Rebirth in 1984, starting from beekeeping in the mountains

Chapter 84 Honey cake! Sweet potato wine!

Fang Hongan looked at the uncle in front of him with suspicion.

He looks older than I remembered.

He has messy hair and looks to be just over fifty.

But his hair and beard were already gray.

It must be because I didn’t sleep well. I have heavy bags under my eyes and dark circles in my eye sockets.

Her eyes were wandering and the corners of her mouth were constantly twitching. After asking this question, she seemed a little guilty and didn't even dare to look him in the eye.

This face is really boring to look at.

It seemed that when he called him, Fang Hongan had already foreseen this scene in his mind.

The question asked did not surprise Fang Hongan.

"Uncle knows my uncle?"

To be honest, even after living two lives, Fang Hongan still knew very little about his mother's family.

He had barely any memory of his parents' life.

Later, following my grandparents, they didn't reveal too much information.

They were just very sorry about her mother's death, and they always said that her mother was a rare and good daughter-in-law.

As for his previous life, after he left Shiwan Village, he only heard that one time, and it seemed that the retired uncle was looking for him.

But he dodged it.

There was no more intersection afterwards.

At the moment, Fang Hongan was really curious about the origin of this uncle who was rumored to be so famous in Shiwan Village.

Seeing that Fang Hongan did not express cold hatred towards him, but asked him with a smirk, Fang Qingshan felt much less uneasy and took another step closer:
"I can't say I know him! I've only met him once! It was not long after your mom got married. He came to see your dad once. Your mom wasn't around at the time. It seemed like he had a fight with your dad, and then he left in a huff!"

"So... are you sure you're eating state-funded food?"

"That's for sure!" Fang Qingshan's eyes flashed with excitement, "This is not a rumor. Not only your uncle, but also your grandfather. I heard that he was the leader of a bureau at that time."

Fang Qingshan tried hard to recall, but it seemed that he could only find this much information.

After he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that something was wrong and looked at Fang Hongan in astonishment: "You're asking me this? You didn't go to your uncle's place?"

"No!" Fang Hongan saw that the information he knew was quite limited, shook his head lightly, picked up the carrying pole again and prepared to put it on his shoulder.

"No?" Fang Qingshan's eyes widened. "That donkey cart... and the rice?"

Fang Hongan raised his eyes coldly: "Ask someone to send it over!"

After saying that, he picked up Fang Hongan's two wooden barrels.

Feeling Fang Hongan's sudden change in attitude, Fang Qingshan was extremely surprised, and at the same time, a sense of guilty embarrassment appeared on his face.

"Hongan!" He gritted his teeth and called Fang Hongan, "I really can't make the decision about borrowing rice and exchanging land! You know your aunt has a bad temper. Young man, relax and be more tolerant. After all, we are still one family..."

"Uncle!"

Fang Hongan interrupted Fang Qingshan coldly, "I call you uncle! It's purely because you are my grandfather's eldest son by blood, and my father's brother!
Now that my grandparents are gone, and my dad is gone too, you can still call me that, but let’s not talk about those nonsense things, everyone… just be well and live your own life!
Since you can't make the decision on many things, don't make the decision and say these words today!
Some words, if heard too much, are kind of... nauseating!"

After saying this, Fang Hongan picked up two buckets of water and left quickly.

Only Fang Qingshan was left standing there with an embarrassed look on his face.

My face was burning red.

In the end, he could only sigh helplessly.

He turned his eyes around again and looked to make sure no one was seeing him.

Only then did he turn around and leave.

……

……

Wait for Fang Hongan to return home.

In the main room of the earthen house.

Wang Tong was already waiting there with a grin on his face.

He was holding a piece of yellowish-brown pastry-like thing in his hand and was eating it in big mouthfuls.

Seeing Fang Hongan coming back with a load of water, he stuffed the last half into his mouth.

He came up with his big puffed up mouth to help Fang Hongan unload the water, then pointed at the inner room and started whimpering.

He wanted to say something, but the food in his mouth was too big and he couldn't swallow it.

I can only point wildly with my fingers.

Fang Hongan was a little confused.

Just at this moment, Lan Wenxiu came out from the inner room after hearing Fang Hongan coming back.

He was holding a plate in his hand, with a few pieces of the same pastries that Wang Tong had just eaten on the plate.

"Hongan!" Lan Wenxiu came closer and showed the plate in her hand to Fang Hongan. "Heizi just brought it here. He said it was a honey cake made by my aunt. I ate it. It's soft and fluffy, and has a strong honey flavor! It's delicious. Wash your hands and try it!"

"woo woo woo woo!"

Wang Tong swallowed hard and nodded vigorously.

Obviously, what he meant by shouting and gesturing just now was to let Fang Hongan taste the honey cake.

"My aunt made this! She's a great cook! It must taste great!"

Fang Hongan also quickly washed his hands, picked up one and tasted it.

It was indeed just as my wife Lan Wenxiu said, soft and tasty.

Fang Hongan couldn't help but sigh: "It's really delicious! Just this cake, if it's packaged and sold, it will definitely be a big hit!"

"That... is it!" Wang Tong finally finished swallowing the last bit. When he heard Fang Hongan praising his mother's craftsmanship, he immediately grinned with pride, "As for my mother's skill in making pastries, it's really not an exaggeration!"

"But... this pastry will become hard when it gets cold! Unlike biscuits, you can eat it right away! I'm afraid it won't be sold after packaging it!" Wang Tong said with regret.

"Being hard isn't a problem, just steam it again!"

Fang Hongan smiled slightly, eating the honey cake in his mouth, and immediately found an idea: "As long as it tastes good, it can be sold! Think about the buns we eat in the county? They are far worse than this!

If it really doesn’t work, I can just open a pastry shop like I did with the steamed buns! I can just steam and sell them. As long as I can keep up the quality, they will definitely be a big hit!”

During this period of time, Fang Hongan has actually been thinking about the beekeeping industry. In his previous life, he helped people raise bees in the mountains for more than five years, and witnessed the whole process of a bee farm growing from small to large, then quickly becoming difficult from prosperity, and finally having to stop losses and close down.

To sum up the experience, if we adopt a single model of selling honey agricultural products, it will be too dependent on market changes.

When the honey market is good, sales are fast and money can be made.

But when the market is bad, it is difficult to sell even if you don’t make money.

Therefore, Fang Hongan brought beeswax with him when he went to the county town this time.

He also agreed to supply royal jelly to the old herbalist.

But this alone is not enough.

Best of all, it could also expand into other categories of products.

Now, this honey cake might be a good idea to try...

"Steam it again?"

"A pastry shop?"

After hearing what Fang Hongan said.

Wang Tong then realized that Fang Hongan's words about selling honey cakes seemed not just to praise his mother's craftsmanship, nor were they just casual remarks.

This seems to be an idea.

Moreover, let’s take this steamed bun shop for comparison.

Wang Tong also thought it was quite promising.

His mother is already old now.

There is a lot of farm work at home, so it would be a good choice if I could open a pastry shop like this in the county town.

But think about it this way.

Wang Tong felt that it was still a bit ridiculous.

Given the current conditions, is it too much to think about going to the city?

Most of the steamed bun shops in the county are state-owned.

Even if there are private ones, they would just use a small cart and sell secretly.

The risk here is still too great...

Fang Hongan saw that Wang Tong was excited, but his expression soon turned into helplessness.

Then I knew what he was worried about.

But this is not easy to explain, and there is no need to explain it. Once the first individual legal license in Hunan Province is issued, the wind direction will naturally change.

By then, you won’t have to explain yourself.

Finish eating this honey cake.

Fang Hongan and Wang Tong also started to prepare immediately.

The new bee-proof clothing is ready, and the two are planning to give it a try today.

The hive of the hornet that we are going to dig up is much more dangerous than that of honey bees.

Preparations beforehand must be thorough.

First, he checked the bee-proof suit again to confirm that there was no problem. Then Fang Hongan picked up the long cylindrical bamboo basket that Wang Tong brought over.

There is an old bamboo craftsman in Shanmuling Village who specializes in weaving bamboo products and selling them at the market. His craftsmanship is quite good and he is also a relative of Wang Tong's family.

A few days ago, Fang Hongan asked Wang Tong to go to an old bamboo craftsman to order a bamboo basket about one meter long and fifteen centimeters in diameter to collect beehives.

When we dig up the hive of the black bee, we will collect the black bees together.

After taking a quick look, I found that this beehive was indeed very delicately woven. Not only was there no visible joints, but the gaps between the bamboo strips were also quite even.

The closing part is tied with a wooden plug with a rope. After collecting the bees, you can directly plug the wooden plug tightly.

Then, the rope on the wooden cork was specially left longer, and a small groove was left at the seal for routing the wire.

Wrap the rope on the wooden stopper around the wiring groove, which can just support the bottom of the wooden stopper to prevent it from accidentally coming loose.

In fact, neither Wang Tong nor Fang Hongan thought of this when they were about to do it.

But the old bamboo craftsman thought of it for them and added it when he was making it, and didn't charge them more when they paid.

Craftsmen these days really make their things with great care.

After throwing the beehive to Wang Tong, Fang Hongan returned to the inner room and brought out a white plastic bucket.

This bucket is the same model as the "Guizhou Province Briefcase" that became popular on the Internet later.

In fact, many areas in Hunan Province also use it to store wine.

This barrel was bought by Fang Hongan at the supply and marketing cooperative in the county yesterday, and what was inside was the sweet potato liquor that the old carpenter brewed himself and borrowed from his home last night.

It is made by fermenting sweet potatoes and then steaming them with yeast. Generally speaking, the alcohol content is around 20 degrees.

However, the old carpenter's tea has to be at least 35 degrees because it is steamed one more time.

It is most suitable for making bee wine.

Although all these things were ready, Fang Hongan and Wang Tong had no intention of leaving. Instead, they moved chairs and waited outside the house.

What they were going to dig today were not the already located hives of hornets in Shanmuling Village.

Instead, he wanted to first deal with the ghost wasp that had already moved outside the thatched house in the orchard.

This is just like digging a honey beehive. First, you have to lure the bees and find the bee paths to locate the hive.

The bee attractant for ghost bees is different from that for honey bees. If you use the previous bee attractant water to attract them, it is highly likely that you will not be able to attract them.

Now, we need to prepare something that can attract the ghost wasp.

Fang Hongan really doesn't have such a thing at home, so he can only wait outside for someone to come and sell it to him!
The two waited patiently for about ten minutes.

The shouts finally became clearer from far away: "Pork! Big fat pork!"

Wang Tong stood up excitedly: "Finally here!"

　The main plot is still the life of beekeeping, farming and running in the mountains over the years, and the main perspective will also be in the mountains.

　　I will only write about other industries in passing, but the space won’t be too long!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)