Farming Games are All About Grinding

"Charge, retreat, return, hold."

Han Qiwu murmured under his breath as the bobber jerked up and down following the dinosaur fish's wild movements, steadily increasing the progress bar.

It was his first fishing attempt of the day, and he was reluctant to use his once-a-day skill, Intimidate, just yet.

He wanted to test if his reflexes alone could reel in this dinosaur fish.

After all, the bait only cost 260 gold. No big loss if he failed.

Inside the game window, the battle was intense. The progress bar hovered up and down around the three-fifths mark.

Five minutes later.

It was the dinosaur fish that gave in first. The four legs on its body retracted, its speed sharply decreased, and it returned to its earlier sluggish state.

"Ha!"

Seizing the opportunity, Han Qiwu maneuvered the bobber precisely, and within seconds, he successfully caught the dinosaur fish!

[Congratulations! You have successfully caught a dinosaur fish in the one-star☆ secret realm!]

[Dinosaur Fish]

[Price: 8000 gold]

[Stamina +700]

[Health -300]

[Note: The dinosaur fish holds secrets of the dinosaurs!]

"Just 8000? That's it?" Han Qiwu flopped down on his well-worn chair.

That didn't seem right. Even a mutated Dunkleosteus was worth 8500, yet this one was only 8000?

Could it be because it wasn't mutated?

Feeling drained, Han Qiwu took out a bottle of frozen birch sap and gulped down a big mouthful.

Whatever, 8000 isn't bad.

Why complain? Be happy with what you've got.

Though he succeeded, Han Qiwu knew it was mostly luck this time. His predictions had all hit the mark.

Without using Intimidate to cancel out its Bloodline Call skill, it would practically be impossible to catch it again.

The dinosaur fish was no joke.

After a short break, Han Qiwu thought to himself, "I'll spend the rest of the time catching some Golden Chef Sharks and Hammerhead Sharks to take it easy. Then, before I leave, I'll use Intimidate to catch one more dinosaur fish."

There's so much to do today; I can't spend all my energy here.

Efficiency is key.

Over an hour later, after three unsuccessful attempts, Han Qiwu finally managed to push the dinosaur fish into its Bloodline Call state. He instantly activated Intimidate and reeled it in with ease.

Fishing for dinosaur fish was exhausting. One tiny mistake, and you wouldn't even provoke its Bloodline Call before it slipped the hook.

At the trade post, Han Qiwu sold off all the fish he had caught.

[Through trading, you earned 37,450 gold.]

Satisfying.

High-level fish really raked in the cash.

After exiting the secret realm, Han Qiwu glanced at the time. It was getting late, so he decided to head home for lunch and a nap, planning to visit the Explorer Guild in the afternoon to help Mr. Tang make some perfume.

When he got home, Han Qiwu saw his robot, Little Electric, still diligently studying the "Bright Sword Spirit." Feeling gratified, he nodded approvingly.

Noticing its owner's nod, Little Electric puffed up with pride.

Once Han Qiwu went into the house, Little Electric, while watching its video, suddenly glanced down at Xiao Lai, who was still hopping around in its own study attempts.

No way!

I can't improve alone!

I have to bring Brother Xiao Lai along with me!

Enlightened, Little Electric swiftly flapped its wings and dove down. With a familiar sideways bump, it scooped Xiao Lai up and placed him on a branch to watch the video together.

Xiao Lai glanced at the ground below with a resigned expression.

That high up… How am I supposed to get down?

Fine. I'll study with you.

In the kitchen, Han Qiwu suddenly craved fried food. Luckily, he had fish, chicken legs, and potatoes at home.

Time for a fried chicken set.

After marinating everything, Han Qiwu heated up the canola oil and skillfully coated the fish and chicken legs in flour before dropping them into the hot oil.

Keeping fried food from sticking to the pan was simple.

Just use enough oil.

When the fish and chicken legs were almost done, Han Qiwu threw some potato strips into the pan as well.

"Sizzle sizzle."

The sound was accompanied by a delicious aroma wafting throughout the kitchen.

While waiting for the frying to finish, he whipped up several dipping sauces: ground fiery chili pepper, honey cheese sauce, and pickled pepper spice dip.

A few minutes later, Han Qiwu scooped out the fried food and placed it on some kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.

Time to dig in!

The fried chicken leg was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. With a light snap, it released a burst of juicy goodness. A little dip in the fiery chili pepper powder…

Crispy, spicy, flavorful!

One bite was pure bliss.

The fried fish, on the other hand, had more complexity in taste. The bones were entirely softened, meaning he could eat them without worry. A dip in the pickled pepper sauce made the flavors tangy, spicy, and refreshing, perfectly complementing the fish's tenderness.

And as for the fries—well, fries are universally delicious, no matter how you eat them.

The fried feast left Han Qiwu immensely satisfied.

Too bad there wasn't any beer at home. That would've been the perfect match.

Beer hops are probably planted in summer, right?

He decided to check in May and see how things went.

After eating, Han Qiwu strolled around the yard to digest. While walking, he checked the stockpile of wood, stone, and coal at home.

[Wood] ×311, [Stone] ×451, [Charcoal] ×31, [Coal] ×59, [Premium Coal] ×18.

Thankfully, after upgrading the medium cow barn using 500 wood, he had restocked during his trip to the Mist Forest. Plus, the Little Prince cut wood diligently every day, or else even gathering over 300 wood would've been a struggle.

As for the charcoal, most of it was scavenged during his time in the Thunderstorm Secret Realm, though he had used some for barbecues recently. The coal came entirely from Little Electric's occasional finds in the first level of the mines, and the premium coal was made by burning ten wood each day.

"Each canning jar takes 50 wood, 40 stone, and 8 charcoal. Judging by the numbers, wood remains the bottleneck, and there's not much charcoal either. To fill up the two-level cellar, which is around 100 square meters, at least 70 to 80 jars would be needed." Han Qiwu calculated and sighed, feeling overwhelmed.

This is way too much.

"Ugh, let's just make six jars for strawberry jam for now." Han Qiwu muttered and started crafting with the materials.

After finishing the six jars, he neatly placed them in the first level of the cellar.

Once he tossed some strawberries into the jars, Han Qiwu returned to his bedroom and collapsed into a deep sleep.

Utterly exhausted.

By the time he woke up, it was already 3 PM. Sunlight streaming through the window cast shadows along its edges.

Han Qiwu got up, made himself a cup of mint milk, and sipped it leisurely to refresh.

The combination of milk and mint was absolutely divine.

After finishing, he rode his Little Electric Scooter to the first level of the mine, heading for the Explorer Guild.

For this trip, he didn't bring Xiao Lai or Little Electric and had no intention of venturing into the deeper parts of the mine.

Entering the Explorer Guild, Han Qiwu spotted Egger sitting earnestly reading a book. From time to time, Egger nodded thoughtfully, fully engrossed.

Curiously, Han Qiwu walked closer to glance at the spine of the book.

Ahem.

"Women Are Tigers: Let Me Teach You How to Tame Them!"

"Brother Egger, for books like this, it's best to remove the cover while reading." Han Qiwu whispered as he approached.

Egger looked puzzled, took the book, and examined it. His face instantly turned pale.

"Damn, I could've sworn I taped over the title!"

Sister Jin Tu's voice suddenly chimed in from behind them. She was smiling and dangling a piece of blue tape. "You mean this tape?"

"Yes, that's the one. Thanks." Egger nodded as he took it, only to realize too late that the voice didn't belong to Han Qiwu.

"How about not hitting my face?"

"No can do!"