Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

After Tong Jie gave birth, the neighbors who had helped her went home one by one, since they had to go to work the next day.

It would be best if the mother and child were safe and sound; the neighbors would not want a fatal incident to occur in their peaceful courtyard.

Li Jiuzhou could see what his neighbors were thinking: they hoped he would suffer more than them, but they never intended to kill him!

Look how simple and honest they are...

In the morning, every household brought some eggs or something to the Jia family.

Bingbing brought a small jar of honey and eight eggs to visit Tong Jie.

When Jia Zhangshi received the gift, she was overjoyed; honey was such a wonderful thing.

Fan Bingbing didn't stay long because she still had to go to work.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. One night, Liu Haizhong's wife screamed in agony again from the backyard; she was about to give birth.

The neighbors agreed to help, but it turned into a funny situation.

When they arrived, Liu Haizhong's wife, Wang Guilian, had already given birth.

The speed was so clean and efficient that it amazed all the neighbors, who praised Wang Guilian for her good health.

Liu Haizhong named his third son Liu Guangfu.

Another day passed, and it was also midnight when heart-wrenching screams came from Yan Bugui's house in the front yard again.

The neighbors rushed to the front yard. Yan Bugui was experienced and well-prepared, and she gave birth smoothly an hour later.

He was a big, chubby boy, and Yan Bugui named him Yan Jiekuang.

Three babies were born in courtyard No. 95 within 10 days, causing quite a stir.

The organization called the Women's Federation came to visit with some gifts, which included an old hen, some sugar, and eggs for each family.

The gifts were incredibly thoughtful and heartwarming; the neighbors weren't envious at all, they just praised the organization for being so kind.

Another day off arrived in the blink of an eye. Li Jiuzhou was drinking tea at the entrance when Yan Bugui walked over.

"Jiuzhou, how about I do you a favor?"

"Please tell me, and I will do my best to help."

Yan Bugui smiled and said, "You can definitely do it."

"The organization sent us an old hen, right? I'd like to ask you to take some time to stew it for me."

"As for my cooking skills... you can let me teach, but I really can't cook this stewed chicken."

"I stewed two of them earlier, but my husband absolutely hated the taste."

Li Jiuzhou smiled and said, "No problem. Is the chicken ready? I'll go and stew it for you right away."

"All done, Jiuzhou, come with me." Yan Bugui happily led Li Jiuzhou to his house.

There was a cleaned and chopped old hen on the kitchen cutting board. It would be fine to stew it directly, but the taste and nutrition would be lacking.

"What ingredients do you have?" Li Jiuzhou asked.

"I have some ingredients. I prepared some beforehand. Jiuzhou, do you think it's alright?" Yan Bugui said, then took out a few jars and containers.

Li Jiuzhou glanced at it and nodded: "No problem, watch me do it, and you can do it yourself next time."

"Okay, you do it, I'll just watch."

Li Jiuzhou took angelica root, codonopsis root, red dates, and goji berries to stew chicken soup.

First, stir-fry the chicken to render out the oil and water, so that the stewed chicken won't have a fishy smell. Then add boiling water.

After everything was settled, Li Jiuzhou gave the instructions:

"The young man simmered it for two hours, and finally opened the lid to sprinkle in goji berries and salt."

"Remember, only add salt as seasoning!"

Yan Bugui quickly agreed:

"Alright, leave the rest to me, Jiuzhou. Uncle Yan, I won't stand on ceremony with you. Here, take this pack of cigarettes."

Li Jiuzhou smiled after taking the cigarette.

"Alright, then I won't stand on ceremony."

Before Li Jiuzhou even entered the house, Sha Zhu came over:

"Senior brother, I just heard from your wife that she went to help Old Man Yan stew chicken?"

"Yeah, and here's a pack of cigarettes. Have one." He then opened the pack and gave one to Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu took the cigarette and said indignantly:

"Holy crap, I was just invited by Old Liu in the backyard to stew chicken too. I even stupidly added some spices, and then they gave me two eggs at the last minute, damn it!"

"I should have gone to help Old Man Yan stew chicken."

"Hahaha..." Li Jiuzhou was very happy listening to Sha Zhu's complaints.

He patted him on the shoulder and comforted him:

"Alright, it's just stewing a chicken, it's a simple matter, it doesn't matter whether you give us anything or not." We don't need these few coins.

"I know, it's just that I can't stand his stingy attitude. Who does he think he is? I'd rather he didn't give me anything, just said thank you and that would be enough."

"You're trying to smear me like this, damn it!"

A week later, my second uncle, Li Huaide, sent someone to inform him that his wife had also given birth to a boy.

When Li Jiuzhou found out, he killed one of his old hens, made a nourishing soup, and then the whole family went to the hospital.

My second aunt is in the special care ward, a ward of about 100 square meters where she lives alone.

The place has everything you need, from toilets to showers, and even the caregivers are very comfortable.

To be honest, Li Jiuzhou was envious; this was the benefit of power.

After finding Li Huaide, Li Jiuzhou gave him the chicken soup:

"Second Uncle, I made some chicken soup for Aunt to nourish her."

"I'll stew a chicken every other day, and tell my in-laws not to make too much soup."

Li Huaide accepted the insulated container with satisfaction, patted Li Jiuzhou on the shoulder, and said:

"Okay, I got it. Your aunt loves your soup."

"By the way, what's your name, little brother?" Li Jiuzhou asked.

Li Huaide gave a bitter smile:

"Does this even belong to me to decide?"

"You overestimate Uncle's abilities. The old man took on all the work."

Li Jiuzhou nodded, agreeing that the old man's choice of name was normal, and then asked another question:

"So, my brother won't take his second aunt's surname, will he?"

Li Huaide laughed in anger after hearing this: "You little bastard, are you deliberately picking a fight with me? My father-in-law's surname is also Li!"

Li Jiuzhou slapped his forehead and laughed:

"Oh dear, I forgot. Never mind, he'll still have the surname Li, no matter who he marries. Second Uncle, this marriage is definitely a good deal!"

Li Huaide laughed and said, "Of course, it is indeed a blessing for my Li family to have this marriage."

"Don't look down on me just because I haven't been promoted yet. It's because the old man told me to lay a solid foundation for myself."

"I transitioned from the military to politics. Once my foundation is solid, I can still rise rapidly even without any significant achievements."

"Why?" Li Jiuzhou didn't understand. What did it mean to rise through the ranks without any significant achievements?

Li Huaide said smugly:

"You don't understand, kid. I'm a veteran of countless battles, a regimental-level officer. As long as I don't make any mistakes, I'll naturally get promoted when the time comes."

"With the old man still around, I don't even dare to think about how high I can climb in the future."

"Why don't you think about it, Uncle? My family is counting on you." There was a hint of expectation in Li Jiuzhou's eyes.

The higher my second uncle climbs, the greater the benefits will naturally be for him; it's good to have a big tree to lean on for shade!

After hearing his nephew's words, Li Huaide's eyes filled with longing and ambition, and he said calmly:

"We should at least make him a prime minister, hahaha..."

"grass"

Li Jiuzhou kept rolling his eyes, thinking, "This is ridiculous, a prime minister?"

If Li Huaide really becomes the president, it won't just be a stroke of good luck; it'll be an explosion!

However, I still want to encourage my second uncle:

"Second Uncle, you're a division-level cadre now, right?"

"I think it's enough for you to get into the ministry. If you do, we'll give you a special page in our Li family genealogy!"

"A hundred years from now, you'll be enjoying the first flavors!"

"So, are you in or not? Are you confident?"

No one can resist the temptation of having a separate family genealogy, especially someone like Li Huaide who had been to the battlefield.

Logically speaking, he should be qualified to have his own page in the family genealogy now, but people are never satisfied.

Li Huaide nodded solemnly:

"Second Uncle, I'll try my best, I'll try my best to get into the department!"

The uncle and nephew looked at each other and then laughed.