Farming Games are All About Grinding

After leaving the pollution zone, Han Qiwu tore open a scroll and went straight home to take a thorough shower.

"Looks like I really need to get some perfume. The smell from the pollution zone is just too strong," Han Qiwu thought as he lay on the bed, blow-drying his hair.

Apart from the smell, figuring out how to quickly deal with the pollution moths was also a big issue.

After dealing with them for so long, he had summarized a pattern: Pollution worms would start hatching into pollution moths as soon as they took any damage. Worse yet, they were invincible during the hatching process, which was honestly pretty disgusting.

To deal with pollution worms, you had to use high-speed, high-damage skills. Previously, when cleaning up pollution moths, he had tried the Fireball Technique. While its damage was high enough, its speed was too slow, and it generated hot air while flying.

Before the explosive damage from the fireball could even hit the pollution worms, the surrounding hot air alone would trigger their revolting invincibility-and-hatch mechanism.

However, thinking in reverse, this same mechanism could also be used to gather the pollution moths in one spot. After all, the pollution worms didn't deal much damage themselves, so you could take a few hits and use a torch to herd them together.

"I'll go consult Master Shuzi tomorrow and see if he can come up with some suitable weapons."

Taking out his phone, he sent Mr. Tang a message, "What are you up to? Had enough for dinner tonight?"

"I'm full. I'm watching the animated version of Jumping Frog," Tang Qingying replied. "By the way, aren't you scared sleeping alone on the edge of the village?"

"What, does Mr. Tang want to come keep me company? In that case, I'd definitely be scared," Han Qiwu joked with a laugh.

"If you're scared, just get a dog. I'm not coming, hmph. You've been busy with so many things today, you must be tired. Go to bed early," Mr. Tang replied with a playful "bleh" emoji.

Han Qiwu chuckled to himself. Get a dog? With everything in the house already, there's plenty to take care of.

After exchanging goodnights, Han Qiwu slowly drifted off to sleep.

April 6th Journal

Cling, clang (the sound of Gold Coins scattering)

Income...1314 gold (Golden Carp)

Farming Experience +786

Foraging Experience +795

Fishing Experience +0

Combat Experience +2651

Mining Experience +66

Character Favor Changes:

Tang Qingying: ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Current Money: 52,591 gold

Historical Income: 629,283 gold

[Congratulations! Your mining skill has leveled up to Level 6]

[Mining Proficiency +1]

[Your strength has increased]

[You've learned how to make timed bombs]

[You've learned how to craft throwable bombs]

[Timed Bomb]

[Materials Required: [Iron Ore]×4, [Premium Coal]×1]

[Effect: Upon activation, deals massive damage within a 7×7 area centered on the timed bomb]

[Note: Please carefully set the explosion timer on the timed bomb]

[Throwable Bomb]

[Materials Required: [Iron Ore]×4, [Coal]×1]

[Effect: Upon collision, deals massive damage within a 5×5 area centered on the bomb]

[Note: Be careful not to fumble it]

"Moo moo moo."

The one who woke up the courtyard was the spring-fresh Kui Niu.

"You show-off!!!"

Woken up, Little Electric saw the Kui Niu's cocky attitude and got red-eyed, flying over in a rage and throwing down several bolts of lightning.

What are you so proud of?

Just because you've got a wife, huh?!

The Kui Niu wasn't angry at all. Go ahead, zap me. It doesn't hurt anyway.

On the bed, Han Qiwu stretched lazily and slowly opened his eyes to check his journal. As he scanned down the entries, he noticed his mining skill had leveled up!

But I only smashed one rock yesterday…

Continuing further, he burst into a grin.

The mining skill upgrade came at just the right time.

It had unlocked two bomb recipes.

One timed, one throwable—both very flexible in functionality.

If their damage was high enough, they could be the solution to clearing pollution moths.

Time to make a few and test them out!

Without wasting time, Han Qiwu quickly washed up and dashed to his storage box, hungrily grabbing materials to start crafting.

"Never thought premium coal would be used for this. The stock at home isn't much, so I'll have to save the timed bombs for critical moments," Han Qiwu mused as he busily worked.

The household's reserves of Flame Iron Ore were plentiful, so he didn't hold back, using them in place of regular iron ore to craft five timed bombs and five throwable bombs in one go.

[Flame Burst Timed Bomb]

[Crafted by: Han Qiwu]

[Effect: Upon activation, deals massive damage within a 7×7 area centered on the timed bomb, leaving behind searing fragments on the ground that cause ongoing burn damage to anyone passing through]

[Note: Buddy, seriously, keep your distance]

Using Flame Iron Ore to craft the timed bombs didn't change their range, but added a persistent damage effect with the leftover searing fragments!

Han Qiwu even thought the searing fragments could help divide the battlefield. If used properly, their effectiveness could be outstanding.

Sweet!

Time to get more Flame Iron Ore later.

The throwable bombs saw similar changes to the timed bombs.

In crafting timed bombs, he could also set the timer's delay. Considering the slippery terrain in the pollution zone, he set the timer to one minute.

This way, even if crawling, you'd have time to get out of the blast radius.

After safely stashing the bombs, Han Qiwu went into the kitchen to prepare some noodles and fry a couple of eggs.

While frying the eggs, he switched on the TV for a quick glance.

[Weather Forecast]

Tomorrow will be overcast.

[Daily Tips]

Sometimes, attacking from above is very effective.

[Almanac]

Auspicious for battles, avoid heading to the mountains.

[Shennong Recipe]

[Thinking about trying roasted bird? Be careful with your choice of bird species—it affects the cooking time.]

[You've learned the roasted bird recipe]

Han Qiwu: "...... Grandpa Shennong truly spoils me. Whatever I think, he gives me. Still, the bird species isn't just about cooking time. It might also decide how much time I spend recovering…"

He decided to shelve the recipe for now until he found the right kind of bird in a mysterious location.

The daily tip was also intriguing.

Was it hinting that I should throw bombs from high ground?

The almanac's guidance was straightforward.

Today's a perfect day for throwing bombs!

Let's go!

After finishing the noodles, Han Qiwu drank a bottle of Thunder Milk.

Once done, he descended into the cellar.

Picked up the sauce jars, planted some strawberries!

Looking around the empty cellar, he felt just a little burned out.

Doing everything single-handedly is really exhausting.

It'd be great to have a helper.

After leaving the cellar, he spotted an envelope sticking out of the mailbox by the door.

"Another favorability reward from Mr. Tang?" Han Qiwu eagerly ran to the mailbox, opened it, and pulled out a parchment scroll.

Unfortunately, this parchment looked completely different from a mysterious scroll. Upon opening, it displayed the route to a mountain location.

[You've discovered the location of Yunnan Red Tea Trees]

Accompanying this notification, his map now displayed an icon of red tea leaves.

"Yunnan Red Tea Trees? Wait a minute, didn't the almanac just warn against going to the mountains today? Better check the location now and go tomorrow instead." Han Qiwu pulled out a previous notebook where Aunt Hong Mei had drawn a map of the surrounding mountain ranges.

After studying it for a while, he realized that the Yunnan Red Tea Trees were located on East Mountain.

In Aunt Hong Mei's words, East Mountain was also called Frozen Mountain. Due to its orientation and elevation, the mountain's temperature was extremely low, and vegetation was sparse, making it a place rarely visited.

Who would have thought Yunnan Red Tea Trees would grow there? It's going to be tough to pick them.

Oh well, tomorrow's problem for tomorrow. For now, let's throw some bombs!