Qi Bean

Overview

The Qi Bean is a seed found throughout Stardew Valley and on Ginger Island during the quest Qi's Crop. When planted, it grows into Qi Fruit. Like the quest item it produces, Qi Beans are temporary: when the quest ends, all Qi Fruit and Qi Beans disappear, including crops still growing and copies stored in players’ inventories, Chests, Preserves Jars, Kegs, and Marlon’s Item Recovery Service list. Giant Qi Fruit does not disappear.

While Qi's Crop is active, Qi Beans can be obtained from many different sources, making them a flexible quest resource rather than a crop that must be bought or farmed in one place. Common ways to collect them include breaking rocks, chopping trees, cutting weeds, shaking trees, checking garbage cans, killing monsters, breaking geodes and artifact troves, opening Golden Coconuts, digging up artifact spots, opening Volcano chests, breaking crates in the Mines, Skull Cavern, and Volcano Dungeon, fishing, and petting a cat with maximum friendship. Qi Beans can also be produced by placing a Qi Fruit in a Seed Maker.

Some sources are especially efficient during the quest:

Fishing Treasure Chests are a reliable source, since they have a 43% chance to contain at least one stack of up to 4 Qi Beans, or 51% for Golden Fishing Treasure Chests. This becomes even better with Magnet bait, the Pirate profession, and Treasure Hunter tackle.
Treasure Totems can also generate Qi Beans quickly. Artifact Spots have a 25% chance to drop 2–5 Qi Beans, so a well-placed Treasure Totem can yield a large amount if no obstacles block the affected tiles.
For more passive gathering, many monster and resource actions can produce them at small but useful rates, especially during ordinary quest play as the player moves through mines, forests, and the island.

Qi Beans also have a dye use. They act as a blue dye ingredient at the dye pots in Emily’s and Haley’s house at 2 Willow Lane. Because they are tied to a quest timer, it is usually best to prioritize turning them into Qi Fruit and shipping or storing them only as long as the quest remains active.