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

Zhao Lei turned and left the house, heading towards Liu Hongxia's home.

Liu Hongxia's house is located at the east end of the village. There are three orange trees in the low courtyard.

When Zhao Lei arrived, she was sitting by the door shelling beans. Seeing Zhao Lei, she quickly stood up and said, "Lei Zi, what brings you here?"

Zhao Lei said, "Sister Xia, you asked me to keep an eye out for wild bees before, and I brought back a nest of them from the mountains today."

The bean pods in Liu Hongxia's hand fell to the ground with a thud: "What? You really got them?"

Zhao Lei nodded: "It's a colony of native bees, and I brought it back with the queen. They're not too fierce, so they're relatively easy to raise."

Liu Hongxia was both surprised and delighted, and quickly moved a stool for Zhao Lei to sit on.

"Lei Zi, I didn't expect you to actually succeed. We went to Huangshi Township to learn from them, but those masters there were secretive and gave vague answers to everything we asked. We only learned half of what they knew and didn't understand anything."

Speaking of this, he became a little worried: "Lei Zi, it's good that you brought them back, but I'm afraid they won't survive. I have no idea how to take care of those bees."

Zhao Lei thought for a moment: "Sister Xia, didn't Xin Yue go with you to the meeting in Huangshi Township last time? She's well-educated, so maybe she remembered some things."

Liu Hongxia slapped her thigh: "That's right! How could I forget about that! Xinyue is highly educated and has a sharp mind. She even asked a few questions at the meeting that I didn't understand. On the way home, she kept talking to me about things like queen bees laying eggs and swarming."

Liu Hongxia immediately stood up and walked towards the door: "Let's go, let's go ask Xinyue."

Zhao Lei suggested, "Sister Xia, how about this? Xin Yue has some free time lately, so how about we let her start beekeeping?"

Zhao Lei also had his own selfish motives; after all, no one gets up early without a reason.

Since such an opportunity has been presented to him, how could Zhao Lei possibly miss it?

Liu Hongxia thought for a moment and said, "Sure, Xinyue's learning ability is much stronger than mine. I was just a little envious because I saw that others had successfully raised pigs. You want me to do real research on my own? I'm currently managing a collective pig farm, and I don't have enough time."

"Sister Xia, it's perfect for Xinyue to give it a try."

"That's true, but now private individuals can't engage in aquaculture; it has to be done in the name of the collective."

Zhao Lei was waiting for him to say that, because he knew that the reform and opening up would take place at the end of the year, which was less than three months away.

What Zhao Lei wants now is experience and a reputation. When the reform and opening up take place, it will be natural for him to spin off his business.

"It's alright, Sister Xia. Since none of us have experience, let's just leave it to him to manage. We'll see how it goes after we see some results."

Liu Hongxia thought about it and agreed.

Because the collective hasn't contributed any effort or funds at all.

Zhao Lei caught the bees himself, so it's not unreasonable for his family to take over the beekeeping now.

Most importantly, Zhao Lei's successful breeding experience belongs to the collective.

There would be no harm in the hundred miles, so after thinking it over, Liu Hongxia immediately decided to hand it over to Jiang Xinyue to manage.

Liu Hongxia nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, please take care of this for me. If you take good care of your family, the collective will not treat you unfairly."

"Okay, it's settled then. If anyone investigates Sister Xia, you'll have to speak up."

"Okay, as long as you can successfully scale up the business, I'll apply for the necessary permits for you!"

Zhao Lei returned home satisfied.

At home, Jiang Xinyue had already placed the beehive in a corner of the woodshed, covered it with a bamboo basket, and put a damp cloth on top of it.

When Zhao Lei went in, she was squatting by the basket, observing the movements inside through the gap in the cloth.

Zhao Lei told Jiang Xinyue about Liu Hongxia's difficulties. After listening, Jiang Xinyue thought for a moment, stood up, and dusted off her hands.

"I did take some notes at that meeting in Huangshi Township. Wild bees prefer dry and well-ventilated places, preferably south-facing slopes where they can get sunlight but not direct sunlight."

I noticed the rocky cliff behind our house; it faces south and has recessed areas on its face that provide shelter from the wind and rain.

Zhao Lei's eyes lit up: "Over at the rocky cliff?"

Jiang Xinyue nodded: "There's an open space at the bottom of that cliff, surrounded by wildflowers and shrubs, making it easy for bees to collect nectar. I mentioned it to Sister Xia when we passed by there last time; she said that the people in Huangshi Township keep beehives by stacking them under the cliff."

Zhao Lei walked around the room for a moment: "Let's go, let's go take a look now."

Qin Bowen emerged from the kitchen with a swollen face, rolling a hot egg on his face. Hearing that the two were going to the back mountain, he said in a muffled voice, "Brother-in-law, I want to go too."

Zhao Lei looked at his face and said, "How can you even show your face to anyone?"

"I've applied the ointment, and the swelling has gone down a bit."

Qin Bowen stuck the egg on his face. "Anyway, I have to work, so it won't bother me."

So the three of them went out and took the path behind Zhao Lei's house to go up the mountain.

The back mountain isn't far away; it only takes about ten minutes to walk to the rocky cliff that Jiang Xinyue mentioned.

The cliff is two or three zhang high, with a slightly concave surface. Below it is a flat open space covered with moss and low shrubs.

Several trees above the cliff blocked the sunlight, turning it into dappled light that was neither too intense nor too dim.

At the foot of the cliff is a small gully, with clear water flowing in it year-round.

Zhao Lei remembered that the last time it rained heavily, Wanqing and Xinyue got lost while picking mushrooms at night in this very forest.

Zhao Lei stood at the bottom of the cliff and circled around, the more he looked, the more suitable it seemed.

The wind blows from above the cliff face, but there's hardly any wind below, so the bees can build their nests here very comfortably.

"Xinyue, you have good taste. This place is really nice."

Jiang Xinyue squatted down and parted the weeds at the foot of the cliff to take a look: "The soil here isn't damp, and the cliff faces south, so it's warm in winter. If we could build a few shelves here and put the beehive on them, it would be convenient for the bees to come and go."

Zhao Lei squatted down next to her and looked at her: "What kind of wood will you use to build the scaffold?"

"Cypress wood is best, as it's more moisture-resistant. The pile of old planks behind the woodshed will do. Also, surround the area with bamboo strips to keep wild animals from stealing the honey."

Zhao Lei stood up and clapped his hands: "Okay, let's do it this way. Bowen, go back and borrow a saw from Zhang Lin and the others, and move that pile of planks over from home. I'll go get some bamboo strips."

Qin Bowen stuffed the egg into his mouth, mumbled a reply, and went down the mountain.

Zhao Lei and Jiang Xinyue stayed at the bottom of the cliff to clear the space first.

Jiang Xinyue used a sickle to cut weeds, while Zhao Lei moved stones to build a simple foundation.

The two of them worked diligently for over an hour, clearing away the weeds in the open space and building a embankment with rubble at the foot of the cliff to prevent rainwater from flowing back in.

Qin Bowen carried back several old wooden planks, followed by the Zhang brothers, Zhang Lin and Zhang Sen.

Each of them carried a bundle of planks.

Several people worked at the foot of the rocky cliff until the sun was almost setting, and erected a three-story wooden frame.