Chapter 38 38. Buy a beehive
Song Sancheng's view on the time of day was indeed correct.
It took the three of them to finish spreading the fertilizer on the tea garden, and then the spring rain began to pour down. The father and daughter hurried back, and only Qiao Qiao jumped happily:
“It’s raining heavily!”
Fortunately, there were trees on the hillside all the way, and the rain was not heavy at first, so we didn’t get too wet when we got home. Song Tan thought about the tea garden. It was given spiritual energy, so it wouldn't be appropriate if it didn't grow vigorously, right?
“Dad, I think the tea leaves will be picked in a few days. This year, we are going to invite people everywhere, and there are no less than one or two of them.”
“If you don’t have time to pick the tea leaves, please hire someone.”
"Where is the need to hire someone?" Ulan felt that it would be useless to spend money on her daughter if she didn't keep an eye on her.
How much does tea cost per pound? How expensive it is to hire someone! At least one hundred and fifty days.
Song Tan felt that her mother had not changed her mind yet!
“Mom, I can sell wild vegetables for twenty, and I can sell milkvetch for twenty. Why do you think I can’t sell a pound of tea for two thousand?”
As usual, a skilled worker would only make three or four kilograms of hair a day from morning to night when the tea leaves are in abundance.
Four kilograms of tea leaves produce one kilogram of dry tea, and one kilogram of dry tea only sells for one or two hundred, which is definitely not cost-effective.
The problem is, the prices are different now.
The best time to have spring tea is only about twenty days, but after the Qingming Festival, it is even less likely. Of course, we must seize the time.
Ulan thought about it for a moment. Although she had confidence in her daughter, she had no confidence that local tea could be sold for 2,000 yuan per catty. But I had just agreed to listen to my daughter about the work in the fields...
She hesitated: "There's no need to invite anyone, your dad, me, your grandparents can also help. Our tea garden is just that, it's enough."
Song Tan started to crack his fingers: "When picking tea leaves, you have to worry about breeding and seedlings, right? Someone has to take care of the chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs at home, right? Don't you need to take a look at the black fungus over there in the chestnut forest? You have to take care of the vetch you pick every day, right? ?”
“Mom, I feel like we don’t have enough family now. We all have to go pick tea leaves, so I have to learn the art of separation first.”
With the current concentration of spiritual energy and decades of practice, Song Tan felt that he should be able to master this move.
The premise is not to scare people.
Ulan:…
She was speechless.
Think about it again, the money earned from selling vegetables this year is not enough for labor!
So he was very cruel:
"Okay, I'll find two quickies in the village - will I have to hire a tea fryer then? Your dad hasn't done this work for many years, so don't let it get ruined."
Song Tan still can’t remember who in the village knows how to fry tea and whose family has a tea frying machine. But this small job for my own family is not much expensive—
“Okay, Mom, you can discuss the arrangements with my dad.”
As he was talking, a call came in. Song Sancheng answered the phone and chatted with someone for a while:
“Tan Tan, would you like to see the bees? It’s over there in Pine Tree Town.”
…
The bee seller is in Pine Tree Town.
Songshu Town is next to Qingxi Town and not too far from their Yunqiao Village. It only takes 20 minutes to drive there.
Because there are so many mountains here, local residents rely on tea picking as their main source of income, and there are naturally many flowers and trees on the hillside.
Therefore, there is a very famous bee-keeper in Pine Tree Town. Song Tan drove Song Sancheng and Qiao Qiao up the mountain road. When he saw a large cardboard on the side of the road with "Farmhouse Honey" written on it in ink, he knew he was at the right place.
Because the bee farm is on a mountain road, the houses are not as neatly built as those on the roadside. There is even a simple iron shed built next to it.
They were lingering in the low altitude, but the temperature in the mountains was slightly lower, and few flowers on the fruit trees had bloomed. In the end, they could only lie down in front of a shallow water dish.
“Old Song, you are here!”
A man with messy hair and a black sweater came out. When he saw Song Tan's family of three, he was extremely enthusiastic:
“This is your son and daughter, right? They look really good—come on, want a bee, right? I’ll show you what kind you want!”
"But I don't have any accidental bees here. They are all medium bees. We are local bees who are small in size. I have five spleens in this box, and there are only about 3,000 bees in one spleen... It is not easy to raise in this winter. !”
Beekeepers call the place where the bees live called the spleen. Above it is the bee's nest, a grid of hexagonal holes.
Generally, the number of bees living in a hive of the same size is about the same. That's how they are, whether the house is big or small, it won't work.
The other party was sincere and didn’t say anything here. He had already introduced me first.
Song Tan nodded: "It's okay, uncle, I want our bumble bees - how much honey can this box produce?"
Speaking of this, the middle-aged man's face was full of pride and smile: "You may not think that our Bumblebees are small, but they are diligent, more capable than Italian Bees, and they are not picky. If there are too many flowers in this box, eight Ten pounds is no problem.”
"It's not enough if there are too few flowers. If there are too few flowers, they probably won't be able to eat enough."
Speaking of this, beekeepers also sighed:
"In previous winters, I drove to the south, where there were many flowers and it was warm. The market has not been good these past two years, so I didn't have to run around. I have been worried all winter - you see, this one is not fed with sugar water. Otherwise, you won’t survive.”
"Old Song, we are all fellow villagers, and I won't hide it from you. The price of bees this spring is already more expensive. I get 600 yuan for this box. If you really want it, 560, I will feed you sugar water without hiding it. You are enough to keep them alive, without honey.”
“But if they spend money, they will be able to adjust immediately—it will definitely not be a loss if they buy it.”
Song Tan checked it online before and found that the price should be fair. Now let’s take a look at Song Sancheng.
Song Sancheng doesn’t understand bees either!
After thinking about it, he said sincerely: "I have fourteen acres of flower fields. How many of them are suitable for you to buy? Besides, how do you think these bees are good or bad?"
The beekeeper thought for a moment: "It stands to reason that one hive of bees per three acres will produce six or seven kilograms of honey per acre. Now there are few flowers and you don't have much experience, so just get four boxes, or three boxes will do." ”
As for whether bees are good or bad...
Under the stunned gaze of the family of three, the other party didn't even wear gloves. He just opened the beehive without fear with a pair of ruthless iron hands and took out a spleen:
“Look, this worker bee is working hard.”
As he spoke, he grabbed a handful from the other side. A dozen furry bees were crawling around in his palm, fluttering their wings and flying low. One of them was particularly big:
“Look, this is the queen bee. Does it look good?”
Qiaoqiao crouched aside with eager eyes and reached out her hand impatiently:
“Qiaoqiao also wants to touch it...”
The beekeeper was shocked, and then quickly put the bees back:
“You can’t touch this! It’s very painful to sting someone. You always have to wear a head covering and gloves!”
No more today!
Please do not imitate the dangerous actions of the little bee in this chapter, as there will be consequences at your own risk. Considering that some readers may be afraid of secrets, I won’t include pictures.
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(End of this chapter)