If you don't consummate the marriage for three years and then marry a successful educated youth

Upon hearing this, the brigade leader's eyes dimmed slightly, and he shook his head: "No, several brigade leaders find it troublesome and are unwilling to prepare, saying it's a waste of effort, and the locusts may not even pass through their brigade's fields."

"Forget it, I should remind them. If they don't listen, there's nothing else we can do. Let's just gamble on their luck, otherwise they'll regret it when they suffer a huge loss."

The director nodded: "Yes, it's their business if they don't listen. I think we should still be careful and not take any chances. So, should we ask them to collect it in advance or wait?"

"No one is willing to rush to harvest early, because once they start harvesting, it will be a complete loss. They would rather take a gamble and bet that the locusts will not fly over and eat their crops after they are ripe."

"Alright, it's getting late. I should head back soon and organize people to come and pick the fruit. There are only about ten days left, so time is running out."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

After the brigade leader went back to the meeting, he selected about ten people to pick the fruit, brought it back on a cart, and then, as his daughter-in-law had instructed, found some women to make insecticide according to the requirements.

Wen Yao checked each pool one by one and said, "The blue fruits need to be crushed and fermented, and the white leaves over there should also be crushed. I'll take care of the proportions. Thank you for your hard work."

"It's alright, Dr. Wen. We're not tired. We just don't know if this will really drive away the locusts. We won't feel at ease until the harvest is complete."

"Yes, we're counting on the autumn harvest this winter. If there are problems with the harvest, how are we going to survive the winter?"

"Sigh, I hope it works."

Hearing their discussion, Wen Yao comforted them, "It will work. I've tried it all. Locusts hate this taste. I'll reduce the concentration a bit more, and it will be even more effective."

Everyone was busy and working hard. In less than ten days, the buckets in the corner were full of the prepared insecticide solution. It had been sprayed on the rice and tested to make sure it wouldn't damage the rice.

*

Ring ring~~~

The battalion commander answered the phone, and the voice of the Red Sorghum Battalion Commander came from the other end: "Haha, Old Jiang, it's me, Hao Ren. I heard your battalion has been making quite a stir lately. Is it really necessary to go to all this trouble?"

Even if a locust plague comes, it won't stay in one place forever; it can fly away in a flash. What if all that trouble you cause delays the autumn harvest?

If this is delayed, you won't be able to be rated as an advanced brigade this year, and then it will be a boon for our Red Sorghum Brigade.

The captain said expressionlessly, "Captain Hao, are you done? I'm busy, I don't have time to chat with you. If there's nothing else, I'll hang up. It's your business if you want to take a gamble."

I'm not one to gamble with luck. Whether it works or not, it's better than doing nothing. Okay, that's all.

After saying that, he hung up the phone, muttering, "You're always worrying about things that don't concern you. It's none of my business if you don't want to prepare anything yourself. Are you expecting me to just sit here and wait without preparing anything?"

"You damn fox, you're always looking for trouble."

Hearing the dial tone, Hao Ren's smile slowly faded, replaced by a gloomy expression. He snorted, "What's with the smugness? We'll see."

"You always make a fuss over nothing. I'd like to see how many people laugh at your Xiangyang Brigade when there's no locust plague. Hmph."

Upon entering the courtyard, he adjusted his expression, smiled, and called out to Liu Hongbing, "Captain Liu, what brings you here?"

Liu Hongbing looked at him and said, "I came to ask you if you went to Xiangyang Brigade to get deworming medicine. If not, come with me and say a good word for me to Lao Jiang."

"As you know, I don't get along with him. We tend to fight whenever we meet. This time, I need his help, so I can't do it like this."

Hao Ren curled his lip, seemingly unconcerned: "Hey Captain Liu, how can you actually believe him? Jiang Dashan has always loved to cause trouble since he was a kid, making a big fuss over the smallest things."

"What's all the fuss about? We're all this age and we've never seen a locust plague. This year is just a bit dry with less rain. It's not a big deal."

"If you really believe him and keep messing around with spraying pesticides, what if you kill the rice plants? What will you do then?"

Liu Hongbing looked at him, somewhat suspiciously, and said, "That can't be, although I don't get along with Lao Jiang, he's not the kind of reckless person. Although he's a bit loud and boisterous, but..."

Hao Ren interrupted, "Hey Brother Liu, I'm telling you, this kind of thing is hard to explain. Let's not do anything unnecessary. We should just wait for the rice to ripen."

"Why use medicine? All medicines have side effects. Besides, we're already so busy. If we have to spare people to do this, what if there are any toxins left behind?"

"Well, I'll go check with the Xiangyang brigade first. Are you sure you don't want to go?"

"Then I definitely won't go."

Liu Hongbing grunted in response, didn't say anything more, and turned to leave.

Hao Ren and the others walked away, and he sneered, "They're all just looking for trouble. What time is it? What are they doing making a fuss at this critical juncture? I'm not doing it."

"Let them do whatever they want. It'll be a good opportunity to see them make fools of themselves. This place has never had a locust plague before. What a damn locust plague!"

After returning home, Liu Hongbing wandered around the yard for a while, struggling with whether to go or not. If he went, regardless of whether it would have any effect in the end, he would still owe Jiang Dashan a favor.

They have a history of conflict, but if he doesn't go, what if something really happens... He'd be letting down the people in the brigade. Maybe he should go and see. If it works, he'll ask for help; if not, he'll just forget about it.

After thinking it through, he wasn't so conflicted anymore. He rode his bike directly to Xiangyang Brigade. When he entered the courtyard, he found that there were other brigade captains chatting away.

When the captain saw someone come in, he looked up and saw it was him, somewhat surprised: "Old Liu, what brings you here?"

Liu Hongbing turned his face away, suppressing his awkwardness, and said, "It's nothing, I just came to see the insecticide you developed. You said it's effective, right? When are you going to show it to us?"

"If it really works, our team will buy some to use. But let's be clear, this medicine won't harm people, will it cause poisoning?"

"Haha, what are you thinking? Where would this poison come from? We've tested it and it's fine. I'll take you to see it for yourselves later, and then you can decide whether you want to buy some to keep on hand."

"Okay, I'll go and take a look too."

The other teams joked, "Old Liu, aren't you the one who doesn't get along with Captain Jiang the most? Why did you come to see him in person this time?"

Liu Hongbing coughed lightly: "So what? One thing is one thing. I'm here on behalf of the brigade. This has nothing to do with personal grudges. Stop stirring things up."