Chen Lan stayed in the car every day to look after the seven children, big and small, and became a child wrangler. After a few days of careful nursing, none of the children showed any adverse reactions. The stone in Chen Lan's heart finally began to settle. To be honest, vaccinating Hutou and Xiao Shitou made Chen Lan more nervous than vaccinating the twins. She was truly afraid of any adverse reactions and how she would explain it to their parents and grandparents!
After breakfast that day, Hutou and Xiao Shitou were sent to Chen Lan again by Hu Yuzhen and Cui Qiao. Seeing that it was still early to go to the valley, they started chatting, talking about the growth of the crops, and saying that one house had already been completed. The wolfberries transplanted in front of the house had all survived and were continuously blooming and bearing fruit! The roses inserted behind the house had also survived and had grown quite tall. They invited Chen Lan to take a look when she had time, saying that the valley had changed drastically now!
At this moment, a gust of wind blew, carrying with it a faint floral fragrance.
Chen Lan casually remarked, "What flower is blooming? I've been smelling waves of fragrance passing by lately."
Cui Qiao chimed in, "It's the linden trees in the linden forest on the mountain facing the river in the valley that have bloomed. It smells even more fragrant in the valley. Here by the RV, the mountain in front blocks it, so you wouldn't notice the scent unless you sniffed carefully."
Hearing Cui Qiao say this, Chen Lan remembered. Linden trees are original arboreal species in the forests of Northeast China, reaching heights of twenty to thirty meters.
Linden trees are divided into purple linden and common linden. The purple linden is characterized by its leaves not being three-lobed, twenty stamens in the flower, no staminodes, and producing ovate fruits.
The common linden is characterized by its branches and leaves having gray, hairy auricles, and its leaves are ovate with serrated edges.
Chen Lan thought, no wonder she could smell the floral fragrance every day lately. Because from mid-June to mid-July each year is the flowering season for linden trees, so the entire month of July is the season for collecting linden honey.
With this thought, Chen Lan immediately got up and called out to the women, as well as her mother-in-law, mother, and Xiao Shan's mother, who were about to go to the valley with the elders.
Chen Lan said, "Mother-in-law, Mother, Xiao Shan's Mother, you all stay in the RV today to watch the children. None of us women will go to the valley to work today. We're going out together later."
Her mother-in-law quickly asked, "What are you planning to do outside? It's all mountains and forests here, where are you going?"
Chen Lan quickly explained, "We're going to the linden forest on the mountain opposite the valley to collect linden honey."
As soon as her mother-in-law heard about linden honey, she became interested and said, "Speaking of linden honey, it's a specialty of Northeast China. This honey has a very beautiful color, ranging from transparent light amber to very light amber. Linden honey has a unique, faint linden flower fragrance and a rich fruity aroma. It tastes sweet and smooth with a slight tanginess, melts in your mouth, is soft and mellow, and has an endless aftertaste. Linden honey crystallizes easily, and its crystals are milky white or pale milky yellow."
At this moment, Wenrou's mother added, "I know a little about linden honey too. In ancient times, it was always enjoyed by royalty and nobility. Its nutritional value is very high and it has excellent effects for replenishing blood, beautifying the complexion, and moistening the lungs!"
Her mother-in-law continued, "Linden honey is divided into purple linden honey and common linden honey. Purple linden honey is superior in quality and taste to common linden honey."
Wenrou's mother also continued to educate Chen Lan about linden honey, "Purple linden honey is rich in glucose, vitamins, phosphorus, and calcium. These components can nourish and regulate the nervous system, have a calming effect, and promote tranquility, allowing people to fall asleep quickly and improve sleep quality. Drinking purple linden honey regularly also has the effect of strengthening the brain and improving intelligence, helping to enhance memory. Sudangood.com
If you suffer from insomnia, drinking a cup of purple linden honey dissolved in warm water half an hour to an hour before bed can help calm the nerves and promote sleep."
Her mother-in-law also continued to educate Chen Lan about the taboos of linden honey, "Although linden honey is a good thing, there are still taboos when consuming it. Xiao Lan, you must remember not to eat it incorrectly!"
Her mother-in-law continued, "Linden honey can be consumed with snow pear, ginger, lemon, wolfberry, and milk."
"Linden honey cannot be eaten with tofu or leeks simultaneously. If you drink linden honey, you cannot immediately eat tofu and leeks. Eating them at the same time can easily lead to diarrhea; Xiao Lan, you must remember these points!"
Wenrou's mother added, "Also, Lan'er, you must remember that linden honey cannot be eaten with crucian carp or river crab simultaneously. Eating them together can easily lead to poisoning; linden honey also cannot be eaten with onions simultaneously, as it can easily damage your eyes;"
Chen Lan listened to her mother-in-law and Wenrou's mother's well-intentioned, knowledge-dumping科普. She immediately felt dizzy and quickly interjected, "Mother-in-law, Mother, we can discuss these precautions later after I've collected the linden honey. It's getting late now, and we still have to climb several mountains. We need to set off quickly."
Her mother-in-law stopped talking, afraid of delaying their important business, and urged, "Then hurry up and get ready, tie your trouser legs and sleeves tightly, and wear a hat, so you don't get targeted by bees."
Reminded by her mother-in-law, Chen Lan quickly returned to the RV and immediately purchased a set of beekeeping gear, including a hat and a suit, one for each person, from the system. She also bought buckets with lids to store honey, one for each person.
After Chen Lan distributed the beekeeping suits and buckets to everyone, she led the female generals towards the direction of the linden flower fragrance.
It's true that a journey that looks close can be exhausting! Smelling the increasingly fragrant flower scent, the seemingly not-so-far distance turned out to be a grueling trek. After walking for more than two hours and climbing two large mountains, they finally reached the linden forest.
The linden trees were tall and straight, with lush foliage. Their heart-shaped leaves were emerald green and dense, exuding vitality. Clusters of pale yellow small flowers released a faint, fresh, elegant, and refreshing fragrance.
The linden flowers were very small, each composed of five petals and five pistils, all filled with sparkling honey dew in the center. The linden flowers bloomed all over the branches, attracting swarms of bees to collect nectar.
Chen Lan quickly called for everyone to put on their beekeeping gear and began searching for beehives on and around the linden trees. Chen Lan used her mind to open the system's search function to scan for beehives within a 500-meter radius. The system's screen immediately displayed more than a dozen small red dots. Chen Lan quickly found several beehives based on the system's prompts and immediately divided everyone into groups of two to collect honey. Chen Lan watched the system's screen and demonstrated first, and everyone quickly learned and began working separately!
Two hours later, each of the female generals had a bountiful harvest. Chen Lan was grateful for buying the lidded buckets to store the honey. Carrying their full buckets of honey, they returned, still wanting more.