Chapter 5: Looking for a Beehive

Meng Ling noticed how much he was craving the food—his eyes were practically falling into the pot. “Alright, you can try and see if it’s salty enough.”

As she spoke, she pulled out some utensils and picked out a piece of chicken, steaming hot and fragrant.

Meng Shiqiao took the bowl and chopsticks, picked up the chicken, and brought it to his mouth.

“Whoo—hot!”

“Whoo, whoo…”

He blew on it a couple more times before finally putting the meat in his mouth, looking utterly delighted, as if he had just tasted the most delicious food in the world.

After he finished, Meng Ling asked, “Is it too salty or bland?”

Smacking his lips, Meng Shiqiao’s eyes never left the meat in the pot. “I ate it too fast and forgot to taste it properly. How about I try another piece?”

Meng Ling saw right through his little trick and said, “Nice try. Just tend the fire.”

She took a piece herself and tasted it. The saltiness was just right, and the chicken was tender and flavorful.

“Finally, some meat!”

The rich aroma filled her nose, and the juices spread across her tongue from tip to root, delighting every taste bud.

She picked two more pieces and brought them to her mother.

“Mom, try this wild chicken and see if it’s good.”

Madam Shen took the bowl and chopsticks, picked up a piece, and after a few bites, the rich flavor spread through her mouth.

“Mmm, delicious!”

“So good!” Madam Shen praised again and again. “Big Girl, this is the best thing I’ve ever eaten.”

Meng Ling knew her mother was being a bit dramatic, but it still made her happy.

Then she picked up a small drumstick for her younger sister.

“Qingqing, this one’s for you.”

Little Meng Qingqing took it with her tiny hands, brought it to her mouth, stretched her hand forward and pulled her head back with effort.

“Mmm!”

Her little body shook with the effort, but she finally tore off a piece of meat. The two watching her burst into laughter.

The drumstick was soon gone, and Qingqing ran to the kitchen door and shouted, “Sister! The meat is yummy—I want more!”

Meng Ling chuckled, gave her another piece, blew on it to cool it down, and handed it to her. “Go show Mom.”

Before long, Meng Liang returned home. The moment he walked in, he smelled the aroma of meat. Then he saw the chicken on the table and wondered, What’s the occasion? Did they stew our chicken?

Since when could we afford to live like this?

But thinking further, he figured the kids must’ve really craved meat—after all, it had been a long time. He let it go.

Seeing his dad come in, Meng Shiqiao immediately called out, “Dad, come eat!”

He wouldn’t dare eat before his dad touched his chopsticks.

Seeing how eager he was, Meng Liang smiled and sat down to taste it.

“Huh? This isn’t our old hen. This is…?”

He looked questioningly at Madam Shen.

She smiled and explained, “We’d never dare stew the old hen—we rely on her for eggs and salt money! This was a wild chicken Big Ya and the kids caught on the mountain.”

“Delicious, right?”

Realizing it wasn’t their own hen, Meng Liang chuckled. “Delicious! Very delicious!”

He glanced at Meng Ling—Since when could she catch wild chickens?

He had lived over 30 years and had never even caught a chick, let alone a wild one.

So he asked, “Big Girl, where did you learn to do this?”

Meng Ling had expected the question and had already prepared her excuse. “I just messed around and figured it out.”

Meng Liang nodded, already too distracted by the food to question further.

The whole family happily feasted on a delicious wild chicken meal, their laughter echoing through the old mountain village.

The sun shone brightly on the peaceful village as Meng Ling took her younger brother to the mountains to look for mushrooms.

As the saying goes, “Live off the mountains if you’re near them, and off the water if you’re near it.” It had been years since Meng Ling had eaten wild mushrooms—last time was during a trip to visit her grandfather in the countryside.

As a child, she had often foraged for mushrooms, and now that she thought back, those days were sweet and joyful.

It was already August. Most mushrooms had stopped growing, but pine mushrooms were still easy to find and tasted great.

They headed east, where the forest was sparse and filled with pine trees—not a place you’d get lost in.

After walking for over half an hour, they reached the foot of the mountain. On the left was a pine forest, and on the right, a stretch of black-gray rocks with low shrubs and golden-yellow wild chrysanthemums that looked lovely.

The siblings were not far apart when suddenly, Meng Shiqiao called out from the woods.

“Sis, I found some mushrooms!”

That fast? Meng Ling walked over and saw the pine needles on the ground bulging up in little mounds—there were quite a few.

Pulling them aside, sure enough, they found a bunch of pine mushrooms—this was the season for them.

Where you found one pine mushroom, there were usually more.

She peeled back more needles to reveal a whole patch.

“Wow, so many!” Shiqiao exclaimed, hurrying to pick them like someone afraid they’d get stolen.

The mushrooms on East Green Mountain were plentiful. A trip or two a year was enough to last a household a long time.

Meng Ling didn’t come often, except during mushroom season, so she wasn’t too familiar with the area. Thankfully the forest wasn’t thick, so getting lost wasn’t a concern.

After clearing one patch, they quickly found another—and another. They couldn’t even gather them all.

In less than an hour, they had about twenty pounds between them—plenty to eat.

Meng Ling sat on a rock to rest. The mountain breeze carried the scent of flowers, and bees buzzed around, working hard to collect nectar.

“Sis, I made this for you!”

At some point, Meng Shiqiao had made a flower crown and placed it on her head.

He wore one too.

“So pretty!” he praised.

Meng Ling smiled and asked, “Do you mean I’m pretty or the flower crown?”

“Of course the flower—no, you’re prettier!”

He quickly corrected himself.

Meng Ling nodded. “Mmm, acceptable answer.”

Sigh, women… Meng Shiqiao lamented. Last time he said the flower crown was prettier, even village girl Cuihua wouldn’t play with him after that.

“Sis, there are so many flowers here. I’ll pick some for little sis.”

He dove into the flower patch and began carefully selecting.

“Ouch!”

Suddenly, Meng Shiqiao cried out, clutching his forehead and rubbing it.

Meng Ling thought he might’ve been stung by nettles—she still remembered how that felt.

“Ahh!” His face twisted in pain.

“Sis, a bee stung me!”

Meng Ling teased, “Bees usually don’t sting people—unless you’re a flower thief.”

Meng Shiqiao growled, “I wasn’t bothering it! If I find their hive, I’ll tear it apart. How dare it sting me!”

Meng Ling replied, “If you can find their hive, I’ll make sure you get a big chicken drumstick.”

He’d been tricked before, so he asked, “A real drumstick?”

Meng Ling huffed, “Which drumstick have I ever given you that wasn’t real?”

“Okay, you better not trick me this time. I’ll find it for sure!”

He dove back into the flower patch.

He darted left and right like a headless chicken.

Meng Ling reminded him, “You can’t just run around—you need to follow a bee that’s full and see where it flies. Only then can you find the hive.”

“Look, there’s one now. Follow it.”

He spotted a bee busy gathering nectar.

“Alright, I’ll watch it closely.”

He fixed his eyes on the bee. Soon, it stopped feeding and flew east. He followed immediately.

Don’t underestimate bees—they’re small but fast. In a blink, Meng Ling couldn’t see her brother anymore.

She could just barely make out that he was still chasing in the direction the bee flew.

She called, “Can you even see it? It’s so small!”

“I can!”

Wow, his eyesight’s incredible. Meng Ling thought in disbelief. Superhuman vision, maybe?

Seeing he was too far ahead, she had no choice but to follow.

Although she’d never hunted for honey before, she knew some basics—bees can forage for several kilometers, even over ten kilometers.

They fly fast and are tiny. The moment they take off, you can lose sight of them instantly. Tracking a bee to its hive was no easy feat.

Sure enough, she soon found her brother standing still, clearly having lost it.

“Sis, it’s too fast—I couldn’t keep up.”

Meng Ling said dryly, “Of course. You’d have to fly to catch it.”

“Try another one. Maybe they’re from the same hive.”

Seeing that he wasn’t giving up, she could only go along with it.

“Okay, let’s wait and see if another bee flies past.”

The mountain had lots of bees. Before long, Meng Shiqiao spotted another flying overhead.

“Sis, there’s one!”

“Where?”

Meng Ling looked where he pointed—but saw absolutely nothing.