So these crystals only give out mineral-related items?
Gongshu Zi handed the iron-lead ore to Han Qiwu, then turned around, ready to smash another .
"This crystal has a nice color. Looks pretty."
[You spent 15 gold to open a Sunny Crystal]
[Congratulations, you obtained an antique: Damaged Sunny Doll]
[Damaged Sunny Doll]: Rumor has it museums love things like these. The museum curator will contact you once informed.
The damaged Sunny Doll was grimy, clearly showing its age.
"These crystals are quite interesting. Can I have the shell of the crystal for research?" Gongshu Zi looked up and asked Han Qiwu.
"Of course, I'll give them all to you. I have some raspberries here, want to try?" Han Qiwu once again deployed his culinary generosity tactic.
"No need, I'm only used to eating my own stuff. Just bring me more crystals next time instead." Gongshu Zi waved his hand and walked toward the backyard with the crystal shells.
Han Qiwu's heart sank for a moment—he'd just encountered a special NPC.
It looked like Gongshu Zi's favorability could only be raised through crystal donations, and that might be a bit of a hassle.
Well, when the car reaches the mountain, the road will appear. At worst, I'll just fish every day!
After gathering his belongings, Han Qiwu prepared to head home and wait for the museum curator's contact. Even a small cash reward would be nice.
Back home, he first tossed the [Yellowfish], [Herring], and [Sardine] into the sale box, and then started chopping trees.
After the recent trip to the blacksmith, Han Qiwu reckoned crafting must be a key feature of the game. Otherwise, relying solely on what he had now wouldn't be much fun.
Since crafting materials were crucial, Han Qiwu realized his stockpile of wood, fiber, and stone was far too low—better to prepare ahead of time and stash some away.
Luckily, this deserted farmland had no shortage of resources.
Han Qiwu munched on raspberries as he diligently chopped trees and hammered away at stones.
After an hour and a half of hard work, Han Qiwu finally started feeling tired. He sat down, drank some water, and took a short break.
Looking at the inventory slots in his backpack — [Wood] ×19, [Stone] ×21, [Fiber] ×8 — then glancing at the clean area in front of him, a sense of satisfaction welled up inside Han Qiwu.
"Strange, why did I work so long before feeling tired today?" Han Qiwu paused in thought, reviewing his actions until he found the answer.
[Body Strengthening Technique]
Even though he hadn't broken past the novice level yet, the impact on his physical condition was already noticeable. Combined with staying busy and eating well over the last few days, improved fitness was inevitable.
Farming truly is the best workout!
He glanced at the time: 17:50.
Han Qiwu planned to train a bit with his Body Strengthening Technique before feasting on tuna.
Man, fishing really sucks for variety—I can't even get vegetables, so I'm stuck eating fish every day.
Yesterday, he had practiced to the fifth movement in the Body Strengthening Technique. Today, he would continue from there.
In no time, sweat began to slowly soak the ground beneath him.
Face flushed, teeth clenched, Han Qiwu pushed himself to the limit.
"Just hold on a little longer!"
Han Qiwu collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Exhausted, he glanced at his experience points.
[Body Strengthening Technique Novice Level: (53/100)]
Experience gained—worth it.
After resting for a few minutes, Han Qiwu groggily got back up and went into the kitchen to make some sashimi to replenish his energy.
Although he didn't have wasabi, Han Qiwu did have wild leek flowers.
Standing at the kitchen counter, Han Qiwu retrieved the longfin tuna.
With a thud, the cutting board was crowded off the counter onto the floor.
"If it weren't for the inventory slots, I wouldn't even be able to move you."
Han Qiwu mumbled as he activated [Fish Filleting Technique].
For such a large tuna, only a small chunk of belly meat was needed for his meal.
Though the belly meat here didn't have as much fat and smooth texture as the prime belly cut, it was undeniably fresh and delightfully chewy—just right for Han Qiwu's taste.
Han Qiwu picked up a thin slice of sashimi—transparent enough to catch the light—and lightly dipped it in some wild leek flower sauce.
Maybe because of the system's selection process, the tuna was of exceptional quality. Eating it gave him the surreal feeling: All those other meats I've had before... what were they even?
Switching between thin slices and thick cuts, the sensation shifted again. Chewing through the thicker pieces turned the fish into ribbons of flavorful mash, filling his mouth entirely and bathing his taste buds in a luxurious feast.
A 70-kilogram tuna, even after removing guts and bones, still provided over 50 kilograms of meat. The belly meat alone was dozens of pounds—far more than Han Qiwu could finish himself.
Having tuna until stuffed.
Han Qiwu glanced at his stamina and health stats—they both increased by more than ten points. Reflecting on the fishing session's effects, he muttered to himself, "Looks like large fish calculate stamina and health recovery based on consumption of portions."
Feeling full and satisfied, Han Qiwu decided to dry some fruits.
The upgrade details of the Foraging Skill might hold hidden meaning, and anyway, he could collect raspberries, wild onions, and wild leek flowers daily now. No harm in drying some to test the results.
Wait a minute, aren't wild onions and wild leek flowers considered fruits too?
According to his mental notes, Han Qiwu cleaned and halved the three types of food, then tied up a few hemp ropes on the eaves to hang them.
[Raspberry Fruit Drying in Progress: Total Sunlight Units Required - 3; Estimated Completion Time - 4 days.]
[Wild Onion Drying in Progress: Total Sunlight Units Required - 2; Estimated Completion Time - 3 days.]
[Wild Leek Flower Drying in Progress: Total Sunlight Units Required - 5; Estimated Completion Time - 6 days.]
Seeing the long string of notifications in his field of vision, Han Qiwu chuckled.
So this is where the hidden properties of dried fruits come into play!
A modded version of Minesweeper?
If one sunlight unit equals one day, and today is the night of February 5th with no sun,
Then starting from February 6th, the next three days—February 6th, 7th, and 8th—will definitely include one day of rain or cloudy weather, making it impossible to meet the sunlight requirement for wild onion drying.
Similarly, after this rain, from February 9th until the completion of wild leek flower drying on February 11th, there would be constant sunny days.
So this isn't dried fruit—it's a rival to TV weather forecasts!
Of course, these were just Han Qiwu's assumptions. The exact duration of one sunlight unit still needed observation, but even if it wasn't tied to days, Han Qiwu had gained another way to predict weather.
Feeling rested enough, Han Qiwu pulled out his phone intending to invite Mr. Tang.
Invite her to taste the belly cut, admire the forsythia, fiddle with red coral, and maybe even have two jianbing rolls.
But how do you even word the invitation?
Han Qiwu didn't smoke, but his trembling hands made it seem like he did.
Despite seeing Mr. Tang's other side last time, the years' worth of "ice queen teacher" image wasn't easy to shake.