Farming Games are All About Grinding

Over an hour later, Han Qiwu looked at the system prompt in front of him with a hint of satisfaction.

[Successfully conquered Level 81 Beginner Flame Iron Ore Mine]

[Total output from conquered mining area: Flame Iron Ore ×25]

Although the process was tough, the result was still pretty good.

Afterward, he found this mining area to be even larger than the previous one, with much more intense battles. With the assistance of Little Electric and Xiao Lai, Han Qiwu gradually reduced the number of Metal Bigheads to just twelve.

Through the effect of [Metal Bigheads' Nemesis], Han Qiwu achieved victory without combat and directly conquered this Flame Iron Ore Mine!

"If my arm weren't injured, this would be even more perfect." Han Qiwu withdrew his gaze and helplessly glanced at his burnt left arm and the scalded wound.

The injury happened when a mutated Metal Bighead spat high-temperature magma onto Han Qiwu's arm. If it weren't for the Snow Armor shielding him, he suspected his arm might have been completely gone.

Picking up the drops from the ground, Han Qiwu rode the cable car with his two pets back to the first level of the mine. Without stopping, he rushed straight to Level 40 of the mine.

[You have arrived at Level 40 of the mine]

As soon as he entered, he flopped onto the snowy ground nearby, enjoying a comfortable lie-down.

At the same time, the Snow Armor began absorbing the surrounding snow and ice to repair itself, with the Snow Armor component on his left arm slowly regenerating.

Naturally, the fiery pain in Han Qiwu's arm also started to ease.

"I'll need to visit the clinic later to see about this burn—it's still quite troublesome," Han Qiwu said resignedly.

Hearing this, Xiao Lai quickly hopped over and rubbed its round, chubby backside against Han Qiwu's shoulder.

Trying to use its cuteness to reduce Han Qiwu's pain.

Han Qiwu patted Xiao Lai's head and chuckled, "If you Slimes could be classified by the Five Elements, then with your green color, you'd definitely be Wood Element, and maybe you'd even know a healing skill."

"Zzzap zzzap!"

Little Electric immediately started flying around proudly, surrounded by flashes of electricity.

If we're following the master's logic, then I'd be outside the Five Elements entirely!

I am electricity!

"What now? Are you planning to give me electrotherapy?" Han Qiwu teased, laughing and cursing, as he searched around with his injured arm.

I haven't been back in a while—there should be plenty of good stuff here, right?

Sure enough, after scouting around, he discovered several harvestable spots.

[Wild Yam] ×4

[Wild Kudzu Root] ×6

[Snow Lotus Fruit] ×2

Unfortunately, he didn't find anything to treat his scalded arm. Looks like a visit to the clinic is unavoidable.

Han Qiwu kept rummaging around until his Snow Armor fully recovered. Then he took the cable car back to the mine's first level, wrapping up his expedition.

"All in all, it was a pretty good haul." Han Qiwu exited the mine and pedaled straight toward the rural clinic. Thanks to the rapid recovery in the snowy mining area, the burn on his arm was now much less severe, with just a few small blisters.

Upon reaching the clinic, Han Qiwu hadn't even dismounted his bike when he spotted the gatekeeper Iron General.

[Rural Clinic Hours: 9:00–15:00]

Han Qiwu: "......"

Can't they work overtime or something?!

They didn't even leave a phone number.

Forget it, I'll come back tomorrow—a night of tolerating this shouldn't be too hard.

Back home, Han Qiwu quickly ran to the storage box, took out the old ice, and pressed it against his burn.

"Ah! That feels amazing!"

So this is the correct way to use old ice!

Looking around, Little Prince and Little Shui hadn't returned yet. But considering he'd left pretty late today, it wasn't too surprising they were taking their time.

"Gurgle gurgle."

Han Qiwu glanced at his grumbling Five Internal Organs, feeling weary as he stepped into the kitchen. After a long day, he wasn't in the mood for elaborate cooking and decided to whip up something simple.

Really simple!

Spotting the Dragon Rice in the corner, Han Qiwu suddenly remembered something:

"The salted duck eggs should be ready, right? How about some white porridge with salted duck eggs?"

Let's do that!

Han Qiwu learned how to make porridge from Mrs. Han: Boil water in a clay pot, add the rice, stir clockwise for ten minutes, then drizzle in two drops of peanut oil and switch to low heat for another ten or so minutes. The resulting porridge turns out soft and tender, with a faint jade-like color—perfect for summer.

After setting the porridge to cook, Han Qiwu eagerly walked into the spare room, where he immediately spotted the faint shadows of two salted duck eggs floating on top of the jar.

Walking over, he lifted the lid and reached inside to retrieve two weighty large duck eggs.

The surface of the pickled duck eggs was slightly rough, without much color change, but they exuded a unique aroma.

[Salted Duck Egg]

[Stamina +20]

[Health +15]

[Special Effect—Hidden Power: The salted egg yolk within possesses remarkable special properties in certain situations]

[Note: Hurry up and peel it off!]

The attributes of both salted duck eggs were identical.

After all, neither was a double-yolk variety.

"If only I could cultivate duck eggs with yolks only—then every pickled egg would be made entirely of salted egg yolk." Han Qiwu mused while staring at the salted duck eggs.

After a while, the Dragon Rice porridge finished cooking. As before, the steam rising from the clay pot coalesced into the shape of a small dragon, looking impressively cool!

Opening the lid released a rich rice fragrance that whetted the appetite; the porridge texture was gem-like, its presentation top-notch.

Han Qiwu ladled out a bowl of Dragon Rice porridge and set it on the dining table, but to cool it faster, he placed the old ice underneath as a base.

While waiting for the porridge to cool, Han Qiwu patiently began peeling the salted duck egg. Based on his past experience, achieving a perfectly peeled salted duck egg required some finesse.

To his amazement, however, after lightly tapping the egg, he managed to peel away its shell entirely in one go.

"Interesting." Han Qiwu disposed of the shell and began inspecting the salted duck egg.

Unlike store-bought salted duck eggs, this one had an exceptionally bright and clean white egg white. Its texture was sandy yet elastic. Truth be told, with regular salted eggs, he could hardly stomach much of the egg white.

Han Qiwu placed the salted duck egg on a plate and snapped off a small piece to taste.

As soon as it touched his tongue, his eyes lit up!

Without pairing it with any side dishes, the salted egg white was only mildly salty, its texture sandy and soft yet firm, and its flavor uniquely delightful—no worse than ordinary egg whites!

"If the egg white is so delicious, that egg yolk must be out of this world!" Excited, Han Qiwu grabbed a knife and cut the remaining salted duck egg in half.

"Sizzle."

As soon as it was sliced open, layers of golden liquid oozed out from the salted egg yolk, filling the air with its distinctive aroma. The egg yolk featured concentric layers, with the deepening hue indicating increasingly rich flavor closer to the core!

This was the hallmark of the finest quality salted duck eggs.

To Han Qiwu's surprise, the golden oil dripping from the yolk emitted a faint system glow.

[Salted Egg Yolk Oil]

[Special Effect—Nourishment: Consuming it directly improves eyesight, while applying it externally helps heal burns and eczema]

[Note: Precious salted egg yolk oil]