Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Lou Bancheng's visits to the factory were merely routine inspections, or he would be asked to look at the account books.

During the period of joint public-private ownership, Lou Bancheng still wielded considerable power in the factory.

Remember, they are shareholders after all; the factory originally belonged to them.

Although social classes were established, it didn't stop people from enjoying a life of luxury.

It's not time yet. At noon today, Li Jiuzhou saw a group of leaders chatting and laughing with Lou Bancheng.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and on their day off, Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu arrived at the Lou family's villa around 8 a.m.

It's not an exaggeration to say that villas are common; other capitalists even have names like "Zhou Mansion" or "Li Mansion" in front of their gates.

The Lou family didn't do anything special, which shows they were quite low-key about their living arrangements.

After entering the Lou family villa, the two brothers clearly felt that it was much quieter.

It used to be so lively, with more than a dozen servants. Now there are only three or five left.

This is enough to prove that even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.

The two brothers were there at this time because they still needed to make a simple breakfast for the Lou family.

The main problem is that it's always like this, and both sides have gotten used to it.

The Lou family members are sleeping like logs right now.

Xu Damao's mother hadn't been sent away yet and was still helping out with odd jobs at the Lou family's house. She happily greeted the two brothers when they arrived.

"Jiuzhou, Zhuzi, you two are here!"

Silly Pillar laughed:

"Yes, Auntie, Mr. Lou and his family haven't gotten up yet, have they?"

Aunt Xu replied:

"They're still asleep. I told them last night that you two brothers were coming, and the kitchen hasn't even been turned on yet."

"Your aunt will help you two brothers in a little while."

"Alright, let's go see what's going on."

The three of them went to the kitchen, where there was a dazzling array of food, including things that ran in the mountains, flew in the sky, and swam in the sea.

Li Jiuzhou decided to make seafood porridge, and took shrimp, crab, dried scallops and other ingredients to cook the porridge.

To make a large portion, there are 9 people in the Lou family.

Lou Bancheng and his wife, along with their two sons and daughters-in-law, make a total of six people. They also have a daughter, Lou Xiao'e, and two grandsons.

The family needs to eat, the five servants in the house need to eat, and Li Jiuzhou and his brother need to eat as well.

There are 16 people in total, so we need to cook two large pots.

Loujia has plenty of Yantai, more than enough.

Li Jiuzhou is cooking seafood porridge, Shazhu is frying dough sticks, and Xu's mother is helping to knead the dough.

This little task was too easy for the two brothers, and they finished it in no time.

After eating two bowls, they began preparing the ingredients for lunch.

The Lou family got up after Li Jiuzhou and his brother finished preparing breakfast and gathered around the round table to eat with great enjoyment.

After eating, what to do? Lou Bancheng drank tea in the courtyard and watched his children play badminton. He couldn't be more carefree.

Sha Zhu was itching to go up and hug her, but he could only admire her; he wouldn't dare to actually do it.

Sha Zhu understood the difference in social status; despite the class divisions, the gap remained!

It's true that many people dislike capitalists, but they also aspire to become capitalists.

It's perfectly normal to feel resentment towards the rich.

The two brothers worked all morning and started serving the dishes around 12:30.

Xu's mother and the two brothers were eating in the kitchen, and Xu's mother was enjoying her meal immensely.

In other words, she could get a decent meal if the two brothers came over to cook. They usually had their own meals, though of course, it was different from the Lou family's.

It's absolutely out of the question to be served at the table; don't even think about it. The Lou family has its own rules.

After the two brothers finished eating and tidied up, they were about to leave, but Lou Bancheng asked them to wait and said they would have tea together.

So they went to the Lou family's courtyard for tea. Only Lou Bancheng, Li Jiuzhou, and Shazhu were there.

The tea was brewed by Lou Bancheng himself; it was top-grade West Lake Longjing tea.

Winter had arrived in Beiping, but the midday sun was warm, and the three of them were quite content drinking tea in the courtyard.

In the past, Lou Bancheng treated the two brothers as employees, and they would occasionally chat.

It's quite amusing that Lou Bancheng now treats the two brothers as equals.

At least Sha Zhu found it quite amusing, secretly cursing, "That old bastard's about to die, huh? Serves him right!"

It's not that Sha Zhu wants to curse, but that's just how things are now. He lives with a group of poor people, so he can't help but curse the capitalists in secret, just like them.

Lou Bancheng suddenly said something, seemingly confiding in the two brothers:

"I know many people now say that capitalists like me are heartless and exploitative, but what have I done wrong?"

Li Jiuzhou remained outwardly calm upon hearing this, but inwardly he was filled with a myriad of thoughts.

He didn't know Lou Bancheng's background, but he at least knew that after the founding of the country, he was defined as a patriotic businessman.

His second uncle had also told him this, saying that how the Lou family had become wealthy in the past was irrelevant.

The main issue is that this is the current policy; it's not a question of whether you've done anything wrong.

The fact that Lou Bancheng was able to go to Hong Kong during this special period shows that he wasn't too corrupt; otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to escape.

Thinking of this, Li Jiuzhou gave a bitter smile:

"Uncle Lou, this is not a question that ordinary people like Zhu Zi and I can understand."

"That's the policy. If I were to interpret it, it means putting the country before the family."

"Especially since you are a patriotic businessman."

"If I were you, there would be no need to discuss anything else; I would just cut it cleanly and decisively."

Lou Bancheng's eyes widened upon hearing this, and he quickly poured tea for Li Jiuzhou and his brother, saying with some excitement:

"Nine Provinces, explain in detail, how can we make a clean cut?"

Li Jiuzhou stroked his chin and said, "Please don't be offended if I tell you, these are just some of my personal, shallow opinions."

Lou Bancheng waved his hand: "Why would Uncle Lou blame you? There's no such thing. Just tell me."

Li Jiuzhou nodded: "Then I'll tell you."

"You know that we've been working on public-private partnerships for the past few years, so you might as well quit being a director in name only."

"Isn't it too hot to handle money like that?"

"With your assets, is there a need to continue expanding and strengthening your business?"

"Remember, the stronger you become, the more dangerous it is."

Lou Bancheng listened with a very serious expression. He took out a cigarette, lit it for the two brothers, and then gestured for Li Jiuzhou to continue.

Li Jiuzhou took a deep breath and said:

"I don't want the factory, I don't want any other businesses, I just want to keep my own house."

"The first person to set an example is often the one who receives the highest reward."

"Hiss..." Lou Bancheng gasped.

Li Jiuzhou's idea was to have his Lou family's assets donated. Holy crap, that's tens or hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets!

This is what the Lou family has worked hard for generations to leave behind!

To make him donate it with just a word? That's utterly unreasonable!

Lou Bancheng looked very unpleasant, smoking a cigarette without saying a word.

Seeing this, Li Jiuzhou continued, "Uncle Lou, you have to be willing to give up something to gain something!"

Upon hearing this, Lou Bancheng broke down in his guard and immediately launched into a tirade about traditional Chinese culture:

"You little brat, that's not even your stuff! Of course you'd part with it! That's the culmination of generations of my Lou family's hard work, damn it!"

"Hehehe..." Li Jiuzhou scratched his head and laughed awkwardly. Indeed, he had spoken too easily just now.

But Li Jiuzhou knew what the outcome would be, so he figured it was better to hand it over voluntarily than to be forced into it later.

At least people will have a better impression of you. Since you're so patriotic, they'll definitely want to protect you.

Even if they were to mess with you, they would leave you a way out.

That's what Li Jiuzhou thought anyway.