Pursued by the Heavenly Dao, first level up in the courtyard.

Time flies, and it's the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month again at the Siheyuan Film and Television World.

In the northern city, where ice and snow are everywhere, the temperature drops to several degrees below zero or even ten degrees below zero every day.

Qi Bing lay back in his chair, leisurely drinking tea and smoking.

Suddenly, the system's pleasant and melodious voice rang in his mind.

"Congratulations, host, on upgrading to level eleven human."

Upon becoming an eleventh-level human, Qi Bing's various potentials increased from ten times that of a first-level human to eleven times that of a first-level human.

A burst of noisy footsteps, mixed with laughter, came from outside the courtyard, breaking the tranquility of the siheyuan.

Qi Bing muttered to himself, "Is Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill giving out wigs and other perks?"

Several employees of the Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill were returning home in high spirits, carrying their New Year's bonuses.

Leading the way was Yi Zhonghai, a mid-level fitter at the steel rolling mill. He had a big smile on his face, carrying three pounds of fatty pork in his left hand and five pounds of flour in his right.

As Yi Zhonghai walked along the beach, he said, "After the factory became a joint state-private enterprise, the year-end benefits were really good."

Liu Haizhong chimed in, "That's right. Now the workers are in charge, things are different from before."

He Yuzhu, Jia Dongxu, and others walking behind the two were all carrying year-end bonuses from the factory.

The group chatted and laughed as they entered the courtyard, only to be spotted by Yan Bugui, who was standing at the gate.

Yan Bugui stared at the things in the hands of the group, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

Yan Bugui, who owns a bookstore, earns far more than Yi Zhonghai. He is stingy and calculating, and usually doesn't spend money on food or clothing.

Although both are pork, the pork you buy with your own money is worlds apart from the pork the factory gives out for free.

Yan Bugui, who believed that not taking advantage of others would be a loss, envied Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and others who received free pork and flour from the steel rolling mill.

When Liu Haizhong saw Yan Bugui, he smiled and waved the pork in his hand: "Old Yan, are you home? The steel mill's benefits are pretty good this year."

After passing through the front yard, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Jia Dongxu, He Yuzhu, and Xu Fugui each went home.

Qi Bing from the East Courtyard entered the Xuanhuang World and stepped into the Humanity Xuanhuang Tower.

Each time a human's level increases by one, he will be able to grab a ball of light within the Xuanhuang Tower.

Inside the Human Path Profound Yellow Tower, there are countless orbs of light; some are skills, some are cultivation techniques...

"These seemingly identical orbs of light are actually replicas created by Humanity using its power, based on the countless cultivation techniques, skills, elixirs, magical treasures, and knowledge possessed by the human race."

Looking at the countless orbs of light that blotted out the sky, Qi Bing was caught in a dilemma.

"Anyway, I don't know what a light sphere is, so I'll just pick one randomly."

After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Bing sped along for several minutes before finally reaching out and grabbing a ball of light.

"Congratulations on acquiring the Advanced Mechanic Master skill."

The ball of light vanished without a trace, and a vast amount of mechanical knowledge flooded Qi Bing's mind.

"Besides mastering the principles of countless machines, he is also proficient in fitter work, electrical work, welding... and repair."

The light sphere represented something beyond Qi Bing's expectations, and he stood there excitedly for a long time.

After having a meal on the spot, Qi Bing returned to the east wing outside.

In the evening, Yi Zhonghai and Tan Guilan brought food to the home of the deaf old lady in the backyard.

Yi Zhonghai takes care of the deaf old lady who is not related to him by blood in order to create a persona of respecting the elderly, so that he can educate Jia Dongxu and He Yuzhu and make sure that the two of them can take care of him in his old age.

Upon seeing Yi Zhonghai and his wife enter, the deaf old lady said with a beaming smile, "Zhonghai, Guilan, you've come."

Tan Guilan quickly stepped forward and said with a smile, "Madam, we've prepared some meat for you, please have a taste."

The deaf old lady's eyes lit up. She picked up her bowl and chopsticks, took a bite of the braised pork, and was quite satisfied.

Tan Guilan's cooking skills are not as good as Sha Zhu's, but braised pork is still a meat dish that an ordinary person might not be able to eat even once a month.

Yi Zhonghai said, "Madam, it's a bit lonely for the three of us to celebrate the New Year together. This year, I'd like to invite the Jia family and Zhuzi's family to join us. I'd like to hear your opinion."

The deaf old lady knew that Yi Zhonghai had already made up his mind, and even if she didn't want to spend the New Year with the Jia family, she had no power to object. So she nodded and smiled, "Spending the New Year together is fine, it'll be lively!"

Before they knew it, it was New Year's Eve. Tan Guilan had cleaned the old deaf woman's house spotlessly.

The deaf old lady who lives in the backyard has two back rooms. The two rooms together have a total area of ​​more than 50 square meters. One back room is the deaf old lady's bedroom, and the other back room is the deaf old lady's living room.

Sha Zhu busied himself around the stove, and the aroma of braised pork and braised fish filled the yard, making the children in the yard swallow their saliva.

As soon as the dishes were served and everyone was seated, the deaf old lady said a few words, and then Yi Zhonghai said a few more words.

After the deaf old lady started eating, Zhang Cuihua picked up her chopsticks, took a large piece of braised pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and ate it all in no time. Then she said, "It's delicious!" and began to eat heartily.

The deaf old woman frowned as she looked at Zhang Cuihua, a flash of disgust crossing her eyes.

Zhang Cuihua was so engrossed in eating her meat that she paid no attention to the others at the table.

Yi Zhonghai placed a piece of fish on the deaf old lady's plate and said with a smile, "Please enjoy your meal slowly, don't be shy."

The backyard, the Liu family's house.

Liu Guangtian, who usually can't afford eggs at home, had his fill of fish and meat and eggs today.

There was a shortage of eggs in the northern part of the city. Liu Haizhong, who worked as a forger at a steel rolling mill, did heavy physical labor and needed eggs to supplement his nutrition.

Liu Guangqi, who excels academically, needs eggs to nourish his brain.

The Liu family doesn't have enough eggs. Usually, Liu Haizhong only gets one egg each time he eats one.

When Liu Guangqi was at home, he would only fry two eggs: one for Liu Haizhong and one for Liu Guangqi. Chen Rong never got to eat an egg.

There were four meat dishes and four vegetable dishes on the table. The four meat dishes were braised pork, braised fish, scrambled eggs, and stewed chicken.

Seeing Liu Guangtian wolfing down his food, Liu Haizhong had very mixed feelings.

At this moment, Liu Haizhong felt sorry for Liu Guangtian's usual meals, which were not as good as his and Guangqi's, and he also disliked the other party's lack of manners.

Considering it was New Year's Eve, Liu Haizhong refrained from giving Liu Guangtian a beating with a belt.

Not wanting to cause trouble, Qi Bing enjoyed a feast of delicacies alone in the Xuanhuang World.

He lives alone, so eating in the Xuanhuang World is not only convenient but also avoids a lot of trouble.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone stayed indoors. Qi Bing spent the morning reading and the afternoon practicing martial arts.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Qi Bing began visiting his acquaintances, superiors, and elders.

"Qi Bing, you've been studying on your own for months, have you learned anything?"

"Sir, I'm working on a thermal power generator."

"A thermal power generator? How did you come up with the idea of ​​researching this?"

"Sir, most machines and equipment require electricity to operate. Our power generation is insufficient, and the efficiency of existing thermal power generators is too low. I would like to try to develop a more advanced thermal power generator."

Qi Bing's idea was simple and direct: first, solve the problem of thermal power generators, then the steelmaking furnace, and finally, develop machine tools.

Generators provide electrical energy, steel furnaces produce materials, and machine tools process parts.

Before we can create a large-scale fireworks display, it is not advisable to develop overly advanced weapons and equipment.

There were too many people from Chisha in the three eastern states and the northern city, so Qi Bing decided to build an industry in Yucheng.

Although his preemptive strikes wiped out most of the Japanese spies and remnants of the puppet Manchukuo regime in Xia, there were still many people who were loyal to the West and Chisha. Their slightly more advanced technology was likely to be leaked to Chisha and the West.

While paying New Year's respects to his superiors and elders, Qi Bing repeatedly mentioned matters that were kept secret.

Harmfulness is not allowed, and defensiveness is indispensable.

Having lived two lives, he has a strong sense of secrecy and knows that the consequences of leaking secrets are very serious.

Before the super scientific genius returned to Xia Kingdom, there were many things that couldn't be done, at least not openly.