Chapter 18 Honey Mint Lemonade.

Chapter 18 Honey, Mint, and Lemonade

The honey in the small bucket had a translucent quality, filling nearly half the container. Bathed in sunlight, it shimmered like molten gold leaf.

A tempting, sweet aroma wafted from the bucket, involuntarily curving one's lips into a smile.

"This honey is clearly top-grade. Once we're back, even just a cup of honey water would be delicious, and we could also..."

Yu Xin mentally listed several ways to enjoy the honey, but Sheng Xingyao, usually the most enthusiastic about food, remained uncharacteristically silent beside him. Yu Xin found this odd.

"Sheng Xingyao?"

"Ah! Yu Xin, you—you called me? What is it?" Sheng Xingyao snapped back to attention, his face inexplicably flushed. His gaze darted around, unable to meet Yu Xin's eyes directly.

"Are you scared speechless?"

"Of course not!"

Sheng Xingyao vehemently denied it: "Who was it that bravely charged forward to hand you the bucket despite all those terrifying bees? It was me!"

"How can you say I was scared speechless? I was just... just..."

*I was just captivated by you.*

Of course, he couldn't voice that thought. Sheng Xingyao forcibly swallowed the words, awkwardly changing the subject: "When should we head back? Teacher Qin and the others must have been waiting for a long time. We shouldn't make them worry."

"Let's go then." Yu Xin said decisively, turning to leave. Sheng Xingyao, however, felt a renewed sense of unease, though he couldn't pinpoint why he was being so awkward. He could only trail behind Yu Xin like a dejected large dog, carrying the bucket.

They had run back along their original path, so it didn't take long to reach the campsite.

The other three at the campsite were too preoccupied to focus on anything else. Shen Tong had been eagerly watching in the direction Yu Xin and Sheng Xingyao had left. Spotting figures in the distance, she exclaimed with delight: "It's Yu Xin and Sheng Xingyao! They're back!!"

She rushed to meet them: "Let me see! Wow, it really is honey!"

"You actually managed to get it!"

"Did you get stung? If you did, you must tell us immediately. The production team should have effective medicine," Qin Shizhen asked, concerned.

"No, no, we were well covered. We went when the bees weren't home, grabbed it, and ran before they could even react, hahaha."

Yu Xin washed his hands and meticulously squeezed the honey from the honeycomb into bottles, filling two whole bottles.

[They squeezed out that much?!]

[This is premium wild honey. These two bottles are probably worth a fortune.]

[My family owns a restaurant. This kind of completely wild, organic, untreated honey is sold by the gram, you know. One bottle here is easily worth ten thousand star coins.]

[!!!]

[Crying tears of poverty and envy over here.]

[As a sweet tooth enthusiast, I'm so tempted. I really want a taste, *sniff*, but I can't afford it.]

[Where can I find honeycombs like this?! I want to harvest some too!! Getting rich is just around the corner, friends!]

[Hey, up there, not to burst your bubble, but first, can you even find pure wild honeycombs? And even if you do, are you sure you can harvest the honey without getting stung half to death?]

[Forget it, *sniff*. I value my life more than money. After all, not everyone is Yu Xin.]

Yu Xin had picked some wild lemons a few days earlier, which would be perfect for making honey water.

He could also add a few mint leaves—luckily, there was a large patch right next to their campsite. Yu Xin plucked a few leaves, gently clapped them to release their aroma. He washed the lemons, scrubbed their skins with salt, then sliced them thinly. He placed the lemon slices and mint into cups, added a little honey, and poured in cooled boiled water. And just like that, a cup of honey mint lemonade was complete.

Yu Xin prepared one cup, stirring it evenly with a spoon. The mint leaves and lemon slices floated in the water, emerald green interspersed with bright yellow, looking crisp and refreshing.

"Who wants to try it?"

"I will!" Shen Tong enthusiastically raised her hand.

Yu Xin handed her the cup. Shen Tong took a sip, savoring it carefully.

After tasting, she gave Yu Xin a thumbs-up: "The flavor is just right—tangy and sweet, absolutely delicious!"

"Yu Xin, how do you make everything taste so good? Is there anything in this world you can't do?"

"Well, there are things I can't do. I can't make bad-tasting food—that would be a desecration of ingredients," Yu Xin said calmly.

Having lived through a nuclear contamination, no one understood the preciousness of food better than he did.

[Tsk tsk, listen to that statement. Now that's what I call perspective.]

[Lesson learned, lesson learned. I even left some food at lunch today. I repent.]

[Why does this 'beta' act feel so satisfying?]

Ruan Qing took the cup from Shen Tong and also had a sip: "It's delicious! It would be perfect with some ice."

Yu Xin made a cup for everyone. He also took a sip of his own—the lemon and honey perfectly balanced each other, the sweetness and acidity just right. Coupled with the cool, slightly spicy freshness of the mint, it was crisp yet sweet.

Having a cup of honey mint lemonade in such hot weather made everyone feel completely refreshed.

This honey could also be taken back to brew mead—low in alcohol and sweet, perfect with barbecue.

Wait, barbecue?

Yu Xin suddenly knew what they would be eating today.

***

Yu Xin was always quick to act, especially when it came to food. He drained his honey water, jumped up, and began searching for tools.

The other guests were still leisurely enjoying their honey drinks. Seeing his sudden activity, Sheng Xingyao quickly asked, "Yu Xin, what are you making now? Let me help you."

"No need," Yu Xin said without looking up, "I have to do this myself. You all keep drinking."

He brought out a pile of ropes and wire, whittled a few suitable sticks, and the others watched as he twisted here, tied there, his fingers moving deftly—almost too fast to follow.

Soon, he had fashioned a strange contraption with just a rope connected to a wire loop. Its purpose was completely unclear.

"Yu Xin, what is this for?"

"It's a simple trap," Yu Xin explained. "I'll secure the rope to a shrub, prop it up with sticks underneath. If a small animal passes through and its neck gets caught in the wire loop, it won't be able to escape."

The trap was simple yet highly effective. Generally, smaller animals wouldn't be able to break free once caught. It worked every time.

"Oh, I see!" everyone said, catching on.

[But it looks so simple. Can it really catch an animal?]

[Exactly, just a rope with a wire loop. Wouldn't an animal easily break the trap?]

[We'll see if it works soon enough, though I have no idea how long it'll take to actually snag something.]

[There should be plenty of small animals on this mountain, so it shouldn't take long.]

[I hope they don't mess it up, hahaha. Even if they don’t catch anything, it'll still be fun.]

"I'm going to set the trap now. Do you want to come along?"

"Of course we do!"

How could they miss out on something this interesting?

A few of the more curious ones followed Yu Xin to a spot far from the campsite, an area they hadn't explored before, so the small animals there hadn’t been scared off yet.

Yu Xin chose a patch of low shrubs. He securely tied the rope to a tree, positioned the wire loop over a path where small animals would pass, and camouflaged the trap perfectly with grass and leaves.

"Now all we have to do is wait and hope a foolish little animal walks right into our trap."

[Come on, place your bets! Will Yu Xin’s trap successfully catch a small animal?]

[Gamblers end up with nothing... I’ll bet 100 star coins that they’ll catch something!]

A few hours later, Yu Xin brought the group back to check the trap.

Sheng Xingyao was muttering the whole way there: "Such a short time, can it really have caught something? Maybe we should go back and wait a bit longer?"

Shen Tong grew impatient with his whining: "Shut up! If there's anything there, your chattering will scare it off!"

As they approached, Yu Xin took one look and declared: "The trap has been triggered."

It seemed they were lucky—some poor, dumb animal had indeed stumbled into the trap, though they didn’t yet know what it was.

He tiptoed over, brushed aside the leaves blocking the view, and a patch of grayish-yellow fur became visible.

Everyone held their breath, their gazes fixed. Lying there, exhausted, in the shrubs was a long-eared rabbit!

[It’s a rabbit!]

[They actually caught one! No way!]

[I won the bet! Where do I go to collect my money?]

[This rabbit is so chubby! Why can’t it break free from the wire?]

[Yu Xin has once again proven his awesomeness! Everyone, understand? From now on, just follow Yu Xin’s lead on this show.]

[Exactly. If Yu Xin weren’t just in his early twenties, I’d suspect he’s spent half his life in the wild. This is insane.]

The rabbit looked quite plump. It had already struggled to exhaustion, but as they drew closer, it began kicking furiously again.

However, the more it struggled, the tighter the wire loop tightened around its neck, making it hard for the poor thing to breathe.

Yu Xin grabbed it by its long ears and lifted it, loosening the wire loop around its neck. With his other hand, he cradled the rabbit’s bottom and weighed it: "Hmph, this rabbit is heavy."

It had to be at least six or seven pounds!

The rabbit, which had been kicking its hind legs nonstop, strangely calmed down once it was in Yu Xin’s arms. Its three-part mouth twitched slightly as it nestled obediently against his arm.

"Let me hold it!" Shen Tong’s eyes lit up with envy as she carefully took the rabbit from Yu Xin, repeatedly stroking the fur on its back.

The rabbit had a layer of soft, warm fur, and it felt wonderful to run fingers through it. Shen Tong couldn’t stop petting it. "Can we take it back with us? Oh, and what does it eat? Will grass and leaves do?"

"I heard young rabbits shouldn’t consume too much water, or they might get diarrhea... Why are you all looking at me like that?"

Including Yu Xin, the other three were staring at her with strange expressions.

"What’s wrong? Did I say something incorrect? What’s with those looks??"

Sheng Xingyao wore a hesitant expression, while Ruan Qing’s face was full of helpless sympathy.

"Taking the rabbit back is a given," Yu Xin said. But before Shen Tong could rejoice for more than a few seconds, he added, "Though you don’t need to worry about what it eats. Instead, you should think about how *you’re* going to eat it."

The smile slowly faded from Shen Tong’s face.

Wait… it couldn’t be what she was thinking, right?

"Bunnies are so adorable! You’re not going to eat it, are you?!"

Author’s Note:

----------------------

Today is the first time I’ve made it to the rankings!! Thank you to all the little angels who have been with me all along!! I remember every single one of you, *sob sob*.

And to all the new readers who’ve found me—consider your JJ account fully leveled up (winks while holding a rose in mouth). Now that you’re here, don’t leave! *Mwah mwah!*