After reading the two letters, Han Qiwu felt a little uneasy. Brother Jing's description was relatively normal.
But what was going on with Mr. Tang?
A bond beyond the relationship of master and disciple?
Han Qiwu picked up two rewards from the mailbox and walked back into the house with a silly grin.
The bait was pink in color and looked a bit strange. Who knows how effective it might be?
As for the mysterious magnifying glass, its appearance was as ordinary as its name—so ordinary that it felt mysterious. It seemed it would only be useful when encountering the mysterious paper note mentioned in the description.
Better hide this thing in the house first!
This was a reward item for Mr. Tang's affection!
After storing his items, Han Qiwu decided to check the television. Maybe the old man Shennong was in a good mood again today?
As he approached the TV, there was no response.
[Power outage today, unable to view.]
This television didn't even require plugging in two days ago!
And now it suddenly gives me a power outage message?
What does a power outage have to do with you?!
Thankfully, yesterday's weather forecast offered a hint. Today, I'll take the opportunity to walk around more while out and gather more foraging experience.
Leaving the house, Han Qiwu watered the plants first, then gathered Brother Jing's dried clothes. Today, he planned to return them.
The mornings in February were still foggy. Not long after stepping out, a magpie flew over Han Qiwu's head.
"That's a good sign." His mood improved significantly, and as he walked along the path, his eyes constantly scanned the roadside, hoping to acquire some skills that improved his foraging experience.
A few minutes later, a pocket tissue in Han Qiwu's pocket accidentally fell out, and he hurriedly stopped his bike to pick it up.
After picking it up, Han Qiwu noticed a group of elderly ladies in cotton-padded jackets bending over in the shrubbery, searching for something.
Feeling curious, Han Qiwu pretended to be a passerby and walked in. After just a few steps, he spotted a golden system aura on a certain part of the shrubbery!
A system item? Charge!
Han Qiwu quickened his pace, but before he could reach the area, an elderly lady in a red cotton-padded jacket plucked the glowing object and stuffed it into her bag.
What's going on?! My experience points just vanished?
In his wildest dreams, Han Qiwu hadn't imagined being robbed of a loot drop by a senior lady while gaming.
No way, it's time to ditch the modesty!
Han Qiwu quickly stepped forward, brushing aside the shrubs to search for the golden aura.
Before long, Han Qiwu discovered two more glowing items.
This time, Han Qiwu didn't leave the ladies any chance—he grabbed one in each hand.
[Raspberry (Normal Quality)]
[Note: Nutrient-packed Spring Wildfruit!]
[Raspberry (Silver Star Quality ☆)]
[Note: Highly sought-after Spring Wildfruit!]
This thing turned out to be raspberries?
Raspberries are a common type of wildfruit in spring, known by many names: tray (Northeast China), bobo head (Northeast China), village rice (Guangdong), pao'er (Sichuan, Guizhou dialects), and also as tree berry, tree raspberry, wild berry, woodberry, black bramble, among others.
Without thinking much further, Han Qiwu continued to search elsewhere in the shrubs.
In no time, Han Qiwu found another two raspberries of normal quality.
"What a pity, out of so many raspberries, only a couple are recognized by the system." Han Qiwu mused while continuing his search.
"Hey, young man in blue, you can pick the ripe ones, but don't ruin the unripe ones!" one of the elderly women called out to him.
"Alright, alright." Han Qiwu quickly responded.
Are you kidding? When the elderly speak, you must obey—he still relied on this group of ladies for finding wild fruits!
For the next while, Han Qiwu searched for raspberries recognized by the system while also picking some of the better-looking ordinary ones.
Ten minutes later, the sun gradually rose. It was a beautiful day.
The mature raspberries in the shrubbery were now picked clean by Han Qiwu and the elderly ladies.
Taking advantage of the moment when the elderly ladies were chatting, Han Qiwu walked over, intending to gather some intel.
"Aunties, my name is Han Qiwu. There are too many raspberries for me to eat, so let me share some with you." Han Qiwu approached and deposited the normal-quality raspberries into their bags, intentionally adding more to the red cotton-padded jacket lady's bag.
"Oh, no need! Before February 2nd, you can still find plenty to pick here. Keep them for yourself." The red cotton-padded jacket lady quickly took raspberries from her bag and attempted to return them to Han Qiwu. "I know you—you're a college student from the city. Eat more, you're the pillar of the nation."
Her words made Han Qiwu feel a bit embarrassed, and he hurriedly changed the topic, saying, "Auntie, are there other wild vegetables or fruits nearby? I haven't eaten much of these kinds of things in the city."
"Oh, there's plenty throughout spring, summer, autumn, and winter. No need to look far—just nearby, there's lots of wild garlic and wild onions growing along the road below the farm. If you're lucky, you might even come across 'goat milk fruit.' That stuff tastes even better than pao'er." Hearing a college student seek advice from her, the lady happily answered with a big smile.
"Alright, I'll try my luck later. Thank you!" Han Qiwu quickly expressed his gratitude and slowly left the shrubbery to return to his bike.
Thank you, red cotton-padded jacket lady!
Due to a stroke of luck,
The system-recognized raspberry came back again!
Through unintended action, success bloomed.
It was likely because the red cotton-padded jacket lady couldn't see the system aura, and in her enthusiasm, she purposely picked the largest one to return to Han Qiwu.
The auntie was truly wonderful.
This trip yielded a total of 6 normal-quality raspberries and 2 silver-star-quality raspberries.
After carefully examining the raspberry attributes, Han Qiwu realized their value and price didn't really match. Thus, there was no hesitation—future raspberries would be used for eating or gifting.
Before biking off, Han Qiwu also grabbed a handful of normal raspberries and began tasting them. Their sweet-tart natural juices exploded in his mouth.
If the normal raspberries were already so good, wouldn't the system-recognized raspberries be even better?
Looking at his stamina at 69 points, Han Qiwu easily convinced himself.
He hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and his stamina wasn't full—what's wrong with trying one?
Compared to the normal raspberries, those imbued with a golden aura were obviously larger, with fuller fruit and more vivid colors.
Just by looking at them, it was clear they were high-quality fruit!
Eaten, the juices of the raspberries poured into his mouth like a cascading waterfall, as though a fruit-flavored tornado was swirling inside.
Every single taste bud was utterly captivated.
This was a divine delicacy!!