Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Sha Zhu achieved his goal of gaining a title in the culinary world of Beiping.

He used to envy his senior, who was a top chef at a young age and even earned the title of "Mr. Fish" in the culinary world.

Now it's his turn. He has a title: "The Violent Chef of Fengzeyuan." In short, "Violent Chef He."

Does it sound nice? Of course not, this title is both a compliment and an insult.

He was praised for his fearlessness in the face of power and humiliation, which led him to defeat his employer.

Ironically, to this day, no chef in Beijing's culinary circles has ever been known to have committed treason against their employer.

Sha Zhu became famous, in a unique way.

No one from Zhengyangmen is going to invite Shazhu to host a banquet anymore; they have reservations because Shazhu is too violent.

On the other hand, people in Nanluoguxiang didn't care. They were all long-time residents and knew what kind of person Sha Zhu was; he wasn't the kind of person who would resort to violence after a few words.

When Sha Zhu went to work at Fengzeyuan the next day, he was warmly welcomed. He was a chef with a title, and Fengzeyuan had to fawn over him.

Even at noon that day, several tables of guests specifically requested that "Bao Chu" cook their dishes.

Sha Zhu's originally gloomy face suddenly lit up like a flower.

This is the benefit of getting a title; you see, good things come the very next day.

He Daqing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw his son's mood brighten.

I'm worried that my son will get hung up on the title, which could affect his cooking skills in the long run.

Now he's not worried anymore; his son is still the same son.

Even Sha Zhu's two adopted younger brothers, He Jun and He Lai, flaunted their elder brother's name.

You should know that their family lived near Zhengyangmen, and Sha Zhu got this job through his own father, He Daqing.

He Jun shouted loudly to his friends:

"Do you know who my older brother is? He's the tyrannical chef at Fengzeyuan Restaurant. He beat down 16 members of the Wang family."

"He didn't even blink an eye, not even a punch. Do you know Old Lady Wang? My older brother slammed her to the ground with one dunk."

"Bring out all the good food you have. If anyone bullies you in the future, just say it's because of my older brother."

Sha Zhu didn't have a good reputation in Zhengyangmen; he was too violent and became a negative example.

But the kids admired him because Sha Zhu was a good fighter.

Many factories are preparing to give workers welfare benefits and organize movie screenings at the end of the year.

Lou's Steel Rolling Mill did the same, giving its workers welfare benefits on the day of their holiday.

Some safety shoes and work clothes, as well as flour and pork.

Jia Dongxu received a set of clothes and shoes, five catties of flour, and one catty of pork.

Yi Zhonghai had a lot more: twenty catties of flour, three catties of pork, a kettle, and other odds and ends, all of which were useful items in daily life.

Senior technicians receive many benefits, which is intended to motivate workers to strive for advancement.

As a teacher, Yan Bugui gave me a lot of benefits, including notebooks, pens, and two pounds of pork.

Of course, if we're talking about which hospital offers the best benefits, then it has to be Fengzeyuan.

Manager Luan has never been stingy. Even though the government was involved, Fengzeyuan still provided a set of benefits.

However, Manager Luan still personally pays for employee benefits; this amount of money is really nothing to him.

Li Jiuzhou received a whole bag of flour, a pig's leg weighing a full 30 jin (15 catties), and some other things, and he also received a reward of 168 million!

Look, where can you find a boss like this?

Sha Zhu received the same benefits as his senior brother Li Jiuzhou, except that his reward was not as much, only 88.

There are quite a few apprentices, and every year at this time, Manager Luan is always surrounded by cheers.

He was really generous; no one complained when working under him.

The smiles on the faces of the kitchen staff after receiving their New Year's bonuses and rewards are genuine.

Everyone has a family to support, and the most real thing in this society is money.

When someone as generous as Manager Luan pays out of pocket, the employees are willing to listen to whatever he says and do it willingly.

The company's managers are used to it; they participate in the management and also in profit sharing.

As long as the benefits are received, that's fine. How Luan Xuetang does things is his business, and we can't interfere so much.

He also received Luan's New Year's benefits, didn't he? He didn't embezzle any money, so receiving some New Year's benefits is reasonable and legal.

The neighbors in the courtyard were all envious when they saw Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu returning with their New Year's benefits.

Neither of them mentioned the reward, so as not to arouse envy in others.

The meat alone is enough to make them envious.

People in the compound love to compare themselves to others, especially when it comes to receiving welfare benefits during the Lunar New Year; every household is very happy about it.

However, there are still some people who don't receive welfare benefits, like Wang Dahu, who doesn't have the job of collecting wild goods in the countryside.

A neighbor joked:

"Big Tiger, where are your New Year's perks?"

"What kind of welfare do I get?" Da Hu said irritably in response to his neighbors' teasing.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

Erhu, Dahu's younger brother, was unhappy that his older brother was being ridiculed by the neighbors, so he stood up and said:

"What good are welfare benefits? My brother brought back half a wild boar last night in the middle of the night."

"We've got over a dozen pheasants and rabbits; we can have a good New Year this year!"

After saying this, Erhu looked around at his neighbors with great pride.

The neighbors were also surprised to hear this, and Yan Bugui asked:

"Big Tiger, is your brother serious?"

His mouth was practically stretched to his ears as he waved his hand.

"Hehe, no problem at all~"

Sometimes you can't back down when it's time to show your strength. Did he mention that he's made millions from buying wild animals in the past few months?

As a young person, I've been holding back for a long time.

It's good that my brother spoke up for himself. It's just half a wild boar and some other game. He hasn't told anyone about the money he made; he's kept it very secret.

I would tell him when I was drinking and chatting with Brother Jiuzhou.

Da Hu's words made the neighbors envious. "You even brought back half a string of wild boar meat. You're really something else. Why don't you just fly to the sky?"

Some people didn't believe it and went to the Wang family's house to see for themselves. It turned out that they weren't lying; it was all the truth—a house full of meat.

When asked if the meat was ordered by a customer, Wang's mother said it was for her own consumption.

That's terrifying.

Does your Wang family also want to move up a few levels?

It's so frustrating to be under so much pressure like this!

The news that Wang's family had so much meat in half a day that they couldn't fit it all in their house spread throughout Nanluoguxiang.

Bingbing hasn't gone back to work after her postpartum confinement period, partly because the Chinese New Year is approaching and partly because there's no one to take care of her.

During the Spring Festival, my mother-in-law's family also had many things to take care of, and my two brothers-in-law were still in school.

Li Jiuzhou planned to let Bingbing go back to work after his son turned 100 days old.

We'll discuss the specific arrangements later.

He'll be busy during the Chinese New Year, as Bingbing has to take care of the children. Fortunately, his younger brother Shanhe and Jiaojiao can help out.

For tasks like fetching water, the whole family took care of everything, and all three large water vats at home were always full.

In winter, Li Jiuzhou's family washes clothes in their own yard, just by boiling some hot water; it's just a bit of a hassle.

Li Jiuzhou wanted to connect a water pipe into the yard himself and install a separate water meter.

Getting water from the Intermediate People's Court is too much trouble.

But that's impossible. The water from that tap in the Intermediate People's Court is not drinkable; it's only good for washing and cleaning.

The actual drinking water had to be collected separately at the street entrance, and the fee was charged per person per month, which was 300 yuan per person, or 3 cents per person thereafter.

The drinking water for Li Jiuzhou's family was delivered to their home by a water carrier, which was also a profession.

Since the villagers couldn't bear to spend money, they had to fetch water from the street corner themselves.

Therefore, there were many trivial matters in this era, and it was far less convenient than later generations.

Do you know how the men in the courtyard houses took baths in the summer?

He washed himself right there at the tap in the middle courtyard, wearing only his underwear.

Taking a bath in winter? That would have to be calculated on a monthly basis.

At night, I just need to wipe myself down and change into a new pair of underwear. I can go to the public bathhouse for a scrub every month or so.

Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu take showers every day. Outsiders may not know how strong the smell of cooking oil is in the kitchen, but they, as cooks, naturally know.

The smell of cooking oil was too strong, so in winter the two of them would take a shower and change their clothes before coming back.

Fengzeyuan's kitchen has hot water and a shower room, which is very convenient.

The other chefs did the same; they washed up before going home.