The makeshift nets and gloves crafted last night came in handy. Below the cliff, there was a beehive that seemed to have existed for many years. A gigantic hive, resembling a millstone, with a deep brown upper part enveloped in delicate pale yellow, hung inverted in a recessed area of the cliff. The golden honey flowed down the semi-circular comb, already dripping onto the stone ground, forming a thick pile of amber-like honey.
Around the cliff, near and far, there were seven or eight beehives, large and small, visible in the cracks of the rocks. Four or five larger hives could be seen not far from the old hive.
Tiger and Tong Xi placed the bee boxes, which had been roasted and sun-dried for a day, in the crevices on the right side. Then, using pine branches, they quickly brushed the honey on the entrances and inner boards of the boxes. After Biaozi hung the bee-catching cage just above the largest hive, Bei lit a straw bundle and slowly smoked around the biggest hive. The bees quickly swarmed out, buzzing loudly. Bei anxiously looked for Sichuan's figure. He saw Jingjing carrying two pots, her eyes gleaming, quietly waiting. No wonder he didn't hear the usual noise; these three were definitely food enthusiasts.
After the bees came out, Biaozi cut about three-quarters of the honeycomb along the dark brown edge, filled the brought basin, threw small pieces of the honeycomb into the newly made bee-catching box, and then hurriedly took a few people to the stove room where the pancreas was made. They poured the honey into a large barrel, emptied the basin, and quickly ran back.
Bei and Tiger continued to smoke the four large hives that looked like they had a lot of honey. When they saw Biaozi coming over, Bei laughed, "Biaozi, we're short of basins! Look at the rows of honeycomb boards here; you probably need to make several trips!" Inspired by this natural and enormous harvest, Bei, who was on the verge of going crazy, completely forgot the elegance he had been educated for twenty years in the modern world. At this moment, one foot was on a tree branch, the other spanning a gap in the stone cliff, hands on hips in a posture of a king, shouting directly at Biaozi.
"No problem, we can make as many trips as needed!" A group of four or five people, each holding an empty basin, answered in unison. It was so orderly, as if the woman cutting honey at that moment was a female general commanding thousands of troops. The direction she pointed to sparkled with the sweet color of the target.
Because it was cut flat, inevitably carrying a lot of honeycomb and some larvae from the edges, when Bei and the others returned to the eastern kitchen, they first cut open the honeycomb and picked out all the larvae from the edges.
The lye solution, saltwater, and glycerin in the big pot had already separated. Bei first scooped out the lye solution into a wooden box, and the glycerin waste was poured into a bucket, kept aside for further refining in the evening. After cleaning the pot and adding fresh water with a wooden steam partition, Tiger started the fire. Once the fire was lit, the oil residue in the double-linked pot next door quickly floated to the surface. Using a clawed sieve, they scooped it out and poured a few small spoons of honey over it. Now, everyone had no intention of working; they were all gathered around the sugar and oil residue, unable to stop eating.
Bei transferred all the melted fat from the pot and poured the bee larvae into an iron pan. Using the remaining bottom oil and the slightly red-hot pan, he quickly stir-fried until the color turned golden, and the rich aroma of the caramel filled the air. Before the others could react, Bei moved a big shovel of it into a basin and stored it in the space. Last night, he had moved a set of table and chairs from his bedroom to the empty room on the third floor of Fuhai Building. Now, as they were distracted by the crispy bee larvae again, Bei quietly moved some bamboo joints, clay pots, wooden basins, and similar items into the space. The sugar and oil residue and the honey from the old hive were all stored in a basin.
Tong Xi and Biaozi went out to fetch a dozen roasted new beehives. With a knife, they cut off the honeycomb and beeswax and put them together in a pot. After steaming over water, the pale yellow wax liquid floated up. Bei brushed it with a reed, thinning the honeycomb one by one. Such boxes would be no problem for raising bees. In a few days, they would hand them over to Zhong Shu to be placed in Peach Blossom Lodge. Oh, the thought of the new honey with a fruity fragrance made them all feel happy.