// Instead of this:
$article = Article::find($article_id);
$article->read_count++;
$article->save();
//You can do this:
$article = Article::find($article_id);
$article->increment('read_count');
//Also these will work:
Article::find($article_id)->increment('read_count');
Article::find($article_id)->increment('read_count', 10); // +10
Product::find($produce_id)->decrement('stock'); // -1