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

Jiang Baozhu ran in anxiously, saying, "Dad, hurry out and see! A lot of people from our brigade have come, all saying they've come to buy medicine from you."

The captain's expression hardened: "Okay, I understand. I'll go out and check the situation."

There was a lot of chattering outside, and Hao Ren was among them. He looked rather disheveled. When he saw Jiang come out, he rushed over, grabbed Jiang's arm, and asked anxiously, "Captain Jiang, you have to save me!"

"Our Red Sorghum Brigade's fields have suffered. Those damned locusts were originally heading south, but for some reason they turned north. Waaah, we've lost more than ten acres of grain."

"What are we going to do? Who knows if they will come back? If they do, how will our brigade survive? I was wrong before, but you have to save us this time."

The captain's eyes flickered for a moment before he reassured everyone, "Don't worry, it's alright. If you want to buy medicine, no problem. We'll offer the lowest prices, just at cost, so we can fight the locusts together."

"Come with me, hurry up and buy it back, then spray it tomorrow. Locusts hate that smell, so even if they land, they won't eat much food before they run away."

"By the way, remember to spray pesticides at night too. Those locusts fly there to eat during the day and will also land in the fields to eat at night. They will only move to another place after the pesticides are sprayed on the rice paddies."

Everyone nodded repeatedly, but their faces were full of worry.

Those who haven't witnessed it firsthand can hardly understand the horror of a locust swarm's passage. Food disappears right before your eyes at a visible speed—it vanishes completely! It's terrifying.

After the captain distributed the medicine, he sent the people away, telling them to come back to buy more tomorrow, as they were running out of medicine.

He strode to his son's house, knocked on the door, and went in: "Eldest son, is the eldest son home? Come out for a moment, I need to talk to you about something."

Jiang Lie came out of the house, his resolute face showing signs of fatigue. He hadn't slept for a day and a night, and he had been busy digging pits, laying tarpaulins, and making medicine without stopping.

Even the most physically fit person will feel tired.

His voice was a little hoarse: "Dad, why are you here? Did something happen?"

The captain walked over, looked at his son's tired expression, and said with concern, "Nothing serious happened, I just came to check on you. You haven't slept a wink."

Jiang Lie yawned: "It's okay, Dad, I'm not tired. I'll get through these two weeks. I'll take turns sleeping with them. How are things in the other brigades?"

"It's not good. The Red Sorghum Brigade and Hope Brigade have suffered more losses. Other brigades have suffered less, but they still have half a month to endure."

"How can I relax? How are those potions made? I'll call someone over to help you make them, so you can rest a bit and not be so tired."

The captain glanced around the yard and noticed something covering the walls. He pointed and asked, "Boss, what are those?"

Jiang Lie rubbed his eyes and said in a low voice, "It's all medicine. These past few days, the people in the brigade have been digging pits outside to make medicine, and we haven't been idle either, just in case we don't have enough medicine."

"I dig the pit at night and start preparing the rice seedlings and medicinal herbs during the day. My wife mixes the ingredients, but I don't know how to mix them properly. If the proportions are wrong, it will be troublesome if they don't work."

"Others in the brigade can do the same. They go to the forest farm to pick more blue berries, crush them, and put them away. My wife will mix them. They just do whatever she tells them to do."

Hearing the commotion in the courtyard, Wen Yao came out of the house. Her face and lips were pale, and she looked very tired. She called out, "Father, you've come."

The captain looked at her with some guilt: "Boss's wife, you've worked hard. Take a good rest after this is over. If you need any manpower, just let me know."

"Okay, Dad. If you need the medicine, you can open the lid and send out some first. We'll continue making the rest. It won't delay anything."

"Okay, I understand. Right now, people from other brigades are also coming to buy medicine, so what we prepared in a hurry is obviously not enough."

Wen Yao also knew it wasn't enough. A typical brigade had 3,000 mu of land. Even if they worked themselves to death, they couldn't possibly supply enough medicine to all the brigades. They could only use medicine, but it was also a gamble.

"Father, I understand what you mean, but the production of the medicine is really limited. We can't supply the entire commune. All we can do now is use it while hoping the locust swarms will leave."

"Moreover, we must prioritize protecting Xiangyang Brigade, otherwise our brigade will suffer huge losses, and all our previous efforts will have been in vain."

The captain nodded, glanced at the covered medicine bottles, and said in a deep voice, "These medicine bottles are not for sale. We'll use them ourselves. Don't tell anyone else. Send them directly to my yard after dark."

"Boss, I'll come over tonight and help you make the medicine. That way you can get some rest. Otherwise, how will you get through these next two weeks? You can't afford to break yourself."

Jiang Lie nodded and said, "Okay, I understand, Dad. I'm in good health and won't break down easily. You still have to manage the brigade's affairs, so you should take extra care of your health."

"Well, what do you need to do? I'll arrange someone for you."

"No need for now. Just send someone to pick the fruit. Pick as much as you can."

The captain nodded: "Okay, I'll make the arrangements."

After everyone left, Jiang Lie picked up his wife and placed her on the bed inside the room, gently coaxing her, "Sleep for a while. You haven't slept for a day and a night. The first wave is over now."

"The medicine is indeed quite effective. The rest is just to follow the steps and pay attention to balancing work and rest, so as not to overwork yourself."

Wen Yao hummed in agreement, then snuggled into his arms, hugging her waist. She took a deep breath, and her headache subsided a bit. "Then I'll take a nap. You stay with me."

Jiang Lie nodded and said, "Okay, let's take a nap together."

Two minutes later, Jiang Lie looked at the sleeping person in his arms, covered him with a thin blanket, and quietly got out of bed. He washed his face and continued working. Only after the autumn harvest was over could he truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye. The grain was fully ripe, and several waves of locusts came. Fortunately, the sprayed pesticides were effective, and only a few small groups of locusts occasionally fell.

There will also be people specifically tasked with catching them with nets, preventing the locusts from spending the night in the fields, so the losses are still manageable.

The locust plague had just passed when the autumn harvest began. All the production brigades had no time to mourn the lost grain and organized people to frantically harvest it. The autumn harvest would not be over until the grain was dried and stored in the granary.

With a creak, Jiang Lie pushed open the door, placed his sickle in the corner, strode over to the water vat, and began to gulp down water. After catching his breath, he wiped his mouth and looked over.

"Honey, I'm home for dinner."

Wen Yao hummed in agreement and said, "Come on, take a nap after you finish eating. Take the cooling tea to the fields to drink, so you don't get heatstroke. This afternoon I'll dry the medicinal herbs and then go to the fields with you to harvest rice."