Her Cultivation Diary

Chapter 40: 40. Installing Beehive_1

Back home, Song Sancheng began another round of hustle and bustle.

His memory was no longer as good as when he was younger, so to ensure nothing could go wrong, he had to listen over and over to the beekeeper’s instructions on his mobile phone before he started preparing.

Song Youde, hearing that his granddaughter was going to keep bees, hurried over after lunch to take a look. Seeing Song Sancheng still cutting asbestos tiles, he couldn’t help but show his disdain:

“Look at you, why are you dilly-dallying so? Shouldn’t you set up the beehive first?”

Upon hearing this, Song Tan knew that her grandfather was just giving ignorant orders.

Sure enough, as Song Sancheng huffed and puffed with his work, he said, “Dad, don’t make things more difficult. The beekeeper said that a rain shield needs to be placed on top of the beehive, I’m cutting this whole asbestos tile to cover it precisely.”

Song Youde felt embarrassed by his incorrect directions:

“So you know how to keep bees? I’ve also kept them before. You have to elevate the base of the hive, at least twenty centimeters high!”

This time he wasn’t mistaken—indeed, the base of the beehive needed to be elevated for insect and moisture protection and for ventilation.

Song Tan also smiled, “Grandpa, you really do have a lot of experience!”

“They have also treated the hive to prevent ants, and we plan to place the beehive on the outside of the courtyard, next to the hill at the back.”

“But I heard that the beehives need to be arranged in a stepped fashion, moreover sheltered from the sun—why don’t you help take a look to see which spot is more suitable?”

Chinese bees are like that, with relatively poorer nest recognition abilities.

Thus, not only have to the beehives be arranged in a stepped formation from top to bottom, but there also has to be about a five-meter space between each one. The entrances of the hives should face south, yet each hive should be oriented slightly differently…

Song Tan use to watch others keep bees, their hives arranged in neat rows, and thought it was done haphazardly.

Now it seemed that indeed there was a trick to everything.

Song Youde, assigned a task, felt that his personal worth had been further validated. Smoking his pipe, he went off to wander around the side of the courtyard.

Song Sancheng glanced at his daughter, thinking that this girl’s mouth was indeed much like her mother’s.

Meanwhile, her mother, Wu Lan, found several shallow dishes and poured some sugar water into them to serve:

“Let them eat for a couple of days first; I see some milk vetch in the field starting to bud, and it’s going to bloom in a few days, then they can collect nectar.”

But while she said this, she didn’t move.

After all, the buzzing of several clusters of bees lingering around was still somewhat daunting.

Song Tan didn’t mind; she simply took the dishes and filled them, with threads of Spiritual Energy seeping in.

No sooner had she placed them down than the bees swarmed eagerly, such that Song Sancheng murmured to himself,

“How can they be so famished?”

Song Tan’s mind raced—with the attraction of Spiritual Energy being so strong, she’d have to start practicing pest repellent spells first. Otherwise, should some hornets come by, her investment would be wasted.

Well, these were just simple spells; with enough Spiritual Energy, she’d start tonight!

And Qiaoqiao, who was holding a small case quietly, watched Song Sancheng work.

Only after the asbestos tiles had all been cut, did he look up and ask, “Baba, what about mine? Where’s my little bear?”

“Your little bear?”

Song Sancheng was taken aback, then realized—how much time had passed that the bear bees already had names!

“You mean, the rain shield for your pet bear bees?”

Qiaoqiao nodded, with his gaze scanning the ground back and forth, apparently choosing the most appropriate spot.

Song Sancheng smiled and pointed at the junk shed in the courtyard:

“Whether your bear bees can be kept together with our honeybees is another matter. Since it’s just for fun, why not simply put it in the corner of the shed.”

“It will be sheltered from the wind and rain there, with fewer insects, and safer too.”

Raising them in the yard means they’ll be closer to me!

Qiaoqiao hurried over with the box, and in no time, had already picked out a spot.

Only then did he turn back with a pitiful look, “Sister, I want to open the box, just to take a peek.”

Song Tan thought for a moment, prepared some sugar water, infused it with Spiritual Energy, and then opened the box.

The queen bee, plump and fluffy, took off uncontrollably and dived straight into the dish, eagerly starting to suckle!

Poor thing, she must have been terribly hungry, and waiting to store energy to lay eggs!

Her round, plump butt was sticking high in the air, with black and yellow furry stripes clear and bright. The butt was big and round, furry, and trembling, it looked so touchable that one couldn’t help but want to stroke it.

Qiaoqiao, again eager to touch, reached out his finger, only to be caught by a glance from Song Tan:

“Doesn’t your hand hurt?”

He immediately withdrew his hand with an aggrieved look.

Song Tan looked around and ultimately placed the box in a higher spot:

“Don’t mess with it.”

Carpenter bees can drill holes, and once the worker bees hatch and the colony grows, she’d see how to make arrangements.

Anyway, she wasn’t expecting them to make money, just as a hobby for Qiaoqiao.

Well…

She recalled the feeling of the fuzzy, plump touch, and took the chance to quickly open the box and gave a firm stroke while Qiaoqiao’s back was turned!@@novelbin@@

In the dish, the carpenter bee almost got thrust straight into the sugar water by the stroke, and now, bewildered, its stinger extended and then retracted without having touched anything, and finally, with a shift of its butt, it buried its head back in for a vigorous suckle.

…

Meanwhile, in Ning Province, Dr. Zhang Yuan’s fame in the hospital had surged once again!

Not to mention the hospital leadership, even the patients were inquiring:

“Dr. Zhang, that green vegetable porridge you ate at noon, everyone says you bought the vegetables yourself—what kind of vegetables are those? Where did you buy them? How much are they per pound? Can we patients eat them?”

Dr. Xiaozhang was on the verge of shedding tears of grievance, excitement, and disbelief—

Here’s the thing.

Those vegetables, two hundred bucks for about ten pounds, not even including the shipping costs!

And after they arrived, he had barely opened the box when the canteen’s chef strolled over:

“Dr. Zhang, have the patients sent you vegetables again?”

Zhang Yuan waved his hands hurriedly: “No, no, I bought these myself, twenty yuan per pound.”

Having learned his lesson from the last stern reprimand by the head nurse, he decided to wise up and offer these vegetables to his esteemed leaders!

But hesitating for a moment on how to broach the subject, he saw the chef already sniffing and examining the vegetables:

“Dr. Zhang, I heard you’re still single, right? Living in the dorm? Ah, single guys just don’t have it together, look at how you buy vegetables, there’s no plan to it. Buying so much at once? It’ll be a waste if you can’t finish them!”

Dr. Xiaozhang’s face turned red with embarrassment; he couldn’t very well say that he was planning to divide them among the leaders, could he?

Without speaking, the chef had already made plans:

“I hear there’s going to be a provincial committee visit today, your shepherd’s purse looks nice, how about I make some dumplings with it?”

“This water spinach is good, too, perfect for a soup.”

“Oh, this wild onion is great! So fragrant, I’m going to stir-fry some beef with it!”

“This bit of malan head… too little to make a dish, kind of awkward, why don’t I make you a pot of green vegetable porridge for lunch instead?”