Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 596 - 583: Max Level Planting Achieved! Elk Acquired!
April 20 Journal
Clink, clink (sound of Gold Coins spilling)
Income… 9999 gold (Golden Carp)
Income… 999 gold (Small Golden Carp)
Income… 5000 gold (Tear of the Ocean Pendant Profits)
Farming XP +7954
Foraging XP +0 (Max Level)
Fishing XP +0 (Max Level)
Combat XP +0 (Max Level)
Mining XP +0 (Max Level)
Character Relationship Updates:
Tang Qingying:
Current Money: 103,879 gold
Total Income: 1,184,161 gold
[Congratulations, your Farming Skill has reached Level 10]
[Farming Specialization +1]
[Your research ability has been enhanced again]
[Farming Level 10 Bonus: You can now choose one profession path from the following Beginner Farmer upgrade routes]
[Profession: Master Farmer]
[Specialization - Farmer's Calculation: Increases the value of all farm products, including processed goods, by 50%]
[Profession Skill: Manual Growth Acceleration (Instantly mature a targeted crop, cooldown: half a month)]
[Profession: Master Agricultural Expert]
[Specialization - Expert's Advantage: Reduces growth time for all crops by 10%]
[Profession Skill: Manual Breeding (Extracts a random number of system seeds from mature plants on the farm, cooldown: 1 hour)]
[Please make your choice within 5 minutes]
"Crack, crack!"
"Kaboom!"
"Don't worry, I'm here." Han Qiwu instinctively reached out to comfort Tang Qingying as soon as he heard the thunder.
Although Tang Qingying wasn't particularly afraid of thunder, hearing those words still made her feel warm inside. She said softly, "Quick, check the journal! Is your Farming Skill maxed out?"
Han Qiwu nodded, opened his eyes, and glanced at the journal, scanning through it quickly.
Mr. Tang's favorability is now at nine hearts.
Nice.
"It's maxed out. Two profession branches have been unlocked." Han Qiwu smiled and shared the profession information with Tang Qingying.
After listening, Tang Qingying pondered and said, "If it were up to me, I'd go with Master Agricultural Expert. While Master Farmer's specialization boosts product value by 50%, the situation isn't the same as when your Farming Skill was only Level 5. Now we have various ways to make money. Time is more important—being an Agricultural Expert is like adding an extra month of research time each year. Also, with Manual Breeding, you can extract rare seeds from mixed crops."
"Like sweet potatoes!" Han Qiwu suddenly remembered that he once got a sweet potato while planting mixed seeds. With multiple uses of Manual Breeding, he could extract and study sweet potato seeds.
Honestly, if Tang Qingying hadn't reminded him, he might have just gone with the Farmer route.
That 50% value increase is so tempting!
"Exactly. Plus, there'll be more random seeds appearing in the future. Breeding capabilities are so important." Tang Qingying nodded in agreement.
"No problem, I'll listen to my wife." Han Qiwu chuckled and chose the Agricultural Expert path.
[Congratulations, you've successfully advanced to Master Agricultural Expert]
"Time to get up. Let's get to work!" Han Qiwu quickly whipped up some breakfast. After eating with Tang Qingying, he crafted a few lightning rods and rode his electric scooter to the Lightning Realm.
Since it was a thunderstorm today, the little horse was left behind.
Meanwhile, Mr. Tang, who had initially agreed to join in exploring the Lightning Realm, decided to stay home and study templates the moment he saw the weather.
Women are all liars.
After paying the entrance fee, a notification appeared in front of Han Qiwu.
[Allowed Time Today: 1 Hour]
"Only an hour?" Han Qiwu hurriedly set down twenty lightning rods at the entrance. Fortunately, his time in the Endless Mines had led him to many spiders, so he had enough spider legs stocked up.
Once the lightning rods were placed, he quickly retreated a safe distance away.
"Crackle, crackle!"
The dense thunderclouds in the Lightning Realm's sky were lured in by the lightning rods, transforming like a cat catching the scent of fish. In an instant, twenty lightning bolts streaked down like dragons.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
The scene was awe-inspiring!
"Can these things withstand that?" Watching from a distance as he collected coal, Han Qiwu couldn't help but feel worried, his eyes fixated on the lightning rods.
Thankfully, the system-produced lightning rods proved reliable. Despite the thunderous assault, they stayed intact and grew brighter. Batteries began forming on the ground nearby, one after another.
"Beautiful!"
Han Qiwu praised as he continued to pick up coal.
While making the lightning rods earlier, he'd taken stock of the materials back home. Compared to the materials needed for the Puppet Camp, he was short [Wood]×198, [Hardwood]×155. Thankfully, the thousand Stones weren't an issue, and with the Tear of the Ocean Pendant, he had enough Iridium and Gold Ingots as well.
"Maybe after leaving the Realm, I'll tell Qingying I'm heading to the Mist Forest to gather the remaining wood. Let's finish the Puppet Camp today!"
The more Han Qiwu thought about it, the better the idea seemed. Besides, he still had to visit his mother-in-law today—who knew how long wedding preparations would take?
Making a few extra puppets to help out would be great.
Let's grind it out!
One hour in the Lightning Realm passed in a flash. In the last few seconds, Han Qiwu retrieved all the batteries and lightning rods before exiting. He only checked his loot after leaving.
Big profits!
He'd collected [Battery]×63 this time.
The efficiency was insane!
Looks like thunderstorm days will be reserved for farming in the Lightning Realm!
Feeling pleased, he called Mr. Tang to report, and then rode off toward the Mist Forest.
Upon reaching the Mist Forest, Han Qiwu checked the color of the fog.
Everything seemed fine.
Go!
After rushing through the first stage and the beginning of the second stage, Han Qiwu kept moving forward.
No, technically, the wind-fire wheel under his feet kept spinning forward.
Using the firelight as a guide, Han Qiwu skated deeper into the second stage of the Mist Forest for a full ten minutes before stopping.
Illuminated by a bright flame, a massive, thick wall of forest composed of various types of trees appeared in front of him.
"What's this? Do I need to chop it all down to proceed?" Without hesitation, Han Qiwu pulled out his Cassia Axe and swung it at a nearby willow tree.
But the moment the axe landed, the tree didn't fall. Instead, a series of notifications appeared.
[Chopping Speed Challenge]
[Rule: Collect 400 Wood or Hardwood within the given time to pass through the Forest Wall. Failure will result in losing all collected wood.]
[Good luck!]
After the prompts disappeared, Han Qiwu saw a lit incense stick materialize in his view.
"One incense stick worth of time? But how long does this incense even burn?" Han Qiwu sighed and picked up his Cassia Axe, starting to chop.
"Thwack, thwack."
"Thwack, thwack."
The sounds of chopping echoed through the forest.
Eight minutes later, Han Qiwu had gathered 230 Woods and Hardwoods, while the incense stick appeared only half-burnt.
"Good thing I chose Master Lumberjack—it lets me yield more Hardwood per chop. Otherwise, there'd be no hope."
After a few more minutes, Han Qiwu managed to finish the task just before the incense burned out: [Wood]×230, [Hardwood]×170.
[Congratulations on completing the Chopping Speed Challenge without an upgraded Iridium Axe]
[Rewards doubled]
[You have obtained [Fawn]×2]
[You have obtained [Rose Apple Sapling]×2]
As the notifications appeared, the thick wall of forest trees in front of Han Qiwu parted on its own. The swirling mist in the air began to shift, revealing a faintly colorful, hazy scene under dappled sunlight.
In the scene, many years ago by a riverside, a group of fawns were chasing away monkeys that were eyeing the nearby Rose Apple trees. The fawns bore many wounds in the process. After driving off the monkeys, the fawns didn't eat the Rose Apples but instead leaned against the trees, huddling together protectively, until the vision disappeared.
When the scene vanished, the forest wall behind Han Qiwu closed again. On a patch of nearby grass, two clever-looking fawns and two Rose Apple saplings had appeared.
Han Qiwu chuckled, reaching out to pet the fawns and saplings before collecting them.
[Fawn]
[Raising Location: Sheep Barn]
[Animal Product: Deer Antler]
[Note: Please care for it attentively.]
[Rose Apple Sapling]
[Yield Time: Summer]
[Maturity Period: 10 days to mature, produces 1 Rose Apple daily upon maturity]
[Watering Interval: Every 2 days]
"This haul isn't bad! Didn't expect the Mist Forest's deepest area to have such a scene." Han Qiwu nodded in satisfaction before tearing open a return scroll to head back home.
Back at home, he recounted the entire story to Tang Qingying. As for raising the fawns, he'd have to wait for the sheep barn to be upgraded first.
After listening, Tang Qingying, who had been sipping water, couldn't help but burst out laughing. "So you're saying the Mist Forest is really just the Fawn and Rose Apple Forest—Misty Forest?"
Han Qiwu: "....."
That pun was on par with calling Mid-Autumn Moon "Long Goose Festival."
"Who cares what forest it is? A forest that produces wood is a good forest." Han Qiwu laughed as he planted the Rose Apple saplings in the greenhouse. Then he called out, "Time to work on the Puppet Camp! The battery haul was great—come help me craft Iridium Sprinklers."
"Coming, Boss Han!" Tang Qingying pouted playfully, walking over to grab the batteries and start crafting with the Iridium Ingots.
Han Qiwu began gathering materials for the Puppet Camp.
[Please choose a location to place the Puppet Camp]
Han Qiwu placed it in the center of the courtyard.
[Puppet Camp construction underway. Estimated time: 3 hours]
Not bad. It would be ready before he had to head out.
In the meantime, Han Qiwu took his axe and pickaxe to Master Shuzi to upgrade them.
The upgrades cost him 100,000 gold in total.
As for his watering can, he'd save upgrading it for later once he collected all the necessary materials.
After all, he had the Iridium Sprinklers anyway.
With all that done, the two of them started feeling hungry. They treated themselves to some seafood noodles and took a quick nap after lunch.
By the time they woke up, it was already past four in the afternoon.
Before they even got up, Han Qiwu heard the sound of wood scraping against wood—whispery "scritch-scratch" sounds.
Sitting up straight, he saw numerous little wooden puppets, about fifty centimeters tall, busily working around the courtyard.
Right there, Han Qiwu spotted seven or eight small puppets tussling with the meat-loving chicken over what looked suspiciously like a Flame Bird drumstick it had hidden somewhere again.
Each puppet managed to seize eight or nine drumsticks.
The chicken looked utterly defeated.
Which wasn't surprising—these wooden puppets didn't care about being pecked or scared, and they relentlessly snatched the Flame Bird drumsticks right out of the chicken's claws.
Meat Chicken: "Nooooo!!!"
