Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 101: Thoughtful Little Prince

"Little Prince, what are you sneaking a bite of now?" Han Qiwu called out to Little Prince.

"Roar!"

Little Prince finally noticed Han Qiwu. Munching on something in its mouth and covered in mud from head to toe, it happily ran over.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Han Qiwu dared not let the Little Mud Prince crash into him.

"Roar hòu."

The approaching Little Prince seemed a bit dejected but obediently spread its hands to show Han Qiwu what it had.

Although the item in its hand was all smeared with mud, Han Qiwu could still recognize what it was.

A young sapling fruit, already sprouted.

The mangrove trees had a unique trait known as "embryonic sprouting." The seeds inside the fruit germinate while still attached to the tree, forming small seedlings. After detaching from the parent plant, the seedlings fall and embed themselves into the mud to grow into new trees.

Little Prince’s actions were nothing short of catastrophic for this mangrove forest.

If it really let loose its appetite here, it could devour all the mangrove fruits within one or two weeks.

Luckily, they discovered it early! Otherwise, this ancient mangrove secret realm would turn into an ancient ocean secret realm.

"Little Prince, is this your first time coming here to forage?" Han Qiwu asked with a smile while also pulling out some honey he had planned to reward it with as a bribe.

"Roar!"

Little Prince nodded.

Han Qiwu felt a little relieved and pointed at the nearby mangroves to explain things to Little Prince.

Under the dual education of words and honey, Little Prince obediently nodded and patted its chest, promising not to climb the trees to steal seeds again.

But seriously, Little Prince’s foraging route seemed way too carefree!

It went directly from the mountains in the north to the seaside in the south for fun.

Southward drift for a northward quest?

But then again, it was thanks to this little bear cub’s random running around that they stumbled upon this secret realm at all!

To reward Little Prince,

Han Qiwu decided to teach it how to forage on the beach.

Since no one else could get in here, they might as well do some proper work on the beach!

If Little Prince could hear Han Qiwu’s inner thoughts, it might never work for Han Qiwu again.

"I bust my tail finding you a secret realm, and all you’re thinking about is making me toil for you?"

After wandering around the secret realm’s beach for half an hour, the duo had quite the haul.

[Trochus Shells]×6, [Phoenix Shells]×5, [Hermit Crabs]×3.

Of course, there were plenty of non-system-recognized marine animals here, but to save energy, Han Qiwu didn’t bother collecting them.

Aside from material gains, there was also good news regarding Little Prince’s skill learning.

[Your pet, Little Prince, is about to master beach foraging.]

Han Qiwu glanced at the top-right corner of his field of view, where the remaining exploration time showed barely ten minutes.

No more dragging this out—time to head home for some rest!

Upon exiting the secret realm, Han Qiwu turned to look at its entrance.

Hmm, a big reef. Quite a fitting vibe for a secret realm entrance.

Little Prince had returned to its transparent form after leaving the secret realm and trotted along behind Han Qiwu’s vehicle on their way home.

Once they arrived, Han Qiwu didn’t even look at what Little Prince had foraged. With a wave of his hand, he said, "Today’s haul is yours to keep and eat. But if you ever come across a place like today again, don’t act recklessly—bring me there right away." After that, Han Qiwu went off to install a sprinkler system.

"Roar!"

Little Prince’s eyes lit up as it let out a joyous cry, bouncing with delight as it dumped all thirty-plus portions of crab flowers from its basket, laying them out piece by piece before carrying them into its den.

Since Han Qiwu had already watered everything before leaving that morning, the sprinkler system had no immediate effect and would only show its value the next morning.

Turning around, Han Qiwu suddenly spotted the thirty-plus crab flowers Little Prince had displayed at its den’s entrance.

Why did he feel like he’d been tricked?

Since when could it forage over thirty items in one trip??

Could it be that harvesting at a new spot significantly increases the yield?

Han Qiwu’s heart felt like it was bleeding.

If only he’d known there’d be this much, he would’ve kept some for himself.

As if it heard Han Qiwu’s thoughts, Little Prince paused briefly—it had been happily moving its stash—then sheepishly carried over four or five portions of crab flowers and offered them to Han Qiwu.

Han Qiwu could almost hear it saying, "For you! Don’t be sad."

To be honest, he was a bit touched.

"Alright, alright, that’s too much for me to finish anyway. You keep it for yourself," Han Qiwu waved and walked to the storage chest, pulling out [Rare Green Slime Egg (Silver Star Quality ☆)].

Following the incubator’s instructions, Han Qiwu fiddled with it briefly, after which the system popped up with a notification:

[Incubating... Estimated hatch time: 3 days]

"Three days? That’s so long," Han Qiwu muttered helplessly. Based on this, it wouldn’t hatch until the 21st.

Nothing he could do except wait.

Han Qiwu raised his head to glance at the [Odd Egg] stuck atop the phoenix tree.

No movement whatsoever.

"No idea which of you two will hatch first. Just take your sweet time," he said. Once he set the incubator aside, Han Qiwu picked up an axe and started chopping trees.

Just about a hundred pieces of wood left—if he pushed himself, he could finish building the Spider Marionette within the week!

While chopping trees, Han Qiwu didn’t forget to call Little Prince over to watch.

"Learn properly, and I’ll give you some delicious honey as a treat."

"Roar!"

He chopped wood until past 11 PM, took a bath, and called it a day. Now he was short just 40 pieces of wood before the Spider Marionette was finished.

Before ending the day, Han Qiwu, mindful of the possible rainstorm forecasted for tomorrow, climbed up the phoenix tree to retrieve the Odd Egg and sealed Little Prince’s den securely.

Sitting by his bed, Han Qiwu pulled out a copy of *Dinosaur Knight* and began flipping through the pages.

Before he knew it, his body sank into sleep.

[Jingle, jingle, jingle] (sound of Gold Coins falling)

February 18 Log

Farming EXP +0

Foraging EXP +496

Fishing EXP +0

Combat EXP +0

Mining EXP +0

Relationship stats:

None

Current money: 1863 coins

Lifetime earnings: 38,233 coins

[Patter, patter, patter, patter]

Han Qiwu woke to the sound of rain today.

Looking back at yesterday’s log, there wasn’t much to say. The biggest gains were the secret realm and crafted items—the former could serve as a long-term resource spot, while the latter would boost short-term mining productivity.

While freshening up, Han Qiwu casually turned on the TV.

[Weather Forecast]

Tomorrow will be sunny.

[Life Tips]

If your cauliflowers haven’t grown into giant cauliflowers, try leaving them in the ground! Every day before harvest, there’s a chance they’ll turn into giant plants.

[Almanac]

Activities: Play, Avoid long trips

Once the broadcast ended, Han Qiwu looked at the TV with a puzzled expression.

"Shennong? You won’t even humor me with a mood-lifting phrase today?"

The life tip, however, brought good news: as long as the cauliflowers weren’t harvested, they’d keep having a chance to grow into giants!

The weather and almanac? No room for overthinking there.

Who’s going on a long journey on a rainy day? You’d just get drenched.