Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Starting in 1954, the people of Beiping lived a very comfortable life.

The battle that had been fought so well is over, and it went smoothly. The smiles on the faces of the people are even more numerous now.

They just wanted to live a good life. War and other such things were too unpredictable, and even fighting against foreign powers made them uneasy.

As May arrived, Bingbing had already been working at the neighborhood office with her son for two months.

I recently heard her say that the neighborhood office is organizing some kind of anti-espionage measures.

Because many saboteurs were hiding in Beiping, the organization was established to prevent them from harming ordinary people.

Director Wang personally went to various compounds to promote the cause and selected several liaison officers.

They are the intermediaries between the courtyard houses and the neighborhood committee, commonly known as liaison officers.

Director Wang explained the liaison officer's position very clearly: to coordinate conflicts between neighbors and prevent saboteurs.

Three people must be selected before next week's break.

After promoting the project in courtyard number 95, Director Wang went to the next courtyard.

The residents started discussing it, but Director Wang said that anyone could be a liaison officer, and that it didn't mean that older people could be chosen.

But those in the know understand that to speak loudly and authoritatively in the courtyard, one must have some ability and qualifications within the courtyard.

Li Jiuzhou had no idea what to do. He worked during the day, took care of his child at night, and sometimes had to farm. He didn't have time for any of this.

Even the younger generation in the hospital didn't have any ideas.

But older people like Yi Zhonghai have it.

Normally, if there's a disagreement, I'll talk to them about it, which means we'll discuss the details.

It's substantial enough that you can listen to what it says.

However, Director Wang also said that a vote would be held because their No. 95 compound is too big, so three liaison officers need to be selected.

The middle-aged people in the courtyard were quite interested.

Especially with his bangs, he felt his opportunity had come.

Yi Zhonghai felt that he was the only one who could do it!

Yan Bugui felt confident of success. "I'm the only scholar in the courtyard. How can they compare to me?"

Xu Fugui felt secure; he was a projectionist, a person who showed movies, and his status was top-notch.

However, some of the younger generation actually suggested that Li Jiuzhou be the liaison officer during their conversations, and there was quite a bit of demand for it.

This made the older people a little nervous.

What is Li Jiuzhou's identity?

To put it bluntly, he's just a cook; to put it nicely, he's a state banquet chef, the highest-paid person in courtyard number 95!

He was especially famous in Beiping!

They frequently attended banquets at the residences of high-ranking officials and nobles.

If he wanted to be a liaison officer, basically no one would think there was a problem.

They're just more powerful than you, and they have an uncle who's an official. If you're not happy about it, go ahead and bite them.

However, Li Jiuzhou declared that if he didn't want to participate, then he shouldn't be chosen.

When Li Jiuzhou gave up, the neighbors started gossiping again, discussing who would be a better candidate.

In the front yard, where women gathered to chat, Liu Haizhong's wife, Wang Guilian, shamelessly declared:

"My husband, Lao Liu, is running for liaison officer. In our neighborhood, he's always the first to help out whenever someone has a wedding or funeral. He's methodical and easy to get along with."

Who's in favor, and who's opposed?

The women fell silent after Wang Guilian said this.

Wang Guilian was right. Liu Haizhong had always helped out whenever there was a wedding or funeral in the neighborhood, and that was no lie.

Even though Jia Zhangshi didn't refute it, although Yi Zhonghai contributed the most when Lao Jia died, Liu Haizhong also helped a lot.

Even if the Jia family and Liu Haizhong had a past conflict, Jia Zhangshi still had to accept this favor at this moment.

Originally, Liu Haizhong had a very good impression on the people in the courtyard.

But around the Lunar New Year, Liu Haizhong betrayed the neighbors in the courtyard, and his image suddenly turned sour. It was really hard to decide whether to choose him or not.

It was Yang Ruihua who broke the silence, she said:

"It's not something an old woman like me can decide; we have to spend money to run for office."

Wang Guilian pursed her lips and didn't say anything more; she just wanted to garner votes for her man.

The gentlemen who wanted to act as liaisons naturally used their own methods to secretly visit each household.

Yan Bugui went to Li Jiuzhou's house first to ask for his support.

"Jiuzhou, Uncle Yan won't let you help for nothing. Just pick a couple of potted plants from the ones outside my door, consider it a token of my appreciation."

Li Jiuzhou was initially reluctant, but since there were benefits involved, he did it and gave Yan Bugui a thumbs up.

"Uncle Yan is so generous. Don't worry, I'll definitely vote for you."

Yan Bugui was relieved and took Li Jiuzhou to select two potted plants.

When Sha Zhu saw that Li Jiuzhou had added potted plants to his door, he rushed straight to Yan Bugui's house and said that he wanted to support him, but he had to let him take two potted plants.

Yan Bugui gritted his teeth and accepted it.

Sha Zhu happily carried the potted plant home.

Yi Zhonghai saw all of this and knew that Yan Bugui was starting to exert his influence. He, who had been as steady as Mount Tai, began to feel uneasy.

So he set off to canvass votes at other residents' homes.

The night before the selection of liaison officers, everyone gathered at the Central Court. Although there were no light bulbs, the room was still bright under the moonlight.

The group gathered by Yi Zhonghai.

"Everyone, one vote per household. Go to Teacher Yan to get a small slip of paper and write down who you want to vote for."

Everyone stepped forward to receive a small slip of paper, and then each wrote down their choice of candidate behind their backs.

We can't let anyone else see this; it's not good to offend anyone.

After collecting the scraps of paper, Yan Bugui tallied them.

He finished tallying the votes in no time and began reading them out:

"Xu Fugui from the backyard received 9 votes."

"Wow!" Everyone was surprised that Old Xu from the backyard actually had 9 votes. That's incredible!

Yi Zhonghai's brows furrowed involuntarily. Why so many?

Yi Zhonghai of the Intermediate Court received 7 votes, and Yan Bugui of the Front Court received 6 votes.

"The backyard has Liu...Liu Haizhong gets 1 vote!"

When Liu Haizhong was mentioned, Yan Bugui's lips curled up slightly, as if he were mocking him.

The neighbors were amused when they heard this. There were 23 households in the courtyard, and Liu Haizhong only had one vote. It's easy to guess how he got it – he voted for himself.

Liu Haizhong looked frustrated. How come he only got one vote?

He knew in his heart that no one in the department had voted for him. He had originally wanted to try his luck, but seeing the result still made him very upset...

Nobody voted for me! Oh my god, this is so frustrating...

The outcome is clear now: the positions of the three liaison officers in Courtyard No. 95 have been determined.

They are Yan Bugui in the front yard, Yi Zhonghai in the middle yard, and Xu Fugui in the back yard.

It's good that each of the three departments—front, middle, and rear—has a liaison officer.

The neighbors in the courtyard didn't think that much about it; who knows what will happen in the future?

On the morning of the rest day, Director Wang came again, confirmed the appointment of three liaison officers, and took them to a meeting at the subdistrict office to explain some matters that needed attention.

That afternoon, Yi Zhonghai, Xu Fugui, and Yan Bugui convened the first meeting of the residents of No. 95 Courtyard at the Intermediate Court.

Without using the tiger's skin to raise a big flag, he simply talked about some precautions for preventing enemy agents and the issue of peaceful coexistence with neighbors.

Then the main gate of No. 95 courtyard is locked at 9 pm, and the gate lock is managed by Yan Bugui.

You have to call him when you go out or come back in the evening.

We talked about a bunch of small, miscellaneous issues for over an hour before we finally finished.

Li Jiuzhou was already tired of hearing it. Now is not the future, there aren't that many troublesome things, and there's nothing interesting to see. He looks forward to the future.

I want to see if the people in this courtyard will follow the same old path.