Chapter 147

147. Chapter 147: Discovering Wild Honey

"Strange..." Gao Xiaoshuan scratched his head. "Goudan and I clearly saw a large cluster of wild ginger flowers here. Why are they gone now?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "..."

One really shouldn't trust the memory of a six-year-old child too much.

She sighed silently: "Forget it, if they're gone, they're gone. Ask Goudan next time."

Goudan was Auntie Wang's son. Although Auntie Wang was stingy and loved to gossip behind people's backs, her son was loyal. Last time she was pushed to the ground by Zhao Ergou, he stood up and spoke for her.

Gao Xiaoshuan, however, didn't believe it and searched the surroundings several more times.

He didn't find the wild ginger flowers, but he discovered something else.

"Little Sister Xiaoxiao, look over there!"

Jiang Xiaoxiao looked in the direction he pointed and saw a wild beehive built under the low canopy of a tree.

The beehive was very large, and she didn't know how many years it had been there; it was as big as a basketball, and the thick wild honey was almost overflowing!

Her eyes lit up instantly. Wild honey was a good thing; not only could it be eaten, but it could also be added to soap to make honey-scented soap, which had a very good nourishing effect!

"Little Sister Xiaoxiao, you step back." Gao Xiaoshuan had already found a long tree branch and was preparing to knock the wild beehive down.

"Don't mess around, those bees aren't vegetarians." Jiang Xiaoxiao hurriedly pulled him back and pointed to the bees buzzing around the beehive.

These bees didn't look like hornets, but the stings of wild bees were generally poisonous. Once stung, it wouldn't be as simple as just swelling up a few small bumps.

She asked Gao Xiaoshuan to pick up some branches and fallen leaves and pile them under the beehive in the canopy, and then she took out the lighter her mother had given her from her bag and lit the fallen leaves while Gao Xiaoshuan wasn't looking.

"Little Sister Xiaoxiao, you even carry a fire starter with you?" Gao Xiaoshuan saw the fire ignite and just assumed Jiang Xiaoxiao had used a fire starter.

Jiang Xiaoxiao coughed lightly and didn't say anything, just directing Gao Xiaoshuan to pick up some damp wood nearby.

She wasn't used to using a fire starter; it was far less convenient to carry than a small, exquisite lighter, but this era didn't have such things, so she was extremely careful whenever she used it.

Gao Xiaoshuan piled the wood he picked up onto the withered branches and leaves. The fire spread along the lit withered branches to the damp wood. As the fire gradually grew, thick smoke also rose, permeated, and soon heavily wrapped the beehive above...

Following a "buzzing" sound, the bees in the beehive flew out one after another, smoked away and not daring to approach the beehive.

Jiang Xiaoxiao waited patiently for a while, and after the bees were smoked far away, she let Gao Xiaoshuan pick the beehive.

Gao Xiaoshuan climbed the tree trunk nimbly, quickly picked the beehive, and then slid down the tree in a flash, which made Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't help but envy him. They were both small-armed and small-legged, so why wasn't she as nimble as Gao Xiaoshuan?

"Little Sister Xiaoxiao, here." As soon as Gao Xiaoshuan got down from the tree, he handed over the entire beehive like a treasure.

"Um, Brother Shuanzi, can you give me this entire beehive?" Jiang Xiaoxiao scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed. Gao Xiaoshuan had discovered the beehive, so logically, he should get the majority, but she had a great use for the honey inside this beehive...

"Of course, it's all yours." Gao Xiaoshuan said as if it were a matter of course, as if the beehive should have belonged to Jiang Xiaoxiao in the first place. "It was your method that drove those bees away, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to pick it."

Villagers had encountered wild honey on the mountain before, but in the end, not only did they not get the honey, but they were also stung into pig heads, with abscesses all over their faces, which looked terrifying.

"Fine." Jiang Xiaoxiao accepted the beehive and stuffed it into the back basket. Gao Xiaoshuan was actually more generous than she had imagined. Such a large amount of wild honey was worth a lot, so she would give him some extra compensation later.

Jiang Xiaoxiao put away the beehive and prepared to leave, but stopped after taking just two steps.

Wait, there was a beehive here, and bees lived by collecting nectar, so didn't that mean there must be a large area of flowers growing nearby...

She hurriedly pulled Gao Xiaoshuan to chase after the group of bees that had flown away. Following the direction the bees had left, she should be able to find the flowers she wanted!

Passing through a small grove, Jiang Xiaoxiao faintly smelled a scent of osmanthus. Pushing aside the bushes in front, she saw a large patch of osmanthus bushes not far ahead!

Looking at the golden osmanthus, Jiang Xiaoxiao was so excited she almost jumped up.

Osmanthus has a very fragrant scent, making it most suitable for making scented soap!

She hurriedly asked Gao Xiaoshuan to help pick the osmanthus together, and only after filling the back basket and the basket they had brought did she reluctantly leave this place.

Jiang Xiaoxiao secretly noted this place in her heart. Next time, she would bring her mother with her. Her mother had a space, so no matter how much osmanthus they picked, it would all fit.

After going down the mountain and returning home, Jiang Xiaoxiao asked Gao Xiaoshuan to be responsible for pouring all the picked osmanthus onto a bamboo mat to dry.

And she hugged the beehive and returned to the room, wanting to share her discovery on the mountain with her mother, but found that Jiang Wei was not in the room.

She went to the construction site to look for her, but she wasn't there either.

"Xiaoxiao, your mother went to town." Master Zheng was studying cement on the side, and seeing this, he pointed to the direction of the inner room. "Your mother said the goat milk has already been squeezed and placed in the room."

Jiang Xiaoxiao had no choice but to return to the courtyard alone. Gao Xiaoshuan was still drying the osmanthus. Following Jiang Xiaoxiao's instructions, he had to clean out the debris inside and leave only the clean petals.

Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao walk over, he said: "Little Sister Xiaoxiao, my sister went to town with your mother. Do you know what they went to do?"

"I don't know either." Jiang Xiaoxiao shook her head. "Never mind them for now, Brother Shuanzi, come and help me."

She entered the kitchen. Qiulian Niang and Zhao Dasao were washing vegetables and cooking inside, and Chunya was helping on the side. Chunmiao was not there; usually, at this time, she was delivering goods in town, but today her mother had also gone to town. Could it be to purchase some meat and vegetables for the workers?

"Xiaoxiao, are you hungry? Here are some freshly baked pancakes." Qiulian Niang saw her enter the kitchen and handed her two pancakes.

Jiang Xiaoxiao took the pancakes, handed one to Gao Xiaoshuan behind her, and then bit into the pancake herself, saying: "Auntie Qiulian, help me move that porcelain jar on the cupboard down."

"What do you need the porcelain jar for?" Qiulian Niang was puzzled, but she did as she was told.

Jiang Xiaoxiao finished the pancake in her hand in two or three bites, grabbed the porcelain jar, winked at her playfully, and said: "You'll know later."

After saying this, she turned to order Gao Xiaoshuan, who was standing behind her in a daze: "Brother Shuanzi, go to the stove and scrape some plant ash out."

"... Oh, okay." Gao Xiaoshuan held the hot pancake in both hands and nodded in a daze.

The aroma of the pancake drilled straight into his nostrils, and he couldn't help but swallow his saliva. This pancake was made by mixing white flour and buckwheat flour, with a layer of golden egg liquid on the surface and wild vegetables mixed inside. Just looking at it made him feel it was delicious.

He couldn't bear to eat it, so he simply stuffed the pancake into his bosom; he wanted to save it to take home and share with his sister and mother. (End of chapter)