Chapter 170 Fleeing People, Orchards and Bees, Strangers...
Generally, people who already own property such as houses are not easily willing to give up everything they have and leave. Not everyone has the courage to leave their hometown and start over in a new place, unless the situation has truly become uncontrollable.
Two families who fled to Rosen stayed at the town's church for three days. After the mayor inquired about their personal wishes, they were moved to a village that was willing to accept them.
Soon after arriving in the village, the two families immediately bought supplies and began clearing and planting land. They arrived early, in the spring, so planting grains and vegetables would at least ensure they wouldn't starve.
According to them, nothing can grow where they used to live anymore. Their two families were poor and had nothing to lose about their two mud houses, so they were the first to leave. But many other villagers still stayed in their homes, relying on carrying water from more than ten miles away every day to make a living.
While everyone was lamenting how severe the situation had become, they were also relieved that Rosen had never experienced such a severe drought before.
It's alright now that there are only a few people fleeing the famine, but what if a large number of refugees come to escape the famine? After a year of famine, plagues often break out, and no one can escape unscathed. I just hope that such a thing will never happen.
The elderly in the village have experienced a lot and have many thoughts. In addition, the surrounding villages had just experienced drought last year, so such remarks caused a great deal of panic.
Fortunately, everything returned to normal after the two families were settled. No large group of refugees followed them, and the residents of Rosen Town breathed a sigh of relief. This meant that the situation was not serious enough to affect their daily lives, and everyone returned to their previous routines.
After more than a month, Lai finally finished planting all the vegetables in the garden.
It took a lot of effort to clear the land on the hillside, but we finally managed to plant corn. The cleared land is several tens of meters away from the orchard, mainly because we were worried that if pests broke out, the cornfield and the orchard would overlap and affect each other, so we planted them a bit further away.
Normally, a well should be dug near the orchard, but the low hill is too far away and no one is willing to come. You have to pay half the price to get someone to take the job.
Even though Ray had money, he wasn't willing to be ripped off and had been looking for a well-digger with a reasonable price, so he hadn't taken any action yet. He usually fetched water from the river himself and stored it in two large water tanks, which was quite inconvenient.
The cellar that Yiru dug came in handy. After harvesting the land last year, Lai stored potatoes in the cellar for seed production and added lime to absorb moisture and prevent it from becoming too damp. This year, after taking the potatoes out and preparing them, they could be planted directly, saving them the trouble of coming all the way from the small mountain village.
Speaking of Iru, his vegetable garden was also finished early, thanks to Kai's help.
With the arrival of spring and the warmer weather, Kai should have set off immediately, but fearing that Iru and Nana would be too tired, he took the initiative to help with planting vegetables in the family's garden before packing his bags.
Yiru's second child also set off together. The two brothers are only one year apart, so they can travel together, take care of each other, and save their families from worrying.
Iru prepared an axe and a sharp knife for them, some food, a small pot, and a small jar full of salt. Most importantly, they had money; the two brothers each carried five silver coins, which they kept close to their bodies, just in case.
These silver coins were saved up little by little by Yilu over a long period of time, and they were the last thing he could give to his two brothers. He still had three children to raise, so these were all he could offer.
Kay chose a sunny day to set off, and Iru took them to the foot of the mountains near Eton Forest. They would travel along Eton Forest, bypassing the crowds, until they found their partners and decided where to settle down.
Children always grow up, and there will inevitably come a day when they must part ways. No one shed a tear on the day of parting; every goblin will face such a day, embarking on a journey as a new beginning.
What was once a lively and joyful family gathering inevitably felt empty when two members were suddenly absent. After comforting his heartbroken wife, Yiru rallied and continued working on preparing food for the family for the winter.
Lai knew a little about the Iru family's affairs, but he didn't interfere too much. Humans have their laws, and goblins have their traditions. Right now, his biggest concern was the pollination of the apple trees.
There are many wildflowers and wild beehives near the low hill, but they are too far away to be enough.
He had heard before that fruit farmers kept bees while tending their fruit trees. Artificial beekeeping could improve pollination of their fruit trees and also yield honey—a win-win situation. He also wanted to try beekeeping, not necessarily for a large quantity of honey, but simply to improve apple tree pollination. Perhaps he could ask Guge about this.
Sure enough, Guge also knew about beekeeping. He said that the elves kept a kind of long-beaked bird that was only the size of a thumb. They fed on nectar, and the pollen they picked up on their feathers while searching for food could be easily transferred to another flower, thus producing more fruit.
According to Guge's description, the long-billed bird looked very much like the hummingbird that Leigh had only seen in documentaries.
As for bees, Guge said he had tried raising them when he was young, but he mostly planted grapes and fewer fruit trees, so the bees often didn't have enough to eat and flew away after a short time. Although it was a failed experience, Guge still provided as much help as he could to Lai.
There are no beekeepers around Rosen Town. If you want to raise bees, you can only do so by building beehives around the orchards to attract wild female bees to stay and develop your own bee colony.
This method has a gambling element to it; whether or not it can attract bees depends entirely on luck. But it's the only option available, and not a viable solution.
Beehives are relatively easy to make; they just need an entrance and exit for the bees and a wooden door that can be opened for honey collection. However, the most crucial step is choosing the right location for the beehives. They shouldn't be too far from the orchard, which would affect pollination, nor too close, as human activity could disturb their lives.
Guge imparted all that he knew to him.
Lai found some hardware and wood, and together they hauled them to the hill. It took them two days to nail together eight beehives and several wooden frames, which they placed around the orchard. They also built rain shelters on the beehives. Whether they could attract bees or not, they could only wait and see.
Some villagers gossiped behind his back, saying he was always busy and never around, just wasting his time. But Lai ignored them all and focused on tending his vegetable garden and orchard on the hillside.
March to May is the apple blossom season, and as far as the eye can see, there are white and pink apple blossoms, creating a unique landscape on the low hills. Lamb always marvels at the beauty of this place whenever he visits.
Throughout the spring, the most frequent visitors here, besides Ray, are Lamb, and Neil also enjoys staying here to play and fish.
The cabin is spacious, with a small kitchen and shower area. For convenience in tending the orchard and vegetable garden, Lai left her bedding and personal belongings there, making overnight stays easy. Surrounded only by orchards, vegetable gardens, and woods, it's a secluded spot, and waking up to various birdsong in the morning offers a unique charm.
When no one is around, the door is locked. There are high walls, animal traps, and small mechanisms given to us by Temuqi as barriers, so safety is guaranteed.
Rhys would occasionally stay overnight when he came here to hunt, and in his spare time he would help tend the vegetable garden. Because the cabin served as a transit point, Rhys and his companions had much less trouble hunting, and they would share some of their catch with him, which saved Ray from having to hunt specifically for Tata.
Sometimes, hunting parties from the village would ask for lodging, and out of respect for the village elders, Lai didn't refuse. Business was conducted strictly by the rules; Lai was paid for the lodging and meals, and it was agreed that he would only rent them the warehouse and small kitchen, not the bedrooms.
When the group leaves, they will help Rae fill up the two tanks with water. After a few times, everyone has developed a tacit understanding. They know that Rae likes cleanliness and will carefully clean up before leaving, which reduces a lot of trouble.
If the hunting team hadn't been so disciplined and if Ray hadn't been so unafraid of offending people, he would have already made an excuse to refuse to the elders.
Summer is here in the blink of an eye. This year's rainfall has been good, with rain after rain, as if the sky were leaking. This time, people don't have to worry about drought, but they're starting to worry about whether the fields will be waterlogged.
Nourished by the rain, another natural delicacy quietly emerged. Mushroom-picking teams set off from various villages, and the market was soon filled with all kinds of fresh mushrooms.
The small mountain village is now lush and green; the forest that was burned down has sprouted new buds. The fast-growing saplings are already taller than a person, and the ground is covered with colorful wildflowers. The villagers love to graze their cattle and sheep there.
The apple blossoms in the orchard had already faded before early summer, and now all that's left are lush green leaves.
Lai was lucky; five hives were favored by the bees in the early stages. Unfortunately, two female bees failed to develop their own colonies and abandoned the hives early on. In addition, due to some unforeseen circumstances, only two bee colonies were successfully bred from the eight hives in the end, but they still provided a lot of help to the orchard.
Lai didn't rush to collect the two beehives, but let them develop freely. He would occasionally help clean up the garbage and abandoned honeycomb inside, allowing the bee colonies to survive healthily. Ideally, the female bees raised by these two colonies could come here to build nests next year.
The sweltering heat arrived as scheduled with summer, and the bok choy in the garden was ready to be harvested. Lai Yi once again began her early morning routine of going to the morning market.
At this stage, bok choy and spinach are at their freshest and most tender, but they are relatively inexpensive. Early green beans and tomatoes, on the other hand, can be sold for a higher price.
Glass lamps were now a common sight in town, and Ray could finally stop hiding them. On the way to Rosen, the mule carts openly displayed glass lamps, making the road much safer than before.
But not everyone could bring themselves to buy it. Only a few shops in the market outside the city had hung up glass lamps. Lai didn't mind if people came to use the light; after all, they were neighbors, and harmony was the key to making money.
It was another morning returning from the market. The vegetables Lai had brought had sold quickly, and it was just getting light when he headed home. "Getting home early means I can take a nap," Lai thought to himself as he urged the mule cart to speed up. In less than half an hour, they were back in the small mountain village.
It was already broad daylight, but it was still early, and no one in the village had started cooking yet.
When Lai got home, he unloaded the cart, led the mule back to the shed and added fresh hay. As he turned to close the gate, he glanced up and noticed that there seemed to be a person lying on the grass directly opposite his house.
Summer isn't as cold as winter, but sleeping outside overnight can still easily lead to fever and a cold. Lai suspected one of the villagers had drunk too much and slept outside, so he quickly went to check on them.
He was somewhat annoyed that he hadn't noticed when he went out in the early morning, and he didn't know how long the person had been outside.
As Lei approached, he could smell a foul odor even before he got very close.
The man lay prone on the ground, his body tattered and torn, with bite marks, congealed bloodstains on his clothes, and his hair tangled in knots.
This person is definitely not from the village.
Lai frowned and carefully turned the person over. Sure enough, it was an unfamiliar face.
His face was dirty, a delicate face, and he looked young. He was already unconscious. Ray tried to wake him, but he didn't respond at all. If it weren't for his chest still rising and falling, one would have thought he was dead.
A flash of green light appeared, and Lei used a healing spell to try to save her, but there was still no response.
Faced with the choice between going to the clan elders' home to fetch someone and bringing them home, Lai hesitated for a moment before resolutely deciding to go to the village to fetch someone.
His family had too many secrets they couldn't let others discover; the mere fact that Tata could talk was enough to drive anyone mad. He couldn't take that risk for a stranger.
Ray got up to call for help, but before he could take a step, he was pulled back and stumbled. A dirty hand was tugging at his trouser leg; the man had woken up. He was staring at Ray with a wary and fierce look.
"Who are you?"
His voice was hoarse and weak. He swallowed hard, his lips were chapped, as if he hadn't drunk water in a long time.
“I am Ray.”
Ray answered him in a calm tone, trying to express his goodwill and soothe his emotions, as if this man harbored a weapon in his heart.
Where am I?
"A small mountain village."
The man's eyes lit up; he looked somewhat excited.
"I know Guge, please help me..."
Before he could finish speaking, the man suddenly bent over.
He was seriously injured. The healing spell briefly brought him back to consciousness, but his overwhelming emotions caused him to fall into a coma again.
Ray carefully crouched down and patted his cheek, and sure enough, he found a dagger with a blunt blade in his clothes.
"They're quite vigilant."
Since this person knows Guge and has asked me for help, I can't just sit idly by.
Gug was too old to trouble him to take care of the patient, so Lai carried the person back to his own home. Once everything was settled, he would ask Gug or the person what had happened.
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