Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Screaming from the scalding heat from her intestines, Jia Zhangshi went back into the house. As soon as she entered, she hooked her right leg and slammed the door shut with a "bang."

A group of people from the Central Court were left standing there, bewildered in the wind.

They were disgusted by Jia Zhangshi's behavior; she was shameless, it was blatant robbery.

But it was also very exciting; they despised the Jia Zhang family, yet at the same time wanted to become like them.

Sha Zhu, seeing this, said with dissatisfaction:

"What are you doing, trying to emulate Jia Zhangshi?"

"No, no..." The group quickly waved their hands.

Yi Zhonghai took the lead and paid for a bowl; he felt embarrassed to eat Sha Zhu's food for free, since there were so many people there.

With someone taking the lead, others naturally followed suit, all going home to get money and bowls.

The crowd dispersed quickly, and Sha Zhu kept some for himself, not selling them all.

At the Jia family home, Jia Zhangshi was cutting open a large intestine with a knife, her face full of excitement.

Jia Dongxu was speechless; his mother had embarrassed him again.

"Mom, you just brought back a pig intestine, is that even considered braised pork?"

"The taste has changed..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi realized her mistake and slapped her thigh: "Oh dear, I was careless."

Forgetting to braise it makes the flavor so much worse without broth.

Tong Jie took the bowl, along with some Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry), and went to Sha Zhu's house.

"Where are you going, daughter-in-law?" Jia Zhangshi asked upon seeing this.

Tong Jie said without turning her head:

"Mom, this isn't right. I'll trade you some Sachima and Zhuzi to avoid gossip."

"Isn't this a loss?" Madam Jia said, looking at her son with some dissatisfaction.

Jia Dongxu rolled his eyes:

"Mom, stop messing around, my wife's gone to wipe your butt."

"It's fine to joke around, but we can't really take advantage of Sha Zhu for free."

"Shazhu is a chef, he'll have plenty of opportunities to cook delicious food in the future. If you offend him too much, you won't have that chance to eat anymore."

After thinking about it, Jia Zhangshi agreed.

Meanwhile, Tong Jie brought over some shaqima (a type of Chinese pastry) and money, and kept apologizing.

The sensible family couldn't stay angry anymore, so they made some soup and dried tofu for Tong Jie.

When Tong Jie brought out the braised food, Yi Zhonghai saw it and secretly nodded in approval.

Dongxu's wife is a good person; she is sensible and knows how to respect the elderly.

Yi Zhonghai felt that his retirement life would be great, and a smile appeared on his face as he thought about it.

His wife witnessed this scene and, enraged, she hissed in a low voice:

"Well, Lao Yi, you're starting to have your eye on your apprentice's wife now?"

Yi Zhonghai was stunned for a long time upon hearing this, and said in astonishment:

"What are you saying, wife? I just think Dongxu's wife is reasonable, good at managing household chores, and treats her mother-in-law perfectly."

"I won't have to worry about retirement anymore."

"Is that so?" Aunt Yi was not very convinced.

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand:

"Otherwise, don't think about these things. We've been together for so many years."

Aunt Yi nodded, then smiled.

"Okay, I believe you. Plow the fields tonight..."

"This..." Yi Zhonghai's face was full of bitterness after hearing this. He couldn't refuse this kind of thing, nor could he refuse it. Who told him that he was in the wrong?

At this time, Yi Zhonghai was in his forties, the prime of his life.

A day's work at the steel rolling mill couldn't possibly exhaust his energy and stamina, so the rest had to be left to his wife.

There wasn't much entertainment these days. Although we had radios, not every household had one.

Moreover, most people turn off the lights and go to bed around 9 p.m., so they have plenty of time.

In mid-December, light snow began to fall in Beiping, and the weather turned completely cold.

Fan Bingbing's belly is already quite big, and she's only a few days away from her due date.

Li Jiuzhou took leave and didn't go to work?

On the morning of December 14th, she complained of stomach pain. It was her day off, and it was snowing heavily.

Li Jiuzhou prepared the cart, laid out a quilt, and Sha Zhu came to help. The group pulled the cart to the hospital.

Passersby on the street turned their heads in surprise, some out of curiosity, but most out of sympathy.

With such heavy snow, taking someone to the hospital on a handcart means something must have happened.

When they arrived at the hospital, everything was fine. Bingbing said her stomach didn't hurt anymore, she was just hungry.

But since we're already here, we might as well stay here; we don't want to make another trip.

Unfortunately, there were no beds available, so my second uncle, Li Huaide, had to use his.

After much persuasion, I managed to borrow the hospital's phone number and called the old man's house directly.

"Hello, who is this?" The person who answered the phone happened to be the old man.

Li Jiuzhou naturally recognized the old man's voice and greeted him:

"Grandpa, it's me, Jiuzhou."

"Hehe, it's you, kid. This is the first time I've heard you call home. Is there something wrong?" The old man was very perceptive and realized that Li Jiuzhou must have something on his mind, otherwise he wouldn't have called home.

"Um..." Li Jiuzhou hesitated, realizing that this was a trivial matter and the old man didn't need to handle it.

Hearing Li Jiuzhou hesitate, the old man scolded:

"Why are you beating around the bush? Just say what you want to say. When did you start being so polite with me?"

Li Jiuzhou could only explain the situation.

The old man did not hesitate at all after hearing this:

"Okay, I'll arrange it. I'm off today. Huaide took his wife and kids to his comrade's house. Don't worry, everything's fine."

Li Jiuzhou laughed: "Then I won't stand on ceremony. I trust you to handle things, hehe..."

"Get lost, just wait patiently. Remember to call back and give me the good news after the baby is born." The old man chuckled and cursed again before hanging up the phone.

Less than ten minutes after Li Jiuzhou hung up the phone, someone came to arrange a ward.

It's a single suite, where Li Jiuzhou can stay and take care of her.

Li Jiuzhou and the others went back to the courtyard first; they still needed to cook and bring the food over.

Li Jiuzhou laughed and took the cart back. When he was discharged from the hospital, he had already planned to have his second uncle bring a whole vehicle to pick him up.

There wasn't enough time this time, so we had to use a handcart to deliver it.

When the people in the courtyard saw Li Jiuzhou and his group return, they all came over to ask them questions.

"Jiuzhou, why are you back? Did you give birth?"

Before Li Jiuzhou could speak, Shazhu blurted out with a laugh:

"Don't even mention it. My sister-in-law's stomach pain stopped as soon as we got to the hospital, and she can eat and drink normally now."

"My senior brother said that since we're already here, we should stay here first to avoid having to make another trip."

"Oh, is that so?"

They didn't have much objection to Li Jiuzhou sending his wife to the hospital to give birth.

How can Li Jiuzhou have a child when he has no elders in his family?

If there's an elder present during childbirth, it can keep things calm and prevent panic.

Just like Jia's daughter-in-law, Tong Jie, who gave birth at home.

It doesn't matter if Jia Zhangshi is usually unconventional, but she is naturally experienced in childbirth. With her around during childbirth, Jia Dongxu and Tong Jie can feel more at ease.

As for Li Jiuzhou's family, they couldn't very well call his mother-in-law over, could they? There's no fixed time for childbirth, and she can't just come whenever she wants.

Therefore, they felt it was only right for Li Jiuzhou to take his wife to the hospital.

If there's no one at home to take care of things, then just spend money; everyone has their own way of doing things.

If Li Jiuzhou chooses to give birth at home, then which woman will come to keep things under control?

It's hard to say. Giving birth is like going through hell for a woman. Helping out a little is no problem for the neighbors in the yard. It's within our power.

Many people don't want to get too involved in matters of life and death, because it would be troublesome if something went wrong.

The neighbors in the courtyard all hoped that Li Jiuzhou's wife would have a smooth delivery, because a smooth delivery meant a feast.

The banquet at Li Jiuzhou's house was definitely the most prestigious kind, and it was the banquet that the neighbors looked forward to the most.

Amidst the stunned expressions of her son and daughter-in-law, Jia Zhangshi brought out Old Jia's memorial tablet, offered incense, and muttered incantations:

"Old Jia, you must bless Li Jiuzhou's wife in the front yard to have a smooth delivery, so that our whole family can go to the banquet. I'll bring your memorial tablet with me, and we'll sit at the head table."

The news spread throughout the courtyard that afternoon, leaving the neighbors both amused and exasperated.

Jia Zhangshi, what the hell are you doing?

Li Jiuzhou didn't know whether he should laugh or not.

Should I kill a chicken to thank Aunt Zhang?

They even set up an altar for their own family to perform a ritual; the scale of this is terrifying. Li Jiuzhou is afraid that his future children won't be able to bear this favor.