so far, and he has done it very well. But then it is necessary to achieve long-term development, and under the condition of ensuring safety, it is necessary to create an environment where the people can live and work in peace and contentment, otherwise, no one will want to abandon their hometown and hike to this barren and troubled north.

The dinner ended in a frolicking session, and since there were two more children in the house, the rule of not saying anything during the meal disappeared automatically. Now the three meals a day end in peace and joy.

According to Mao Wenlong, home and everything is prosperous. The sound of harmony at home will make people feel warm. In this regard, Hong Chengchou also agrees with it, and also supports Mao Wenlong's argument that the family and everything is prosperous.

After dinner, Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou played with the children for a while, and then returned to the study to continue to discuss the natural enemies of locusts.

After Mao Wenlong took a sip of fragrant tea, he sighed and said: "It seems that we don't know much about farming." A few years ago, there were only two or three locust plagues in Shaanxi, and there will certainly be people among the people who know some local methods to prevent and control locust plagues. Otherwise, tomorrow we will visit the countryside, and we may have unexpected gains. ”

Since ancient times, there is a proverb called master among the people, among thousands of people, there will always be some geniuses. Mao Wenlong agreed with this, so he proposed to try his luck outside, which was also the most effective way in a helpless situation.

Hong Chengchou nodded and smiled after hearing this: "The chief soldier is reasonable, and he specializes in art, what kind of things should be done by whom, it is indeed a good way." ”

The two of them had a conclusion in their hearts, so they dispersed to rest.

As soon as the day dawned, Haoda took the lead in getting busy, and last night Mao Wenlong had already instructed him before he fell asleep, asking him to prepare his travel clothes in the morning. Haoda faithfully executes anything given to him by Mao Wenlong, and he, his personal secretary, does a really good job.

By the time Mao Wenlong and Hong Chengchou finished washing up and had breakfast and could travel, Haoda had been waiting for a long time. There was no sensational scene, and there was no brigade of guards to escort them, only fifty hand-picked men to serve as guards, and no one else was brought with them.

After getting into the carriage, Mao Wenlong gave the order to set off, and he agreed and rode first to open the way for the convoy.

Out of the city gate, Hao Da asked Mao Wenlong for instructions on where to go?

Mao Wenlong cast an inquiring glance at Hong Chengchou, and as a result, Hong Chengchou didn't know where to go to find a folk master who could control the locust plague.

In the end, it was Mao Wenlong himself who had a flash of inspiration, and he thought of the old man he helped a few days ago: "Why don't we go to the old man a few days ago to have a look?" ”

Hong Chengchou nodded and smiled: "Yes, that old man should have some experience." ”

Mao Wenlong chuckled lightly twice, and immediately gave Haoda an order, and the team rushed up on the avenue again.

Bailu Town is still so quiet, it is not so much a small town as it is actually a small village. There is only one main road in the whole market, and there are no more than 30 shops on either side.

The so-called market is at a fixed time every month, and the people of the surrounding villages can come here to catch the market, and Bailu Town is extremely light except for the market day.

It's still the same old yard, and it's almost lunchtime, and the chimneys of every house are smoking. Haoda took a step forward to knock on the door, but was stopped by Mao Wenlong, who personally stepped forward and knocked on the door.

It was the old man who opened the door, and when he saw Mao Wenlong coming again, he was indeed very surprised, and he was stunned for a long time before he reacted. warmly greeted Mao Wenlong into the house, and shouted loudly to the mother-in-law at home, asking him to come out quickly and see who was coming.

The old man's enthusiasm made Mao Wenlong quite embarrassed, and it happened to be another meal at this time. According to the old man's enthusiastic appearance, it is estimated that he will have to break the bank again and invite Mao Wenlong and others to lunch.

Mao Wenlong's guess was not wrong at all, the old man was indeed enthusiastic enough, and after finding that there was no meat at home, he actually ran out of the house. When I left, I picked up two baskets full of sweet potatoes, obviously, I was going to exchange for some meat and come back to greet the distinguished guests.

Mao Wenlong originally wanted to stop the old man, but in the end he didn't act, it is rare that the old man's enthusiasm can't chill people's hearts. At most, when you leave, you can leave some silver taels as compensation.