Chapter 159

Employee: "In the past two weeks, we reported it to Manager Zhao, who said not to disturb them for now, and to bring a beehive over to collect them later."

Qing Mengzhu: "Is it producing honey yet?"

"It's produced honey." The employee grinned, revealing a set of neat white teeth. "There's so much honey now it's almost overflowing. The bees will probably swarm, so we'll just bring two hives over."

Qing Mengzhu became interested. "Then let's go see if wild honey is edible?"

The employee said somewhat embarrassedly, "Yes, it's possible, but it stings. We tried it before, and it tasted pretty good. Besides the mulberry flavor, you can also taste orange blossom, though it's very faint."

Qing Mengzhu then remembered. "Orange blossoms can produce honey, that's really good. What about blueberry blossoms? Are there any blueberry blossoms blooming now?"

Employee: "Yes, there are some, but only a few. I estimate the majority is orange blossom honey and wildflower honey. You two will know once you taste them. We have beekeeping suits here; I'll go get them for you."

Qing Mengzhu smiled and thanked her, "Thank you for your hard work."

The employee became even more enthusiastic. "It's no trouble at all. Do you and Mr. Ming know how to do it? If not, I'll do it. I've done it once before."

Qing Mengzhu replied, "Yes, I can. I'm an expert; I've harvested clover nectar before."

Chapter 159

Qing Mengzhu is now very skilled at farm work.

For a capable young man, harvesting honey was a piece of cake.

After Qing Mengzhu put on her bee protection suit, she turned to Ming Chunxi and specifically told him, "Stay away from them, be careful, don't get stung."

Ming Chunxi led the four little ones back. "You too."

Qing Mengzhu said confidently, "Don't worry, just watch me."

Qing Mengzhu nimbly went forward, stood under the tree with her long arms and legs, made a quick assessment, and began to prepare to collect the honey. She seemed very reliable.

Ming Chunxi, holding onto the collars of the Dharma Protector and Guard, used his long legs to block the red fox and otter, his gaze towards Qing Mengzhu full of admiration.

This brood of wild bees made their home in the middle of an orange grove. They nestled in a branch, and the hive, covered with bees, looked like an upside-down hat hanging from the branch. Qing Mengzhu wanted to cut was the protruding part of the "hat"—the honeycomb filled with honey.

Qing Mengzhu first rolled up some damp grass from nearby into a bundle, then placed it under the beehive, lit the bundle, and smoked out the bees.

Smoke can disrupt the communication of bees, making them docile and less likely to attack people.

After the bees had finished fumigating, Qing Mengzhu carefully cut off a honeycomb filled with honey and sealed with a knife, gently blew away the bees still crawling on it, and then put it into a small bucket.

Honey is the food of bees; they rely on it to survive and reproduce. Honey harvesting cannot be completely eliminated; at least half must be left for them.

Qing Mengzhu considered that the bee colony would soon split into two, so she left them some extra honey and ultimately only harvested one-third of it.

After harvesting the honey, Qing Mengzhu made a gesture, signaling Ming Chunxi to quickly lead the little ones away. The relatively aggressive bees might attack once they realized what was happening, so they had to hurry and run.

Then, Qing Mengzhu, carrying a small bucket filled with honey, followed Ming Chunxi.

They walked until they were over a hundred meters away from the beehive before stopping.

Qing Mengzhu took off her bee-proof hat and then her bee-proof suit.

Ming Chunxi came over to help, Qing Mengzhu reminded him, "Be careful, there are bees crawling on your bee suit, don't get stung."

No matter how docile a bee is, it is still a relatively aggressive insect. It's impossible to completely let it harvest the honey and leave. A small portion of them will still crawl on the bee suit, waiting to sting it.

Ming Chunxi: "I'm being careful, I won't get stung."

Qing Mengzhu: "Then can you check the back for me? I can't see the back, so I'm not sure if I'll get stung by a bee."

Ming Chunxi then stepped forward and helped him take off his bee protection suit.

The two were very close. Qing Mengzhu felt Ming Chunxi's gentle movements and smiled at him with her eyes crinkled.

As they were taking off their bee suits, the little ones sniffed around the small bucket of honey.

The Dharma Protector even tried to lick the honey from the rim of the bucket.

Qing Mengzhu caught a glimpse of its movement out of the corner of her eye and shouted, "Dharma Protector, don't steal food! Or I'll beat you up!"

The Dharma Protector dog shrank back, pretending to be nonchalant, and took two steps to the side. However, the whole dog looked guilty and furtive.

Soon, Qing Mengzhu took off her beekeeping suit and went to check on the honey that had just been harvested.

Wild bees are not as large as farmed bees, and their honeycombs are relatively smaller, but they are still filled with crystal-clear honey.

Qing Mengzhu tried to break off a piece and taste it.

Ming Chunxi quickly grabbed his hand and told him to go wash his hands first.

Qing Mengzhu: "Wait, it's a long walk to wash our hands. I brought disposable gloves; we can just wear gloves."

Ming Chunxi asked, "Where are the gloves?"

Qing Mengzhu: "It's placed under the strawberry mille-feuille. Open it and you'll see it."

Ming Chunxi then took out gloves, and the two of them each put on one before cutting the honey in the bucket.

Qing Mengzhu fed each of the little ones a piece first, and then broke off a small piece to taste herself.

This type of unseparated honey contains pollen and beeswax, and you should spit out the beeswax when eating it.

However, even though it was so natural, the honey still tasted very good. Qing Mengzhu took a bite and tasted the rich sweetness. The soft and thick honey flowed down her throat and into her stomach, bringing her a unique sense of satisfaction.

Qing Mengzhu couldn't help but narrow her eyes.

Honey made by wild bees is so delicious, with a rich and fragrant flavor that is far superior to regular honey. Even the honey made by the bees they used to raise in the clover fields is slightly inferior.

Ming Chunxi took a bite, held the honey in her hand, and didn't taste any more.

Looking at his expression, Qing Mengzhu could tell at a glance that he thought the honey was too sweet and not very hygienic. So she leaned over, took the honey from his hand, and continued to sip it, while also licking Ming Chunxi's slender fingers through his gloves.

Ming Chunxi's ears visibly turned a little red, and she changed the subject, saying, "Don't you think this honey is too sweet?"

Qing Mengzhu didn't react immediately. "It tastes alright, very delicious, and it has a hint of orange blossom fragrance. It really is orange blossom honey."

Ming Chunxi looked at the orange trees that had already blossomed and said, "I reckon we can harvest orange blossom nectar for a few more months."

Qing Mengzhu took off her gloves and held the oranges, saying in a steady voice, "I also think these oranges are good stuff."

They bought a batch of orange trees, of which 480 were planted in the orchard, and the remaining 20 were planted on the mountain where they grew bamboo.

There aren't that many orange trees, but it's still relatively easy to keep two bee colonies alive.

After finishing her meal, Qing Mengzhu licked her gloves.

Ming Chunxi and insisted on dragging him to wash his hands no matter what.

They went to the cabin in the orchard to wash their hands, returned the bee suits, and then gave the employee two pieces of honey.

We didn't harvest much honey today, so please just have a taste.

The employee thanked them with a smile and then told them that the mulberries over there were the ripest and sweetest.

Upon hearing this, Qing Mengzhu and Ming Chunxi took the children to pick mulberries.

This year's harvest is good, and they've used a lot of fertilizer, so the mulberries are growing very well.

Although the mulberry bushes they planted had become shrubs, and each one wasn't very big, there were many mulberries of all sizes hidden under the leaves—green, purple, red, black, mulberries of every color imaginable.

Purple mulberries are a little sour, and taste sweet and sour.

As for the black mulberries, they were already purely sweet with no sourness. Qing Mengzhu picked one and ate it, then threw a few more to the little ones, and soon their nails and lips were black.