"This time, the demand is high. Not only the Min family, but I fear all the merchants in Jinling City will have to organize themselves, donating money if they have it, and grain if they have it."
Feng Jinyao was somewhat surprised to hear this.
Since the purification of the漕运司 (Cao Yun Si - Imperial Grain Transport Office), both the national treasury and the Liangzhe region were overflowing with grain and money.
The fact that her second brother had personally come to "ask" today suggested something had happened, and it wasn't a small matter.
Prince Ding then asked, "Is it the locust plague in Zhongzhou?"
"Although Your Highness is not in court, your news is still so timely."
"How is the situation?"
Mentioning court affairs, Feng Jinlin's playful demeanor vanished, and he replied sternly.
"More than half of the grain in Zhongzhou has been eaten. Those locusts are still heading south, and I fear not much of Liangzhe will be spared. Therefore, we must prepare grain in advance, distribute it to each household first, and then send the rest to Zhongzhou."
After such a long drought, it was understandable that not only humans but also animals would suffer.
Thus, a locust plague was not surprising.
Facing the "great army" of locusts, like a roaring tide, no one could stop their advance or retreat. They could only let them ravage the remaining meager crops.
Upon hearing this, everyone had a plan in mind.
After the upheaval three years ago, the Min and Chi families were the only two merchant families in the city that remained standing.
The Zhu and Cao families had become dust of the past. The Yin family had harbored thoughts of replacing them, but the gap in strength was too great.
Therefore, instead of wasting time persuading each one individually, Feng Jinlin decided to first ask the two families to donate.
If they donated, others would naturally find it difficult to refuse.
Although it felt somewhat like blackmail, in the face of a great disaster, he was doing it for the sake of the common people's survival. Even if the methods were unsightly, there was no other way.
"Mm, you go find your maternal uncle later and have him allocate three million shi to you. Send it to Zhongzhou first to alleviate the crisis. We'll discuss the rest in detail."
"As expected, wealthy and powerful."
Feng Jinlin had initially thought it would be good to raise five million shi. He never expected Prince Ding to offer three million shi right off the bat. Truly, comparing oneself to others could be infuriating.
In fact, Feng Jinlin was also lucky. The Min family always kept a backup in their business dealings.
Since the flood three years ago, they had deliberately stored extra grain every year, just in case of emergencies.
Although old rice didn't taste good, it was better than starving to death.
Especially in the past two years when grain was scarce, having this much was already quite good.
"What did the Chi family say?"
"I haven't had time to go yet. I thought I'd start with familiar people first, didn't I?"
Having secured the grain, Feng Jinlin felt much more at ease, so he joked again. Xiao Tingyi pondered for a moment. The Min family was easy to deal with, but the Chi family was not necessarily so. It would be better to make arrangements in advance.
He then said,
"Ayao, you two sit here. I'll take your second brother to the Chi family."
"Your Highness can rest assured. Second Sister-in-law is here."
"Good."
With that, he glanced at Xu Mingyue, who also had a determined look on her face. He then felt relieved and left with Feng Jinlin.
Xu Mingyue and Feng Jinyao knew they had business to attend to, so they sat and chatted.
"Your health is quite well-maintained. It's nothing like when I gave birth to Mi Ge'er. I suffered so much. I was still vomiting when I was about to give birth."
Speaking of this, Xu Mingyue couldn't help but shake her head.
She wondered what kind of immortal reincarnation that little fellow was, to be so troublesome.
Mentioning Mi Ge'er, Feng Jinyao couldn't help but chuckle.
Her two good sisters had sons. Bai Siruo's son seemed to be born for General Xiao Ji, clinging to him all day. Xu Mingyue's son seemed to be born for Elder Xu and Old Madam Xu.
Since birth, he had been the apple of the two elders' eyes, accompanying them day and night as he grew. Now, nearing one year old, the first word he called out was "Grandpa Elder."
This made Elder Xu look at least twenty years younger, loudly declaring he would live to see his great-grandson marry and have children before closing his eyes.
"Second Sister-in-law, you should just be happy. Look at Mi Ge'er's intelligence. Who wouldn't like him? If I could have a child as lovable as him, I would be content."
"Oh, you're worried about that? Don't worry, even if you give birth to a stone, it will be the most dazzling stone in our Prince Ding's eyes."
Xu Mingyue teased her a couple of times. Chatting and laughing, Feng Jinyao forgot about the earlier matter.
"By the way, besides your second brother's matter, I also have something to ask you."
"What is it?"
"I remember seeing a book called 'One Thousand and One Nights' here last time. Is it still here?"
Feng Jinyao was a bit curious. "It's filled with unverified stories. I usually just read it for fun. Why are you suddenly interested, Second Sister-in-law?"
"It's all because of this locust plague. I remember it mentioned that in the wild lands of the southwest, some barbarians would deep-fry insects and eat them. Is that true?"
"There is such a record, but I don't know if it's true or not. Why are you suddenly asking about this?"
"I was thinking, if insects can be deep-fried and eaten, then are locusts considered insects?"
Feng Jinyao's eyes widened. "You mean you want to net the locusts, deep-fry them? And then distribute them to the disaster victims to eat?"
This idea was indeed quite bold.
Throughout history, people had always been the ones to flee from insects. Were there examples of people eating insects? What if eating locusts caused illness? What if an epidemic broke out? What if the insects, after being deep-fried thoroughly, caused more to grow inside one's stomach?
There were no answers to these questions, so Xu Mingyue merely mentioned it in passing.
"It's still early days. I was thinking of seeing if it described specific methods of consumption. If it does, then I'll find someone to catch other insects and try them. Even if we don't eat them, if they are fried and dead, it will at least reduce the damage to the crops."
Not only that, but Xu Mingyue shared the same disposition as Elder Xu.
She was worried about the country and the people all day long, truly worthy of being a renowned female scholar of Wenjin Academy.
"Yunxu, go find the book and bring it to Second Sister-in-law."
"Yes."
As she spoke, Yunxu went to a small desk nearby and searched. Soon, she found the book "One Thousand and One Nights."
This book was given to her by Bai Shan. His affairs in the southwest had finally come to an end, and he was preparing to travel back to the capital to study at Yunqi Academy for a few months, in preparation for the imperial examinations next year.
When he passed through Jinling City, he specifically came to visit her and left her this box of miscellaneous books for her amusement.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have known about these strange tales and anecdotes.
Xu Mingyue took "One Thousand and One Nights" and searched carefully. In a short while, she found the passage she had just mentioned.
As expected, the barbarians not only deep-fried insects but also ate them.
It seemed Xu Mingyue's idea might actually be feasible.