Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

During his break, Li Jiuzhou was giving pointers to Sha Zhu. At lunchtime, Sha Zhu had a dish that wasn't quite right, so Li Jiuzhou sent it back to be remade.

Just as the two were busy working, Manager Luan came in and greeted them:

"Are you two busy?"

"Is there something you need, shopkeeper?" Li Jiuzhou asked.

Manager Luan nodded: "Someone has asked you to prepare a banquet, 80 tables!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou shook his head frantically.

"Shopkeeper, stop joking. You'll be exhausted if you only have 80 tables."

Before he could finish speaking, Sha Zhu became interested:

"Is someone's old man dying? Is it some kind of big birthday celebration?"

"Hahahaha..." Manager Luan was amused by the two brothers and waved his hand, saying:

"Do you know the Wu family who delivers seafood to us? Their second son works in Tianjin Port."

"They set up 80 tables for the funeral of their second son."

"There's another meaning to it too. It's good to have more people to suppress the resentment of Wu's second son. It's said that he was trampled to death at the dock. Oh, it was so tragic. I heard that even his chicken gizzard was crushed."

"So young, and he's already gone, with a fiancée he wasn't even betrothed to."

"This resentment is so strong, it's best to suppress it properly."

"Tear!" Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu gasped in shock upon hearing this.

The chicken gizzards were all trampled to pieces. If this funeral isn't handled properly, Wu's second son might just fly away in the middle of the night!

After hearing what Manager Luan said, Li Jiuzhou was even more unwilling to go; damn it, it was terrifying.

Sha Zhu also wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Seeing that he had successfully frightened the two, Manager Luan was overjoyed, but still continued to speak:

"Old Master Wu specifically requested that you, Mr. Yu, be the host of the banquet."

"I'll pay you 10 yuan per table, the kitchen helpers will be paid extra, and there'll be a bonus afterward!"

"Holy crap, isn't that 800 million?" Sha Zhu exclaimed, immediately reciting the full amount of the reward.

At 100,000 per table, 80 tables would cost 8 million.

Li Jiuzhou wasn't particularly moved by the price. Was 800 million a lot?

That's a lot, almost seven months' salary for him at Fengzeyuan.

Manager Luan didn't respond to Sha Zhu's exclamation, but pointed at him and said:

"Zhu Zi, you're included too. Old Master Wu also mentioned your name."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu pointed to himself, then a bright smile spread across his face.

"Looks like my reputation is pretty good; they're all specifically asking me to host the banquet."

Manager Luan then covered his mouth and laughed:

"You're overthinking it, Zhu Zi. Old Master Wu said you have a lot of violent energy, and you've earned the nickname 'violent chef' in Beiping. You have a lot of yang energy."

He said he felt at ease with you around, and if his second son got up in the middle of the night feeling resentful, he hoped you could lend a hand and massage him.

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu was so enraged that he nearly jumped out of his skin, pointing in the direction of the Wu family outside the city and cursing loudly:

"Fuck your mother, **************************."

Sha Zhu's loud voice alarmed the entire Fengzeyuan community; his curses were simply too vulgar.

He Daqing came over and, noticing his son's unusual condition, asked:

"Zhu Zi, what's wrong? Does some bastard owe you money and won't pay it back?"

Sha Zhu really wanted to say, "You son of a bitch, you owe me money and you won't pay it back," but he didn't say it out loud. If he did, wouldn't he be insulting himself too?

So he repeated what Manager Luan had just said.

He Daqing was furious upon hearing this, and pointed in the direction of the Wu family outside the city, he began to curse:

"Damn the Wu family, I'll fuck your ancestors ************."

The father and son pointed in the same direction and cursed for a full three minutes before stopping.

Li Jiuzhou was laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

It wasn't that he wanted to laugh, but that he couldn't help it.

At this moment, in the lobby of Fengzeyuan, Manager Gong Fang looked at Wu's eldest son, who was sitting in a chair drinking tea, with an embarrassed expression.

The eldest son of the Wu family was also very embarrassed, as this was the first time he had ever been insulted like this.

I have to meet with Li Jiuzhou and his brother later for a detailed discussion, it's really awkward.

Because the Wu family and Fengzeyuan have been long-term partners, they still have a good relationship.

The Wu family paid a high price to invite Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu to host the banquet, with Li Jiuzhou as the host and Sha Zhu as the second host.

At that time, Fengzeyuan was also needed to cooperate by sending more chefs and apprentices to help with other tasks.

money is not a problem.

Due to business dealings between the two families, Li Jiuzhou agreed. Sha Zhu was originally unwilling, but the eldest son of the Wu family had no choice but to use money to bribe him.

"Cheer He, a flat rate of 600 million, and I'll give you an extra 100 million for your trouble if we settle this peacefully."

"If my little brother wakes up in the middle of the night, I'll double the reward. Consider it a stipend for settling down... uh, I mean, a stipend for his hard work!"

The eldest son of the Wu family almost said "settlement fee," then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and gave Sha Zhu an apologetic smile.

Sha Zhu snorted and ignored Wu's eldest brother, but he still wanted to go. His senior brother had gone, so he wanted to join in the fun.

He even had a bit of anticipation in his heart, wondering how he would deal with it if the second son of the Wu family really turned over in the middle of the night.

How about we get some boy's urine, a donkey hoof, and some black dog blood, just in case?

The Wu family's funeral will last for two days. It's not like they'd make 800 million for a single meal; that would be way too easy to earn money.

Li Jiuzhou was about to leave, so the two of them went home to inform their wives.

My mother-in-law happened to be there too, so she could help take care of things while I was away for two days.

Just as the two returned to Fengzeyuan, Xu Damao arrived, looking travel-worn.

When Sha Zhu saw Xu Damao, he excitedly slapped his head and pulled him and his senior brother to a corner to whisper to each other.

"Da Mao, you know Wu's second son is dead, right?"

"Tell me, did you do it?"

Xu Damao was terrified and quickly explained, almost blurting out:

"You idiot, don't you dare wrong an innocent person. If I had the guts, I would have killed you long ago!"

Li Jiuzhou laughed after hearing this and then fanned the flames from the side.

"Heh~ Da Mao, it seems you still harbor quite a grudge against Sha Zhu."

Sha Zhu grinned wickedly, clenching his fists so tightly they cracked, and patted him on the shoulder, half-threateningly:

"My senior brother and I are going to the Wu family to prepare a banquet now. Da Mao, you can come with us."

"It's good that Wu's second son is dead, so your Su Mei won't have to marry him."

Xu Damao slapped Sha Zhu's hand away:

"That's why I'm here today. I want to see what's really going on with the second son of the Wu family."

Silly Pillar grinned mischievously:

"It was trampled to death by the crowd, its chicken gizzard was crushed. It is said that its resentment is so great that it might turn over in the middle of the night."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao felt his hair stand on end; it was too damn creepy. He regretted speaking so soon, and tremblingly said:

"Um, can I not go?"

Sha Zhu shook his head:

"No, if Wu's second son rolls over in the middle of the night, I'll hold him down. Da Mao, you can just chop him up a few times."

"Don't even think about running away, you're the enemy of the second son of the Wu family."

Xu Damao objected immediately upon hearing this:

"How did I become the enemy of the second son of the Wu family?"

After Xu Damao finished speaking, Sha Zhu only replied with a light, casual remark:

"You're eyeing his fiancée. As the old saying goes, the hatred of having one's wife stolen is irreconcilable."

"Da Mao, the first thing Wu's second son did after turning his life around was to look for you..."

"Uh..." Xu Damao was speechless for a moment.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu comforted him:

"It's alright, I'm here. I even brought donkey hooves. Once we get to the Wu family, all you have to do is prepare some boy's urine."

"If that second son of the Wu family dares to make a comeback, we'll let him suffer another defeat!"

Xu Damao nodded, his eyes showing both fear and a hint of excitement.