Yonghe Road

Chapter 21 Cliff Bee
On the towering cliff, the figure of a young man wearing professional rock climbing equipment is looming.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds, dappling onto his sweat-soaked forehead, casting a golden glow. His face was one of intense concentration, his brow furrowed, his gloved hands clinging tightly to the cold rock face, his exposed fingers embedded in the cracks of the rock like iron hooks.

If you look over from the hilltop opposite the cliff, you can see that the young man is surrounded by beehives, densely packed together, some hanging under protruding rocks, some hidden in deep crevices, like works of art carved by nature.

Looking closely, these beehives have a rough appearance, made from a clever mixture of mud, resin and cliff bee secretions, presenting a primitive and rugged beauty that blends in with the rugged cliff environment.

This is a unique beekeeping method created by imitating the nesting habits of bees in the wild: cliff bee farming.

Cliff bee breeding is usually done in primeval forests or cliffs far away from pollution. Because cliff bees live in a natural environment, they can collect nectar from a variety of wild flowers. The nectar source is abundant, and the harvested honey is purer and free of pesticide residues. Therefore, the honey has a higher taste and nutritional value, and therefore a higher market value.

However, the installation and maintenance of beehives on cliffs, as well as the special equipment and techniques required in the honey collection process, increase the cost of cliff bee breeding. In addition, due to natural environmental influences such as climate change and invasions by natural enemies, the output of cliff bee breeding is unstable.

Sometimes, a typhoon or heavy rain in one day, or a night of bird pecking attacks, can cause dozens of beehives to disappear collectively on the cliff.

Even if these force majeure factors are avoided, beekeeping on cliffs still presents significant safety risks, with workers prone to falling while harvesting honey. The hives hanging from the cliff also make daily management and inspection extremely difficult, adding to the difficulty and challenges of cliff beekeeping.

The more difficult, the more precious.

In order to understand and deal with the health status of the bee colony in a timely manner, Lei Sheng, the owner of dozens of beehives on the cliff, often puts on professional equipment and goes down the cliff to work with the workers.

His movements were agile and precise, like a nimble gecko, climbing quickly up the vertical rock wall.

At first, he was afraid.

After all, this is a cliff. Although there is a rope tied around my waist, I would still be smashed to pieces if I fell down accidentally.

He is the only son of his parents and has not yet married a beloved girl to continue the Lei family line.

But ever since Zhong Chunshui escaped from his marriage, his passionate heart died, and he became calm and composed when working on the cliffs and among the beehives.

As the safety rope was lowered, his body continued to sink and he finally reached his destination.

Before him lay a large natural crevice, concealing a beehive meticulously constructed by cliff bees. The hive, a peculiar, irregular polygonal shape, was densely covered with bees. They flitted busily about, humming and buzzing, as if warning outsiders not to intrude on their territory.

He carefully took out his tool and began to gently scrape out the honey.

In the past, he only went down the cliff and never participated in the honey harvesting. But now, he was like a madman, harvesting honey until he forgot everything. The repetitive action of harvesting honey could temporarily make him forget about Chunshui's escape from marriage.

His movements were frantic yet careful not to disturb the sensitive creatures, and as spoonfuls of golden honey were collected, a smile of relief spread across his face, as if a weight had been lifted from his heart.

So, following the safety rope, I returned to the flat ground on the cliff. There, a snow-white farmhouse stood quietly, surrounded by lush trees. The open space in front of the villa was filled with a variety of flowers and plants, all in full bloom, emitting bursts of fragrance that blended with the sweet scent wafting from the cliff below, creating a refreshing and delightful atmosphere.

The villa is a homestay hidden in the mountains. People from the city need to make an appointment to come here for vacation and experience the wild fun of the mountains.

There is a path in front of the villa, leading to the main house. On both sides are placed a few simple wooden furniture, such as rocking chairs, coffee tables, etc. Several butterflies are flying from the path to the flowers, and flying out with them is Xiao Li, the waitress in the B&B.

Xiao Li was holding a ringing cell phone in his hand, and the ringtone was a She song sung by Chunshui.

One year, during the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, also known as the Ox Rest Festival, Chunshui, dressed in a fiery red phoenix costume, stood on the hillside leading to Ruiyun Temple on Fengshan Mountain, singing. She was as beautiful as a fairy, and her voice was as beautiful as the sound of nature. Lei Sheng filmed the scene and played it repeatedly in the middle of the night before he lay down to rest after a busy day's work. He isolated the singing voice and used it as his ringtone and alarm clock sound.

At this moment, the workers were helping Lei Sheng remove his safety gear, and Xiao Li, holding Lei Sheng's phone, flew out of the B&B like a butterfly to the sound of Chun Shui's singing, and said, "Boss Lei, this is Boss Lei's number. I've been trying to get you several times."

"Xiao Li, how many times have I reminded you that in 'Tian Mi Mi', there is no Little Mr. Lei or Old Mr. Lei, there is only Mr. Lei."

On the outer wall of this snow-white villa, there is a light blue sign that says "Sweet Honey".

"Tian Mi Mi" is Lei Sheng's company brand, which includes various businesses such as homestays, honey, and edible roses.

The first pot of gold for starting a business was provided by Lei Dingwu and his wife, but Lei Sheng was very concerned about his reputation and always wanted to get rid of the shadow of his parents in his struggle history. He repeatedly emphasized his position as the exclusive CEO in "Tian Mi Mi".

Xiao Li stuck out her tongue and handed the phone to Lei Sheng. Lei Sheng answered and heard Lei Dingwu say on the other end of the line: "Oh, son, you're going down the cliff to collect honey again? You're a general manager, you're the chairman, you're the boss. You've done the workers' work, so what are the workers doing? Besides, going down the cliff to collect honey is so dangerous. Your mother and I only have you as our only child..."

"Brother Wu, please speak Mandarin."

As a member of the younger generation of the She ethnic group, Lei Sheng's She dialect was somewhat sluggish, which greatly displeased Lei Dingwu. Regardless of ethnicity, one must never forget their own language.

In response to his father's complaints, Lei Sheng said, "Isn't it better if I can sing She songs?"

"I learned She songs just for Chunshui..."

Lei Dingwu wanted to slap himself for bringing up something that was not relevant. His son had been in a very bad mood recently. At home, he and his wife tried their best to make their son happy and avoided talking about the name of the little girl from the Zhong family. Why did he let it slip again now?

Lei Dingwu hurriedly tried to make amends on the phone, saying, "Shengsheng, hurry down from the mountain and come to the village primary school. It's lively, very lively..."

Lei Dingwu thought to himself, as long as Lei Sheng and other young people played ball and sweated a little, all the unhappiness would disappear, right?
Who can help but sigh, “How pitiful are the love of parents in the world”?

(End of this chapter)