Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

"Master Daoist, just tell me how much you want for the divination, and I'll make sure it's right." Sha Zhu was really something now, because the old Daoist in front of him was just too mysterious.

He even knew about the time when he was twelve years old and secretly watched Xu Damao's mother taking a bath.

He hasn't told anyone about this; it's been buried in his heart for so many years. He dares not say a word, for fear of being beaten to death.

Old Master Wang waved his hand at Sha Zhu: "You can cook these dishes; consider it payment for the divination."

"That won't do."

After saying that, he took out a wad of cash from his pocket, about 110,000 or 120,000 yuan, and stuffed it directly into Wang Laodao's hand.

"This is all I have on me, please keep it safe."

The money was stuffed into his hand, and Old Wang wasn't one to stand on ceremony; he was short of money anyway, so he smiled and thanked him.

"Would you like me to tell your fortune, Brother Li?" Old Wang looked at Li Jiuzhou with a curious look in his eyes.

Li Jiuzhou shook his head: "Thank you, Master Wang. I won't count it. What's meant to be will be.

"Hahaha, alright, if it doesn't count, it doesn't count. Just remember to come find me at the Juyongguan City God Temple if you ever run into trouble after this meal." Old Wang laughed heartily, he wouldn't force Li Jiuzhou to accept it.

Fortune telling is all about mutual consent; sincerity is key to its effectiveness.

"Alright, when I have time, I'll go to Juyong Pass to seek guidance from Master Wang on Taoist arts," Li Jiuzhou said.

"Oh? You're also interested in Taoist practices?" Old Wang asked with a curious look.

Seeing his question, Li Jiuzhou said with great enthusiasm:

"Of course! An immortal touched my head, granting me eternal life; shattering the void, splitting the Milky Way with a single sword, vanquishing demons and monsters—that was my childhood dream!"

"A single imperial edict that shook heaven and earth, that's fucking awesome..."

Old Wang was utterly speechless upon hearing Li Jiuzhou's words. His dough twitched uncontrollably as he pointed at him and laughed, "I'm cursing!"

"Damn it, this is my dream!"

"You've been reading too many trivial books, haven't you? 'Breaking through the void,' you're just dreaming. Get lost!"

"Hahaha." Everyone at the table burst into laughter.

What Li Jiuzhou said was exactly the childhood dream of Sha Zhu, Xu Damao, and Liu Guangqi.

It's something to yearn for, but it's not realistic.

However, Li Jiuzhou was genuinely curious about and fascinated by Taoism and its practices.

In my previous life, when I was disheartened, I considered becoming a monk or a Taoist priest to end my life.

Moreover, watching too many short videos inevitably leads to curiosity about the mysterious profession of Taoist priests.

Old Wang ate to his heart's content, finishing every last bite of his food. He waved goodbye to the group and told Li Jiuzhou before parting that he should definitely visit him at Juyong Pass when he had time.

Li Jiuzhou readily agreed, saying he would definitely go when he had time.

Another half month has passed in the blink of an eye. It's August, and Beijing is about to enter autumn.

Around 7 p.m. that evening, Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu got off work and found the courtyard quiet.

There was no one in the front yard. When Li Jiuzhou returned home, he found his wife and younger brother Shanhe there.

However, a noisy commotion was heard coming from the Intermediate Court, presumably because everyone had gathered there.

So they went to the Intermediate People's Court together with Sha Zhu. They were a little confused to see that most of the people there were there. What happened this time?

Find Fan Bingbing and ask:

"Honey, what happened?"

"Oh, you're back! Uncle Yi and the others just started a meeting at the Central Court, and it's only just begun." Fan Bingbing first looked surprised, then explained the reason for the meeting at the Central Court.

Just then, Yi Zhonghai stood in the center of the crowd and said:

"Neighbors, the Wu family in the Intermediate Court wants to borrow the gatekeeper's room for a while. What do you think?"

"Old Yi, you asked me what I think? Well, I'll just sit here and watch..." Jia Zhangshi offered appropriate support.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Yi Zhonghai was not angry, and said with a smile:

"Sister-in-law, don't be silly. The two old folks from the Wu family just borrowed it to fluff cotton."

"As you all know, autumn is approaching, and it's time to take out the quilts and air them out so they'll be warm enough to sleep in during the winter."

"I hope we don't have to carry our quilts all the way to get them fluffed. Now we have a cotton fluffing expert in our yard, which is a good thing. We won't have to go so far anymore."

Everyone was delighted to hear this, and naturally agreed to anything that was beneficial to them.

The elderly couple from the Wu family were brought to live in the city from the countryside by their son at the end of last year.

Wu Fengshou's family lived next door to Jia Zhangshi in two rooms.

The couple has a son and a daughter, and both work at a steel rolling mill.

Now we've brought my parents to the city, but autumn is here, which is the peak season for the elderly to fluff cotton.

In previous years, the couple could work from autumn to winter, and the cotton they made in two seasons was enough to sustain them for a year.

But when they got to the city, they had nothing to do, and the old men and women were extremely anxious because all of that money was tied up in their pockets.

So he discussed it with his son and they decided to try their hand at fluffing cotton in the yard.

But doing it at home was definitely not feasible, so they decided to borrow the gatehouse in the yard to fluff the cotton.

The uninhabited houses in the courtyard, such as the back building and the gatehouse, are all public property.

The residents in the courtyard usually just use it to store miscellaneous items.

If the Wu family wants to borrow the entire gatehouse, they definitely need government permission.

But the government definitely won't allow it. Who do you think you are, to just borrow it whenever you want?

Will it eventually become yours after you've been using it for a while?

Government staff have encountered too many of these frustrating situations, so they disagree and would rather leave the office vacant.

Helpless, Wu Fengshou could only ask his neighbors to lend him the gatehouse so his parents could fluff cotton.

He consulted with Yi Zhonghai and others about borrowing the equipment.

Yi Zhonghai thought this was a good idea, since everyone would benefit from it.

If your Wu family wants to borrow it, you'll have to help the neighbors fluff cotton first.

Of course, you should still pay the price, but you need to offer a reasonable discount, otherwise it's impossible to borrow a doorman.

Wu Fengshou naturally understood this principle, so he agreed to fluff cotton for his neighbors at half the market price, and his parents had no objections.

When Yi Zhonghai explained the situation, the neighbors all agreed. The gatehouse wasn't originally theirs, so there was no problem with them providing cotton-fluffing services to the Wu family.

However, there is a prerequisite: the tools must be brought out immediately after the cotton-fluffing season.

What if your Wu family takes over the house? Wouldn't we be at a loss?

Yi Zhonghai even asked Yan Bugui to write a certificate before the matter was finally settled.

Three days later, the Wu family cleaned up the gatehouse and put some tools away.

The elderly couple from the Wu family started fluffing cotton right there in front of their neighbors.

I must say, fluffing cotton really has a certain charm; it sounds a bit like the sound of a guzheng when you fluff it.

The elderly couple from the Wu family were quite professional, wearing homemade gauze masks and headscarves.

Li Jiuzhou witnessed the two of them fluffing Jia Zhangshi's yellow and black cotton quilt until it turned white; it was simply an art!

Madam Jia was overjoyed and clapped her hands in approval.

"Brother Wu and sister-in-law, this quilt was bought when Lao Jia and I got married. It's the first time it's bounced in over twenty years! You two are the ones who got this!"

After saying that, she gave the old man and woman from the Wu family a thumbs up.

The neighbors looked disgusted when they heard this; it was so damn filthy.

The old man and woman of the Wu family were furious; no wonder the smell was so strong. They were even tempted to kill Jia Zhangshi.

Fortunately, their masks concealed their expressions.

In less than half an hour, Jia Zhangshi's cotton quilt was ready.

Jia Zhangshi happily paid the money, then came out carrying the quilt.

Old man Wu came out, took off his mask and took a deep breath; the smell was too strong.

He then said to Madam Jia:

"Hey sis, hurry up and take this to air it out. Your quilt smells awful, did you pee on it?"

Madam Jia was not angry upon hearing this, but instead smiled and said:

"Hehehe... My Dongxu peed when he was fifteen..."

"grass!"

Jia Dongxu cursed under his breath in the crowd and turned to leave, abandoning his mother, wife, and children as if a dog were chasing him.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

The neighbors laughed until they cried when they saw this.