The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 200: Eliminating Cotton Bollworms from the Cornfield
It seems that whether in ancient or modern times, scientific farming is necessary.
The effect of that one acre of land was naturally also seen by Gu Dahuan.
He kept an eye on the fields every day, wishing he could just set up camp there.
Seeing the effect, Gu Dahuan immediately perked up and started disinfecting the corn in the other fields.
Tong Huaqiong wandered around the fields for a bit before stopping by her own field to watch Gu Dahuan disinfect.
Coincidentally, Liu Yueer’s mother, Mrs. Zhao, and Qin Qingyou’s mother, Aunt Qin, were also busy in their own fields.
Mrs. Zhao greeted Tong Huaqiong: "In-law, aren’t you going to the shop these days?"
Tong Huaqiong replied: "I came to check on the corn’s growth. Are you weeding or something else?"
Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin exchanged a glance and laughed.
No wonder they say Tong Dajiao isn’t great at farming; they weren’t weeding, they were catching bollworms.
Every year, bollworms would infest the corn ears, leaving a third of them hollow during harvest, truly disappointing after a year of hard work.
Aunt Qin said: "We are catching bollworms."
Tong Huaqiong looked surprised and said: "So many tiny bugs; how can you catch them all?"
With countless bugs crawling on each corn ear, working day and night probably wouldn’t be enough to catch them all.
Moreover, these pests reproduce quickly. Catch them today, and they hatch more tomorrow, an endless cycle.
Bollworms are a major factor in corn ear rot.
If pests aren’t eliminated, the rot won’t stop.
Mrs. Zhao said: "Ain’t it the truth? But even if we can’t catch them all, we must catch as many as we can. We can’t just let them ruin an entire acre."
Aunt Qin sighed to the side, "Sister Tong, you haven’t worked much in the fields, so you don’t know; farming is exhausting."
At this moment, Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin couldn’t help but admire Tong Huaqiong for her business acumen.
If they had such business skills, they wouldn’t be tied to the fields from dawn till dusk.
Not just them, everyone in the village is busy in the cornfields, either manually disinfecting or catching pests.
Tong Huaqiong watched sincerely.
Tong Huaqiong took out the water bottle and snacks she brought from home, inviting Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin to sit and rest on the ridge.
It was the height of the autumn heat; Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin, busy in the cornfields for ages, had parched throats.
Seeing Tong Huaqiong’s warm invitation, they didn’t hesitate to put down their tools, sit on the ridge, drink water, and eat snacks.
A breeze came at this time, making Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin feel comfortable, almost sleepy.
Tong Huaqiong, Mrs. Zhao, and Aunt Qin saw Gu Dahuan in the Gu family’s cornfield spraying something. Curious, they asked Tong Huaqiong, "The corn’s about to mature, what’s Dahuan doing spraying it?"
In farmers’ minds of this era, fertilizing and spraying usually occur during the seedling phase, rarely during the filling stage, as it’s believed to burn and stop the corn’s filling process.
Tong Huaqiong found no need to keep anything from Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin, since their fields were adjacent to hers. If their corn wasn’t disinfected, it would ultimately affect her corn.
Tong Huaqiong originally intended to give them the disinfectant.
Tong Huaqiong said: "My Dahuan is removing bollworms and mold from the corn ears."
Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin were astonished.
There’s a pesticide for bollworms and mold?
This was the first they’d heard of it.
Aunt Qin skeptically asked: "Is there really such a pesticide? Where did Dahuan buy it?"
Tong Huaqiong told Aunt Qin: "Jingzhe saw it in an agronomy book and told me, so I mixed some myself. You know I don’t go to the fields much, so Dahuan dared not try more. I insisted on testing it on our one-acre field at the foot of West Mountain. We found reduced bollworms and less mold on the corn ears, so Dahuan decided to use it on all our fields."
"If you don’t believe me, go see our field at the foot of West Mountain."
Mrs. Zhao suddenly recalled that during her wheat’s filling stage, the leaves yellowed. Her in-law had Gu Dashu bring a fertilizer she’d never seen before. Once applied, the wheat turned green again.
The fact that her wheat yielded more this year was thanks to the fertilizer from her in-law.
If Gu Dahuan’s pesticide could indeed remove bollworms and mold, that would be fantastic; her corn could yield an extra hundred pounds.
Mrs. Zhao said: "In-law, I trust you. If I can use this formula in my fields, that would be wonderful."
Tong Huaqiong laughed: "In-law, Sister Qin, do you know why I came to the fields to chat with you? I wanted to offer you this pesticide. I didn’t dare give it to you directly, fearing you might not use it. That’s why I’m telling you that we have used it. If you still don’t believe, wait until Dahuan finishes spraying his field next to yours, then observe the effect before deciding whether to use it."
Concerning those outside the Gu Family, Tong Huaqiong would casually fib.
Jingzhe’s reputation was handy since, as Qinghe Bay’s prodigy, it was reasonable he’d learn agronomic knowledge from books that others were unfamiliar with.
Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin didn’t suspect a thing.
Given her experience with wheat, Mrs. Zhao didn’t hesitate and said: "In-law, I’ll be thrilled to use this disinfectant. If you give it to me today, I’ll use it today."
Aunt Qin hesitated a bit; her family didn’t have much land, making her reluctant.
But considering Tong Huaqiong wouldn’t harm them, and how her own son and daughter-in-law have prospered under Tong Huaqiong’s guidance, she realized she shouldn’t doubt.
Perhaps she should try it on one acre first.
If the effect was as good, they could treat all fields later.
Aunt Qin smiled and said: "Sister Tong, I’m willing to try it too."
Tong Huaqiong smiled and said: "Why not visit the foot of West Mountain and see our field before deciding. Dahuan is spraying there now; you can see how he sprays and whether bollworms die. If you decide to use it, come to my home to get some."
Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin didn’t hesitate to agree: "Sure."
At this time, Gu Dahuan arrived at the field’s edge with his spray tank.
Mrs. Zhao saw Gu Dahuan wrapped with layers of cloth and gauze and teased: "You dressed like this to avoid sunburn like a young wife; are you afraid of getting tanned, Dahuan?"
Gu Dahuan unloaded the spray tank and said: "My mother was worried I’d inhale the spray during application, so she insisted I cover my mouth and nose."
Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin marveled at Tong Huaqiong’s attentiveness.
Tong Huaqiong seized the moment to advise: "Ladies, when you spray your fields, you should cover up too. When doing business in town, I heard of people near my parents’ home getting poisoned from inhaling spray."
Mrs. Zhao and Aunt Qin, taking her words to heart, decided to cover their mouths and noses when spraying pesticide in their fields.
