Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

After Yi Zhonghai woke up Sha Zhu, he went to the backyard, and then the lights in the yard gradually came on.

Except for the women and children, the heads of every household came out.

Once everyone had arrived, Yan Bugui asked:

"Old Yi, what happened that you called us all together so late?"

Liu Haizhong also stepped forward and asked:

"Yes, Lao Yi, what's the rush?"

"Is there a spy among them?"

His words startled everyone!

Yi Zhonghai quickly explained:

"No, no, everyone, don't misunderstand, it's just that Jia's Dongxu hasn't come back yet this late."

"Aunt Jia came to me in a panic, and my idea was for everyone to go and look for her together."

"We're all neighbors in the same building, let's lend a hand!"

At this moment, Jia Zhangshi and Tong Jie stepped forward and pleaded pitifully:

"Neighbors, please help me, I'm begging you."

The men present felt a little sorry for them because of their appearance, so they all agreed.

The group went out of the courtyard to search for them.

Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu were behind. Sha Zhu couldn't hold back any longer and whispered:

"Senior brother, do you think Jia Dongxu might be in trouble? He hasn't come back yet at this hour?"

Li Jiuzhou thought for a moment and whispered:

"Nine times out of ten, something must have happened. Either they got arrested, or they're so scared they're hiding."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu was also filled with resentment. No one would be happy to be dragged out in the middle of the night.

"If Jia Dongxu gets arrested, he'll be taken to the military control commission. If he doesn't get arrested and just hides, where are we supposed to find him?"

Li Jiuzhou said irritably:

"We can't exactly tell the neighbors that we knew beforehand that they were going to arrest someone for prostitution, can we?"

"Believe it or not, if you say that, Madam Jia will remember you for the rest of your life?"

"She won't care who told you; she'll just wonder why you didn't remind her good son."

Sha Zhu was furious when he heard this:

"Damn it... Senior brother, you know what, given Jia Zhangshi's personality, it really might be true..."

Li Jiuzhou smiled:

"So, let's keep quiet and just watch the show."

"I'll just treat tonight as a stroll, since I don't have to work tomorrow anyway."

"Alright, I'll do as you say, senior brother."

Sha Zhu was very willing to listen to his senior brother; whatever he said went.

Under the cover of night, a group of people arrived at the gate of Lou's Steel Rolling Mill.

They made quite a commotion, and immediately eight heavily armed guards came over.

"Don't move, what are you doing?"

Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong remained calm and stepped forward to explain the whole story.

The leader frowned slightly, and at that moment, a team member pulled him aside and whispered:

"Captain, there's an operation tonight, a raid on prostitution. I think Jia Dongxu has most likely been caught, or at least he's hiding."

The captain glanced at him and said, "Are you and Jia Dongxu very familiar?"

The team member quickly shook his head:

"That can't be! My cousin told me they're colleagues. Jia Dongxu is a regular client of prostitutes, the kind who goes to brothels eight hundred times a month!"

"You fucking... never mind..." The captain's lips twitched upon hearing this.

The captain beckoned Yi Zhonghai over and asked:

"Master Yi, there's no way anyone can stay at the factory. We don't know where Jia Dongxu went."

"However, I have some news for you. Tonight, the Military Control Commission is cracking down on prostitution, and your apprentice will most likely disappear because of it."

"Go to the military control commission tomorrow morning and ask around. It's fine if you don't want to go."

"If Jia Dongxu is arrested, the military control commission will also go to Jia Dongxu's home to notify his family."

Yi Zhonghai's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this.

Could my apprentice have actually gone to do *that*?

No way! Doesn't the apprentice understand himself?

But Yi Zhonghai became uncertain about Jia Dongxu's whereabouts after get off work recently.

If the apprentice is really arrested because of this, the consequences will be unimaginable when the military control committee comes to the Jia family.

Moreover, Tong Jie is pregnant, and if she can't withstand the shock, things could get very serious.

In an instant, various strategies flashed through Yi Zhonghai's mind.

The most important thing is to keep it a secret and absolutely not let the Jia family mother-in-law and daughter-in-law in the courtyard know about this.

After figuring it out, he thanked the guard captain:

"Thank you, Captain Liu. We'll be going now. Sorry to have bothered you."

Yi Zhonghai led the people in the courtyard back. When they arrived at the gate, he let the others go in first, and then called Li Jiuzhou and his brother aside.

"Jiuzhou, Zhuzi, you two brothers, come with me, Uncle Yi," Yi Zhonghai pleaded.

Sha Zhu turned his gaze toward Li Jiuzhou.

Li Jiuzhou nodded.

On the way, Yi Zhonghai told the two brothers what the factory foreman had told him.

"Jiuzhou, you two brothers, give me your analysis: was Dongxu arrested or is he hiding?"

Li Jiuzhou knew about the prostitution raid tonight, but he genuinely didn't know if Jia Dongxu had been arrested, and he shared his opinion:

"Uncle Yi, it's hard to say. I think it's better if he gets caught; at least he's safe."

"Just go to the military control commission and ask."

Yi Zhonghai paused for a moment, then smiled wryly:

"Jiuzhou, you're right. At least the person is safe even if they're caught."

"I only asked you two to come because I wanted to go to the Military Control Commission. I wouldn't dare go alone so late at night!"

"Hehehehe..."

All three of them laughed. Indeed, it's definitely not safe for someone to go out alone late at night these days.

A dozen minutes later, the three arrived at the military control commission in their area. Yi Zhonghai stopped and said to the two men:

"Jiuzhou, Zhuzi, Uncle Yi has a favor to ask of you two."

"Please speak."

"Whether Dongxu is inside or not, don't make a fuss about this in the yard today."

"Dongxu's wife is about to give birth, I'm worried something might happen!"

At this moment, a look of helplessness appeared on Yi Zhonghai's old face; this was the only thing he could do.

"No problem, neither of us will say a word about this," Li Jiuzhou agreed.

Li Jiuzhou wouldn't have agreed if Tong Jie wasn't pregnant. He understands the importance and urgency of things, and he can understand Yi Zhonghai's way of handling things.

Even Shazhu could understand, though he understood it very unwillingly, his fists clenched tightly.

Perhaps sensing the two brothers' reluctance, Yi Zhonghai said to Sha Zhu:

"Zhu Zi, if Dong Xu gets arrested because of this, I'll allow you to punch him a few times to vent your anger when we meet later, just don't hit his face!"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu's eyes immediately lit up with excitement.

"Uncle Yi, is it true?"

"You raised Dongxu like your own son, don't you feel bad if I beat him up?"

A hint of reluctance flashed across Yi Zhonghai's face, but it quickly turned resolute:

"Kill this bastard as soon as possible, then I can save myself some trouble."

Li Jiuzhou smiled upon hearing this:

"Hahaha, Uncle Yi, we feel much better after hearing your words. Don't worry, we'll let Zhu Zi land a few more punches later, the kind that land squarely, to kill this bastard!"

Seeing the two brothers' excited faces, Yi Zhonghai smiled helplessly:

"Whether Dongxu is inside or not is another matter, but judging from your excitement, you two seem really keen to give Dongxu a good beating?"

"What else?" Sha Zhu blurted out.

"Oh?" Yi Zhonghai seemed to have noticed something.

Seeing this, Li Jiuzhou stopped hiding it and laughed:

"To be honest, Uncle Yi, my brother and I saw Dongxu coming out of the Eight Great Hutongs on our way home from get off work!"

Li Jiuzhou's words confirmed that Jia Dongxu had been to that place. Yi Zhonghai fell silent, then said in a harsh voice:

"Jiuzhou, Zhuzi, if Dongxu is really inside, beat him to death!"

"Damn it, they even lied to the master, damn it!"

Yi Zhonghai was indeed upset; he was fooled by Jia Dongxu!