Chapter 16: Smoke Beehive

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

After Xiaoxiao returned home, she covered the beehive wrapped with cloth in a bamboo basket and got some cold water to wash the wounds on her hand. She carefully ensured no bee stings were left after the wounds were washed clean.

Like in the original owner’s memory, the wound only swelled up briefly and had a slight itch. Xiaoxiao blew on it a few times and then jumped into the kitchen as if nothing had happened.

It was almost time to prepare for dinner. She lit up the stove, prepared the porridge, and steamed buns for dinner. Then, she took a wooden stick, still smoking from the stove and began to smoke the beehive.

It was very likely that there were some bees left in the hive. They were in the same preservation state as the ingredients in the space. They could not move or attack, but it was different when they came out. Therefore, before she took the honey, she had to let them go away.

At this time, her mom would wash her clothes, her eldest brother would help with the work in the new house next door, and her second brother would pick firewood. Her dad had just fallen asleep, so it was suitable for her to do things unsuitable for others to see.

She could already skillfully put everything she touched into the space, but Xiaoxiao didn’t want to compete with the bees in terms of speed, so she used another bamboo basket as a lid to cover the one with the beehive. After smoking the bees out, she stuck a finger into the hole under the bamboo basket.

As soon as she touched the beehive, she put it into the space. This way, there were only bees left in the bamboo basket. Xiaoxiao tied the bamboo basket and placed it aside, preparing to find a chance to set the bees free. It wouldn’t be good to rob someone’s house and take their life, right?

After settling this, Xiaoxiao removed the beehive from her space, prepared a clean kitchen knife, bowls, and chopsticks, and cut the honey. Cutting the honey was an inspiring thing, at least for Xiaoxiao.

With one cut, the long-lost sweet fragrance made her drool. Enduring the desire to lick it, Xiaoxiao poured the honey into the bowl. It was a beautiful amber color that looked like the eyes of the young master next door.

The beehive was not too big. It could only pour two bowls. Xiaoxiao put one bowl into the space to keep it fresh and kept the other bowl for eating. Then, she brought over boiled gauze and wrapped it around the beehive. She squeezed hard, and thick honey flowed out along with the force she used to twist the gauze. Soon, another bowl was filled.

She found the largest clay jar in the house and washed it clean. She boiled it with boiling water and placed the remaining beehive residue into it. Then, she soaked it in a bowl of clear water. Only then was the harvest for today was done.

The two bowls of fragrant honey on the table made Xiaoxiao squint her eyes in delight.

Before the adults returned home, she scooped out a spoonful from the flour bag and added the sauce she had mixed herself to mix evenly. She poured it into the pot and stirred it while heating it. She brought over the small jar by the pot when it began to steam.

The jar contained the powder she had ground from small shrimps. Usually, it was used to make dishes to increase the freshness, and everyone at home liked to eat. Now that it was added to the noodles sauce, the umami flavor filled the kitchen once it was heated. She added honey and boiled the noodles sauce until it was thick. Finally, she scooped out the bubbling sweet noodles sauce.

Some of it was stored in the earthen jars used to store seasonings at home, while the rest was carefully scooped into the most beautiful small jars. Then, she placed them on the shelf and waited for them to cool.

While waiting, the porridge in the pot had already started to boil. Xiaoxiao looked guiltily at the door to ensure no one was there. Then, she quickly removed the eggs from her space and scattered them into the porridge. She also scattered the cut wild vegetables and mushrooms.

Just like that, the porridge was suffocated. She removed a few sweet potatoes from the food bag in the kitchen corner and deftly cut the skin into pieces to cut the underwater pot. She made a simple version of the shredded sweet potatoes.

There wasn’t much oil at home, and they used the original honey. It was impossible to make it as delicious as before. Fortunately, wild honey was fragrant and mellow, and the taste was not ambiguous. She couldn’t help but eat two pieces as soon as it was ready.

“Huh, you secretly eat it!”