Chapter 35 (continued)

While he was eating fish, Ge Yue took a new bowl and was pouring honey water to drink. Suddenly, he exclaimed "Eh!"

Lin Chengqian: "What's wrong?"

"This honey water is so delicious, it's quite different from what you get elsewhere," Ge Yue said, taking another sip. "The aroma is so strong."

Shi Wen curiously picked up the cup and took a sip.

The moment it enters your mouth, the unique sweetness of honey water is released, with a hint of bitterness. In addition, it is full of the fragrance of a hundred flowers, intertwined together. The slightly bitter taste makes the sweetness even more appealing and suppresses the cloying sweetness.

This wasn't even the part that excited him the most.

What captivated him most was the perfect fusion of the blended floral aromas, creating a unique and enchanting fragrance.

As a non-human with a keen sense of taste, Shi Wen could almost immediately detect dozens of floral scents.

Shi Wen on with amazement and chimed in, "It really is delicious!"

Yan Kexing said, "It smells of fritillaria and other wildflowers."

Shi Wen, "It even tastes a bit like sunshine; when you drink it, it's like you can taste the rain and the wind. No wonder the Hu Zai are fighting over it."

Yan Kexing: "It's probably wild multifloral honey."

"I'll ask tomorrow." Shi Wen took another sip from her cup. "It's so sweet."

Shi Wen never expected that the honey Abudu casually gave me would taste so good.

The next day, when Abudu came with the truck to deliver the sheep and pigs, Shi Wen pulled him aside and asked, "Grandpa, what kind of honey is this? Do you have any more? Can you sell me some?"

Abudu: "You want me to give you some more? But I don't have much. Winter is coming soon, so I need to save some for the black bees. There will be more next spring."

Shi Wen astutely grasped the key phrase. "Black bee?"

Abudu: "Yes. Our mountain bees are unique; they fly far, aren't afraid of the cold, and the honey they make is good for your health; drinking it won't make you sick."

Abudu described it that way, and Shi Wen first glance. He opened a webpage and searched for it, only to find out that it was a black bee unique to cold regions.

Shi Wen, "So this is what it looks like! I thought there were no bees here."

"Of course there are! Where there are flowers, there are bees," Abudu said with a smile. "Your ranch is so big; if you wanted to, you could easily raise them."

Shi Wen's heart skipped a beat. "If I raise them here, will there be enough nectar?"

"What do you mean it's not enough?" Abudu pointed casually, "Look, that's oregano, next to it is thistle, and there are also burdock, fritillaria, and wild mint..."

Abudu spoke, he switched to his native language and pointed out each item to Shi Wen.

I couldn't understand the rest of the Shi Wen, but I could still tell that these were all excellent nectar-producing plants.

Since there are nectar-producing plants here, does that mean he can keep bees?

Shi Wen ask, "Do you keep bees?"

Abudu shook his head. "I don't have any, I collect wild honey from the mountains. If you want some, I have an old friend who does, I'll ask him."

Shi Wen immediately said, "Then please ask around for me, and ask again if this place is suitable for raising bees. If it is, I'll buy a few hives."

Abudu: "That will have to wait until winter. They can only sell bees when winter comes."

"Why?" Shi Wen asked, "Is it because they're hard to raise?"

"Yes. Bees have nowhere to collect nectar in winter, so they can only eat honey. If beekeepers are reluctant to feed them honey, they have to feed them white sugar," Abudu explained. "The bees die after a little over a month. In winter, this batch of bees may not collect nectar from the time they emerge from their pupae until they die. Some people think it's not worthwhile to keep them on honey."

After Shi Wen the explanation, Shi Wen realized that black bees actually have a very short lifespan, probably only forty or fifty days, less than a winter.

Therefore, some beekeepers sell some of their bees in winter and then breed new ones in the spring.

Winter is still some time away, the wildflowers on the mountain are still blooming, and the black bees are busy collecting nectar. There is still honey to be harvested, but beekeepers generally don't sell it.

If you were to sell it, the price would be very high.

Shi Wen there was no rush, Shi Wen asked Abudu to go back and inquire.

If there were bees for sale, he would like to buy ten or eight boxes.

With a little care, they'll have honey next spring when there are more wildflowers in the pasture.

Abudu readily agreed, saying he would go back and ask him.

Abudu quite concerned about his situation and called him that noon to tell him the result, "My old buddy said he can sell you six hives, complete with brood combs, queen bees, and worker bees, about three pounds of bees. Each hive costs 600 yuan, but it won't be delivered until winter."

Perhaps he had memorized his old friend's words and passed them on. Abudu spoke rather quickly, and Shi Wen asked him to repeat them before he could understand.

A box of six hundred isn't expensive, and Shi Wen spending money like water lately, had no objections to the price. "When will it be delivered in winter?"

Abudu: "He said around mid-November. If you want to raise bees, you can plant some fritillaria and codonopsis to provide nectar for the bees. The fritillaria and codonopsis will also be a harvest after they are dug up."

Shi Wen never expected it could be done this way. "Plant it directly on the grassland?"

Abudu said, "Of course, there are wild ginseng and wild fritillaria in the grassland. Don't plant too many, a few hundred per acre is enough, it won't affect the grassland."

Shi Wen had only ever wanted to graze cattle and sheep on the pasture; he had never considered getting into seed production.

Hearing Abudu say that opened up a new perspective.

Yan Kexing is a relevant expert.

Shi Wen specifically inquired about Yan Kexing's situation.

Yan Kexing said, "Theoretically speaking, this method is feasible. However, if you try to mimic the wild environment, the survival rate might not be very high."

Shi Wen and said, "It should be fine, right? Codonopsis and Fritillaria are mainly used for their underground tubers. Even if livestock eat the above-ground parts, they still have a chance to grow back, right?"

Yan Kexing: "The probability is very high."