“This line of work is all about building connections, attracting customers, and managing your reputation. As long as your reputation and conscience are clear, it’s not hard to make a living. Of course, if you’re hoping to buy a house and settle down in the capital with this, that’s a bit of a stretch.”

　　Anna hurriedly said, “Brother Bennett, are you already planning to buy a house? Tsk, do they still give you a Beijing household registration when you buy a house now?”

　　Eric Bennett chuckled, “I’m not in a rush to buy a house. I just mean that in our current line of work, it’s easy to support yourself, but getting rich is tough—unless you have deep connections and a strong background.”

　　“As for Beijing now, buying a house doesn’t get you a household registration anymore, but if a family meets the requirements, they can still get one person registered. But that’s a bit far off.”

　　As they chatted and joked, Emily Foster had already picked out a few clothes for him and went off to wash them. Eric Bennett hadn’t officially pursued her or confessed, but she could feel his daily care.

　　Plus, in her eyes, Brother Bennett, who could earn this much and even hire employees, was an exceptionally high-quality guy. Before she reconnected with her biological brother James Foster, Emily Foster, though very pretty, was just an orphan… a very lonely orphan in need of warmth.

　　Her parents divorced when she was young. Her father took her brother abroad and disappeared without a trace. When her mother died of illness, she looked around and realized she was all alone in the world.

　　While doing laundry, Emily Foster sighed, “Manli left—she went to rent a place at Shichahai. Anna and I can’t afford to go there, and honestly, we don’t really want to.”

　　“But now, Anna and I can at least afford the monthly rent for a one-bedroom. We don’t have to worry about food or shelter. Life is pretty good, Brother Bennett. What do you think about us hitting up the university campuses lately?”

　　“You go to the boys’ dorms, and Anna and I will go to the girls’ dorms. With so many universities starting a new semester, there’s bound to be a batch of students who aren’t short on money for computers.”

　　Eric Bennett smiled in agreement, “Sure, let’s start with my alma mater. After all, it’s a top-tier university, and there are plenty of others nearby.”

　　Taking advantage of this wave of new students—no, the new academic year—in the next few months, as long as luck isn’t too bad, earning over five thousand a month after paying salaries should be pretty steady.

　　That’s enough to settle down.

　　Once the meal was ready and the three of them started eating, Emily Foster exclaimed again, “Why does it feel like your cooking has gotten even better? Your skills are really…”

　　Eric Bennett said cheerfully, “I’m actually thinking of trying to set up a night market stall near the school after military training. Could make quite a bit that way too.”

　　His cooking skills were about to break through to the next level. Setting up a night market stall near various universities, working a few hours every night, would not only improve his skills but also bring in a good income.

　　But what frustrated him was that cooking might make money even faster than assembling computers, but it would mean sacrificing time and efficiency for practicing martial arts.

　　Better forget it—practicing is more important. Otherwise, he really feared that when James Foster came back next year, he’d get beaten up three times a day!

　　Anna’s eyes lit up, “Then we can be your waitresses? Running a night market stall sounds great, and we’re not afraid of getting tanned.”

　　Emily Foster nodded eagerly, “Yeah, yeah, we can work as waitresses at night. Out of 30 days a month, we can work at least 25.”

　　“Brother Bennett, with your cooking skills, there’s no way you won’t make good money!”

Chapter 13: The Love Support with a Rather Square Face

　　Three days later.

　　As another dish was finished, not only did Eric Bennett see a system prompt flash before his eyes—Cooking: Excellent (0/5000)—

　　but a flood of knowledge and skills poured into his mind like a steady stream, even his body undergoing subtle, steady changes.

　　Each level of cooking skill started with knife work, then stir-frying heat, seasoning, and so on. Even tossing the wok required strength.

　　Breaking into a whole new level of cooking was the result of three days of double-time cooking.

　　He’d been 78 experience points short of leveling up before—that’s 78 dishes or a few soups in three days. Emily Foster and Anna both kept saying they were stuffed, and if they ate any more, they’d get fat.

　　Now, after the two girls finished work for the day, had dinner, washed the dishes, and left, Eric Bennett timed it just right, cooked another dish, and welcomed his cooking skill upgrade.

　　A dozen minutes later, once both his mind and body had adapted to the changes, he stared at the 5000-point value and complained, “Three meals a day, two dishes and a soup per meal, that’s only 9 experience points a day.”

　　“Even if I did this every day, it’d take about 560 days to reach the peak of the Excellent level.”

　　“Unless I really switch careers to be a chef or run a night market stall, otherwise, the next upgrade will take a while.”

　　With the system’s help, as long as he put in the effort, he’d see results—one dish at a time, steadily improving.

　　But to advance beyond Excellent, it would still take a year or two…

　　After a moment, Eric Bennett reorganized his knowledge, cooked another dish, and as he sampled it, he couldn’t help but marvel—even the difference between 999/1000 at the Good level and 0/5000 at the Excellent level was a complete qualitative leap.

　　He now wondered just how much difference there was between his cooking and that of a five-star hotel chef.

　　If there was another level above Excellent? Would that be the head chef at a state banquet?

　　Not eating much, Eric Bennett quickly returned to the living room and continued practicing the 48-form Tai Chi. Moving smoothly, one set took about six minutes, earning another point.

　　He was getting close to pushing his Tai Chi to the Excellent level too.

　　A Good-level routine Tai Chi was good for health, but probably useless in real combat—after all, there was no stance training or formal fighting techniques, just practice and wellness.

　　But once his Tai Chi routine reached the Excellent level, or even the next level…