Rebirth in 1984, starting from beekeeping in the mountains

Chapter 80: Ghost Tricks in the Ghost Market (Please Bookmark First!)

"Brother! Is this royal jelly the honey produced by the queen bee?"

"How many hives of bees would it take to make one pound?"

After leaving the medicinal materials purchasing station, Wang Tong couldn't help but lean over to ask Fang Hongan.

Just now at the purchasing station, Fang Hongan and the old herbalist agreed on the supply of royal jelly.

One pound per month.

The price is what the old herbalist said, twelve yuan per pound.

To be honest, even Fang Hongan didn't expect this price.

Royal jelly is precious.

But based on the price level in 84, this price was indeed a bit outrageous.

Maybe it’s because it’s still hard to buy these days, and the old herbalist is in urgent need of it, but doesn’t want much.

Considering various factors, he is willing to pay such a high price.

The price is high.

Fang Hongan had a very good impression of this old herbalist.

Fang Hongan agreed without hesitation.

As for the two questions asked by Wang Tong, Fang Hongan smiled and gave him some popular science explanations.

Regarding royal jelly, not to mention now, even in the era of information explosion forty years later, many people still have great misunderstandings.

Royal jelly is not the honey produced by the queen bee, but a kind of milk secreted by worker bees, or more precisely, young and middle-aged worker bees.

It is not like what many people have rumored, that it is specially fed to the queen bee.

In fact, all bee larvae need to eat this milky serum in order to develop.

However, the concentration of active ingredients in the milk fed to honey larvae and queen bees is different.

Feeding times are also different.

The larvae of worker bees and drones are usually only fed for a few days.

The queen bee feeds on this kind of milk throughout her life.

This serum is also the key factor in promoting the transformation of bee larvae into queen bees.

That's why it's called royal jelly.

Under normal circumstances, when worker bees feed larvae and queen bees, they secrete and feed them immediately.

There is no royal jelly left in the cells of the honeycomb.

To produce royal jelly, based on the nature of worker bees raising queen bees, fake royal cells (the cells on the honeycomb where the queen bee is nurtured) are made on the honeycomb of the hive. Bee larvae are then placed in the royal cells to trick the worker bees into believing that a new queen bee is about to be born in the royal cells, thus tricking the worker bees into secreting royal jelly into the royal cells.

When the royal jelly in the honey in the royal cells reaches the extraction standard, the larvae can be taken out and the royal jelly in the false royal cells can be extracted.

Because the feeding capacity of worker bees is limited, extracting royal jelly will greatly increase the feeding pressure of the worker bees. Therefore, royal jelly can generally only be extracted from beehives with strong bee colonies during the high honey flow period.

The output really cannot be increased.

According to Fang Hongan's experience, even if he took immediate action after returning, given his current starting stage, it would take at least half a month to accumulate a pound of royal jelly.

Therefore, the delivery date for the first pound of royal jelly agreed with the old herbalist was also one month later.

After Fang Hongan briefly explained the source of royal jelly and how to trick the bee colony into producing royal jelly, Wang Tong was amazed and his eyes were full of interest.

After this period of personal understanding, he felt that he had basically figured out all the ins and outs of beekeeping.

But now I realize that what I have learned is just a drop in the bucket.

Moreover, when it comes to royal jelly, Wang Tong also found that the details involved are quite interesting.

It's not just about being reckless, you have to rely on your brain and play tricks with the bee colony. From this point of view, beekeeping is not only more interesting than running around in the mountains and chasing wild animals, but also more interesting than digging honey in the wild...

……

While Wang Tong was secretly determined to learn the beekeeping techniques well.

Fang Hongan led him back to Dongmen Well again.

Arriving at Liao San's old house, I followed Liao San's previous instructions and turned over a green brick under the stone pier near the door. After groping inside for a while, I indeed found a key.

Although Liao San was in a hurry to get the honey out and was reluctant to accompany Fang Hongan and Wang Tong, his hospitality was impeccable. He left the key to the two of them so that they could stay here to rest and sleep from today to tomorrow.

Even though the house is a mess.

But Fang Hongan had seen it before. Apart from Liao San's doghouse-like bed, there was also a bamboo bed and a bamboo lounge chair on the second floor.

In May, you can just cover yourself with a little cloth at night.

As for Liao San, this place was like a refuge for him, filled with miscellaneous items, and there was nothing valuable to be found at a glance.

I guess this is why he is so generous.

The two rested in the old house for a few hours.

He waited until nightfall before going out again.

First, they went to a nearby state-owned noodle shop to eat a bowl of noodles with egg and meat, which was considered a good reward for themselves. Then the two of them braved the night and came to Liberation Square.

The square is located in the center of Xin County and is also the most well-known place in the entire Xin County.

Just to the west of Jiefang Square, there is a dead-end road without street lights, which becomes the largest ghost market in Xin County at night.

It was just getting dark, but this ghost market street was already quite lively.

There are many stalls selling rice, oil, noodles, cloth...

Almost everything you need for daily life is available.

The two of them had just walked in a short distance when Wang Tong's attention was attracted by a stall.

The stall was run by a man in his forties with a Mediterranean hairstyle, and the items he sold were very unique.

It is a puppy-shaped doll made of straw. The workmanship is very crude and it is not exquisite at all. But the novelty lies in that when the stall owner with a Mediterranean haircut shouts "jump", the straw dog doll will immediately jump up.

Suddenly, it seemed as if there was some kind of magic.

Sensitively noticing Wang Tong looking over, the Mediterranean stall owner immediately narrowed his eyes and smiled and shouted: "Magic dog, magic dog for sale! It will jump when you call it, and it will jump as fast as you call it. Five yuan each, if you buy one, I guarantee you will learn it!"

After shouting, the Mediterranean stall owner immediately started his display.

He first slowly called out "jump" a few times, and every time he called out, the straw dog really jumped to the rhythm of his calling.

Then, he barked faster and faster, and the straw dog followed his rhythm and jumped up more and more happily.

It not only looks realistic, but also full of mysterious power.

"Brother! This thing is amazing!"

Wang Tong looked at it for a while and couldn't help but be moved: "Meimei's birthday is next week, I'll buy one for her, she will be so happy!"

Meimei is the daughter of Wang Gui, Wang Tong’s eldest brother. The little girl seems to be six years old. She is quirky and very likable.

Wang Tong, who is not married yet, is very fond of his niece.

After saying this, Wang Tong prepared to walk over.

"forget it!"

Fang Hongan pressed his shoulders and pulled him back abruptly: "It's just a little trick, don't be taken advantage of!"

(End of this chapter)