Farming Games are All About Grinding

After chuckling for a while, Han Qiwu collected his thoughts and focused on examining the newly unlocked crafting item from his upgraded fishing skills: the Soft Cork Float.

I wonder what kind of functionality this new float has.

[Soft Cork Float]

[Materials required: [Wood]×10, [Hardwood]×5, [Slime Mud]×1]

[Equipment Effect: Increases float length by +5 when equipped]

[Durability: 50 uses]

[Remarks: The Soft Cork Float can slightly improve the length of your float]

"A pillow just when I needed one?" Han Qiwu was pleasantly surprised.

A +5 increase in float length is no small amount. If equipped, the float length would surely overshadow the icon for the dinosaur fish.

Just so happens I have all the required materials. Let's craft one and give it a try!

While crafting, Han Qiwu's mind wandered. Judging by the current progress of his fishing skill upgrades, all the new items seem to be various types of floats. The diversity of materials needed for crafting is increasing too, so he'll have to gather more supplies later.

The finished Soft Cork Float looked like a cork stopper from a wine bottle.

But there's a problem: Jinyang can only equip two floats at the moment. If the Soft Cork Float is equipped, he'll have to swap out either the Tough Float or the Spiral Float.

Considering the dinosaur fish doesn't have the habit of biting floats, Han Qiwu decided to equip the Spiral Float along with the Soft Cork Float.

Let's go test it out later.

After quickly eating a pancake, Han Qiwu turned on the TV to check.

[Weather Forecast]

Tomorrow will be cloudy.

[Life Tips]

Experience is the fastest ladder to improvement.

[Almanac]

Good for bathing, bad for laziness.

[Shennong's Recipe]

[Shennong is currently resting]

Tomorrow is the day the little peddler comes by.

Since the weather is cloudy...

I can head out a bit later.

The tidbits from the Life Tips segment are quite interesting.

Experience?

What kind of experience?

As for the almanac's advice, he couldn't quite decipher its meaning for now.

Scratching his head full of question marks, Han Qiwu walked into the yard to check what treasures today's peach and apricot trees had to offer.

On the peach tree hung a plump, glossy peach that looked exactly like those featured in advertisements—juicy and glistening.

Han Qiwu raised his hand to guide the branch holding the peach closer and plucked it.

[Peach]

[Stamina +100]

[HP +100]

[Sell Price: 200 Gold]

[Remarks: Rumor has it you can consume a peach with a straw]

"Really?" Han Qiwu gave the peach a squeeze in his hand.

The texture felt quite good—soft and tender.

He happened to have some straws in the house. Han Qiwu walked back, grabbed one, and poked a small hole into the peach. He cautiously took a sip.

"Gulp, gulp."

A rush of sweet peach juice flowed through the straw into his mouth, delivering a flavorful burst of peachy fragrance.

This naturally fresh peach juice was far better than the artificially flavored peach drinks. The pristine sweetness staged a grand performance on his taste buds, with the little peach flesh fibers playing the starring role.

Before he realized it, Han Qiwu had drained the entire peach within a few slurps.

And it was seedless to boot.

This is too delicious!

Next time, I'll save one for Mr. Tang too.

The adjacent apricot tree bore those same large white apricots, nothing particularly special. He set one on the table to enjoy its aroma later.

After dealing with all that, Han Qiwu turned his head and noticed an envelope icon popping up on the long-unused mailbox.

He walked over and opened it, finding a parchment scroll lying inside.

[Tang Qingying Relationship Reward]

[Mysterious Scroll Eight Map]

Unrolling the parchment, Han Qiwu saw an icon resembling a scroll appear on his map. Zooming in and out carefully, he pinpointed its location deep in the mist on the 88th level of the mine. The exact spot could only be reached after dispersing the fog.

"The Mysterious Scroll Eight on the 88th level? This scroll better make me rich," Han Qiwu chuckled. Since today wasn't favorable for fishing, he decided to dive into the mine first and locate this mysterious scroll to see what treasure it held.

Before heading out, Han Qiwu made use of his clear mind in the morning to sit at his desk and work on a research paper for about an hour.

I've got to give Mr. Tang something, after all.

Once done, Han Qiwu summoned his little horse, fed it some hay, and, with Xiao Lai in hand, mounted up and rode toward the mine.

As for Xiao Dian...

It could fly and follow on its own.

While passing along the small path, he noticed that Liu Lang's tent had been expanded into a sturdy little house made of branches, with dried mushrooms and fish curing atop the roof.

"Liu Lang seems to be living better and better these days."

Seeing the house's doors were closed, Han Qiwu didn't bother him.

At the mine's entrance, Han Qiwu stowed away the horse and headed straight for the cable car station.

He decided to visit Egger later, once he'd gathered enough Blue Enchantress flowers to ask Sister Jin Tu to craft perfume.

Next time, he could bring both the wooden red sunglasses and the perfume to gift Mr. Tang. Sweet!

Before reaching the cable car, Xiao Dian had already diligently gathered three or four chunks of coal and delivered them to Han Qiwu. Its performance today was especially enthusiastic.

Han Qiwu found it a bit disconcerting.

"Xiao Dian, why are you behaving so well today? Did you do something bad?"

Xiao Dian: "?????"

If I behave well, it means I've done something bad?!

If I weren't trying to woo a mate, do you think I'd bother flattering you!

Fortunately, its master couldn't understand bird language.

After chirping a few indignant noises, Xiao Dian obediently let out a couple more calls and continued collecting coal to deliver to Han Qiwu.

Seeing it so eager to please, Han Qiwu decided to sit by the cable car and wait for five more minutes.

Lo and behold, the final haul was decent—he ended up with over ten chunks of coal.

Time to go.

[You have arrived at the 85th level of the mine]

Returning to this level, Han Qiwu glanced around and was delighted to spot a few faintly glowing, dim little flames flickering in the distance.

Let's take a look.

When he got closer, Han Qiwu noticed these little flames marked the same type of collectible tiles found on previous mine levels.

Only their color was darker, making them practically invisible without close inspection.

Had his vision not improved today, he probably would've passed them by again.

Taking out his pickaxe, Han Qiwu swung it down with force.

[Earthfire Chili]

[Stamina +50]

[HP -20]

[Special Effect - Spicy: Increases fire skill damage by +20% after consumption]

[Remarks: Don't worry, it won't upset your stomach]

The Earthfire Chili looked like an elongated red chili, slender and fiery. The spicy aroma was so intoxicating, it seemed to pierce straight into the nostrils; its flavor must surely pack a punch.

Nine collectible tiles yielded three portions of Earthfire Chili in total.

"If I use these for barbecue or hot pot, the taste could be amazing—or intense. I'll try cooking with them later and see," Han Qiwu thought, stowing them away for future culinary experiments.

After putting them away, he surveyed the surrounding terrain. Confirming there were no other collectible spots nearby, he left the level altogether.