Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

At the Jia family home, Tong Jie applied medicine to Jia Dongxu with a pained expression, showing no doubt about her husband's explanation.

After all, it was Yi Zhonghai, Li Jiuzhou, and Sha Zhu who testified.

The next day, Yi Zhonghai went to the Jia family and gave Jia Dong a long lecture, telling him to leave because he had something to say to two other people.

Jia Dongxu looked reluctant. His master wanted to talk to his mother and wife.

Jia Dongxu could guess what he was going to say; it was nothing more than asking him to give him less pocket money.

Tong Jie and Jia Zhangshi were puzzled, but they didn't want to refuse; they wanted to hear what Yi Zhonghai had to say.

"Sister-in-law, and Dongxu's wife, Dongxu has been unreliable lately because I haven't taught him well or kept a close eye on him."

"I didn't expect this brat to keep it from me. Normally, it's nothing for coworkers to have a few drinks to get closer."

"Eating and drinking out costs money. Your Jia family has only been enjoying a few days of good fortune and you dare to spend money like this?"

"Dongxu must have spent a lot of money lately. If they continue to indulge like this, how will they manage?"

Yi Zhonghai's few words left the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law speechless.

Jia Zhangshi was the first to defend herself:

"Old Yi, my daughter-in-law is very soft-hearted. Dongxu just coaxed her a few words and she handed over the money."

"If you ask me, I should be in charge of the family's money. Young people just don't know how to manage money."

Tong Jie was shocked when Jia Zhangshi said this. She dared not let her mother-in-law manage the money, otherwise there would really be no way to make money.

So he quickly assured her, "Mom, and Master, don't worry, I'll only give Dongxu a little money for cigarettes each month from now on."

"I'll get him some drinks if he wants, don't worry."

Yi Zhonghai nodded: "Okay, I trust Tong Jie to manage the household. Just be careful in the future. Keep an eye on things, sister-in-law."

Jia Zhangshi assured him, "Don't worry, Lao Yi, I'll keep an eye on them both."

Yi Zhonghai left satisfied. Jia Zhangshi pulled Tong Jie back into the house and sat down, saying softly:

"Daughter-in-law, it's not that I want your money, I'm just afraid you'll be soft-hearted. Every time, you get fooled by Dongxu and lose your bearings."

"Think about it yourself. Before we got married, I could still yell at Dongxu and hit him, but I can't anymore."

"He's married now, and about to become a father, so I have to save him some face. If it were before, with the way he spends money, I would have beaten him to death!"

"Daughter-in-law, you'd better learn your lesson this time."

Jia Zhangshi's earnest words made Tong Jie blush. She knew she couldn't let Jia Dongxu get away with this anymore, and secretly vowed to keep a tight grip on the money in the future.

At this moment, Jia Dongxu walked in with a grin and joked:

"Mom, honey, what did my master say to you two?"

Now, Madam Jia no longer cares about her son, but rather about the money he spends, so she decides to scare him:

"Dongxu, you didn't come home until late last night, which made my mother and me very worried."

"I even burned incense and pleaded with your father, saying that if you can come back safely, I will reduce my lifespan by ten years."

"Your safety is probably thanks to your father's protection."

"Look at what you've been doing, going out drinking and getting into fights."

"I've changed my mind! These ten years of lifespan will be taken from you. You're young and can live a long life; ten or twenty years won't make a difference. Just burn some incense and explain it to your father tonight!"

Tong Jie's lips trembled violently. Last night, her mother-in-law had indeed secretly taken out her father-in-law's memorial tablet and performed a ritual.

But it didn't say anything about cutting off ten years of one's lifespan, did it?

She heard it all clearly; this is what her mother-in-law said:

"Old Jia, your son hasn't come home in the middle of the night. You absolutely have to pray he's safe and sound, or I'll really kill you when I get down there... Mommy, Mommy, please..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu's face turned pale instantly, and he waved his hands repeatedly.

"My dear mother, this little thing shouldn't cost me ten years of my life."

"No, no, I don't agree!"

"Besides, this was something you promised my father, not something I promised."

"Don't scare me. You just want me to save money, okay? I promise. You should rest and not cause any more trouble..."

"Wife, say something..."

Jia Dongxu didn't have much of a temper with his mother, so he asked his wife for help.

Tong Jie nodded and said to Jia Zhangshi:

"Mom, let's just forget about it this time. I'm about to give birth, so let's not go through all this trouble."

"I will manage the money better from now on. If I still can't manage it well, you can take over."

Upon hearing this, Madam Jia Zhang said expressionlessly:

"Dongxu, listen carefully. If you continue to squander money, I'll take care of things at home."

Jia Dongxu waved his hands repeatedly:

"Don't worry, there won't be a next time."

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, having received assurances, decided not to pursue the matter further, as they were family after all.

At the entrance of Nanluoguxiang Hutong, Liu Haizhong buys fried dough sticks and makes soy milk at a breakfast stall.

"Old Wang, give me a pound of soy milk and ten fried dough sticks."

"Alright..." The stall owner took the jar from Liu Haizhong and then asked in a low voice:

"I heard that Jia Dongxu from your department got into trouble last night after drinking and was beaten up?"

A smile appeared on his bangs: "Not bad, you're quite well-informed."

Upon hearing this, Old Wang chuckled smugly, "Don't you know who I am? But I heard Jia Dongxu went to the Eight Great Hutongs..."

"Shh...you son of a bitch, don't say things like that." Liu Haizhong nervously looked around, and only relaxed when he saw no one was around. Then he grinned mischievously.

"Why didn't you go out and have some fun last night, you bastard?"

Old Wang rolled his eyes at him: "You didn't go either, did you? Even if I'm not the eldest brother, you're no better than me."

"Luckily we didn't go yesterday, otherwise the military control committee would have come to our house this morning demanding money to ransom us."

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong was startled and broke out in a cold sweat: "Really?"

"Of course, I've inquired. Yi Zhonghai redeemed Jia Dongxu last night," Old Wang said with certainty.

"That doesn't make sense, the Jia family didn't cause any trouble," Liu Haizhong said, puzzled.

Normally, if a man is caught visiting brothels, his wife would cause a huge uproar.

Old Wang looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Are you stupid? Yi Zhonghai must have kept it a secret. He's Jia Dongxu's mentor. If this gets out, it won't just be the Jia family who will lose face."

"Besides, Jia Dongxu's wife is about to give birth. It's only right and wrong to keep it a secret; if something happens, it would be a tragedy for both mother and child!"

"Ouch..." Liu Haizhong was startled again because he thought of his wife, who was also heavily pregnant, and he felt a wave of fear wash over him.

Seeing his appearance, Old Wang laughed and said, "Old Liu, you need to settle down these days and stop messing around, or you'll get into trouble."

Liu Haizhong nodded repeatedly: "Thanks, Lao Wang."

After saying that, he threw down 10,000 yuan, took the soy milk and fried dough sticks, and left without looking back.

That's right, Jia Dongxu, Liu Haizhong, and Old Wang, who sells breakfast at the alley entrance, met in the Eight Great Hutongs.

It was pouring rain that day, and Cui'er was the only one at work, so she had no choice but to wait.

They were cursing each other in their hearts, thinking, "Damn it, why are you in such a hurry? Even a downpour won't stop."

Although we bumped into each other, we both pretended not to know each other, and we both tacitly understood that anyone who greeted the other would be an idiot...