Chapter 1326: Year-End Assembly (Twenty-Three)

There is another rather peculiar person, a beekeeper from Huaxia. He originally had no name, but because he was the first to start keeping bees, his name became "Mi" (Honey). A grown man named Honey is actually nothing special; in any case, he is the one who provides honey for Huaxia.

There are only a few households of beekeepers in Huaxia. Because the rewards for beekeeping are very high, those few who know how to keep bees all teach the skill to their children, and each family does just this one thing.

Furthermore, beekeeping is indeed a bit high-risk. These people who deal with bees every day cannot avoid being stung, let alone strangers. However, they have become accustomed to being stung, so they have developed a resistance, and they do not feel much when stung.

It was originally just an ordinary job, and Baifeng could not grant a title just because it was dangerous, but he had already discovered the matter of bees splitting hives and could skillfully and timely complete the splitting of bee hives, allowing the number of bees to continue to expand.

Another thing is that he has already started pulling a cart, taking his family everywhere to chase flowers. For now, it is limited to Huaxia City and Lema City; they cannot go any further.

Especially when the buckwheat flowers bloom, that is their busiest time. The bees can collect nectar, and the buckwheat can also complete pollination.

These few beekeeping families will certainly take these bees to even more distant places to collect nectar in the future. However, they do have one advantage when in the wild: ordinary wild beasts dare not approach because the number of bees is truly too large, unlike an ordinary beehive, which is just one swarm.

One of their beehives is one swarm; dozens or hundreds of beehives contain enough bees to scare away almost all wild beasts. Only a bear might come over regardless of the danger, but with such a large number, it would also have to consider it.

When winter arrives, Baifeng will specially approve Maltose for them to melt and feed to the bees, because humans have taken away the honey and the bees have nothing to eat; if they are not even given sugar, they will surely starve to death.

Exchanging Maltose for honey is, in Baifeng's view, a very cost-effective matter. The taste of this honey is much better than Maltose, and honey can be a good thing that only Nobles can enjoy, but Maltose is something almost everyone can eat, although it is said that one might only be able to taste a little bit in a year.

After all professions are opened up and people can do whatever they want, the whole country may experience a brief period of chaos, and then it will definitely return to stability. People who specialize in selling Maltose, for example, might even appear.

There might also be some cooks who return to their old trade and start specializing in this business. At the beginning of the founding of Huaxia, there were some professional cooks who specifically cooked for others in exchange for grain. That was spontaneous at the time, and now this possibility will certainly exist.

Mi's Nobility is not high, only a Viscount, and this is the ceiling. In their line of work, there will never be such a title again in the future. It is also very good for this title to be passed down; even if his family no longer does this in the future, all beekeepers will have to recognize this founding master. This can be considered a more special honor.

For all walks of life in Huaxia, it is like this. Baifeng is encouraging the masses, letting them hurry up to shine and heat up in their own industries, and make achievements early. He will grant them Nobility, letting them stand at the pinnacle of this industry and be admired by everyone.

The last title is naturally for Xiaohe. He did not come, and he does not know the news that he will receive a title. This is a big surprise for him next year. It is just unknown whether those cats will continue to stay by his side after spring arrives, or if they will go directly into the wilderness and never return.

The time for the next day arrived as scheduled, and the commendation meeting began. First was the reading of the list of award winners and the rewards they received.

Such matters are naturally handled by the Ministry of Rites. Zhigui, with a full-chested voice, read sentence by sentence: "First, announce the list of those granted Nobility!

Artisan Xi, for his merit in making locks, is granted the title of Viscount, with the title name Changgu, and bestowed the surname An.

Soldier Shaoyin, for his merit in battle, is granted the title of Baron, with the title name Xiaoyong..."

Every time a name was read, the crowd below would take a deep breath. Besides the shock at the reasons for their titles, there was envy. Only in Shaoyin's case, everyone's thoughts might be a bit more complicated. After all, who is Shaoyin's father? Will the origin of this title be less glorious, less substantial?

Fortunately, Shaoyin was not the only one who received rewards for Military Merit, so against the backdrop of everyone else, Shaoyin appeared relatively normal. Plus, it was just a small "Viscount," so it did not cause too much controversy among everyone.

Xiaohe's title was what made everyone feel the most shocked. Pure luck. If only they had his luck. However, with Xiaohe as a precedent, perhaps many people will think of capturing some small wild beast and bringing it back to exchange for merit.

But there is no such opportunity now. The most important domesticated animals of humanity can basically be seen in Huaxia now. Dogs have been bred for many years, and cats have just been caught. Although domestication has not yet begun, this track can be considered basically occupied by others.

Cattle, sheep, and horses have already lived in Huaxia for many years. The only large species that can be domesticated further is the donkey. The probability of this is still quite high. As long as one is willing to go west, the probability of encountering wild donkeys is very, very high. If one can catch a donkey, Baifeng would have no problem granting a Marquis title directly.

Although the donkey has a worse temper and is a bit stubborn, once tamed, it is a very good labor force. It can basically do any work that an ox can do. It is hardworking and is a very good livestock.

Riding is also possible. It cannot serve as a warhorse, and horses are too precious to be ridden by ordinary people. The endurance and speed of an ox are not as good as a donkey's; the donkey still has many advantages.

As for chickens and ducks, there will be no changes seen in the short term, and Huaxia does not need any other poultry. These two are enough. Now they all need to have their feathers clipped in time to ensure they do not fly away. It is unknown how long it will take for their wings to degenerate to the point where people do not need to clip them.

After the big rewards were finished, it was time for the small ones. Various commendations, medals, and the like were read out one by one. Those who did not come or could not come would eventually have their awards accepted on their behalf by leaders, and then handed over to the individuals.

Ce needed to accept the award on behalf of Xiaohe. Accepting on behalf represents all the credentials of Xiaohe's title. Although his own power is greater than Xiaohe's and he can still manage Xiaohe, Xiaohe's status is higher than his own. This made Ce feel a little bit unbalanced. Fortunately, this matter was also recorded as merit for him. As long as he makes other achievements, he can be granted a title together, and his starting point will be higher than a Baron.

However, if Xiaohe really catches the cats and breeds them, he would be a true Marquis. It is difficult for Ce to have the opportunity to reach that height. However, a Marquis can go to live in Huaxia City; it just depends on whether Xiaohe is willing. As long as Xiaohe says he wants to go to Huaxia City, Baifeng will definitely leave a courtyard for him in Huaxia City or Lema City. This is the special treatment of a Noble.