I raise furry animals and fly them to my motherland.

Chapter 272 Working 15 Hours a Day
“Of course there are small insects on the snow-capped mountains.” Xu Ying snapped her fingers: “An ecosystem is a circle, and small ecosystems will form in any environment.”

She stood up and drew a perfect circle in the air with her finger. “Just like our snow-capped mountains, they may seem cold and barren, but as long as a plant grows tenaciously, there will inevitably be pollinators.”

The tent was well-heated, and the five guests sat around a long wooden table, their faces still showing the satisfaction of lunch.

"In cold environments, insects evolve special survival skills." Xu Ying's voice was clear and pleasant. "Some of them produce antifreeze proteins in their bodies, while others find sheltered caves to live in groups for warmth. And the protagonist we are going to meet today can be called a 'model worker' on the snow-capped mountains."

[Antifreeze protein – isn't this just a marketing gimmick used by beauty products to make money?]

[Wow, this thing really exists!]

Ye Jie gave an "I see" look. "So, are we going to meet these little bugs today?"

--"Yes!"

"Please follow me to our workshop!" Xu Ying suddenly announced, pulling a bunch of bronze keys from her pocket as if by magic, which gleamed in the sunlight.

"Workshop?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. As they followed Xu Ying out of the tent, Su Zhining grabbed a red cashmere shawl and wrapped it around her shoulders.

The mountain breeze carried the fragrance of cedar, and as the cable car slowly descended, the clouds parted, and the sunlight turned the snow-capped peaks golden.

Near the edge of the forest at the foot of the mountain, several log houses suddenly came into view. The roofs were covered with thick moss, and wisps of smoke rose from the chimneys, making them look like cabins in a fairy tale.

"Could it be another old research site?"

Su Zhining covered her nose and frowned exaggeratedly, "The dust at that 1960s-era observation station this morning almost gave me an allergic reaction."

Xu Ying smiled without saying a word, and the key made a crisp "click" sound when it was inserted into the lock.

The moment the wooden door was pushed open, everyone gasped.

In a space of 200 square meters, hundreds of flowers are in full bloom.

The pink and white tulips flowed gracefully like the skirts of ballerinas, the orange-red gerberas seemed to be scattered like the sunset, and the blue-purple bellflowers swayed gently in the breeze.

Sunlight streamed through the glass dome, and the dewdrops on the flowers and leaves refracted into rainbow-like halos.

"Wow! So beautiful!"

Ye Jie was the first to rush in.

"There are bees!" she suddenly exclaimed, her finger trembling as she pointed to the flower bushes.

The camera immediately followed, revealing several round bumblebees clumsily flitting among the flowers.

Their furry bodies look like they're wrapped in velvet, and their black and yellow stripes are more vibrant than those of ordinary bees. Their transparent wings vibrate at a high frequency, producing a deeper "buzzing" sound than that of ordinary bees.

[Holy crap, it's a bumblebee!]

[This cured my insect phobia, it's so cute!]

How can such small wings move that chubby body? Hahaha

Su Zhining pinched the corner of her shawl and said with a disdainful tone, "These bees are too fat! Won't they break the flower stems?"

Before the words were even finished, a particularly round bumblebee landed on the tulip with a "thud," and the entire flower immediately bent at a ninety-degree angle, its petals trembling violently, as if making a silent accusation.

Netizens burst into laughter:
[Huahua: I'm bearing a weight I shouldn't have to at my age.] [Bumblebee: I just wanted to collect some honey. Huahua: No, you don't want to.]

[Flower: Other bees collect nectar, but you're both collecting nectar and trying to kill me.]

Xu Ying couldn't help but chuckle, reaching out to gently lift the tulip that was overburdened: "That's the characteristic of bumblebees. They weigh ten times more than ordinary bees, and their honey-gathering efficiency is more than three times higher."

She pointed to one busy in the corner, "Look at the pollen basket hanging on its hind leg, it's much bigger than a regular bee."

“Everyone says bees are hardworking,” Xu Ying said, taking a magnifying glass from her workbench and handing it to Yao Yingzhe, who was closest to her. “But bumblebees are the real queens. They can work in temperatures as low as 10°C and go out in 0°C. They work 15 hours a day, and some species can even raise their body temperature by trembling their muscles to keep warm.”

Everyone was shocked when they heard about the working hours!

[Taking away a young man?! 15 hours?!]

Working from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., I definitely don't want to live anymore.

Isn't this just the insect version of the 996 work culture?

Suddenly, I realize that my overtime work doesn't seem like a big deal anymore.

Yao Yingzhe pushed a magnifying glass to observe a bumblebee rolling on a gerbera daisy: "They fly so slowly, their natural enemies must be able to catch them easily, right?"

“Indeed.” Xu Ying nodded. “Birds, spiders, and mantises feed on bees. And mammals like bears and badgers destroy bumblebee nests to obtain honey.”

She took down a hand-drawn illustration prepared by the program team from the wall: "Bee-eaters love to use bumblebees as courtship gifts. A male bird needs to prepare 20-30 bumblebees to win the favor of a female bird."

The picture shows a colorful bird carrying a plump bumblebee, while in the background, a badger is sneakily raiding a beehive.

[Bumblebee: Thank you! The early bird catches the worm, but the early worm gets eaten by the bird.]

Life is tough for bees; they have to work 15-hour days and then be given away as dowry by birds.

[Bumblebee: So I was just part of your game?]

Ye Jie squatted beside a clump of bluebells, then suddenly looked up: "Why have I never seen such chubby little things in the South?"

“Good question.” Xu Ying magically unfolded a map. “Bumblebees are mainly distributed in cold temperate zones above 1500 meters in altitude. The snow-capped mountains and northeastern forests of Xizhou Province are their paradise.”

She traced the different colored blocks with her finger, saying, "The temperature in the southern plains is high, which is more suitable for the survival of ordinary bees."

Suddenly, three bumblebees began to dance a peculiar dance above a purple tulip. They first flew in a straight line, then swayed left and right, forming a reclining figure eight, the sunlight shining on their fuzzy surface and creating a golden glow.

"Look!" Yao Yingzhe suddenly exclaimed excitedly, as if he had discovered a new continent. "It's the figure-eight dance! Bees use this dance to tell their companions the location of nectar sources. The angle of their straight flight corresponds to the sun's position, and the number of swings indicates the distance!"

Xu Ying's eyes lit up: "Teacher Yao is indeed very knowledgeable!"

With a smile, Xu Ying introduced to the guests: "Please look around, there are 36 pots of blooming flowers neatly arranged in the four cardinal directions. Next, we're going to have an interesting challenge—by observing the bumblebees' unique 'figure-eight dance,' we'll identify the flowers that actually contain nectar."

“Each guest will receive a bee tag in their own color. When you find a target flower, you can stick your tag on it to ‘claim’ it.”

"Ultimately, the guest who 'occupies' the most flowers will be the champion of this round!"

Staff members distributed different colored name tags to the four guests.

(End of this chapter)