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Liu Shi’s suggestion was immediately refuted by another woman.
“At this hour, you won’t get a good price in town. Why don’t you wait until tomorrow morning? The bee nest can sit for a few days without going bad.”
“That’s right, that’s right. There are more people heading into town in the morning, and more buyers too. Just sell it to whoever offers the highest price.”
Liu Shi realized her earlier idea was off, and quickly nodded in agreement, offering her praise.
“Manya, hurry home now. Take care of the places where you got stung. Otherwise, the itching and pain will last for days.”
Wang Man smiled and nodded before turning to leave.
When Aunt Ma Liu saw Wang Man carrying back a basin-sized bee nest, she was startled.
Her eyesight wasn’t good enough to see clearly where Wang Man had been stung, so she could only ask.
Wang Man gave a vague answer, downplaying the severity and even offered a few words of reassurance.
She wasn’t lying. In her eyes, a few bee stings weren’t worth making a fuss about.
She mixed some salt with water at home and dabbed it onto the stung areas, rubbing it back and forth.
When she noticed bee stingers still embedded in her skin, she pulled them out and continued applying the saltwater.
Thinking of the treasure she’d brought back, Wang Man gave the stings a few more rubs before impatiently grabbing a bowl to start digging out the bee pupae from the nest.
Auntie Ma Liu thought Wang Man wanted to eat honey and tried to persuade her:
“Manya, that’s such a big bee nest. Why don’t you sell it?
If you want something sweet, just use the money from selling it to buy some sugar.
Wouldn’t it be a waste if you can’t finish it all?”
Wang Man didn’t even lift her head as she replied,
“I’m not eating the honey. I’m taking out the bee pupae to stir-fry and eat.”
“What? Stir-fry bee pupae?”
Auntie Ma Liu’s voice rose in shock, as if she’d heard something horrifying.
“You can eat bees? How do you even eat them?”
Wang Man continued working with her hands, not pausing for a second.
“Best to deep-fry them, but we don’t have any oil, so I’ll just dry-fry them.”
“Aiya, those are bees—they sting people! Why would you eat something like that?”
Auntie Ma Liu was convinced Wang Man must be starving. Otherwise, she wouldn’t resort to eating bees.
In her memory, no one had ever eaten such a thing.
But it wasn’t surprising—very few people even dared to harvest bee nests.
The kids in the village didn’t dare go after such a big hive, and the smaller ones hardly had any pupae inside.
Either way, no one had the nerve to collect them, let alone eat them.
Wang Man’s lips curled into a grin.
“Don’t underestimate them. They’re incredibly nutritious.
For someone like you or me, with such weak bodies, eating this is actually good for us.”
She finished extracting all the bee pupae and, without even washing them, dumped them straight into the wok to stir-fry.
The bee pupae weren’t even done cooking when Madam Lu arrived.
She had heard that Wang Man brought back a huge bee nest and came over to persuade her to sell it in town instead of wasting it.
Given the state of their family right now, they needed to save every bit of silver they could. Otherwise, how would they make it through the winter?
She and Wang Yida worried constantly about how to keep the household afloat.
Their own situation wasn’t great either, and they still had a grandson to raise.
It was already hard enough to scrape together a little to help them out—doing it regularly simply wasn’t possible.
So in the end, they had to rely on themselves.
As for Wang San, there was nothing more to say—he was completely unreliable.
“Manya, what are you cooking? Smells pretty good,”
Lu Shi asked, sniffing the air as she stepped into the doorway.
Wang Man was in an especially good mood and greeted her with a smile.
“Madam Lu, you’re here?
Come in, I’ve got something nice.”
She glanced at the bee pupae, now fried to a crisp golden brown.
She took out two clean bowls and filled them up.
Sure enough, the bee nest was big, and it had plenty of bee pupae inside.
Even with their chipped earthenware bowl, she managed to fill it to the brim.
There was still more left, enough to fill another bowl more than halfway.
She planned to let Madam Lu take some back home for her family to try.
Since they’d been good to her, she couldn’t just take it for granted—when it was time to return kindness, she had to do so properly.
When Lu Shi learned these were bee pupae, her expression turned a little odd.
“You can actually eat this stuff?”
“Of course you can! Why not? Try it if you don’t believe me.”
Wang Man picked one up and brought it close to Lu Shi’s mouth.
Lu Shi quickly turned her face away.
“No, no, I’m afraid its little stinger will sting my tongue.”
Wang Man burst into laughter.
“I’ve fried it till it’s like this—where would the stinger even come from?
Besides, these are bee pupae—they haven’t even developed into bees yet.
They’re just soft little cocoons—no legs, no wings, all meat. Super fragrant, and really nourishing.”
Taking advantage of the moment Aunt Ma Liu wasn’t looking, she popped one into her own mouth and continued munching with a grin.
Lu Shi, watching how much she was enjoying it, started to feel a little tempted herself.
Aunt Ma Liu was startled when a bee pupae was suddenly stuffed into her mouth. She didn’t know whether to chew it or spit it out.
Just as she was hesitating, Wang Man added with a grin,
“Once it’s in your mouth, you have to eat it. No wasting.
I worked hard to harvest this, you know.”
Now Aunt Ma Liu didn’t dare spit it out.
To be honest, she was a little afraid of Wang Man.
She shut her eyes, mustered up her courage, and finally swallowed the bee pupae.
After chewing it, she smacked her lips and nodded.
“Mm! It really is fragrant. Big Sister, you should try it—it’s delicious!”
At that, Lu Shi couldn’t resist any longer and reached out her hand.
Wang Man pointed to the bowl beside her and said,
“Madam Lu, take these back later and let your family have a taste.
Since there’s not much, I won’t be giving any to the other two uncles’ families this time.”
Lu Shi didn’t refuse and nodded.
She hadn’t expected Wang Man, at such a young age, to already understand the importance of gratitude and repaying kindness. Truly, a good child.
While the three of them were happily snacking away, a few people appeared at the doorway.
Leading the group was the village chief of Gaoshan Village—Wang Changhai.
Behind him were two others: one around sixty or so, and another man about the same age as Wang Changhai.
Judging by their similar features, they were either father and son or at least blood relatives.
Wang Man had a rather good impression of Wang Changhai.
He was an upright man, always stood on the side of reason, and never played favorites.
Ever since she and her Brother had gotten a Stepmother, they’d often been beaten, scolded, and left hungry.
The village chief had helped them more than once, so Wang Man had always felt grateful toward him.
“Uncle Village Chief, what brings you here?
Come try my stir-fried bee pupae!
You two as well—have a taste! It’s really good.”
Wang Changhai, forty-five years old, was of average build—not too fat or thin—with a natural air of authority about him.
He stepped forward with a smile, glanced at the dish, and asked with curiosity,
“Stir-fried bee pupae? You can eat this stuff?”
Without hesitation, he picked one up, popped it into his mouth, chewed a bit, and then nodded.
“Mm, not bad. Smells good, tastes good too.”
He turned to the two older men and said,
“Go on, give it a try. This really tastes great!
I’ve lived for decades and never had anything like this before.”
Wang Man grinned, her small mouth stretched into a bright smile.
“If you like it, then eat a bit more.
But there’s not a lot, so I won’t be packing any for you to take home.”
The village chief waved his hand and picked up a few more, popping them into his mouth one after another, praising nonstop,
“Delicious! So tasty!”
The two older men didn’t hold back either, reaching out to grab a handful and savoring them slowly.
Lu Shi and Aunt Ma Liu, seeing the visitors arrive, had already stood up and given up their stools.
Before long, the bowls of bee pupae were completely empty.
Everyone still seemed a little unsatisfied—the taste really was quite good.