Reborn in 78, I made my fortune by working in the mountains, supporting three families on my own.

Zhao Lei laughed until tears almost streamed down his face: "Have you finished pooping yet?"

Qin Bowen's face swelled even more: "What are you talking about taking a dump for?! I was so scared I pulled up my pants and ran, I didn't even fasten my pants properly!"

After Zhao Lei finished laughing, he leaned over to look at the injury on his face.

It was quite swollen, but it didn't look like the kind of venomous bee stings that leave a large red and swollen area without turning black.

He parted Qin Bowen's hair with his hand and looked inside: "Don't move, let me see if there are any bee stings left inside."

Qin Bowen stood there grimacing as he let him do it, muttering, "Brother-in-law, go easy on me."

Zhao Lei removed the bee stings from him and then chewed up some grass leaves from the roadside and applied them to his wound.

Suddenly, Zhao Lei remembered that Liu Hongxia had told him before that the village wanted to try beekeeping.

Last time, I even asked Zhao Lei to find another nest of wild bees in the mountains to take back and raise.

"Bowen, did you get a good look at what kind of bees they are? Big ones and small ones?"

Qin Bowen thought for a long time: "It seems to be... that kind of yellowish-brown, not too big or too small, a little bigger than a bee."

"Are there any white hairs on your butt?"

"I didn't notice, brother-in-law!"

Qin Bowen said with a pained expression, "I was so scared I almost jumped out of my skin, I didn't even care if it had hair on its butt!"

Zhao Lei patted him on the shoulder: "Alright, you wait here, I'll go take a look."

"Don't go!"

Qin Bowen grabbed him, "That swarm of bees is really fierce!"

Zhao Lei shook off his hand: "You're only going to stop now. Don't move, I'm going to go check it out."

Zhao Lei, carrying a hunting knife, crouched down and approached the bushes.

After taking a couple of steps around, I saw a dark, lumpy thing hanging from the branch of a crooked old locust tree, about the size of a small washbasin.

Zhao Lei leaned closer to take a look, and his heart leaped with joy.

They're bumblebees!

Locals call it "wild bee," and the honey it makes is very sweet.

These bees are not aggressive; they generally do not sting unless provoked.

Qin Bowen only got into trouble because he happened to sit right under the beehive and provoked the other party.

The beehive is now hanging crookedly on a tree branch, with a hole at the bottom, and the swarm of bees is flying around it in a chaotic manner.

Zhao Lei squatted down not far away and observed for a while, then he had an idea.

To collect a swarm of wild bees, the key is to collect the queen bee.

The queen bee stays in the hive, and the worker bees circle around her. Once you get your hands on the queen bee, the whole hive will follow you.

Zhao Lei looked up at the sun.

The sun is high in the sky, and many bees are still out collecting nectar, so the hive isn't at its densest.

Zhao Lei broke off a few long branches and took out a piece of old cloth from Qin Bowen's bamboo basket. He then tied the hunting knife to the top of the branches to make a simple long pole.

Then he took off his outer coat and wrapped it over his head, leaving only his eyes exposed, and slowly approached the old locust tree.

Qin Bowen, covering half his face in the distance, shouted, "Brother-in-law, be careful!"

Zhao Lei ignored him, spotted the opening in the honeycomb, and gently pried open a little edge with the tip of his knife, using the light shining into the nest to find the queen bee.

The queen bee of the native bee is larger than the worker bee and has a longer abdomen, making her easy to identify in the hive.

He stared at it for several seconds, and finally spotted the queen bee amidst the swarm of bees flying around wildly.

It was significantly larger and darker in color than the other climbing bees, and was climbing deeper into the nest.

Zhao Lei held his breath and slowly inserted the tip of the knife, gently flicking and lifting until the queen bee was pushed to the edge of the wound.

With lightning speed, he pulled out a handkerchief he had prepared beforehand from his pocket and draped it over the queen bee and several worker bees, wrapping them all inside.

The moment the handkerchief was clenched in the palm of the handkerchief, the swarm of bees that had been flying around suddenly quieted down for a few seconds.

Then, all of them rushed towards his fist, which was clutching a handkerchief.

Zhao Lei quickly took two steps back, raised the hand holding the handkerchief, and used the other hand to protect his head and face.

The swarm of bees buzzed around his fist a few times, then gradually quieted down and began to fall onto the handkerchief.

Qin Bowen watched in astonishment from a distance.

Zhao Lei waited for seven or eight minutes until the swarm of bees had gathered on the handkerchief before slowly turning around and walking back.

He clutched a handkerchief in his hand, his fist covered in a dense swarm of bees, which looked frightening, but none of them stung him.

Qin Bowen instinctively took two steps back: "Brother-in-law, how...how did you do that?"

Zhao Lei grinned: "The queen bee is in my hands. The worker bees follow the queen and will sting people. I'm just letting you learn more, it's like I'm trying to harm you."

Zhao Lei found a small tree by the roadside, tied a handkerchief to a branch and hung it up to let the bees settle down.

Then, they continued down the mountain with Qin Bowen. The wild rabbits and pheasants in the bamboo basket, plus the bees, made for a pretty good harvest today.

On the way down the mountain, Qin Bowen's face became even more swollen, and one of his eyes was almost squinted into a slit.

Zhao Lei walked ahead, glancing back at him every now and then, and couldn't help but want to laugh again.

"Go back and ask your sister to boil an egg for you to roll in, it'll help reduce the swelling."

Qin Bowen gasped, "Brother-in-law, stop laughing. How can I face anyone like this?"

"Why can't I see him?"

Zhao Lei walked forward with a smile, "When Liu Hongxia sees that you brought back a swarm of bees for her, she'll praise you even if your face is swollen, or your whole body is swollen."

Qin Bowen mumbled something, but Zhao Lei didn't hear it clearly. He only heard staggering footsteps behind him.

The two walked one after the other, carrying bamboo baskets and bees, along the mountain path towards the Heping Brigade.

The sun shone into the woods, casting dappled shadows. Zhao Lei walked ahead, in a good mood.

This beehive was given to Liu Hongxia as a favor.

After that, she traveled around the village more often, and she was always there to help the Zhao family with everything, big or small.

Moreover, when Sister Xia was at the pig farm, she took good care of Jiang Xinyue, which can be considered a small favor.

When Zhao Lei and Qin Bowen returned to the village, the sun was already high in the sky.

Qin Bowen's face was swollen and shiny on one side. He walked along the road covering his face, and the villagers who passed by stared at him.

Zhao Lei walked ahead, carrying the branch with the handkerchief tied to it, and a swarm of bees quietly perched on it.

Qin Yuchan was squatting by the courtyard washing clothes when she looked up and saw Qin Bowen's face; she almost dropped the bowl.

"My God! Bowen, what happened to you? Did someone beat you up?"

Qin Bowen said with a pained expression, "Second sister, I was stung by a bee."

Qin Yuchan leaned closer to take a look and clicked her tongue: "It's swollen like a steamed bun. Did you poke someone's nest?"

Zhao Lei laughed from the side, "He took a dump."

"Can poop turn you into a pig's head?"

"I'll tell you later. Where's Xinyue?"

"They're inside calculating the expenses for the housewarming party. Go put the bees down first, I'll boil an egg for Bowen."

Zhao Lei nodded and carried the tree branch into the yard.

Jiang Xinyue peeked out from the main room and was stunned when she saw the swarm of black bees in his hand.

Zhao Lei said, "I got a nest of wild bees on the back hill and gave it to Sister Xia. Could you keep an eye on it for me while I go find her?"

Jiang Xinyue carefully took the branch, placed it on a bamboo basket, and gave the bees a place to land.