Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 98 Found a Treasure

"What’s the weather tomorrow? Switching to rain again? Might as well stay home and read in the afternoon." Han Qiwu frowned.

Life hacks delivered some bad news.

If the little peddler doesn’t come, how is Han Qiwu supposed to bargain?

Talk to the pig? Can it even understand?

Even if it can understand...

Can it speak human language?

"Forget it, let’s wait until the weekend. Check the almanac later, but for today, I need to figure out how to get something done."

"Roar roar roar!" Out of nowhere, the Little Prince suddenly rushed over and knocked over the basket of crab flowers.

Should I just beat the brat up for now?

Twenty minutes later, Han Qiwu and the Little Prince were lying side by side on the ground, panting heavily.

Fighting with the brat was far more fun than hitting a punching bag.

Not only was there some recoil, but the Little Prince’s counterattacks were also much more exhilarating than those of a punching bag.

During the scuffle, Han Qiwu could clearly feel his reflexes improving. When he concentrated, the motion of objects in his field of vision seemed to slow down a bit.

Of course, it wasn’t anywhere close to bullet time levels.

This is a casual farming game, not a sci-fi cultivation game.

"Alright, I’ll give you a new route today. Later, when you get there, just follow this path to pick." Han Qiwu pointed at the crab flowers and said to the Little Prince, "This basket is yours now."

"Roar!"

The Little Prince was always incredibly cooperative.

Eager to admit mistakes but firm in never changing his ways.

After outlining the route, the Little Prince obediently strapped on his small basket, opened the door, and trotted out. Before leaving, he even turned around and waved at Han Qiwu.

"Go and come back early," Han Qiwu waved back and said, already thinking to himself that when the Little Prince returns tonight, it’ll be a good time to teach him how to chop wood.

Wouldn’t it be great if the Little Prince could take the cassia wood axe every day and head out to chop down that cassia grove?

That cassia grove is really quite far. Going there and back every day to chop wood is pretty inconvenient—it takes over an hour round trip.

"Or maybe I should just buy a motorcycle?" Han Qiwu was somewhat tempted and opened his phone to check.

Forget it.

The motorcycles most people ride are hardly good enough for me, Han Qiwu!

If I ride, I’ll ride something no ordinary person could ever get their hands on!

Like an Aladdin’s flying carpet, or some kind of pterosaur-turned flying machine—

Those I might grudgingly accept.

...

The early spring sunshine wasn’t blinding; it was warm and cozy as it cascaded onto him. Han Qiwu leisurely rode his little electric scooter to Grandpa Chen’s house.

In the courtyard, Grandpa Chen was listening to opera, eyes slightly closed, looking perfectly content.

"Grandpa Chen, I picked some crab flowers this morning—picked too many, actually—and I can’t finish them myself, so I brought some over for you to try." Han Qiwu stepped in and said.

"Haha, that’s great. It’s been ages since I last ate these." Grandpa Chen stood up and took the crab flowers.

"No need, no need. I’ll just put them straight in your kitchen." Han Qiwu bypassed Grandpa Chen and went directly to the kitchen to drop off the crab flowers.

Just as he had set down the crab flowers, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something unusual about one of the plot areas in Grandpa Chen’s courtyard—it was a different color than the rest.

If the ancient plot areas outside were like those red-soil tiles from the old QQ Farm game, then this plot area resembled the yellow-soil tiles from QQ Farm.

The color was more regal!

[You have discovered a piece of ancient plot land.]

[Tip: Ancient plot lands are older than ancient farm lands.]

"Ancient plot land?"

Honestly, Han Qiwu was intrigued.

But in the very next moment, he began to hesitate.

This isn’t by the side of a public road; you can’t just take a hoe to it and start digging.

This is Grandpa Chen’s yard, after all, and the plot’s surface is even covered with bluish paving stones.

"What are you staring at? Need the washroom? The toilet’s on the right," Grandpa Chen looked at Han Qiwu with puzzled curiosity, wondering what the boy was so fixated on.

"Ahem, not the washroom. Grandpa Chen, your courtyard’s paving stones are nicely done, huh?" Han Qiwu entered awkward-chatter mode.

"They are, aren’t they? I laid them all myself. Work done by others isn’t precise enough. For your own space, you’ve got to do it yourself," Grandpa Chen said with a proud grin.

"This one looks a little uneven to me. How about I pry it up and re-lay it?" Han Qiwu’s own words sounded unconvincing, even to him.

"Sure, go ahead and mess with it," Grandpa Chen surprised him with his response. "The crowbar’s in the storage shed. I’m heading to the kitchen to fry up the crab flowers—haven’t had breakfast yet anyway."

"So I can really pry it up?"

"Hurry up. We’re eating soon." Grandpa Chen didn’t even turn back as he spoke.

With official permission obtained, Han Qiwu grabbed the crowbar and pried up all six paving stones over the plot area. Then, he took out his hoe and started digging into the yellow ancient plot land.

After just one strike, a streak of iron-white cold light emanated from the ground.

[You have discovered an Earth Cold Iron Ingot.]

[You have discovered two blocks of cold iron ore.]

Seeing the system notifications, Han Qiwu turned and placed the two large and one small iron ore blocks in a corner of the courtyard.

"Cold iron?!"

Han Qiwu inhaled deeply, adding his share to global warming. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

In both novels and movies, cold iron has always been a premium material in the forging world.

Who would’ve thought he’d dig up such a treasure!

Grandpa Chen is truly a hidden gem of a grandpa!

Han Qiwu carefully restored the plot area. To make sure the paving stones would sit flush as before, he even added a layer of clay for height adjustment.

Just as he finished, Grandpa Chen emerged carrying a plate of noodles.

"Done messing around? Thanks for the effort." Grandpa Chen chuckled. "Try this—crab flower minced meat noodle soup."

Feeling a little sheepish, Han Qiwu pointed to the cold iron ore, preparing to explain. "Grandpa Chen, actually, I was just—"

Before he could finish, Grandpa Chen waved his hand to cut him off. "Wash your hands and eat first. Noodles get mushy if you wait too long."

"Alrighty," Han Qiwu quickly washed his hands and returned. As he picked up his bowl, he pondered how to broach the subject.

A find this big couldn’t just be pocketed without saying anything.

Doing that was against Han Qiwu’s principles.

The noodles in the bowl were clearly freshly pressed, with a springy texture. The sauce on top, made with fermented soybeans, minced meat, and sautéed crab flowers, married the salty savoriness of the beans and the meaty aroma, infusing every petal of crab flower with rich flavor—a truly unique taste.

As Han Qiwu slurped away, Grandpa Chen smiled and slowly spoke: "You know, I’ve felt that spot in the yard was chilly for the past couple of days. I’ve been meaning to get someone to deal with it. You came just in time."

As he spoke, Grandpa Chen picked up his own bowl. "Now the courtyard feels much warmer. Whatever’s in that soil, if you can take it, take it. Grandpa won’t interfere. Big bowls hold big servings; if you can’t eat it, all you can do is stare. But if you can handle it—well, that’s skill."

After those words, Han Qiwu felt a subtle sense of understanding deep down.

But his stance remained the same: This ore was dug up from Grandpa Chen’s yard, and it couldn’t be taken without giving something back.