Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

After finishing the banquet at the Lou family's house, Li Jiuzhou stopped working and only had some chores left to do at home.

During the Chinese New Year, apart from children, most adults are busy and few people have any free time.

The deaf old lady in the backyard is quite busy. She's still quite mobile, walking around with Yi Zhonghai's wife buying things for the New Year.

She doesn't need to cook; Sha Zhu has already invited her to celebrate the New Year together, and this has been the case for the past few years.

Furthermore, there are the Yi family and the Jia family. After Jia Dongxu became an apprentice, the two families never separated and were basically one family.

Even when the Jia family was making Sachima, Yi Zhonghai's wife would go over and lend a hand whenever she had free time.

Jia Zhangshi didn't guard against her secretly learning the techniques at all. In her words, they were all family, so what was there to be afraid of?

Of course, deep down he was thinking something else entirely: "Hehehe, all the money in your Yi family will belong to my Jia family in the future. You, Yi, should make as much as you can, and you'd better work yourself to death!"

The two families got along well because Jia Dongxu and his wife were good at handling things.

At Lou's steel rolling mill, Jia Dongxu was always sticking to Yi Zhonghai. When he was tired, he would arrange for Yi Zhonghai to rest, and before Yi Zhonghai could even sit down, hot water would be served.

After taking a couple of sips of water, he lit up his cigarette again. Yi Zhonghai was incredibly pleased with himself.

Yi Zhonghai wasn't the kind of person who insisted on smoking good cigarettes; he could smoke anything, good or bad, but none of the good cigarettes were as good as the ones his apprentice, Xiaoshun, offered.

So when they got off work in the evening, Yi Zhonghai would take Jia Dongxu to buy some New Year's goods. Yi Zhonghai paid for most of the money, and he was very happy to do so!

Jia Dongxu is no longer the greedy person he once was; he will repay the money Yi Zhonghai gave him through other means.

Every day now we're discussing how many dishes the two families should prepare for the Chinese New Year, and whether to make it fancy or simple.

In the end, Jia Dongxu made the decision: with new income this year, he was determined to have a prosperous New Year.

Hearing that Li Jiuzhou had gotten more than ten catties of top-quality beef from the Lou family, he took the money and went to him to exchange two catties.

Li Jiuzhou readily agreed; there was no difficulty in that, as his family had more than enough to eat.

There's no need to send gifts to relatives' homes; the father-in-law's side has already sent New Year's gifts, which is also called sending New Year's gifts.

An old hen, and some peanuts and melons.

I won't send the meat over. My father-in-law's family isn't short of money; they'll buy the meat themselves if they need it.

As for his second uncle, master, and fellow disciples, Li Jiuzhou could simply prepare some food and send it to them.

Especially at my second uncle's house, it's best not to send gifts. His father doesn't care about that kind of thing, but he really likes it when Li Jiuzhou sends some fried food every year for the New Year.

I have to do it for my second uncle, Li Jiuzhou. He's a cook, so he can make these things with ease. Anyway, our family eats them too.

Make more and send some to familiar relatives and friends.

Everything can be fried, and by chance, Li Jiuzhou bought a large basket of small river fish.

After gutting and removing the internal organs, wash them clean, coat them with flour, and fry them in a large pot of hot oil. They are incredibly crispy and delicious, perfect for pairing with alcohol!

They also made fried vegetarian meatballs, pumpkin cakes, and other fried foods.

The courtyard was filled with a delicious aroma all afternoon, and the neighbors all knew that Li Jiuzhou was making something tasty.

But the gate to Li Jiuzhou's courtyard was closed, and he felt embarrassed to go in.

Except for Sha Zhu, who didn't use the courtyard gate but went straight through the house.

Once in the kitchen, he didn't waste any time; he simply put on his apron and sleeves and got to work—he was already used to it.

He was also busy eating, whatever his senior brother made, he ate it all with great gusto!

He can also learn a skill, so his trip wasn't in vain.

Li Jiuzhou is amazing at cooking, and he's equally amazing at making snacks; even Sha Zhu can learn from him.

After observing for a while, Li Jiuzhou told him to go ahead and take action, since seeing was not as good as doing.

Sha Zhu's talent is as good as ever. He can basically learn it after watching it once and he is very quick to get started. He is a chef with family tradition, and he has some skills!

This year, my second uncle, Li Huaide, wanted to invite Li Jiuzhou's family to his place for the Spring Festival, saying it would be more lively.

Li Jiuzhou thought about it and decided against it; he really didn't like the atmosphere in their family.

Although his father-in-law was kind in front of his family, he was ultimately uncomfortable.

During the Chinese New Year, Li Jiuzhou and his two siblings, along with his newlywed wife Fan Bingbing, were present.

Sha Zhu would invite Li Jiuzhou to spend the New Year with him every year, but Li Jiuzhou would refuse.

The reason is trouble. The He family can now be said to have split into two branches: one is Sha Zhu, and the other is He Daqing!

They are like two families, and the Spring Festival is a time when the two branches of the family come together to show filial piety. Oh, and there's also a deaf old lady!

As for having New Year's Eve dinner at Li Jiuzhou's house?

That would be even more absurd, considering Sha Zhu's entire family, plus the deaf old lady.

Li Jiuzhou didn't like this way of having New Year's Eve dinner; he preferred to spend it with his family.

We can get together after New Year's Eve; there's no need for such a big celebration.

On the afternoon of the 29th of the lunar year, Li Jiuzhou rode his bicycle to deliver the fried food he had made to his father-in-law, and also sent some to his second uncle, master, and fellow apprentice.

They kept quite a lot for themselves, but Sha Zhu had already taken his share.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, Yan Bugui mysteriously pulled me aside and, for the first time ever, offered me a good cigarette!

With the Chinese New Year approaching, Yan Bugui upgraded the cigarettes he usually smoked.

"Uncle Yan, what's up with you all this time?" Li Jiuzhou asked.

Yan Bugui smiled and, seeing Li Jiuzhou ask the question, answered directly:

"Jiuzhou, there is indeed something going on. Your aunt is pregnant, and it's inconvenient for her to prepare many fried snacks."

"She feels nauseous just from the smell of grease. I was wondering if you have any leftovers at home, could you spare some for me?"

"Uncle, I won't take it for nothing. I'll cover the cost of the couplets for all the gatehouses at your house tomorrow!"

"The Kitchen God has also prepared some for you!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou's eyes darted around, and he happened to see a row of potted plants in front of Yan Bugui's house.

It's not a big deal, this business is worth doing, I have plenty at home.

Then he laughed and said:

"Could you spare me two more potted plants? I'm not greedy; I don't want the best ones, just the average ones will do!"

"I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the snacks; there's enough for your whole family, and there will still be some left over."

"As you know, our skills..."

Li Jiuzhou stopped speaking and looked at Yan Bugui.

After hearing this, Yan Bugui weighed the pros and cons in his mind, wondering who would lose out in this deal.

That's definitely me, but since I'm the initiator, it's normal to suffer a loss!

Moreover, my wife is pregnant, so I can't do many of the heavier tasks.

It's not that I haven't tried to make fried snacks, but the problem is that they're inedible. Not only do my wife and son dislike them, but even the dog would shake its head if I threw them on the ground and tried to eat them!

To avoid wasting food, Yan Bugui let the dogs in the alley eat some.

Yesterday, Old Zhang's dog, Dahuang, barely ate anything, and today it came to his doorstep to poop.

Just kidding, we all live in this alley, who the hell doesn't know who!

Doggy got sick from eating your food. Where else would he poop if not at your house?

The government didn't even provide our dog with a toilet, did it?

This morning, they fumed at Yan Bugui's family, making them numb. This was blatant revenge.

This dog is practically a demon!

Yan Bugui agreed to Li Jiuzhou's conditions without much hesitation.

He went home, grabbed a large bowl, and headed straight to Li Jiuzhou's kitchen to pick out some fried food.

Upon entering the kitchen, there was a wide variety of food. Just from the aroma, Yan Bugui felt that it was worth the price to eat!