Farming Games are All About Grinding-Chapter 99: Forging Test

"Grandpa Chen, look, I just dug up some rare iron ore. There are three pieces in total, and I left them in the courtyard." Han Qiwu pointed at the three chunks of cold iron ore in the corner of the yard.

"Ore? My house is full of stones. If you need them, just take them. When you get something good later, just bring me a little to try, that’ll be enough." Grandpa Chen squinted at them briefly before withdrawing his gaze, clearly uninterested.

"Got it." Saying that made Han Qiwu feel much better.

Later, when the chickens at home start laying eggs, he’ll bring some over to Grandpa Chen.

If there’s pork, he’ll bring that too!

Just give it away!

After finishing his noodles, Han Qiwu hugged the two large and one small chunks of iron ore, said goodbye to Grandpa Chen, and left.

Coming to Grandpa Chen’s place always feels different.

Eat and take at the same time.

Seizing the chance while no one was on the road, Han Qiwu stored the cold iron into his inventory space and checked its attributes.

[Earth Cold Iron Ingot (Silver-Star Quality)]

[Use: Crafting Material]

[Note: It’s an excellent material for weapon forging, only cultivated by earthly veins.] frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

[Cold Iron Ore]

[Use: Smelting Material / Crafting Material]

[Note: Five pieces of cold iron ore can be smelted into one cold iron ingot.]

"The Earth Cold Iron Ingot seems to be a grade higher than the Cold Iron Ingot. I need to make good use of this. As for the Cold Iron Ore... Adding it to the three iron ores at home makes exactly five. I’ll go back and try smelting them together to make an ingot. If it works, I’ll forge a sprinkler by the end of today!"

Having made his plan, Han Qiwu first rode his bike home and fired up the furnace.

[Smelting Iron Ingot: Various Iron Ore (5/5), Coal (1/1)]

[Smelting Time: 3 Hours]

It works. Time to start smelting.

With three hours to spare, Han Qiwu planned to chop down today’s quota of osmanthus trees first. If he still had time after that, he’d forage for food outside.

It had been a while since he personally worked to gather food. Doing it once in a while brought back memories.

Little Prince: "Listen to that—does it even sound human?"

Three hours later.

Han Qiwu returned laden with goods.

Including previous stock, there were now 399 pieces of wood in his inventory space.

He was still 101 pieces of wood short of crafting the spider marionette!

The goal was to grind it out by tomorrow!

Rush, rush, rush!

Excited, Han Qiwu took the iron ingot out of the furnace.

[Iron Ingot with a Hint of Coldness]

[Use: Crafting Material]

[Note: Honestly, it’s kind of cold.]

"Whether it’s cold or not, I don’t know, but this joke of yours sure chilled me to the bone." Han Qiwu shivered under the sunlight, then pedaled off toward the blacksmith shop.

The roof of the blacksmith shop was still emitting white steam, making it look busy and lively.

Han Qiwu pushed the door open, but didn’t see anyone.

The forging room in the backyard, however, was alive with the sound of clanging metal.

"Wait for me a moment." A slightly tired voice from the forging room belonged to Master Shuzi.

"Got it!"

Han Qiwu nodded and sat down, pulling out *Dinosaur Knight* to read.

The book wasn’t too thick; a few more hours and he’d finish it.

Honestly, after accepting Zack’s weird setting, the book was actually kind of interesting.

A while later, a sweaty Master Shuzi pulled aside the curtain and walked out.

"What good stuff have you brought today?"

Hearing this question, Han Qiwu knew he was in trouble. He hadn’t brought any crystal spheres this time.

Thankfully, he had crystals.

"I don’t have any crystal spheres at the moment. Here, take these crystals for your research." Gritting his teeth, Han Qiwu handed over two pieces each of amethyst, citrine, and geocrystal to Master Shuzi.

This was worth nearly a thousand gold!

It hurt!

Master Shuzi instantly became much friendlier.

"You really shouldn’t have."

Han Qiwu’s eyes lit up, "Then how about..."

Before he could finish, Master Shuzi’s sleeve whisked the items away. Turning, he smiled at Han Qiwu and asked, "How about what?"

"How about I bring you a few more to study next time I find some crystals."

"That’s settled!" Master Shuzi nodded with satisfaction.

Such pain!

For the marionette, Han Qiwu endured.

After adjusting his mood, Han Qiwu sold off the rest of the crystals he had.

He earned a total of 1,284 gold.

Now it was just the wood left—once that was ready, the spider marionette could finally be crafted!

"Master Shuzi, today I’d like to ask you about the crafting method for the beginner sprinkler," Han Qiwu said seriously, producing a copper ingot and the iron ingot with a hint of coldness.

"You got iron ingots? Let me see." Master Shuzi seemed surprised.

"I have two pieces." Han Qiwu handed over the Earth Cold Iron Ingot and the iron ingot with a hint of coldness.

"You intend to use this cold iron ingot for a sprinkler?" Master Shuzi’s voice was tinged with anger. "That’s absolute waste!"

"No, no, I haven’t decided how to use this one yet. It’s the iron ingot with a hint of coldness that I’m using for the sprinkler. Some of its ore was a companion of the Earth Cold Iron Ingot, which might explain its traits." Han Qiwu quickly explained.

"That’s more reasonable." Master Shuzi cooled down, thinking for a moment. "You should keep the cold iron ingot for now. When you gather more ingots, come find me. I can forge a weapon tailor-made for you."

"Sounds good to me." Han Qiwu had the same idea—after all, the notes had been clear about its potential.

What kind of weapon would it be? He couldn’t help but anticipate.

Stowing the Earth Cold Iron Ingot, Han Qiwu followed Master Shuzi into the forging room with the iron ingot showing a hint of coldness.

An hour later.

Han Qiwu dashed out to gulp down two enormous tankards of water before hurrying back in to resume forging.

Another hour later.

Han Qiwu staggered out of the forging room, his face beet-red, and slumped onto a chair, too exhausted to move.

Two hours—it had finally taken him to craft his first sprinkler.

If it weren’t for tweaking the watering range of this beginner sprinkler, he could have finished an hour sooner.

But upon seeing the attributes, Han Qiwu instantly felt the extra hour was worth it!

[Improved Beginner Sprinkler (Silver-Star Quality ☆)]

[Crafted by: Han Qiwu]

[Effect: Every morning, the improved beginner sprinkler waters up to four adjacent 1x1 plots of land.]

[Special Feature: Crops watered by this sprinkler yield 20% more.]

[Note: Your idea is brilliant.]

"Crafting the first one turned out to be Silver-Star quality. It’s likely due to the added iron ingot with a hint of coldness. It even added a special effect—greater returns over time!" Han Qiwu grinned smugly. "Finally stepping into the world of automation!"

"You’ve made great progress." Master Shuzi walked out with a smile. "How much time do you plan to spend crafting the next one?"

"I’m sure I can craft one in an hour and a half," Han Qiwu considered thoughtfully.

"An hour? Alright, then." Master Shuzi nodded and replied.

[Character Task: Forging Trial]

[Task Objective: Single-handedly craft an improved beginner sprinkler within one hour and twenty minutes.]

[Task Reward: Master Shuzi’s Secret Forge Method]

"Accept the task?"