Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Yi Zhonghai's unusual behavior was noticed by all the neighbors in the courtyard.

When they discovered Old Wang's body, he roared angrily at the liaison officer in the next courtyard, his eyes red as if he wanted to devour someone.

This unusual situation allowed the neighbors in the courtyard to make some guesses.

Firstly, Yi Zhonghai and Lao Wangtou were quite familiar with each other, and their families often interacted.

Secondly, neither of them had any children.

Many neighbors were talking about it at home.

Jia Dongxu sat blankly at his doorstep, his eyes occasionally glancing in the direction of his master's house.

He was terrified by his master's angry roar, as it was the first time he had ever seen his master so angry, which caused him to not go to comfort him immediately.

At this moment, Tong Jie came out and handed Jia Dongxu 10 yuan, which consisted of two five-yuan bills.

Jia Dongxu looked up at his wife with a puzzled expression.

Tong Jie smiled and said, "Let's buy some cooked food and good wine and go see our master."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu smiled, took the money, and said, "Thank you, wife. I'll go right away."

Tong Jie Diandian:

Go early and come back early.

Jia Dongxu got up, pushed his bicycle, and went out of the courtyard.

Riding his bicycle, Jia Dongxu had many thoughts, realizing that he had indeed been a bit unethical.

The master needed comfort the most at this time, but he hid in his room pretending to be stupid.

You should know that the bike he's riding was bought by his master, and it brings him a lot of prestige.

Riding it with my wife and kids back to my wife's parents' home is incredibly prestigious.

There's also the sewing machine at home, the big red envelope my master and mistress gave me when I got married, and so on.

Jia Dongxu felt that his master had truly done everything he could for him; even his own father might not have given him so much.

He decided to do something, and his master's outburst of anger today revealed far too much.

Jia Dongxu also graduated from junior high school, so he knew the story of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death".

The master's biggest worry was that no one would be able to help him with his funeral after he died.

The government may collect the body, but the way it was taken was undignified.

The master was a rather traditional person who valued rules and regulations. He hoped that after his death he could have a normal process, just like his biological father, Lao Jia.

Yi Zhonghai also mentioned this matter to Jia Dongxu during their conversation.

Although he had expressed countless times his intention to take care of his master in his old age and see him off in death, Jia Dongxu could not heal the wound in his heart.

Jia Dongxu bought two roast ducks at Quanjude, packed them up, and rode his bike back home.

I also bought a bottle of good wine on the way.

He was stopped by Yan Bugui as soon as he entered the courtyard.

Yan Bugui looked at Jia Dongxu with great surprise and said:

"Dongxu, you're something else, buying two roast ducks from Quanjude in one go."

"What's wrong? Can't you live your life anymore?"

Jia Dongxu casually explained, gesturing towards Yi Zhonghai's house:

"Uncle Yan, you saw my master's reaction today. Why don't I buy some cooked food and have a couple of drinks with him?"

After hearing this, Yan Bugui understood. He looked at Jia Dongxu with an appreciative expression, walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said:

"Well done, Dongxu. Old Yi made the right choice in taking on a good apprentice." Then, his tone shifted, a half-smile playing on his lips.

"But you wouldn't need two roast ducks for drinking, would you? Why don't you share some with me?"

Jia Dongxu had initially smiled at Yan Bugui's praise, but his smile vanished immediately after the latter part of Yan's sentence.

She rolled her eyes at Yan Bugui, annoyed. "You'd better save your breath. My mother has a wife and children to feed; I don't have any extras."

"Besides, our two families have a long history of conflict. I wouldn't give you this roast duck even if I had to feed it to the dog!"

"Otherwise, the neighbors in the courtyard will think that my Jia family has bowed down to your Yan family."

"Don't we, the Jia family, have any pride?"

Yan Bugui was so angry at Jia Dongxu's words that his nose almost twisted, and he pointed at Jia Dongxu and repeatedly said, "Good!"

"Alright, alright, you're really something! We'll see how things go!"

"Tch~" Jia Dongxu walked away without looking back.

When Jia Zhangshi returned home, she was holding her grandson. When she saw her son bring back two roast ducks, her eyes lit up and she was drooling.

Banggeng thought it was raining, and when he saw his grandma drooling, he was genuinely disgusted: "Grandma, you're drooling on my head!"

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry." Realizing what had happened, Madam Jia had no choice but to apologize to her grandson and quickly wipe him clean.

Then, she excitedly said to her son, "Son, why are we eating roast duck even though it's not a holiday?"

"But we can't even finish one roast duck, why are you buying two? Aren't we making ends meet?"

Jia Dongxu explained:

"Mom, let's treat ourselves to a better meal today. We'll keep one at home and take the other to my master's house so we can have a couple of drinks together."

After hearing her son's words, Jia Zhangshi understood why her son did this; it was simply to comfort Yi Zhonghai.

While it was understandable, Jia Zhangshi still had to complain:

"You know, Old Yi and his wife are really something. Every time he gets pregnant, he gets upset for a while."

"In the courtyard, there are old women who are pregnant and their husbands hide at home crying and sobbing. Even when Old Wang dies, they still cry and sob."

"There will be many more births and deaths in the hospital in the future. If it's like this every time, who the hell can stand it?"

Jia Dongxu was speechless at his mother's words, because he felt that what his mother said this time was not without reason.

However, Jia Dongxu couldn't neglect his duties, so he said to Jia Zhangshi:

"Mom, I need your help with something. I'll have my teacher's wife come over for dinner later. Please comfort Tong Jie; they're both suffering people."

"Leave the master's side to me."

Upon hearing this, Madam Jia thought for a while, and finally sighed deeply: "Ah, son, you're right, they're all unfortunate people. Luckily, I have you; those two have nothing."

"Don't worry, Mom will definitely keep her mouth shut and comfort your teacher's wife today."

Jia Dongxu smiled upon hearing his mother's words and nodded to Tong Jie beside him.

"Honey, I'm going there now. I'm leaving the house to you."

Tong Jie smiled knowingly: "Okay, go ahead."

Jia Dongxu, carrying a roast duck and two bottles of wine, knocked on the tightly closed door of the Yi family's house.

It took a while before Yi Zhonghai's hoarse voice came through:

Who is it?

"Master, it's me..."

Aunt Yi opened the door. She looked very haggard, with red and swollen eyes, clearly having been crying.

Jia Dongxu was startled by his master's wife's appearance, but fortunately he was mentally prepared and said:

"Master's wife, you two have been staying inside all day without cooking. I went and bought two roast ducks. Master's wife, you can come to my house for a meal later. I'll keep Master company for a while."

Aunt Yi opened her mouth, wiped her eyes, and showed a look of heartache:

"You silly child, you came all this way, why spend so much money? Don't you know how expensive roast duck is!"

Jia Dongxu waved his hand with a smile: "My master and mistress are so good to me. What's a roast duck? There will be more in the future."

Jia Dongxu's words were very pleasing to Aunt Yi's ears. She was a very easily moved person, and her eyes immediately reddened. With a slight sob in her voice, she turned back and called into the house:

"Old Yi, Dongxu is here. Don't lie there, get up quickly."