Courtyard House: Inheriting the Restaurant, the Jia Family Wants to Get It for Free

1951, Nanluoguxiang, Beijing.

In the courtyard of No. 95, Cheng Shuhai was carefully braiding his younger sister Cheng Ling'er's hair with a small wooden comb.

"Brother, be gentle, it hurts a little."

Five-year-old Cheng Ling'er called out in a childish voice, her little head swaying slightly.

"Okay, okay, almost done."

Cheng Shuhai slowed his movements, a gentle smile on his face.

Three days ago, he was an ordinary young man in the 21st century who loved food. An accident transported him to this era, where he became Cheng Shuhai, who shared the same name, and also gained an incredibly cute younger sister.

Not only that, he also inherited two rooms and a small restaurant at the entrance of Nanluoguxiang from his deceased great-grandfather.

This start is practically a perfect hand in itself.

Just then, a knocking sound rang out, followed by Jia Zhangshi's signature loud voice.

"Book Sea! Is Book Sea at home?"

Cheng Shuhai frowned slightly, almost unconsciously.

He comforted his sister, then got up and went to open the door.

"Aunt Jia, is something the matter?"

Cheng Shuhai opened the door, looked at Jia Zhangshi standing at the door, and asked in a calm tone.

Jia Zhangshi's face was full of smiles like chrysanthemums, and her enthusiasm made Cheng Shuhai feel uneasy.

"Oh my, Shuhai, your auntie has some great news to celebrate!"

"My Dongxu is getting married tomorrow."

"Don't you own a restaurant? The older woman is thinking, 'I'll book this wedding banquet for you, ten tables! What do you think?'"

As Jia Zhangshi spoke, she casually peeked into the house.

Cheng Shuhai was genuinely stunned after hearing this.

The Jia family is holding a wedding banquet and they're asking me for help? That's a business opportunity.

He nodded. "Okay, ten tables, right? What's the standard?"

After saying that, he stretched out his hand, the meaning of which was clear—give him money.

"Aunt Jia, my business is small, so I need to collect payment first, in full."

"Ten tables, even at the lowest standard, the ingredients and labor costs combined are not a small amount." Cheng Shuhai looked at her and made his point clear.

He didn't believe that someone like Jia Zhangshi would have any sense of contractual obligation.

Sure enough, when Jia Zhangshi heard that money was required, the smile on her face froze for a moment, but she quickly regained her cheerful expression and waved her hand.

"Oh dear, Shuhai, look at you, you don't even trust your aunt?"

"We all live in the same compound, why would we owe you money?"

"Make sure the wedding banquet looks beautiful first. After the wedding tomorrow, once I've collected the wedding gifts, I'll settle the accounts with you right away! I promise you won't be shortchanged a single penny!"

Jia Zhangshi patted Cheng Shuhai's arm.

After saying that, before Cheng Shuhai could speak again, Jia Zhangshi turned and left as if she had greased her feet, muttering, "Is it settled then? I'm busy, I'll be going now!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already dashed back to the Intermediate People's Court.

Several neighbors who were chatting in the courtyard saw this scene, and they exchanged glances with expressions of anticipation.

Having been neighbors with Jia Zhangshi for so many years, everyone knows exactly what kind of person she is.

This isn't a banquet; it's clearly an attempt to freeload!

After Cheng Shuhai painstakingly prepares ten tables of dishes, he'll have to pay for everything, not just his wages, but even the cost of buying the vegetables and meat.

Cheng Shuhai stood at the door, watching Jia Zhangshi's retreating figure, and sneered inwardly.

"Trying to get something for free? No way!"

He had already made up his mind that he wouldn't get involved in this matter.

Wanting to get things done without money? What kind of pipe dream is that!

He was just about to close the door when suddenly, his mind went blank, and an illusory door appeared out of thin air. Immediately afterward, a massive amount of information flooded into his mind.

Behind the door was a vast, boundless space, as large as a treasure island.

In this place called "Blessed Land Space," he is the only god who can control everything.

The flow of time inside this space is one hundred times that outside.

Even more outrageous is that there is also a warehouse with infinite capacity in the space, with basic processing functions, which can husk rice into white rice and break down whole pigs into pieces of lean meat and bones.

"Holy crap... a cheat code?"

Cheng Shuhai's sneer instantly turned into ecstatic joy.

This is truly a windfall!

He closed the door with a cheerful smile and returned to his room, his bad mood from being disturbed by Jia Zhangshi completely gone.

Meanwhile, inside the Jia family's house.

Jia Dongxu was carefully polishing his leather shoes for tomorrow's work at the steel mill. Seeing his mother, Jia Zhangshi, returning humming a little tune, he quickly stood up and asked, "Mom, how did it go? Did Cheng Shuhai agree?"

Originally, Jia Dongxu wanted to ask He Daqing, the head chef of the factory canteen, to help.

He Daqing was skilled and agreed to give a 50% discount out of consideration for being a neighbor.

But who knew that He Daqing had run off with a widow recently, and they couldn't find him anywhere. The family had just bought a sewing machine for the wedding, and they were short of money, so they really couldn't afford to hire another master craftsman.

In the end, it was his mother who gave him the idea to go find Cheng Shuhai in the courtyard.

Madam Jia patted her chest triumphantly, "Of course! With your mother on the case, is there anything I can't accomplish? That boy has already agreed, so just relax and make sure tomorrow's banquet is a resounding success!"

Looking at his mother's confident demeanor, Jia Dongxu felt uneasy. But then he thought, this was, after all, his wedding, a joyous occasion. His own mother couldn't possibly betray her own son, could she?

With that thought in mind, he felt relieved, picked up his lunchbox, and followed his master, Yi Zhonghai, toward the steel rolling mill.

As Jia Dongxu walked out of the courtyard gate, he ran into Cheng Shuhai holding his younger sister Cheng Ling'er's hand, preparing to go to a small restaurant.

He even took the initiative to greet Cheng Shuhai with a smile.

Cheng Shuhai simply nodded in response, then led his sister toward the alley entrance.

Upon arriving at the small restaurant, Cheng Shuhai opened the door, quickly tidied up the premises, and lit the stove. It was still early, and there weren't many customers yet.

His gaze fell on a few potatoes and sweet potatoes in a basket in the corner.

"Perfect, let's try out the space's features."

As he thought this, a thought flashed through his mind, and the potatoes and sweet potatoes in the basket instantly disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, in his mental perception, these potatoes and sweet potatoes had been divided into pieces and neatly planted on the fertile black soil of the blessed land.

Throughout the entire process, he didn't even need to enter the space himself; he could complete it simply by thinking about it from outside.

"This is so convenient!"

Cheng Shuhai was secretly delighted. He planned to go to the market to buy some baby chickens, ducks, and geese when he had some free time, and then raise them in his spatial storage.

I'll buy some seeds for chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and other spices and plant them. Oh, and peanuts and rapeseed too, so I won't need to buy oil anymore, I can just press my own!

Noon arrived quickly, and the restaurant started to get business.

"Brother, the two uncles would like one stir-fried cabbage with vinegar and one stir-fried shredded potato!"

Cheng Ling'er, like a happy little butterfly, shuttled back and forth between the front hall and the back kitchen, skillfully announcing the names of the dishes.

Cheng Shuhai responded and began to busy himself at the stove.

He was a cooking enthusiast in the 21st century, and his home-style dishes were quite good, more than enough to serve this small restaurant.

Cheng Shuhai was busy until it got dark before he packed up his things and took his little sister's hand to return to the courtyard house.