Two other families were doing the same thing as Lin Zhen and Song Wei.
They couldn’t bear to part with the honey itself, but they were willing to share water mixed with it.
This time, Song Wei had nearly forty pounds of wild honey—thirty-eight, to be exact.
The brigade leader’s family had the least, with twenty-three pounds.
Most importantly, this honey contained nectar from many medicinal herbs. Though sweet, it wasn’t cloying.
Drinking this wild honey water daily could leave one feeling much more energized.
Lin Zhen brought a bottle to Old Master Ji, who was astonished after just one taste.
“This is truly something exceptional,” the old master exclaimed. “This batch of honey is mostly made from wolfberry flower nectar. Its nutritional value is extraordinary. Drinking it regularly is great for the body, especially for the elderly at home.”
Lin Zhen nodded. “Alright, we’ll keep that in mind.”
Naturally, Song Wei also set aside some of this good honey for her brother and uncle.
Once it was finished, they could always go gathering again next year.
While Lin Zhen was cooking, Song Wei took a few bee larvae back to her room.
The eaglet inside was already screeching with hunger.
As soon as it saw Song Wei, it opened its mouth wide, begging for food.
Song Wei used a small wooden tweezers made by Lin Zhen to pick up a plump little insect and stuff it into the eaglet’s mouth. The little one swallowed it immediately.
The eaglet had now opened its eyes, and the first person it saw was Song Wei. Since then, Lin Zhen and Song Wei had been its primary feeders, and it had come to see them as its parents.
Whenever it was hungry, it would open its mouth and chirp loudly for food.
The eaglet looked much better now. The previously bald spots were covered with fluffy, snow-white down. Except for the base of its wings and the top of its head, where the down hadn’t fully grown in, it now somewhat resembled a fluffy, snow-white ball.
The little thing was quite lazy, spending its time either eating or sleeping.
But it was growing quickly. At first, it was only the size of an adult man’s thumb, but now, with its down fluffed up, it was about the size of a child’s palm.
The bee larvae burst with juice when eaten, and the eaglet seemed to love it. It stretched its neck farther, opening its mouth wider and chirping even more loudly.
Song Wei fed it another plump insect, and the eaglet ate it eagerly.
Before long, the insects in the small bowl were all gone.
The eaglet still looked somewhat unsatisfied.
Song Wei gently held its beak, which was still trying to open.
“It’s all gone. There’s no more.”
“Chirp~”
The little thing was probably full, but it seemed to like the bee larvae so much that it wanted to eat even after being satiated.
The aroma of Lin Zhen’s fried bee larvae wafted through the entire educated youth compound, making everyone sniff the air.
“What is that amazing smell? This is too much. Ever since Lin Zhen moved in, we’ve been smelling all kinds of delicious aromas almost every day. It’s pure torture to smell it but not get to eat it, wuuu…”
Song Wei and Lin Zhen never lacked meat, and the smell of their cooking wafted everywhere.
For those who could only manage to cook enough to fill their stomachs, this was nothing short of torment!
It was fine to occasionally mooch a bite or two, but who had the cheek to do it every day?
Today’s aroma was especially enticing.
Gao Le couldn’t resist. He carried his bowl of noodles outside to see what was being cooked today.
When he saw what Lin Zhen was frying, Gao Le and the others were stunned.
“That amazing smell is coming from frying these things?”
“Yeah, I told you they’d be delicious.”
Song Wei was already eating them, crunching on one with a satisfying crispness.
“Do you guys want to try some?”
“I’ll try, I’ll try!”
The aroma was irresistible. Gao Le shamelessly tapped his rice bowl.
“Just one each. I don’t have many, so I can’t share more with you.”
“Understood!”
Gao Le was, after all, a man. Even if he wasn’t as strong as the women when working, he was at least bolder.
He tossed one into his mouth with his eyes closed.
Then his eyes lit up. “Wow!”
“Right? You don’t need much cooking skill for this. Just fry them in oil and sprinkle some salt. The only downside is it uses a lot of oil, but the leftover oil can still be reused.”
Gao Le and Zhao Su weren’t short on oil.
Unfortunately, what they lacked now were bee larvae.
Zhao Su also tried one and immediately wanted more.
Li Juan and the others gritted their teeth, closed their eyes, and tried one as well. They were instantly filled with regret.
“I wonder where we can find a beehive. But not in the deep mountains—I wouldn’t dare go there anyway.”
They didn’t mind or feel any resentment toward Song Wei for not inviting them to harvest the honey.
Although they were friends, they understood boundaries and didn’t feel entitled to everything.
Besides, they’d heard the wild honey was deep in the mountains, high up on a cliff.
Even if they had the courage to venture into the deep mountains, they wouldn’t dare climb the cliff.
Children raised in rural areas were agile climbers, but they were different—they couldn’t scale such heights.
Moreover, it was obvious that there were only so many beehives to harvest. If everyone went, the wild bees wouldn’t stand a chance.
“No beehives, but there’s something else.”
It was Lin Zhen who spoke.
He said, “It’s the season for cicada nymphs now. If you find them, you can fry them just like these bee larvae. They taste delicious too.”
Hearing this, Gao Le and the others immediately grew interested.
“Tell us more! How do we find them?”
Now that their appetites were whetted by the bee larvae, they were eager to try cicada nymphs.
“They’re easiest to find at night. If you don’t mind the trouble, we can go looking tonight.”
Song Wei chimed in, “I want to go too!”
Cicada nymphs, also known as “cicada grubs,” were essentially the larval stage of cicadas, just before they shed their shells and emerged.
In times when meat was scarce, cicada grubs were considered a decent source of protein.
However, they tasted best when fried with plenty of oil, though most people were too frugal to use that much oil, which often resulted in mediocre-tasting cicada grubs.
Some children would simply skewer them and roast them over a fire—not just cicada grubs, but even grasshoppers were eaten this way.
But frying them was undoubtedly the most flavorful method.
After dinner, as darkness fell, the interested educated youths eagerly headed into the mountains to search for cicada grubs.
Cicada grubs were actually cicada larvae that had just emerged from the ground and were in the process of shedding their shells.
At this stage, they were usually clinging to grass stalks or tree trunks.
When they reached the mountains, they realized others were also searching for cicada grubs, though not many—mostly energetic young men or children.
“Brother Lin Zhen, you’re here for cicada grubs too!”
The group greeted them cheerfully.
“Yeah, you keep searching. We’ll look over there.”
The area was vast, so there was no need to crowd together and risk any conflicts.
They used flashlights to search around and soon began to find some.
“Found one! Is this it?”
“There are quite a few over here.”
The female educated youths weren’t frightened by the appearance of the cicada grubs.
Compared to soft, squishy insects, these were much easier to accept.
Not everyone had a flashlight, as they were quite expensive.
So, sometimes several people shared one flashlight to search.
They had all agreed earlier that the cicada grubs they collected would be brought back, and the next day, they would cook and eat them together.
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