Brush Up Your Proficiency

Although Qin Ge had questions in her heart, seeing Wang Hao's embarrassed expression, she was too embarrassed to continue asking. So, she changed the subject and said, "By the way, how's your work lately? Is it going smoothly?"

Just as the two were chatting happily, Qin Ge's son walked over with a calligraphy book.

"Hao Hao, come, call him uncle—no, you're older than me, call him grand-uncle." Qin Ge looked at Wang Hao with a smile.

It seemed that she had been tickled by some funny thought, because after she spoke, Qin Ge started giggling.

The little boy named Hao Hao seemed used to his mother's nonsensical personality. He just rolled his eyes helplessly, with a speechless expression on his face.

"Hao Hao? Which Hao?" Wang Hao asked with a puzzled look.

The child's name made him a little confused, and he even began to suspect that his former classmate was deliberately taking advantage of him.

"The Hao with the water radical, not your Hao!" Qin Ge realized what Wang Hao was asking, and laughed even harder, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Hello, Grand-Uncle!" The little boy greeted Wang Hao politely.

In their area, they don't call their father's older brother 'dabo,' but 'daye,' which is not the same meaning as the 'daye' that people outside refer to.

Wang Hao looked at the well-behaved and adorable little boy in front of him, and his heart was filled with affection. He thought to himself, 'This must be a good student!'

So, he quickly squatted down and greeted the child with a kind face, "Hello, Hao Hao."

Then, he reached into his pocket, looking to see if there was anything he could give the child as a gift.

After all, this was their first meeting, and if he, as an elder, didn't give the child a small gift, it would not only seem a bit rude, but he himself would feel bad.

However, after searching through his pockets, Wang Hao realized that he hadn't brought anything with him today except his phone, not even a single penny in cash.

Qin Ge had been watching Wang Hao rummage through his clothes, and naturally understood his intention.

Originally, she wanted to stop him, but when she noticed that Wang Hao's hands were still empty after searching, she couldn't help but secretly snicker, and immediately swallowed back her words of dissuasion.

Wang Hao, however, didn't seem to give up, and continued to look for a gift for the child.

Finally, he set his sights on the calligraphy book in the little boy's hand, and asked, "Hao Hao, do you like this calligraphy book?"

Seeing the little boy nod in agreement, Wang Hao took the calligraphy book and looked at it. As he looked, he walked to the counter and said, "Hello, I'd like to pay for this."

Hearing this, Qin Ge, who was following behind, quickly stepped forward to stop him, but Wang Hao, with his quick eyes and hands, scanned the code in advance.

"Why are you still the same as before, always doing sneak attacks!" Qin Ge said somewhat angrily.

Wang Hao responded with a burst of laughter, and the two seemed to have returned to the age of chasing and playing.

After saying goodbye to Qin Ge and her son, Wang Hao took the selected books and rode his tricycle home.

The discovery of the skill function and the chance encounter with his middle school classmate both made Wang Hao feel happy, making the wind on the way home feel sweet.

Wang Hao returned home and had just parked his tricycle when Wang Lan walked over, wanting to see what delicious things Wang Hao had bought.

But when she saw the books that Wang Hao had bought, she looked at him with a strange expression, as if asking, 'Are you still my brother? How could my brother read books? And so many old ones at that!'

Being stared at by Wang Lan, Wang Hao felt a little embarrassed. Of course, he knew that his image as a bad student in his sister's heart was already terminal.

Faced with his sister's doubts, he coughed lightly and casually found a reason to explain:

"Isn't it because I'm going to be a boss? I have to start accumulating knowledge so I can be a cultured chef in the future." By the end of his explanation, Wang Hao himself believed it. That's the most ruthless kind of person—ruthless enough to deceive even himself.

Wang Lan looked at Wang Hao with suspicion. Seeing Wang Hao's sincere expression, she stopped dwelling on it, picked up the books, and walked into the house.

Unlike Wang Hao, who read for exams, Wang Lan genuinely liked reading.

Although she usually acted carefree, she could really calm down and focus when reading. That's why, under the same conditions, Wang Lan got into a better school than most people in the village.

"Congratulations, Advanced Cooking Proficiency +1, Current Proficiency: Advanced Cooking 599 / 10000"

"Congratulations, you have completed a lesson, Advanced Cooking Proficiency +1, Current Proficiency: Advanced Cooking 600 / 10000"

Dinner time arrived, and the family sat around the dining table, the dishes already laid out.

During the teaching process, he gained an additional two points of proficiency. So, tonight's dinner earned him four points of cooking skill proficiency.

Just as Wang Hao's family was enjoying their meal, Ma Yang, far away in Xingyun, had just finished a day of hard work.

He didn't go straight home, but unhesitatingly headed to the high-speed rail station.

During work these past few days, Ma Yang used his time slacking off to try posting some other types of videos, but the results were not ideal and didn't cause much of a stir.

His video account's follower count also stopped growing because the hype surrounding Stir-fried Noodle Brother had passed, and the algorithm had stopped pushing traffic to his videos.

Ma Yang knew very well that as a video creator with ambition, he had to take action and realize the plan he had previously analyzed late into the night—to go to 'Kaoshan Village' to find that couple and conduct in-depth reporting after obtaining their consent.

So, he resolutely embarked on the journey to 'Kaoshan Village.'

In his heart, Ma Yang really wanted to be like those paparazzi, taking a bunch of crazy pictures as soon as he saw his target, and then fabricating a story according to his imagination, giving the photos or videos an eye-catching title in order to gain traffic and attention.

However, at such moments, the rational Ma Yang would come online.

Ma Yang felt that he had, after all, read some books. Although his job was at the bottom of society, he believed that his awareness should not remain at that level.

He always remembered a saying by a great philosopher: "Thought is above all else."

Therefore, although sometimes he really wanted to imitate the paparazzi and shoot other people's privacy, the conscience deep in his heart told him that doing so was wrong.

The thoughtful and responsible Ma Yang firmly believed that the bottom line should never be crossed, because there would always be a second time after the first.