Farming Games are All About Grinding

"So egg yolk oil has this effect too?" Han Qiwu exclaimed in surprise, carefully scooping up some egg yolk oil with a spoon and gently applying it to his arm.

To his astonishment, the moment the egg yolk oil touched the burn, the pain eased noticeably, and the swelling seemed to shrink visibly.

An unexpected discovery.

After applying the egg yolk oil, Han Qiwu picked up a piece of salted egg white with yolk and tasted it.

The flavor was rich and exquisite, a tender softness complemented by the signature sandy texture of salted egg yolks.

"Once we have a bigger stash of duck eggs at home, I could really put salted egg yolks to good use." Han Qiwu mused aloud as he lowered his head for a sip of porridge.

Perfect pairing.

After the meal, the long-missed moonlight spilled onto the ground, making it the perfect time for watering.

Han Qiwu took a brief rest before grabbing his Azure Moon Watering Can and started watering. After tending to the vegetables, he headed over to the mulberry cuttings and began watering them as well.

The eighteen mulberry cuttings were doing okay overall. Several had sprouted tiny new leaves on their tips, though four of them showed no signs of new growth; the original two leaves on them were starting to wilt from lack of moisture.

"I hope more of these survive." Han Qiwu took today's allocation of spring water and poured it all onto the mulberry cuttings.

The family's silkworms are depending on them!

After watering the mulberry cuttings, he noticed the spinach he had planted earlier was finally ripe. Its lush green leaves were growing vibrantly, plump and abundant—truly a sight that screamed "delicious."

"Among the potion recipes I've mastered, the materials for the Strength Potion are the easiest to find. Next time, I think I'll take some spinach over to Sister Jin Tu's place to practice potion crafting," he thought aloud.

After harvesting half the spinach, Han Qiwu suddenly realized that one of the plants looked different.

It was blue!

It must have been triggered by the Azure Moon Watering Can's cleansing special effect.

Honestly, the blue spinach in the moonlight looked just like one of those rare plants from Plants vs. Zombies. With the breeze swaying it, it carried an oddly eerie vibe.

Han Qiwu bent down, picked the spinach, and checked its attributes.

[Blue Spinach]

[Stamina +100]

[HP +40]

[Special Effect - Purity: Spinach cleansed via the Azure Moon Watering Can has extremely high quality, greatly enhancing potion effectiveness]

[Note: Spinach: I wanted to dye this thing blue!]

Apart from this amusing note, the attributes of the blue spinach were truly impressive, with its restoration values for stamina and HP doubled compared to normal spinach.

On top of that, it came with a special effect that boosted potion quality.

"This thing's a treasure!" Han Qiwu said, glancing at the Azure Moon Watering Can. Watering plants actually had a chance to improve their quality!

Many thanks to Master Shuzi!

After finishing up with the spinach harvest, Han Qiwu counted—the blue spinach yield wasn't high, producing only five plants, just enough for one batch of Strength Potion.

Setting them aside for later.

Since it hadn't rained today, he made a special trip to the Guanghan Palace to water the Cat-tail Grass there.

In Guanghan Palace, the little bunnies hopped over as soon as Han Qiwu entered. Each of them bounced their way to his feet, their tiny noses twitching upward in hopeful squeaks.

"Hold on, wait just a few more days. You'll get to eat soon."

Han Qiwu looked at them for a while, then bent down to pick up two dwarf rabbits. Their small size made them fit perfectly into his hands, and the touch was incredibly comforting.

"You two better not slack off. Focus on producing baby bunnies! Just eating without working won't cut it!"

The pair of dwarf rabbits seemed embarrassed by his comments, hastily shaking their long ears and burying their heads into their front paws.

"Haha." Han Qiwu laughed while stroking the floppy ears of the giant Angus rabbit.

The texture was wonderful, a little like a fluffy pancake.

After leaving Guanghan Palace, Han Qiwu headed to the Miniature Forest and began chopping tirelessly.

Although he was exhausted, he couldn't bear to leave those fifty trees untouched.

Isn't farming games all about grinding?!

If you don't grind, how else do you accumulate resources?

Chop chop chop!

Scanning his surroundings, Han Qiwu was unexpectedly delighted to spot five mulberry trees located behind the pines and poplars!

Hopefully, he'd manage to chop out some saplings.

To improve his odds, he deliberately warmed up by chopping the pine trees first.

"Thunk thunk thunk!"

"One... two... seven trees! Seven trees yielded nothing—now you *have* to give me a mulberry sapling," Han Qiwu muttered to himself as he hacked away at the mulberry trees.

[Wood] ×3

[Frozen Mulberry Sap] ×1

[Frozen Mulberry Sap]

[Not Drinkable]

[Special Effect - Mulberry Revival: Frozen Mulberry Sap can increase the success rate of cuttings]

[Note: Taken from mulberries, used for mulberries]

The frozen mulberry sap was dark in color, with a faint scent of mulberry leaves.

After reading its attributes, Han Qiwu perked up—this was a timely stroke of luck!

Looks like his luck wasn't too bad after all.

Keep chopping!

Using his own experimental method of "warming up his hands," Han Qiwu ended up gaining a total of three servings of frozen mulberry sap.

The wood haul wasn't too shabby either.

After chopping up all the trees, Han Qiwu gleefully dashed over to the mulberry cuttings and poured the sap at the roots.

To ensure survival, he specifically chose the half-dead cuttings to water.

"You lot better pay attention. You've had spring water and frozen mulberry sap—if you still don't survive, I'll cut you down and turn you into foot-soaking buckets!"

Right after Han Qiwu finished his threat, the courtyard gate swung open.

"Bawk bawk bawk bawk!"

The moment the door opened, the meat chicken swaggered in proudly, its tiny package strapped to its back. Meanwhile, Little Prince and Little Shui appeared much calmer.

[Hunter Pet: Little Prince has returned from foraging, Satiety +96]

[Foraging Gains: Wood ×60, Laurel Wood ×5, Raspberries ×5]

[Foraging ended, Little Prince eagerly anticipates digging the basement at home]

[Fishing Pet: Little Shui has returned from fishing, Satiety +95]

[Foraging Gains: Net of Grass filled with fish, River Shrimps ×56]

[Fishing ended, Little Shui is feeling relaxed]

Looking over the summary, Han Qiwu was taken aback: "Little Shui's haul today was impressive—how did it manage to catch so many river shrimps?"

Opening the backpack for a peek, he realized these were the tiny variety of river shrimps—perfect for frying whole to make a crispy dish!

Fifty-odd shrimps would make just about one small plate.

Having caught them on the riverbank himself before, Han Qiwu knew firsthand how tricky this could be without traps.

Evolving truly makes all the difference—even the variety of harvested resources increases.

Contentedly, Han Qiwu smoothed Little Shui's fur, then gave a few reminders to the excited Little Prince who was gearing up to dig the basement.

"Bawk bawk!"

The meat chicken clucked desperately, flapping its wings to grab attention.

Why isn't the master admiring MY loot?

I've rehearsed the epic battle in my mind several times!

Let me tell my story!

Give me a stage!

Autumn Pear Syrup!