Chapter 174: A transformation

In the next two days, Shi Qingluo made Xiao Hanzheng’s letter looked older, as if it had been written more than ten years ago.

She also asked Xiao Hanzheng to make a lot of beehives.

She put some honey and sprinkled some spiritual water on them.

Then she brought them into the mountains to attract a large swarm of wild bees into the beehives.

After that, Shi Qingluo and Xiao Hanzheng went to visit Mo Qingling again and told him about how they wanted to teach everyone how to raise bees.

As expected, Mo Qingling accepted their suggestion.

Ever since the flax workshop and vermicelli workshop opened, their entire county was flourishing well.

Mo Qingling also used the profits generated from these workshops to buy cement at cost price from the cement workshop in Xiaxi village to pave the roads within the county town.

The next step was having cemented roads to other villages and towns.

The county quickly issued a notice and the bailiffs went to many villages and towns to inform everyone that those who are interested in raising bees could come to the county office to learn tomorrow.

Many people were stunned when they heard that they could raise bees themselves and quite a handful of them expressed their interest in it.

After all, the income from selling honey alone would not be low if they raised them at home.

Therefore, when Shi Qingluo brought Xi Rong and the others to the county office the next day, the place was already full of people, with at least a hundred families.

Everyone was familiar with Shi Qingluo.

Most of the people sitting here had come to learn how to be vermicelli.

Shi Qingluo walked to the front and introduced the benefits of beekeeping to everyone with a smile.

Then, she taught everyone how to raise bees.

She even got someone to bring a lot of pamphlets along.

She wrote down the procedure to raise bees, some precautions, and ways to prevent pest infestation.

She took them to the study room of the Bai family and asked Bai Xu to help print out several hundred copies of it.

After sharing her experience raising bees and the precautions they should take, Shi Qingluo smiled and said, “If you want to raise bees, you can come to me to get a beehive.

“I’ll come to your house to give you instructions on how to build more beehives and how to release the bees.

“Be it raising bees or receiving beehives directly from me, it’s free.”

She then changed the topic. “But I have a condition.

“In the future, when you raise bees, you can handle the honey yourself, but you have to sell the beeswax to Nanshan Cosmetics Workshop.

“Of course, we will add the purchase price in the contract and promise to collect the beeswax every year from now on. It won’t be lower than the market price.”

This was the only way to motivate everyone to raise bees.

She smiled and asked, “If anyone has any concerns, you can raise them up too.”

The people who were sitting and learning how to keep bees smiled and said, “Mdm Shi, if you collect beeswax from us and ensure that we wouldn’t make a loss, we won’t have any concerns.”

Someone said excitedly, “That’s right, since I want to raise the bees that Mdm Shi taught us, how do I collect a beehive?”

The others were not satisfied. “I remember that you came from the back, right? You can’t cut the queue like that.”

“That’s right, just because you believe in Mdm Shi? Everyone here believes her.”

“Mdm Shi, we want to raise bees.”

After raising bees, they could sell the honey themselves, and the Nanshan cosmetics would even collect their beeswax from them.

They would not want to miss such a good opportunity.

Apart from farming, the commoners didn’t have any extra income.

They also hoped to earn more money in a sustainable way.

Shi Qingluo smiled and cupped her hands. “Thank you for your trust and support.

“Families who decide to raise bees will register at the county office in a while and then take a beekeeping manual back.

“I will follow the name list and address that you have registered and sent people to deliver the beehives to you personally in the next few days.”

Since she had already done the favour of teaching them how to raise bees for free, she did not mind doing more.

Furthermore, this was their source of raw materials for their future cosmetic business.

They had to be more careful no matter what.

Of course, this was also a win-win situation.

The beekeepers would earn some allowances, and they would also have the raw materials.

Everyone said embarrassedly, “This is so troublesome. Why don’t we go and get it ourselves?”

Shi Qingluo smiled and said, “It’s fine. I still have to go to the field to give you guys some pointers on beekeeping, so it’s better for us to come personally.”

“Then thank you very much, Mdm Shi. We’ll remember your kindness.”

“That’s right, that’s right. You’re a good person!”

“In the future, if anyone dares to go against Mdm Shi’s family, they’ll be going against us too.”

“That’s right. If that so-called wife of a general from the capital comes to harm Mdm Shi again, each of us spitting at them would cause them to drown.”

“What’s the use of spitting? Let’s just grab our weapons and do it.”

The commoners living a simple life were like that.

If you treated them well, they would return the favour.

Of course, there were a few ingrates who were exceptions.

Shi Qingluo had always believed that most people were grateful and kind.

Since everyone was so protective of her, her heart warmed. “Thank you, everyone!”

She believed that they were not lying.

If that woman were to come after her again one day, they would really step forward to help.

Not far away, Xi Rong and the others were shocked by this scene.

They did not expect the crowd to be so protective of Shi Qingluo, who just taught them how to raise bees.

Previously, they had also realised that as long as someone mentioned Shi Qingluo in the county, almost everyone knew who she was.

Moreover, they all said good things about her, and that she was the good disciple of the old immortal who was a samantarian bringing benefits to the village.

Xi Rui and Xi Rong might not share common sentiments on this, but Fei Yuzhe and Liang Youxiao could feel it very much.

When they first came to Nanxi county, it wasn’t quite the same as it was now.

Back then, there weren’t any cemented roads, and the people’s appearance weren’t quite the same.

Now, they looked much more energetic.

The county town had a few workshops, and many people’s lives were improving.

This was indeed a transformation led by Shi Qingluo.

Instantly, their impression and status of Shi Qingluo changed again.

Mo Qingling also admired Shi Qingluo even more.

Then, Shi Qingluo brought Xi Rong and the others to deliver the beehives.

She also asked Mo Qingling to help buy some bees and beehives from other places.

After all, it wasn’t enough to only catch wild ones.

They went to many villages and towns, including families living in the remote mountains.

Liang Youxiao and the others also saw many things that they had never seen before.

For example, there was a village on the mountain, which even the village chief’s family was so poor that they only had a thatched cottage.

They ate wild vegetables mixed with bran.

Many children ran on the road with patched clothings.

They were barefooted and did not even have a pair of straw sandals.

They even met people who were unable to sustain their living expenses and wanted to sell their daughters.

Of course, they also experienced the simplicity and enthusiasm among many residents.

Poor people were also ambitious.

It wasn’t that they were lazy or did not work hard, but there was nothing that could make them work hard.

After sending out boxes of bees, Liang Youxiao and the others’ attitude towards the residents changed a lot too.

Even Xi Rui felt that he was living a luxurious life in the capital – having a table full of dishes for breakfast and eating a few mouthfuls each before discarding the rest.

It was too wasteful.

It was better to save it in the future and use it to do some good.

Fei Yuzhe, who originally wanted to rely on his family to achieve success, has the greatest change in mindset.

He was prepared to become an official according to his family’s arrangements and then live a carefree life in the yamen next.

Now, he suddenly did not want to just have a carefree life anymore.

He also wanted to do something for the people in Daliang.

Liang Youxiao did not change his ambition to become a top-tier merchant, but he had other ideas.

Bringing others to prosperity when he became richer seemed to be a good plan.

Xi Rong even decided to build a women’s army to protect the country and prevent war in Daliang.

Only then could the residents live and work in peace.