Farming Games are All About Grinding

A few seconds later, Jin Feng's skill effect faded, and the dinosaur fish returned to its massive original size, lazily swaying the progress bar back to the lowest point.

[What a pity, the fish got away]

Han Qiwu: "...."

Are you kidding me? I just wanted to see the skill effect, and you wouldn't even give me that?

"Based on the current situation, there's no way we'll reel in the dinosaur fish anytime soon unless we get a more advanced fishing rod or my fishing level reaches level eight or nine." With a hint of helplessness, Han Qiwu put away his fishing rod.

He decided not to bother with the giant squid either.

Watching them would just waste bait anyway.

How do I upgrade my fishing rod?

Han Qiwu walked to the secret realm's trade point and checked the menu.

No new rods were available.

Maybe next time I'll visit the traveling peddler and see if they have any.

As for this trip, it shouldn't go to waste, right? I'll fish for golden chef sharks and swordfish to earn some money.

As he fished, Han Qiwu noticed the treasure chest drop rate was quite high today—almost every three catches yielded one.

[Congratulations, you found a treasure chest in the loot]

[Treasure Chest]: Open to receive a random 500–5000 gold coins.

Opening the first chest, he effortlessly acquired 1,678 gold coins.

After about forty minutes, Han Qiwu reluctantly wrapped up his fishing session.

If I'd known there'd be so many treasure chests, why on earth did I waste time on that dinosaur fish?

Couldn't I just focus on more treasure chests and bask in the wealth?

At the entrance, he sold off the day's harvest, totaling 17,750 gold coins. On top of that, the treasure chests garnered him a collective 19,542 gold coins.

Pure bliss.

Leaving the secret realm, Han Qiwu placed his pony into the mount wristband, tore open a scroll, and returned home.

Once inside, he suddenly remembered he seemed to have received some so-called fishing tournament invitation from Old Huang earlier, which mentioned it could be used in April.

Why not take a look?

Pulling out the invitation, Han Qiwu noticed the wax seal had disappeared. Opening it revealed a thin sheet of stationery with a single instruction:

[The annual Rong City Fishing Tournament will officially begin on April 8th. Holders of this invitation can directly enter the finals.]

"April 8th? That's next week." Han Qiwu noted down the date carefully. He hadn't expected the invitation to come with a direct pass into the finals.

That's my kind of comfort.

He tucked the invitation away, glancing outside to find the sky growing darker. Grabbing the watering can, he headed to the plots where he had planted radishes, garlic, and baby cabbages yesterday to water them.

These tiny plants grow quickly. After just one or two days, they had already sprouted small, tender shoots that looked lush and vibrant—exceptionally soothing to look at.

The farming process is ultimately about nurturing life, one plant at a time. The feeling is quite satisfying.

After finishing the watering, he headed to the miniature forest of ten thousand trees and chopped today's batch of lumber.

With everything done, Han Qiwu suddenly began missing Tang Qingying. Taking out his phone, he messaged her: "How's it going? Have you had dinner yet?"

Tang Qingying replied instantly: "Still can't find the problem. Just had dinner. I'll probably have to work overtime tonight. What about you? Eaten yet? Started your paper?"

"Not yet. I'll get to it later," Han Qiwu replied helplessly. "I left milk and eggs in your dorm room fridge. Don't forget to have an extra snack."

"Yay! If you could make some cupcakes to bring next time, that'd be even better," Tang Qingying said cheerfully. "Or, if that's too much trouble, bring the ingredients next time, and I'll buy an oven so we can bake together."

"Bake together? Sure. Then you can eat what you make, and I'll eat what I make," Han Qiwu replied.

Tang Qingying sent a playful "spanking the student" emoji: "Are you serious? You'll eat what I make, and I'll eat what you make!"

"Alright then. I'll bring some herbs next time," Han Qiwu replied, sending a "listening to the teacher" emoji.

Just then, Tang Qingying heard a colleague calling for her. She responded quickly: "Hmph! I'm off to work now. You should rest early."

"Stay safe," Han Qiwu shot back with a short message.

Seeing his words, Tang Qingying's eyes lifted slightly, and she gave a silly, triumphant smile. Twirling her fingers absentmindedly, she reread their chat history before securely stowing her phone into a cabinet. Humming a little tune, she strolled toward the lab.

Meanwhile, Han Qiwu walked into the kitchen. First, he made himself a bowl of chili-oil noodles. After finishing, he carefully gathered the ingredients to prepare a floral caramel nut tart.

What if he wound up meeting Mr. Tang again next time?

This time, he made a small tweak to his previous recipe based on his understanding: reduced the pine nuts, added crushed peanuts, swapped honey for wildflower honey, and replaced regular milk with the more richly textured Thunderstorm Milk.

Over an hour later, the fragrant tart emerged from the oven.

[Floral Caramel Nut Tart (Gold Star Quality)]

[Stamina +500]

[HP +400]

[Special Effect - Sleep Aid: Enjoy seven days of high-quality sleep after consuming.]

[Special Effect - Recovery: Greatly alleviates physical fatigue after consuming.]

[Special Effect - Energized: Sharpens mental agility and reaction speed after consuming.]

[Shelf Life: Seven days at room temperature.]

[Note: A tart filled with love—each bite brings supreme satisfaction.]

Just like last time, the tart he baked was of gold-star quality, with notable improvements in recovery and longer sleep-aiding duration.

Slightly amused at the note, Han Qiwu smiled and tucked the tart into his storage inventory.

Having had a busy day, he decided to call it a night. After a quick shower, he climbed into bed and fell into a deep sleep.

April 2nd Log

Clink, clink (sound of gold coins falling)

Earnings ...... 1,000 gold (Golden Carp)

Farming XP +411

Foraging XP +904

Fishing XP +2,461

Combat XP +0

Mining XP +0

Character Affection Changes:

Tang Qingying: ❤❤❤❤❤❤

Current Gold Balance: 57,092 gold

Total Earnings: 552,984 gold

[Congratulations, your fishing skill has leveled up to 7]

[Fishing Specialty +1]

[Your eyesight has improved yet again]

[You have learned how to craft a cork float]

[Trade Point now unlocked for purchasing cork floats]

"Rumble rumble"

Early in the morning, the sound of Flame Iron Ore falling awakened the entire courtyard.

Han Qiwu slowly opened his eyes.

The sudden change in vision startled him.

What's going on?

He realized he could now see even the woodworms crawling on the beam clearly.

Checking the log, Han Qiwu quickly made sense of it.

Turns out it was just his fishing skill leveling up.

Thankfully, human adaptability is strong, and after a short while, he could control the clarity of his vision freely.

Scanning the log further, he noted the golden carp had netted him another 1,000 gold.

Pure bliss.

Mr. Tang's affection level also reached six hearts.

Thinking about it, hitting five hearts hadn't triggered any changes despite the countless gifts he kept sending over.

It wasn't until yesterday when he said those critical words that their relationship underwent a fundamental transformation.

From friends, they became lovers.