Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

In the new year, Li Jiuzhou made some minor adjustments to his work at Fengzeyuan.

He was at the top level in the kitchen, though there were three others at the same level.

That's Master Li Tielong and the other two chefs, all of whom are very famous.

There's basically very little work to do in the kitchen.

I only step in to help when a customer specifically requests it, or when the chefs at the bottom of the kitchen can't handle a particular dish.

Four people supervise the preparation of the dishes. If the dishes are not up to standard, they are sent back for rework. Only dishes that meet the standards are served.

It can be said that by the time the kitchen opens for dinner, the chefs who are supervising the preparation of the dishes can usually eat until they are half full.

Li Jiuzhou was the same; he wasn't completely full, since it was just vegetables, not a main course.

You should know that cooks have a big appetite, and the work they do is physically demanding.

Li Jiuzhou's monthly salary was increased to 128 million, a rise of 10.

This is just his fixed salary; he hasn't even included the money he earns from taking on extra jobs.

That was several times higher than a salary. Li Jiuzhou calculated his total income in 1953 and found it to be around 420 million per month on average.

That is to say, Li Jiuzhou earned about 5000 million last year.

Among them, Boss Lou made the biggest contribution, hosting banquets at least three times a month.

Because he was a regular customer, Li Jiuzhou and Boss Lou agreed that it would cost 68 yuan for one private chef service.

He gave 50 yuan, 18 yuan of which went to Sha Zhu, the kitchen helper.

The key point is that the price was set, but Boss Lou didn't play by the rules. He always gave extra money, making himself seem very rich.

Sometimes, when he was in a good mood after drinking, he would take off his watch. Li Jiuzhou received five watches from Boss Lou, all of which were gifts from him after he was drunk.

There were two identical ones, that's just outrageous!

Li Jiuzhou accepted everything without question; being polite was out of the question. If you were polite to him, he would accuse you of looking down on him.

For example, today, Li Jiuzhou took Sha Zhu to the steel mill to cook for Boss Lou and also hosted a banquet for the big boss.

The two apprentices finished their meal in the kitchen and cleaned up their things.

Sha Zhu said while working:

"Senior brother, the atmosphere inside is really great today. It's so loud, and they're even playing drinking games."

"Hehe, as long as you enjoy your meal, it means you like the food we made," Li Jiuzhou replied casually.

Sha Zhu's eyes darted around, as if he had thought of something:

"Senior brother, do you think Boss Lou will drink too much today?"

"I bet he's had too much to drink. He came by this morning, and he was wearing a new watch on his wrist. Do you think he'll give it to you when he comes over later?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou scratched his head. He was also quite troubled. Lou Bancheng didn't know why, but he had given him several watches as a reward.

The problem is that these watches are ridiculously expensive, each worth over 300 million, which Li Jiuzhou finds too pricey.

The problem is, he gets angry even though we're not close. Who can I reason with?

Li Jiuzhou actually underestimated Boss Lou. When he received the third watch from Lou Bancheng, he went to ask his second uncle about it.

Ask Lou Bancheng how rich he really is.

My second uncle only said one sentence, but it contained more than you can imagine.

So when Li Jiuzhou received watches again, he wasn't surprised at all. You're rich, you're awesome!

Just as Li Jiuzhou was immersed in his own inner world, someone walked into the kitchen and let out a hearty laugh:

"Hahaha, you two are busy."

The visitor was none other than Lou Bancheng.

The two brothers put down what they were doing and went over to greet him:

"Boss Lou x2, good."

"Is the food alright?" Li Jiuzhou asked.

"Good, very good, the leaders are very satisfied."

"Come, come, here's a watch for you, Jiuzhou."

After saying that, Lou Bancheng started taking off his watch again.

Li Jiuzhou accepted it with a complicated expression, inwardly praising the boss's generosity and spirit!

On the way back, Li Jiuzhou looked at the watch that Lou Bancheng had just given him. It was a Rolex. Li Jiuzhou had checked the price at the store, and it was worth more than 500 million yuan at the current price.

This is undoubtedly Li Jiuzhou's biggest client.

None of the tips given by other customers were as generous as those given by Boss Lou.

Li Jiuzhou thought that once Gao was down on his luck, he would definitely go to Gao's house and try to take advantage of him.

He didn't want the money; he wanted the Lou family's antiques, calligraphy, and paintings.

The Lou family definitely has it, and it's very valuable.

Li Jiuzhou also collects antiques and calligraphy, especially books of this kind that his father-in-law has, which Li Jiuzhou has also looked at.

I wouldn't call myself an expert, I'm at most a dabbler, but if I can't figure it out myself, I can ask my father-in-law to take a look, he'll be fine with it.

Li Jiuzhou hasn't made much money in recent years. He has nowhere to buy antiques and calligraphy, and going to the countryside to shovel soil is too tiring.

Making a fortune at this point is unrealistic; it's best to be more discreet.

Once things are completely liberalized, you can start a business by selling any item you find.

Of course, there are quite a few antique dealers now. At the end of last year, Li Jiuzhou saw people coming to the courtyard to collect ancient coins, which is commonly known as "shoveling dirt".

Of course, several families in the courtyard sold some, and Li Jiuzhou was also present. He looked at the Yuan Shikai silver dollars, which were all worthless.

There are almost no high-priced coins.

Forget about old items; you simply can't find these things in ordinary people's homes.

Because silver dollars and other currencies were exchanged for paper money long after the founding of the country, even if some were left, only a few would be kept as souvenirs.

They even regretted keeping them in the first place, now that the government won't allow them to be exchanged anymore.

Fortunately, someone came to buy up the land, otherwise we would have really been stuck with it.

Antiques, calligraphy, paintings, and ancient coins are not as valuable as a pound of pork these days.

The deaf old woman kept some Qing Dynasty coins and silver dollars because she had money.

There are quite a few large and small yellow croakers that can be exchanged for money.

When the deaf old woman went to exchange her old banknotes for new ones, she took more than two thousand silver dollars and barely touched the gold bars. Do you think she had any money?

The country now only recognizes newly issued banknotes; silver dollars and other precious currencies are no longer valid.

Things like gold can only circulate in the underground market; open trading is not allowed.

Of course, you can exchange gold bars at the bank. One or two bars can be exchanged for currency normally. But if you have more, you will face scrutiny.

Therefore, most people go to the black market, where the exchange rate for paper money is also higher.

But things like gold bars are usually kept as family heaps, and people wouldn't take them out unless they were destitute.

The Jia family has some; they're small yellow croakers. All the long-time residents in the courtyard know about them. When Jia Dongxu was little, he secretly took them out to play with and was severely beaten by his father, Old Jia.

Li Jiuzhou has collected more than 15 jin of gold bars to date, most of which were the money he received from the old folks who cooked for him.

There was a large yellow croaker from the Republican era, weighing 312 grams, under his pillow.

The estimated gold buyback price in 2026 is approximately 32.

Sometimes when he was bored, Li Jiuzhou would take out the large yellow croaker and cook it.

He just can't help liking things that are golden and shiny.

If Li Jiuzhou had the gold he currently possessed, he could achieve financial freedom by 2026.

However, if calculated according to the gold price in 1954, it would be worthless, with one gram worth approximately 3 yuan.

At a ratio of 1:3, it's practically worthless.

So we still have to wait. If only it were 2026, but can he live that long?

By 2026, Li Jiuzhou will be 94 years old. His urn will probably be leaking water by then.

Li Jiuzhou felt that he might not live that long.

Besides gold bars, Li Jiuzhou also received ancient coins from the deaf old woman, including Qing Dynasty dragon dollars and silver coins from the Republic of China era.

After identification, many valuable coins were found.

Li Jiuzhou doesn't own many antiques; the ones he does have were taken from the deaf old lady's shop.

As for cash deposits, there are over 3 trillion yuan. That's not much; the new banknotes issued next year, 1955, will only amount to a little over 3 yuan.

The above is Li Jiuzhou's total assets.