Farming Games are All About Grinding

After taking a shower, Han Qiwu wiped his hair briefly, no need to blow-dry it.

The late spring breeze was warm enough; letting it flow for a while would dry it naturally.

Besides, hair dried by the natural wind always felt more carefree.

Walking over to the strawberry seedlings, Han Qiwu squatted down and reached out to touch them, ready to check out the gene editing ability he had gained today.

[Strawberry Seedlings (Editable)]

[Current Editable Gene: Seed Reproduction (Locked)]

[Unlocking Seed Reproduction requires 60,000 gold]

Three consecutive prompts appeared in Han Qiwu's field of vision.

"Seed reproduction? Does that mean once I unlock this gene, the strawberries I harvest can be used as seeds?" Han Qiwu quickly grasped the idea and became excited.

Strawberries, my friends.

There are so many seeds on just one strawberry!

Saving on seed costs alone would save me a fortune.

What's more, Han Qiwu had a faint suspicion.

After unlocking the gene and editing it further, would it be possible to grow system strawberries on ordinary soil outside?

Even if their traits degenerate somewhat, they'd absolutely crush every strawberry available on the market.

Besides, judging by the planting volume at home, it seemed like rice might soon meet the conditions for editing too.

Wouldn't that be amazing…

After reviewing the editable gene of the strawberries, he turned his attention to the gene editing options for the cauliflower seedlings.

[Cauliflower Seedlings (Editable)]

[Current Editable Gene: Gigantic Fruit (Locked)]

[Unlocking Gigantic Fruit requires 60,000 gold]

Unlike the strawberries, the cauliflower seedlings had a gene for producing gigantic fruit.

Seeing this, Han Qiwu's eyes lit up.

This is perfect!

It's like falling asleep and having someone hand you a pillow!

Now he could easily fabricate a research paper.

Once he cultivated a few foundational seedlings, drafting the paper would be a breeze.

In agronomy, one critical point is reproducibility. If what you create can't even be replicated, forget about meeting higher yield requirements.

"Let's scrape together enough money to unlock the strawberry seed reproduction gene first; I need to see what's going on before moving on to the cauliflower's gene editing." Han Qiwu chuckled to himself, heading to the storage box to unload all the mayonnaise he had saved up. He tossed it into the selling box.

While lugging things around, he couldn't help but think of Mr. Tang.

Mr. Tang truly had incredible luck! Each reward he delivered was more useful than the last.

After dealing with the mayonnaise, Han Qiwu stretched and his stomach growled twice.

Hungry.

He'd been busy all day.

Back in the kitchen, Han Qiwu looked around. The pantry was nearly empty.

Sigh, yet another day where meat was the only option.

Thinking back to the scene he glimpsed while stretching earlier, weren't the stars in the sky shaped suspiciously like grilled kebabs?

Alright then, barbecue it is.

But there was one problem: the meat he had bought from Zhuan Zhu was long gone. Currently, the only options left at home were Ancient Dwarf Deer meat and grilled fish.

Although Ancient Dwarf Deer meat was a bit on the rough side, it was still worth a try.

After all, he'd recently obtained a special spice: Groundfire Chili.

Pulling out a few Groundfire Chilis, Han Qiwu decided to first roast them into chili powder. Sprinkling that on later would definitely be amazing.

Placing the Groundfire Chilis on the grill nearby, Han Qiwu lit some charcoal and began roasting.

A few minutes later, he found the Groundfire Chilis were still the same as before. Forget aroma—there wasn't even a single wrinkle on their surface.

Thinking it over, Han Qiwu laughed at himself, "Really got dumb from exhaustion. These chilis grow inside groundfire itself; using ordinary flames obviously won't work on them."

It was going to require intense heat.

As for the heat source?

Han Qiwu called loudly toward the little electric being perched on a branch nearby, "Xiao Dian, go fetch my Gatling fire!"

Xiao Dian looked at Han Qiwu with a bewildered expression.

What's happening?

Since when have we started stockpiling weapons at home?

Noticing Xiao Dian's innocent look, Han Qiwu resigned himself to reality.

Xiao Dian was still too young and hadn't yet seen Camp Commander Li's legendary battles.

He reluctantly walked over to the Wutong tree instead and grabbed the Blue Firebird, aiming its little beak at the Groundfire Chili and shouting, "Flame on!"

The Blue Firebird obediently spat out bursts of blue fire.

With the higher-temperature flames, the surface of the Groundfire Chili finally began to wrinkle, releasing wisps of spicy aroma.

To be honest, it was kind of throat-scorching.

After a few minutes of evenly roasting, the Groundfire Chili turned a deeper red and its surface crisped up nicely.

Han Qiwu patted the Blue Firebird's head approvingly and complimented, "Not bad, didn't realize you'd make such a good blowtorch."

Blue Firebird: ".....You're the boss, whatever you say goes."

After putting the Blue Firebird down, Han Qiwu handed over a fire crystal and two bags of Dragon Beard Grass feed as a reward.

"Xiexie!"

Somehow, the Blue Firebird had learned the peculiar call from the Terror Bird, and it elegantly nodded at Han Qiwu as thanks.

"Such a good bird." Han Qiwu handed it another bag of feed and sent it back to the Wutong tree.

Meanwhile, Xiao Dian had been watching the entire spectacle from the tree and was thoroughly unimpressed.

Tch.

It's just fire.

It's just high heat.

I can hit those temperatures with an electromagnetic furnace too!

When Han Qiwu walked back and saw Xiao Dian's disdainful expression, he couldn't help but feel annoyed.

Look at that bird and then look at you.

Thinking it over, Han Qiwu decided Xiao Dian needed to learn a thing or two about the spirit of persistence.

To stop it from lazing around aimlessly every day.

He pulled out a tablet and started playing videos, then tied Xiao Dian securely with branches. To prevent it from closing its eyes, he thoughtfully propped up its lids with two small twigs.

"Watch these carefully. When you understand the spirit of persistence, you can stop. Remember, when brave men meet on a narrow road, the braver one wins!" Han Qiwu tapped Xiao Dian's head.

Xiao Dian: "?????"

Buzz buzz buzz buzz!

I'm part of a duo with Xiao Lai!

Why isn't it watching this too?

Fine! Evolution, huh?

Who can't evolve?!

Muttering incessantly, Xiao Dian watched the videos while considering its own evolution.

After tweaking Xiao Dian, Han Qiwu washed his hands and used a spoon to grind the Groundfire Chili into chili powder.

As he crushed the chilis, the pungent aroma surged upward in waves.

"Smells great." Han Qiwu set the Groundfire Chili powder aside and got ready to grill some meat.

Once the barbecue was done, he planned to add sesame seeds, pour some scallion ginger garlic oil into the leftover chili powder, and turn it into delicious chili oil.

How delightful.

Time for grilling.

About ten minutes later, the Ancient Dwarf Deer meat slices were ready, releasing a light, meaty fragrance.

Han Qiwu evenly sprinkled chili powder and salt over them before taking a big bite.

Heavenly!

The grilled Ancient Dwarf Deer meat was still sizzling with hot oil, which instantly blended with the chili powder and salt. Its slightly coarse texture felt like a mix between tendon and beef: chewy, flavorful, and perfectly enhanced by the chili's fiery spice—so good you couldn't stop eating!