Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 575 - 562: The Rain-Seeking Totem! Activating the Rice Gene!
The two chatted and laughed, playfully teasing each other, and managed to finish three whole pounds of meat, two fish, and two packs of grilled biscuits.
"Hahaha—hic!"
Tang Qingying contentedly rubbed her small belly. "Feeling stronger is so great, I can eat so much now! Take me to the mines tomorrow to have some fun!"
"Alright, but you have to listen to me. If you can't win, make sure to run away quickly," Han Qiwu said, equally stuffed, while giving a playful reminder.
"Don't worry!" Tang Qingying walked over and pulled Han Qiwu up. "Come on, let's go buy some seeds. Since there's nothing much happening tonight, let's head to the seed shop you mentioned and pick up some hops and other crop seeds to plant and see how they grow."
"Sounds good." Han Qiwu held Tang Qingying's small hand. Instead of biking, the two leisurely strolled toward the seed shop.
Once inside, Han Qiwu checked his wallet and realized he still had plenty of money. He bought 100 hops seeds, 20 coffee bean seeds, 20 corn seeds, and picked out 40 seeds of other crops they'd like to eat, spending a total of 19,560 Gold Coins.
Actually, he had enough money, but the sprinklers at home weren't sufficient. Even if he bought a thousand seeds, there wouldn't be enough resources to water them all.
Luckily, Tang Qingying's stamina level was the same as his, so she could help out with watering.
After buying the seeds, the two strolled back home under the moonlight. They planted all the seeds in the greenhouse, watering each one carefully.
Once they finished watering, the two took turns bathing. Tang Qingying went first, and Han Qiwu only headed to the bathroom after tossing some mayo into the selling box.
When he came out, he saw Tang Qingying had already drawn a shallow line down the middle of the bed and was smiling as she said, "We don't even have a sofa at home. I'm not going to let you sleep on the floor, but you're not allowed to cross the neutral zone, okay?"
"Don't worry." Han Qiwu chuckled, hopped into bed, and turned off the light.
Before long, warmth filled the space once again.
April 14 Daily Log
Clink clink (sounds of Gold Coins falling)
Revenue......6666 Gold Coins (Golden Carp) (Gold Mine effect evolved)
Revenue......35,420 Gold Coins (Mayonnaise)
Planting experience +1624
Foraging experience +3514
Fishing experience +0 (Max Level)
Combat experience +0
Mining experience +0
Character Affection Changes:
None
Current Money: 11,484 Gold Coins
Historical Revenue: 981,726 Gold Coins
[Congratulations! Your Foraging skill has been upgraded to Level 7]
[Foraging Specialization +1]
[Your Climbing ability has improved again]
[You've learned how to craft the Rain Totem]
[Player: Tang Qingying's attributes have been synchronized]
"Cough cough."
Han Qiwu was planning to sneakily wake up and retrieve his arm, but a single move woke Tang Qingying up.
Still bleary-eyed, Tang Qingying mumbled, "Good morning! Check the log quickly; I feel like I've gotten stronger again."
Han Qiwu smiled, nodded, and began checking the logs. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the Golden Carp's gold mine effect had been upgraded as well.
Daily income had increased significantly again.
Plus, the Foraging skill had reached Level 9.
All that tree chopping wasn't in vain!
"The Foraging skill reached Level 9, and I even learned how to craft a Rain Totem. Though, the materials we need aren't all available at home yet," Han Qiwu said while simultaneously sharing the Rain Totem's properties with Tang Qingying.
[Rain Totem]
[One-time Item]
[Required Materials: [Pine Tar] ×5, [Rubber] ×2, [Hardwood] ×2]
[Effect: After use, the farm will experience rainfall tomorrow]
[Note: No need to worship the Rain God now]
"So, does that mean as long as we have enough Rain Totems, we wouldn't even need sprinklers?" Tang Qingying thought aloud.
Han Qiwu nodded. "Exactly. Plus, they can be useful for emergencies, like if we go traveling. We can use this to skip watering for a day. The effect is definitely practical."
Tang Qingying acknowledged with a hum, flipped the blanket off, and headed to the bathroom to freshen up. After finishing her routine, she started learning Han Qiwu's breakfast-making skills, frying eggs and warming up milk.
By the time Han Qiwu came out, the table had two slightly burnt eggs and two glasses of milk.
"Thanks, honey." Han Qiwu grabbed the leftover biscuits from last night, seasoned some meat, stir-fried it quickly, and wrapped the eggs inside before handing it over to Tang Qingying.
"Grilled meat wrap!" Tang Qingying giggled and took it, savoring every bite. "Your cooking is still the best."
Han Qiwu patted her head lovingly and said warmly, "Then I'll do all the cooking from now on."
After a hearty breakfast, Han Qiwu headed out to the courtyard. The golden sea of rice fields glimmered brightly, leaving an imprint on his heart.
"Time to harvest the rice! It's so much easier in the game than in real life." Tang Qingying laughed as she walked over and started harvesting. Yet, as soon as her hand touched the rice stem, she excitedly exclaimed, "Quick, come over! The rice has also unlocked the gene-editing interface!"
[Rice Shoot (Editable)]
[Current Editable Gene: Seed Reproduction (Locked)]
[Unlock Seed Reproduction requires 100,000 Gold Coins]
Finally unlocked!
Unlike strawberries, rice only had one editable gene, the seed. And the seed was all it needed.
Similar to strawberries, unlocking required a hefty sum of 100,000 Gold Coins.
"Time to become poor again," Han Qiwu sighed helplessly.
No choice—sometimes, you just have to spend.
[Seed Reproduction Gene Edit Successfully Unlocked]
[Seed Reproduction Editable Contents: Growth Time, Essential Growth Factors, Yield Range, Fruit Sweetness, Trait Transmission Ability, Virus Defensive Power, etc.] 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮
Just like with strawberries, rice's seed reproductive genes needed to be fully studied.
"Mornings are the best for focus—let's research a bit before going to the mines. It'll be good to compare notes." Tang Qingying cheerfully dragged over two small stools and sat by the rice.
"Alright." Han Qiwu agreed, already planning it as well. The two began experimenting and taking notes.
It had to be said, Tang Qingying's experience proved invaluable during this time. Within two hours, she drafted a gene format for rice seeds featuring a 20.4% survival rate and a yield of 1200 catties per acre, with a normal taste.
Tang Qingying waved her hand dismissively and deleted it, saying, "Taste could be sacrificed, but survival rates and yield must be high. Otherwise, farmers would be wasting their effort."
Han Qiwu had just finished harvesting all the rice and set several batches in the mill when he nodded in agreement. "Exactly, rice planting cycles aren't short. If the yield is too low, there's no point putting it on the market."
"Let's keep going!" Tang Qingying sat on a better chair now, focusing all her energy on research.
Han Qiwu didn't slack either. To make the Rain Totem, he specifically crafted several resin collectors and placed them on reserved pine and oak trees. Once done, he joined in the rice gene research with his own notes.
Strawberries could make money and bring excitement to life, but only staple crops like rice and wheat could truly tackle food crises.
Keep pushing forward!
