Protect Our Patriarch

Chapter 12 – Signs of pest infestation

Fenggu Farm alone has so many fertile fields, and 200 tenant farmers?

Wang Shouzhe looked at the fields crisscrossed by paths and ditches of varying sizes intersecting them. He was somewhat moved that this was the family’s 100 years of legacy.

“Our farm adopts the traditional winter wheat and summer crop rotation. It is now the busy season when the winter wheat is about to ripen, and the summer grain seedlings are being cultivated.”

Wang Shounuo was rather pleased, “The spring rainfall was abundant but there were no floods, and the sun was strong but not scorching. Both were very favourable to the growth of the winter wheat. We are looking at a bumper crop!”

At this point, even Wang Shouzhe was somewhat pleased. There was a big difference between a bumper crop and a poor harvest. A good harvest meant more development funds for the family.

“That’s not correct, not true.” Wang Luojing, the little stalker said, “Third brother, you’re wrong. This year’s winter wheat crop will probably fail.”

Huh?   

Wang Shounuo’s smile stiffened, and he sternly said, “Luojing, you little girl, you can’t spout nonsense. Even grandfather and some of the elderly and experienced tenant farmers have said that in all probability, it would be a bountiful harvest this year.

“You are just a kid, what do you know? If grandfather hears you cursing this year’s harvest, I’m afraid he’ll reprimand you again.”　　

Wang Luojing immediately hid behind Wang Shouzhe after being frightened by her brother.

“Third brother, fifth sister is still young, children’s words carry no harm. Why are you arguing with her?” Wang Shouzhe smiled and stroked her hair to soothe her.

“Fourth brother, you might not be aware.” Wang Shounuo laughed bitterly, “You might not know that our fifth sister might be young, but she is very quirky.

“When she was just two or three years old, she could squat in the yard and watch ants for days. The other day, she even entreated me to help her catch some kind of grass or insect king.

“When I didn’t go, she kicked up a fuss. I had to search all over the mountain over four to five days and was covered with mosquito bites before I caught two of them.”

“It’s the lacewing king, recorded in the Insect Classics.” Wang Luojing poked half her head out from behind Wang Shouzhe and seriously corrected Wang Shounuo.

“Brother, this is too humiliating, your handsome brain is empty. Although the Xuanwu family is founded on martial arts, the cultural and intellectual heritage are also the foundation of a family’s heritage.”

The second half of her sentence imitated Wang Shouzhe’s words of reproach against the two sisters earlier and was aimed at ridiculing Wang Shounuo.

Wang Shounuo’s expression darken, and he could only say disgruntledly, “Yes, yes, yes, I’m ignorant. I’m not going to catch bugs for you the next time you beg me.”

“I’ll ask fourth brother to help me. Fourth brother is 10,000 times more powerful than you.” Wang Luojing pulled Wang Shouzhe’s lapel as if she had found a backer, full of confidence.

Wang Shouzhe smiled. It really seemed she was rather quirky but was restrained in front of him. Wang Shounuo was so angry he almost fainted.

“Okay, okay, Luojing, tell me, with such a favourable weather for the crops, why would you say that the harvest would fail?” Wang Shouzhe asked casually, “Don’t be afraid, it’s okay even if you’re wrong.”

With Wang Shouzhe’s backing, Wang Luojing was emboldened, “Last year’s winter was so warm that it only snowed a little.”

Wang Shounuo immediately rolled his eyes, “Although it is said that a bountiful year is brought about by snow, it is only an expression. Does it mean that if doesn’t snow this year, the harvest will be bad?”

“It’s not the same.” Wang Luojing said very seriously, “It was a warm winter last year, and the rain this spring was indeed abundant. But it has not rained for more than 10 days recently, and the weather is dry and hot.”

“Luojing,” Wang Shounuo replied nonchalantly. “We have opened the gates to release the water in the Fenggu tributary, so there will be no shortage of water for the winter wheat. And the abundant sunlight would help the wheat grains to grow very well.”

“But it will also help the honey bugs to grow.” Wang Luojing rolled her eyes.

Honey bugs?

Wang Shounuo shuddered, and said hesitantly, “Honey bugs are inevitable. They will appear every year, and it is normal for them to cause some reduction in production. What’s more, last winter, we have also scattered pesticides around the farm.”

But he lacked confidence when he said this. Honey bugs were the winter wheat’s natural enemies. A small-scale outbreak was fine, at most, there would be a reduction in food production. However, if there was a large-scale outbreak, it would be a disaster!

According to the Wang clan records, the worst honey bug disaster took place 73 years ago. The disaster spread throughout Longzuo county and reduced the winter wheat production by 80%, causing the price of food to soar within a short period of time. The aristocratic families managed to survive only because they had food storage.

However, many free people with weak assets were thrown into a wretched state and sold their sons and daughters.

What was even more terrifying was that the plague extended into the third year, and by then, even some of the aristocratic families could not bear it any longer.

If it wasn’t for Zifu Academy which brought a large amount of food to Longzuo county and refined a large amount of the ancient formula for exterminating insects, those in the county would have starved and the area, deserted.

Wang Shouzhe frowned momentarily, “Luojing, can you prove what you have just said?”

Fenggu Farm and Xingsheng Farm were the two major grain production bases of the Wang clan. If there was a large-scale aphid outbreak, things would get worse for the clan.

“Brother, try checking a few ears.” Wang Luojing said with a grave expression.

Wang Shounuo was slightly perturbed by what his sister said. He walked towards the field and casually grabbed an ear and turned it over. To his horror, he saw a few green spots which have started to form on the ear.

He checked a couple of ears in quick succession, some had more while some had less, but there was no doubt that the wheat was infested with honey bugs.

Wang Shouzhe was at peak of the sixth level of the Qi Refinement realm and his physical fitness and eyesight were far beyond that of ordinary people. At a glance, he noticed that those green spots were all plump bugs. He was slightly stunned. These seemed to be aphids, right?

Wang Shouzhe was an ignoramus in farming, and he could barely guess that this was some kind of aphid. He was not interested in agriculture, and those apps with powerful algorithms would naturally not push this type of content to him.

“It is true that there are more honey bugs this year than last year.” Wang Shounuo was doubtful and said, “But it doesn’t mean it’s a pest infestation, right? We can manage this with a bit of grass ash mixed with insecticide powder. At most, the yield will be slightly lower than last year.”

“Brother!” Wang Luojing stamped her feet, “I have said there is a big problem with the climate, last year’s insects left too many eggs in the soil. A large number of honey bugs will erupt from the soil either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, or within three to four days’ time. It is highly likely that a second wave will take place within seven or eight days.”

“You guys, come here.” Wang Shouzhe called a few tenant farmers who were working not far away, saying, “Pull out this little patch of wheat and turn the soil over.”

“This…Yong Master Shounuo…” The tenant farmers shrank their heads and looked at Wang Shounuo suspiciously. They dared not and were somewhat reluctant to follow Wang Shouzhe’s instructions. The wheat could be harvested within some 10 days and were shining white grains.

“Listen to the Patriarch.” Wang Shounuo didn’t dare to offend Wang Shouzhe, and he personally pulled out the wheat.

Several of the tenant farmers also carried their hoes and began to dig out the soil.

After a short while, the small patch of wheat was all pulled out and the soil was turned over.

“This…” Wang Shounuo carefully inspected the roots of the wheat that had been pulled out, and he was shocked, “How could this be possible, how could this be possible?”

There were many fine white spots on those roots, which was shocking. Most of the roots were infected with the white spots, it was just a matter of how many spots there were.

The overturned soil was also badly infected with many fine white spots.

Wang Shounuo’s heart thumped, and a sense of foreboding rose, “Quick, go get grandfather.”　　

“Quickly, inform grandfather, and tell all the tenant farmers to quickly soak the accumulated grass and wood ashes.” Wang Shounuo had studied agronomy with his grandfather for two years and had more or less acquired some basic skills.　　

The tenant farmers got busy.

In a short while, the fourth old master, Wang Xiaozhi, joined them. He was extremely embarrassed, “How could this happen? How could there be so many honey bug eggs growing in the soil? After last year’s autumn harvest, it was clearly the same as before. After ploughing the soil, pesticides were scattered. Could there a problem with the pesticides?”

“Grandfather, it was a warm winter last year……,” Wang Luojing cautiously reminded him.

“Little girl, grandfather has been a farmer all his life, I know more than you!” As if his tail had been stepped on, Wang Xiaozhi angrily rebuked, “10 years ago, it was also a warm winter, the climate was exactly the same as this year, and as a result, Longzuo had a bumper crop and barns full of grains!

“In my opinion, the problem lies with the pesticide. Damn the Qian’s trading company! They must be selling fake pesticides. I even took advantage of the low price to stock up a large amount!”

Within their words, Wang Shouzhe recalled some fragmented information, frowned, and said, “Qian trading houses are scattered all over Longzuo, and they have always been mindful of their reputation. They wouldn’t be able to afford the consequences of selling fake pesticide and causing an infestation in Longzuo.

“Could it be that the aphids, no, honey bugs, have grown resistant to the pesticide?  These resistant bugs have survived and gradually and progressively developed a strong resistance to the pesticide?”

Although Wang Shouzhe was not involved in agriculture in his previous life, he knew that bacteria, viruses, and organisms were constantly evolving through genetic mutations. There was almost no pattern to this evolution, but most of them would be eliminated by nature.　

It was reasonable to assume that some of the insecticide resistant honey bugs had survived and proliferated.

But Wang Xiaozhi was unable to understand the concept of biological evolution. He frowned and said, “Shouzhe, don’t spout nonsense here. The pesticide was working fine, how come it didn’t work this year?”

“Grandfather, I think what fourth brother said makes sense.” Wang Luojing said, “Grandfather, you forgot that over these past few years, you have been complaining that the pesticides are gradually becoming less effective, and there are honey bugs every year.”

Wang Xiaozhi’s expression stiffen, and his expression became increasingly ugly. In recent years, especially since the bumper harvest 10 years ago, there has been a gradual increase in the number of honey bugs. However, as the overall situation was still within tolerable limits, the situation was nothing more than an annoyance.

Wang Shouzhe was almost certain that this was because the drug-resistant aphids have multiplied and spread. Last season’s warm winter also allowed most of the eggs to survive while the climate this year was suitable for their growth. Hence, the current scenario.

This was a huge problem. Wang Shouzhe was numb. He doesn’t have the ability to make a new “pesticide”…

When it rains, it pours! With this disaster, the Wang clan’s days would be more difficult.

“Fourth brother.” Wang Luojing pulled Wang Shouzhe aside as she whispered, “I have a solution to the honey bugs, but I’m afraid of Grandfather and don’t dare to say anything!”

What?

Wang Shouzhe was stunned and looked at her incredulously.