TFWYH – Chapter 375 A Worrying Future

Little Ling Chen was the most dependable of all — he stayed by his mother and sister the whole time, swatting away one locust after another as they flew in.

Ling Sheng shielded his parents, keeping the locusts from getting near them.

Li Dashan was no less protective, guarding his own parents tightly as well.

Working together, they finally cleared all the locusts inside the house.

Outside, the swarm was still trying to force its way in, but the coarse cloth covering was far sturdier than paper windows — the insects couldn’t break through.

Watching the dark shapes slam again and again into the white cloth, the men handled it relatively well, but the women were badly shaken.

Still, they were village women after all — Madam Jiang and the others quickly steadied themselves.

Aunt Yang even joked, “Well, this is good — more locusts to eat.”

In past years there had been locust plagues too. When all the grain was gone, people survived by eating locusts.

Rural women like them had sometimes caught and eaten locusts when food was scarce.

Seeing the locusts truly couldn’t get in, Madam Jiang finally relaxed and said with a smile, “That’s right — I remember last year Yue’er even went to the hills to catch locusts to eat. Didn’t taste very good, but it filled the stomach. When the people lose their grain, locusts can keep them alive.”

Ling Yue’s face turned green and pale by turns, looking ready to vomit. “Mother, can you please stop? We have food — there’s really no need.”

Ling Chen nodded hard. “Right — no need. I’m not eating bugs. They taste awful.”

With them lightening the mood, everyone laughed.

But Tang Wan did not laugh. She frowned and said, “Wild locusts can be eaten. Plague-swarm locusts cannot — they’re poisonous.”

Everyone was startled.

Madam Jiang went pale again. “Poisonous? But… since ancient times, people have eaten locusts during plagues!”

Tang Wan said dryly, “And they probably got sick often, didn’t they?”

Madam Jiang was instantly speechless.

Thinking about it… that did seem true.

Ling Yue asked, “Sister-in-law, why are they poisonous? I’ve eaten locusts before — they weren’t poisonous.”

Tang Wan explained, “Wild ones aren’t. When locusts swarm, their bodies produce a toxin. In mild cases it causes vomiting, diarrhea, and darkened complexion; in severe cases it can be fatal. Look—”

She pointed at the locust corpses on the ground. “The black ones are poisonous. The green ones are those that haven’t produced toxins yet — those can be eaten. Deep-fry them in oil with some chili — very fragrant.”

Everyone looked down. Most of the dead locusts were black; only a few were green.

Madam Jiang said anxiously, “What do we do then? People won’t know — they’ll eat them like before.”

Ling Yu spoke up at the right moment. “Let’s wait. A locust plague is fiercest at the beginning, then it becomes less threatening and gradually disperses. When it settles, I’ll go down the mountain and inform Lord Su — he’ll stop the people from eating them.”

Madam Jiang sighed helplessly. That was all they could do.

Ling Canghe frowned deeply. “If that’s the case, grain and food prices will definitely skyrocket.”

Ling Sheng glanced at his father. “Not just skyrocket — I think they’ll start rationing too.”

No one spoke after that. Everyone looked worried.

For a while, the only sound in the room was the continuous thudding of locusts hitting the doors and windows.

After an unknown stretch of time, the noise finally began to fade.

Tang Wan lifted a corner of the white cloth and looked outside — the manor grounds were covered everywhere with locusts, and many of the green ones were gradually disappearing.