vrcanaries Chapter 1221 Burning Corpse
Chapter 1221 Burning Corpse
The "corpse flow" gradually subsided.
Jiang Zhiming's face was pale, and he leaned against the tree trunk, vomiting uncontrollably: "I can't eat anymore. I won't be able to eat properly for at least the next ten days..."
Amidst the sounds of retching, Shen Zheng lifted her leg and walked towards the valley entrance.
Amidst the mountain of corpses, some locusts could be faintly seen still struggling to wriggle and try to escape.
Shen Zheng prided herself on being a person who revered life, and upon seeing this, she immediately had Hua Duo bring over a sack of quicklime.
As quicklime was poured down, the struggling locusts died completely.
Only then did Jiang Zhiming finally finish vomiting. Clutching his stomach, he staggered to Shen Zheng's side and asked, "Lord Shen, what should we do next? Should we burn them all, or bring soil to bury them?"
In an era where air pollution wasn't a concern, Shen Zheng would have loved to immediately throw torches in and turn all those beasts to ashes.
However, the actual situation does not allow it.
"We need to move them all out of the valley, find an open wasteland, burn them first, and then bury them." Shen Zheng looked around at the terrain and said regretfully, "The insect corpses are too thick, the fire can't burn through them at all. We have to burn them in batches. Also, the season is dry right now. If we keep burning the insects for too long, we might burn the whole mountain."
They burned the whole mountain down?
Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhiming immediately shook his head: "Yes, yes, we can't burn it here, we have to take it out, take it out..."
After saying that, he immediately called Zhong Shushan over.
Upon hearing the terrain requirements, Zhong Shushan immediately selected a location: "Before the locust-leading road, near the border with Yanzhou, there is a wide expanse of wasteland. There are no crops planted around it, nor are there any rivers or wells. I think that place is suitable, gentlemen."
Shen Zheng immediately asked Zhong Shushan to lead the way.
The burning of the area was a matter of great importance, and she had to see it in person to be at ease.
Before leaving, Shen Zheng looked at the eager Jiang Zhiming and couldn't help but instruct him: "Lord Jiang, before I return, do not touch the insect corpses, and do not let the people touch them either. If there are any locusts that are not completely dead, just sprinkle some lime powder on them."
Jiang Zhiming's eyes showed regret: "Then this humble official will wait for your return..."
Xin Shunyun also stayed at the valley entrance with Jiang Zhiming.
For Xin Shunyun, the short half-morning felt like a dream.
As he set off from Yanzhou to Fuzhou, despair filled his heart.
He thought Fuzhou was doomed and had even prepared for the worst, but unexpectedly... a glimmer of hope appeared.
"Father, do you believe what I said before this time?" Xin Ji came to his side, his face full of pride: "I told you before that anyone who can create glass is definitely not a simple person..."
As he spoke, Xin Ji's gaze fell on the scattered glass mirrors on the ground.
It's already broken... He can just take one piece, it shouldn't be a problem, right?
"Stop embarrassing me in public!" Xin Shunyun snapped, his gaze sharp as a blade: "If you want the glass mirror, go buy it from Lord Shen! What kind of hero tries to sneak around like this?"
"I'm stealing?" Xin Ji stuck out his butt and picked up a palm-sized piece of broken mirror from the ground. After carefully blowing away the dust, he said, "I've been running around with Lord Shen, going hungry for six meals in two days. Is it too much to ask for a piece of broken mirror as payment?"
Did you go hungry for six meals in two days?
Xin Shunyun paused slightly, and couldn't help but lower his eyes to examine this unfilial son.
She's lost weight, but she seems to have become...less unfilial.
Could it be... that I've chosen the right person to follow?
At this point, Xin Shunyun could no longer say anything harsh: "...After you're done with today's work, go home and see your mother and the others."
"I understand." Xin Ji paused for a moment, her expression slightly awkward. "Then... what about you?"
Xin Shunyun glanced at the insect corpses at the valley entrance, then turned to look in the direction of Yanzhou: "There's still a lot going on in Yanzhou..."
Xin Ji followed his gaze and seemed to suddenly understand the difficulties of being an official and the hardships of ordinary people's lives.
For ordinary people, a year's hard work gone to waste, farmland destroyed—what utter despair that must be...
Meanwhile, the situation in Yanzhou Prefecture was likely no better. If not handled properly, unrest could easily erupt among the people, and then…
Xin Ji sighed heavily.
Suddenly, he remembered Shen Zheng: "Why don't you ask Lady Shen later if she has any better ideas for disaster relief?"
"Do you need to tell me?" Xin Shunyun had long been prepared to ask Shen Zheng for help.
Two quarters of an hour later, amidst everyone's anticipation, Shen Zheng returned.
“That area is indeed suitable for burning insect corpses.” As soon as she stood still, Shen Zheng got straight to the point and began to make arrangements.
Everyone present was divided into four teams: the insect collection team, the insect transportation team, the insect burning team, and the cleanup team.
Everyone did their job, no one complained, and no one mentioned wanting to go back to the fields to harvest rice.
As long as the locusts are gone, what's wrong with letting the rice stay in the field for a few more days?
They would only feel satisfied if they saw that beast vanish into thin air!
......
Noon is approaching.
The burning team spent less than half an hour digging a large pit, six feet long, six feet wide, and five feet deep, on the selected wasteland.
These are the graves they carefully prepared for the locusts.
The bottom of the pit was not only covered with a thick layer of lime, but also with a lot of dry firewood, all in order to burn the insect corpses through to the core, leaving not even a trace of insect eggs.
Shen Zheng stood at the edge of the pit, with several bags of quicklime beside her. Every time a basket of insect corpses was dumped into the pit, she would personally sprinkle a ladle of quicklime into it.
White powder fell gently, spreading evenly over the insect corpses, like a plain-colored shroud covering them.
Looking down at her "masterpiece," Shen Zheng was extremely satisfied.
"That's about enough." The sunlight made Shen Zheng squint slightly. She raised her hand to stop the people who wanted to continue dumping the fire. "Let's burn this much for the first batch, so we don't have to burn it again later."
Everyone obeyed Shen Zheng's orders and stopped what they were doing.
"We're about to light the fire!" Gouwa shouted to the insect transport team that was still halfway there, "First fire, quick, everyone come and watch, watch these beasts be burned to ashes!"
The sound of horses' hooves grew more urgent.
The insect transport team arrived in a hurry when the sun reached its highest point.
The torch burning brightest was handed to Shen Zheng by Gouwa with both hands: "Lord Shen, may I ask you to light this first fire?"
Seeing the expectant looks from the people around her, Shen Zheng did not refuse and directly reached out to take the torch.
The torch handle was slightly warm, and the flame at the top leaped and burned, sometimes high and sometimes low.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Shen Zheng slightly raised her wrist, and she steadily tossed the torch into the pit.
"Today, let these beasts never return, and be utterly annihilated!"
"boom--!"
The torch ignited the dry firewood, and the flames spread wildly along the branches, crackling and popping in the pit. Orange-red tongues of fire, trailing black smoke, shot straight into the sky.
"It smells so good..." Someone shed tears of frustration.