Her Cultivation Diary

Chapter 38: 38. Buy beehive_1

Song Sancheng’s view on the timing of the weather was indeed correct.

No sooner had the three of them finished spreading fertilizer in this part of the tea plantation when the spring rain started drizzling down. The father and daughter quickly made their way back, while only Qiaoqiao happily hopped:

“It’s pouring rain!”

Fortunately, there were hillside trees all along the way. The rain wasn’t too heavy at the start, so they didn’t get very wet on their way home. Song Tan thought about that tea plantation. She had given it Spiritual Energy, so it would be inappropriate if it didn’t grow vigorously, right?

“Dad, I think it’ll only be a few days until we need to pick the tea leaves. We’re going to have to hire people everywhere this year anyway, so two more won’t make a difference.”@@novelbin@@

“If the tea leaves can’t be picked in time, just hire people.”

“Why do we need to hire people?” Wu Lan felt that if she didn’t keep an eye on her daughter, she would spend money without any plan.

How much does tea sell for per pound? Hiring people is expensive! It must be at least one hundred and fifty a day.

Yet, Song Tan felt her mom hadn’t changed her way of thinking!

“Mom, I can sell wild vegetables for twenty, and Milk Vetch for twenty as well. Why can’t I sell a pound of tea leaves for two thousand?”

If it were like usual times, a skilled worker could only pick three to four pounds of Maojian tea leaves in a day during the abundant tea-picking season.

It takes four pounds of tea leaves to produce one pound of dry tea. If one pound of dry tea only sells for one to two hundred, then it surely wouldn’t be cost-effective.

But the problem is, prices are different now.

The prime time for spring tea is only about twenty days, and after Qingming, the quality drops a bit, so of course, time is of the essence.

Wu Lan pondered a bit. Although she was confident in her daughter, she had no confidence in selling local tea leaves for two thousand yuan per pound. But they had just agreed earlier that they would listen to their daughter about the farm work…

She hesitated, “But we don’t need to hire workers, do we? Your dad, your grandpa and grandma can help too. Our family’s tea plantation is only so big, it’s enough.”

Song Tan started counting on her fingers, “During tea-picking time, we have to worry about breeding and raising seedlings, right? The home poultry and pigs need someone to take care of them, right? Don’t we need to check on the black fungus in the Chestnut Forest? Doesn’t the Milk Vetch need to be picked and sorted every day?”

“Mom, I already feel like we don’t have enough people at home. If you all go pick tea leaves, then I’ll need to learn how to clone myself first.”

With the current concentration of Spiritual Energy, practicing for a few decades, she felt she would certainly be able to do it.

The caveat is not to scare other people.

Wu Lan: …

She was rendered speechless.

Upon thinking about the money earned from selling vegetables this year, it should be enough to cover labor costs!

So she made up her mind:

“Alright, I’ll find a couple of efficient workers in the village—Should we also hire someone to roast the tea? Your dad hasn’t done this work in many years; I hope he doesn’t mess it up.”

Who in the village knew how to roast tea, and who had a tea-roasting machine, Song Tan really couldn’t remember clearly. But such a small task for their family wouldn’t be too costly—

“Okay, Mom, you discuss and arrange with Dad.”

While they were talking, a phone call came in. Song Sancheng answered the phone and chatted with the person for a while:

“Tantan, want to check on the bees? They’re over in Songshu Town.”

…

The beekeeper was in Songshu Town.

Songshu Town is next to Qingxi Town and not too far from their Yunqiao Village; it’s only a twenty-minute drive away.

In this area, with its many mountains, the locals primarily depend on tea-picking for income. Naturally, there are also many flowering trees on the hillsides.

As a result, Songshu Town had a famously proficient beekeeping family.

Song Tan drove with Song Sancheng and Qiaoqiao up the mountain road, and upon seeing a large cardboard sign on the roadside inked with “Local Farm Honey,” he knew they had arrived.

This beekeeping site, located along the mountain road, had a house that wasn’t as neatly constructed as those roadside, with even a simple tin shed built to the side.

In the clearing halfway up the hill in front of the house, square wooden boxes were neatly arranged in rows. Under the sunlight, the bees’ fuzzy bodies vibrated, their buzzing sounds especially distinct.

They swirled low in the air, but with the mountain temperature being slightly cold and only a few fruit tree blossoms open so far, they eventually settled in front of a shallow water dish.

“Old Song, you’re here!”

A man with disheveled hair and wearing a black sweater came out and, seeing the family of three, was extremely welcoming:

“These are your son and daughter, right? They’re growing up so well—come on, you’re here for bees, right? What kind do you want? I’ll show you!”

“But I don’t have Italian bees here; they’re all middle-sized bees, just our local smaller ones. Each box has five combs, with about three thousand bees per comb… it’s not easy raising them in the dead of winter!”

Beekeepers call the place where bees live a comb, with bee’s nests on top and six-sided cells arranged in a grid pattern.

For combs of the same size, the number of bees that move in is typically similar. It’s like this for them: too big a house won’t do, neither will too small.

The beekeeper was honest, starting his introduction before anyone even asked.

Song Tan nodded: “No problem, uncle. I’m just looking for our local bees—about how much honey can one box yield?”

At this question, the middle-aged man’s face lit up with pride and a smile: “Don’t underestimate our small local bees; they’re hardworking, more efficient than Italian bees, and not picky. If there are plenty of flowers, a box can yield up to eighty pounds without issue.”

“If there aren’t enough flowers, it won’t work, they probably won’t even get full.”

At that, the beekeeper also sighed:

“In previous winters, I used to drive south where there are more flowers and it’s warmer. These last two years, with the market being bad, it’s not worth running all over the place. I’ve been worrying all winter long—see, I’m feeding them sugar water, or else they wouldn’t survive.”

“Old Song, we’re from the same hometown, so I won’t hide anything from you. The price of bees is naturally a bit higher in spring. One box of mine goes for six hundred yuan, but if you really want it, 560, I won’t hide the fact that I feed them sugar water—it’s just enough for them to survive, there’s no honey.”

“But once there are flowers, they’ll immediately be able to adjust—buying them is definitely worth it.”

Song Tan had checked the prices online beforehand, and this seemed like a fair deal, so he now looked over at Song Sancheng.

Song Sancheng didn’t understand bees either!

After thinking it over, he was equally straightforward: “Our family has fourteen acres of flower fields, what do you think is the right number to buy? Also, how can you tell the quality of bees?”

The beekeeper pondered: “Normally, one box of bees per three acres, and getting six to seven pounds of honey per acre is no problem. Now that there aren’t many flowers and you guys lack experience, take four boxes, or three will do.”

As for assessing the bees’ quality…

As the family of three looked on, dumbstruck, the beekeeper didn’t even wear gloves as he fearlessly cracked open a bee box with his bare, relentless hands and pulled out a comb:

“Take a look, these worker bees are busy.”

Then, casually, he grabbed a handful from another side—dozens of fuzzy bees crawled around in his palm, flapping their wings to fly low, with one particularly large bee standing out:

“Look, this is the queen bee, isn’t she well-formed?”

Qiaoqiao, coveting the sight, squatted nearby, her hand timidly reaching out:

“Qiaoqiao wants to touch them too…”

The beekeeper’s body twitched, and then he quickly put the bees back:

“You can’t touch them! A bee sting really hurts; you all need to wear bee hoods and gloves normally!”