106 No Longer "Myself"

As the words faded, the makeshift “door” formed by tree branches was completely moved aside. The bright flames cast light into the grass hut, partly shielding their eyes. Tamara and York followed the glow, noticing two torches held high at the entrance, revealing the silhouettes of several people nearby.

“Ah, it’s Ross... and Master André!”

Leading the group was Wu Qingchen, flanked by two other serfs from the livestock shed and two foreign cattle herders who had only recently arrived in Eckley Village. At the very end, fanning his hand in front of his nose, was none other than the young Master André from the church.

When the “door” was moved, Tamara and York had already sensed that Wu Qingchen’s group bore no ill intent, so they were not overly alarmed. Yet, the sudden arrival of so many uninvited guests made them instinctively tuck away the beans they held.

“Aunt Tamara, you look much better,” Wu Qingchen said at the door, waiting for them to put away their beans and calm down. He smiled briefly at Tamara, then turned to her son: “York, you really are here. Did you hear what I just said clearly?”

How could he not?

Being well-fed, and no longer plagued by his mother’s “hunger sickness,” were precisely the hopes that weighed on York’s heart every moment lately.

If anyone in Eckley Village could fulfill such a wish, Ross, who had in just half a month mastered cattle tending, earned rewards, and earned a promotion, had to be one of them.

“I heard you, Ross.” Realizing the importance of this matter for himself and his mother, and sensing it might actually come true, York clenched his hands tightly when he replied.

“Good. Would you be willing to do me a favor?”

“Just say the word!” York answered without hesitation.

“I must warn you, it might be a little dangerous.”

“That’s alright. I’m not afraid!” His swift and resolute reply left no doubt.

“Of course, it won’t be too dangerous,” Wu Qingchen reassured Tamara with a glance, then fixed his serious gaze on York. “But when you help, you must do exactly as I say. You have to obey me in everything.”

“Okay! I’ll follow your every word!”

“Alright...” At this point, Wu Qingchen beckoned. One of the cattle herders stepped into the grass hut and handed a small bundle to Tamara and York.

Here it comes again!

From a distance of seven or eight meters, young André stopped fanning his hand before his nose and watched the hut with great interest. York slowly opened the corners of the cloth bundle and saw another handful of beans inside. Tears instantly welled up and spilled from his eyes.

Leaving the beans with Tamara, Wu Qingchen’s group departed with their torches, gaining another serf along the way.

A little over ten minutes later, after a similar process in another ramshackle house, the last serf working in the livestock shed also joined Wu Qingchen’s group.

By this time, the country path was nearing its end. The edge of the forest appeared before them all.

The serfs now knew what Wu Qingchen had asked them to do.

Harvest the beehive.

More specifically, to transfer the beehive from the forest to the shared fields without harming the bees inside.

This was unheard of.

However, since this plan did not go against the masters’ will, had André’s endorsement, and they had already received beans as a reward in advance, York and the others breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t mind spending the night with Wu Qingchen.

They called it “spending” time, not wasting it, because Wu Qingchen and Ross were well prepared. Moreover, Wu Qingchen and Ross embodied the miracle of Eckley Village. No one dared say this unprecedented task could not succeed in his hands.

At the forest’s edge, in a relatively open area beside a medium-height tree, Wu Qingchen signaled everyone to stop.

Under his direction, they first hung a spherical object made from straw, leaves, and vines on one of the tree’s branches.

Nearby, by another small tree, frail York held a sharp axe borrowed from the church. Following Wu Qingchen’s guidance, he practiced cutting a wrist-thick branch with the fewest strokes and the lightest force.

After about an hour, two strong cattle herders hoisted York, along with the axe, up onto the tree’s crotch.

During this time, the other three serfs practiced holding long wooden poles dipped in moist mud, trying to block the small entrance of the “beehive.”

Throughout these exercises, Wu Qingchen, the cattle herders, and the serfs remained completely focused and undistracted.

Seeing this scene during a break in practice, young André approached the sweating Wu Qingchen and suddenly said, “Ross, you were right.”

“What?” Wu Qingchen didn’t quite understand André’s meaning.

“These serfs might actually be able to move the beehive,” André said.

At noon, when consulting with Wu Qingchen and learning he intended to use serfs for the beehive transfer, André had felt skeptical.

Coming from a scholarly family, whether on their own land or on Eckley’s common land, André had long observed the serfs alongside his father, brothers, or the priest supervising labor.

These lazy creatures constantly complained of pains—hands, feet, head, stomach, back, even mouth—never a moment of comfort.

Come summer, when work grew intense, they became even more troublesome. To shirk their rightful labor, these wretched beings would endure chopping off fingers or toes without a flinch. If left unobserved for even a moment, the tools in their hands would “accidentally” break.

Such a delicate and challenging task as “harvesting a beehive” seemed utterly incompatible with these sly serfs.

Until now, seeing how a few bundles of beans had thoroughly won over four serfs, making them diligent and cautious in practicing these intricate coordinated tasks, André had to admit Wu Qingchen’s method was somewhat effective.

“But...” André still had a question. “During the busiest, hardest work on the common land, teachers and overseers also gave the serfs extra food. Why didn’t they obey then?”

How to answer that?

Could it be that the Earth Intelligence Council actually keeps records on every serf who provides information?

Could it be that the last large-scale cleanup in the livestock shed was casually directed by oneself?