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Nine-Star Insect King!
Wang Shouzhe's mouth twitched a few times. This fifth sister usually doesn't show off, but privately, she's somewhat... hair-raising.
"Buzz buzz!"
The fist-sized Nine-Star Insect King's shell opened, and its membranous wings rapidly flapped in response to her.
Meanwhile, Wang Luojing took out a small emerald bamboo flute from her waist and played it near her lips. It was a unique rhythm, sharp and high-pitched, rather grating on the ears.
But the Nine-Star Insect King was very familiar with that sound, its wings vibrating and emitting a continuous buzzing sound. The other small Nine-Star Insects in the box began to fly out, hovering around the Nine-Star Insect King like an unpredictable cloud.
Under Wang Luojing's command, the Nine-Star Insect King first attacked the wheat field, followed by a swarm of thousands of insects like a gust of wind. Although they were all ladybugs, these ladybugs from the Black Tortoise World were evidently more ferocious.
They landed on the wilting wheat spikes, grabbing aphids and devouring them. Their combat power was far superior to that of grasshopper larvae, and in just a short time, each Nine-Star Insect eliminated at least five or six aphids.
As this biological army emerged, it truly became invincible.
"Luojing, well done, well done." Wang Shouzhe joyfully praised her, "With skills like yours, our Wang Family's crops are saved."
"Fourth brother, it's still not enough," Wang Luojing shook her head, "from the time the wheat grains fill to maturity, it's just over ten days. The longer we delay, the more likely the yield will reduce."
Her grandfather Wang Xiao Zhi had devoted his life to farming, and she had been exposed to this field since childhood. Without further ado, she pulled out two arm-thick, completely withered-colored insects from the Grasshopper King Box.
"Fourth brother, these two Grasshopper Kings have laid too many eggs; they probably won't live for another month." Wang Luojing said with some pity and guilt, "I hope they can make one last effort for the family in the end."
As she spoke, she played the bamboo flute again. This time, the sound was completely different from when she commanded the Nine-Star Insect King, very low-pitched. The two dull-colored Grasshopper Kings suddenly awoke and flew off into the distance.
They moved very fast and disappeared without a trace within a few breaths; as they flew, their mouthparts kept trembling, emitting a low-frequency sound.
"Fourth brother, Grasshopper Kings have the ability to summon partners," Wang Luojing explained, "I hope they can gather more partners back; now, there are fewer and fewer grasshoppers in the wild, only some remain in the mountains."
Regarding this, Wang Shouzhe pondered; this was likely due to the Insecticide Powder launched by Purple Mansion Academy. The massive reduction in aphids also led to a decrease in grasshopper colonies.
Currently, there's a sign of an outbreak of drug-resistant aphids, but the grasshopper swarm can't keep up, so this time something major might happen.
An hour later, one of the Grasshopper Kings had returned, bringing back an army with them. They danced within the wheat fields, frantically preying on aphids; even more frighteningly, they began laying eggs on the leaves while eating.
By the time dusk fell, another Grasshopper King returned, bringing back more of its kind; this dense grasshopper army made Wang Shouzhe doubt if the aphids in the thousands of acres of wheat fields were enough for them to eat.
Moreover, the numerous eggs they laid would hatch within days, and even the small larvae shouldn't be underestimated.
Such a spectacular scene gradually caught the attention of the tenant farmers, who then reported it to Wang Xiao Zhi. Upon understanding that his granddaughter Wang Luojing was responsible for this feat upon arriving, Wang Xiao Zhi was so shocked he couldn't speak for a moment.
In an instant, tears streamed down his face, muttering, "This time, our Wang Family is saved, is saved."
"Fourth grandfather, we have quite a few crops in our other two farms," Wang Shouzhe said, "I won't participate in the specific affairs; you can discuss them with Luojing." Although Silkworm Manor mainly focused on silkworm farming, it also planted quite a bit of wheat.
"This…" Upon hearing he had to discuss it with his granddaughter, especially the youngest one, Wang Xiao Zhi's expression turned somewhat grim.
"Fourth grandfather, if you think Luojing is unnecessary, I can take her back, so she doesn't get in the way here." Wang Shouzhe said with a smile.
"Not unnecessary, not in the way." Wang Xiao Zhi hurriedly shook his head, his old face contorting, showing a smile of appeasement to Wang Luojing, "Luojing, we still need to think of a way to save the other two farms. Whatever you need done, just let grandfather do it."
Wang Shouzhe smiled. Although Wang Xiao Zhi was stubborn and had a patriarchal mindset, his loyalty and sense of belonging to the family were unwavering. Once his perceptions shifted, he still could be a pillar of the family.
Seeing Wang Xiao Zhi changing his attitude, Wang Shouzhe drew him aside, his face solemn, "Fourth grandfather, given the look of this insect disaster, it's unlikely that our Wang Family alone is affected. Not to mention Longzhou, but near Changning Guard, overall, there might be at least a forty to fifty percent yield reduction."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Wang Xiao Zhi hesitated, then immediately "chuckled" and said, "Other families reduce yields, so our family has a bumper harvest..."
"In this world, good things and bad things often aren't absolute." Wang Shouzhe said coldly, "Sometimes, things that appear very good can often turn bad."
Wang Xiao Zhi shuddered, then quickly realized, "Shouzhe, you mean other families would envy us?"
"If it's only envy, then it's fine." Wang Shouzhe's expression grew very serious, "As they say, it's not the lack that troubles us, but the inequality. If everyone suffers together, there's nothing to say. But if our Wang Family alone has a bumper harvest, not only would adversarial families complain, but even those families with better relations might harbor resentment. A single misstep could make our Ping'an Wang Family the target of everyone."
"What should be done? Our Wang Family is already in a precarious state; if another..." Wang Xiao Zhi panicked. After all, he's only a clan elder who had farmed long-term, understanding little in this field.
"Fourth grandfather, don't be anxious. Sometimes bad things can often turn into good things." Wang Shouzhe confidently smiled, "It depends on how we manipulate the situation to steer it in our favor. Let's consider this: firstly, the Changning Xu Family, the Shanyang Gongsun Family, and the Shanyin Liu Family; they have long-term marital alliances with our Ping'an Wang Family, naturally close relations, so we should think of ways to assist them."
Actually, among these three clans, Wang Shouzhe had the best impression of the Shanyang Gongsun Family. This was not merely because his current legitimate mother was from the Gongsun Family, but because their familial style was broad and straightforward, not harboring disdain for even the currently humbled Ping'an Wang Family.
Of course, it also had a lot to do with the prior legitimate lineage marriages; currently, the contemporary clan leader of the Gongsun Family, Gongsun Mo's grandmother Wang Lingdie, came from the Wang Family's fourth generation direct lineage.
While the Changning Xu Family was originally a very strong Black Tortoise Race, as strong as the Wang Family's most powerful time. Back then, both their direct lineages intermarried, their relations close.
Unfortunately, later on…
Wang Xiao Zhi nodded with a complex and regrettable expression, "Indeed, those three families have deep marital links with our Wang Family. It's just a pity about sister Zhenmei..."
Wang Shouzhe knew what he meant. When the Wang Family went through drastic changes, to consolidate relations with the Changning Xu Family, Ancestor Longyan orchestrated the marriage of fifth-generation Wang Family's direct descendant Wang Zhen Mei to the Xu Family Eldest Legitimate Son.
And Wang Zhen Mei didn't fail in her mission; years later, she became pregnant with legitimate blood, and the relationship between the two families reached its closest point. Sadly, Aunt Wang Zhen Mei died mysteriously in childbirth, resulting in a tragic outcome of two deaths.
At that time, the Wang Family was overcome with grief; the Xiao generation brothers all went to the Changning Xu Family to cause a commotion, even Ancestor Longyan was alerted and came to personally examine the corpse, finding nothing suspicious and enigmatic before letting it go.
Since then, the close relationship between the Wang Family and the Xu Family developed a crack, marriages among direct veins continued, but not among direct lineages.
Likewise, the relations between the Shanyin Liu Family and the Wang Family are also somewhat complex and difficult to explain in a few words.
Despite the complexity, the blood ties that bind them cannot be erased; when crucial moments come, they must support each other.
...