Farming Games are All About Grinding

"Wai bi ba bu."

Han Qiwu first tried using an encrypted call.

"Swoosh swoosh swoosh."

Clearly, the call attempt failed.

Avoiding these projectiles wasn't too difficult—after all, Han Qiwu's physique was nothing to sneeze at.

But the problem was that the matsutake mushrooms couldn't dodge those flying fruits.

If they got hit, the matsutake would turn into mashed mushroom paste!

Just as Han Qiwu was feeling a bit helpless, a noticeably larger gray monkey arrived on the scene.

From how the other monkeys quickly made way, it was clear that this one was likely the Monkey King.

"Thump."

The Monkey King jumped to the ground and began sizing up Han Qiwu from head to toe.

Seeing the Monkey King's behavior, Han Qiwu suddenly recalled something from his past trip to Emei Mountain.

Monkeys seem to really enjoy eating peanuts?

Worth a try.

Han Qiwu took out a handful of peanuts and cautiously held them out with a smile.

To his surprise, the Monkey King's face lit up the moment it saw the peanuts. It grinned and extended its paw eagerly.

But Han Qiwu pulled his hand back, shaking his head, and pointed to the spot where he'd just dug up the matsutake. Then, he held out the peanuts again.

The Monkey King glanced at the ground nearby, then turned and shouted at another monkey, waving its hand lightly.

"Ooh ooh!"

A monkey swiftly leapt down from a tree, expertly picked up two matsutake mushrooms, and handed them to the Monkey King.

Taking the matsutake mushrooms, the Monkey King handed them directly to Han Qiwu and pointed at the peanuts in his hand.

"This clever?" Han Qiwu was a bit surprised but happily handed over the raw peanuts.

Taking the peanuts, the Monkey King expertly cracked them open and tossed them into its mouth. After chewing a few times, its eyes lit up.

These were the best peanuts it had ever eaten!

So fragrant, so sweet.

Seeing the Monkey King's expression, Han Qiwu knew.

He wouldn't need to pick matsutake mushrooms himself anymore.

He pulled out a large handful of peanuts, placed them in a bag, shook it lightly, and pointed to the matsutake area nearby.

The Monkey King's eyes widened in delight at the sight of so many peanuts. It immediately turned and shouted, "Ooh ooh!" while gesturing with its hands. In no time, seven or eight wild monkeys jumped down from the trees and, in less than two minutes, had brought over more than twenty matsutake mushrooms.

"Ooh ooh."

Handing the matsutake mushrooms to Han Qiwu, the Monkey King then pointed at the bag.

Han Qiwu cheerfully handed over the bag and took the matsutake mushrooms.

A smooth negotiation.

Since there were plenty of peanuts in that bag, the Monkey King wasn't stingy—after feasting itself, it even shared some with the other monkeys.

Han Qiwu glanced around. All the ripe matsutake mushrooms had been picked clean.

But since these wild monkeys knew where the matsutake were, they probably knew the location of other tasty resources too, right?

Han Qiwu took out some roasted peanuts, rubbed off the skins, and began chewing noisily.

Soon, the rich aroma of roasted peanut oil wafted through the air and hit the Monkey King's nose.

The Monkey King immediately stood up, pointing at Han Qiwu's hand while chittering excitedly.

Han Qiwu generously handed over five roasted peanuts.

The Monkey King had eaten raw peanuts before, but it had clearly never tasted roasted ones!

Indeed, after just a few bites, the Monkey King's face showed pure enjoyment.

It could distinctly taste the intense richness of the roasted peanuts' oil.

"Ooh."

After finishing those five peanuts, the Monkey King pointed again at Han Qiwu's hand, clearly wanting more.

Seeing it take the bait, Han Qiwu casually pointed at some wild fruits on the ground that he didn't recognize.

The Monkey King waved its hand, and a nearby monkey scurried over, picking up the wild fruits and handing them to him.

Han Qiwu shook his head. These wild fruits, clearly meant for throwing, were too small and in poor condition with dents and scratches all over them.

"Is this it?"

The Monkey King scratched its head in frustration.

At this moment, one of the smaller monkeys, which had been waiting nearby, crawled over and chittered helpfully: "Boss, look, this two-legged human clearly wants to eat those mushroom-like things. We have plenty growing in the hollow of that big tree. We don't eat them anyway—why not take him there?"

The Monkey King found this reasonable, appreciatively patted the smaller monkey on the head, and hopped over to Han Qiwu, motioning for him to follow.

Han Qiwu understood and nodded, trailing behind.

The wild monkeys' nest was at a slightly lower altitude than where they were now, but it was farther away. At first, the Monkey King waited for Han Qiwu, but after noticing how fast he could move, it sped up. In just ten minutes, they reached Monkey Peak.

Of course, the Monkey King didn't take Han Qiwu to their actual base but instead led him around the outskirts to the location the smaller monkey had mentioned.

Once there, the Monkey King pointed at a nearby hollow tree.

Han Qiwu sniffed the air and was met with a strange mix of fermented wine and sour odor. Frowning, he approached and peeked inside, only to shake his head helplessly.

"What the hell is this?"

The hollow was crammed with a chaotic pile of unidentifiable, overripe fruits and plant pieces. Their surfaces were bruised and turning black, with juices pooling at the bottom and small mushrooms, resembling straw mushrooms, sprouting from the hollow's upper bark.

A smaller monkey, noticing Han Qiwu's reaction, helpfully climbed a nearby tree and pulled out one of the little mushrooms, handing it to him eagerly.

Han Qiwu immediately understood—they thought he only wanted mushrooms?

Just as he was about to explain, he noticed a faint glow emanating from deeper within the fermented fruit slurry.

"What's this?"

He put on gloves, rolled up his sleeves, and reached into the hollow.

As his hand delved deeper, Han Qiwu discovered that the fruits in the sealed layers at the bottom had turned into pulp, breaking apart at the slightest touch. As he stirred them, a faint but distinct aroma of alcohol wafted out.

[Monkey's Wine Prototype]

[Use: Further Brewing]

[Special Effect—Wucai: Enhances physical conditioning when consumed]

[Usage: Boil, then ferment again in a jar]

[Note: Monkey's Wine is nearly impossible to find in nature.]

"Monkey's Wine? This stuff actually exists?" Han Qiwu was utterly dumbfounded.

He'd read plenty of martial arts novels, and according to those tales, Monkey's Wine was made when monkeys stored fruit and herbs in tree hollows, where it would ferment. However, the fermentation process was incredibly finicky—one day too long, and it turned sour; one day too short, and it rotted.

Just like the description said, it was nearly impossible for fully brewed Monkey's Wine to appear in nature.

For example, the batch Han Qiwu had stumbled upon here was only a prototype—if left unattended until summer, it would definitely spoil.

"This must be fate," Han Qiwu muttered, carefully storing the Monkey's Wine Prototype in his inventory.

Once he'd collected it all, only the upper layers of rotted fruit and the unknown mushrooms remained in the hollow.

Han Qiwu didn't bother with those, instead pulling out a bottle of water to wash off the sticky liquid on his arms.

Seeing Han Qiwu leave the mushrooms behind, the Monkey King started pacing and chittering anxiously.

Han Qiwu quickly responded, "Don't worry, I've already got what I wanted. These are yours now." After washing his hands, he took out a bag of roasted peanuts and handed it over.

A pleasant collaboration.