Chapter 77: Bees
The Xia family had caught ants before, and Xia Lu Nong was very familiar with their scent.
There were definitely ants nearby—no doubt about it.
Xia the cat’s emerald eyes scanned the surroundings, his head darting back and forth. After a while, he pinpointed the direction the smell was coming from.
He padded over a few steps and stopped at Kong Zhi’s feet, looking up at him. “Meow.”
Kong Zhi glanced down. “What’s up?”
Xia the cat scratched the ground with his paw, writing: “Ants.”
Kong Zhi bent down to pick him up. “That’s normal. There are ants everywhere.”
Xia Lu Nong rubbed against Kong Zhi’s arm, peeking over his shoulder with his round eyes darting around the surroundings.
He had a nagging feeling that something was off, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
While Kong Zhi kept watch nearby, Xia Huo Qu and Yan Xi Nian walked along the riverbank, scouting the area before placing baskets of peanuts into the river.
Both of them jumped into the river and started scrubbing the peanuts directly in the baskets.
The baskets, woven from fine bamboo strips, allowed water to pass through easily.
The muddy water quickly washed away by the river, revealing the peanuts’ original pale yellow shells.
Both men, with their strength, scrubbed vigorously, cleaning each basket within minutes.
Once a basket of peanuts was cleaned, they lifted it out of the water and placed it on the grassy riverbank to drain before loading it back onto the truck.
Washing peanuts was labor-intensive but straightforward, requiring little technique.
As they worked, time passed slowly.
Standing under the blazing sun, Kong Zhi kept watch, sweat beading on his nose.
Xia the cat, held in his arms, felt every inch of his fur absorbing heat, making him unbearably hot—his paw pads were practically burning.
Unable to take it any longer, Xia the cat kicked with his hind legs, jumping out of Kong Zhi’s arms and settling in the cool shade of a nearby tree.
The shade was refreshing, and a light breeze blew through. Xia the cat rested his head on his front paws, slowly drifting into sleep.
Even while asleep, the odd scent in the air lingered, and he dreamt of countless candies, cakes, and pastries, their intoxicating sweetness swirling around his nose.
When he woke up, the sweet scent still seemed to linger in his nostrils, making him feel a bit dazed.
He looked up to find that Yan Xi Nian had taken over watch.
Standing up and stepping out of the shade, Xia the cat glanced around.
Yan Xi Nian heard him stir and walked over, squatting down to scratch his chin. “Awake?”
“Meow.” Xia the cat raised a paw, instinctively licking his fur, then quickly spat in disgust, “Meow.”
Yan Xi Nian chuckled, “Almost done with the washing. Once we’re finished, we’ll head back.”
Xia the cat peeked around and saw that there were now more than a dozen baskets of clean, gleaming peanuts drying by the riverbank.
If they could finish washing this morning and get the peanuts home to spread out, they’d still have time to dry them under the noonday sun.
Xia the cat walked over to inspect the baskets by the river.
Just as he reached the riverbank, a breeze carrying moisture wafted over, bringing with it a scent from upstream.
“Meow?” Xia the cat tilted his head, puzzled. Why did the wind smell sweet?
At that moment, Xia Huo Qu finished washing a basket of peanuts. Lifting it onto the shore, he noticed his brother lingering by the baskets and shooed him, “Go play somewhere else.”
“Meow.” Xia the cat’s expression turned serious.
Kong Zhi, noticing the exchange, straightened up and asked, “Did you notice something?”
“Meow.”
Xia the cat thought for a moment, then scratched the muddy ground with his paw, writing: “Sweet wind.”
“A sweet smell in the wind?” Xia Huo Qu squatted down, curious. “What kind of sweet?”
Yan Xi Nian, who had been scanning the area, walked over to see Xia the cat’s writing. “Could there be some fruit ripening nearby?”
“It’s August, so it’s likely. There are plenty of wild fruits in the area, and I saw some ripe blackberries earlier. They’re definitely edible.”
But Xia the cat didn’t think it was the smell of blackberries—he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was, though.
Lifting one paw and tilting his head thoughtfully in the sunlight, the cat seemed lost in contemplation.
With a swift motion, Xia Huo Qu scooped him up, supporting his back as he carried him to the shade. “Alright, you rest here for a bit. Once we finish washing the peanuts, we’ll go pick some wild fruit.”
“Meow.”
Fine, Xia the cat thought. He’d check again later.
The sun was now high in the sky as Xia Huo Qu and Kong Zhi sped up their work, scrubbing the remaining peanuts clean and loading the drained baskets into the truck bed.
Even Yan Xi Nian helped with the loading, while Xia the cat kept watch from the roof of the truck.
Soon, all the peanuts were loaded, and Xia the cat, whose paw pads were almost scorched by the hot metal, let out a “Meow” before leaping down into his brother’s arms.
Looking at the sky, Xia Huo Qu told Kong Zhi and Yan Xi Nian, “You two head back first. I’ll take Xia Nong to pick some wild fruit, then carry him back in beast form.”
Xia Huo Qu was skilled, and since there were no real dangers nearby, Yan Xi Nian agreed, “Alright, but be careful. Come back soon. We’ll start drying the peanuts when we get back.”
With a wave, Xia Huo Qu carried Xia the cat in one hand and a sack with a machete in the other, heading upstream along the riverbank.
Wild grass and vines covered the path, many of them thorny.
Xia the cat watched as his brother cleared a path with his legs, slowly making his way forward, feeling concerned. “Meow.”
Jumping onto his brother’s shoulder, Xia the cat freed up his hands so he could use a stick to probe the way ahead.
As they walked, Xia the cat noticed several ants by the riverbank.
These ants weren’t the same black ones he had eaten before—their shells were a bit yellower, and they were much smaller, only as big as the beetles from before the catastrophe.
That alone was terrifying for a cat.
Especially since ants always move in large groups. A long line of them, black and yellow, marched along the riverbank, and just watching them was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
At some point, the fur on Xia the cat’s body puffed up, making him appear much larger. His eyes were locked on the ants, and he swore that if they crossed the line, he’d pounce and show them his feline prowess.
Ants don’t actively attack humans. As long as they stayed out of the ants’ path, there was a sense of mutual non-interference between them and the ants.
“Here are some bramble berries,” Xia Huo Qu’s voice snapped Xia the cat back to attention.
He widened his eyes and looked over to see a large bush of bramble berries by the riverbank.
The bush was full of yellow and red berries, each about the size of a quail egg.
Xia Huo Qu slowly waded over, examined the bush, and plucked a bright red berry with his long fingers. He brought it to his mouth and took a small bite.
The berry was sweet with a hint of tartness, and the abundant juice burst in his mouth, making him squint with satisfaction.
“Meow.” Xia the cat clung to his brother’s clothes with his paws, craning his neck forward, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Xia Huo Qu picked another berry and brought it to his brother’s mouth.
Xia the cat instinctively licked it. After tasting the sweetness, he bit into it, chewing from side to side. Soon, he tasted both the sweet and sour notes of the berry.
The tartness was as strong as the sweetness, causing Xia the cat’s eyes to narrow from the sharp taste.
“Should we pick some more?” Xia Huo Qu asked.
“Meow.” Definitely.
Xia Huo Qu carefully selected the largest and ripest berries—whether red or yellow—filling a small bag before continuing upstream with his brother perched on his shoulder.
There were many bamboo groves along the riverbank, and they dug up several bamboo shoots.
While digging, Xia the cat noticed a few bamboo shoot insects, but there weren’t many. They couldn’t be bothered to catch them, so they left them alone.
Along the way, Xia Huo Qu also picked some wild raspberries.
Wild raspberries were large and sweet, though they had many seeds. Eating them would stain your tongue purple.
These were rare fruits and tasted much better than the bramble berries. Xia the cat’s face showed pure contentment as he ate.
After a few raspberries, his brother stopped him from bramble berries. “If you eat too much, you’ll get constipated.”
“Meow?”
Xia Huo Qu continued, “You’re still in your cat form. Do you really want to visit Dr. Ou for an enema because of constipation?”
Xia the cat shuddered at the thought, his face showing sheer terror. He quickly lowered his tail to cover his backside. “Meow.”
Xia Huo Qu chuckled, “Good. Now, do you still smell that sweet scent in the air?”
Xia the cat sniffed carefully and nodded.
He felt like they were getting closer to the source of that sweet fragrance.
Xia Huo Qu continued leading them forward.
After a short while, Xia Huo Qu stopped and said, “I think I’ve figured out what’s making that sweet smell.”
“Meow?” Xia the cat followed his brother’s gaze.
Not far away was a large thicket of wild roses, their pink flowers blooming in abundance, peeking out from between the leaves, creating a vibrant, colorful display.
Xia the cat wasn’t captivated by the flowers, though. What caught his attention were the bees buzzing around them.
These bees were enormous, each the size of a ping-pong ball!
Though their mutations weren’t too extreme, a couple had extra wings, and five of them had growths around their heads.
Xia the cat’s gaze settled on their stingers.
The stingers were still intact and, in the sunlight, glinted menacingly. They were huge and terrifying.
With a “poof,” all the fur on Xia the cat’s body stood on end, turning him into a fluffy ball.
He had already found the ants terrifying—their size had given him the creeps.
But now, seeing these bees, he truly understood what it meant to be mentally overwhelmed.
Bees this big?
How was anyone supposed to survive this?!
Xia the cat guessed that the sweet fragrance in the wind was most likely honey, but right now, he had no desire to go after it.
It was far too scary!
Sensing his brother’s fear, Xia Huo Qu gently stroked his back and whispered, “Don’t worry, we’ll take a closer look before deciding what to do.”
“Wuuu,” Xia the cat whimpered softly, dreading what they might find.
Xia Huo Qu protected the cat on his shoulder, carrying his sack and walking stick, and continued forward.
After about ten more minutes, they reached the bank of the river near a massive, mutated banyan tree.
Though Xia the cat had ventured outside the base before, he had no idea when such a huge banyan tree had grown here.
The trunk of the tree measured an impressive six to seven meters in diameter, adorned with gnarled branches that sprawled out, some even reaching into the river, compelling the water to flow around them in a graceful curve.
Xia the cat’s eyes widened, his mouth agape.
Wow, this tree alone was almost like a small forest.
But what shocked him even more wasn’t the tree—it was the giant beehive hanging from one of its branches.
The hive was larger than a twelve-seater round table, covered with countless bees, forming a massive, brownish ball.
A sweet, fragrant smell was wafting from the hive, carried by the wind in all directions.
Thanks for the chapter!