Spring Rain | These Years
When I turned 30, time seemed to have a buff added to it. It went by a little faster than when I was 20. I remember when I was in my teens, I would look up at the calendar from time to time. Although I had torn off page after page, it was still very thick. Why hadn't the year I was looking forward to come yet? How come another year has ended? Yes, 2024 is over, and it's already 2025
Today I tried very hard to think about what happened this year and what I could remember in an instant. It seemed like nothing, but also like a lot.
I was cleaning up my phone's memory recently. I took more than 14,000 photos in two years. When I deleted the photos, I looked at the faces one by one. Some of them were like scenes replaying, and I remembered her (him), while some photos were blurred in my mind. At this moment, I suddenly thought of a line of lyrics by Qi Qin: Let the past go with the wind, let the heart follow you, yesterday's flowers bloomed and withered, it was not a dream, it was not a dream, it was not a dream. Yes, everything really happened.
When talking about the past 2024, I have to thank my own persistence and the support of my family. I have grown another year in my career. As a beekeeper with more than 20 years of experience, is it really because beekeeping is very profitable? The answer is definitely not. Is it because there is no other choice but to raise bees? No. It is because of my pursuit of freedom and my reluctance to give up bees.
I remember the outbreak at the end of 2019. As the number of infections outside the province increased, Dali's epidemic prevention and control became more and more strict. This year I became a father. I worked hard to renovate the house in an area that I am not good at, and we were going to move to a new home. But at that time we lived in Sanyue Street, and the bees were placed in Shuangyuan Village. The distance of just a few kilometers was controlled by the village, so I couldn't get to Shuangyuan Village during the day. I had to ride an electric bike alone at night to take a small road to secretly come and see the bees.
Does anyone know that the epidemic lasted for 3 years? During these 3 years, many customers from outside the province bought honey. Due to the epidemic, I couldn’t send express delivery. I spent year after year under the shadow of the epidemic. In 2022, my wife and I discussed and made a decision to move. After deciding to move, we started to act. Before we went to Kunming to find a house, we packed our daily necessities and furniture and loaded them into our car. We drove to Kunming with our children to find a house. After finding a house and putting the items in the car in the house, we returned to Dali to start packing and make final preparations for moving to Kunming. This year we discarded a lot of clothes that were stored in the closet but not often worn, and items with low usage rates. Our family’s things were moved in 2 cars after the rear seats of our own 5-seater car were flattened.
After arriving in Kunming, my wife worked and I stayed at home to take care of the children. The happiest thing every day was to go to the subway station with the children to pick up my wife after get off work. While deciding to live in Kunming, I couldn’t give up the bees at the foot of the mountain. At the same time as moving, someone had to take care of the bees. I told my parents that yours had come to Dali. Otherwise, my mother would come first. Because I had a job managing bees at an agricultural company in Xizhou at the time, someone came to take over my job, and at the same time, my existing bees were moved to the company in Xizhou for my mother to take care of together. Thanks to the Xizhou Daben Agricultural Company where I used to work. (I can talk about the good memories this company has left me in the future)
In the blink of an eye, 2022 is coming to an end. During this period, my dad also came to Dali. We decided to go back to Dali for the New Year. The wind in Dali was really strong during the New Year of 2023. During the New Year, I discussed with my wife that I didn’t want to go back to Kunming. It’s not because I don’t want to be with you, but I feel worthless in Kunming. I think if I continue to eat gigolo like this, I will be ruined.
Thanks to my dear wife for her support. (There is another story during this period)
I stayed in Dali, while my wife, children and mother returned to Kunming. Before I decided to stay in Dali, I had thought about the bee experience, but I didn't know how to start. During this period, I would chat with friends sometimes, and the appearance of Tan Ding indirectly promoted the development and realization of the experience. Tan Ding is a documentary director. During our chat, Tan Ding thought that my life was quite rich and could be recorded in the form of a beekeeping diary. If I didn't record it, I wouldn't remember what happened on a certain day of a certain year and month after a long time. If I recorded it, there would be some traces of searching. So I started the beekeeping diary on April 11, 2023, and the beekeeping diary came to an end on August 19, 2024.
On the 17th day of writing the beekeeping diary, Xiaochun sent me a message asking if I was still raising bees in Dali. He bought honey a few years ago and said it would be a good thing if people could understand bees. I replied and sent the location, and Xiaochun and Jason came over soon. We didn't talk much about the experience, but more about the past of Dali. The late night canteen was a place for everyone to eat and chat after closing the stall. (I don't remember Xiaochun buying honey, but I remember Xiaochun's circle of friends around 2018. He often posted some complaints in the late night, and probably deleted them after he sobered up.
I still remember the last time I saw Xiaochun. It was at Muzi's inn in Dayuanzi Village. When I went there, King Zhou Laohu's tour had already started. Xiaochun was sitting on the sofa smoking non-stop. My wife and I sat next to Xiaochun, but we didn't talk. Muzi and Laohu's children should be going to elementary school soon.)
In the following days, Jason and I made an appointment for a trial experience, and the first group of guests officially arrived on May 13. Jason drove over to give me a big umbrella because he was worried that it would rain. On April 29, 2023, the idea became a reality, and I still think it is the best decision I have made in my life.
During these two years, I have seen and received countless guests. Some of them left a deep impression on me, some gradually became blurred over time, and some came again and again. I have also gained a lot from the guests, and the guests from different industries have also opened my eyes. I have also grown in my personal cognition.
At the end of 2024, I have an idea to travel with bees . Thank you for your support. The 2025 plan is in progress. . . I look forward to meeting you on the road and meeting you again.
