Chapter 31: Conquering a New Honey Source
"The green liquid is definitely produced by this Enlightenment Heart and transferred through ducts to various parts of the tree nymph's body, maintaining its vitality," Hua Mi remarked thoughtfully.
However, it only works inside a living tree nymph's body.
So, is there any way to keep it functioning outside of the body to produce green liquid continuously? If that could be achieved, it would be much more convenient than imprisoning a tree nymph, not to mention safer.
The detached Enlightenment Heart rapidly lost its vitality.
In just the time he contemplated, the emitted light had dwindled to the point of being barely visible, visibly decaying.
"So, I said it has no value. The detached Enlightenment Heart has such a short lifespan; it doesn't even give us enough time to do anything... Well, let's not dwell on that for now. If I ever meet a druid in the future, I can ask them about this problem," Hua Mi mused, shaking his head. He temporarily set aside this matter and casually tossed the now completely transformed Enlightenment Heart aside.
Next, Hua Mi began to deal with honey harvesting.
He started by moving the beehives outside.
Although it was unlikely that they could harvest honey for much longer today, it was still a good idea to let the bees stretch their wings and familiarize themselves with the environment.
From now on, the lakeside of the Witch's Eye Lake would be his new honey source.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the next batch of honey produced in the Waterside Moon Month would be Feathered Flower Honey.
All 38 beehives were moved out.
The Ironclad Swift Bees and Circle-Cut Bees didn't have honey sacs, so they couldn't harvest honey. However, their mouthparts were intact, and they would instinctively gather nectar from the flowers. They wouldn't store it; instead, they would digest it on the spot to replenish their energy.
Then, Hua Mi operated the Circle-Cut Bees to cut the remaining tree trunks into pieces and stored them all in the magic box.
After filling it up, there was still plenty of space left inside the magic box, more than enough to accommodate all the beehives without the need to place the active wood first.
Hua Mi had asked, but the two pseudo-flower spirits couldn't explain what the active wood could be used for. It wasn't surprising, considering they had never left the Black Forest in their long lives, their knowledge was naturally limited.
In any case, when Hua Mi saw the bees start flying out one by one to collect honey, a huge weight was lifted off his chest.
Ever since the Circle-Cut Bees were born, Hua Mi had thought of using them to deal with the tree nymph. So, he had already removed the remaining Moon Slumber Flower Honey from the beehives, obtaining another fourteen bottles of it.
The honey stomachs were now clean and ready to be filled with the new type of honey.
Unlike the patch of Moon Slumber Flowers in the backyard of the little house, the Feathered Flowers didn't grow in a dense cluster. Instead, they were distributed in a circle around the lake, making their gathering efficiency somewhat affected.
However, the number of flowers here was beyond compare to the previous Moon Slumber Flower sea, even though many had been ravaged by the tree nymph. There was still a significant amount left.
Hua Mi observed the nectar production from a single Feathered Flower, and it was about the same as the Moon Slumber Flowers. According to the two pseudo-flower spirits, it was the peak nectar flow period for the Feathered Flowers—what beekeepers commonly referred to as the major nectar flow period. Depending on the weather, it typically lasted about ten days.
"Ten days, shorter than the Moon Slumber Flowers, but that's not a problem. After the major nectar flow period ends, there will still be a continuous nectar flow, albeit in smaller quantities."
With 30 Forest Swift Bees, 1 Ironclad Bee, and 1 Excruciating Pain Bee, all capable of harvesting honey, their efficiency was incredibly high when working at full capacity.
Now, there were fewer rainy days, so it would probably take no more than a couple of weeks to fill this batch of honey stomachs, considering the time needed for transportation from the little wooden house to the Witch's Eye Lake.
At the very least, he didn't have to worry about honey stock for some time.
The effect of the Moon Slumber Flower Honey had pleasantly surprised Hua Mi, and it was selling well now. At the current rate, he expected to sell out in less than a month.
Most importantly, it improved his shop's reputation, and to some extent, it helped restore the reputation of Hua Yu Town, which was highly beneficial for his future development.
He hoped that the upcoming Feathered Flower Honey wouldn't disappoint him. He wondered if it would have any special effects. Of course, he aimed to create a subtle touch of magic on Earth; nothing too extravagant.
If the magical effects of the honey were too over-the-top, he wouldn't sell it on Earth; he would only retail it offline in this otherworldly realm.
Making a little less money was acceptable, but exposing his secrets for the sake of money, or even causing world-changing chaos and turmoil, would be foolish.
In the end, this magical otherworld remained unfamiliar and unknown, and the unknown often meant fear and danger. Each expedition outside was akin to an adventure.
In contrast, his life on Earth was like a safe haven; tranquility was the true essence.
If he made his haven unsafe, he would only be creating unnecessary difficulties for himself.
"By the way, this lake is too big not to go fishing in."
The lake was deep, its bottom not visible, and it had a pale green color, likely full of underwater plants. Based on Earth's experience, there were certainly fish inside.
Hua Mi decided to bring his fishing gear tomorrow.
The bees would be collecting honey, and he would be fishing. What a wonderful plan.
...
Before coming here today, Hua Mi had spent some time practicing how to control the Circle-Cut Bees.
So, by the time he arrived, it was already afternoon. After setting up the scene, arranging the beehives, he wasted a fair amount of time.
By the time he blinked, it was already dusk.
Although it wasn't completely dark yet, Hua Mi had already begun to command the bees to return and was preparing to leave.
He wanted to leave some time for the journey; he didn't want to walk in the woods in the dark.
The two pseudo-flower spirits left cheerfully to inform their sisters about the good news. They were just as delighted as Hua Mi that they could come here to collect honey.
Returning to the wooden house, it was already completely dark.
Hua Mi moved the active wood from the magic box and stacked it in the basement, the place where he had the semi-automatic alchemy pot.
On Earth, it was still daytime.
Hua Mi glanced at his online store's backend and found a dozen more orders.
Word-of-mouth recommendations had a significant impact on honey sales, so the initial sale of 100 bottles had set the stage for further success.
Everything was falling into place.
Hua Mi processed the orders and then contacted to purchase 12 Chinese Bees—mainly because the seller could only provide a maximum of 12 bees at a time for a short period, and more would require advance reservations.
"Did something happen with the bees you bought earlier?" The seller, an old friend of Hua Mi's grandfather, was curious and asked an extra question.
"No problem, I just need more bees to expand," Hua Mi explained. Only beekeepers truly understood how satisfying it was to expand one's bee colony. In general, the number of bee colonies a beekeeper had could reflect the state of their business. The more colonies, the better the business was.
"It's not easy," the seller commented. He understood the current conditions in the domestic honey industry. Life was getting tougher for individual beekeepers, and even well-established honey production areas like Hua Yu Town were struggling.
He didn't expect this small business owner to thrive in such a challenging environment.
Hopefully, it wouldn't be a flash in the pan.
Given their mutual interests and their close relationship, the seller was genuinely happy about Hua Mi's growing success.
"By the way, I need to buy some fishing bait," Hua Mi added. He already had a complete set of fishing gear at home; he just needed bait. His grandfather used to be an avid fisherman, and the fishing rod was of high quality, made from titanium alloy or some other durable material; it was still in excellent condition after all these years.
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