Two months had passed in the blink of an eye. It was the hottest time of the year, making everyone drowsy and lose their appetite. Occasionally, a bit of shaved ice felt comforting.
This year, many commoners had planted high-yield rice for the first time. After the harvest, when the grain was weighed, it wasn't as good as what she had grown, but each mu still yielded five hundred jin. It was indeed good news.
In addition, the paddy field fish had become abundant in the territory.
Restaurants were selling them everywhere. Compared to last year's desperate search for a single fish, that situation no longer existed. The common people could also afford them, and within a month, the commoners in the territory had become wealthy.
Then, in the blink of an eye, a locust plague, unseen for over a decade, struck.
Wang Lifeng drove his horse-drawn carriage frantically towards the princely mansion, tumbling head over heels as he entered the gates.
"Quickly inform the Prince and Princess, the Zongsheng Kingdom has suffered a locust plague, and in a few days, these damnable creatures will be heading our way!"
The guards at the gate, upon hearing this, could no longer stand steady. They abandoned Wang Lifeng and rushed into the mansion. Bypassing the steward, they went directly to the main consort's courtyard and delivered Wang Lifeng's words without omission.
A locust plague?
Zhao Jiaqi shot up from the stone bench, her expression changing drastically. Locusts passing through left nothing but barren land. This was a major disaster, and in this place, humans could not avoid such a catastrophe.
"Issue an order: every household must secure their grain. Seal all doors and windows tightly. Any unharvested crops in the fields must be gathered within one to two days, as much as possible. This is for the common people to resist the locust plague! If any family has chickens or ducks, put them in the fields. Ducks and chickens are excellent helpers for eating locusts."
The soldiers received the order and went to find the prefect.
Zhao Jiaqi, seeing that her godfather had recovered, told him to return and abandon all matters related to the workshop, focusing solely on protecting the workshop's assets.
"Sixi, go to the military camp and fetch godfather!"
In less than an hour, in the study, Fang Jingchen and Fan Zehao stared at Zhao Jiaqi, who was excitedly chatting, with their mouths agape.
Fan Zehao could no longer listen. He nudged her a couple of times, "Wife, we're talking about a locust plague, why are you suddenly having a whim to catch those things?"
"To eat them!" Zhao Jiaqi replied matter-of-factly.
"Blanch the locusts in boiling water, then deep-fry them. Sprinkle some salt after they're out of the pan. They're crispy and delicious!"
Fang Jingchen, seeing Zhao Jiaqi's ecstatic expression, turned away and vomited. Even Fan Zehao sat on his chair, gulping down water, trying to suppress the disgusting feeling.
Everything was made ready. The common people hid themselves. The next day, when the locusts arrived, the border soldiers captured some with nets. After several attempts, the locusts flew towards the city. The remaining soldiers, following the general's orders, sent all the locusts to the cook.
Fang Jingchen, from his position as general, became part of the kitchen staff, a mere word from Zhao Jiaqi.
Another large swarm of locusts crashed into the city. Under Zhao Jiaqi's command, the city's residents captured many, selling them to the princely mansion at two wen per jin.
The remaining less than half were eliminated by chickens and ducks that had been starved in the fields all day. It wasn't that the chickens and ducks could eat that much, but that there were many people in the countryside and a considerable number of livestock, so they naturally consumed more.
Then, the remaining small portion flew to the next city and were directly eliminated by the residents. That evening, they were brought and sold to the princely mansion, earning money while having fun.
Eliminating the locust plague felt like playing. Fang Jingchen had never, and would never again, witness a locust plague being dealt with in such a manner.
He uttered a very sensible remark: "The locusts will never dare to come again! They've never seen anything like this before, being directly fried. I suppose the locusts won't even know how they died!"
Zhao Jiaqi smiled bashfully at her godfather's words.
Initially, she had thought the locusts would cover the sky, a dark swarm so vast it would obscure the sun. But who knew these locusts would be so disappointing, arriving in such small numbers.
It had scared her, making her think the apocalypse had arrived.
She pointed to a basin full of fried locusts and called out to everyone, "Eat! These things are not only delicious but also very nourishing!"
The entire household took a step back in unison. Even the bold Pingting didn't dare to join in. Eating bugs... she had never seen or heard of such a thing in her life.
Zhao Jiaqi pouted. Such delicious food, and these people didn't recognize it. She picked one up and popped it into her mouth. It was crispy, crunchy, and fragrant. Truly a delicacy.
After eating four or five in a row, she then extended her devilish hand towards Fan Laodi, grabbed a locust, and brought it to his mouth, raising her eyebrows and speaking in a threatening tone, "Eat."
Fan Xudong never expected to be the first person among them to eat this thing. His chest felt heavy, and he wanted to vomit before even taking a bite.
With a distressed face, he pleaded, "Sister-in-law, this kind of... excellent treatment, shouldn't Eldest Brother have it first?"
"Everyone in the mansion, no one escapes today, including your Eldest Brother!"
Zhao Jiaqi, catching sight of her godfather retreating towards the door, smiled, "Anyone who dares to run, I'll make them eat a bowl. I never joke when I say something."
Hearing this, those who were about to run stopped in their tracks, their faces ashen, awaiting the impending nightmare.
Fan Xudong pinched his nose and swallowed it in one gulp without chewing. Zhao Jiaqi's eyebrows furrowed tightly.
How could he taste the flavor without chewing?
This time, she directly grabbed Fan Laodi by his collar, "Chew each locust thirty times. If you swallow it again, this entire basin, I'll make you eat it tonight! I guarantee you'll eat until you vomit."
Fan Xudong looked at the fried, almost translucent insects with a look of utter despair. Honestly, he was already about to vomit without eating them.
Closing his eyes, he put one in his mouth and chewed it with a crunch. The first bite was crispy, the second was salty and very fragrant. It wasn't as unpleasant or disgusting as he had imagined.
He didn't need Zhao Jiaqi to force him; he started eating on his own, and didn't forget to introduce it to others, "It's quite delicious, even better than meat. Everyone, try it quickly."
Always doting on his wife, he also grabbed a handful for Pingting. Out of curiosity, Pingting tried one and found it quite good. The couple started eating together.
Fan Zehao was also curious. He grabbed a few and put them in his mouth. The taste was indeed good. Now, the entire household was infected, and everyone tried it. Five or six out of ten said it was delicious.
Well, another business opportunity had arisen. They had captured so many jin of locusts; it would be a waste of her painstaking efforts not to sell them for some money.
Within a few days, fried locust dishes appeared in other prefectural cities. Word spread like wildfire, and everyone knew that the Princess Consort had developed this dish.
It became incredibly popular. No one could have imagined that a locust would bring Xie Kun over a thousand taels of silver.
Thus, a legend emerged in the Yun Kingdom: any living creature that entered the inner city became food.
Enemies, upon entering the inner city, became mere piles of bones.
This showed how domineering the Zhenguo Prince was in battle, and how ruthless the Princess Consort was.