"Little Dumpling, let's go!" Jiang Ning stood up, holding Little Dumpling Yuanyuan's hand as he spoke.
"Dum Dum, time to eat!!" Little Dumpling revealed a face full of joyful smiles.
...
Upon entering the main hall, Jiang Ning saw that his sister-in-law, Liuu Wanwan, had already taken her seat.
Despite her simple attire, there was an air of nobility about her, and her beauty and temperament were far from ordinary, truly top-notch.
Even in her plain clothes, she caught the eye, not at all like a typical woman bound by daily chores.
At that moment, the round wooden table in front of her had four bowls of thin porridge placed on it, at the center of the table, there was also a dish of pickles and freshly cooked greens still steaming from the pot.
"Sister-in-law, where's big brother?" Jiang Ning asked as he took his seat with Little Dumpling.
He glanced at the bowl of porridge in front of him; today's porridge seemed thinner than usual.
A thought crossed his mind, but he said nothing, as he was well aware of the recent surge in grain prices and the limited food supplies at home.
"Your brother is still at the government office; he said he'd come back for lunch!"
Jiang Ning nodded, momentarily at a loss for words.
A moment later,
Jiang Ning had finished the thin porridge in his bowl.
"Sister-in-law, I'm done eating!" he said as he got up.
"Wait a moment!" Liuu Wanwan called out to Jiang Ning, who was about to leave.
Seeing Jiang Ning's puzzled look, Liuu Wanwan, as his sister-in-law, turned and picked up a gray shirt from behind her.
"I've mended this shirt for you, go ahead and put it on!"
"Later, bring out your dirty clothes, and I'll wash them for you!"
Jiang Ning paused for a breath before gracefully accepting the mended shirt from Liuu Wanwan's hands.
"Thank you, sister-in-law!" he slowly spoke.
It wasn't until Jiang Ning had left that a young boy walked out from the house.
"Guoguo, come drink some porridge!" Yuanyuan, seeing the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old boy, patted the stool next to her, then shifted her upper body supported on the table.
...
After handing over his dirty clothes to his sister-in-law, and after finishing up, Jiang Ning returned to the courtyard.
[Immortal Divine Ability Introduction]
Looking at the book brought to him by Little Dumpling, his heart couldn't help but heat up.
With this book, it wouldn't take long for his reading and writing Skills to make a breakthrough.
Especially upon seeing the name of the book, his interest heightened even more.
Having been in this world for almost two months, to this day he still didn't know whether he had traveled through time or awakened some mystery from within the womb.
He only knew that his predecessor and he shared the same name and surname, and even looked seventy to eighty percent similar, which was quite marvelous.
So many days had passed now, and he no longer dwelled on it, having already accepted his current identity.
Moreover, having absorbed the memories of his predecessor, he had acquired certain knowledge of this world.
Before Great Xia, it was a world where immortals, deities, demons, and monsters coexisted.
The concept of immortals and deities also existed in his previous life, so at this moment, he found this book particularly interesting.
Jiang Ning slowly opened the [Immortal Divine Ability Introduction], concentrating as he carefully turned the pages.
Silently, a prompt flashed before his eyes.
[Literacy and Judgement Experience +1]
...
[Literacy and Judgement Experience +1]
...
The risen sun gradually climbed higher,
and the temperature had long since lost the cool of early morning, as the ground became scorching hot.
Sitting under a grape trellis, Jiang Ning's forehead began to show fine beads of sweat.
At this moment, Jiang Ning remained completely indifferent, his entire spirit focused on the [Immortal Divine Ability Introduction] in front of him.
After a long time,
A whiff of smoke drifted to Jiang Ning's nose, bringing him gradually back to his senses.
[The experience of reading the books had increased his Literacy and Judgement Experience by 29 points.]
He looked up at the sky and instantly saw the fierce sun hanging overhead.
"It's almost noon!" he murmured to himself.
He then opened his own panel again.
[Skill]: Reading and Writing (Perfection 997/1000)(Trait: None)
"I'm only three points away from maxing out!"
He was immediately invigorated by this thought, and his attention returned at once to the Immortal Divine Ability Introduction before him.
At that moment,
A burly middle-aged man, dressed in a black robe with a long saber slung across his waist, stepped into the courtyard.
Seeing Jiang Ning hunched over his book, he couldn't help but smile proudly.
Especially when he saw the title of the book in Jiang Ning's hands, his smile widened.
"My little brother has finally grown up!" he muttered to himself.
He then tiptoed toward the kitchen.
"Madam!" he said, gazing tenderly at the busy woman.
"Are you back?"
"Mhm!" the middle-aged man replied softly.
"Why have you been coming home later and later?"
"Times are tough. Luoshui County is getting more and more uneasy, and the pressure on us is increasing!" said the middle-aged man.
"I see! I hope nothing bad happens!"
"I won't let anything happen!" the middle-aged man reassured her, "Although your man isn't much of a fighter, he can run faster than anyone when the situation turns sour!"
"All you do is boast about yourself!" the woman lightly chuckled and then said, "Go wash up and take good care of Little Dumpling. Little Dumpling will cry if he wakes up and doesn't see anyone!"
"Alright!" the middle-aged man nodded.
Before leaving the kitchen, he grinned again, "Madam, have you noticed? Ah Ning has really started to grow up these past few days!"
Hearing this, Liuu Wanwan, busy with her tasks, stopped her hands.
"Your affection for this younger brother of yours!" she shook her head, "You dote on him even more than your own son!"
The middle-aged man knew very well the slight grievance in his wife's heart.
He walked up behind Liuu Wanwan and wrapped his arms around her waist, "I've made you suffer following me all these years!"
The kitchen fell suddenly silent.
A moment later,
Liuu Wanwan patted the hands around her waist.
"You stink, go take a shower!"
"Roger that!" the middle-aged man laughed in response.
...
Elsewhere.
[Literacy and Judgement Experience +1]
...
[Upon reading the book, the Literacy and Judgement Experience increased by 3 points.]
Seeing this notification flash by, Jiang Ning's eyes gleamed with intense joy.
He immediately opened his own panel.
[Skill]: Reading and Writing+(Perfection 1000/1000)(Trait: None)
"It's finally full!" he internally exclaimed.
The next moment,
He narrowed his eyes.
Because, at that moment, his panel underwent a change he had never experienced before—a plus sign appeared next to the Reading and Writing skill.
Previously, whether it was becoming proficient or mastering, or progressing from small success to Great Success, it happened as the experience naturally filled up, leading to a breakthrough when it reached Perfection.
This time was entirely different, although the experience needed for breaking through the level of Perfection was met, there was no breakthrough to the next level; just a plus sign appearing next to the Reading and Writing skill.
Looking at his panel, Jiang Ning focused his thoughts on that plus sign.
[Reading and Writing has reached Perfection, would you like to spend 10 Source Energy to "Break Limit" for Reading and Writing?]