"So stingy, sis. Look at Dad," Mingyue said, pursing her lips.
"Alright, let's eat."
Mingjing couldn't understand what sweet seafood tasted like, and felt goosebumps all over her body.
"Sister, I just caught a few sea cucumbers and conch shells." Mingyue took out the sea cucumbers and put them directly on the hot stone to roast.
"The shrimp here are really big, they're great," Mingliang said, gesturing with a shrimp that was bigger than his palm.
Ming Dahai sat on the side, looking in the direction of the big tree.
"Dad, have a conch, it's delicious."
Mingjing thinks it would taste better with chili vinegar, but it's fine as it is now.
"Yes, that tree is a good place for honey to grow. We should be able to harvest it again when we come back next time."
Honey generally takes a long time to accumulate, about a year is just right.
The island didn't have many resources, but the items were large; the shellfish were about the size of a palm. The group quickly ate their fill, and the fire in front of the tree went out, leaving plumes of thick smoke.
"Dad, so many bees are coming out!" Mingyue exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the beehive not far away.
Ming Dahai was delighted. "Hmm, that's about right. The bees are about to abandon the hive."
Not far away, bees swarmed away, leaving a shadow in the area where they flew by in large groups; there were probably several thousand of them.
Only after the bees had all left did Ming Dahai dare to approach.
"How much honey is this?"
Ming Dahai couldn't resist using a shovel to dig out a tiny bit of honeycomb, about the size of a fingernail, and put it in his mouth; it was incredibly sweet.
"Sister, it's delicious." Mingyue picked a little bit with her finger and put it in her mouth, she absolutely loved it.
Mingjing broke off a piece of honeycomb; it was soft and had a stringy texture.
It indeed has the delicate fragrance of honey, quite different from that of farmed bees. The sweetness is just right, and the color is bright yellow, making it very appealing.
"Stop eating and get back to work."
Ming Dahai urged him to look up at the honeycomb at the very top.
"The honeycomb at the top is the thickest; I'll go up and take a look."
When a wild beehive is broken, a large amount of honey will be lost, affecting the growth of the bee colony. Therefore, cutting off the top of the beehive can greatly preserve its integrity.
Next year, new bees will build nests here, and they can harvest them year after year, which is equivalent to beekeeping.
"I'll go, Dad. Your back hurts, so don't get involved."
"Are you sure you can do it? I'm good at climbing trees," Mingliang said, rubbing his hands together in preparation for climbing.
"Get out of here!" Mingjing spat out a dagger with a dagger in his mouth, hugged the tree with both hands, squeezed his legs tightly against the trunk, and quickly climbed up.
The coconut tree is big and straight; climbing it requires only arm strength.
"Is this girl even human? How can she do everything?" Mingliang stared at the woman in the tree who was like a monkey, lost in thought.
Is this part of the Ming family's genes? How come he didn't inherit it?
Ming Dahai instructed, "Be careful."
The local coconut trees are only about ten meters tall. Mingjing grabbed the trunk, stood at the top of the coconut tree, cut off two coconuts and shouted, "Get out of the way, you'll get hit and your head will hurt!"
After saying that, everyone dispersed, and the coconut was thrown on the ground.
Mingjing turned to observe the honeycomb, and it was more shocking than he had imagined. The densely packed honeycomb resembled a sunflower, expanding outwards layer by layer, with a thumb-width opening in the middle.
When you gently cut with your finger, yellow honey flows out.
Mingjing diligently cut through the beehive with the dagger in her hand until she had cut off a large chunk and looked down.
"Dad, I caught it."
The ground under the tree was covered with burlap sacks, and the sacks were piled high with large banana leaves. Ming Dahai, who was standing far away, shouted at the top of his lungs, "Just throw them down!"
The honeycomb was filled with pure yellow nectar. Mingjing threw it down with sticky hands, and the honeycomb landed right on the banana leaf.
Mingjing didn't know how much time had passed, but the beehive on the tree had been cut down to almost nothing. Mingjing looked down at the tree.
The banana leaves were piled high with beehives.
"Dad, I can't put it down anymore, I'm going down."
After finishing speaking, Mingjing, with a dagger in her mouth, quickly descended the coconut tree.
How much is left up there?
Ming Dahai took Ming Jing's arm and came down.
"There are only a few dozen kilograms left, not many. Dad, don't cut any more. There are enough of these. Let's save them for next year."
Sustainable development is important; a beehive is necessary to attract bees, otherwise those bees would be driven crazy.
Ming Dahai looked at the tree hollow and felt sorry for it, but when he thought that he could come again next year, he kept quiet.
"Quickly tidy up, don't spill this honey."
Ming Dahai bent down to gather the honeycomb. The honey had stuck all the banana leaves together, and after it solidified, it looked like a large water pipe. Several people worked together to lift it onto the boat, and it took several trips back and forth to get it right.
“Dad, there are still some puddles over there that haven’t been dug yet,” Mingliang said, pointing to several large puddles in front of him, convinced that there must be something inside.
"Alright, Dad, we can't delay the beehives for too long; we need to sell them as soon as possible."
The honey has not been screened or filtered, has a very short shelf life, and must be sold as soon as possible.
"What about the ground cage?"
"It's alright, this place gets flooded when the tide comes in, nobody comes here. Let's come back tomorrow, Dad. You can't tell anyone about this place when you get back."
"Of course, it's fine as long as our family knows."
Ming Dashan and Ming Jing first went to the deep water area to wash off the mud, and then boarded the boat.
It was nearing dusk, and the setting sun left a red scar in the sky, with red ripples occasionally spreading across the sea.
Mingjing looked at the several large buckets of honey with a sorrowful expression.
Now, the market offers a variety of honey, including wild, farmed, and imported varieties, at varying prices. However, wild honey in such large quantities is quite rare.
If someone with ulterior motives finds out, they might dig deep and investigate, and then this place won't be able to be kept safe anymore.
Once a year, they dig up everything; people will do anything for money.
They couldn't possibly have missed such a large tree hole and beehive.
If you give it to Dong Li, he probably won't accept it.
She'd never been to the city before, and without someone to guide her, it would be really difficult.
Mingyue, craving the taste of honey, secretly broke off a small piece. "Sister, honeycomb tastes even better."
Eat less.
"Sister, is honey just nectar? I heard Erdan say that honey is just bee droppings, and rich people love to eat it."
"Don't listen to that fat kid's nonsense. Wild honey is highly nutritious and can beautify your skin."
Mingyue ate one piece, then broke off another, and grumbled, "Sister, does inland honey taste the same as this? How much does it cost?"
"A little over a hundred yuan." In Mingjing's memory, the original owner didn't have much of an impression of honey, only that it was usually used to make tea.
In later generations, a box of fine honey, plus a top brand, would cost at least two thousand, and some could cost tens of thousands, making it nominally liquid gold.
She figured the current price wouldn't be much cheaper.
She didn't know how much the honey would sell for, but such a large beehive must be worth a lot of money.
A gentle sea breeze blew, and the waves shimmered with a faint reddish light. Mingjing gazed at the sea, her hands itching to go sea fishing, but unfortunately, she didn't have a rod.
By the time we got back to the dock, it was getting late.
Minghai moored the boat and got off, carrying a banana leaf, which was then covered with another layer, and walked home mysteriously, taking a detour along a small path so as not to be seen.
Back home, Mingjing closed the door.
"You're back. What good stuff did you get? Your dad came back and drove off in such a secretive way. What good stuff did he get his hands on?"
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