Transmigrated into the role of the matriarch, I ensured my family had enough to eat and wear during

While carrying ducklings, Tang Susu passed by the side gate of the house and saw a boy and a young woman locked in a tense standoff inside.

The boy glared angrily at the woman and shouted, "How dare you seduce my father! If you continue, I'll make sure you never have a moment's peace!"

The woman, her face turning ashen with anger, retorted, "I was the matchmaker for your father, it was all aboveboard! I don't want to marry into this family and suffer the humiliation of my stepson. Get out of my house!"

The boy remained defiant, saying, "I'll only leave if you swear you'll never appear before my father again!"

The two men locked eyes, their gazes filled with chilling intent.

Tang Susu didn't want to join in the fun, so she tried to quietly leave with the duckling cage, just then a familiar voice called out: "Hao'er!"

She looked up and saw that it was the county magistrate himself.

Tang Susu, recognizing the boy's resemblance to the county magistrate, immediately realized she had stumbled upon the magistrate's family affairs and hurriedly lowered herself, trying to remain invisible.

But the five hundred ducklings in the cage kept quacking, making it impossible to hide.

The two, who had been arguing earlier, were oblivious to their surroundings. When the county magistrate arrived, the scene fell silent instantly, except for the quacking of the ducklings.

Tang Susu forced an awkward smile and said, "Lord Lu, I was just passing by, I'll be going now."

The magistrate turned his gaze away from Tang Susu and sternly questioned the boy, "Hao'er, why aren't you studying at school? What are you doing here causing trouble?"

The boy cried out, "Father, I don't want her to be my stepmother!"

The father and son started arguing fiercely again in the courtyard.

The woman, her eyes red, cried to the magistrate, "Lord Lu, I've only met you once, and we haven't even discussed marriage yet, but you've insulted me for no reason! I don't want to live anymore!"

The magistrate, feeling a headache coming on, said, "It was my mother who repeatedly pressured me to remarry. Your outburst has only made this marriage more difficult to resolve."

He secretly rejoiced that the place was secluded and no one could see him, but he ignored Tang Susu who was standing next to him.

The county magistrate gently reassured the woman: "No one knows about this, it won't affect you."

Then, he led Lu Hao out through the side door, where they happened to run into Tang Susu, who was taking the ducklings out and had just met Yang Gousheng.

Tang Susu pretended not to see him and tried to hide, but County Magistrate Lu called out to Yang Gousheng, "Young man Yang, what are you doing here?"

Yang Gousheng immediately stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Lord Lu."

Tang Susu had no choice but to accompany them with the gifts.

Lu Hao questioned Yang Gousheng, "Why haven't you been hanging out with me these past few days? Are you deliberately avoiding me?"

Magistrate Lu sternly reprimanded him: "Stop being so rude! You spend your days loafing around and causing trouble. Look at young Yang, helping his mother with her business, how sensible he is!"

The county magistrate turned to Tang Susu and apologized: "Madam Tang, I'm sorry you had to laugh at me. It was my negligence in raising my son."

He then lowered his voice and tentatively brought up the argument from earlier. Tang Susu quickly replied, "Lord Lu, I didn't see or hear anything."

Her composure pleased the county magistrate greatly.

The county magistrate looked at the ducklings and asked, "Madam Tang, have you switched to the duckling business?"

Yang Gousheng explained, "Reporting to Lord Lu, these ducklings were purchased by my mother at the request of the villagers; each family only needs a few dozen."

Lu Hao asked curiously, "Why are you buying so many ducklings?"

The county magistrate sternly rebuked him: "You're just a child, you don't understand farming matters, don't ask so many questions!"

Tang Susu said at the right moment, "Lord Lu, many locusts have appeared in the fields recently. We bought ducklings to prevent locust plagues. Ducks can kill locusts, but ducklings alone are far from enough."

Upon hearing the word "locusts," Magistrate Lu's expression changed drastically, and he exclaimed in shock, "Is that so?"

He recalled that he had served as the county magistrate of Dongtai Town for seven years, and had recently been treated with courtesy by the prefectural governor for handling the water shortage in the fields. Dongtai Town was the first to introduce water, so it was likely to have the highest yield per mu in the autumn harvest, which would increase tax revenue and improve his political achievements. However, the locust plague would completely destroy all of this.

The magistrate sighed and said, "Last year's locust plague caused the people to lose everything. The government was forced to distribute grain, and there were refugees everywhere and bandits ran rampant. It's terrifying to think about."

Tang Susu asked, "Lord Lu, does the government have any methods to deal with the locust plague?"

The county magistrate said helplessly, "There are methods, but they are not very effective. There are too many locusts, and it is difficult to control them by manpower. We can only kill them on a small scale when their numbers are small, by burning mugwort to drive them away, burying them in ditches, and using bonfires to lure them."

Tang Susu nodded silently, knowing that these methods were only applicable to small areas.

The county magistrate said, "I will investigate the locust situation in detail, and if it is true, I will definitely report it to the prefectural governor."

After saying that, he hurriedly left to deal with the matter.

Yang Gousheng said to Tang Susu, "Mom, what if the locusts don't come in the end? Wouldn't all our efforts in preparing the ducklings have been for nothing?"

Tang Susu shook her head and said, "I also had a bit of wishful thinking, but after reading the book on locust control, I am very convinced that a locust plague will definitely happen."

Tang Susu explained, "Drought is a breeding ground for locusts. Dry weather causes locust eggs to be produced in large quantities and hatch quickly. When conditions are right, the locusts will come in and darken the sky, devouring the crops with the force of a whirlwind."

Tang Susu returned to Yangqu Village with 500 ducklings. Villagers who had reserved the ducklings rushed to pick them up, including Zheng Popi's wife.

Zheng the Scoundrel's wife, her face full of disgust, complained in public, "Tang Susu, why are you charging seven copper coins for each duckling? Last time it was only six. Are you secretly making a profit? You can earn five qian of silver from five hundred ducks. You're really good at shrewd calculation!"

Upon hearing this, Tang Susu smiled sarcastically, thinking to herself that ducklings of this size would cost at least ten copper coins each on the street. Out of consideration for the friendship between villagers and the trust of the villagers, she had specially selected large and easy-to-raise ducklings. Even if she only earned two copper coins per duckling, it would be justified.

She directly questioned him: "Do you look down on these ducklings?"

He then snatched the 25 ducklings from Zheng's wife's hands and said, "Little Fish's mother next door wants to raise more, so these are for her."

Neighbor Aunt Liu immediately stepped forward to take the ducklings and thanked her profusely, saying, "Thank you so much, Su Su. I'll go home and get 175 copper coins right away."

Tang Susu looked at all the villagers present and said, "If any family feels that the price is unfair, they can return the goods at any time, no problem."

Although some villagers at the scene also felt that the ducklings were a bit expensive, no one dared to say anything to object, for fear of upsetting Tang Susu and having to buy ducklings from the street themselves in the future, which would not only be difficult to buy but also a waste of time.

After the ducklings were successfully distributed, Tang Susu instructed the villagers: "The weather is hot now, so we need to clean up the duck droppings promptly to prevent the spread of disease. If one duck gets sick, it can easily infect all of them. These disease prevention methods were taught to us by the person who sold the ducklings."

The villagers thanked Tang Susu profusely, saying, "Thank you so much, Susu!"

They then each carried the ducklings home.

Only Zheng the Scoundrel's wife stood there, her face ashen, her teeth clenched, filled with rage—she had caused the ducklings to be sold because of her loose tongue, and she had no way to explain it to Zheng the Scoundrel.

Zheng's wife suppressed her anger and softened her tone towards Tang Susu: "Susu, I'm sorry for being so talkative. Do you have any extra ducklings here? Even a few would be fine."