Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Although the thief was not caught, the incident was considered resolved.

After all, what Sha Zhu's family lost was meat, not money, so it wasn't a big deal.

It's not like it's a difficult time. Last time, the eldest son of the Wu family had a piece of top-quality pork belly stolen by his sister-in-law.

Should we report this to the police?

Right now, everyone has enough to eat, but if Sha Zhu's family gets robbed, that would be a serious matter, and we have to get to the bottom of it.

For the residents of the compound, money is their lifeline; stealing their money is no different from taking their lives.

After making their assurances, the three liaison officers went home to prepare dinner.

After returning home, Yi Zhonghai sat by the fire, waiting for his wife to prepare dinner so they could eat together.

Just then, a little figure sauntered in through the doorway, peeking around curiously. Who else could it be but Bang Geng?

After finishing cooking, Jia Zhangshi sent Bang Geng to find Yi Zhonghai to play for a while.

Yi Zhonghai laughed and waved to the pheasant:

"Banggeng, come in quickly, come to Grandpa's."

Upon hearing this, Banggeng grinned and quickly went inside.

"Grandpa, I want some candy." Bang Geng didn't stand on ceremony and asked for candy directly.

"Hahaha, good, good, Grandpa will go get you some candy right away." Yi Zhonghai laughed and got up to get candy for Bang Geng.

After Bang Geng was born, Yi Zhonghai spoiled him rotten, giving him whatever he wanted.

I take him out to play whenever I have free time.

Yi Zhonghai peeled the candy and stuffed it into the boy's mouth, then casually remarked:

"Bang Geng, what's your grandma making for dinner? If there's nothing good, we'll eat at grandpa's house tonight."

Upon hearing this, Banggeng raised its little head, its voice slightly muffled because of the candy in its mouth:

"Grandma...Grandma said...we should eat dumplings..."

At first, Yi Zhonghai didn't pay much attention and laughed, "Still eating dumplings? Didn't we have them a few days ago for the Winter Solstice?"

Little did he know that Bang Geng's words would cause Yi Zhonghai to change color on the spot:

"Grandma says dumplings that you just picked up along the way taste even better..."

Yi Zhonghai looked out the window at the Jia family's kitchen and saw Jia Zhangshi busy at work while peeking around.

That look is exactly what you'd expect from someone who's caught doing something wrong.

They're definitely boiling dumplings!

Yi Zhonghai was heartbroken. He had actually believed Jia Zhangshi's righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor just now.

Is that all?

What an idiot, he couldn't even hold back a few farts, and he gave himself away so quickly.

If Sha Zhu were to go to the Jia family's kitchen right now, he might just beat up Jia Zhangshi on the spot.

Yi Zhonghai sensed something was amiss. Jia Zhangshi was cooking dumplings, but what about Sha Zhu's spare ribs?

Thinking of this, Yi Zhonghai, as if possessed, asked Bang Geng:

"Hey, aren't we having pork ribs today?"

Upon hearing this, Banggeng bit his finger, looking thoughtful, and quickly said:

"Grandma said that Dad, that heartless bastard, took the spare ribs to his nemesis maternal grandparents' house in Changping..."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai felt like dying; Jia Zhangshi's mouth was truly venomous.

Not only did she curse her in-laws, but she even called her son a thousand cuts. Yi Zhonghai was now curious about how Jia Zhangshi talked about herself at home.

So, almost as if possessed, I asked Banggeng again:

"Hey, what did your grandma say about your Grandpa Yi?"

Bang Geng scratched his head, feeling that Grandpa Yi's question was too difficult, but then he seemed to remember something and grinned:

"Grandma always says that Yi Zhonghai's fortune will eventually belong to our family... and that Grandpa Yi must live to be a hundred and make a lot of money!"

"Uh..." Yi Zhonghai felt something stuck in his throat, and he couldn't even speak.

He was surprised but not astonished; these words were very much in line with Jia Zhangshi's style.

He was initially angry that Jia Zhangshi was eyeing his property, since it was an undeniable fact that his apprentice Jia Dongxu was providing for him in his old age.

There's nothing wrong with leaving your property to him after you pass away.

But you can't just say it outright, right?

In the end, he even lived to be a hundred years old. Yi Zhonghai didn't know whether to be angry or happy.

Why does Yi Zhonghai feel like he's actually a little happy?

That's normal. People will work hard as long as they have hope.

The older generation always wants to help ease the burden on their children until they die, and even after their health fails, they still want to do what they can.

Yi Zhonghai was also that kind of person. After Jia Dongxu came into his life, he tried his best to reduce the family burden for him.

Yi Zhonghai sent Bang Geng home to eat dumplings.

After Jia Zhangshi finished washing the dishes, he put on his coat and walked over with a cigarette in his mouth.

Banggeng has already eaten his fill and gone to sleep.

"Sister-in-law, did you take the dumplings and ribs from Sha Zhu's house?" Yi Zhonghai asked, staring at Jia Zhangshi.

At first, Jia Zhangshi was a little flustered, but she quickly calmed down: "Old Yi, as the saying goes, to catch a thief, you need to catch him red-handed; to catch an adulterer, you need to catch them in the act. Which eye of yours saw that I had dumplings and ribs here?"

"I'll only admit it if you produce evidence."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai snorted coldly:

"Hmph, I saw you cooking dumplings tonight, but I just didn't bother to say anything."

"You called Yang Ruihua a candle, but I think you're pretty much the same. Even if you take it, you can't eat it now. If Sha Zhu sees you, a beating would be the least you can do."

Jia Zhangshi, who had been rebuked by Yi Zhonghai, pouted but didn't say anything, looking somewhat unconvinced and displeased.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai said:

"You're not convinced by what I said, are you?"

"But let me tell you, don't try to be defiant in front of me!"

Madam Jia said with dissatisfaction:

"I'm not dissatisfied. Who would dare to be dissatisfied?"

"Hmph, you still dare to talk back? Believe me or not, I'll send you to see the authorities!" Yi Zhonghai's face was full of anger.

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai was truly angry, Jia Zhangshi also restrained her temper.

"Uh... Lao Yi, let's just forget about it. It's just some dumplings and ribs, no big deal, no big deal, hehe..."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai's expression softened slightly: "Tell me how you committed the crime."

Madam Jia seemed not to understand and asked:

"Huh, sex?"

Yi Zhonghai said irritably:

"How did you steal that? Who asked you about having sex, fuck!"

"Oh~" Madam Jia pursed her lips and began to speak in detail:

"When I woke up this morning, I saw Dongxu swaying his head and carrying back the ribs from the ice tank where he was sitting."

"He thought nobody saw him, but I saw him! That silly boy must be so smug right now, hehe..."

"This afternoon, when no one was around, I smuggled Sha Zhu's dumplings back again..."

Yi Zhonghai clutched his chest, feeling difficulty breathing, and pointed at Jia Zhangshi, saying:

"You and your son are really something. It's not like you don't have money. Why don't you just buy it instead of stealing?"

Madam Jia Zhang didn't take it seriously and said:

"Hey, how can you call it stealing? It's just borrowing at most. What do you know? I've 'borrowed' plenty of things from your house before!"

Yi Zhonghai's eyes were bloodshot as he hissed:

"That's my house, the relationship is different. Sha Zhu is an outsider. If this is discovered, your reputation will be ruined. How will you two face people in the yard after that?"

"Are you stupid enough to let Bang Geng live with the reputation of his grandma and biological father being thieves?!"

Some of Jia Zhangshi's women are not stupid; on the contrary, they are quite shrewd. It's just that sometimes they can't control themselves.

Now, after hearing what Yi Zhonghai said, he felt a little scared and quickly replied:

"What can we do? We've already taken it, and Dongxu still hasn't come back."

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath and said, "I'll handle this. Don't eat those dumplings, get rid of them quickly."

"That won't do. Cabbage and pork filling, it smells so good!" Jia Zhangshi refused upon hearing this.

"Hmm?" Yi Zhonghai looked at her with murderous eyes.

Jia Zhangshi was startled and quickly waved her hands, "I'll handle it, I'll handle it, I'll throw it away in a bit."

"Hmm..." Yi Zhonghai didn't say anything more, turned around and went home.