Xiaolin Village in Tongzhou has lost its crops due to the locust plague, and the same is true of Lin Erniu's land. Today is the time for the imperial court to distribute food. Lin Erniu also went to the village entrance to receive grain. One month's worth of food is distributed at a time. Originally, people from the county recruited workers to dig canals. Give a bucket of rice every day. But his family has an old mother, four and a half babies, and a daughter-in-law who is frail. There's no way to do it all on his own. The food distributed by the government is only enough for their family to eat two meals a day. At this time, the entrance of the village was already full of people. The village chief is maintaining order.

The officials did not finish the food and left as usual. Instead, he took out a notice. Start reading it out loud. Lin Erniu has not read. So I don't understand it. But the later talk about catching locusts gives money. Two pennies a pound. Salin. He understands how to send it to Chang'an Wuwen money.

The villagers also discussed, "This locust is a disaster from heaven, can you catch it?" Don't sin us when the time comes. ”

"yes, yes."

"Really give two pennies a pound. Where to sell"

"We are only half a day's journey from Chang'an, is it true that we are five cents a catty?"

"Silence, silence. What a calamity from heaven. A few days ago, His Majesty and the officials and lords of Chang'an held a locust feast in front of the gate of the imperial city. The emperor and the princes and nobles all ate locusts. And His Majesty said it was delicious. The people of Chang'an were also fortunate to taste a little. They all said that it was delicious but they didn't eat enough. His Royal Highness King Ji also said that eating locusts can strengthen the body and nourish the stomach. So now it is popular to eat locusts in Chang'an. The one who bought the locusts this time was the Chang'an Flavor Museum. I heard that each plate should be at least 500 wen. Some of them are used to money with spices. The prince said. If the people dare to eat it, they can eat it themselves. Sprinkle some salt after boiling with water, or roast and eat. It can be eaten as meat. It's just not as delicious as the spices. If you want to sell, you can go to the county where there is a special purchase point. Send it to Chang'an every day. The clerk explained it to the villagers

Lin Erniu returned home with the grain and told the old lady and daughter-in-law what the officials said. Aunt Lin said: "Erniu." The government will not lie to us about this. In a few moments, you will take the four cubs and go to the field to catch locusts. What a natural disaster, the heavens will condemn the sin. People can't live anymore. It doesn't matter so much. Such a great opportunity must be seized. Don't catch too much at that time, and don't accept it. This locust is a living creature that cannot be caught with your hands. After a while, your daughter-in-law and I will change the old clothes at home into a few nets, and you and those cubs will go to catch it, whether it is true or not, and you will know if you will sell it in the county tomorrow. ”

"Cheng, it's all up to my mother. A-Niang is right. My family has a large population. If you don't want to do something. The child suffers too much. Lin Erniu also agreed with Aunt Lin's words, and felt uncomfortable when she saw the two youngest dolls still with bare buttocks.

In this way, Lin Erniu took the four nets made by his mother and daughter-in-law, and led the four children to the field to catch locusts. What is a plague of locusts? The vast majority of later generations have never met each other in their lifetime. The fields are full of locusts that are eating the farmer's house. It is no exaggeration to say that dozens of them can be trampled to death with one kick. There is no need for any technology. A net goes down to a small half of the net. I caught two large baskets in the morning. He has no baskets left in his house. There are no plastic bags at this time. There are only baskets and baskets, all of which are made from vines and made by their own families.

After Lin Erniu took the child back, he cleaned it according to the official and removed the wings and salted them. He estimated that he had more than a hundred pounds. Early the next morning, two baskets of locusts were pushed in a cart to the county seat.

As soon as I arrived at the gate of the county seat, I saw many people queuing up with baskets. Because there are too many people, I am afraid of causing a riot. Therefore they gathered locusts at the gates of the city. There are still several wagons waiting. Fill a cart and send it away. When it was Lin Erniu's turn, the person in charge of the acquisition opened it and saw that it had been pickled. Immediately loaded onto a separate carriage. One hundred and thirty-six pounds and four hundred and eight wen. Lin Erniu couldn't believe it was true when he took the money. It's more than 400 in half a day. Hurry back and ask the old lady and daughter-in-law to make more baskets.

There are thousands of people like Lin Erniu who have earned. I didn't expect that someone really spent money on locusts and really gave money. For a time, catching locusts was popular in Guannei. Many of the neighboring states were not affected, and many people went to catch locusts. Because of the clashes caused by catching locusts and fighting for territory, conflicts occur from time to time, and the government is busy. There was even a time when the conflict between the two villages touched the local government soldiers and suppressed it.

The flavor hall that opened for half a month in Chang'an East City was full of people, and Li Shen's locust banquet was priced at a high price, and all the spices were used. But there are too many locusts that come in every day. Li Shen decided to sell the locusts, and the purchase price was two or three cents. There is also a transportation cost, which is basically 5 yuan. Li Shen sold eight cents a catty. Earn three dollars a pound, and post a method of how to do it at the door. It's just that the common people have no spices and can only use salt. Much worse taste. But it's high in protein. It's no less than eating meat. So a lot of people buy it every day. Even sometimes it's not enough to sell. You must know that there are four or five hundred thousand households in Chang'an City. One or two million people. In addition, Li Shen has set up sales points in Chang'an County and Wannian County. It is cheap and also serves as meat. People buy one after another, and hundreds of thousands of catties a day are not enough to sell. There are also merchants in Chang'an City, who have eaten locusts in the flavor hall, and they are all enough to buy some fried locusts to eat on the road or go back to taste them for their families.

There is Li Shen as an example. There are many restaurants in the neighborhood that specialize in locust delicacies. Chang'an County, Wannian County. And not to mention the affected places. There are several in each county. Cooking isn't a secret ingredient either. Just add the appropriate spices. Many shops have even developed many ways to eat locusts. In this way, the demand for locusts increased. Li Shen also bought less. The main thing is that many people inflate the purchase price. This made Li Shen very happy. In this way, the people in the disaster area will not only not work hard, but can even make a small profit. In this way, a vigorous feat of human beings against the locust plague was carried out under the leadership of Li Shen.

Wise people are available in all ages. Many businessmen see business opportunities. Many people also see business opportunities, and they have flatbed trucks at home. bought the locusts in the hands of the people in the village for two cents from the village, and then pulled a few hundred catties and walked for most of the day to Chang'an to sell. Sold to some restaurants with high purchase prices. A pound can be sold for a few pennies more. You can earn six or seven hundred wen by selling a car. And it just took a little effort. As a result, many people have changed their lives and become well-off families.

Nowadays, no one is saying that locusts are a scourge from heaven. Everybody was busy catching locusts. The elderly, women, children. Anyone who can move participates in it. The locust industry was popular for a while.