CHAPTER 481: CHAPTER 468: THE FIRST APPEARANCE OF SUITABLE TIMBER LOGGING

After finishing the oil extraction process, Han Qiwu quickly picked up the items produced by the animals in the yard. The harvest was pretty decent—recently, the production of duck eggs had been getting increasingly stable.

When Mr. Tang left this time, he only gave her two salted duck eggs.

Of course, he didn’t have more to give anyway.

Han Qiwu was planning to save up a batch of salted duck eggs, and when he had around twenty or thirty, he’d deliver a larger batch to Mr. Tang.

Funny how things worked out.

Right around this time, Tang Qingying had just woken up and gotten out of bed.

What motivated her to get up wasn’t her dreams.

It was hunger.

The thought of the delicious food in the fridge instantly filled Tang Qingying with the drive to rise!

She opened the fridge, took out a salted duck egg, and scooped out a bowl of rice porridge she had prepared last night in a rice cooker.

"This will do for breakfast; too much and I’ll probably mess up," Tang Qingying said, fully aware of her own cooking skills.

Keep it simple.

Peeling the salted duck egg, Tang Qingying eagerly poked a little hole in the egg white using her chopsticks.

*"Pchht!"*

Bright red oil instantly oozed out of the hole, filling the air with its tantalizing aroma.

"Wow, Han Qiwu’s eggs are simply the best."

Unable to resist, Tang Qingying separated the egg white and, with her chopsticks, extracted a small chunk of the rich, red yolk from inside. While she ate both parts, her favorite was undoubtedly the yolk.

Dry and crumbly, but so fragrant.

As soon as the yolk hit her taste buds, it completely conquered them.

After swallowing the yolk reflexively, Tang Qingying suddenly paused, looking a bit puzzled.

What were those salted duck eggs she ate before even supposed to be?

Out of my sight!

She took another bite of the egg white and grinned even wider. Picking up her phone, she sent Han Qiwu a message: "This salted duck egg is way too delicious! The egg white isn’t even crumbly—it’s got a bit of bounce to it. So, so good!"

After sending the message, Tang Qingying lifted her bowl of porridge and happily downed it.

Ten minutes later, thoroughly satisfied, Tang Qingying lightly patted her waist.

Now that her stomach was full, it was time for experiments!

Having a student who could cook this well was truly a blessing!

Back in the house, Han Qiwu had just heard the notification sound from his phone. He pulled it out and glanced at the message.

He chuckled with a sense of accomplishment.

"It’s delicious, but don’t overeat. Stay safe while you work."

After putting down his phone, Han Qiwu turned on the TV to check the weather forecast for the next day.

He had originally planned to go up the mountain to harvest tea leaves today.

But judging from the rain outside, the mountain trails would likely be slippery and hard to traverse.

Better to assess the situation later.

[Weather Forecast]

Tomorrow will be sunny.

[Life Tips]

Sometimes, finding helpers is important.

[Almanac]

Favorable for wood chopping, unfavorable for hoarding.

[Shennong’s Recipe]

[Shennong is resting]

Since the weather forecast said tomorrow would be sunny, Han Qiwu figured it’d be better to wait until the day after tomorrow to harvest tea leaves.

He’d wait for the mountain trails to dry a bit before heading up.

As for the information in the life tips section, Han Qiwu mulled it over—it probably needed to be considered together with the almanac.

Favorable for wood chopping!

Those three words instantly lit a fire in Han Qiwu’s heart.

Out of all the times he’d read the almanac, this was the first time he’d seen something like this.

Let’s go!

Time for lumbering!

Grabbing supplies, scooping up Xiao Lai, and beckoning Xiao Dian to join him, Han Qiwu opened the stable door. He led his horse outside, mounted it expertly, and gave it a command.

"Hyah!"

*"Neighhh!"*

The horse, which had been keen to stretch its legs, was instantly energized and began to trot towards the riverside.

But as soon as Han Qiwu noticed the horse’s trajectory, he quickly tugged the reins and shouted, "Wrong way, wrong way, head for the bridge!"

*"Neighhh!"*

The horse whinnied twice but stubbornly refused to change direction.

Han Qiwu, eyeing the three-meter-wide riverside, tightened his grip on the reins.

It was clear now.

This horse was planning to leap across the river.

Alright then. The kid wants to try.

Let it go for it.

Even if it fails, we’ve still got the mounted holo-band to fall back on.

Approaching the riverside, the horse suddenly surged forward and leapt into the air, leaving behind a deep hoofprint in the earth.

*"Whoosh!"*

Han Qiwu felt as though he were flying.

The experience was perfect.

The brief time in the air passed swiftly.

As the thud reverberated from their landing, the horse had successfully carried Han Qiwu across the Hospital River.

"Not bad, little horse. You’ve grown fast."

Han Qiwu patted his horse’s head approvingly, redirecting them towards Mist Forest ahead.

The galloping horse swished its lips discontentedly.

Why no reward after the compliment, though?

While riding, Han Qiwu couldn’t help but revisit the life tips section from earlier.

"Could ’finding helpers’ and the almanac’s note about not hoarding mean it’s time to actually put that thing to use?"

He furrowed his brow, thinking hard.

Ah.

That’s right.

There *was* something he’d been holding onto this entire time that could actually serve as a helper.

Got it!

*[Giant ice-cold spider relic]!!*

Back when he first acquired this thing, Han Qiwu had been saving all his materials for upgrading animal housing.

One thing led to another, and the relic ended up buried at the bottom of his storage chest.

"I remember that thing had a skill called ’Death Lance.’ It might be possible to turn it into a combat puppet," Han Qiwu said, nodding to himself.

The cost of crafting the spider puppet wasn’t high—just 1,000 gold coins.

But the wood requirement was insane—500 units of lumber.

Luckily, today was favorable for wood chopping. If all went well, he might get this done in one go.

Let’s go!

When Han Qiwu reached the entrance to Mist Forest, a light drizzle started to fall again.

Han Qiwu dismounted, reached out to store the horse in his holo-band, and briskly walked into Mist Forest. The Poison Liquid Radio he’d patched together dutifully flew behind him.

Poison Liquid Radio: "Time to grab some fruit!"

Perhaps due to the rain, the mist in Mist Forest today was particularly thick, throwing off Han Qiwu’s plans.

Originally, his strategy had been to ignore the mist flowers and head directly for the trees to chop them down.

But now, finding a tree wasn’t even the issue.

Even locating Xiao Dian required voice commands.

"Let’s find mist flowers first. If you spot one, throw the mist caterpillars inside," Han Qiwu shouted to Xiao Dian.

Xiao Dian glanced skeptically in the direction of his owner.

How am I supposed to throw them in?

This noble Xiao Dian has no hands. Surely you don’t mean to make me use my mouth?

Xiao Lai immediately understood what Xiao Dian was thinking, helplessly wiggling his little fleshy feet.

Ah.

Xiao Dian suddenly remembered it did have two claws.

Never mind, then.

Five or six minutes later, Xiao Dian found a mist flower, threw in a mist caterpillar, and gradually cleared the view in this section.

When entering Mist Forest this time, Han Qiwu purposely chose an area he hadn’t fully explored last time. Making use of the opportunity, he planned to uncover as much of the forest as possible.

As visibility improved, Han Qiwu immediately spotted a cluster of about forty to fifty white poplar trees.

Time to try chopping one down.

As he approached, Han Qiwu pulled out his Crescent Moon Iron Axe and swung hard.

*"Thunk thunk thunk!"*

With three heavy chops, the white poplar toppled with a thud.

*[Lumber]×2*

*[Amber wrapped in lumber]×1*

*[Moon meteorite]×1.*