A Beekeeper in a Magical World

Chapter 17: Baby-like Sleep

Someone placed an order for a bottle of Moon Slumber Honey.

The delivery address was in Qingyun Province, not far from Huayu Town, and it was estimated that the logistics would deliver within a day.

However, it was too late today, and the town's logistics had already finished work, so they could only wait until tomorrow.

The next day, Hua Mi immediately went to handle the order.

Based on past experience, it should be delivered by late afternoon today.

This was the first bottle of magic honey he had sold, and it held a special significance for him.

He eagerly awaited the user's feedback!

His online store had fallen from a peak rating of 4.8 to its current 3.2.

The negative reviews were mainly about the taste.

This magic honey not only compensated for the taste issue with the fragrance of Moon Slumber Flowers but also had a magical sleep-inducing effect. He believed it would help improve the store's rating.Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m nov𝒆lb(i)n.c(o)m

After dealing with the order, Hua Mi crossed over to another world, as usual, to take care of his bee farm.

...

After 1 a.m.

Even the busiest areas outside gradually quieted down.

With dark circles under his eyes and disheveled hair, Zhang Cheng searched online for "how to deal with insomnia."

He was the owner of a small company.

Recently, his company had taken on a critical project, and the pressure was immense. He had not slept well for several days.

Insomnia was tormenting him.

He even thought of physically knocking himself out on the forehead to induce sleep. However, he didn't want to resort to sleeping pills unless it was absolutely necessary. The side effects were significant, and regular use could dull his thinking, which was unacceptable.

The internet offered a plethora of unconventional remedies for treating insomnia: hot milk, honey water, foot soaks before bed, and more. After searching for a while, Zhang Cheng found most of them to be unreliable.

But since he had always enjoyed honey, he casually opened an online shopping platform and searched for "honey."

Several sellers' profiles appeared, all with bright and exaggerated cover images.

Zhang Cheng thought for a moment and added "sleep aid" after "honey."

This narrowed down the options significantly.

He clicked on a few profiles, and most of them vaguely mentioned that having a glass before bed could help with falling asleep but didn't guarantee results.

This was expected, as honey wasn't originally intended as a sleep aid.

It had great taste, no side effects, and the added benefit of aiding sleep. How could such a thing exist?

"Maybe I should just buy some sleeping pills to get through this critical period," he thought to himself. He was about to exit when he noticed a shop with a slogan that made him pause.

It stated that this honey could effectively aid sleep. Drinking a glass would guarantee falling into a deep sleep within 5-10 minutes. If the effect was unsatisfactory, a full refund could be requested.

This was clearly marketing the sleep-inducing effect as the main selling point.

Zhang Cheng furrowed his brow. As someone who valued practicality, he despised this kind of boastful marketing. It frustrated him when businesses made grand claims without evidence.

"Someone should really enact policies to penalize these kinds of sellers," he muttered. However, he noticed three words, "Huayu Town," and that made him pause.

"Huayu Town..."

Childhood memories flooded back, unexpectedly easing his restless heart. He had loved the honey produced in Huayu Town the most when he was a child.

Unfortunately, this old honey-producing town had fallen on hard times due to the inevitable changes brought about by progress. He couldn't blame anyone, just sigh at the passage of time.

However, his childhood nostalgia improved his impression of this shop.

"Well, let's support it and reminisce about the past," Zhang Cheng thought with self-deprecating humor as he bought a bottle.

It cost 300 yuan for a 500g bottle, and he felt it was a bit expensive.

After the purchase, he exited the online shopping platform and went back to cooking pancakes.

...

The delivery was swift.

On the same evening, before the end of the workday, Zhang Cheng received a text message notifying him that the delivery was on its way.

Since Huayu Town wasn't far from his location and had its own logistics system, the essential infrastructure remained intact despite its decline. The one-stop service was convenient and highly efficient.

Zhang Cheng didn't think too much of it.

He didn't believe in the sleep aid claims for this honey. He had bought it mainly for the face of "Huayu Town."

Now, after a night of restlessness, he had completely forgotten about the honey. He didn't even bother to pick up the delivery and went straight up to his apartment when he got home.

It was only when he couldn't fall asleep and remembered the "sleep aid honey" that he thought of it again.

He went downstairs, retrieved the package from the cupboard, and made a cup of honey water with hot water.

"The taste is pretty good, just like in my childhood," he remarked, surprised by the honey's flavor. It was hard to put into words, but it was different from the industrial, blended honey on the market. It had a natural and refreshing taste.

Perhaps only those who had tasted genuinely pure honey could notice the difference.

"Huayu Town is still sticking to its roots," he mused.

He sat at his computer, sipping the honey water, and typing away on the keyboard.

A warm sensation gradually spread throughout his body, and at a certain moment, it suddenly erupted.

Zhang Cheng suddenly felt the long-lost drowsiness.

"It's here!"

The feeling he had been anticipating!

He lay on his bed, and before long, he fell asleep.

A whole night of sleep like a baby.

The next day, when he woke up, he felt incredibly refreshed. His mind was unusually clear, and he had an abundance of energy. All the fatigue, stress, whether mental or physical, had dissipated.

But his first reaction was not excitement; it was puzzlement.

Honey wasn't supposed to have such a remarkable effect. Unless... it had something it shouldn't have.

"Could it be someone's audacious enough to do this?"

If it turned out that the honey contained sleeping pills or sedatives, it would lead to serious consequences.

Zhang Cheng immediately contacted a friend who worked in a laboratory, bringing the bottle of honey for testing.

"It's just regular honey ingredients: fructose, glucose, water, and some common trace elements, all beneficial and harmless to the human body. No other chemical compounds," his friend reported.

"Are you sure?"

"Are you questioning my expertise?"

"No, not at all. I meant, could it be that the instruments can't detect something or the accuracy isn't high enough."

His friend chuckled and explained, "These are top-notch devices. If there were any components that couldn't be detected by them, it would have to be magical elements."

Zhang Cheng nodded.

Since professionals had confirmed that the honey was harmless to the human body, he realized he had been overly concerned. Maybe the honey's unique ratio of sugars and trace elements suited his body, resulting in its excellent sleep-aiding effect.

Or perhaps, his body had a particular constitution?

"Is it really true? Can it be this amazing?"

"Why don't you try it yourself?"

Zhang Cheng asked his friend to take a sip.

For the first one or two minutes, his friend was in high spirits, attributing the effect to being tired and some sort of placebo. He claimed that the honey had no impact.

But three minutes later, his friend started yawning continuously, his eyes narrowing. Eventually, he gave up resisting and rested his head on the table.

"I'll just nap for a bit... you do your thing," he mumbled.

In just a few minutes, his friend was sound asleep, mirroring Zhang Cheng's experience the previous night. Keep in mind; this friend was renowned for his ability to stay up all night and sleep only four hours a day.

If this honey could affect him in such a way, it was evident that its sleep-aiding effect was genuine, unrelated to individual constitution.

"It seems that the highest-level testing confirmed that it's harmless to humans, so there's nothing to worry about. We should have faith in science."

Furthermore, he felt incredibly rejuvenated after waking up. He felt as if he were brand new, showing no sign of harm.

He had discovered a treasure in this honey!

Selling it for 300 yuan a bottle? In his opinion, it was almost too cheap!

Feeling reinvigorated, Zhang Cheng left the laboratory.

With Labor Day coming up, he had initially planned to give the company's employees everyday items like dish soap and laundry detergent, as he did on previous holidays.

However, he now had a better idea. Since he knew that many of his employees, like him, struggled with insomnia, he believed that this honey could help. With its sleep-aiding effect, everyone could work with full energy and dedication.

He decided to give his employees the gift of honey.