Chapter 26 Chapter 26 I know my brother loves me
It was raining that day, and Kang He stayed in the wooden house and did not go out.
He found some wood, made finger-wide boards, and bound four boxes together.
The tools were incomplete, the box was made a bit roughly, and the shape looked uneven.
However, he squeezed and pulled hard, and the box remained stable and did not deform. Only then was he able to place four honeycomb frames in each box.
To facilitate the entry and exit of bees, a row of holes of appropriate size must be drilled at the front of the beehive to make a beehive door.
It is actually easy to make a beehive. The key is how to lure the bees into it to build nests.
Kang He wrapped the collected old honeycomb skins with cloth and boiled them. When the water boiled, bubbles appeared. He took out the bubbles and let them stand for an hour or so. After cooling, he could get beeswax that was like ointment, golden and looked like honey.
Applying beeswax to the beehive is the best way to attract bees.
He had previously picked out several places in the woods to place his beehives. One of them was on the edge of a cliff. Fan Jing said that the area was sloping, the trees were not dense, the sun was bright, and there were flowers blooming all year round.
Then there was the edge of the valley, where there were several thick and sturdy wild fruit trees. Fan Jingtong told him that although the fruits were sour and not tasty, the flowers bloomed beautifully in spring, and you could hear the buzzing of bees when you passed by below.
Kang He chose these two places and placed two under the large stone cavity on the edge of the cliff. They were relatively hidden and could shelter from the rain.
He placed one on a tree branch in the fruit forest and also built a platform on the ground to place it.
Since it is empty like this, we need to build a simple rain shelter to prevent the wooden box from getting wet.
The mountains are already damp, and if they are not protected from rain, the boxes will rot.
Fan Jing followed Kang He and went out with him in the rain to place the beehives.
He looked up at the box, wondering if he could attract bees to build a nest and produce honey.
Originally, he didn't understand why the hunters in the mountains didn't like others to wander into the mountains where they hunted.
These deep mountains and wild forests did not originally belong to the hunters, but they paid a not-so-high tax to the imperial court every year.
Now that Kang He has produced so many things, he is not very happy about people coming.
It's okay to get other people's mountain products, but he doesn't like those who are rude and steal things that others have worked hard to get.
The next day, Kang He went there as agreed with Zhang Shili.
Zhang Shili told him that Ge Youquan had agreed, and told him to go directly to find him and would give him directions when the time came.
Kang He was so happy that the next day, he brought over more than ten kilograms of winter bamboo shoots. Thinking that Kang He was married and had a wife and children, he also took a small jar of honey that was one finger high and four fingers wide.
"Brother Shili has already made an agreement with me. You can come if you want. Why are you bringing anything? Why are you being so formal?"
Ge You is thin all over, but has a round face. He looks pleasant and easy to talk to.
He is younger than Zhang Shili and is the same age as Fan Jing.
Kang He didn't ask Fan Jing to send him off today. The last time he went to Zhang Shili's place, he almost made people suspicious. If the couple were to go to someone else's land together again, he was afraid that he would not be as straightforward as Zhang Shili and would not say it directly. It would be bad if he kept it in his heart.
Besides, he has become more familiar with the people in the mountains and is no longer as reckless as when he first arrived.
"I don't have anything to show off, so just consider it a visit from my younger brother. I hope you don't mind it, Brother Quan."
"How could I complain? Honey this good is hard to come by easily."
Ge Youquan took his things and brought some water to Kang He.
Kang He saw that the yard outside his wooden house was very clean, with washed clothes hanging on bamboo poles. When he got closer, he could smell the scent of soapberries.
At first glance, it was obvious that the house belonged to a married man, because both the house and the man were kept tidy by his family.
Kang He was polite and didn't walk too far into the house or look around.
It's not as comfortable as being with that bachelor Zhang Shili.
Fortunately, after a while, Ge Youquan called him to go out together, led Kang He to a place with ferns, and then went to hunt in the mountains.
Kang He started to work hard. He had to go back after working for a few hours.
Ge Youquan's place is even farther away than Zhang Shili's territory. It takes more than an hour to walk here. The days are short in winter, and if you don't work hard, you really can't get anything done.
After a few days, Kang He's temper became normal.
He also sent some food to people every day, such as pancakes stuffed with wild onions and pork, and homemade steamed rice cakes... Ge Youquan gradually became familiar with him.
That afternoon, Kang He calculated the time to go back. When he passed by Ge Youquan's wooden house, he saw an unfamiliar woman outside his house.
Kang He guessed that it was Ge Youquan's wife. He didn't know that Ge Youquan's family was not home, so he didn't get too close. He just stood at a distance and greeted the person: "I wonder if it is Ge's sister-in-law."
"Which one are you?"
The young lady held the wooden basin in her hands and looked at Kang He. She had never seen this young man before.
The man only had a short-handled knife on his waist and no bow, so he didn't look like a hunter.
He had a hoe on his shoulder and a backpack at the back that was mostly filled with muddy roots.
Before Kang He could answer, Ge Youquan came out holding a two or three-year-old child in his arms: "You are Kang Sanlang from the Fan Jing family. You came to our place to buy some mountain products."
"Brother Kang, this is my wife, Cui Cuilan."
Kang He politely called her sister-in-law again.
Cui Cuilan heard this and said in surprise: "I heard that the Fan family in Hepingzi got a live-in son-in-law, and it must be the Kang brothers."
"It just happened to be me."
When Cui Cuilan heard people talk about it, she thought he looked very strange, but now that she saw him in person, she was surprised to find that he was very handsome.
It's not like what those people in the village said, that if someone was so ugly that she went to the Fan family and followed Brother Fan into the mountains and never came down. This person is obviously handsome, but Brother Fan hid her.
After a few brief words, Kang He didn't dare to delay any longer because it was getting dark, so he said goodbye and left.
As soon as the man left, Cui Cuilan, who had been so easygoing just now, immediately became suspicious: "How could he be so ignorant of the rules? He came to our mountain to buy mountain products, and you didn't say anything to control him?"
"I haven't seen Gou'er for a while. I just noticed he's gotten a lot stronger. I was so busy teasing him that I didn't even have time to tell you that I promised him to come."
Ge Youquan held the baby in his arms, loving him tightly.
"Why did you allow him to come? We have no dealings with Fan Jing from his family, so how could he have the nerve to ask to come?"
Cui Cuihua felt that it was okay for people from her own village. In the same village, they met each other every day. If someone came to do something, it would be no big deal to do him a favor.
But the Fan family in Hepingzi, firstly, had no previous social interactions with them, and secondly, they were not important figures, so why should they do favors with them?
"Brother Shili led him here. He only wanted to get some grass roots, and he wasn't going to hunt our animals, so I agreed."
Ge Youquan said, "I've been spying on him these days. He's a very honest man. He's never touched any of our animals. He won't even step over to look at the place where I set my traps."
As he said this, he pointed to the things Kang He brought over to his wife and said, "You are so welcome. I have given them to you several times."
Cui Cuilan looked at the basket of bamboo shoots without paying much attention to them. Who among those who make a living in the mountains would care about a few bamboo shoots?
A jar of honey was indeed good. She used a spoon to scoop out as much as her fingernail and fed it to the child. The little kid enjoyed the sweetness and hugged Cui Cuilan's arm, asking for more.
Seeing that the child liked it, Ge Youquan was also happy and coaxed him to find honey for him.
"Look how thoughtful they are! They knew I had children at home, yet they sent these things. They also brought me some bread and other snacks on weekdays. How thoughtful."
Cui Cuilan said, "You're so grateful when people send you bread and food twice. I serve your parents and look after the dog at home every day, and I wash clothes and cook for you when I come up the mountain. How come you never say hello?"
"Look at what you said. How could I not appreciate your kindness? I go out before daybreak, hoping to hunt more game so that you and your dog can live a good life."
"I won't be fooled by you. I listened to your empty talk at the beginning, saying that I would marry you and build a big house. Now my child is almost three years old, and I'm still guarding those three tiled houses."
Cui Cuilan said this, but her expression looked much better. Seeing this, Ge Youquan changed the subject and talked about other things. Cui Cuilan didn't mention Kang He anymore.
Things were peaceful for two days. Cui Cuilan lived in the mountains with her children during these days, and she could see Kang Helai every day.
She took her child with her to see Kang He, who was selling things like radish, kudzu root and fern root.
She couldn't help but wonder how much money the roots dug out by the coolie could be sold for. It was a thankless job, but a strong man was doing this kind of work. Wasn't he afraid of being laughed at?
"Brother Kang, can you make money by working hard on these mountain products? I heard that a pound of kudzu root only sells for a few copper coins."
Kang He told her honestly, "It's cheap right out of the box, but if you take the trouble and put in a little more effort to make it into powder, you can sell it for a higher price. But you'll only earn a little money for hard work, not as much as Brother Youquan who earns money through his own skills."
Cui Cuilan thought he was digging out the roots, making dried powder and selling it. She said politely, "That's just a tough job."
That day, Cui Cuilan and her husband went down the mountain to sell mountain products. She was curious and went to the shop to inquire about the prices. When she learned the prices of kudzu powder and fern powder, she was shocked.
The Ge family was not wealthy, and she was in charge of the money and dared not spend a penny more. She had never bought kudzu powder or fern powder, which were foods that farmers rarely put on the table, and she had never paid attention to the price.
Now that I know this, I feel a little uncomfortable.
Cui Cuilan muttered to her husband, "I didn't know before that a bag of kudzu powder could sell for over twenty coins, and fern powder is even more expensive. Just a bag of powder weighs five taels, and it's not enough to fill a person. How can some people have so much money to spend?"
Ge Youquan said, "Everyone lives according to their circumstances. Without these valuable things, how would wealthy families spend their money?"
Cui Cuilan nudged her husband and said, "This powder makes a lot of money. Why don't we take some and make it into powder to sell? It's not enough for the family to rely solely on you hunting. It's always better to have another source of income."
Hearing this, Ge Youquan hesitated and said, "The three Renkang brothers are digging it out, and if we do it now, it won't be a good idea. If they do it again, we'll have to do it too. How much can we have left?"
"Speaking of which, Zhang Shili is really something. I didn't say much since he came to our mountain to get mountain products, but he even called someone over. He really thinks he's some big shot."
Cui Cuilan didn't like her husband's dealings with Zhang Shili. He was a man who had been in prison, and everyone in the village would stay away from him, but it was her own husband who was so disrespectful.
Now he felt that he was taking away his family's wealth, which made him even more unhappy.
"Brother Shi Li is also very happy with the Kang brothers. Besides, I borrowed two strings of cash from him before, and it's been three or four years and I still haven't paid it back, and he hasn't asked me to pay it back. The situation has been tough these past few years, and if it were another family, who would be willing to do this?"
Ge Youquan was thinking of Zhang Shili's kindness after all: "It's only right to do him a favor."
"He's a single man, and he feeds the whole family. How could he possibly owe you two strings of silver? My father-in-law and my son-in-law are either in pain today or sick tomorrow, and my dog is at a growing age. It's almost the end of the year, but I can't spare the money to pay the debt."
Cui Cuilan's eyes turned and she said, "Even if we can get some mountain products, we can have an additional source of income and repay Zhang Shili sooner rather than later. We won't earn much if Kang Sanlang keeps trying to get a foothold in our mountains, so we'll tell him not to come."
"How can I ask for that? They treat us well. Didn't they bring a bag of sweet cakes with the dog the other day?"
Cui Cuilan said, "He's not bad, but everyone has their own difficulties. Why would you suffer so much just to help others? We've already helped him get some mountain products for quite a while now, so we're being very considerate."
"If you can't bring yourself to talk to him, I'll do it."
Seeing that her husband was slow to respond, Cui Cuilan made up her mind.
So that day, Kang He came to dig kudzu roots as usual. Cui Cuilan walked up to him with the child in her arms and chatted:
"It's really hard to make a living in winter. My wife said that the rabbits and pheasants in the woods have become smarter these days. They disappear as soon as they hear any noise."
"The three Kang brothers are young and strong. The sound of them digging for roots is very loud."
Kang He felt a little strange when he heard this.
He wasn't sure what Cui Cuilan meant, so he said, "Really? I don't know the ins and outs of hunting, but I guess all these jobs are difficult."
"That's right. I've always wanted to share the burden of making money with him, but I'm not as capable as your brother Fan to make money like a man."
"Sister-in-law, you've taken good care of the family. Brother Youquan always tells me how virtuous and capable you are."
Cui Cuilan smiled but didn't respond.
When Kang He returned, he wondered what Cui Cuilan meant. When he left, he said hello to Ge Youquan and he was still the same person, and there was no sign of anything wrong.
He thought he was just overthinking it.
Unexpectedly, the next day, Cui Cuilan rushed to the place where he was digging roots. He thought something had happened at home and became anxious.
Cui Cuilan opened her mouth and asked, "Brother Kang, have you seen the sheep in my trap?"
Kang He was a little confused: "What sheep?"
"There's blood in the Dali trap, and there are tufts of black goat hair. The sharp branches in the trap are covered in blood, so it's impossible for him to escape. There are no footprints around. What do you think happened?"
Cui Cuilan said, "No one comes to our mountain, and a sheep is worth a lot of money."
Even if Kang He was stupid, he understood what Cui Cuilan meant. He put down the hoe in his hand and said, "Sister-in-law, how about I look for it with you? Let's look carefully here and see if we can find it."
"If you're willing to help me look for it, that would be great. I'm afraid it'll delay your chances of getting the mountain goods. If a good thing is lost, you won't be able to find it no matter how hard you look."
"That's really unfortunate. If you lose something, you're not afraid of looking for it. What you're afraid of is that if you don't lose it, the thief will cry out for help."
Kang He sneered, packed up his backpack, and went back to the wooden house to see Ge Youquan. He asked him directly if he could find the goat.
Ge Youquan remained silent. He stammered and tried to speak to Kang He, but Cui Cuilan gave him a glare, and the words on his lips became: "I didn't find it. Did Brother Kang see it?"
"You two know the answer whether I saw you or not. Thank you for bothering me these days. I won't bother you again in the future."
Kang He initially wondered if it was Cui Cuilan's idea alone. He had been getting along well with Ge Youquan some time ago, so he came to get an answer.
The only people I see here are a couple who are talking through the same nose. There's nothing much to say.
After saying this, he left.
Ge Youquan looked at Kang He who was striding away, feeling somewhat unhappy: "Are we going too far?"
"He wanted to leave on his own initiative. We didn't say anything."
Cui Cuilan said: "If you can't bear to leave, just go and call him back. Look at your useless appearance."
Ge Youquan pursed his lips, not knowing what to say.
It was impossible for Kang He not to be angry when he returned. He thought he had treated the Ge couple well, but in the end they accused him of stealing their sheep. It was really funny.
Yesterday, she hinted that the noise he made while digging out kudzu roots was too loud and disturbed their hunting, and today she just threw things at him. What a coincidence.
If you want him to leave, you can just tell him the truth. Why say these mean words to insult him?
Whenever they asked, he would not blame them, but would give them gifts to thank them for allowing him to come over these days and why they had to make things so awkward.
Although he was angry, he composed himself on the way. When he returned, he did not tell Fan Jingge's family about what he had done. He just said that the root of the problem had been almost solved and he would not go there again.
Fan Jing was not stupid. He had only been at Ge Youquan's place for four or five days, and his stay was not long. How could he have finished buying all the mountain products so quickly? On the first day of his visit, he had clearly told him happily that there were a lot of kudzu and ferns on the mountain over there.
"They won't let you go?"
"Nothing."
Kang He saw that he could not hide this from Fan Jing, but he was also afraid that Fan Jing would be angry if he knew what the Ge couple had done. If he went to clear his name and caused a commotion, not only would it be embarrassing for both families, but it would also be difficult for Zhang Shili to be caught in the middle.
He said, "It's really too far. It takes me two hours to go back and forth every day. It's really tiring. I can't do two things at home. I just fall asleep and don't have time to cook two good meals for you."
"You seem to have lost weight."
Fan Jing heard this and said, "If you don't want to go because you feel tired, then forget it. I've hunted a lot recently and sold them for almost three strings of cash. I also have some savings on hand, so you don't need to be so tired.
Don't worry about not being able to feed me, I'm not thin."
After hearing this, Kang He felt indescribably moved.
He moved from his own stool to Fan Jing's stool, squeezing in between people.
He put his arm around Fan Jing's waist and leaned his head against Fan Jing's shoulder, "I knew that my brother loved me. Who in this world could treat me better than my brother?"
Fan Jing's neck was a little itchy from Jiao Kanghe's furry head, and he couldn't resist Jiao Kanghe's coaxing mouth, so he gently pushed him and said, "You came home early today, go wash the clothes you took off yesterday."
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