Boat Boxing leveled up

After clattering around in the kitchen for over an hour, Chen Jue cooked himself four dishes.

Braised pork, blanched shrimp, a big bowl of clam soup, and stir-fried cabbage, all served with white rice. What a delicious meal!

The four dishes offered a balance of meat and vegetables, with fresh ingredients produced in the countryside. The seafood, caught that very morning, also supplied calcium and trace elements, making the meal nutritionally well balanced.

Most importantly, Chen Jue had power-walked nearly nine kilometers that morning, burning through a tremendous amount of energy. He ate three bowls of rice alone.

Only when he felt his stomach could hold no more and his belly bulged taut did he stop eating and put the leftover dishes in the refrigerator.

He quickly cleared away the dishes and utensils, then went upstairs to the second floor, where he lounged for a while and watched a few short videos on Douyin before lying down to sleep.

When he woke, it was already three thirty in the afternoon. Chen Jue felt he had slept wonderfully.

Back when he worked in Hangzhou, he often yawned around midday and dozed off at his desk, only to wake up aching all over.

But since returning to his old home in the countryside, not only had his appetite improved, even sleep had become remarkably comfortable. He woke up with every trace of fatigue gone.

He got up and splashed cold water on his face. Feeling refreshed, Chen Jue turned his attention to the attribute panel.

Name: Chen Jue

Age: 27

Strength: 0.85

Agility: 0.77

Intelligence: 1.22

Constitution: 1.17

Skills mastered: [Boat Boxing Lv0 (56/100)]

Unallocated attribute points: 0

"My constitution actually went up another 0.01."

"Looks like lunch was really nourishing." Chen Jue was pleased. Increases in the panel's values directly affected his physical condition.

His constitution, in particular, had already reached 1.16 after that morning's power walk and point allocation. He had never expected it to rise a little further after a nap.

Presumably, his body had continued burning calories after the power walk. Combined with a nutritionally balanced lunch made from exceptionally fresh ingredients, unlike the junk takeout he ate while working, that had allowed his constitution to increase.

"Time to practice!"

"I've got nothing to do this afternoon anyway. I'll keep practicing and grind up my attributes!"

Chen Jue was becoming a little hooked on the feeling of improving his attributes. He plugged in his laptop and pulled up the Boat Boxing instructional videos he had downloaded the night before, then shut the first-floor door and practiced the forms while watching.

Outside, the sun shone brightly, heating the stainless-steel front door until it was scorching hot.

Inside, his punches whooshed through the air as he practiced his forms, undeterred by the stuffy heat.

After practicing for a while, however, Chen Jue decided the laptop screen was too small to follow along comfortably. He simply went online and ordered a seventy-inch television.

He bought one from a major domestic brand. On sale, it cost less than 3,500 yuan, offered crisp 4K resolution, and was better than projectors that easily cost thousands or even tens of thousands. Home installation was included, and customer service told him it could arrive as early as tomorrow.

Online shopping was so well developed now that even large appliances could be delivered to your door in rural areas.

Smaller packages, however, had to be left at the little shop by the village entrance.

After browsing Taobao for a while, he realized there were quite a few things he needed to buy.

Besides the television, Chen Jue ordered a whole set of exercise equipment in one go: dumbbells adjustable up to twenty kilograms, a pull-up bar, a sit-up trainer, a jump rope, and weighted sandbags. He also bought an entry-level fishing rod, intending to amuse himself at the reservoir in the hills whenever he had nothing else to do.

While he was at it, he bought some nutritional supplements, training clothes, and clothes for spring and autumn.

His return home had been rather rushed, and Chen Jue had brought almost none of his belongings back from Hangzhou. He had left everything with a close friend from college.

After some thought, he decided he would certainly be staying here for a while, so he sent his friend a message asking him to pack everything up and ship it over.

Shipping large items was expensive. Even within the same province, it cost over a thousand yuan.

His belongings had also taken up space at his friend's home for so long. After thinking it over, Chen Jue sent his friend Jiang Fan a 200-yuan red packet. "Bro! Here's a red packet to treat you to a late-night meal. Don't stand on ceremony!"

Jiang Fan: "Who's standing on ceremony? Anyway, Chen, are you really not coming back to Hangzhou? Without you around, nobody's been organizing late-night meals lately. (Lonely)"

Chen Jue: "I'm not planning to come back anytime soon. I'll rest and recharge for a while first. (Cool)"

Jiang Fan: "I'm so fucking jealous of you single guys! You can just up and leave, while I'm stuck here earning formula money for my kid and paying off a mortgage. (Sobbing)"

Seeing his friend venting on WeChat, Chen Jue chatted with him for a while and sent over a few photos of the scenery he had taken at the reservoir the previous night.

Jiang Fan: "Holy shit! What a place! I never knew your hometown was so beautiful. I'll bring my wife over for a visit when I get some time off. (Wide-eyed)"

Chen Jue: "A warm welcome to Boss Jiang on his countryside inspection tour! All you have to do is pick up the tab for everything. (Grin)"

Jiang Fan: "..."

After trading a few jokes, they each went back to their own business. Chen Jue did not take his friend's proposed visit too seriously.

Surviving in a place like Hangzhou meant working flat out every day. Even after getting a foothold by buying a home, you still had to work hard to pay the mortgage.

His friend did not come from a wealthy family, and he had married and had a child in Hangzhou. His days were filled with petty domestic concerns, and the dreams of poetry and faraway places he had cherished in college had long since been forgotten. Even if he wanted to come, his wife probably would not agree.

After all, although Chen Village had lovely hills and clear waters, it was hardly a famous scenic destination. Scenery like this could be found anywhere, so there was no need to travel five or six hundred kilometers just to visit.

Putting down his phone, he resumed practicing. Only after earning 0.02 unallocated attribute points and raising his Boat Boxing skill progress by twenty-three points to (79/100) did Chen Jue stop, panting heavily, and sit down to rest.

Heat radiated from his entire body, and sweat streamed down him as though he had climbed hundreds of flights of stairs in one go.

He checked the time. It was already five thirty in the afternoon, so Chen Jue went to the kitchen and plugged in the rice cooker, then took a hot shower and changed into clean clothes.

He reheated the dishes left over from lunch. By the time he finished eating and cleaned the kitchen, the sky outside was gradually growing dark.

Seeing that it was already seven, Chen Jue strolled leisurely up the hill and once again reached the dam at the Chen Village reservoir.

It was late summer, and the cool breeze by the reservoir left him feeling refreshed. He met a few villagers out walking along the way and greeted each of them.

When they learned that Chen Jue was actually a fellow villager who had been away for years, realization dawned on their faces.

Old Mr. Huang, who had taught Chen Jue boxing the previous evening, was nowhere to be seen today.

Looking toward Huang Family Village on the opposite side of the reservoir, where lights were equally sparse, Chen Jue felt a little bored and began practicing Boat Boxing on the dam.

The surroundings were tranquil and secluded, a gentle breeze drifted across the dam, and the distant views lifted his spirits. Chen Jue felt that practicing his forms here was far more comfortable than shutting himself away to train at home.

He grew more enthusiastic as he practiced. Before he knew it, his Boat Boxing skill progress had climbed all the way from (79/100) past the hundred-point mark.

Boat Boxing Lv0 advanced to Lv1!