Farming Games are All About Grinding

As its name implies, the source of the self-circulating river on the ground is a water dragon faucet, and its end is also another water dragon faucet, flowing endlessly.

Han Qiwu took out the [Water Dragon Marrow] and gently placed it into the river.

The Water Dragon Marrow dissolved upon contact with water and quickly merged completely into the river water.

However, with his enhanced eyesight, Han Qiwu noticed a faint, marrow-like whiteness emanating from the water dragon faucet. It seemed as though the faucet had been enhanced in some way, dramatically improving its water purification efficiency as the river became even clearer.

[Water Dragon Marrow successfully used; river water quality has been upgraded.]

But the tasks for Han Qiwu were not yet finished. He took out the [Golden Chef Shark Fry] and the [Dragon Blood Carp] he had just obtained today and tossed them into the river.

The Golden Chef Shark Fry, upon entering the water, appeared exceptionally well-behaved. With a flick of its tail, it found a quiet spot undisturbed by other fish and began nibbling on seaweed.

Even as a few flying fish fry and some eel fry swam past it, it remained unbothered.

"Very easy to manage." Han Qiwu nodded in satisfaction. He'd thought it through; if the Golden Chef Shark acted up, he'd simply dig out another fish pond to house it separately.

In contrast, the Dragon Blood Carp seemed full of energy. As soon as it entered the water, it eagerly swam to the surface and leapt gracefully, its movements fluid and practiced.

"Splash."

The Dragon Blood Carp landed back into the water and swam a half-circle near the surface before spotting the water dragon faucet at the bottom of the river. It immediately swam excitedly toward the faucet and began training against the forceful currents where the river surged in and out of the spout.

At the same time, the dragon blood within the carp began to manifest, gradually improving the quality of the river water.

Perhaps because the water quality met the required conditions—or perhaps simply because the time was right—the water dragon's spout refreshed itself, producing a small yellow fish.

This little yellow fish was fairly sizable and seemed a bit uneasy in the Hospital River, darting up and down in agitation. However, its discomfort didn't escalate into anything severe.

It seemed like the water dragon faucet could also handle the issue of saltwater and freshwater compatibility.

"Huh, why can't I see any attributes for this little yellow fish?" Han Qiwu was intrigued. Could it be that these little yellow fish didn't belong to him yet and were meant for fishing?

Pulling out his Red Sun fishing rod, it took him only a dozen seconds to reel the yellow fish in. Examining its attributes, he found it wasn't significantly different from those outside the river.

"This is amazing! Now I can fish at home." Han Qiwu said excitedly.

Of course, he only planned to fish for rare species in the Hospital River. As for more common fish like herring, yellow fish, or largemouth bass, he would just let them grow for fun.

Whenever he felt like eating, he'd fish for them.

Walking along the riverbank, Han Qiwu discovered a row of pebble grooves.

This should be where fish roe formed.

The merged environment brought more benefits as well. With the fish pond gone, the five previous fish pond spots reverted into empty plots of land, and they were moist too.

Han Qiwu bent down and touched the soil.

[Rich, moist soil: Improves crop yield by 50% when planted. Only requires watering once every 3 days.]

"Rich soil?" Han Qiwu chuckled. There were a total of 30 such precious plots.

He needed to plan thoughtfully to decide what to plant.

He couldn't let such fertile land go to waste.

After processing all the benefits the water dragon faucet had brought, Han Qiwu, feeling a little tired, sat in the courtyard and grilled the yellow fish he had just caught.

The grilled yellow fish, with its golden skin and white meat, was aromatic and enticing. It needed only a pinch of salt for seasoning, as its natural umami flavor was rich and its texture delightful. It didn't need other flavors disrupting it.

After finishing the fish, Han Qiwu walked over to the spring nearby and poured the frozen birch sap into it.

[Birch sap absorbed. Spring efficacy has been upgraded to generate 6 portions of spring water daily. Upgrade takes effect tomorrow.]

Six portions!

That was plenty to work with now.

Han Qiwu crouched down to collect six portions of spring water and walked over to the Hospital River. He poured three drops into the river.

The spring water didn't blend into the river but instead floated slowly toward the water dragon faucet, gently attaching to it.

Interestingly, the faucet didn't absorb the spring water either; the two coexisted harmoniously.

From afar, it looked as though three additional dragon scales had emerged from the water dragon faucet.

"It looks like the water dragon faucet really likes the spring water." Han Qiwu chuckled. "I guess I'll reserve one portion daily for it. Who knows? Maybe I'll be surprised down the road."

As for the remaining two drops of spring water, Han Qiwu decided to use one for the giant sundew and one for the maple sapling.

When there were six portions of spring water each day starting tomorrow, he planned to set aside one each day as a reserve, just in case.

Once the household tasks were settled, Han Qiwu decided to spend one or two hours exploring the mines. He also wanted to check out the lower levels.

It just so happened the rain had stopped, and the sky was clear. Leisurely, Han Qiwu hopped onto his little electric scooter and headed toward the mines.

The rain-washed hillsides appeared even more lush. Riding for just a short while, Han Qiwu suddenly noticed a system glow emanating from beneath a tree.

He parked his scooter, walked over for a closer look, and found clusters of fungi that resembled morels sprouting eagerly.

"Such good luck? Perfect for making a hotpot tonight." Han Qiwu chuckled, carefully bending down to pick up a morel.

[Morel Mushroom]

[Stamina +15]

[HP +10]

[Note: Morels are springtime's gift at the juncture of seasons.]

The term "gift" seemed perfectly fitting.

Over the next 20 minutes, Han Qiwu harvested a total of 37 morel mushrooms.

"I'll check on the way back and pick a few more if I can. Even if I can't finish them myself, I can always dry them." Han Qiwu thought with satisfaction as he headed toward the first level of the mine.

After a moment of contemplation, he turned and stepped into the Prospector Guild.

Let's see what's going on.

Maybe he'd stumble upon a bargain!

The guild was far from quiet today. Egger and Jin Tu were drinking and bickering with each other, creating a rather lively scene.

When Egger spotted Han Qiwu, he enthusiastically yelled, "Xiao Han, come over here! The cloak is ready!"

"That fast?" Han Qiwu exclaimed in delight. He had only planned to drop by and check on things, perhaps give them a little nudge.

But before he could even mention it, Egger had already finished it.

"Of course! By the hammer, I'm Egger after all! Rest assured, quick doesn't mean sloppy. In fact, with the addition of the Flame Bird Wings, the quality was guaranteed from the start." Egger flashed a confident smile as he bent down, retrieved a box from beneath the counter, and carefully handed it to Han Qiwu.

Han Qiwu accepted the box with a word of thanks and eagerly opened it.

Inside was a cloak, its entire surface a deep green-black shade. It looked simple, yet even before Han Qiwu got close to it, he could feel the faint aura of its attached skills.

"This should be something pretty amazing." In high spirits, Han Qiwu grabbed the cloak and with a flourish, wrapped it around himself.

So dashing!