Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 39

Qiao Qiao’s wish to touch a bee was unfulfilled, and now he squatted there, looking longingly:

“Why can’t I touch it?”

The beekeeper, familiar with Song Sancheng and aware of Qiao Qiao’s situation, coaxed him like a child:

“Because you’re not familiar with them yet. If you reach out, the bees might think you’re trying to hurt them and sting you.”

After closing the hive, he reminded, “You mustn’t touch them. A bee sting hurts a lot, but the bee dies after stinging you, so it’s pitiful too.”

“Besides,” he showed his rough, calloused hand with large knuckles, “I’ve got thick skin and I’m used to it.”

Qiao Qiao looked at the beekeeper’s hand and then at his own—Wu Lan had always kept him clean and tidy, so his hands were smooth and fair, with well-defined knuckles. If it weren’t for the recent farm work making them a bit rougher, they would still look like a pampered young master’s hands.

He sighed deeply in disappointment and turned to look elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Song Sancheng and Song Tan examined the beehives and discussed the price—it was firm at 560 yuan per hive.

Song Sancheng hesitated, “Do we have enough flowers after the clover? If there aren’t enough flowers later, we shouldn’t get too many hives.”

Song Tan, however, had another thought: they were already there, and the hives weren’t expensive. She could always use her spiritual energy to nourish them! Honey was a good thing, after all!

So, she calculated on her fingers, “We have two months of clover, then the chestnut trees will bloom. We have plenty of peach and pear blossoms in our village, enough for the bees. After June and July, when it gets hot, the bees can rest a bit. We’ll also have vegetables in the garden, and I’m planning to plant a field of sunflowers…”

With this in mind, they could definitely manage it.

Song Sancheng felt overwhelmed—his daughter talked, and he had to work tirelessly!

“Alright, alright, whatever you say!”

Song Tan made the decision: “We’ll take five hives!”

The beekeeper laughed—this sale netted him almost three thousand yuan.

But he still gave a warning, “Beekeeping is simple; just place the hives properly. If there’s any problem, don’t mess around. Call me, and I’ll come over to check.”

Just as they finished the transaction, a sudden cry rang out!

“Ow…”

Qiao Qiao, who had been white and clean, ran out of the woods, crying and wiping his tears.

One of his hands was clenched into a loose fist, and the base of his palm was red and swollen, clearly stung by a bee.

Song Tan, half-amused and half-annoyed, said, “Didn’t I tell you not to touch the bees?”

Qiao Qiao, feeling wronged, cried even louder:

“I found a really fat one…”

“This fat one can work, it’s a queen bee…”

He seemed to remember the bunch of bees the beekeeper had shown earlier.

The beekeeper was puzzled, “That’s impossible, how could a queen bee leave the hive…”

He muttered as he leaned over.

Qiao Qiao carefully opened his swollen fist with his other hand.

In his palm was a fat, round bee about the size of a thumbnail, its fuzzy yellow and black striped body sitting cautiously. It was indeed quite cute.

…

The beekeeper chuckled, “Oh, this one’s fine! It’s a bumblebee, just as docile as our honeybees. As long as you don’t grab it, it usually won’t sting you. You can even touch it occasionally.”

Qiao Qiao, half-understanding, stretched his red, swollen hand forward.

The beekeeper laughed again, “It still hurts, but I’ll put some ointment on it—this should be a young bumblebee queen, that’s why it’s so big.”

“Most bumblebees are slightly smaller.”

Song Tan was interested.

She flicked a bit of spiritual energy with her finger, and the bee, which had been ready to fly away, wobbled and clung to her finger.

Song Sancheng was startled, “Oh no!”

Song Tan quickly reassured him, “Dad, it’s fine! Look, it didn’t sting me—it’s quite cute!”

The fuzzy, round bee crawled around her finger, looking really adorable.

Qiao Qiao watched intently, forgetting about the sting.

The beekeeper brought some ointment from the house, applied it to Qiao Qiao’s hand, and glanced at the bumblebee.

“Play with it for a while and then let it go. This queen bee needs to lay eggs and hatch.”

Song Tan thought for a moment, “Can it be kept? Does it make a lot of honey?”

The beekeeper laughed, “Of course, it can be kept. This queen can produce over a hundred bees. They’re hardworking and diligent!”

“But there’s a catch—they eat a lot. You won’t get any honey from them—they’ll consume it all!”

“If they go an hour without flower pollen or nectar, they’ll faint. It’s like hypoglycemia for us. If they don’t get food soon after, they’ll die.”

Hearing this, even Song Sancheng couldn’t help but smile:

“These bumblebees are like piglets!”

But Qiao Qiao, having heard this, looked at his sister with pleading eyes:

“Sister, I want to keep it…”

He watched the bumblebee crawl around Song Tan’s finger, finding it very cute, and reached out again despite his previous sting.

However, the ointment’s smell was too strong, and the bumblebee buzzed away.

It circled twice, still attracted to the bit of spiritual energy, and landed back on her finger.

The beekeeper chuckled, “If you want to keep it, find a small box, give it some sugar water, and it’ll be fine.”

“The queen bee will start laying eggs as soon as it’s settled. It secretes wax to create a small pot-like structure in the box. The eggs will be in that pot.”

“Then it’ll sit on the eggs, vibrating to keep them warm, and the worker bees will hatch. It’s quite interesting to watch.”

He added, “But it won’t be profitable; they eat too much.”

“And they’re not as stable as honeybees. They might fly away.”

Song Tan moved her finger, seeing the bumblebee cling tightly. She smiled confidently:

“Does it still hurt, Qiao Qiao?”

Qiao Qiao looked at the bumblebee and then at his hand, sniffled, “It hurts.”

“Will you grab things randomly next time?”

Qiao Qiao whimpered and started crying again.

Song Sancheng’s heart melted. He quickly comforted him, “No more grabbing, no more grabbing.”

Song Tan chuckled, then asked the beekeeper for a small wooden box to put the bumblebee in. She handed the box to Qiao Qiao:

“Hold it carefully, don’t open it. If you scare it, it might fly away.”