Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Li Huaide bought the last two old ginseng roots, and Zheng Luo said he would only charge for one.

Since Li Huaide didn't have the money, Li Jiuzhou naturally took it out.

The full five thousand yuan was also to prevent Zheng Luo from losing too much money.

Actually, Zheng Luo didn't lose out. It had already been arranged back home: he would use an old mountain as a way to befriend important figures.

I have to say, their family is really farsighted.

Otherwise, they could sell it themselves in Northeast China, so why would they send it all the way to Beiping?

Zheng Luo was hired smoothly, and Li Jiuzhou asked for a tiger skin for only 300 yuan.

He also took quite a lot of wild game, including three tiger penises, three deer penises, and tiger bones.

Sha Zhu followed suit and bought two of each, as well as a lot of wild game and mountain products.

Li Huaide was the same; these were all good things.

Now that the channels are controlled by our own people, it would be a shame not to buy some.

Li Jiuzhou learned how to make medicinal wine from Master Bai.

For the other medicinal herbs, I bought them from the Bai family and used tiger penis and tiger bone to make medicinal wine.

Li Huaide asked Li Jiuzhou to come to his house to make medicinal wine on his day off.

That evening, Li Huaide took the old ginseng and went into the old man's study.

Li Huaide opened the box as if presenting a treasure:

"Father, this is a top-grade wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain, a gift for you."

After glancing at it, the old man said in a deep voice:

"Wai De, you didn't make a mistake, did you?"

Li Huaide smiled and shook his head: "Don't worry, Jiuzhou paid for it."

The old man was relieved to hear Li Huaide say that, and smiled:

"This old ginseng is of such good quality, it should cost at least 5000 yuan. You're a poor wretch, you can't afford it at all."

Li Huaide's mouth twitched slightly, making it seem like the old man was very rich: "Dad, how can you insult people like that?"

"It's not that I don't have money. I also had quite a lot of spoils from the war back then, mostly watches and other odds and ends, which are worth some money."

The old man said irritably, "All spoils must be turned over to the public. Fine, this isn't exactly a selective mistake."

"It's just some spoils of war, take it if you want."

That's just how it is; it's perfectly normal to have people die during a war.

Watches are valuable items, useful in wartime, and such items don't need to be handed over.

Essential items for frontline commanders.

This was also the last batch of supplies captured.

Most of the credit goes to the purchase of supplies and medicines; there's almost no personal enrichment involved.

However, it's not unreasonable to collect a few spoils of war as long as it's not too many.

Li Huaide had quite a few spoils of war, such as watches, lighters, and Japanese officers' swords.

The more valuable items were things like the pure gold pocket watches seized from the Blue Party officers.

These are all personal spoils; it's not unreasonable to keep them as a small collection...

It's true that Li Huaide was poor; he was a division-level cadre who only earned 170 yuan a month.

The couple had saved up five or six thousand yuan in savings over the years.

However, if you're going to use that money to buy old wild ginseng, it's not enough; it completely drains your resources.

The old man chuckled and said, "You're not even as good as your nephew. That kid Jiuzhou hasn't been making any money these past few years, has he?"

Hearing the old man say this, Li Huaide smiled:

"Jiuzhou has made a lot of money. He earns his living with his skills, so he deserves to make a lot."

The old man burst into laughter upon hearing this:

"Hahaha, that's right. In every profession, there are top performers."

"Speaking of that kid Jiuzhou, I actually miss him a bit."

Li Huaide said:

"Dad, you miss his cooking, don't you?"

"Don't worry, the entire Kyushu family will come over on their days off. You're in for a treat."

The old man was delighted upon hearing this, then pointed at Li Huaide and laughed, scolding him:

"Damn it, you're always telling the truth."

"Hahahaha..." The two men's hearty laughter echoed in the study.

Three days later, in the morning, Li Huaide drove to the courtyard to pick up Li Jiuzhou and his family.

When Li Jiuzhou arrived at the old man's place, he began to soak the medicinal herbs in the wine. He had already prepared all the necessary ingredients.

The old man came over to learn: what man wouldn't love wine made with tiger bones and tiger penis?

Refusal is even more possible...

At noon, facing the dishes cooked by Li Jiuzhou was pure bliss.

In the past, Li Huaide would always pack it up and bring it back. Although it tasted good, it was still not quite right.

It's fresh out of the pan now, and it smells amazing!

Li Huaide's brother-in-law and sister-in-law spent the entire morning swallowing their saliva, staying in the kitchen and reluctant to come out.

He could sneak a bite or two every now and then. There weren't so many rules at home, and Li Jiuzhou wasn't an outsider, so he could do whatever he wanted.

There are delicious dishes such as dragon soup and braised venison.

When a family stays home and eats, no one cares what they eat. Even leaders need to eat something good, right?

Other family compounds probably have even better food, but nobody knows that.

Li Jiuzhou and his family were not sent back to the courtyard house by Li Huaide until the afternoon.

When they returned, their hands were full of bags and packages, all of which were insisted upon by the old man and his wife.

Despite his high position and commanding presence, the old man appears quite ordinary at home, completely suppressing his imposing manner.

The way the couple stuffed things into Li Jiuzhou's family was no different from that of old folks in the countryside.

He would go inside to get whatever he thought of, making trip after trip, which left Li Jiuzhou both amused and exasperated.

It made it seem like he was taking his wife back to her parents' home to buy goods.

The neighbors in the courtyard were filled with envy as they watched Li Jiuzhou carrying large bags and small packages home.

Li Jiuzhou made two trips to collect all the items.

Tong Jie's eyes lit up when she saw Bingbing carrying a bag of milk powder and malted milk powder, and she stared at her intently.

She only calmed down after Bingbing entered the house.

She also wanted to get milk powder and malted milk powder for her son, Banggeng.

They've eaten bacon before, but they're just ordinary people; how could they possibly eat that stuff every day?

The two cans of malted milk powder that I drank before were bought by my master, Yi Zhonghai, for Banggeng, but my mother-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, secretly drank quite a lot of them.

Tong Jie had inquired and found out that Li Jiuzhou's son, Tie Niu, needed to drink two cans of milk powder a month.

It costs 3.2 yuan per can, which is 9 liang (approximately 450 grams) per can.

It costs more than 6 yuan a month, and many people are reluctant to spend that money. As always, the money spent on milk powder is less than the money spent on pork.

The most crucial problem is that they can't buy them. Currently, milk powder and malted milk powder require ration coupons, making them unavailable to ordinary families.

Tong Jie was very envious of Li Jiuzhou's son, who could drink milk and malted milk powder every day.

It's very strong and chubby, with fair skin, making it instantly likable.

Looking at her son Banggeng, he wasn't thin either, but she always felt like something was missing.

She even began to feel jealous of Li Jiuzhou's family.

What kind of family drinks milk and malted milk powder every day? That's outrageous!

Li Jiuzhou didn't want it to be so obvious, but there was nothing he could do; he couldn't hide it anymore, so what if they saw it?

Those with children were naturally very envious, especially Yan Bugui, but he had his own plans.

I plan to talk to Li Jiuzhou before my wife gives birth to this baby and see if I can get him a few cans of baby formula.

Of course, this costs money, and it's expensive; these things are very hard to buy in state-run stores.

They've all been bought up by highly educated families; they have the tickets, but money doesn't matter to them.

At the same time, it's not necessary to buy from Li Jiuzhou. Things are hard to buy now, and a black market has appeared.

Logically, buying and selling should be done discreetly, and the prices are high while also incurring risks.

The seller bears the greatest risk; if caught, they will not only be fined but also go to jail.

The buyer basically received a fine and a verbal warning.

The buyer's actions may not be serious, but the consequences of being charged can be quite severe, affecting their work and social standing.

No one would take such a risk unless absolutely necessary.

Bartering is popular now, it's about exchanging goods, not buying or selling!