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

Tang Susu looked at Zheng's wife with a smile and said bluntly, "If I sell it to you, you'll accuse me of being greedy for money. I don't want to make a fool of myself. You should look for somewhere else."

Zheng the Rascal's wife's face changed drastically. She gritted her teeth and said, "I won't keep begging you. I'll go buy it myself tomorrow; it'll be better than what you have!"

Having said that, he turned and left in anger.

As soon as Tang Susu entered the yard, Yang Xiaobao rushed over and exclaimed, "Mom, I caught so many grasshoppers! I put them all in a basket on my back, covered it with a wooden board so they can't fly away. There are four big baskets in total, and they're buzzing nonstop inside!"

Tang Susu's face was grave. She judged in her heart that just a few days ago, the villagers had difficulty catching grasshoppers, but now Xiaobao had caught four baskets in half a day, which meant that the number of locusts was increasing rapidly and had already begun to eat the rice. She had to test the herbal medicine as soon as possible.

For lunch, everyone ate only two cornbread buns. Tang Susu arranged for the people in the backyard to continue their work as usual, and then called Tang Chengyu: "Come with me into the mountains to find the herbs listed in the locust control book to prepare for the drug trials."

On the way, Tang Chengyu kept polishing the abacus beads in his hands. The abacus beads were all polished by hand, which was a lot of work and tiring. They had to be polished well before they could be installed on the frame.

The summer sun was blazing, and the heat was intense. Although the mountains were densely wooded, the two of them were still drenched in sweat after walking for a while.

Tang Susu walked toward a secluded area where few people came, relying on the system's prompts to identify herbs within a one-meter radius.

Along the way, we encountered many common Chinese medicinal herbs, such as peony, dandelion, and salt aconite. Villagers would pick these herbs themselves when they felt unwell or had minor injuries, and only seek treatment from Doctor Zhang if they did not improve their condition.

Tang Chengyu suddenly stopped, pointed to a herb and said, "This is patchouli, it can repel insects. Let's pick some to take home and use to repel mosquitoes and prevent bites for our chickens and ducks."

Tang Susu asked curiously, "Have you studied pharmacology?"

Tang Chengyu shook his head: "Chongwen Hall has a study room. I have read books on herbal medicine and memorized some of the properties of medicinal herbs to improve my memory, but I have not systematically studied pharmacology."

Tang Susu sighed inwardly. The imperial examination did not involve knowledge of herbal medicine, but Tang Chengyu took the initiative to learn about it. Moreover, he did not give up on himself after falling from grace. His character was rare.

She seized the opportunity to ask, "What exactly happened that led to your expulsion from Chongwen Hall?"

Tang Chengyu lowered his eyes and remained silent. He had only told Granny Yang and his biological mother about this matter, intending to bear it all by himself.

After a moment, he revealed the truth in a hoarse voice: "I did not cheat, but the teacher found so-called witnesses and physical evidence. The evidence was conclusive, and even the headmaster was powerless to change the situation."

He further explained: "The people who slandered me were the son of the county magistrate of Qianjiang Town and the nephew of a wealthy merchant in Qintang Town. The two of them were causing trouble at the school and tried to recruit me. When I refused, they resorted to despicable means to accuse me of cheating. They have power and influence, while I have no background and cannot fight back at all. I even felt that my life might come to an end."

Tang Susu smiled and pointed out, "You admit defeat, but you're still secretly working hard at night. Lately, I've been hearing you reading aloud in the main room before I go to sleep. It's dark at night and I can't turn the pages, so you must be reviewing the books you've memorized. You still have the hope of passing the imperial examination in your heart."

She added, "Being removed from the list of students in Chongwen Hall does not mean that you cannot participate in the provincial examination. As long as someone vouches for you, you can still take the imperial examination."

Tang Chengyu gave a bitter smile: "There are two ways to guarantee a candidate's identity in the imperial examination. One is for the five candidates to vouch for each other, and if one of them cheats, the other four will be held jointly liable. No one is willing to partner with me. The other is for government-funded students to vouch for the candidate. I come from the countryside and don't know any government-funded students. I can't do either of these methods."

Tang Susu comforted me, saying, "There are still six or seven months before the college entrance exam, so there's plenty of time. Don't rush to consider the guarantee. First, help me find as many kinds of deworming herbs as possible, and collect a little of each kind to prepare for the drug trial."

Tang Chengyu nodded in agreement and began searching earnestly.

The two continued deeper into the mountains, where the sunlight was direct during the day, so there was no need to worry about wolves.

Just as they passed the bushes, a wolf cub ran out, sniffed their scent, glanced at Tang Susu, and then turned and ran into the deep mountains.

Nearly two hours later, the two had a bountiful harvest, their baskets filled with different kinds of herbs.

Tang Susu said, "Let's go home. I'll get paper and pen to record all the medicinal herbs. You should write down every step of the subsequent drug trials in detail."

Tang Chengyu obeyed and followed her home.

Back home, Tang Susu called Miao Yulan over: "Let's sort and organize the herbs, then boil them separately into medicinal decoctions to prepare for the drug trials."

Then she instructed Tang Lifu: "Go to the fields and bring back some rice ears."

Tang Lifu looked puzzled: "The rice isn't ripe yet, why are you picking at the rice ears?"

Tang Susu said, "No need to ask any more questions, just do as I say."

Tang Lifu obeyed and went to the field, quickly bringing back a small handful of rice ears.

Tang Susu divided the rice ears into several portions and soaked them in different medicinal solutions. She said to Tang Chengyu, "You need to record all the details in detail, such as the types of medicinal materials used for soaking, the amount of medicinal solution used, and the number of rice ears."

Tang Chengyu immediately picked up his pen and took notes.

When Yang Xiaobao returned after herding the ducks, he curiously approached her and asked, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Tang Susu tapped his forehead: "Once the rice ears are soaked, you can throw them to the locusts to eat."

Yang Xiaobao's eyes widened: "What a waste! How can you feed locusts with rice stalks?"

Tang Chengyu instantly understood the intention and explained to Xiaobao, "Big sister wants to test which herbal decoction can kill locusts. If we can find an effective herb, we won't have to worry about locust plagues."

Tang Susu cast an admiring glance at Tang Chengyu, thinking to herself: The book on locust control lists many herbs, but this time only four or five have been found. The effectiveness must be determined through experimentation.

The drug trial officially began. Tang Susu dropped rice ears soaked in different solutions into four baskets of locusts and waited quietly for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to observe the locusts' reactions.

The results of the drug trials are gradually becoming apparent:

Basket No. 1 (Artemisia argyi and rice ears): The locusts are still energetic, but dare not approach the rice ears. Tang Susu judged that Artemisia argyi can only drive away locusts, not kill them.

Basket No. 2 (Lanterns poisoned with rice): Five layers of rice ears were eaten, and all the locusts in the basket died from poisoning. Tang Chengyu immediately recorded "Locusts eat Lantau and all die".

Baskets No. 3 and No. 4 (other herbs, medicinal water, and rice ears): The rice ears were completely eaten, and the locusts were only listless and could still fly, resulting in extremely poor locust control.

Tang Chengyu meticulously recorded all the drug test results and locust reactions on paper to ensure nothing was missed.

Hearing the commotion, Old Mrs. Yang, who was working in the backyard, ran out to investigate. Seeing Tang Susu feeding locusts with rice stalks, she immediately frowned and shouted, "Tang Susu! Have you lost your mind? Rice is so precious, how dare you feed it to locusts? You have no appreciation for its value!"

Tang Susu interrupted her directly: "Mom, have you finished your work? If you have, go and call Uncle Village Head over. I have something urgent to discuss with him."

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Yang immediately agreed and turned to call the village head.

As dusk settled and the setting sun cast its last rays upon the earth, classes at Tang Susu's home continued as usual, filled with the sound of students reciting their lessons.

Tang Chengyu had the children practice writing characters in the teaching sandbox.

Tang Chengyu, carrying the drug test record paper, went to the fields with Tang Susu and the village head who had arrived, to prepare to show the drug test results and discuss subsequent locust control matters.

In the fields, the orange sunset paints a dreamy, hazy glow, while a gentle evening breeze blows.

The village head still had doubts. He took a deep breath and said to Tang Susu, "I'm an honest person. I believe whatever others say. If you say you have a way to get rid of locusts, I'm willing to believe you, but don't try to fool this old man."

Tang Susu said, "Don't worry, Uncle Village Head. You can tell I'm not lying to you by looking at the test papers Cheng Yu recorded."

Tang Chengyu then handed the record sheet to the village head.

The village head took the paper and examined it. He recognized most of the characters on the paper, and there were more numbers than words. The paper recorded information such as the quantity of medicinal materials, the amount of water used for boiling, and the number of locusts that died.

Although he could recognize most words and numbers, he knew nothing about the logic of drug testing or the principles of herbal locust control.