Wang Ze immediately noticed the difference; his chef skill, which was originally level one with 63 experience points, had now become 73 points.
However, he didn't feel any culinary knowledge magically appearing in his mind.
Wang Ze guessed that perhaps the changes would only occur after leveling up. If he gained ten points daily, he could upgrade to a level two chef in three days.
“My cheat is really strong. At this rate, isn't that one level every ten days? I wonder what the maximum level for this system is.” Wang Ze chuckled to himself unconsciously.
He came back to his senses and continued to observe for a bit longer, but he didn't find any other changes.
Wang Ze then closed the system panel.
Looking at the sky outside the window, he didn't know what time it was.
Since coupons were not yet implemented, Wang Ze immediately decided he needed to quickly buy a watch and a bicycle.
This way, he could return to the village faster in the future.
The village was located in the western suburbs of the city, about less than thirty kilometers from Naluo Gulane.
With a bicycle, it would only take about three hours to get there, allowing him to go and return on the same day.
As for money, Wang Ze wasn't worried; his family was not short on funds.
After all, he was the Wang Clan leader and the actual owner of the land surrounding the village. Before the founding of the nation, his predecessor's father, seeing the unfolding situation, directly distributed all the land, dividing it equally among each household.
Then he returned and bribed the officials who still occupied the capital at the time, changing their village's official records.
Finally, he even provided living expenses and travel fees for the tenants to leave.
The family's land in the south was also quietly sold or given away.
After a few years, every family was doing well.
It was precisely for this reason that when class distinctions were made, his family and the Wang Clan in the village were all classified as middle peasants.
Although their class was middle peasant, his family was not middle peasant at all.
The money was enough for him to live very well even if he didn't work for the rest of his life.
If it weren't for the future need for grain coupons to buy food, he truly wouldn't be worried about the villagers starving during difficult times.
However, while the bicycle could be openly displayed, Wang Ze still felt that the watch should not be known to outsiders.
Spending too much money at once was still very dangerous in this era.
It was easy to be reported and invite investigation.
Unsure of the time, Wang Ze didn't know what to do for a while.
So he started exercising.
Following standard convict conditioning, Wang Ze was soon covered in sweat.
Finishing his workout, panting, Wang Ze walked to the nearby kitchen, lit a fire, and boiled water.
After the water boiled, he added some cold water, put his hand into the basin, and felt the temperature.
Once he confirmed it was suitable, Wang Ze carried the basin to the garden, took off his clothes, and washed off the sweat.
By the time he finished, the sky was already faintly lit. Wang Ze then put a pot on the stove to steam buns and took out the pickles he bought yesterday, slicing them into strips.
After breakfast, the sounds of people moving about could already be heard in the Forbidden City Courtyard.
Wang Ze stepped out of his room feeling refreshed, stretched in the Forbidden City Courtyard, and then walked outside.
“Why are you up so early? Young people should sleep a bit more.” Zhang Cuilan, who was preparing breakfast, asked with a smile when she saw Wang Ze.
“Didn't we say neighbors were coming to help today? I should at least provide a meal, right? I'm just going out to buy some vegetables. I'll be going now.” Wang Ze replied and stepped out into the central Forbidden City Courtyard.
Perhaps it was a day off, as Wang Ze felt the streets were very quiet and had few people as he walked.
However, a faint, warbling sound came from a distance.
It sounded similar to the morning vocal warm-up exercises he had seen online.
“As expected of the capital, the artistic atmosphere is rich. People are warming up their voices so early in the morning.” Wang Ze exclaimed.
He had already been to the vegetable market yesterday, so Wang Ze knew the way today.
The inside of the vegetable market was not as quiet as the outside; sellers and buyers had gathered there early.
Speaking and shouting voices mixed together.
There were also various snack vendors at the entrance of the vegetable market. Even though Wang Ze had already eaten, he couldn't resist sitting at a snack stall and having a bowl of spicy soup.
After buying vegetables and returning, many people had already gathered in the Forbidden City Courtyard.
Basically, someone from every family had come.
Wang Ze was just marveling at the unity of the Forbidden City Courtyard when Xu Damao ran over and said, “Hey, what did you buy? Aunt Zhang said you went to buy vegetables. Are you providing lunch today?”
Hearing this, Wang Ze finally understood why there were so many people.
He thought that with so many people, they wouldn't even need a whole morning; they could finish in an hour.
He just felt like he had been tricked; he wondered if the vegetables he bought would be enough for so many people.
Wang Ze certainly learned his lesson this time.
Next time, even if he encountered such a situation, he would definitely clarify how many people were needed.
Fortunately, he didn't need coupons to buy grain, meat, and vegetables now, otherwise he would have a headache. If all the rice and flour in the house were used up at once, what would he do later?
“Hmm, I bought some, but I don't know if it's enough.” Wang Ze said with a wry smile.
“It's fine. If it's not enough, each family can contribute a little. Who can afford to let so many people eat freely?” Xu Damao, seeing Wang Ze's expression, patted his shoulder understandingly and comforted him.
Just as Wang Ze thought, it only took three hours for over thirty people to clean the Forbidden City Courtyard. Not only were all the weeds pulled out, but even some uneven ground was leveled.
“Pillar Brother, why don't you show your skills today and let us taste your cooking?” Wang Ze said to He Yuzhu after seeing that they were finished.
“Heh, alright, let me show you. My cooking is a family tradition, definitely no worse than outside restaurants.” He Yuzhu said, looking towards Xu Damao.
It seemed that last night's incident was still on his mind.
Seeing this situation, Wang Ze didn't wait for Xu Damao to speak and quickly pulled He Yuzhu out of the now-leveled Forbidden City Courtyard.
Pulling him to the back house next to the moon gate, Wang Ze said, “Pillar Brother, I don't know if there's enough. Take a look.”
He Yuzhu entered the room, looked at the vegetables and meat on the table, then looked at the cornmeal in the bag, and said, “It's enough. Steam these cornmeal into Steamed bread in my room, and fry the dishes on this stove.”
“Alright, thank you for the trouble.” Wang Ze said politely.
He Yuzhu's cooking skills were indeed good; at least his knife skills were much better than his.
Wang Ze felt he learned a lot just by watching He Yuzhu cook.
However, Wang Ze noticed that He Yuzhu hesitated several times, then realized that this was not the modern era; people were still very particular about their skills.
Especially since He Yuzhu's skills were family-inherited, he valued this even more.
“Pillar Brother, you go ahead and cook. I'll go check on the Steamed bread .” Wang Ze said, then turned and left the room.
“Alright, you keep an eye on the Steamed bread , don't let them overcook.” He Yuzhu immediately said loudly with a grin upon hearing this.
Listening to the sound of cooking in the room, Wang Ze smiled and shook his head, then walked to the central Forbidden City Courtyard.
Upon reaching the central Forbidden City Courtyard, he saw Jia Zhangshi staring intently at He Yuzhu's room, where the wives of the three newly appointed managers were busy inside.
“Thank you for your hard work, Aunties. Later, you can also take some dishes and Steamed bread back with you.” Wang Ze didn't enter the room when he saw the busy scene inside; he simply stood at the doorway and said.
“Good, good, don't worry, everything's fine here.” Yang Ruihua, Yan Bugui's wife, immediately became overjoyed when she heard they could take dishes back and quickly said.
Her family had two people helping, so if they could also take some dishes back, they wouldn't have to cook today. They could eat a little less at noon and reheat it for dinner.