Transmigrated To Ancient Time: Thrive With An Auction System!

Chapter 137: Locust Powder ( 1 )

When Fu Chen’an saw his wife returning while carrying a bamboo basket from the window, he quickly opened the door and took it from her hand.

After they took their seats, he took out the food and said, ”Wife, I have to return to the barracks tomorrow morning to report. If there is nothing important, just stay at home until the locusts leave. You don’t have to send lunch either.”

Hearing this, Yao Zhi thought for a moment and asked, ”Husband, can you leave after lunch? I want to make some steamed buns, pancakes, or dry food for you.”

”With so many things happening, you will be very busy and might not have time to have a proper meal. Carrying some dry food with you will be more convenient when you don’t have time to cook.”

Fu Chen’an was happy that his wife cared about him, but he didn’t want his wife to work too hard. So he said, ”Wife, you don’t have to worry about me. The military cooks will prepare enough food for the soldiers.”

”Although they prepare food, they lack nutrients. You need to replenish your energy after working so hard. Otherwise, it will be easy for you to get sick,” Yao Zhi said with a frown.

Meeting his wife’s gaze, Fu Chen’an finally said helplessly, ”Alright. But I want to help you.”

”Don’t you still have to discuss things with the Village Chief tomorrow? I can do it myself. Just make sure to come back for lunch before you leave,” Yao Zhi said.

”Okay, I will listen to you.”

Finally getting what she wanted, Yao Zhi was happy. She had so many steamed buns in her System’s storage. If she didn’t give them to her husband, she didn’t know when she would finish all of those steamed buns.

”Eat quickly; otherwise, the food will get cold,” she said as she handed her husband a pair of chopsticks.

After dinner, Fu Chen’an cleaned up the table and washed the dishes. When he was done, they went to sleep.

Early the next morning, the two of them woke up before dawn. Although the sky hadn’t brightened, they couldn’t sleep any longer due to the sound made by the locusts.

While most of the locusts had flown to another area, the dead locusts were still scattered everywhere, and there were still a lot of locusts eating the vegetation in the village.

After tidying up, they went to the kitchen.

When Yao Zhi started the fire to boil water and cook, Fu Chen’an picked up the broom and swept the dead locusts on the ground. Besides the dead locusts, there were only a few left jumping around.

Seeing this, he knew that the village would be free from the locusts in the next few days. The powder distributed by the General was really effective.

Although there was still some loss, they managed to kill a lot of locusts before the swarm devoured everything. This would reduce the damage caused by it at other places.

A similar situation happened across the kingdom. When the spies planted by other kingdoms received the news that the Great Yan Kingdom was facing not only drought and flood, but also locust plagues, they started ordering the commoners to harvest their crops early.

Even though they had different geographical landscapes from each other, their borders were near each other. Locusts were different from humans; they wouldn’t differentiate any kingdom. Wherever they went, they would bring devastation and trouble.

Because of this matter, the situation at the borders calmed down for a period of time since everyone was busy harvesting their crops early.

Unbeknownst to them, the locust swarms had been reduced by more than 80% thanks to Sha Wu Hen powder.

With a massive decrease in their numbers, the locusts’ reproduction speed also plummeted. If nothing unexpected happened, the locust swarms would be annihilated in the next few days.

Except for a small part of farmers and estate owners who refused to use the powder and lost everything, most of the crops were saved. While there was a loss, it was no more than 30% of the total crops.

While the leaders and higher-ranking officials were busy investigating the sources of the Sha Wu Hen powder, Yao Zhi was busy cooking in the kitchen.

With her husband around, she didn’t have to tend to the vegetable gardens. Taking advantage of the fact that her husband was busy, she quickly took out a pack of char siu bao from her system’s storage.

At first, she thought that the one sold on discount was the steamed version. Unexpectedly, this char siu bao was the baked version.

She personally liked the baked version more since it had a slightly crispy exterior and a softer interior. The dough was also richer, resembling sweet bread. Besides that, there was also a sweeter, buttery hint, complementing the savory filling.

As for the appearance, it was golden brown, with egg wash and sesame seeds on top, making it not only look beautiful but also delicious.

Unfortunately, without having any mud or brick oven at home, it was impossible for her to explain how she made these baked char siu bao.

Thinking about the baked food she could buy from the system’s shop, Yao Zhi made a note to hire someone to build a mud oven for her.

Since she couldn’t take out char siu bao, she took out 20 steamed buns with lotus paste filling, 20 steamed buns with red bean paste filling, 20 steamed buns with egg and vegetable filling, and 20 meat steamed buns.

She opened the packages and packed them into a bamboo basket covered with banana leaves. The banana leaves were from her system’s orchards and had been washed and baked over a small fire to soften them.

The banana leaf is often used to serve dishes in various countries in the modern era, so it’s a good, eco-friendly item to replace oil paper or other wrappers.

After she finished packing the steamed buns, she checked on the lotus leaf buns and realized that they were actually Gua Bao, while Gua Bao was actually Rou Jia Mo.