Two people came to the beehive!
Sure enough, the mud beehive was completely dry, and there were many bees flying in and out of the reserved gaps.
The original honeycomb was also almost fully repaired!
Lu Zhe's mood improved a lot: "Look, they really did swarm!"
"So many bees!"
"This shows there are now two bee queens!"
Lu Zhe lifted the lid and took out a bamboo net covered densely with crawling bees. In some places honeycomb had already been built, and one bee slightly larger and darker in color than the others slowly crawled among the swarm.
"Look, that one is the queen bee!"
Ning Shu looked: "It doesn't have the obvious characteristics of a termite queen!"
"Just imagine, one teaspoon of honey requires 12 bees to gather pollen their whole lives. It's actually very precious!"
As he spoke, Lu Zhe carefully put the honeycomb back.
"Later we'll also need to build a fence here. If it's discovered by a sun bear, it could get wiped out in one go looking for protein."
Ning Shu nodded.
Then the two walked towards the lakeshore.
Passing the mountain stream, they went to check the hot springs again. The water temperature was still high, still no way to enter.
When they passed the marsh, the path was blocked by a resting crocodile!
The five meter long battery...no, estuarine crocodile lay there. Its upper body didn't move, next to it a basin-sized pit with a pile of white eggs inside.
Ning Shu was a bit worried: "It won't rush over and eat us, right?"
Lu Zhe shushed and shook his head: "As long as we stay quiet and don't disturb it, it won't take the risk to leave its nest."
Ning Shu nodded: "What if it gets hungry?"
Lu Zhe said: "After crocodiles eat they don't need to eat again for two or three years. It will keep waiting until the baby crocodiles hatch."
"That amazing?"
Lu Zhe nodded: "Although its eggs are very nutritious, and the taste is similar to chicken eggs, we still shouldn't take the risk to steal its eggs!"
Ning Shu frowned: "I never had any intention to do that!"
"Good that you don't! Let's go in from another direction."
The hot temperature had already dried out the originally wetland, the surface cracked into sections.
Stepping on it, people no longer sank in.
But you could still feel the softness underneath the dry surface.
Lu Zhe believed that by stepping on the dry surface and using the dense branches they could still get through.
"Let's try to get through from the other side, remember to step on the middle of each section!"
"No danger, right?"
"Don't worry, there's a lot of vegetation here too. If anything happens I can save you!"
As he spoke, Lu Zhe took out a rope and tied one end to Ning Shu's arm.
"Alright..."
The two carefully stepped on the dry mud, successfully passing through the marsh without incident.
Along the way they encountered many squirrels, snakes, and unknown birds.
Of course, also the annoying monkeys.
They didn't know if these were the same troop as the crab-eating macaques from before. Apparently the hot temperature had gathered them near the water source.
At this time, Lu Zhe didn't want to waste arrows shooting monkeys.
As his survival level increased, Lu Zhe preferred to look for more suitable animals to eat, like goats and pheasants.
But they weren't so lucky, and didn't encounter any!
They could only gather some nuts.
But they were intercepted by monkeys!
Ning Shu filled a small bag of nuts, just about to put it in Lu Zhe's backpack, when a monkey hiding nearby suddenly snatched it. Caught off guard, the plastic bag was ripped open by it, nuts scattering all over the ground!
The monkey didn't successfully steal any, and was very angry. But Ning Shu was even angrier!
The nuts she worked hard to gather were ruined by the monkey. She angrily stamped her feet!
The monkey that didn't get any nuts was also angrily beating the tree trunk!
"So annoying!"
But Lu Zhe wasn't angry at all. His long wilderness life had given him a detached and tolerant heart.
He believed he wouldn't fuss over monkeys anymore!
"Stealing is in the macaques' nature. Not only will they steal our things, they will also steal from each other, even their own children's things!"
"Too inhuman!"
"Why else would they be called monkeys?"
"What to do?"
"What can we do? Pick them up!"
Lu Zhe took out another plastic bag and started gathering the nuts on the ground.
"What if I can't vent my anger?"
"Hey, when will you be able to be as loving and tolerant as me?"
"Stop blabbering, lend me your bow!"
Lu Zhe sighed and handed Ning Shu the bow. Ning Shu tried pulling it twice but couldn't draw it back.
"Slingshot?"
"Didn't bring it!"
"Help me shoot it down!"
"Can't do that. Firstly we have too few arrows, secondly I'm a dad now, don't want to kill anymore."
Ning Shu was stunned, then felt a bit moved.
She breathed in deeply and glared at the monkey in the tree: "Consider yourself lucky!"
Then Lu Zhe gathered the nuts into the bag and handed them to the monkey: "We can't eat so many anyway, the rest is for you!"
The monkey was puzzled, and Ning Shu even more so!
"Hey, big bro what are you doing?"
"What do you understand? You have to give to gain!"
The monkey was confused at first, then suspiciously came over and snatched away the plastic bag.
Having freely obtained a bag of nuts, the monkey grinned from ear to ear.
Ning Shu angrily stamped her feet: "It doesn't understand gratitude at all, it's mocking us!"
"Ah, let it laugh if it wants, don't be so narrow-minded!"
After a while, the monkey was happy enough, and eagerly took a nut from the plastic bag and put it in its mouth!
Three seconds later, its expression changed!
Suddenly, it was as if scalded by boiling water, screaming "Eek eek eek" nonstop!
As it screamed, it even used its paws to scratch its tongue, but the more it scratched the redder its tongue got.
Its eyes bulged blood red, seeming like it would breathe fire at any moment.
Lu Zhe nodded and whispered to Ning Shu: "See, I told you monkeys can't handle spicy like you can!"