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

"The most important thing now is to treat the parasites. Everything else can wait. If it really works this time, I, Liu Hongbing, will owe him a favor and repay him in the future."

The brigade leader walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, Lao Liu, don't be so formal. We're both thinking about the people of the brigade. Personal grudges are nothing in the face of famine."

Liu Hongbing felt a little awkward: "Okay, I understand."

"Um...when will you take us to see the effects? I want to know how large the area is and how long the effects will last, so I can keep track of the timing if locusts really come."

"Let's go now, all of you follow me."

The captain led the way to the newly built pool, which contained a strange blue liquid that was unsettling to look at. They exchanged glances but no one spoke.

"Linzi, go get some medicine. We'll go to the riverbed and try it on some locusts."

"Okay, Captain."

The group went down the slope, and some locusts flew up and bumped against them. They swatted them away, their eyes full of disgust: "The chickens and ducks here are eating them, how come there are still so many?"

The captain glanced at him and said irritably, "Do you want to look at this area, which stretches for several kilometers? There are so many locusts. It's impossible for them to be eaten and killed in just half a month."

"These are all the leftovers. We've been working overtime to catch them, crush them, and make them into adult insect feed, but we just didn't have enough time. Sigh, we still haven't finished catching them."

"Look carefully, Linzi is spraying pesticide on those locusts, let them see the effect."

Lin Zi nodded repeatedly, raised the sprayer and began spraying the flying locusts. The pesticide fell on the locusts like raindrops, pattering down to the ground.

It struggled for a few moments and then stopped moving, as if it were dead.

Liu Hongbing squatted down, picked one up and examined it, confirming that it was no longer moving. He was somewhat surprised: "This effect is too good, unbelievable."

Looking at the locusts hopping around on the ground, he frowned slightly: "Jiang Dashan, come here for a moment. Why isn't the medicine working on those small locusts? Can't it kill them?"

The captain nodded and sighed, "Yes, the locusts have a different sense of smell than flying ones. The smaller ones can only hop around and can't eat the grain. The only way to deal with them is to feed the chickens and ducks, and then collect the grain to make feed."

"They're easier to deal with than the flying ones. As for the flying ones, we can just use insecticide. With both methods combined, the locust plague can be controlled and won't spread everywhere."

"So, you mean this potion can only deal with flying locusts, but not those that can't fly. That's quite a drawback, since the smaller ones will still keep molting into larger ones."

The others exchanged glances and began to murmur among themselves: "It's a bit of a problem. If we kill the big ones, the smaller ones will keep mutating. How long will this go on?"

The captain grunted, "What's the rush? This is only a temporary measure. When it rains, the little ones in the riverbed will die, or they'll be eaten by the fish. Then the little ones will be gone."

"The real disaster will be caused by flying locusts. Of course, we have developed a pesticide specifically for them. The effects are all here. You can decide for yourselves whether you want to use it. If you don't, you'll regret the losses later."

"Don't say I didn't teach you properly. I'm telling you the truth. Alright, you can discuss it slowly."

The group gathered together to discuss the matter.

"Captain Liu, what do you think? Do you really want to buy it?"

Liu Hongbing thought for a while: "Well... let me think about it some more. I'll go back and have a meeting with the people in the brigade to see what their opinions are. Buying this will cost money."

"Even if the price is low, it still costs money. If the locust plague doesn't come, this money is like throwing money down the drain. If it does come, then it's not a waste of money."

The captain raised his voice: "Hey, how about this, if the locust plague doesn't come, you can return the medicine, and we'll refund your money later. If it does come, you can use the medicine."

"Give me back what you have, and I'll refund that amount. That way you won't have any worries, and it'll be like having an extra layer of protection, how about that?"

"However, let me make this clear beforehand: returned medicine will be weighed by the kilogram. If anyone adulterates it with water, there will be no refund."

The team leaders exchanged glances, whispered among themselves for a while, and finally decided to buy it. At worst, if the locusts didn't come, they could return the money without losing anything.

Liu Hongbing also bought a few buckets and took them back. The color looked really creepy. After he brought them back on a cart, he put them in the yard. He paid for them himself, because he had to have a meeting with the people in the brigade.

Regardless of whether everyone agrees or not, he'll treat it as a guarantee. If they don't show up, all the better; he can get his money back. If Jiang Dashan doesn't give him a refund, he can make a fuss later.

Before we knew it, it was the end of the month. In another two weeks, the grain would be ripe. The rice ears in the fields were bent over, heavy with grain, indicating a good yield. Several team leaders were in the fields watching over the crops.

Some of the ripe fruit should be harvested early; we can't let them all pile up at once, or we won't be able to handle it all.

The team members looked up and saw that it was a hot and sunny day with no signs of locust plague. One of them couldn't help but say, "Captain, didn't you say there were locusts? We haven't seen a single one."

Liu Hongbing glanced at him and said irritably, "What, you actually hope it can't come? It's a good thing it can't. The longer it can be delayed, the more the grain can ripen."

"Look for any that are already ripe and harvest them; don't wait."

"Yes, we understand."

Just then, a piercing static sound from a radio broadcast rang out.

Liu Hongbing looked up, his brows furrowed. "What's wrong? Why is the loudspeaker playing at this hour? Has something happened? Let's go back and check it out."

After the broadcast signal stabilized, a middle-aged man's voice came through, tinged with seriousness: "[Announcement, urgent announcement, all brigades please listen carefully.]"

[We only received the notification at 9:00 AM that the Xiwang Brigade in the southeast direction had been hit by a locust plague, resulting in the loss of 15 mu (approximately 1 hectare). This is just the first wave; the locusts have flown south.]

[Attention all teams in the south! If you have pesticides, spray them immediately. Use whatever methods you can. Also, be careful; those flying locusts are slightly poisonous and should not be eaten.]

[Adults and children, please note: Do not eat this. If you catch it, you can burn it or kill it. You can also feed it to livestock. I repeat this again...]

Upon hearing this, Liu Hongbing's face darkened, and he said, "Quickly, go and gather the able-bodied men of the brigade for a meeting. I have something to assign them. Go now."

"Yes, I'll go right away."

The other brigades that heard the broadcast paused for a moment, then began to take action, holding a meeting to discuss finding someone to administer the medicine, deciding to try it regardless of whether it would work.