Zhenguan Xiaoxian Wang Li Shen Li Shimin

The crops in Xiaolin Village in Tongzhou have been wiped out due to the locust plague, and the same is true for Lin Erniu's family's land. Today is the time for the imperial court to distribute food. Lin Erniu also went to the village entrance to collect food. Food is distributed for a month at a time. Originally, the county came to recruit workers to dig ditches. Give him a bushel of rice every day. But he has an old mother and four and a half-year-old children at home, and his wife is frail. There is no way he can do it all by himself. The food distributed by the government was only enough for their family to survive twice a day. At this time, the village entrance was already crowded with people. The village chief maintains order.

The officials did not leave after distributing the food as usual. Instead, he took out a notice. Start reading aloud. Lin Erniu has never read a book. So I didn’t quite understand what I heard. But what I said later is to catch locusts and give them money. Two cents per pound. Pickled salmon. He knew how to send five cents to Chang'an.

The villagers also discussed, "This locust is a disaster from heaven. Can we catch it? Don't let us be punished then."

"Yeah yeah."

"I'll give you two cents per catty. Where can I sell it?"

"We are only half a day away from Chang'an. Is it true that five cents per pound is enough?"

"Silence, silence. What a disaster from heaven. A few days ago, your majesty and the officials 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 the locusts. Moreover, your majesty said they were delicious. The people of Chang'an were also lucky enough to taste some. They all said they were delicious and couldn't get enough. His Royal Highness King Ji also said that eating locusts can strengthen the body and nourish the stomach. So eating locusts is now popular in Chang'an. The one who bought the locusts this time is Chang'an Flavor Museum. I heard that eating locusts can strengthen the body and nourish the stomach. Each plate should cost at least [-] Wen. Some of them with spices are very expensive. The prince said. If the people dare to eat it, they can eat it by themselves. Boil it with water and sprinkle some salt, or bake it and eat it. It can be eaten as a platter. The meat is edible. It just doesn't taste as good as the spiced one. If you want to sell it, go to the special purchasing point in the county. It will be delivered to Chang'an every day." The clerk explained to the villagers.

Lin Erniu returned home with the grain and told his mother and daughter-in-law what the officials had said. Aunt Lin said: "Er Niu. The government will not lie to us on this matter. In a moment, you will take the four cubs and go to the fields to catch locusts. What kind of natural disaster? God will punish you. People will not be able to survive." . There are so many things to worry about. You must seize such a good opportunity. Don’t catch too many by then. You can’t catch these living locusts with your hands. Your wife and I will collect the old clothes at home later. Change it to a few nets, and you and those guys will catch it. We won’t know if it’s real or fake tomorrow when we go to the county to sell it.”

"Sure, it's all up to mother. Mother is right. My family has a large population. If you don't think of something, the children will suffer too much." Lin Erniu also agreed with Aunt Lin's words and looked at the two youngest children with their butts bare. I feel uncomfortable.

In this way, Lin Erniu took the four nets made by his mother and daughter-in-law and led the four children to catch locusts in the fields. What is a locust plague? Most people in future generations will never meet them in their lifetime. The fields were filled with dense locusts gnawing at the banker. It is no exaggeration to say that dozens of them can be crushed to death with one kick. There is no need for any technology at all. Once the net goes down, it becomes less than half of the net. I caught two big baskets in one morning. There is no basket left in his house. No plastic bags at this time. Only the baskets and baskets are made by myself from vines.

Lin Erniu took the child back and washed it according to the official's instructions, removed the wings and marinated them with salt. He estimated it weighed more than 100 kilograms. Early the next morning, I pushed two baskets of locusts on a cart to the county seat.

As soon as I arrived at the gate of the county town, I saw many people queuing up with baskets. Because too many people are afraid of causing riots. So we collected locusts at the city gate. Several more carriages were waiting. Once a cart is full, one cart will be sent 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. 130 six pounds, four hundred and eight cents. Lin Erniu couldn't believe it was true even with the money. More than 400 articles in just half a day. Go back quickly and let my mother and daughter-in-law weave more baskets.

Thousands of people like Lin Erniu have made profits. I didn’t expect that someone would actually spend money to buy locusts and actually give them money. For a time, catching locusts became popular in Guannai Road. In many neighboring states that were not affected by the disaster, many people went to catch locusts. Conflicts over territory caused by catching locusts often occurred, and the government was busy. There was even a conflict between two villages that triggered the local government soldiers and suppressed it.

The flavor restaurant in Chang'an East City, which has been open for half a month, is packed with people. Li Shen's locust feast is highly priced and uses all the spices. But there are too many locusts arriving every day. Li Shen decided to sell the locusts, and the purchase price was two or three cents. The transportation fee is basically 5 cents. Li Shen sold it for eight cents a pound. You can earn three cents per pound, and there are instructions on how to do it posted at the door. It's just that people don't have spices at home and can only use salt. The taste is much different. But it’s high in protein. No less than eating meat. So many people buy it every day. Sometimes it’s not even enough to sell. You must know that there are 50 million households in Chang'an City. One to two million people. In addition, Li Shen has set up sales points in Chang'an County and Wannian County. It is cheap and also used as meat. People bought it one after another, and hundreds of thousands of kilograms a day were simply not enough to sell. There are also merchants in Chang'an City who, after eating locusts at the flavor restaurant, can buy some fried ones to take with them on the road or go back to taste for their families.

There is Li Shen as a role model. There are many restaurants specializing in locust delicacies appearing in the surrounding area. Chang'an County, Wannian County. Not to mention the disaster-stricken places. There are several in every county. There’s no secret recipe to cooking, either. Just add appropriate spices. Many shops have even developed many ways to eat locusts. In this way, the demand for locusts increased. Li Shen also acquired less. The main reason is that many people raise the purchase price. This made Li Shen very happy. If this continues, not only will the people in the disaster-stricken areas not have to work hard, they will even be able to make a small fortune. Such a vigorous human struggle against the locust plague was carried out under the leadership of Li Shen.

There are smart people in all times. Many businessmen saw business opportunities. Many people have also seen business opportunities and have flatbed trucks at home. I bought the locusts from the villagers for two cents, and then I took a few hundred kilograms and walked for most of the day to Chang'an to sell them. Sold to some restaurants with high acquisition prices. One kilogram can be sold for several pennies more. You can earn six to seven hundred yuan from the sale of one car. But I just put in a little effort. Many people have changed their lives and become well-off families.

Nowadays, no one is saying that locusts are a disaster sent from heaven. Everyone is busy catching locusts. Old people, women, children. Anyone who can move is involved. The locust industry became popular in Guannai Road for a while.