That night, Murong Taotao and his group stayed in Heyang County. After a simple meal, they went to bed.
Although Yun Jinhe was eager to return home, seeing that it was late, he also settled into an inn, planning to return to Dashui Village the next morning.
The next morning, Dashui Village.
Old Man Yun and Yun Erman carried their hoes and went to the fields. Niu Caixia led Zhao Xiaojie to prepare breakfast in the kitchen.
By the time Old Man Yun returned from the fields, breakfast was ready.
Xiao Xitian had a good rest last night and woke up earlier than her father.
She checked the wine in the space and drove away the cattle fighting on the hillside before following her father and second brother to the fields.
Along the way, they could occasionally hear singing from the fields: "The sky is dimly lit, the shepherd boy rises early, the mountain wind tugs at his hair, the morning dew kisses his clothes. Under the shade of trees, on ancient branches, insects and birds sing in unison. Under the pine needles, beside the fallen leaves, mushrooms stand guard."
Almost all the children in Dashui Village could sing this nursery rhyme, and even Xiao Xitian had learned it.
"Oh, my daughter, the dew is heavy in the morning, and it's a bit chilly. You should go back!" Old Man Yun looked at his daughter walking beside him with great affection.
If his wife found out that he had taken their daughter to work in the fields so early, she would scold him to death.
Xiao Xitian smiled sweetly, "Daddy, I'm wearing enough clothes, I'm not afraid of the cold!"
Uncle Guan told her that to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, she had to wake up early every day, walk in the fields, and greet the first ray of dawn.
Seeing a string of peace charms hanging around his sister's neck, Yun Erman asked, "Sister, Doctor Guan said you lost your soul. I think that's nonsense. You should take off that peace charm as soon as possible. It gives me the creeps!"
Alas, Doctor Guan was once such a wise person, but now he had become a charlatan.
It was one thing for him to be eccentric, but he had to drag his sister into it, which made Yun Erman very uncomfortable.
Xiao Xitian lowered her head and looked at her peace charm.
It was a triangular charm wrapped in yellow paper, not too big or too small, and it swayed on Xiao Xitian's chest as she walked.
"Second brother, just think of this peace charm as a pendant. It doesn't matter!" Xiao Xitian said with a smile.
She really hoped this matter would pass soon, so her family wouldn't worry about her.
For many days, she hadn't dreamed of the light sphere. She wondered if the peace charm was working, or if the light sphere was busy with other things.
Just then, a small black dot flew over their heads.
At first, Xiao Xitian didn't notice. By the time she reacted, the small black dot landed on her head with a 'splat'.
Old Man Yun's face changed in surprise, and he almost jumped up. "What, what is it? Erman, Erman, quickly help your sister get the thing off her head!"
Yun Erman was equally panicked. He rushed over and picked up Xiao Xitian upside down. "Don't be scared, sister, I'll shake it off for you!"
Xiao Xitian, who was dizzy from the spinning: "..."
Second brother, shake me gently, I feel like throwing up.
She felt that her father and second brother were overreacting.
If that thing really harmed her, her scalp would have reacted long ago.
A moment later, a large locust jumped off Xiao Xitian's head.
It shook its wings and then flew away with a 'whoosh'.
Seeing this, Old Man Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. "So... it was just a big grasshopper. I thought it was a stone!"
"Dad, there's nothing in the sky, how could a stone fly out of nowhere?" Yun Erman said helplessly.
Old Man Yun glared at him and looked towards the cornfield ahead.
They saw that the corn leaves were covered with a few locusts. With a slight disturbance, a swarm of locusts would take flight, creating a rather horrifying scene.
Xiao Xitian raised her eyebrows. "Daddy, second brother, it seems our village is suffering from a locust plague!"
Dashui Village had experienced rat plagues, floods, and droughts before, but never a locust plague.
These things reproduced very quickly and specifically targeted crops.
The villagers often said that after a locust plague passed, nothing would be left. When desperate, these creatures would even gnaw on thatched roofs.
"No, that's not right!" Old Man Yun scratched his face and quickened his pace towards their field. "I didn't see any locusts when I came back yesterday, how did so many appear overnight?"
"Daddy!" Xiao Xitian looked ahead thoughtfully and said, "Locusts wouldn't reproduce so many overnight. So, I think these insects might have flown from other villages."
After speaking, Xiao Xitian licked her lips and kept swallowing.
The farmland was the lifeline of the villagers. If all the crops were gnawed away by the locusts, their hard work for the first half of the year would be in vain.
Yun Erman was at a loss. He grabbed Xiao Xitian's small hand. "Sister, what do you think we should do about this?"
He knew that as long as his sister was there, a mere locust plague was nothing.
Xiao Xitian pouted. "What else can we do? Of course, we'll use drones to spray insecticide. No, of course, we have to find a way to kill the insects."
Alas, she almost let it slip in her haste. Xiao Xitian patted her little face.
In fact, for such a large number of locusts, there was no need to use drones. Just find some Qiye leaves, preferably half-dry and half-wet leaves, light them, and smoke the locusts away.
The most crucial point was that locusts killed by insecticide could not be eaten.
Old Man Yun, who had been worried, felt instantly relieved upon hearing his daughter's words.
"Daughter, do they sell that insecticide you mentioned in the county town?" Old Man Yun asked.
There were no pesticides back then. It was said that other villages and towns raised large numbers of birds, chickens, and ducks to deal with locusts.
Under normal circumstances, the number of chickens, ducks, and birds could not keep up with the reproduction rate of locusts, and the crops would eventually be destroyed.
Xiao Xitian tilted her little head. Just as she was about to say something, she saw a large group of villagers rushing towards her like a flood.
The village chief and Du Laosan were at the front, shouting as they ran, "Oh, we finally found Sweet Baby! Villagers, we are saved this time, haha!"
Xiao Xitian: "???"
What was going on? Did the villagers want to worship her as a little immortal again?
Du Laosan, running the fastest, rushed to Xiao Xitian and picked her up, his face creased with a smile. "Hahaha, we're blessed! We have Sweet Baby in our village, no, we have the little princess's blessing, and the locust plague will pass soon!"
Xiao Xitian: "..."