Chapter 306: Taste?

Gibbs explained what was printed in the paper.

Billy slowly realized that spring planting had only just started, and, according to the article, there was still time to take precautions.

"I’m going to buy ducks!"

Billy dropped everything and took off running.

The other young men followed him, heading straight for the eastern market, where ducks were often sold.

Gibbs watched them leave and sighed.

With so many people in Brambleford, how could the ducks in one market possibly be enough?

Meanwhile, under the government’s direction, the news of preventing the locust plague spread rapidly among the people.

Soon, ducks were in such high demand that none could be found anywhere.

Out-of-town merchants noticed this and quickly tried to make a profit.

But a new law banning price gouging on poultry stopped them from inflating prices tenfold.

Still, there was some allowed profit margin, so many merchants chose to bring in ducks from other regions to sell in Brambleford.

"My Lord, even if Percival buys a lot of chickens and ducks, there are just too many people across the six cities. Why not let people eat the locusts themselves?" Baldwin suggested.

"Catching and eating locust nymphs would be much faster than waiting for poultry to grow."

After Simon mentioned that locusts were edible, Baldwin had already ordered officials to catch some young locusts from the fields.

Now, staring at the pot of boiled locusts, Simon felt a chill run down his back.

"How do you all feel?" He asked.

"It’s been two hours since we ate them. We’re fine, just tasted a little strange." Baldwin said, licking his lips thoughtfully.

Simon sighed.

"They’re better deep-fried, crispy, like chicken."

"Fried?!"

Baldwin’s face turned green.

"Why didn’t you say so earlier?"

Simon nodded. The newspaper had just gone out.

This was only the first step to help people get used to the idea.

"Yes, fried is the best. Here’s the plan: go catch more locusts. The more, the better. I’ll set up a frying station in the eastern market. I promise they’ll taste better than meat!"

Baldwin didn’t argue. He sighed and went to organize another round of locust gathering.

Simon got busy too.

This was no joke; a locust plague could be deadly.

He couldn’t control what happened in Preston, but he would do everything to protect his own land.

He ordered the castle chefs to bring out all the iron pots to the eastern market, along with oil and salt.

He was going to teach the people of Brambleford a lesson they’d never forget:

Locusts are edible and delicious. Eat more locusts, eat less rice. Save the crops.

The commotion attracted a crowd.

By afternoon, Baldwin returned with a whole sack of locusts, still muddy from the fields.

"My Lord, the locusts are here."

Simon patted the dust off his clothes.

"Well done. I’ll fry them myself."

"Then I’ll be waiting." Baldwin grinned.

Simon opened the sack, poured the live locusts into water to drown them, then cleaned and drained them.

Next, he heated oil in the pot.

Once the oil was hot, he tossed in the locusts.

Sizzling sounds filled the air, and the aroma of roasted meat spread through the market. He added a pinch of salt.

When the locusts turned crisp and golden, he scooped them out.

"Baldwin, try this again."

Simon handed him a plate.

The rich aroma filled the air. Baldwin swallowed hard, picked one up, and took a bite.

His eyes lit up.

"My Lord, this is amazing!"

Simon tasted one too. It was even better than the ones he had eaten as a child.

These were purely natural, with no pollution at all.

The crowd was stunned.

They couldn’t believe Prince Simon and his chief advisor were eating locusts right in front of them.

"My Lord, I’ll take this plate!"

Baldwin was hooked. He grabbed the rest and kept eating.

"This will be perfect with wine tonight!" He said.

Simon burst into laughter.

Then he turned to the people and said loudly:

"The newspaper already says locusts can be eaten. Many of you may not believe it, so I’m here with Sir Baldwin to prove it. Try for yourselves!"

The moment he finished speaking, people in the front row rushed forward to grab some.

Even out-of-town merchants joined in.

"Wow! So good!"

"Tastes better than chicken, I’m bringing the whole family out to catch more!"

"Never had anything this tasty!"

The crowd was in a frenzy of joy.

Harry stood at the edge of the crowd, sketching the entire scene.

He was going to publish it in the newspaper: Prince Simon and Baldwin leading the people to fight the locust plague.

By the end of the afternoon, the entire bag of locusts had been eaten.

The people were thrilled. When they returned to their villages, they spread the word about how delicious the locusts were.

To motivate people even more, Simon ordered Percival to buy locusts directly at the eastern market and serve them as bonus meals for Brambleford soldiers.

He was confident the six cities had enough appetite to devour the problem.

Even while tackling the locust crisis, flintlock rifle production continued at full speed.

After 500 craftsmen joined the Machinery Department, weapon production increased rapidly.

200 drill presses were soon equipped with bits, and with hydraulic-powered drills running at full speed, the first batch of 500 flintlocks arrived from the military workshop just two weeks later.

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Brambleford Army Camp

It was lunchtime, and the Brambleford soldiers were sitting in rows in the mess hall, enjoying their meal.

Ever since the Brambleford Army’s reforms, they have not had a proper dining facility.

After hiring logistical support troops, all meals were handled by the logistics team.

"Ah, it’s fried locusts again! I can’t get enough of them!"

Lancelot plopped into a seat, grabbed a steamed bun, and reached for a handful of crispy locusts.

Even though conditions had improved in Brambleford, soldiers still mostly ate steamed buns and flatbread. Getting two or three vegetable dishes was already good; meat was rare, since feeding 20,000 mouths was no easy task.

But ever since Percival started delivering fried locusts, the soldiers could at least enjoy something tasty every now and then.

"Our prince is a genius." Said Liam while munching happily.

"Lancelot, how did His Highness even figure out you could eat locusts like this? Amazing!"

Benjamin shook his head, a little ashamed.

He had always eaten and lived with the troops and expected the same from his officers. He thought he was already close to the people, but then Simon himself had fried locusts in the eastern market for the commoners.

That had become the talk of the town.

As they ate, a guard came in to report,

"Commander, His Highness is here."