The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 305 A Sudden Insect Plague Arrives, Heroes Helpless

1980 was a year in which the coastal city's agriculture suffered a large-scale natural disaster.

Just as the commune leaders are now seeking help, an insect infestation began in Anguo County in early spring, caused by an outbreak of a new type of aphid due to abnormal environmental changes during the winter.

Because of the lack of suitable pesticides to combat aphid proliferation in China or even within the province, the insect infestation started in Anguo County and eventually spread to the entire Haibin City, resulting in severe yield reductions in 60% of wheat fields and a total affected area of ​​a staggering one million mu!

It doesn't stop there.

Then, as summer approached, the entire country suffered from severe "southern floods and northern droughts," with most of North China, Northeast China, and parts of Northwest China experiencing severe drought. The total drought-affected area reached 3.92 million mu, and the disaster-stricken area was 1.87 million mu.

Unfortunately...

Haibin City is located in North China, and the affected area has once again exceeded one million mu!
Of course, there is some overlap in the areas affected by the two disasters.

The farmland in these overlapping areas suffered the most. After finally controlling the aphid infestation, they replanted wheat seedlings, hoping to turn the summer harvest into an autumn harvest. However, a severe drought struck in the summer, and the replanted wheat seedlings died from the drought...

In this situation, several communes experienced total crop failure, and almost all communes suffered a loss of income.

Overall, Haibin City suffered a severe reduction in grain production, to the point that the entire city, both urban and rural, needed national grain aid that year.

These things, if put in a book, would only be a short half-page, at most a thousand words.

However, based on the desperate look he had just seen on the commune cadres, Qian Jin had a different understanding of the matter.

I feel terrible.

Fortunately, he can now try to salvage the situation.

Having foresight and insightful information has immense benefits.

The Agricultural and Forestry Records not only documented the extent of the disaster, but also the methods for controlling insect infestations.

Finally, experts from the Provincial Academy of Agricultural Sciences conducted an emergency investigation in rural areas and discovered that these aphids had great resistance to pesticides such as 666 and dichlorvos, which were popular in China. The country used its precious foreign exchange reserves and spent a lot of money to urgently purchase a new type of pesticide called high-efficiency cyhalothrin emulsifiable concentrate from abroad, which successfully eradicated them.

Qian Jin wanted to find out which country the profenofos was imported from, but the "Agricultural and Forestry Records" did not have a very detailed record.

This means he'll have to buy other reference books to look up information.

The current environment is clearly not suitable.

Because of the voices outside, Wei Xiaobo knocked on the door: "Director Qian, Director Wei wants to see you in a meeting."

Without giving it much thought, Qian Jin put away the gold box and books, opened the door, and rushed to the main office building.

As Qian Jin entered the corridor, he could faintly hear suppressed sobs and excited murmurs coming from the cracks in the door.

He stepped closer, his voice becoming clearer:
"...President Wei, look! Look at this wheat! It's all black! All black!"

"The supply and marketing cooperative provided 666 powder and dichlorvos, and we sprayed it three times per mu according to the instructions! It was completely useless! The bugs crawled around like ants carrying food! Instead of decreasing, they increased..."

He knocked on the door, and his secretary opened it for him. He went inside, and an elderly commune cadre pleaded with a tearful voice:
"Leader, please save the food rations for the tens of thousands of members of our Tugou Commune! If this continues, the summer harvest will be ruined! That's more than 60,000 mu of land!"

Wei Bin's expression was more serious than ever before. He gripped the wrist of a veteran cadre and said solemnly, "Comrades, I know you are very anxious, and I am very anxious too. I know the situation now."

"Then the leaders from the Agriculture Bureau came over immediately. We communicated over the phone. Yes, these insects are really strange this year, but we are confident..."

His next words were drowned out by even greater sobs and cries:

"It's no use, it's no use, leaders. You didn't even go to see it. If you went, you wouldn't have any confidence."

“We stayed up all night in the fields, watching helplessly as the wheat leaves turned black and curled up.”

"That medicine, the one supplied by the supply and marketing cooperative, just won't kill them! The bugs are jumping around and crawling out in swarms. What can we do? The supply and marketing cooperative has some other good medicine they can give us!"

Wei Bin looked at Ruan Fugui, the head of the Agricultural Supplies Section: "Old Ruan, what's up?"

Ruan Fugui looked flustered and said, "Reporting to the leaders and comrades, it's like this, the insecticides commonly used in our company are mainly organochlorine and organophosphate insecticides..."

"What kind of time is this for reporting? Get to the point, what's going on?!" Wei Bin roared.

Ruan Fugui stammered, "Yes, yes, organochlorine insecticides hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) and DDT, followed by organophosphate insecticides trichlorfon and dichlorvos, and sodium pentachlorophenate..."

“We’ve tried it all, it didn’t work!” someone immediately shouted hoarsely.

Ruan Fugui asked, "Sodium pentachlorophenate was also used?"

"We used it, but this stuff is for killing schistosomiasis, it's even less effective against these aphids," the commune cadre said with a long face.

Wei Bin, as the boss, is quite capable; he has a good understanding of all aspects of the business.

He was very dissatisfied with Ruan Fugui's answer: "Let's not even talk about first-line drugs, they must have been used long ago, but what about second-line drugs?"

Ruan Fugui swallowed and said, "We have thiophosphate drugs, such as chlorpyrifos and profenofos. And now it seems that a dithiophosphate drug called Marathon has been successfully developed in China?"

Wei Bin glared at him: "You're asking me?"

"No, uh, it should be called a marathon," Ruan Fugui said somewhat guiltily.

After all, the name sounds more like a running race.

"We've used chlorpyrifos and profenofos, but we haven't used anything like the marathon that this leader mentioned," said a commune cadre.

Wei Bin asked Ruan Fugui, "So, where are these second-tier, second-generation insecticides in our warehouse or the provincial warehouse?"

Ruan Fugui said with difficulty, "We don't have it, and I'm afraid the province doesn't have it either. As far as I know, the promotion of second-generation organophosphorus pesticides is not very widespread. Currently, it is mainly being tried and put into production by the Huizhou Agricultural and Forestry Research Institute, the Industrial University Research Institute of Jiangsu and Zhejiang New Agriculture Company, and our provincial research institute..."

Wei Bin slammed his fist on the table and said through gritted teeth, "Then I'll ask my superiors to move the production capacity here first."

Hearing this, Qian Jin knew he had to speak up. He went up to her and whispered, "Wei She, don't waste your energy on this."

"The direction of organophosphorus pesticides is wrong, otherwise the first generation of pesticides would not have been completely ineffective."

Wei Bin looked at him with annoyance: "Then what brilliant idea do you have?"

Upon hearing this, several commune cadres turned to look at Qian Jin, some with tears welling up in their eyes.
"Sir, please, we must find a way. We can't let the people have no harvest! We all get wages, but the people don't..."

"Dear leaders, life is really tough for us farmers. If this insect plague gets out of control and causes a total crop failure, some families will have to send their children out of school, their sons won't be able to get married, and their elderly parents won't dare to seek medical treatment!"

His last words were tinged with heavy sobs.

Clearly, the situation was truly critical, and the officials were genuinely anxious.

Qian Jin asked Ruan Fugui, "Section Chief Ruan, have the carbamate insecticides been distributed to the commune?"

Ruan Fugui nodded hurriedly: "There's a small-scale distribution..."

After Qian Jin reminded him, he hurriedly asked the cadres: "Have you used carbamates—that is, the ones with fragrance such as carbaryl, methomyl, and propoxur, or the ones without fragrance such as carbofuran, methomyl, and aldicarb?"

One official said, "Quick-killing agent? We've tried that too, but it didn't work!"

"They're like Arhats who have attained the golden body of Buddhas; they're fearless. How can there be such powerful pests in the world?" another cadre asked in despair.

Qian Jin continued, "What about pyrethroid insecticides?"

The officials were now even more bewildered.

They'd never heard of that name before!

Not to mention them, even Wei Bin was unfamiliar with this name: "What is this thing?"

Qian Jin didn't know exactly what it was either. He could only explain, "I've seen articles about this insecticide in some foreign magazines and newspapers. They say it's quite effective."

Ruan Fugui, after all, was a supervisor, so he must have some skills.

He explained, "There is indeed such a thing as pyrethroid insecticides. They are indeed new. They seem to be insecticides developed based on something called pyrethrin."

"This thing seems to have been developed by British scientists, but a large Japanese company called Sumitomo has developed it quite well..."

"Hey, my comrade, we're not in school, you're not a teacher, and we're not students." Wei Bin was very dissatisfied with his subordinates' performance.

When the fire is at its most critical, you're going to explain the chemical structure of water to me? Or the fire-extinguishing principle of carbon dioxide?

He said, "Do we have any stock of this pesticide?"

Ruan Fugui immediately shook his head: "We don't have any, and neither does the province. As far as I know, the Jiangnan Pesticide Research Institute is a pioneer in the research of pyrethroid insecticides in China..."

"Then let's ask them about the situation over there right away!" Wei Bin said quickly.

Ruan Fugui chuckled awkwardly, "Then I'll go back and make a call right now, but will that even work?"

"You!" Wei Bin wanted to give him a whole bunch of insults.

He was extremely dissatisfied with the abilities of his subordinates!
Because college graduates haven't entered the workforce yet, the leaders in various positions rose to their positions during turbulent times by daring to think, act, and even criticize.

Too many people lack real skills.

Take Ruan Fugui for example. Is this the kind of thing to say right now? Regardless of whether there are any promises or not, we should at least try to get things done first. We need to give the people and the commune cadres an explanation.

Our work may be useless, but we cannot stop working!
Ruan Fugui also felt wronged.

What is your attitude towards me?

What is your attitude towards Qian Jin?

Oh, so he's your right-hand man, but I, Aruan, am not?
I just mentioned that second-generation organophosphate pesticides are available, but Qian Jin said they're useless, so you suggested we switch to another pesticide. Why don't you complain that he's not doing anything?

Qian Jin was unaware of their thoughts; if he had known, he would have felt even more wronged.

I'm a man of action!
Lao Tzu knew that no matter which generation of organophosphorus pesticides it was, they were useless; we had to rely on new pyrethroid pesticides!

According to the "Agricultural and Forestry Records", the initial versions of pyrethroid insecticides performed reasonably well in this aphid infestation.

They cannot eradicate aphids, but they can control the rate at which aphids spread.

Initially, experts from the Academy of Agricultural Sciences started by using permethrin, a first-generation pyrethroid insecticide, and found that it could kill aphids and their eggs. They then used the more potent cypermethrin to control the spread of aphids.

Otherwise, the insect plague in the previous life would have affected farmland far beyond just the coastal city and neighboring urban and rural areas; it would have affected at least one province!

It was thanks to cypermethrin that the country discovered the highly effective cyhalothrin, a powerful weapon that ultimately eradicated the aphids.

Now, however, it will take time for the money to come in.

Once the domestically available pesticides and insecticides have controlled the spread of aphids, they can try to import high-efficiency cyhalothrin emulsifiable concentrate.

Amid everyone's anticipation, Ruan Fugui rushed back: "Leader, this is difficult. Mr. Xue Zhenxiang of the Jiangnan Research Institute is leading the research team in the development of pyrethroid pesticides in China, but the development speed is slow."

"Professor Gu from East China Normal University was also a pioneer in the development of pyrethroid pesticides. He presided over the Guangling Pesticide Factory for 17 years, working diligently in the field of pyrethroids. Currently, some products have been launched, but the yield is very low..."

Wei Bin was furious.

You made a phone call, and this is the result you got?
Aren't these all just bullshit results?

Seeing that he was about to curse again, Qian Jin disregarded the consequences and took matters into his own hands: "Here's what we'll do, Section Chief Ruan, could you please contact Guangling Pesticide Factory first and see if you can get a batch of pyrethroid insecticides?"

"Let's not worry about their production capacity for now, let's see if this pesticide works, okay?"

Several cadres were thrilled upon hearing this, and repeatedly bowed and scraped before Ruan Fugui:

"Yes, sir, please make sure you can buy this new type of insecticide. Our farmers are poor and struggling. If the harvest fails, people will die."

Several tough men who usually stomped their feet and had the final say in their respective communes were now speaking softly to Ruan Fugui, all their hopes pinned on him.

With a gloomy face, Wei Bin said to Ruan Fugui, "Why aren't you hurrying to coordinate the pesticides?"

“Never mind,” he made a quick decision. “I’ll contact the Guangling Supply and Marketing Cooperative.”

"Section Chief Ruan, go find Comrade Qi Dong from the Warehousing and Transportation Department and ask him to see if we have any vehicles in the Guangling area. If so, get to the pesticide factory as soon as possible to wait for loading."

Ruan Fugui hurriedly replied, "Yes, yes."

With several leaders and commune cadres in front of him, Wei Bin immediately made a phone call.

After the call connected, he smiled and greeted the other party, then explained the emergency situation.

The microphone is leaking sound very badly now; the other end's voice is so clear that even Qian Jin could hear it.

"Hey Lao Wei, this isn't right, is it? An insect outbreak can't happen in a short time, at least not in a few days. Logically, there should be a warning period of ten days to half a month. What were you doing during the warning period?"

These words really embarrassed Wei Bin.

He could only vaguely say, "Alas, the comrades below are really incompetent; they haven't been vigilant enough."

A commune cadre blurted out, "Oh? We started reporting the insect infestation to the county around the spring equinox..."

The cadre next to him, who had better emotional intelligence, quickly elbowed him and then added:

"Yes, we noticed something was wrong around the spring breeze. No, wait, two days before that, around the time of the Dragon Raising its Head, some communes had already noticed a problem. At that time, it was reported to the county's Agriculture and Forestry Bureau. I guess it was..."

The other officials quickly tried to save face: "Yes, yes, we reported it to the relevant departments in the county first, but they didn't take it seriously, so we had no choice but to come to the city today..."

“That’s absolutely right. Alas, we’ve reached a dead end. We have no choice but to split into several groups. One group is coming to the supply and marketing cooperative to find the higher-ups to coordinate the use of new pesticides…”

"The big leader is indeed capable and decisive. Look, Director Wei is standing with us farmers. He knew the situation was urgent as soon as he heard about it, and he started doing things for us as soon as he came to work today..."

The Spring Equinox is on March 20th, and the Dragon Raises Its Head is on March 18th.

It's impossible that the county leaders didn't report the situation to the city for more than ten days; it can only mean that the leaders at both levels were careless.

Because in recent years, except for the year 77 when Qian Jin just traveled through time and there was a flood that caused the collapse of the river embankment and created a dangerous situation, the weather in Haibin City has been quite good.

And now a big one has arrived right away!
With Wei Bin's personal intervention, the president of the Guangling City Supply and Marketing Cooperative agreed to coordinate with the Guangling Pesticide Factory to prioritize the allocation of its pyrethroid insecticide inventory to Haibin City.

Same-day departure, all highway, delivery can be made on the same day.

Then, the city's departments in charge of agriculture and social security were all shocked by this sudden disaster.

The city government leaders personally issued an order requiring the heads of relevant departments to personally lead teams to investigate the situation.

Wei Bin led the team from the supply and marketing cooperative. He selected Qian Jin, Ruan Fugui, and others as his generals, and they traveled in two cars directly to the disaster-stricken area of ​​Anguo County.

Different work units went to different communes; they went to Damiaogou Commune.

When the car arrived at the commune, the head of the county supply and marketing cooperative was already waiting. Upon seeing the high-ranking leader arrive, he hurriedly ran up to extend his hand. Wei Bin had no time for pleasantries.

He completely ignored the outstretched hand and asked sternly, "What are you all doing standing here so neatly? Huh? Are you here to be clay statues or models?"

"Go into the fields, go check the situation. What results can you get by just standing here?"

The county officials, without even bothering to roll up their trousers, hurried into the fields.

This farmland was severely damaged, and the cadres of the production team and production brigade to which the farmland belonged were all here.

The brigade leader was named Wang Shoucai. He was a bald old man with red eyes, which were red from staying up all night.

Qian Jin followed him, stepping along the ridges into the farmland. He turned back and said sadly, "Leaders, there's no need to step along the ridges, just step into the ground."

"The wheat seedlings aren't afraid of being trampled. They're almost all dead, so trample them all, it'll be fine."

Qian Jin comforted him: "Comrade, we are a socialist country. The county will not stand by and watch you suffer and become poor, and the city will not stand by and watch you fail to harvest or run out of food."

"You can be anxious but don't despair. There's definitely a way to solve these pests. Our supply and marketing cooperative can put it bluntly: if we can't provide suitable pesticides to solve this problem, you can go to the city and find me, Qian Jin, and spit in my face!"

These words are spoken with absolute certainty and a do-or-die attitude.

This attitude immediately invigorated the commune and production team cadres present.

They need someone to encourage them right now.

Upon hearing this, Wei Bin nodded and said to Ruan Fugui indifferently, "You are an agricultural cadre, this is supposed to be your job, but look at how you've done it?"

"Look at Comrade Qian Jin, look at his enthusiasm and determination, shouldn't you also show your support?"

Ruan Fugui forced a smile while cursing under his breath.

Anyone can make tough promises and give firm answers. The problem is that this insect infestation is so bizarre; who can guarantee they can solve it?
If we can't solve the problem, will you then accuse me of making empty promises and boasting to the farmers?

As the cadres walked through the fields, their hearts sank deeper and deeper.

The once lush green wheat seedlings now have tiny, dark green insects crawling all over the undersides of their tender leaves.

Wei Bin casually plucked a leaf to examine it closely, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

Aphids, the size of ants, lay in layers, greedily sucking the sap.

Looking out over this vast expanse of farmland, the wheat leaves have already turned a sickly pale yellow.

He couldn't help but exclaim, "This is bad!"

"It's not just bad, it's ruined," Wang Shoucai said sadly.

Not far away, some commune members were still busy doing futile work.

They are spraying pesticides.

The heavy weight of the medicine barrel pressed down on my shoulder, and the sprayer spewed out the familiar, choking mist, a spray that blotted out the sky.

The villagers coughed from the fumes, and Qian Jin immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Stop spraying! Stop spraying! This is 666 water! It's useless! Stop spraying! It won't kill these bugs, but you'll get poisoned if you spray it all over your faces and bodies!"

But the men spraying pesticide wouldn't listen to him.

With almost sacred expectations, everyone devoutly poured the medicine down, hoping that the medicine god would work.

But they all knew the outcome.

Because the deeper you go, the more those sticky, dark green dots there are, the more they actually increase.

In some places, the wheat was doomed; its leaves were not pale yellow but dark green.

But that wasn't the green that wheat seedlings should have; it was a layer of slippery black grime formed by too many aphids clinging to the leaves.

In these places, a strange, sweet smell permeated the air above the wheat fields.

This was the first time Qian Jin had ever smelled this scent, and he couldn't help but ask, "What is this smell?"

The other officials were equally confused: "Is it some kind of pesticide?"

Wang Shoucai laughed mockingly: "Aphids excrete honeydew, and this smell comes from the honeydew excreted by countless aphids, sticky and clinging to the leaves!"

This is so scary!
Everyone felt suffocated.

For the first time, the cloying sweetness made them feel nauseous.

Qian Jin ventured deep into the farmland.

Then the disaster-stricken wheat fields stretched as far as the eye could see, and from a distance, the fields looked as if they had been splashed with ink, quietly swallowed up by patches of moving black mist.

They solemnly returned to their field.

Each person was heavy-hearted and remained silent.

More members arrived.

When they heard that a high-ranking leader had arrived, they were like drowning people seeing a lifeline.

An elderly man with gray hair pushed through the crowd, carrying a child in one arm and clutching several nearly black wheat seedlings in the other.

The wheat seedlings drooped and their leaves were covered with a disgusting layer of dark green aphids on the undersides.

The old man knelt down in front of Wei Bin with a thud, bursting into tears: "Leader, please help! Look at these crops!"

"The pesticides the supply and marketing cooperative gave us are useless! This year's wheat harvest is all ruined! My family was allocated six mu of land last autumn. If we lose these six mu, what will we do for a living?"

After saying just a few words, the old man burst into tears.

There's really no hope left.

The turbid old tears streamed down his face, etched with the wrinkles of time, and fell onto the dry earth.

Wei Bin rushed over to help the old man up, but the old man's knees were firmly planted on the ground, while the child was crying loudly in his arms, hugging his neck.

Qian Jin quickly noticed and went to help the old man up.

Wei Bin looked at him.

His face was grave.

Qian Jin nodded affirmatively at him.

Wei Bin immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He understood what Qian Jin meant.

I know what I'm doing!
It can definitely be done!

So he helped the old man sweep the dust off his knees and clothes, and said sternly, "I am the head of the city's supply and marketing cooperative. Everything you eat, wear, and use in the fields is provided by our unit!"

"But at the same time! These things in our unit are produced by you farmers and workers. In other words, you are the ones who provide our unit with food and clothing!"

"So please rest assured, your problems are the problems of our entire unit. Now, I will go back immediately and convene a meeting of all cadres. I will definitely solve your problems and will not let this insect plague ruin your lives!"

Then he pointed at Qian Jin and said, "My men just said that if we can't solve these problems, you can go to the city and spit in our faces. We won't fight back!"

“Some members might say, ‘Well, we can’t go to the city, and even if we did, we wouldn’t be able to find you, so of course you can make promises here as you please. Who can’t talk a good game?’”

"Then I'll say it again: I, Wei Bin, will leave my hat here with you. If the insect plague isn't resolved, I won't wear this hat anymore!"

With that, he ripped off his Lenin octagonal cap and threw it on the ground, then waved his hand forcefully: "Let's go!"

These words gave the farmers, who had formed a large circle, hope.

Wei Bin was throwing away a winter hat, but he was talking about an official's hat (or job title).

The leaders and cadres of the supply and marketing system realized that their boss was serious, and immediately fell silent and followed behind.

Wang Shoucai followed behind, and he asked timidly, "Leader, our commune responded to the county's call and allocated farmland last winter to implement the household responsibility system."

"You tell me, you tell me, isn't this policy...?"

"Many people in our brigade are saying that the insect plague sent down by God is..."

"That's utter nonsense!" Wei Bin said seriously. "Farmers actively engaging in production is a call from the state and the hope for the lives of all the people."

"A small number of people saying this are engaging in feudal superstition. Our leader has already said it, and it's sung in the Internationale: there are no gods, ghosts, or saviors in the world; we, the people, are the masters of our own destiny!"

The car starts.

leave quickly.

After the leaders saw the situation with their own eyes.

The disaster was like cold water being poured into a boiling oil pan, causing it to explode instantly.

As it turns out, the grassroots officials were not exaggerating; on the contrary, they were actually being conservative.

In particular, several leaders who had witnessed the aphids fleeing from the area were so frightened that they returned to the city and immediately reported to their superiors in the province.

At the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, Wei Bin also made a phone call to the provincial government, and then came out and shouted: "Meeting! Leaders at the level of deputy director and above from all departments, immediately, to the first conference room!"

"Also, quickly call the comrades in the county; all the leaders in charge need to come over and be in place—"

“Hmm,” he pondered for a moment, then said, “Let them attend the evening meeting. That way they’ll have enough time to come over. Call all the heads of the commune supply and marketing cooperatives as well. I want to hear the opinions of the comrades on the front lines.”

The round trip and on-site investigation took a lot of time, and it was already afternoon.

soon.

The conference room was packed with people.

Several leading cadres who had been to the countryside informed others of the situation, and amidst whispers, the news of the wheat field crisis spread clearly.

Many people, feeling so troubled, started smoking.

The meeting room was filled with smoke, so thick it made your eyes water.

Suddenly, several leaders and experts from the Agriculture Bureau also came to see Wei Bin, so Wei Bin simply took them to the conference room.

The people from the agricultural units looked even worse than them, their faces as stiff as stone.

Wei Bin first had a leader from an agricultural unit in the county who had come to the city give a brief report.

The leader solemnly described the breadth and depth of the disaster.

The source of the insects is from last year's unusually warm winter, mainly because in previous years there were more than a dozen snowfalls in a winter, and the snow in the farmland would last for the entire winter.

Last winter, there were only three to five light snowfalls, and not a single heavy snowfall.

This results in the sun shining directly on the farmland during the day, keeping the soil at a relatively high temperature.

In this situation, the overwintering survival rate of aphid eggs is estimated to be a staggering 90% or more.

All existing pesticide stocks were urgently mobilized for analysis, from the most commonly used 666 powder and dichlorvos to various stockpiled organochlorine preparations. The experts' fingers were trembling slightly as they held the report.

The medicine had almost no effect; it was useless.

Now that reform and opening up have been implemented, the economy is more active and productivity has increased. From coastal cities to all parts of the country, the production lines of major pesticide factories are roaring, but they are still producing old varieties of pesticides that are planned and used to deal with conventional pests.

The meeting lasted for more than two hours, after which Wei Bin encouraged everyone to speak.

Some suggested increasing the spraying dosage, others proposed researching biological control, and one idiot even suggested praying for rain...

Wei Bin was dumbfounded when he heard the last suggestion, and kept asking, "Who the hell is this?"

It was only later that they discovered the old cleaning lady who was responsible for cleaning the meeting room had also sneaked in...

Considering that the old lady was born in a feudal society and her mindset was relatively feudal.

Since the suggestion was made with good intentions, Wei Bin eventually let her go, but then had someone remove her from the scene.

On the political work side, Feng Changfan stubbed out his cigarette and asked, "Could we first mobilize the masses to create a quarantine zone in the wheat field?"

"Just like firefighting, we need to create a firebreak to prevent the insect infestation from spreading..."

“Aphids can fly,” an expert said with a wry smile. “In the spring, they mate and reproduce, and they grow wings to fly.”

Feng Changfan silently shut his mouth.

Therefore, it is still necessary to exterminate them, otherwise the insect infestation will spread to the surrounding areas.

Others chimed in, offering suggestions that were either insufficient or unrealistic fantasies.

In the face of such a massive disaster, not even a splash could be made.

Wei Bin pursed his lips tightly, his sharply defined jawline clenched, and his two sword-like eyebrows furrowed into a knot.

Other cadres were also furious.

A sense of despair, like the twilight outside the window, spread deeply, engulfing every anxious face.

Wei Bin smoked a cigarette, looking at each face, when he suddenly realized Qian Jin wasn't there: "Hey, where's Director Qian?"

"He just went out. He said he was going to call some friends abroad to ask if they had similar experiences and see if they could learn from them. He also planned to look up some information about new pesticides abroad," Cui Hu, who was sitting next to Qian Jin, replied.

Wei Bin nodded.

The secretary asked in a low voice, "Should we go find him and bring him back?"

Wei Bin didn't speak, he just waved his hand wearily.

The meeting fell into a deadlock-like silence, with only the smoke swirling silently in the air.

(End of this chapter)