Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

After Li Jiuzhou finished making the pork stew, he sat down to smoke. His wife had already prepared his and Sha Zhu's portions and taken them back to the house.

The task was taken over by Yan Bugui's wife, Yang Ruihua. The residents of the courtyard came one by one with large bowls to get a portion of the pork stew.

Sha Zhu was still dividing the meat, while Yan Bugui collected the money and kept the accounts.

Yan Bugui kept 30 jin of pork for himself and distributed the rest, leaving none behind.

It can be said that Yan Bugui didn't actually suffer any loss by buying a pig for the New Year.

Sha Zhu and Li Jiuzhou received 16 jin of pork as their payment.

Then they took out another 5 jin of meat to make a pork stew.

Giving away some scraps to the neighbors would only mean losing 30 pounds of meat.

The remaining 90 jin of meat were divided up.

Yan Bugui knew perfectly well that the loss was no more than 15 yuan, and he wasn't bothered at all.

His goal wasn't to make money; he mainly wanted to show his neighbors in the courtyard his capabilities.

He bought a whole pig for the New Year without hesitation. Who the hell would think his family couldn't afford to live anymore?

Moreover, his actions set a good precedent; Yan Bugui had clearly calculated all the accounts, and the neighbors had also seen it.

For wealthy individuals like Yi Zhonghai, a loss of around 15 yuan is something they can actually afford.

The main thing is to create a lively and joyful atmosphere; slaughtering a pig at home is considered a happy occasion.

Yi Zhonghai and the others were all thinking to themselves that next year they would also get a whole pig and cause a stir.

The New Year's Day holiday was two days long, unlike the three-day holiday in later generations.

Fengzeyuan didn't take a break; they're busy right now. Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu took a break on the day Yan Bugui slaughtered the pig.

Moreover, prices tend to rise a bit towards the end of the year. With more people buying things, the scarcity of goods naturally leads to higher prices.

But it won't rise by much, as the government controls it.

As the year draws to a close, Li Jiuzhou has been adding New Year's goods, such as cigarettes and alcohol, to his home. Some are for his own use, and some are for giving as gifts during the Lunar New Year.

Now that he's married, his wife means he has more than just his father-in-law and his relatives.

These are relatives within relatives, so we still have to go through the motions.

Moreover, in the first year of marriage, visiting the wife's parents' home is a significant event, and close relatives from the wife's family are expected to be visited.

A gift is enough; there's no need for a meal.

Moreover, they are all in the capital, so they can move around freely.

That's how relatives are; you don't just visit each other during holidays, you visit each other regularly.

Those who live far from home are another matter.

It's easier and more convenient to move around more often and ask for help at home.

If you haven't seen someone for a long time, there are relatives who will ask for help or lend you money as soon as you meet.

In this case, whether to help or not is uncertain. It's not that the relationship isn't good enough; we're all genuine relatives, but even among relatives, there are degrees of closeness.

There are definitely relatives who hope for everyone's happiness and harmony; these are the kinds of relatives you can get along with.

There are also those who are afraid you'll have too many relatives if you live too well.

You'd better live a miserable life. Giving you a few pounds of rice or a few coins is no problem. We're willing to help our poor relatives!

But whatever you do, don't get up! If you do, they'll be unhappy and will start picking on you!

As the Spring Festival approaches, snow has fallen in Beiping (Beijing), covering the rooftops and the ground with a layer of snow.

The entire city of Beiping was dyed white!

In the early morning, just as dawn was breaking, Yi Zhonghai got up early to wash up, dressed neatly, and prepared to go out with his cloth bag.

In fact, Yi Zhonghai's family didn't lack anything; he just enjoyed the process of shopping.

I haven't been to the farmers market for several days. It's quite satisfying to have money in my hands but not spend it.

But it's nowhere near as satisfying as spending it!

Only when he spends money can Yi Zhonghai feel truly happy!

The couple used to be reluctant to spend money, or even afraid to spend it, because they were unwilling to give up, they had to take medicine, and they still wanted to have a baby.

Now they don't have that idea anymore. With Jia Dongxu around, they don't have to be so restrictive when it comes to money.

Spend money where you should, save where you should, as long as you're comfortable.

Therefore, Yi Zhonghai now earns a monthly salary of 70 yuan, and his biggest budget is to spend half and save the other half.

But after a few months, I found that I could hardly spend half a month's salary!

They're just the two of them, and they haven't been saving money in the last few months, buying new clothes, new furniture, and so on.

The couple wouldn't really spend 35 yuan on normal living expenses. Yi Zhonghai would also invite his apprentice's family to his home for meat meals from time to time.

Yi Zhonghai became increasingly smug as he walked out of the courtyard gate, took out a cigarette and lit it without stopping.

After the cigarette is lit, squint your eyes slightly and take a deep drag:

"hiss..."

Only when he felt a pressure in his lungs did Yi Zhonghai exhale thick white smoke...

He exhaled that puff of smoke for nearly 20 seconds, feeling an intense, exhilarating sensation!

Just kidding, this move takes 20 years of practice, and only a heavy smoker can pull it off!

Jia Dongxu tried to learn it last time, but after taking a deep drag, he almost fell asleep – that's called "smoking intoxication."

Some people even choke on a simple backflip.

Just as Yi Zhonghai was about to have another bite, a man came out from around the corner and called out to him, "Fourth Uncle!"

It was not yet fully light, but Yi Zhonghai recognized the person who had come. Wasn't this his elder brother's son, Yi Dayou?

Yi Zhonghai frowned slightly, knowing that trouble was brewing, but he couldn't ignore it.

"Didn't we cut off all ties? What do you want from me?"

Yi Dayou came again because he was unwilling to accept the situation.

If you want to find a job in the city, then you can only turn to your estranged fourth uncle, Yi Zhonghai!

Jia Dongxu's life filled him with envy, jealousy, and hatred; he had no reason not to come!

After Yi Zhonghai finished speaking, Yi Dayou immediately knelt down:

"Fourth Uncle, please help me! My father, second uncle, and third uncle have had a grudge against you, but I haven't!"

"Please help me this once, I want to find a job in the city."

"Just like Jia Dongxu's will do!"

Yi Zhonghai did not answer him, but instead asked:

"You entered the city in the middle of the night?"

"Um..." Yi Dayou answered honestly.

"Come with me..."

The situation changed, and instead of going to buy groceries, Yi Zhonghai took Yi Dayou out for a hearty breakfast.

During the meal, Yi Zhonghai made it clear that he couldn't help at all, and that severing ties would be a clean break.

After a moment's hesitation, Yi Zhonghai took out 20 yuan and gave it to Yi Dayou.

Although Yi Dayou was disappointed, having 20 yuan was not bad; it would take a whole year to earn that much in the countryside.

He expressed his gratitude with joy:

"Thank you, Fourth Uncle..."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes narrowed:

"What did you call me?"

Yi Da was a little confused, but he still continued to answer:

"Fourth Uncle!"

Yi Zhonghai, with a cigarette between his fingers, slowly exhaled, his posture somewhat arrogant as he said:

"I treated you to dinner and gave you money, what did you call me?"

"Fourth Uncle..." Yi Dayou still didn't realize there was anything wrong with his answer.

But Yi Zhonghai answered him:

"Let me tell you, before we sever ties, I won't argue with you calling me Fourth Uncle!"

"But our kinship is over, so what are you going to call me now???"

This time, Yi Dayou seemed to have a sudden inspiration and blurted out:

"Yi...Yi Zhonghai?"

"Hahahaha...you're not stupid after all..."