Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 158 - 151: Grasping at Crayfish in Vain

Wait, tomorrow is the festival, I need to save up to buy some good stuff.

As long as you have money, you can buy a calf anytime, but Dragon Raising Day comes only once a year. If you miss it, it’s gone.

Looks like I won’t be able to buy a calf today.

"Brother Yang, tomorrow’s Dragon Raising Day. Are there going to be any events in town?" Han Qiwu curiously asked.

"There’s the Dragon Field Ceremony, dragon head haircuts, and lots of delicious food," Yang Yangyang replied with a big smile. "Every year on Dragon Raising Day, it’s super lively here."

"How so?" Han Qiwu asked, intrigued.

"Because people in our town come from different places, and the traditions vary, so the folk customs are expressed in all sorts of ways," Yang Yangyang explained. "But they’re all quite interesting. You’ll see tomorrow when you participate."

"I see." Han Qiwu nodded. After chatting with Yang Yangyang for a little while, he excused himself, saying he’d come back and take a look next time.

Brother Yang, it’s not me avoiding you, my circumstances just don’t allow it.

I’m broke.

Just as Han Qiwu left the farming center, he received a call about a package delivery. He quickly biked home to pick up a small bucket of asphalt.

This was the essence of fixing the ceiling—he’d need it later.

After securing the asphalt, Han Qiwu decided to take Little Shui out to scavenge for some food first. Later, he’d head over to Grandpa Chen’s house to help fix the ceiling.

Planning Little Shui’s scavenging route along the small riverbank, Han Qiwu reached out to place Little Shui in the basket at the front of the electric bike and rode out of the yard.

Just like with Little Prince, once out of the yard, Little Shui’s body turned transparent.

Though it had been around for some time, this was Little Shui’s first glimpse of the outside world.

It sat quietly in the bike basket, its big eyes blinking as it looked at the sights around it.

Wind, clouds, farmlands, streets.

Everything was so new and interesting.

When they reached the river, Han Qiwu found a quiet spot with no one around, then carefully lifted Little Shui out of the basket.

"Be careful, take it slow and have fun."

The reason he didn’t take it to the seaside was that he was worried Little Shui might get too playful and end up stuck in the sea.

The sea was too dangerous.

It was better to let it wander by the shallow riverbanks first. The river water here was not deep, so even if something happened, Han Qiwu could intervene in time.

As soon as its feet hit the ground, Little Shui excitedly ran to the riverbank, shaking its head and stretching its legs, curiously peering at the river surface.

Han Qiwu parked the bike and slowly walked over.

Apparently ready for action, Little Shui took a little step back, as if gathering energy.

Just as Han Qiwu thought it was going to make a perfect dive...

Little Shui slipped on its front paw,

"Splash!"

The little creature fell straight into the water.

"Hahaha."

Han Qiwu, standing on the riverbank, couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

"Glug glug glug..."

Tiny bubbles rose from where Little Shui had fallen in.

After a few chuckles, Han Qiwu’s laughter froze.

Where was Little Shui??

Looking through the water’s surface, Han Qiwu realized he couldn’t see Little Shui.

Oh no, could this little rascal have sunk straight to the bottom?

Han Qiwu quickly ran to the riverbank, starting to strip off his clothes in preparation to jump in and check.

"Splash!"

At that moment, Little Shui’s head popped back out of the water, holding a sunfish in its paw.

"Phew."

Han Qiwu let out a sigh of relief, stopping in his tracks and staring at Little Shui in surprise.

It caught a fish so quickly?

How was that even possible in just a few minutes?

Little Shui was incredible.

Its three-star efficiency was indeed different.

Catching its first prize, Little Shui tossed the fish toward Han Qiwu before diving back in to fish some more.

In just ten minutes, thirteen fish were scattered messily along the shore.

The speed far surpassed Han Qiwu’s fishing skills.

After catching all these fish, Little Shui seemed tired, lounging on the bank and lazily nibbling on the fish meat.

"Good job, Little Shui!" Han Qiwu gave it a thumbs up.

Kids needed encouragement, after all.

And he meant it—Little Shui’s fish-catching efficiency was impressive, enough to feed itself, at least.

At last, no need to feed it manually anymore.

Another expense spared.

While Little Shui was happily eating, Han Qiwu also felt hunger creeping in. Chopping wood all morning had emptied his stomach.

Walking to the riverbank, Han Qiwu picked out a small grass carp, placing it on a large green rock by the shore. He quickly cleaned it, added seasoning, and skewered it with a branch.

With the fish prepped, Han Qiwu pulled out a fire bucket from his storage compartment, carefully took out the brazier inside, lit it, and began roasting the fish.

Five minutes later, while Han Qiwu’s fish was still roasting, Little Shui had already devoured five or six fishes, looking very content.

Now full, Little Shui dived back into the water, happily playing again.

Han Qiwu didn’t mind and just focused on roasting his fish.

Roasting fish required just the right amount of heat—one wrong move, and it could easily burn.

As he concentrated on the task, a few objects suddenly flew out of the water, clattering onto the shore.

Hearing the commotion, Han Qiwu turned to look and saw that the objects Little Shui had tossed up were... crayfish.

So, this was the power of the crustacean-catching skill?

Fantastic!

The crayfish were all quite large, with dark red shells. Restless even on land, they clawed and crawled back toward the water.

"Where do you think you’re going? Not giving up, are you?"

With quick reflexes, Han Qiwu grabbed a nearby branch and swiftly tapped the crayfish unconscious one by one.

Once they all finally behaved, Han Qiwu collected them with satisfaction.

[Crayfish]

[Stamina +40]

[Health +20]

[Price: 80 Gold]

[Note: Beer-Steamed Crayfish!]

Who would’ve thought? Even with bare claws, Little Shui could catch crayfish too.

Impressive, truly impressive!

All those fish it ate before hadn’t gone to waste after all.

Totally worth it.

Since he didn’t bring a pot this time, cooking up something fancy wasn’t an option. Han Qiwu simply washed the crayfish with river water, skewered them together, and roasted them alongside the fish.

Once cooked, Han Qiwu happily indulged in the feast.

Roasted crayfish had a different flavor than stir-fried—it was chewier yet still tender, with a delightfully springy texture. Their large size made them even more satisfying to eat.

The roasted grass carp wasn’t bad either, with a slightly crispy, fragrant exterior. It had no fishy smell and tasted tender and fine.

Taking turns between bites of crayfish and fish, Han Qiwu thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

Having a fishing pet was truly awesome!

After eating to his heart’s content, Han Qiwu leaned against a tree, basking in the morning sun, completely at ease.

Bliss.

About five or six minutes later, Little Shui climbed out of the river, curled up by Han Qiwu’s feet, and didn’t move.

"Tired from playing?" Han Qiwu reached out to stroke Little Shui’s fur.

"Yip!"

Little Shui nodded, blinking sleepily as if it was about to doze off.

"Let me take you home then." Han Qiwu picked Little Shui up and placed it back in the bike basket before pedaling back home.

Passing through the town, the festive atmosphere was palpable. Residents were bustling about in preparation for Dragon Raising Day, creating a lively scene.

Once home, Han Qiwu set Little Shui down, went inside to change clothes, drank a few gulps of water, and rushed out with the bucket of asphalt, heading to Grandpa Chen’s house.

Time to fix the ceiling!

When he arrived at Grandpa Chen’s place, it was exactly eleven o’clock.

Pushing the door open and walking in, he found Grandpa Chen sweeping the yard. Seeing Han Qiwu’s getup, the old man paused for a moment.

"Are you a painter?"

"A skillful painter!" Han Qiwu sang with a grin, "I’ll make the ceiling look even better!"

Grandpa Chen understood and put down the broom, walking over to persuade him, "Xiao Han, go focus on your own things. I can just smear some cement on it later to patch it up."

"Cement won’t work. Once I get to the rooftop later and use this asphalt to seal it, it won’t leak for years," Han Qiwu said, deftly dodging Grandpa Chen, heading to the storeroom to grab a ladder and climbing up to the roof.

Grandpa Chen hurried over to steady the ladder, asking in bewilderment, "Where did you learn all this? Does your school dormitory ceiling need repairing too?"

"My mom taught me. She once said, ’The more skills you know, the fewer favors you’ll have to ask.’"

"Well said!"