Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

With the old hen and wild game that Wang Dahu brought back from the countryside, Li Jiuzhou would stew a soup every few days and take it to his second uncle's workplace so that he could take it back with him.

Li Jiuzhou didn't have time to go to his father-in-law's house; it was too far and difficult to get in.

The wild game that Wang Dahu recently collected from the countryside has all been consumed by the No. 95 courtyard.

Three families in the courtyard have had babies, so they need to get some nourishment.

There are hens everywhere in the city, but old hens are too few.

After learning that Li Jiuzhou had asked Wang Dahu for help, they all went to him.

Now, everyone in the compound says Wang Dahu is capable, since wild game is hard to come by and requires connections.

The baby is about to turn one month old, and Jia Zhangshi wants to hold a celebration, and it must be a beautiful one, so she went to consult Jia Dongxu's master, Yi Zhonghai.

After all, it wouldn't work without him hosting.

Yi Zhonghai completely agreed; he simply enjoyed things that were exciting and made him look good.

But then another problem arose: the three babies born in the hospital were all less than ten days apart.

Does every family have to hold a full moon celebration?

Yi Zhonghai thought that since they all lived in the same courtyard, the three families could easily join together to hold a larger full moon celebration.

The more Yi Zhonghai thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

So he mentioned it to Jia Zhangshi and the others.

The three members of the Jia family each had their own thoughts after hearing this.

Jia Dongxu thought that if the three families handled the matter together, they could save a lot of money.

Tong Jie was wondering if there would be enough tables in the yard if all the relatives from the three families came together.

Madam Jia was thinking, "We can do it together, but it must be done on the day of my grandson's full moon."

"Old Yi, that's a good idea, but you should ask these two families first," said Jia Zhangshi.

Yi Zhonghai thought Jia Zhangshi was right; they should ask first.

So he instructed Jia Dongxu to invite Liu Haizhong over, while he himself went to the front yard to call Yan Bugui.

Soon Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui arrived.

"Old Yi, what do you need us for?" Yan Bugui asked, squinting his eyes.

Liu Haizhong also looked at Yi Zhonghai with a puzzled expression.

"That's right, our family has welcomed three new members within ten days, it's a joyous occasion!"

"The Jia family is going to hold a full-moon celebration, and they're going to make it a big one."

"I'm wondering if either of your families wants to do this?"

Yan Bugui laughed after hearing this and said:

"Old Yi, the addition of a new member to the family is a joyous occasion, so of course we should celebrate. I don't know what the Liu family thinks, but my Yan family hasn't had a single celebration since we moved into this house."

"So we definitely have to do it this time!"

Liu Haizhong felt he couldn't lose to the Jia and Yan families, and he hummed:

"Of course, my family will do the same."

Yi Zhonghai smiled upon hearing this:

"Haha, since we're going to do it all anyway, why not do it together? Make a big fuss, and we can save some money, right?"

"We'll invite Kyushu to host the banquet, and the three families will split the cost equally. You can imagine what that means."

The moment the mention of Li Jiuzhou hosting the banquet was made everyone's spirits lift; the food must be absolutely delicious.

Although it was expensive, it was delicious and prestigious. No other family in the entire Nanluoguxiang could afford to hire Li Jiuzhou to host a banquet.

If a single family were to hire Li Jiuzhou to host a banquet, it would cost 88!

By joining three companies, you can save more than half the money.

That's nearly 30 yuan, that's a month's salary!

With such obvious benefits right in front of them, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui were naturally tempted.

Yan Bugui was the one with the clearest mind present. He said:

"Inviting Jiuzhou to host a banquet is easy; we're neighbors, so I'm sure he won't refuse."

"But we each have our own relatives."

"Shouldn't we calculate how many tables each family booked and how much they each spent?"

"It's not like the Jia family can host 20 tables, the Liu family 15 tables, and my Yan family 10 tables, and we all have to split the cost?"

Liu Haizhong also chimed in:

"Yeah, Lao Yi, we need to be clear about this. I won't take advantage of others, but others shouldn't try to take advantage of me either."

Yi Zhonghai offered each of them a cigarette and said:

"That's not difficult. Just give each family the specific number of tables they're hosting, and then calculate it by deducting the chef's fee."

.........

After Yi Zhonghai finished calculating, Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong both nodded in agreement.

As long as I don't lose money, there's not much of a problem; this matter can be easily handled.

Yi Zhonghai thought the matter was settled, but Liu Haizhong's words broke the balance.

He asked, "Which day should we choose?"

"Weren't the three babies born on the same day?"

Yan Bugui was stunned when he heard this, slapped his forehead, and realized he had forgotten about it.

"Yes, Lao Yi, how should I put it, a good day should be chosen for the full moon celebration."

Jia Zhangshi, who had been listening for a long time, couldn't help but blurt out her true feelings:

"Just do it according to the date of my grandson's full moon celebration. How can your two families' grandsons compare to my golden grandson?"

"Holding a full-month celebration with my precious grandson is already an honor for both of your families' grandsons."

"Stop being so picky, who do you think you are?"

Silence, a deathly silence all around!

Tong Jie hugged the stick, covering her mouth with one hand, her face filled with terror.

Jia Dongxu's expression was even worse than yours; he was completely dumbfounded!

He never expected his mother to say something like that; he's probably in trouble now.

Yi Zhonghai's mouth was slightly open, and cold sweat was pouring down his forehead. At that moment, he really wanted to go home, grab a knife, and chop this old woman up.

He's more trouble than he's worth; with just a few words, he offended Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui—and to the point of being utterly humiliated.

If you call someone's son a "turtle grandson," then what is the "turtle grandson's" father?

He's just a son of a bitch!

Jia Zhangshi, you're really something! Why didn't Old Jia take you with him? I'll f*** your mother!

Yan Bugui's smile slowly froze. He had been quite happy, thinking that his wife was about to finish her postpartum confinement and he could finally relax a bit.

But Jia Zhangshi's scolding snapped his recently tense nerves; he broke down and pointed at Jia Zhangshi, cursing loudly:

"Fuck your mother, if you can't speak properly, then don't speak at all." He then pointed at Yi Zhonghai and cursed:

"Old Yi, look what you've done!"

Liu Haizhong's eyes were bloodshot with anger, and his finger was pointing at Jia Zhangshi's forehead.

"Fuck your mother, your son is the real bastard, a whole family of thieves and prostitutes."

"And you, Jia Dongxu, you're nothing but a john!"

"Pah!"

Jia Zhangshi regretted it as soon as she spoke her mind, but she couldn't bear being scolded like that by Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong.

"You fucking customer, I'll scratch you to death!"

Jia Zhangshi went up and started scratching Liu Haizhong's face.

Liu Haizhong let out a miserable scream:

"Fuck your mother!"

He slapped Jia Zhangshi across the face with a backhand motion.

"Snapped!"

Liu Haizhong's slap was powerful and heavy, causing Jia Zhangshi to collapse to the ground, one of her teeth knocked out.

Seeing his mother being beaten, Jia Dongxu cursed and rushed over:

"Fuck your grandpa, you dare hit my mom, I'll fucking kill you!"

Jia Dongxu has been a fitter for several years and is quite strong, but it depends on who he's compared to.

They were no match for Liu Haizhong at all, completely outmatched, and the room erupted in uproar.

Screams, curses, and the crying of the little stick.

"Stop fighting! Stop fighting!" Yi Zhonghai pretended to be trying to break up the fight, but he was actually using his hands to restrain Liu Haizhong, which resulted in him being punched several times by Jia Dongxu.

"Ouch, you son of a bitch, Lao Yi!" Liu Haizhong, having freed his hands, punched Yi Zhonghai twice.

Seeing that things were not going well, Yan Bugui tried to stop him, but Jia Zhangshi on the ground mistook him for someone who was going to hit her son. She grabbed his left leg and bit him hard.

Yan Bugui's agonizing screams:

"Holy crap!"

"Jia Zhangshi, if you let it go, I'll fuck your ass..."

Hearing that Yan Bugui still dared to curse her, Jia Zhangshi bit even deeper.

"Ah~"

Seeing that Jia Zhangshi wouldn't budge, Yan Bugui became even more ruthless. He grabbed the doorframe, raised his right foot, and stomped hard on Jia Zhangshi's head.

"Fuck your mother, I'll let you bite me!"

"Bang!" Yan Bugui kicked Jia Zhangshi, and she let go, lying motionless on the ground.

Seeing Jia Zhangshi lying motionless on the ground, Yan Bugui said with fear:

"Holy crap, am I dead?"

Tong Jie, who was holding the child nearby, saw this and realized, "Oh no, my mother-in-law is dead!" She shouted loudly.

"You've killed someone!"