After taking care of morning rituals such as eating, showering, and using the restroom, Catherine heads back to the city to do a little shopping.
She goes to the bookstore and buys Martial Arts Vol. 1: Wax On Philosophic. This book will teach her the Martial Arts skill and get her started on a journey of physical and mental enlightenment.
I find a nice bench or sofa somewhere and plop Catherine down to do some reading. As soon as she finishes that book, she is a level 1 martial artist.
At the completion of the book, Catherine gets on her bicycle and rides to the Phoenix Martial Arts Academy.
There is martial arts equipment here—a Training Dummy and a Board Breaker for her to work with so she can raise that skill level up to 2 before the day is out.
Because level 1 cannot use the Board Breaker, Catherine works on the Training Dummy first.
Once she reaches level 2, Catherine gives the Board Breaker a few good whacks before it gets too late.
Back at the Forbidden City, Catherine returns to the general store to buy the Training Dummy.
I want her to keep working on this skill. The purchased dummy is immediately transferred to the household inventory where it can be placed on the lot in Buy Mode once she returns home.
I also buy some Golden Dragon Fireworks. You’ll see why in a moment.
Because Catherine has a wish to meet a local, I mingle with the folks walking around the Forbidden City.
A family swims in one of the pools. Catherine approaches the little boy on the edge of the pool and engages in friendly conversation, which satisfies the wish. There are some easy Lifetime Happiness points right there.
Once Catherine is on friendly terms with the little boy, a new interaction appears in the social menu: Learn Song. When I choose this, the little boy starts teaching Catherine a song.
Catherine follows along with the boy, singing parts of it back to him until she has the song down. Now Catherine can share this song with other Sims. And not only that, but singing with the little boy was a lot of fun for Catherine. She’s in a great mood.
The trip is almost over, so let’s end it with a bang and see if we cannot get Catherine all the way to the Having a Blast moodlet.
Catherine places the fireworks on the lawn in the Forbidden City. I choose the Launch interaction on the fireworks and Catherine automatically stands back.
I stand back, too, in a sense, by pulling the camera all the way out to map view. This gives me a great view of the fireworks.
What a great way to end a first vacation.
Back at Home
Catherine arrives home, fulfilled. She cannot go on another trip for at least 24 hours, but that’s okay. There is plenty to do at home, such as finish a novel and continue practicing the Painting skill.
Plus, she did buy a recipe to bring home: Egg Rolls. After reading the recipe for a few minutes, she’s got it down and can add the exotic dish to her library of recipes.
In fact, because she’s feeling a wee bit peckish, why not fry up a trio of egg rolls now and remember the trip?
Within just three days, Catherine has had fun exploring a tomb, making new friends, developing an all-new skill, and lighting fireworks, and she’s even brought home some treasures.
In fact, she can hardly wait to go back to China and see what else lies just beneath the surface. But France is so tempting this time of year...
...and wouldn’t it be fun to play snake charmer in the markets of Egypt? Come on, 24 hours, hurry it up!