But speaking of which, what kind of symbol should Shennong have?
A statue? Honestly, it's not something I can carve effectively right now, and Han Qiwu doesn't want to buy one.
He refuses to believe that the people who make Shennong statues actually have some sort of connection with Shennong!
A symbolic marker? Nothing appropriate comes to mind at the moment.
After thinking for a while, Han Qiwu came up with a temporary solution.
Next time he's planting crops, he'll arrange something grass-related into the shape of Shennong's name!
Shennong, who tasted hundreds of herbs, after all.
The idea is admittedly quite down-to-earth, but no matter how grounded it is, can it compare to Shennong Ancestor himself?
The Ancestor is the literal embodiment of "ground."
What we're doing here is connecting with the Ancestor.
Alright, decided. Until he masters carving skills, he'll use this method to express his respect for dear old Shennong.
Of course, that's a topic for later. For now, he can first take a look at those four new blueprints he just learned.
[Materials: [Wood]×1, [Fat]×1]
[Effect: The torch can disperse darkness in caves, but unfortunately, regular torches cannot directly cause any damage.]
[Note: Kid, a torch isn't a flamethrower—it's meant for lighting.]
"Dispel darkness in caves? Why not just use a flashlight?" Han Qiwu muttered to himself. What era is this, still relying on torches?
That said, Han Qiwu happens to have fat as a material available—not peanut oil or canola oil, but tuna oil extracted from the fish itself.
Didn't those tomb-raiding novels say top-quality candles are made from deep-sea fish oil? Han Qiwu specifically saved the tuna oil for this reason.
If candles can be made, surely torches are possible too.
Without hesitation, Han Qiwu took the tuna oil out of the fridge and placed it in his storage compartment.
According to the compartment's counting mechanism, this chunk of tuna oil totaled a solid eight units.
With a single thought, a torch instantly appeared in Han Qiwu's storage compartment.
[Tuna Oil Torch]: This is a torch emitting a distinctive smell, potentially attracting unknown entities in the cave.
[Burn Duration: 6 hours]
"???? Trying to scare me, huh?" Han Qiwu silently recited the twenty-four core values to calm his nerves.
Thinking for a moment, Han Qiwu grabbed a piece of wood and one unit of tuna oil. This time, he planned to try making it himself.
High-level stuff like a furnace is out of his league, but surely he could manage crafting a simple torch!
Looking at the square wooden block, Han Qiwu took out his axe and swung at it.
It's just a torch—no need to use that much wood. A small chunk will suffice.
In no time, Han Qiwu's axe landed precisely where he intended, cutting the wood to the perfect width with one strike.
Han Qiwu: "?? Since when has my axe become this accurate?"
Han Qiwu chopped the wooden block into six wooden strips with several quick swings.
"So it wasn't just a fluke—I've truly improved!" Han Qiwu realized with newfound clarity.
The next second, he instinctively touched his scalp.
Report! Hairline secure! This time, getting stronger didn't result in becoming bald!
Thank goodness. Even if I do go bald, it'll be after I obtain black sesame seeds, okay?
Oh, and goji berries!
Back on track, Han Qiwu grabbed several rags from the storage room, coated them generously with tuna oil, and tied them around the six wooden strips.
"Why isn't anything happening?" After a while, Han Qiwu still didn't see the system's glowing response.
Torch, torch—maybe it needs to be lit up first?
Han Qiwu took out the tuna oil torch from his storage compartment.
Heh, the torch really is burning.
A continuous stream of fishy smell wafted from the torch.
The taste of tuna—you and the cats will want to know~
"Well, look at you, system—so particular about the rules," Han Qiwu muttered while using the tuna oil torch to ignite the other homemade ones.
This time, the homemade torches emitted the system glow, and their attributes synced with the system.
[Homemade Tuna Oil Torch 1～6]: Shoddy craftwork and poor manufacturing quality, but fortunately, as long as a torch burns, it's functional.
[Burn Duration: 30 minutes]
Huh. The combined burn time of all homemade torches barely amounts to three hours—half the duration of the system-made torch.
I, Han Qiwu, enjoy practicing craftsmanship with torches! I'll make torches myself from now on! I'll surely craft the most amazing torches!
Better than flashlights! The kind that sets the heavens aflame! Brighter than the sun!
Putting away the torches, Han Qiwu moved on to studying the next item: scarecrow.
[Materials: Wood×10, Fiber×20, Coal×1]
[Effect: The scarecrow will protect a 17×17 area totaling 288 plots of land from bird pecking.]
[Note: The scarecrow is your most loyal companion.]
Turns out that life hack about scarecrows is actually made .
Wood and fiber make sense to Han Qiwu, but what's the deal with coal?
Is it for energy purposes?
Looking at the blueprint, Han Qiwu decided against making one himself.
If it ended up looking too realistic, it might be terrifying. If it turned out ugly, it'd feel gross.
Man, you've got to be kinder to yourself.
The system's automatically crafted Q-version scarecrow sounds perfect.
Thankfully, he has enough materials on hand, plus there's so much broccoli planted in his field already.
Han Qiwu prepared the materials and thought:
System message: Please wait for one minute.
While waiting, Han Qiwu casually made a few pancakes. Seeing pancakes reminded him of the quintessential pancake rolls... and the eggs inside.
Let's aim to work on a chicken coop within half a month!
Han Qiwu suddenly realized the foraging experience he gained yesterday had increased significantly.
The amount of fruit he picked was roughly the same as usual.
If there were any differences, it was the amount of trees he chopped yesterday.
Could chopping trees also increase foraging experience?
If that's the case, great! Fishing and foraging are such cost-free activities—it's all about getting out there and doing the work. The higher level, the easier the early stages become.
When the timer ran out, a Q-version scarecrow appeared in the storage compartment.
[Scarecrow]: This is an ordinary scarecrow.
[Usable Duration: Two months]
It looked quite cute, so Han Qiwu decided to take it out for a closer look.
"Please place the scarecrow at your desired location."
Confirm placement here?
Han Qiwu had zero intention of putting this thing by his bedside—it'd be way too spooky at night.
He opened the door to the sound of fine spring drizzle swirling its way inside. Without bothering with an umbrella, Han Qiwu dashed into the field he had plowed before, placed the scarecrow down, and sprinted back indoors.
As a kid, Han Qiwu loved playing games where he raced against the rain. Many times, he imagined that if he ran fast enough, the wind he stirred up would form a shield, blocking every single raindrop!
Sadly, he had never outrun the rain.
Only umbrellas and raincoats can beat the rain.
Amidst the rain, the scarecrow looked adorable. Its red hood, yellow straw, and towering figure over two meters tall made it quite imposing.
"Wait, won't the rain soak it?" Han Qiwu suddenly thought of this question.
But then again, what harm would it do?
A soaked scarecrow is still a scarecrow, right?
Besides, isn't there still the torch to dry it?
Now, if I were to light the scarecrow on fire with a torch, could I wield a flaming scarecrow?
It'd definitely look cool!
Forget it. No need for such flashy antics.
No mines or resources here to mess around with anyway.
Onward to the next blueprint—studying them really is such a joy!