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The time has come for bees to collect nectar from blooming vegetation in the lush mountains of east China's Fujian Province. And Zheng Quanfu, a local beekeeper, is all set to work his "magic" once again.
Zheng was just a simple farmer in Yangkeng Village of Shunchang County only five years ago. But a training session at Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University (FAFU) in 2015 transformed his life forever.
During the session, he learned advanced techniques to improve the survival rate of bees and quality of honey.
Thanks to such techniques, the number of Zheng's beehives has grown from one to 10 and ultimately 500, earning the lean and sharp-eyed beekeeper a new title -- magician.
But only one year before the session, his life hit rock bottom when Zheng, the only breadwinner in his household, was left bedridden following a car accident in 2014.
"I couldn't even borrow 100 yuan (14 U.S. dollars)," he recalled, with tears swelling up. "Because no one had faith in my ability to repay."
With two young sons to feed and sick family members to attend to, Zheng had to find a way out. He pinned all his hope on bee breeding.
Zheng used to keep bees using the local methods. He collected cymbidium from a nearby mountain around April to attract bees. After luring the buzzing creatures into beehives with molasses, he carried the bees back home to breed.
Although the mountain is blessed with dense woods and abundant nectar sources, his amateur methods failed to attract enough bees.
Determined to make a living by beekeeping, Zheng joined a local cooperative, which provided him with cymbidium sprouts and assistance in planting, bee breeding and honey production.
The cooperative even enrolled him in a 20-day training session at the College of Bee Science of the FAFU in late 2015.
He remembered vividly how a teacher explained the division of labor in a honey bee colony with stuffed toys. The toy with a mobile phone represented bees in charge of messaging and the one with a basket represented those collecting pollen from plants.
"It's like a dream come true that I could someday attend classes and actually learn something in a university. I used to watch this kind of training on television," Zheng said.
Zheng now owns 500 beehives and 100 pots of cymbidium. His family moved out of their old mud house into a new brick one in 2016.
He raked in 200,000 yuan from selling 2 tonnes of honey in 2018. His business was hit by an unexpected flood last year, but still managed to earn 200,000 yuan by selling 500 hives of bees.
But he never forgot his fellow villagers. He has been working with the local poverty relief office for three years, offering guidance to other impoverished households on beekeeping.
Everyday he rides two hours on his motorbike to give classes. Lecturing in the morning and working in the field in the afternoon with his "students" has almost become a routine.
He earns 400 yuan from one lesson but he says he is willing to impart his expertise to villagers whether he is paid or not.
Huang Qisheng, one of Zheng's students, has been learning beekeeping for almost four years. He cast off poverty over the period, and now owns more than 30 beehives.
"I want to keep learning with Zheng. Beekeeping is a lifelong career for me now," Huang said.
The local government, in the meantime, is actively applying for a certification for the locally produced honey, hoping to boost the industry by improving production and establishing a sales platform.
The year 2020 marks the deadline for China to eradicate absolute poverty. Zheng expects to have 1,000 beehives within the year. He himself has also set up a beekeeping cooperative under the name "hand in hand" and is persuading more villagers to join him.
If all goes well in the upcoming April nectar flow, Zheng will be collecting honey from honeycombs in May while expecting the second flow in early June.
"I have been reborn," Zheng said. "The hard times are gone, for good."
