Farming Games are All About Grinding
Chapter 313 - 304: The Source Spring Eye is Ours!

Chapter 313: Chapter 304: The Source Spring Eye is Ours!

After stepping out of the mine, the sunlight along the horizon was dazzling. It was around two or three in the afternoon—the hottest part of the day.

Han Qiwu pulled out a straw hat and placed it on his head. After adjusting its angle, he grabbed the cloth cushion off the seat of his electric bike.

That cushion was sewn by Mrs. Han specifically for the electric bike seat.

Summer had arrived, and without it, you’d practically cook your butt if you sat directly on the seat.

Once back home, Han Qiwu headed straight to the kitchen and whipped up a simple dish of minced meat and green beans over noodles in a savory sauce, accompanied by a small plate of pickled chili bamboo shoots on the side.

The meat was from Zhu Zhu’s shop, while the green beans were ones he had grown earlier.

As for the noodles—

Unfortunately, they were just regular dried noodles.

"I’ve already got rice. Wheat should be coming along soon, right?" Han Qiwu muttered to himself while slurping a mouthful of noodles.

Taking two bites, he picked up a slice of pickled chili bamboo shoot and chewed lightly.

The crisp bamboo shoot, combined with the tangy chili, brought out a fresh sweetness hidden within. Its sour and spicy flavor carried just a hint of sweetness, making it an endlessly satisfying treat.

Since the fermentation time was still relatively short, the bamboo shoot’s spice wasn’t too intense—just subtly fragrant.

Feeling a bit unsatisfied, Han Qiwu directly grabbed a whole pickled chili and ate it together with the noodles.

Three bites in, the chili completely crumbled, revealing its sharp, sour-spicy "claws" as it fiercely dominated his taste buds.

Sour enough to excite, spicy enough to thrill!

"Delicious!"

Han Qiwu devoured several more chilis in one go, polishing off the bamboo shoots entirely.

After filling his stomach, Han Qiwu lazily sprawled out, not bothering to move even as sunlight slowly crawled over his body.

After resting for about ten minutes, he glanced at the time, stood up, changed into long sleeves and pants, and headed toward the wide flat plateau up the mountain.

Time to work on that spring source!

Because it had rained earlier, the path up the mountain was muddy and made riding difficult.

"If only the little electric bike could carry me through the air," Han Qiwu mused as he struggled to control the handlebars.

Comparing his own size to the bike’s,

Han Qiwu figured it was still more realistic to hope the Little Prince would carry him up the mountain instead.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Han Qiwu parked the bike, grabbed a sickle, and headed down the familiar path toward the small spring source’s location.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

In just five or six minutes, Han Qiwu had gathered about seven to eight wild chilis from a thicket of wild chili bushes.

One advantage of coming alone was not needing to bring a bag—anything recognizable could simply be picked up and taken away.

After gathering for a while, he spotted several clusters of water parsley approved by the system. He happily walked over and picked them all.

Just after finishing with the water parsley, he looked up and spotted a pepper tree he had seen before on the slope. However, this tree was much larger than the last one, laden with numerous unripe green peppercorns, emanating an intense fragrance.

"There’s system light here too?" Han Qiwu was slightly surprised. This time, the light appeared on the pepper tree’s leaves.

The spindle-shaped leaves were verdant and intact in shape.

Han Qiwu squatted slightly before jumping two meters high to pluck one of them off.

[Pepper Leaf]

[Use: Seasoning]

[Special Effect – Deodorizing: Pepper leaves effectively remove earthy smells] _{fr.e ewe.bno.vel .com}

[Note: Only certain special dishes require it]

"It smells pretty nice, might as well keep it," Han Qiwu muttered, unable to think of an immediate use for it, so he decided to stow it away in the storage space for now.

"It’d be great if I could find a patch of wild ginger," Han Qiwu thought, scanning his surroundings intently.

Logically speaking, the current temperature should be suitable for wild ginger to grow, but he hadn’t encountered any yet.

Han Qiwu had tried wild ginger once at a friend’s place before—the sharp aroma of the wild variant was stronger than cultivated ones, making dishes like ginger duck or ginger rabbit incredibly flavorful!

Picking and walking as he went, Han Qiwu finally arrived at the spring source’s location.

Looking at the time, he had five minutes left, so he quietly sat nearby to wait.

Soon enough, a faint rumbling sound emanated from the rocks near the spring. Gradually, the small spring source, hidden beneath the stones, began to swell, bursting through the surface and gushing out streams of crystal-clear water.

"Time to split the flow?" Han Qiwu eagerly pulled out the golden basin crafted by Master Shuzi beforehand.

Within seconds, the spring source underwent a mysterious transformation, splitting symmetrically into two separate streams as if cleaved by a knife.

The spring on the left remained about the same size as when it was calm, while the one on the right became a tiny trickle.

Han Qiwu thought for a moment, walked over to the right-hand spring, and took out the golden basin.

A person shouldn’t be too greedy.

Especially when it comes to harvesting resources from the wild—one should always consider future generations.

Soon, a guiding arrow appeared above the golden basin, prompting Han Qiwu to invert it over the spring source.

Crouching down, Han Qiwu followed the hint and pressed the basin into place.

"Whoosh!"

Something incredible happened.

The small spring source on the right behaved like a reverse water dragon, sucking in not only the trickling flow but also nearby pebbles straight into the golden basin.

After about ten minutes, the reverse water dragon event finally subsided.

By then, the spring source had reverted to its original position, with the water flow unchanged from before the split.

"Seems like there wasn’t any harm done," Han Qiwu felt relieved and flipped the golden basin over to inspect its contents.

Inside the shiny basin was a miniature version of the spring source, covered with dozens of tiny pebbles. The spring itself resembled a fountain, continuously spraying droplets of water.

[Miniature Spring Source]

[Usable after placement]

[Special Effect – Flow: The spring can generate 3 portions of water daily]

[Special Effect – Accumulate: The spring can expand its flow by absorbing special items]

[Note: The spring’s effects require gradual exploration]

"Miniature? Only 3 portions?" Han Qiwu felt slightly disappointed. The original small spring source could generate up to 10 portions of water.

Thankfully, the miniature spring source had an Accumulate special effect.

"Hopefully, there’s something at home it can absorb," Han Qiwu took a deep breath and put it away in his storage compartment.

Gradual nurturing—it would someday outgrow the current spring source!

Han Qiwu brimmed with confidence.

After packing everything up, he didn’t rush home.

Coming all this way, how could he leave without fishing for some mountain catfish?

The mountain catfish, also known as river cod, had excellent flesh and flavor.

Following the trail, Han Qiwu kept an eye on the grass along the way, hoping to stumble upon a few fire duck eggs like last time.

Even if there were no fire duck eggs, he’d happily settle for bird eggs.

Unfortunately, he reached the small stone pool where the catfish lived with no luck.

Fine, time to fish!

In the stone pool, which stretched deep into the earth, several elusive river cod hovered just out of reach.

"One for braising, one for steaming, one for grilling, and one for spicy stir-fry."

"Perfect plan!"