Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

After seeing Wu Lao Er off, Li Jiuzhou and the others packed up their food utensils around 10 a.m. and prepared to return to the city.

The two days and two nights of work were completed quite satisfactorily.

The promised reward of 800 million to Li Jiuzhou was increased to 1000 million.

Sha Zhu received 800 million, and even before leaving, Xu Damao was given a red envelope by Boss Wu, leaving him somewhat confused.

On the way, he opened the package and saw that it contained 200 million yuan. Xu Dale was so happy that he rode his bicycle into a ditch.

Sha Zhu was very unhappy. Xu Damao hadn't done anything, but he had managed to get two million just by talking. It was unbelievable.

Li Jiuzhou got home before 11 o'clock, and Manager Luan told him to go to work tomorrow.

No one was home at the time; his wife had taken their son to work, while his younger brother Shanhe had gone to school.

Li Jiuzhou went to Sha Zhu's house because on the way back he heard Sha Zhu say that his wife, Qin Huairu, was preparing to brew some rice wine.

Li Jiuzhou had just arrived at Sha Zhu's door when he heard rustling sounds. He didn't think much of it, since the door wasn't closed and he couldn't possibly think of anything.

So he stepped inside with his left foot and knocked on the door with his right.

What he saw was truly an eyesore!

Sha Zhu was hugging and kissing Qin Huairu, his hands weren't idle either.

Li Jiuzhou was puzzled. He remembered that the footsteps were quite loud, so why couldn't the two of them hear them?

Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu were stunned when they heard the knocking and turned around. They quickly separated.

"Hey, forget I was here." Li Jiuzhou quickly slipped away, cursing all the way.

As soon as I entered the house, Sha Zhu came over, still shamelessly grinning:

"Hey, senior brother, did you need something?"

Li Jiuzhou looked at him irritably and said, "What's your rush? Can't you even close the door?"

"If I don't come, are you two going to have to perform a talent show?"

Sha Zhu didn't refute, he just kept grinning foolishly.

Seeing that his senior brother had stopped scolding him, he asked why he had come over earlier.

Li Jiuzhou said:

"Your wife is going to make rice wine, right? Could you spare some glutinous rice for me? I'll make glutinous rice for lunch."

"Okay, no problem, I'll go get it right away." Sha Zhu immediately went to get it upon hearing this.

Sha Zhu returned quickly, carrying a plate of soaked glutinous rice.

After Li Jiuzhou took it, he went to the kitchen to prepare the ingredients.

He had plenty of ingredients at home, so he chopped carrots, shiitake mushrooms, sausage, corn kernels, and green peas.

Then pour all the glutinous rice ingredients into a large pot, stir-fry over high heat for two minutes to render the oil from the sausage, then add water and simmer.

There shouldn't be too much water, otherwise it will become mushy and won't taste good. Sticky rice without a crispy crust at the bottom is soulless.

This method is somewhat similar to claypot rice, but Li Jiuzhou felt that glutinous rice cooked over a wood-fired stove was more fragrant.

Sure enough, Yan Bugui, who had left work early, smelled the aroma and knocked on the small door in Li Jiuzhou's courtyard.

Li Jiuzhou went to open the door for him:

"Teacher Yan, get out of class ended early again?"

Yan Bugui was not angry upon hearing this, but instead smiled and said:

"Hehe, Jiuzhou, if I earned a million or so a month like you, I'd gladly live at school."

"Why risk your life for a salary of hundreds of thousands?"

After hearing this, Li Jiuzhou gave him a thumbs up, saying, "You've thought things through perfectly."

"Let me see what delicious food you've made! The smell is wafting all over my house!" Yan Bugui said impatiently.

"Come and take a look." Li Jiuzhou led him into the kitchen.

Yan Bugui looked surprised after reading it:

"It's somewhat like eight-treasure rice, but it doesn't smell quite like it."

"Just a quick fix, if you like it..." Li Jiuzhou paused at this point.

Yan Bugui immediately became interested upon hearing this, and looked at Li Jiuzhou with expectant eyes, as if to say, "Tell me quickly!"

"Just let your wife do it."

"Pfft~" Yan Bugui almost choked on his laughter, pointing at Li Jiuzhou and cursing:

"Jiuzhou, you're really something."

"Hahahaha." Li Jiuzhou was overjoyed; he loved teasing Yan Bugui.

"Teacher Yan, as you can see, we didn't make much today. It was all the glutinous rice that Zhu Zi's family gave me."

"It's just enough for my family to eat."

"Alright, I'll get you some to try."

Yan Bugui quickly nodded: "Okay, as long as I can taste it, that's fine."

"I don't really care about what others make, but I really do care about what you make, Jiuzhou."

"I'd be happy even if it meant throwing away some noodles."

Yan Bugui spoke sincerely, without the slightest pretense.

Li Jiuzhou could naturally tell that he wouldn't bother with Yan Bugui if he tried to talk nonsense to him.

If you tell the truth, everything will be fine.

Yan Bugui sighed again, "Jiuzhou, to be honest, being your neighbor is truly a bittersweet experience."

"A top chef can make the neighbors drool with envy just by showing off one of his dishes."

"Haven't you noticed? With you and Zhuzi in this courtyard, the neighbors' meals are all much better."

"The people in the neighboring courtyards don't earn any less than us, but I've inquired and they eat meat very rarely, even a handful of times a month."

"It's not that they don't have money, it's that they're reluctant to spend it."

"Look at the Jia family again. They say they only eat meat once every three days, but I think they eat meat every single day."

"Look how fat Jia Zhangshi has become, she's practically ready to be weighed and sold."

Li Jiuzhou laughed after hearing this:

"You're right. Each hospital has different lifestyle habits. Those who earn more spend more, and those who earn less spend less."

"Life is just getting better, and it's not unreasonable for ordinary people to want to eat well."

"As long as you don't break the law or commit crimes, you can live your life as usual."

"Of course, it's always good to keep a low profile."

Just as the two continued their casual conversation, the gate to Li Jiuzhou's house was suddenly pounded on.

"Who is this? How dare you knock on the door like that? It's rude. Let's go see who it is," Yan Bugui said with dissatisfaction.

When they reached the courtyard gate, they saw that it was indeed Jia Zhangshi.

When he saw her, Li Jiuzhou gave a strange smile and glanced at Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui touched his nose. He had just been talking badly about her, but now he felt a little guilty seeing Jia Zhangshi.

Li Jiuzhou opened the courtyard gate and called out, "Auntie, what's the matter?"

Madam Jia Zhang laughed and said, "Jiuzhou, what are you eating? It smells so good!"

"Don't misunderstand, Auntie doesn't want to eat it. She just wants to ask what's being made. The aroma is so strong it's making me dizzy. It would be great if I could learn how to make it."

"Haha, is that so? Then Auntie, come in and take a look." Li Jiuzhou wasn't surprised.

When Li Jiuzhou cooks delicious food at home, women from the courtyard often come over to learn a few tricks.

Li Jiuzhou was happy to share this; if they wanted to learn, he would show them.

These are all everyday meals, and there's no way to compete with him for his livelihood.

When Jia Zhangshi saw the glutinous rice that Li Jiuzhou had been steaming, she swallowed hard.

"It smells so good..." Jia Zhangshi murmured.

"Tch~" Yan Bugui muttered under his breath.

But Madam Jia overheard this, and immediately turned around to glare fiercely at Yan Bugui, then said:

"You old bastard, you just insulted me, didn't you? Don't you know the walls have ears?"

"I heard it all at the gate of the courtyard."

Yan Bugui was very anxious. Talking about someone behind their back isn't a big deal, but it would be very embarrassing if the person heard it with their own ears.

Yan Bugui didn't try to explain, because Li Jiuzhou's kitchen was very close to the courtyard gate, so it wasn't surprising that Jia Zhangshi heard it. However, he was a little flustered and didn't organize his thoughts properly. The first word he uttered made Jia Zhangshi exclaim that she couldn't bear it, she really couldn't bear it.

Yan Bugui first smiled apologetically, then said, "Mom, this is a misunderstanding."

"Huh?" Jia Zhangshi and Li Jiuzhou both widened their eyes, and even rubbed their ears, thinking they had misheard.