CHAPTER 216: CHAPTER 195: LOCUST PLAGUE (PART 2)

At least, the wound has scabbed over and I can get out of bed and walk, although the scab hasn’t fallen off yet, and the soles of my feet hurt when I walk, so I can’t do anything too strenuous.

As usual, she yawned as she crawled out of bed, and it was already evening.

She has been like this recently, entering a space at night and sleeping during the day, getting up in the evening to move around a bit so that the family wouldn’t worry too much about her.

While getting dressed, Xiaomei paused for a moment, her cheeks puffed up, and her shoulders slumped down instantly.

Xiaoxue had been sitting by the window, embroidering while watching Xiaomei on the bed.

Seeing her sister wake up, Xiaoxue let out a sigh of relief. Her main task every day recently was to watch over Xiaomei, and seeing her wake up at the usual time made her feel reassured.

Then she saw Xiaomei’s deflated expression and hurried over: "What’s wrong, Xiaomei? Why are you pouting right after waking up?"

Xiaomei was extremely aggrieved: "Second sister, I’ve gotten fat."

Xiaoxue was taken aback at first, then burst out laughing.

Xiaomei felt even more aggrieved: "Second sister, you’re laughing at me! You’re mean!"

Xiaoxue quickly reached out to help Xiaomei get dressed: "All you do every day is eat and sleep, of course, you’d gain weight."

The clothes were indeed a bit tight, needing a bit of effort to put them on Xiaomei.

"I’ll tell mom in a bit, anyway, the sorghum has been harvested, so let mom alter your clothes to make them a bit bigger."

Xiaomei sighed long and hard, she didn’t want to stay in that space all day either.

But she couldn’t help it, there was a child in that space.

Wei Ziang was too small, and it wasn’t convenient to bring him out right now. A child alone in an isolated place... never mind the hunger, but mentally, it’s easy to have issues.

Forget it, wait a little longer, let his scars heal a bit more, and then find a chance to let him out!

After getting dressed, Xiaoxue took her sister outside, just as their stepmother returned from the front courtyard.

"Xiaomei, you’re awake? How do you feel?" Stepmother habitually touched Xiaomei’s forehead first.

"I’m fine now. Mom, where’s dad and everyone else?"

Stepmother took each of their hands in hers: "Your dad and the others are by the river. Just now, Uncle Liu came by and said there were locusts by the river, so they all went over."

As she spoke, Stepmother’s brows furrowed slightly, her eyes filled with worry.

Xiaomei was shocked: "So soon? The locusts are already out?"

And the drought isn’t even over yet!

Stepmother nodded: "Yes, but Xiaomei, Xiaoxue, don’t worry. I’ve already locked up the newly harvested sorghum and the granaries and storage rooms. Nothing will happen."

As they passed through the front courtyard, Xiaomei also saw that apart from Aunt Yang’s and Qixi’s rooms, the other rooms were all locked.

Those rooms contained the newly harvested sorghum, which hadn’t been dried or threshed yet, bundled up and hung inside with bamboo poles.

No one could be sure if a locust plague would come or when it might arrive.

But it’s March now, the weather’s warming up, and even the thick cotton clothes have been replaced with thinner ones.

Early spring in March, when flowers bloom beautifully.

Unfortunately, now there’s not even a glimpse of flowers, and barely any green. The fields only have some sorghum stalks standing weakly.

Stepmother led them all the way to the riverbank, where the Jiang family, young and old, were gathered.

"Stepmother, Xiaomei, Xiaoxue, why did you come? We’re all preparing to leave."

Xiaomei saw a step and jumped off, landing right in her father’s arms.

"I wanted to see too. Where are the locusts you mentioned, and are there many?" She said, starting to look around for them.

"Mom, over here, look, they’re still very small and not many."

Jiang Yu grabbed a locust, pinching it by the hind legs, and showed it to his mom and the two sisters.

The locust was struggling hard, even breaking its own leg off, falling to the ground.

Xiaomei saw it, and already there were quite a few grasshoppers on the ground near the original riverbank.

"Dad, locust plague, there really will be a locust plague!" Xiaomei gripped Jiang Hu’s shoulder tightly, panicking.

The thing she feared really happened!

Previously, hearing Liu Ze and her brother talk about it, she researched the subject in her space. Though there was little information, it indeed had traces.

The drier the environment, the more suitable it is for locust hatching!

And at least 200,000 locust eggs could be stored per square meter of land! When they all hatch into nymphs, the numbers are staggering!

And riverbanks and similar places are even more of a breeding ground for locust eggs!