Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 67 I Laid My Cards on the Table

"Puh puh puh."

"Puh puh puh."

"Quick, look! The black bream are coming back from foraging!" Tang Qingying exclaimed excitedly. "Well, well, you few... I stop fishing for a while, and you all secretly grow this big?"

Black bream: "...Who told you to be so skinny."

Han Qiwu also ran over to take a look. Three or four black bream, each about fifty to sixty centimeters long, were squeezing out from a rock crevice back into this intertidal area. Their long spiky fins looked quite menacing, and their round bellies swayed as they moved.

Definitely looks tasty.

"My uncle used to tell me that in other fishing zones, black bream usually forage during early morning or late evening. But here, their foraging times are irregular. He suspected there might be a wild sea cucumber colony nearby," Tang Qingying explained while watching the returning black bream.

Wild sea cucumber: "What am I, a 24/7 all-you-can-eat buffet?"

Han Qiwu’s eyes lit up. "Wild sea cucumbers? That’s such valuable stuff—it’s a waste feeding it to black bream!"

"Even if it’s a waste, there’s no helping it. The seafloor terrain here is too complicated. You better not risk diving down there," Tang Qingying cautioned, turning to him with a serious expression.

"Don’t worry, I won’t take any risks," Han Qiwu quickly nodded. Secretly, though, he was already planning to come back and fish more. Who knows? He might even hook a sea cucumber.

"Alright then, let’s start. Two hours, that’s it. The terrain here is tricky; we can’t wait until it gets dark," Tang Qingying warned firmly.

Han Qiwu pulled out his [Bronze Knife]. "No problem. Two hours is plenty."

"Then let’s begin," Tang Qingying said with enthusiasm.

Half an hour passed. The water’s surface was completely calm.

"Maybe they’re already full? Let’s give it another try."

"Got it."

An hour passed. The water remained just as calm.

"This isn’t looking good."

"It’s fine. Let’s keep trying."

An hour and a half later, the sun was almost kissing the horizon.

"This is so hard. Looks like we’re not catching anything today," Tang Qingying said with a touch of defeat. "These black bream must’ve forgotten all about me."

Han Qiwu: "...Or maybe it’s precisely because they know you that they’re staying off the hook."

After enduring an hour and a half of nothing, Han Qiwu could hold back no longer.

The "Fish Hooked" alert had chirped over a dozen times already.

But Han Qiwu didn’t dare reel them in.

As long as he didn’t reel, his stamina value wouldn’t decrease. In fact, sitting here for so long had actually caused it to regenerate quite a bit.

"Sigh, I really want some steamed black bream tonight," Tang Qingying looked at her fishing rod and sighed. "Next time we’ll come earlier. These two hours are way too rushed."

"Steamed black bream, huh?" Han Qiwu suddenly turned toward her.

"Yeah, black bream—also known as black seabream—tastes fantastic," Tang Qingying tilted her head slightly. "But I guess we’re out of luck today."

"Alright, let me try," Han Qiwu stood up slowly.

"Huh? Didn’t you fail to catch anything too?" Tang Qingying looked confused by what he meant.

"I won’t pretend anymore... I’ll come clean," Han Qiwu raked a hand through the back of his hair with dramatic flair. "Watch and learn."

The moment he finished speaking, the "Fish Hooked" alert sounded again.

Reeling in!

In his fishing game interface, Han Qiwu noticed the black bream’s marker was a big black fish. Uniquely, when the bobber got too close, it would smack it back with its tail.

This was his first time encountering a fish that could attack the bobber.

Black seabream truly lived up to its reputation.

Let’s just hope its taste and value are worth the time spent on it.

Black bream: "...Please, I beg you, don’t waste your time on me."

A few minutes later.

Tang Qingying stared blankly at the stern-faced Han Qiwu.

"Han Qiwu? Are you alright? It’s not the end of the world if we don’t catch any fish. We’ve still got hot pot at home."

Just then, the sound of splashing water burst out.

Han Qiwu stepped back three paces, using a firm waist-and-arm movement to fling the hooked black bream straight into the fish bucket.

Touching it by hand wasn’t an option—those spines were way too sharp.

"Wow!!! You actually caught one!" Tang Qingying’s eyes sparkled. What the heck was this? She distinctly remembered Han Qiwu couldn’t even cast a rod properly last week. How did he level up this much in just a week?

Or... was he fooling with me this whole time?

[Black Bream]

[Stamina +60]

[Health +30]

[Note: This black bream has eaten sea cucumber]

"Stamina goes up this much? The sea cucumber’s nutrients didn’t go to waste, huh, little bro," Han Qiwu mused, clearly pleased with the stats.

Tang Qingying crouched to examine the fish in the bucket before standing back up, beaming. "This one’s at least three pounds. Not bad at all."

She realized she was having more and more trouble figuring Han Qiwu out.

"I told you, I wasn’t holding back. A single black bream? Piece of cake," Han Qiwu replied smugly.

Suddenly, Tang Qingying reached out, pinched his ear, and twisted it 30 degrees clockwise, all while smiling sweetly. "So you were messing with me for that whole hour, huh? Watching me fail to catch a fish—was it fun, Han Qiwu?"

As soon as she said it, her face turned red. Why, exactly, had she made such a familiar, borderline flirtatious gesture toward Han Qiwu?

Wait a minute—he’s my student.

Right, that’s it. This was a teacher disciplining her student.

No big deal!

Tang Qingying quickly rationalized her unusual behavior and calmed herself somewhat.

"No no no! Ouch ouch ouch! I was just learning from your techniques—that’s how I figured out what to do!" Han Qiwu protested, hopping on one leg with his neck craned. But as soon as he said it, he realized something felt off.

"Learning from techniques" sounded fine in a formal context. Why, though, did it sound so suggestive in this situation?

"Oh, really? Then prove it by catching another one," Tang Qingying loosened the pinch on his ear slightly.

Honestly, it didn’t hurt at all. A 30-degree twist? That’s nothing. His ear just felt cool to the touch.

Looks like Mr. Tang could use some blood circulation supplements.

Her hands were too cold.

"Right away! Watch me!" Han Qiwu cast out his line again, fully focused on the system alerts.

Armed with his new experience, he reeled in his second black bream within two minutes.

The black bream in the bucket exchanged glances with Tang Qingying.

Tang Qingying: "Why’d you come up so quickly?"

Black bream: "Don’t look at me like that! You think I want to be here?"

Letting go of Han Qiwu’s ear, Tang Qingying took a few videos on her phone. While lowering her head to post to her friend circle, she covered up her flushed cheeks.

"I wonder if his ear hurts... Still, pinching ears is kinda fun, huh."

Han Qiwu, meanwhile, wasn’t overthinking it. As he packed up their things, he said, "Let’s head back now—it’s almost dark."

If this were a TV drama, the two of them would probably encounter some trouble on the way back, end up stuck in a sea cave, and then something... *extra* might happen before they... well...