Week 4 The Ant Farm - a play through designed to explain things to new players.

1. The Ant Farm
A Stardew Valley Story
Chapter #
A Stardew Valley play-through, intended to be mostly relaxing,
while still winning Grandpa's challenge after two years.

2. I was so glad I had not waited until Monday to go into the mines. Bad
look would have been bad.

3. As I watered the remainder of my farm plots, I counted out how many
more sprinklers I would need.
Six. Smishing today, and selling tonight, I might even be able to buy
the remaining ores and coal, if I got some good fish. I'd certainly have
it ready for Summer, next week. But I did want to have it done before
my final harvest came in, so that the produce could cover the cost of
next season's seeds.

4. With my crops watered, and nothing else urgent to do on the farm, I
headed right to the mountain. It was too early to greet the Carpenters,
but I was able to say hello to Linus, at least.
Mostly, though, I just wanted to spend the whole day smishing. I
needed a good profit today, to afford more ores for tomorrow.

5. By 3:30, I had smished my last, for the day, at least. I had all the metal
bars I could make, unless I got some more ore in a treasure chest.
So close to a gold bar! Not that I had any use for one, yet. But still.
Gold!
But I had three new sprinklers, a copper bar, and only needed an even
3000 gold coins to get my farm fully upgraded. Sweeet!

6. I placed my three sprinklers and got to bed just before midnight. The
goal was so close, now. I could almost taste it.

7. My catch of the day added up to 2665 gold coins!
Added to what I already had, would it be enough?

8. YES! I had sufficient money to buy the ore I needed. After checking
what I had, I knew I needed 9 copper ore, 15 iron ore, and 1 coal.
And if I had a harvest today, I'd have some money left over to buy some
parsnips. It would be my last chance to plant anything this season.

9. Clear and sunny tomorrow, with an early end to the work day, because
of the Flower Dance? NOT a problem!

10. Demetrius really was starting to like me, I suppose. All those visits and
chats were paying off, albeit slowly.
He told me that he had an idea for a science experiment in my farm's
cave. He could raise fruit bats, which might drop fruit for me, or he
could raise mushrooms, and let me harvest them as much as I wanted.
I chose the mushrooms. Fruit is something I could grow, myself.

11. A/N: The mushrooms will never be available for harvest before three
o'clock in the afternoon, usually later, unless you forgot to harvest them
the day before.
Try to always harvest before midnight, and you should have six free
mushrooms, every day! They are very useful. There is a variety of
types, and they all have their uses.

12. The mushroom cave was dark, but it was brighter than my farm at
midnight. Harvesting them would be no problem, no matter how late I
came home.

13. I opened the mail eagerly, only to find another advertisement for
tomorrow's Flower Dance. I was rather hoping for another letter from
Mom, but then again, I'd been rather too busy to write to her, so what
could I expect?
Still, the Flower Dance sounded fun, and I decided to go. My farm was
well in hand, after all.

14. I spent the early morning raiding people's trash cans, but didn't get
anything. As soon as Clint's shop opened, I went there, and bought my
ore, with just a little bit of money to spare.
It was time to smish!

15. I met Robin along the way. She and several of the other ladies in town
share an exercise class at Pierre's every Tuesday.
That reminded me that Tuesday was one of Maru's days in the clinic. I
turned around and walked along with Robing to the store, and then
headed next door to chat up Maru.

16. I had not planned to see Maru that day, as I was too excited about
getting my sprinklers. Fortunately, I picked up a gold-star daffodil along
the way, so I had a nice present for her. It wasn't a favorite, but she
accepted it with grace.

17. At this point, I was fishing more to pass the time than to achieve any
particular goal. Not that I wouldn't find a good use for the money, but
the sprinklers had been my main aim since I had discovered them.
No doubt, though, I would soon discover something else I simply had to
have.

18. I finished smelting shortly after eight o'clock. My goal was complete. I
decided to stop and celebrate, even though I did have energy left.
How's that for leaving the rat race behind? The saloon was calling me,
and I headed on out.

19. I bumped into Sebastian along the way. He wasn't very happy about
the Flower Dance coming up. If I had to dance in public, I'd be
nervous, too.
Fortunately, I had the excuse that I had never seen the dance since I
was a small child, and did not know the steps. I could just stand on the
sidelines and watch. I'd probably have to learn it for next year, though.

20. The place was not crowded. Just the usual crowd. But it was sure
good to sit back with a cold drink and relax. I told Clint about how I had
used his ores on my farm, and thanked him for the furnace blueprint. I
chatted about chickens with Shane. Emily told me about her latest
fashion designs. Gus discussed a new recipe he was experimenting
with, and Pam... Well, she just wanted to drink. She seemed to have
no other interest. I think her heart had been broken long ago.

21. About 10:30, I went home to plop down my sprinklers, sell my fish, and
go to bed. It would be a big day on Wednesday, but thanks to my
smishing and some proper planning, I was able to face it with joy and
pleasure, rather than the stress of having to get everything done before
the festival started.

22. It had been a low-stress fishing day. I didn't even mind the times when
the fish got away. Even so, I made a nice chunk of change.

23. The next morning, I learned how to make an omelet, by watching the
cooking show, Queen of Sauce.
My recipe book was growing, but I still had no kitchen. Perhaps that
could be my goal for the summer, I thought. That, and upgrading my
tools. As it was, I was content to finish the spring by simply saving my
money to have plenty to spend on seeds, come Monday morning.

24. My farming that morning consisted of harvesting four forage goods.
Woo.
Also, I petted the cat.
With nothing to do until the festival began, I decided to do some river
fishing, just to pass the time, and earn some coin.

25. The advantage of fishing at my river spot was that I was literally only a
few steps away from the entrance to the Flower Dance.
It started at nine, but that was just milling-around time. It didn't really
get underway until two, and anyone was welcome in the gate before 2
o'clock. So, as long as I stopped fishing in time, I'd be fine.

26. At 1:30, I made my last cast. At 1:40, I caught some algae, pulled up,
and walked the few steps to the forest.

27. I thought about buying a Tub o' Flowers, to brighten up the farm, but for
just twice the price, I could buy the recipe to make as many as I
wanted, myself.
Unfortunately, I could not afford it at the time. But I knew, now, to plan
for it next year.

28. It was so nice to relax, and hang out with almost everyone in town. The
Wizard didn't make it. Apparently, he rarely shows up to the community
events. Or if he does, he's very unobtrusive about it.
I made a mental note to visit him in his tower, and tell him about the
dance. He was a part of this community, too! And besides, if anyone
could help me fight the magic of Darth Morris and Joja Corp, it would
be him.

29. Maru looked so pretty in her traditional dress. I made up my mind to
study the moves, and invite her to be my partner, next year.

30. I got home from the festival at ten o'clock, and all I had to do was drop
off my fish to sell, and harvest my first batch of mushrooms.
Common mushrooms were excellent sources of energy and health, and
I now had a steady supply, regardless of the season!
I plopped down a chest right next to the cave, so I could hold all my
mushrooms in it, and not clog up my farming chest.

31. On Thursday, I checked the weather out of habit, before I realized that
rain or sun were irrelevant to my crops, now.
The fortune teller, on the other hand, convinced me that it was time to
brave the mine again. I had, after all, survived my forays into it. And
now I had some better food, I should at least try for another five levels.

32. The Stardew Valley Tribune was so impressed with me, that they
decided to do a feature.
They acted like I was the first farmer ever to use sprinklers.

33. It was bittersweet in the west forty that morning. I harvested a lot of
good produce, but it was probably my last harvest for the season,
except for perhaps two more green beans. It looked so bare.
The potatoes and strawberries really did well, though, and I will have no
problem affording seeds for the summer. Since I did not need more
seeds, I wasted no time, and headed straight for the mountain, rusty
old sword in hand.

34. I knew Maru would not be out and about, yet, but I saw Linus, and
since I had just picked up a leek, I presented it to him. He's still shy,
but I can't blame him, considering how many people have been mean
to him. They just can't seem to understand a man wanting to live closer
to nature.

35. I approached the elevator with trepidation. Was this really the right
thing to do?
But it was still early morning, and I had plenty of energy, and had been
assured of some luck. It was now or never. Or maybe next week. No.
Now.

36. I found some copper and a ladder right away on level 11. I decided to
go down as quickly as I could, so I didn't take the time to explore the
whole level.

37. Things went smoothly enough for a while. Then, I hit level 13, and the
world seemed to explode in things that wanted to kill me.
I was full of energy, because I kept eating salmonberries, but they kept
coming, and I kept swinging, and eventually, I destroyed every last
monster on that floor.
A/N: Can you find all nine monsters in this picture?

38. After that, things changed. I knew I had to be careful, but I just wasn't
afraid anymore. Cautious? Yes. Scared? No.
I kept a close eye on my health and energy, and just whacked away at
the rocks, and swung at anything that approached me, and ate my
berries as often as needed.
I passed level 15, and decided to go for level 20!

39. Finally, I was starting to see some value to this venture. On level 17, I
found the copper motherlode. Five ore nodes, all in a cluster. I
gathered it all, noshed some more berries to recoup my energy, and
delved deeper.

40. Floor 19 was a long spiral, and I thought I'd never get to the end of it.
In fact, I did not want to get to the end of it. I just wanted to go down.
I did not find the way down until after midnight, and I was concerned
(not scared) that I would pass out before I could get home.

41. But finally, I found the way down, and reached level 20, unlocking a
new floor on the elevator, and discovering a treasure chest, with a steel
smallsword inside!
It was only one step up from my rusty sword, but it WAS a step up, and
it was mine.
After that, I raced home, hoping to beat the clock.

42. I knew I would pass out at two in the morning, if I was not in bed, so I
was glad to make it at 1:30. I did not stop for anything. Harvest
mushrooms? Put stuff in the box to sell? Nope and nope. I just dove
into bed, and tried to catch some z's before the sun came up.

43. That harvest sure was powerful for me, though. I made it to level 5
farming, and chose the Tiller profession. I figured that on my hilltop
farm, I could put sprinklers anywhere I found a 3x3 area of soil, but it
would be more difficult to find appropriate places to build barns and
coops. Besides, I had always preferred the green, growing things.

44. I also got better at my mining. I learned a recipe, which I could use, if I
had a kitchen, and I became just a smidge more efficient at swining my
pickaxe.

45. Somehow, miraculously (must have been that lucky day!), I woke up
with a full energy bar. I finally took the time to take stock of my loot,
and was impressed. I had something new for Gunther, some bug meat
for fishing bait, a cherry bomb, and over sixty copper! I could smish
again, after all!
A/N: Your first spring, the game is more forgiving on late bedtimes. Come summer,
you pay full price for staying up late.

46. I took quick stock of what I knew how to make, and figured my best use
for the copper would be the tappers. I could tap some trees, and then
just lazily ignore them for days on end, until it came time to collect the
sap, which would then keep on flowing for next time. I'd never have to
move it, unless I wanted to, and it would just produce for me, forever.
And those syrup, tar, and resins would be useful crafting ingredients,
too. I could get beehives, eventually.

47. On the other hand, smishing with only sixty copper would not take that
long. The season was almost over, and I had not really bothered to
check the forest for forage at all this week.
Nor had I finished clearing up my farm. With bad luck working against
me, I decided to take the easy route, and go with clearing and foraging,
instead.

48. In addition to tapping trees, another easy way to get a steady stream of
stuff, without any effort, would be to plant fruit trees. I decided this little
hilltop on the east side of my farm would be perfect for an orchard. I
would plant one of each fruit tree, for variety, and a couple of pines, as
well.
I also picked out a place to plant some maples and some oaks, on the
other side of the stream.

49. I also decided where I wanted to build a coop, and a barn, and
eventually a shed. But there was a lot more clearing than I could do. I
would certainly need to upgrade my hatchet, at least once, before I
could clear the area, completely. Those big stumps were too tough for
my basic hatchet. I got rid of the rocks and logs, though, before I got
tired of it, and decided to swing through the forest for forage.

50. Being low on energy, I figured I'd just pick up stuff, but when I saw the
traveling saleswoman, I had to stop and browse. Again, she did not
have anything I needed, but it was nice to see her again. She came
here every Friday and Sunday, so I told her I might see her again then.

51. Being on the brink of exhaustion at three in the afternoon just seemed
so wrong to me. I ate some salmonberries to perk up, and then looked
for something more to do. Something interesting.

52. Then I remembered that I had set out carrying some stuff for delivery to
Gunther. He offered me a new reward.

53. It turned out to be a starfruit seed. Along with the melon seeds from
before, that made ten seeds I would have already to go, come Monday.
I went ahead and collected them, so that I wouldn't have to worry about
forgetting about them that weekend. I wanted to be prepared for
summer.

54. Still looking for something more interesting than clearing debris, I
stopped at Pierre's and saw this Help Wanted sign. I wanted to
befriend Sebastian, anyway, and I did enjoy fishing, so I accepted the
quest.
I even knew where I could find him on a Friday night: He, Sam, and
Abigail met for games and laughs at the saloon, every week.

55. But I forgot that sardine is a daytime fish, and it was already night. So,
I fished away my excess energy, scanned the beach for forage, and
went home.
A quick harvest of the mushrooms and dropping off my sales goods,
and I was ready for bed.

56. So, that extra fishing experience was nice. I earned level 8 fishing, and
learned how to make a worm bin! Worm bins were another thing that
would just keep producing without any effort from me. I would just have
to check them each day, and collect fishing bait.
The dressed spinner and barbed hook were nice tackle, but not really
my style. I was still satisfied with my bamboo pole, actually. Waiting for
the fish to bite forced me to take it slow, and relax.

57. It was like that old saying, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.” Oh, sure, an
upgrade would be nice, eventually. But I had other fish to fry, first.
Hehe. Get it? Fish to fry... Nevermind.

58. Saturday I felt lucky. So lucky, in fact, that I decided to go into the mine
again. After I had run a few errands, of course.

59. I headed straight for the beach, to catch a sardine.

60. The one I caught was my biggest, yet. Nearly a foot long! Sebastian
would love it. I took a picture of it, to show Willy next time we swapped
fishing stories, and headed north to find Sebastian.

61. Then I went to the Community Center to offer more fish to the Junimos.
I had actually picked these up on the beach the night before. Now I just
needed to get a crab pot, and catch a fish, any fish, to fulfill this bundle.
But Willy was not at his store, so buying a crab pot would have to wait.

62. By that time, I knew Maru would be out of her room, so I went to the
Carpenters' house. She was in the lab, and I gave her the golden
parsnip. She liked it so much, she told me I could visit her in her room.
But not just that moment. She was busy testing some soil samples.

63. She asked me to help her out with her experiment, watching the
beaker, while she fetched more samples. Demetrius joined us, just as
she was leaving, and he got kind of weird. He didn't come right out and
say I couldn't date his daughter, but he made it very clear that he was
protective of her. He didn't want anything, or anybody, to stand in the
way of her dreams. As if I would try to hide such a bright star under a
bushel. I wanted to help her shine, if I could.

64. When Maru came back, Demetrius and I both pretended nothing
awkward had happened. Maru showed me how to use her equipment,
and I spent an enjoyable hour by her side.
After that, I really did need to get going. I was sorry to have missed
Sebastian, but Maru told me he'd be back at the house around nine-
thirty tonight, and I could make my delivery then. I'd have to watch the
clock.

65. With a tight deadline, I decided to just try for five floors, or eight o'clock,
whichever came first. I headed up to the mine, and met Linus. I had a
horseradish, and gave that to him.
I understand his desire for solitude, but at the same time, you gotta
have some kind of human connection, right? It would take time to earn
his trust, but I was determined.

66. There is definitely magic in this valley, both good and bad. Joja Corp
and Morris have the bad magic, while the wizard and the Junimos.
This mine seemed to have a bit of both. I went back to level 20, and
there was that treasure chest. Curious, I opened it, and found another
steel smallsword! Something to sell at the adventurer's guild, I
supposed.

67. On level 21, I made an interesting discovery: If you use your pickaxe
on the rock crabs...

68. … you can break off their shell. After that, they are easy to kill. So
easy, in fact, they tend to run away from you.
Haha! Scaredy Crab! Well, and with good reason, too, I suppose.

69. Floor 22 was overrun with monsters, but I wasn't scared. I had food.

70. Strangely, level 24 was ALSO overrun with monsters. How strange.
But I ate my food and healed myself. I got to level 25 with sufficient
health, and a full energy bar.

71. I picked a bit at this floor, but I didn't really see anything worthwhile, so I
left, despite the early hour.
Not only did I want to track down Sebastian for the delivery, but after
slaying ten monsters, I had also been invited to enter the Adventurer's
Guild, and I had a good opportunity now. The hours being 2 pm to 10
pm were kind of awkward.

72. Marlon welcomed me warmly, and Gil just sort of grunted from his
rocking chair. Or maybe that was the chair, creaking.
There was a notice on the bulletin board, advertising rewards for
certain feats, such as “kill 1000 slimes.” That was a lot of slimes, but
when I checked the list, I found that Marlon had been using his mine
magic to keep track for me, and I was well on the way for the bug-killing
goal. I decided to focus a bit more on bugs, from then on.

73. I arrived at the Carpenters' after they closed their doors, but before
Sebastian arrived home. I didn't want to just stand around for an hour
or more, so I decided to go looking for him. Maru had said he usually
spends Saturdays at Sam's house, so I figured there was only one
route he was likely to take.

74. I was right, and found him on the path north from town to the
mountains.
He was very happy to get the sardine, and paid a nice amount, as well.

75. After that, I just headed for the saloon to say hello to the regulars. Pam
wasn't even talking that night. She just sort of stared into her beer.
Poor woman. I wondered what her story was. My curiosity would be
the death of me, if I were a cat. But I'm not a cat, and was determined
to befriend everyone in town, if it took me three years to do it. Except
Morris. I chatted with the others for a while, and then headed home.

76. I knew there was a reason I wasn't so afraid, anymore. All that practice
had made me better at fighting.
Also, I learned how to turn my mushrooms into Life Elixir. It was a
potent healing potion, and only mushrooms could be used to make it,
so I was really glad I had chosen them when Demetrius made his offer.

77. On the last day of the season, I was glad to see that the spirits were so
happy. I'd have the best of luck all day.
I had only two things to do today: 1) prepare the farm for next season,
and 2) visit the mine again. With that kind of luck, I could surely get
down another five floors, right?

78. In preparation for digging out summer's garden plots, I removed the
sprinklers, since they were not needed that day. On Monday, I would
be able to stand on each pivot spot, and easily dig around, fertilize, and
plant the appointed squares, then replace the sprinklers when I was
done. It would be more efficient on the first day. I was satisfied with
the number of garden squares, for now, so I would know exactly how
many seeds to buy.

79. After that, I just headed for the mountain and the mine. Five levels?
Ten? Energy would not keep me down.
I wanted to be able to mine my own iron soon, before I went back to
smishing, or at least have a bigger supply of copper ore and coal.

80. It took me eleven hours just to get to level 29. Four floors took the
whole day! I was getting rocks, but not much in the way of copper ore.
I did, however, kill a lot more bugs. Gil had promised me a reward for
killing 125 of them, and I wanted it, whatever it might be. I like rewards,
in general, but Marlon had hinted that the bug reward was particularly
useful.

81. At nearly eleven o'clock, I finally made it to floor 30. There was no
reward for this level, as there had been for the others, but I was just
happy to have made it, at last.
I took a moment to review my loot.

82. It. Was. So. Worth. It!
I got something to donate to the museum, a crab for the Junimos (rock
crabs sometimes drop crab bodies, which count as fish for the crab pot
bundle!), and a bunch of other goodies I could sell or use for crafting.
But the best, the absolute best, was that I found TWO, count them,
TWO, ancient seeds! And just in time for the start of summer, too.

83. Of course, I would have to wait until Monday to go to Gunther for the
museum donations, but then again, I'd be in town, buying seeds,
anyway.
I harvested my mushrooms, and bedded down for a well-deserved rest.

84. Although I did not get much in the way of ore, I got a lot of combat
experience, which was perhaps more worthwhile, at the time, because
it would help me get more ore in the future.

85. I only sold a couple of gems, but this day was not about money.
And so ended my first spring on The Ant Farm.

86. In one season, without stressing myself out too much, I still earned
$31,560.

87. And even though I took time for socialization, even when I had energy
to use on other things, I wound up with twenty-three skill levels.
Not bad, at all, for my first season. I was proud of myself, and satisfied.
The Joja Corp rat race was but a memory to me, now. From then on, I
would work only for myself, and take the time to relax and rejuvenate,
as well. Fun and human connections were important, too.