Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Yi Dayou felt bitter inside. Although he had taken 20 yuan from Yi Zhonghai, his purpose was not the money.

He wanted to settle down in the capital, and when he saw Jia Dongxu eating and drinking at his fourth uncle's expense, and even riding his fourth uncle's bicycle with his wife, he felt heartbroken and could hardly breathe!

This was something he could have had. Yi Dayou wanted to say something more, but he stopped himself when he saw Yi Zhonghai's indifferent eyes.

At the same time, he knew in his heart that Yi Zhonghai was determined to sever ties with them, and it was impossible to get his help.

After calming himself down, Yi Dayou left without looking back. He still had at least 20 yuan in profit, so he definitely wasn't at a loss.

Yi Zhonghai watched Yi Dayou's retreating figure and curled his lip. "He stole my house and kicked me out back then, and now he wants me to help him?"

Yi Zhonghai gave Yi Dayou 20 yuan because he was in a good mood. It was already a sign of Yi Zhonghai's mercy that he didn't secretly go back to his hometown to commit murder and arson.

If it had been someone with a more murderous heart, I'm afraid none of his brothers and nephews would have survived.

As the year draws to a close, Fengzeyuan has adjusted its work schedule, now dividing employees into morning and evening shifts.

Li Jiuzhou is currently working the night shift, so he can go in the afternoon.

A while ago, he dug up a stone millstone from the neighbor's yard; it was something nobody in their yard used.

The most proper use of this stone mill is to grind soybeans to make soy milk, tofu pudding, or tofu!

Making tofu is a skill; you think you can do it just by grinding soybeans?

Coincidentally, Li Jiuzhou knows how to make tofu, including gypsum tofu and fermented tofu.

The two methods of making tofu are basically the same; the only difference is the type of tofu used for curdling.

After taking a look at the millstone, Li Jiuzhou's mind started to wander, and his hands began to itch to work.

They had some square boxes made to hold tofu, and also hung a thick rope on the roof beam for pressing water.

The night before, Li Jiuzhou bought 20 jin of soybeans, and Yan Bugui caught him red-handed.

Upon learning that Li Jiuzhou was going to make tofu the next day, he immediately patted his chest and said he wanted to reserve a block of tofu.

There was no doubt whatsoever that Li Jiuzhou could make tofu.

Damn it, you doubt he's not a shabby guy? Who is Li Jiuzhou anyway?

A chef who's been in state banquets—let alone making tofu, even making a dragon would be believable!

That evening, all the neighbors in the courtyard found out and came to visit Li Jiuzhou's kitchen, mainly to see the stone millstone.

They'd seen people grind soybeans, but they'd never seen anyone make tofu; it required skill.

The night before, Li Jiuzhou soaked the soybeans and went back to his room where he and Bingbing had sex several more times.

Before dawn, some neighbors went to check outside Li Jiuzhou's courtyard, but they didn't hear any grinding of beans!

The noise outside woke Li Shanhe. He put on his clothes, rubbed his eyes, and came out to ask:

"What's going on? Why are so many people gathered in front of my house?"

Yan Bugui stepped forward and asked:

"Shanhe, didn't your brother say he was making tofu today? We're waiting to buy some. Where's your brother?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shanhe retorted:

"Who said my brother was going to sell tofu? He's still asleep. If you want to eat tofu, wait until he wakes up..."

"Hey, you kid..." Yan Bugui was speechless.

But Shanhe is right, their family doesn't sell tofu, so why do you care when they get up to make tofu?

Upon seeing this, the neighbors dispersed.

Around 9 a.m., the couple got up, had breakfast, and then Li Jiuzhou started getting busy.

Grinding soybeans is a task that men and women can easily accomplish together, and naturally, neighbors often come over to watch.

It's so boring, watching someone grind tofu is a real treat.

Li Jiuzhou didn't let his neighbors sit idle either. Curious, huh? Then come up and keep them occupied for a while.

These old women lack everything, but they're not lacking in strength!

After Jia Zhangshi took over, she managed to grind the remaining beans and even told Li Jiuzhou that she would send two extra pieces of tofu to his family after it was finished.

Li Jiuzhou was both amused and exasperated. Of course he would agree to her request. Grinding tofu was a delicate task, and Aunt Zhang deserved a reward for her skill!

After the soybeans are ground, they are filtered, then boiled, and finally curdled with brine.

The brine was obtained by Li Jiuzhou from the tofu seller; it was brine from fermented sour pulp.

Li Jiuzhou was afraid that eating gypsum tofu would cause him to develop kidney stones.

People with severe kidney stones will experience immediate reactions after eating gypsum tofu, and Li Jiuzhou didn't want to cause any trouble.

If it's Jia Zhangshi who has gallstones, that would be a huge problem, very troublesome.

I was busy until noon before the tofu was finally ready.

Jia Zhangshi brought over a large bowl, and Sha Zhu, after waking up, came to help, drinking several bowls of tofu pudding for free.

Looking at the large bowl in Jia Zhangshi's hand, Sha Zhu rubbed his eyes. It looked so familiar, so he blurted out:

"Aunt Zhang, did you take this big bowl from my house?"

These words immediately displeased Madam Jia:

"Silly Zhu, are you still asleep? This bowl has been in our family's possession for years. You're saying it's yours?"

"Why don't you call it and see if it responds, hahaha..."

The neighbors who came over to buy tofu also laughed. They really didn't know whose bowl it was, but they were happy to have some fun.

Even after being teased by Jia Zhangshi, Sha Zhu started to take it seriously. He looked at the large bowl again carefully and was now 100% sure that it belonged to their family.

He chuckled and said, "What if I could prove this bowl belongs to my family?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Jia let out an exaggerated laugh:

"Oh, so arrogant? I don't believe you. You'll prove it to me right now!"

Sha Zhu stretched out his hands and shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, witness this large bowl in Jia Zhangshi's hands—it belongs to our family!"

"Before my dad's wedding last time, my son and I went to buy these bowls together. They were custom-made, and the bottom of the bowls even has my name engraved on it: He Yuzhu!"

After saying that, he turned the bowl over, and sure enough, there was a red "He" character on the bottom!

"Oh my, it really is!" said Yan Bugui, whose words carried considerable weight.

Jia Zhangshi couldn't read at all. She had already noticed the red character, but she didn't know what it said.

"Give it to me, I won't hold it against you, Aunt Zhang, if I get it by chance..." Heaven snatched the large bowl away.

"How would I know this bowl belongs to your family? Perhaps I took the wrong one when I was handling some business in the courtyard last time," Jia Zhangshi explained.

The neighbors in the courtyard didn't say anything, and Jia Zhangshi's reasoning was sufficient. Taking the wrong thing was commonplace, and there was nothing to fuss about.

Next, they continued to divide the tofu, basically one piece for each family, and two pieces for the Jia family.

Li Jiuzhou had no intention of charging money. It was just a piece of tofu; if he made too much, he would divide it up, and it wouldn't be edible if left for too long.

At noon, Sha Zhu cooked a big plate of crucian carp with tofu, and it smelled amazing!

Tofu boiled a thousand times, fish boiled ten thousand times, the longer it boils, the more fragrant it becomes. Add some steamed white rice, and you'll have an incredibly satisfying meal.

The Zhang family in the front yard, a family of six, were also eating rolled tofu for lunch.

The family consists of a husband and wife, three children, and an elderly woman.

The head of the Zhang family was named Zhang Mancang, who was about the same age as Yan Bugui and was also the pillar of the family.

However, he didn't work in a factory; he was a carpenter. He didn't earn much each month, but he was sure his family wouldn't go hungry.

His wife was very interested in Li Jiuzhou making tofu and suggested to her husband that she wanted to learn the craft so that she could make it and sell it to bring in some income for the family.

Zhang Mancang agreed immediately, which was a good thing, but he needed someone to teach him how to make tofu.

He needs to ask Li Jiuzhou if he's willing to teach; that needs to be discussed!