Ding Rongquan paused for a moment, then saw the small metal ball on the green grass. Not knowing what it was, he instinctively moved closer.
When he got closer, he realized that there were very few bees, almost none. He quickly called to his family, "Come here quickly, all of you, hide next to me."
The others had no choice but to rush over as soon as they heard Ding Rongquan's voice. They only breathed a sigh of relief two minutes later.
"What is this? It can actually repel wild bees?" one of them asked.
Upon hearing this, Bi Qiaoan smiled and explained, "It's an aromatherapy ball. It's filled with mosquito-repellent fragrance. Haven't you used it before?"
The group was shocked upon hearing this, their faces filled with disbelief: "How is that possible? When we used it a few years ago, the mosquito repellent fragrance didn't even repel mosquitoes much, and it wasn't nearly as effective as this."
“Oh, you use mass-produced ones, so the medicinal effects are naturally a little less potent. But mine is homemade, made with only the finest herbs, without any skimping. The effects are, of course, top-notch,” Bi Qiaoan said.
A little girl didn't believe her and pouted, asking, "How did you know how to do that?"
Bi Qiaoan smiled and said, half-jokingly, "Back then, the prescription was circulating online. It didn't contain any particularly expensive herbs, and you could find them if you looked in the mountains. My husband and I picked some to try, and to our surprise, it worked!"
"You're pretty amazing, huh?" the girl said sourly. "I don't know what kind of incredible luck you had."
Bi Qiaoan smiled and shook her head, not intending to argue with the young girl.
Ding Rongquan had heard some rumors and had a guess, but he wasn't very sure.
Hearing Qiao An say that, he knew that she had no intention of revealing her identity. So he slapped his niece on the back of the head and scolded her, "You're a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl, how can you still act like a child? Quickly apologize to your Aunt Qiao An."
Looking at the girl in front of her, who wasn't much younger than herself, Bi Qiaoan felt a deep sense of rejection.
She doesn't want to be treated like an elder; she's still a baby.
"No need, no need, the young lady didn't mean any harm," Bi Qiaoan said magnanimously.
Ding Rongquan insisted, "How can that be? If others find out, won't they say the Ding family is ill-mannered? It's true, Xiao Yezi has been spoiled since she was little; when it comes to manners, she might not even be as polite as your An..."
"Uncle, you're talking bad about me again!" Ding Rongquan was interrupted by Ding Xunye in a fit of anger before he could finish speaking.
"Look at him, look at him, he's throwing a tantrum again," Ding Rongquan said with a mixture of helplessness and indulgence.
"Kids are kids, it's understandable for them to be a little willful," Bi Qiaoan complimented.
Ding Xunye felt a little embarrassed by her magnanimity.
To be honest, she didn't have any deep-seated hatred for Bi Qiaoan. She was just a little jealous because Bi Qiaoan married well and lived a happy life. But if she really had to do something, she honestly didn't dare.
So he said hesitantly, "Yes, I'm sorry, I was rude just now. But I won't call you 'auntie,' we're about the same age, I'll just call you 'sister' at most."
Bi Qiaoan smiled and said, "Sure, let's each talk about our own things."
Ding Xunye was finally satisfied. She stuck out her tongue and stood shyly behind Ding Rongquan. Looking at the man fighting with wild bees in the distance, she felt a pang of emotion.
In the past, people valued late marriage and late childbirth. If a girl was still unmarried in her thirties, no one would say anything. But after the apocalypse, parents are always afraid that one day disaster will strike and they won't be able to protect their younger generation. Young girls are dragged to blind dates as soon as they come of age, for fear that if the older ones are gone, the younger ones will be left without anyone to protect them.
Ding Xunye is now in this awkward situation.
After receiving so much education about late marriage and childbearing for so many years, she suddenly realized that everyone around her was getting married early. She thought it was just an isolated phenomenon, but who knew that as soon as she turned eighteen, her parents were sighing all day long, afraid that she wouldn't be able to get married.
What Ding Xunye didn't know was that her parents were sighing because they wanted to find her a good match, but after asking around, they found that everyone around them was of average means, and the good ones were simply out of reach.
Then let's find someone average, it's not a big deal, we can manage if we work hard. But even those with average means are picky. The Ding family isn't exactly top-tier, they're just relatively intact compared to those broken families. But they're not very competitive.
Ding Xunye was someone who didn't want to settle, so she always avoided the topic. This caused the couple to be depressed every day.
If Ding Rongquan hadn't dragged them out to search for supplies, Ding Xunye's parents would probably have asked her three to five times a day, "Daughter, have you found someone yet?"
Ding Xunye stared blankly at the man in the distance, thinking that if she could find a handsome, capable man who also knew how to cherish his wife, she wouldn't mind getting married early.
No one around her noticed her little scheme, because everyone was focused on Shen Yanming's actions.
After smoking out most of the wild bees, he reached his gloved hand into the tree hole and broke off a piece of the honeycomb.
Black wild bees crawled around on top, and golden honey could be seen through the hexagonal honeycomb, making it extremely tempting.
He fanned the hive with his hand and then used incense to fumigate it, finally spurring the wild bees away reluctantly. However, the hive was a bit soft, and with a little force, he squeezed the honey out. It dripped down his gloves onto the ground, much to everyone's dismay.
Shen Yanming estimated the amount and put the honeycomb into the storage box. Then, he reached into the tree hole and broke off another large piece of honeycomb.
He even tiptoed to peek inside and discovered that the inside of the dead tree was swarming with wild bees. They were making a lot of noise, which was creepy, but none of them attacked him.
Shen Yanming turned his head to the side, not looking. He took out the beehive by feel and put it back into the storage box.
This was repeated several times, and a total of seven or eight pieces of honeycomb were taken out, taking up half the space of the storage box.
He sensed there was more in the cave, so he mustered his courage and took another look. It turned out there was indeed more, but his arms weren't long enough; if he wanted to get it, he'd have to cut down the tree.
Shen Yanming thought for a moment and decided it wasn't best not to go too far; he should leave some food for the wild bees. So he gestured to Ding Rongquan to come and take the storage box away.
It's not that I can't carry it myself, but my gloves are covered in honey, and if I touch the box, it will become sticky.
Ding Rongquan immediately understood, trotted forward, closed the lid of the storage box, picked it up, and ran away.
Shen Yanming followed behind, and because the incense on his body had not yet gone out, no bees dared to come and provoke him.
Seeing this, the group followed the two men and moved away from the area. They didn't stop to rest by a stream until half an hour later.
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