Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 269 - 261: Unveiling the Mysterious Note 14

Watching Little Prince eat with such gusto, Han Qiwu decided it was time to whip up something for himself.

What should he eat?

After glancing at the storage compartment, Han Qiwu decided to keep it simple and cook a few dishes.

Salt and pepper mantis shrimp, steamed bass, and stir-fried wild greens.

A balance of salty, savory, meat, and veggies with reasonable nutritional value.

Truly delightful.

The main reason was that there weren’t many volcanic heat-resistant shrimp left—better to save them as snacks for later.

Han Qiwu made his way to the kitchen and grabbed the extra-large mantis shrimp he’d retrieved from the crab trap earlier today.

This massive mantis shrimp was as big as a grown man’s arm, the equivalent of seven or eight regular ones.

"This mantis shrimp is a bit too big to fit in the pot. Might as well cut it up," Han Qiwu thought for a moment, then picked up the knife and chopped it into seven or eight pieces.

Clang clang clang—sounds of cooking echoed from the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, Han Qiwu was seated in the courtyard. On the small wooden table in front of him were three dishes, along with a rice cooker nearby.

"Time to dig in." Han Qiwu picked up a piece of mantis shrimp meat first.

This giant shrimp wasn’t just large in size—its texture and flavor were far superior to regular mantis shrimp. With one bite, the tender meat was both crisp and springy. After a few chews, the coating’s salt-and-pepper flavor faded away, replaced by a pure, oceanic sweetness unique to shrimp and other marine life.

Absolutely delicious!

The steamed bass beside it offered a completely different experience. The fish was tender and gelatinous, almost jelly-like. A quick slurp, and a big piece slid right into the stomach.

Add in the stir-fried wild greens and rice grown on his own farm, and...

Han Qiwu’s meal was immensely satisfying.

After finishing, Han Qiwu retrieved a bowl of hundred-flavor shaved ice and leisurely reclined on the lounge chair. Enjoying the warm spring sunlight, he crunched away with a sense of utter contentment.

Now this—this is living.

As the warmth enveloped him, Han Qiwu’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier until he eventually drifted off to sleep.

"Flap-flap."

Keeping a watchful eye on his master this whole time, Little Electric swooped down from the tree branch and carefully landed on the wooden table. In a flash, it snatched a piece of mantis shrimp meat.

Flying in circles through the air, Little Electric drooled audibly, debating whether to leave some "loot" on its master as a bragging token.

After a few seconds, it decided against the tempting idea.

Leaving loot might feel great temporarily—but once the fun ended, it could go downhill quickly.

With the master’s cooking skills, who knows what could happen next? Steamed, boiled, braised, or spicy stir-fried—anything’s possible!

Better not take the risk. Better not.

Meanwhile, the meat chicken lounging in the vent watched the whole spectacle and snorted disdainfully.

"Look at your cowardly act! Stealing food? How embarrassing!"

Little Electric huffed at the mocking chicken and flew to another branch, munching on the mantis shrimp with exaggerated pride while throwing side-eyes at the meat chicken.

The meat chicken just shook its head and smirked before casually pulling out a Flame Bird leg from under itself and tossing it into the chicken coop.

Little Electric: "????? Really? You call that pride? You’re selling meat!"

With a sigh and a sharp, judging glare, the meat chicken replied, "See, you don’t understand. Only by providing something valuable can the master remember you. Look at my life—everything’s great, isn’t it?"

Little Electric instinctively nodded. It did, from time to time, envy the meat chicken’s lifestyle.

The meat chicken couldn’t fly as fast as Little Electric, but it never worried about food or drink and was always surrounded by a flock of adoring hens.

"Jealous, huh? That’s what I earned by trading some meat! In the master’s eyes, my ranking is definitely above yours," the meat chicken boasted. "Why else would I get assigned as your flight instructor? It’s because the master values me!"

With that, the meat chicken returned to its coop, snuggling up with the hens.

Back on the branch, Little Electric found the mantis shrimp tasting increasingly bitter.

"I’m a proud mutant thunder magpie! Why should I settle for sneaky scraps?"

"I need to prove my worth to the master!"

"And I need to find a mate!"

Listening to Little Electric’s murmurs from outside, a smug smile spread over the meat chicken’s face. "Go ahead, kid. Go prove yourself to the master! Preferably keep him busy for ten days or so—let me enjoy a few carefree days!"

Ah, the younger ones were so easy to manipulate.

An hour or so later...

Han Qiwu slowly opened his eyes, stretching with a contented sigh.

Napping under the spring sunshine—it didn’t get better than this.

Too bad it was hard to experience such moments in the city.

"Sizzle-sizzle."

The crackling sound of electricity reverberated through the yard. Following the noise, Han Qiwu turned his head to find Little Electric perched above the vegetable patch, wildly discharging bolts of lightning into it.

Opening the system log for a glance...

Well, well—Little Electric had spent all afternoon zealously zapping pests out of the garden.

Rather diligent, wasn’t it?

Han Qiwu was just about to close the log when a bold red message caught his attention.

[The mutant Little Prince Flower’s rot-lure insects have suffered severe electric shocks. Farm-wide crop yield bonus of 5% has been nullified.]

Reading this, Han Qiwu’s face darkened. "Little Electric! Come here!"

This bird—when it got too enthusiastic, it truly caused chaos.

It had zapped even the beneficial insects attracted by the mutant Little Prince Flower!

Hearing its master call, Little Electric gleefully swooped down in a fancy arc before landing beside Han Qiwu, eagerly awaiting its reward. "What kind of treat will I get, master?"

Seeing Little Electric’s expectant face, Han Qiwu couldn’t help but feel a bit guilty.

Forget it. Let’s not scold it—better explain things properly. freēnovelkiss.com

"Little Electric, eliminating pests is great, but those rot-lure insects drawn to the mutant Little Prince Flower shouldn’t be zapped. It’ll affect the farm’s overall yield," Han Qiwu patiently explained, carrying Little Electric over to the vegetable patch to point things out.

"Squawk-squawk," Little Electric scratched its head in embarrassment and reluctantly agreed.

Such a gentle and understanding master left Little Electric feeling a bit out of place, even slightly uneasy.

"Alright then, go rest. Tomorrow I’ll take you to explore the mines," Han Qiwu said, letting Little Electric go and handing it two fish from the storage compartment as it flapped away happily.

Little Electric, like Xiao Lai, was a combat pet and could assist in battling within the mine systems.

Previously, Han Qiwu had refrained from bringing Little Electric into the mines, fearing that it was still too young to fight.

But seeing its boundless energy today, clearly, this little one was more than ready.

Once Little Electric had taken off, Han Qiwu retrieved the long-unused mysterious magnifying glass from the storage chest. He then pulled out the recently acquired "Mysterious Note Fourteen" from Zack and held it in his hand.

Overlaying the two, the faint handwriting on the note began to appear.

[Mysterious Note Fourteen]

[Content]: On the sixteenth day of each month at 3:15 PM, the spring on the mountain splits into two streams. It’s said that using a gold container allows you to bring the water home.

"So, it’s the split timing and method to collect from the spring?" A smile spread across Han Qiwu’s face.

Jackpot.

The info on these mysterious notes sure was valuable—he’d need to find a way to get more of them from the little trader.

If he could bring back an actual spring, the quality of his fish pond and rice fields would undoubtedly improve.

As for a gold container? I already have one.

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