Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

That evening, Sha Zhu's pot of "Farewell My Concubine Soup" made all the men in the No. 95 compound yearn for it.

After being trained by Li Jiuzhou, Sha Zhu was able to make this nourishing and convenient soup quite well. Even his father, He Daqing, often sought advice from his son.

There was no other way; he was middle-aged and had no choice. Bai Lian was much younger than him, and was at the age of being as vigorous as a wolf, able to suck up dirt even while sitting still.

He Daqing simply couldn't hold on if he didn't try to make up for lost time.

The news that the eldest son of the Wang family had gone to the countryside to collect three old turtles spread like wildfire, and the Li family had stewed "Farewell My Concubine Soup," which made the men in the courtyard extremely hungry.

In the backyard of the Liu family's house, Liu Haizhong was still peering out from the doorway, seemingly anticipating something.

Just then, his wife, heavily pregnant, walked over and joked:

"Honey, stop looking. There's not much meat on that turtle. Jiuzhou won't invite anyone to his house for drinks."

"Besides, where would you go to exert your strength after eating turtle?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong blushed.

"Hey, what are you talking about? I can skip eating turtle meat, a little soup will do."

"They're a bunch of young people who lack life experience, so they need an older generation like me to guide them. What do you know, you old woman!"

"Let's eat!"

Jia Dongxu was also looking forward to it, and he was muttering complaints as he realized that Li Jiuzhou hadn't invited him to his house for "Farewell My Concubine Soup".

Upon seeing this, Jia Zhangshi first glanced at her daughter-in-law and then said:

"Dongxu, there's not much meat on a turtle. The eldest son of the Wang family still has two. Get one for my daughter-in-law to help her recover."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu's eyes darted around, and he smiled and teased his mother:

"Mom, I'm not saying I'm giving my wife nourishing food; you're just craving it, aren't you?"

Jia Zhangshi blushed slightly at her son's teasing:

"You little brat, you're just distracting me with your mother. So what if I'm craving something?"

"I raised you with such hardship, and you're not even worth as much as an old turtle?"

"Old Jia, look at your unfilial son! Take him away quickly..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu felt a chill run down his spine.

"Hey, hey, hey, why are you performing some kind of ritual? Back off, back off, back off!"

"I'll get it for you. It's just an old turtle, nothing much..."

Jia Zhangshi, with her dog-like face, immediately beamed with joy upon hearing this.

"Hehe, that's more like it. My son is so filial. I'll talk to your dad later and ask him to bless my son with good fortune and wealth!"

After the mother and son finished their skit, they both looked at Tong Jie with expectant expressions.

Tong Jie sat to the side with a helpless, bitter smile. She didn't know what was wrong with this mother and son lately; they'd started acting like this...

If both of you are craving meat, just say so. Why make up excuses when the whole family is eating meat?

Tong Jie let out a long sigh and revealed a radiant smile:

"Alright, then Dongxu will go find the eldest son of the Wang family and buy a turtle. We'll make soup with it tomorrow."

"I'll pay you later."

That's right, Tong Jie is now in charge of the Jia family, and she firmly holds the reins of the finances.

Although Jia Zhangshi was capable of managing the household, she generally only took in money and didn't spend it, being reluctant to spend any.

Both Jia Dongxu and Tong Jie were dissatisfied, and finally held a family meeting, whereby the financial power was smoothly handed over to Tong Jie.

Jia Zhangshi did not refuse, because her daughter-in-law had been married for almost a year, and she knew very well what kind of person she was.

Yes, it's a great ingredient for the household, so I agreed immediately.

If my son dares to say he'll run the household, I'll definitely break his leg!

What kind of company dares to take charge?

Do you know how much flour costs per pound?

This guy knows nothing and yet claims he wants to manage the money?

Does it hurt when I hit you? MLGB...

At the entrance of the Yi family compound in the Intermediate People's Court, Yi Zhonghai also looked around expectantly.

His wife was eating by herself inside the house. Seeing that Yi Zhonghai didn't move, she said:

"Honey, you should eat something. Jiuzhou wasn't planning on treating us, otherwise he would have called you earlier."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai smiled slightly and took out a bottle of Xifeng liquor from his pocket:

"Did I say I wanted to wait for Kyushu to invite me?"

"I have legs, I can walk there myself... oh dear, oh dear, oh dear~"

Yi Zhonghai sang a little tune as he skipped along towards Li Jiuzhou's house.

In his words, it's better to take the initiative than to sit and wait.

He knew without guessing that many of the men in the courtyard had their own little schemes, hoping that Li Jiuzhou would invite them to have a little fun.

In Yan Bugui's house in the front yard, he was eating and kept glancing towards the door. But instead of seeing Li Jiuzhou, he saw Yi Zhonghai.

The old man brought the wine and came to the door himself.

Yan Bugui slapped his forehead, wanting to learn a trick, but then realized that would be inferior, so he decided to give up.

Seeing her husband's anxious expression, Yang Ruihua smiled and said:

"Honey, what's so great about the Farewell My Concubine soup? Our old hen soup is very nourishing too, you should drink more."

Yan Bugui felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this:

"My dear wife, you're the best!"

Yang Ruihua laughed and said, "Yeah, you're my man, so of course I have to treat you well. You'll be tilling the fields tonight, okay..."

Yan Bugui almost spat out the chicken soup he had just put in his mouth. He quickly swallowed it and looked at his wife's bulging belly, saying:

"Wife, isn't this a bad time to plow the fields?"

Yang Ruihua rolled her eyes at him:

"Did you also plow less land when you were pregnant with your first child?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui felt a sharp pain in his lower back and cursed himself inwardly, "What a damn beast!"

At this moment, Yan Jiecheng, who was engrossed in eating, suddenly looked up and asked:

"Dad, Mom, we don't farm. Where are you two going to cultivate the land? Do you need Jiefang and me to help?"

The couple both gave an awkward smile after hearing this.

"Go away, kids, don't interrupt adults. Just eat your food."

"oh..."

At Li Jiuzhou's home, they still warmly welcomed Yi Zhonghai, this uninvited guest.

They didn't come empty-handed; they even brought a bottle of good wine. We can't be impolite.

Sha Zhu is a talkative guy, whether he's drunk or not. He can brag non-stop, and he's practically saying that the capital city belongs to him.

A short while later, Jia Dongxu arrived. He was there to sell turtles, and seeing his master there, he took the opportunity to sit down.

This made things even more lively, and Fan Bingbing listened to the men chatting with a smile on her face.

In the end, Jia Dongxu bought an old turtle from the eldest son of the Wang family. The item was valuable but not cheap.

If I want to eat this stuff in the future, I'll have to put in some effort to find it, so the higher price isn't a big deal.

Then Xu Damao, for some reason, also slipped in. This guy was 17 years old and quite tall and strong.

He didn't come empty-handed; he brought a bottle of wine with him.

There are quite a few young people in this courtyard, so they don't have many opportunities to get together to chat and drink.

Before long, more and more people arrived, and Xu Damao was still able to get a sip of soup, but those who came later were not so lucky.

However, Li Jiuzhou's family had plenty of meat, and some braised pork could be eaten after being cut up.

Li Jiuzhou wasn't a stingy person, so he had his wife cut it up and serve it on the table as a snack with his drinks.

Soon, a drinking game was being played in the front yard, creating a lively atmosphere!