Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Ever since Jia Dongxu went out for drinks with his master, Yi Zhonghai, on his day off, the master and apprentice seem to have changed somewhat.

Yi Zhonghai always had a smile on his face, as if he had some happy occasion.

And Jia Dongxu has also changed, becoming more ambitious.

He gets up very early every day; before, Tong Jie would call him when breakfast was ready before he would get up.

We all woke up around the same time as Tong Jie.

After getting up and washing up, he sat by the door smoking. As soon as Yi Zhonghai's door opened, he dropped his unfinished cigarette butt, put down his cigarette butt, and went over with a smile to help him.

Sweeping, lighting the fire, and carrying water—the scene was bustling with activity.

Madam Jia looked at her son with a constipated expression, like a lackey.

Her son is in his twenties and her grandson is over two years old, but she has never seen him take care of his old mother.

Jia Zhangshi was still somewhat saddened. She walked to where her son had just been and sat down heavily.

He frowned, looking down at the half-burnt cigarette, and cursed, "This spendthrift! He throws away a cigarette after only smoking half of it. Does he think smoking is free?"

After saying that, he reached out and picked it up, put it directly into his mouth, squinted his eyes, and sucked on it three times.

The half-burnt cigarette without a filter was completely inhaled and burned out by Jia Zhangshi.

Then a thin wisp of mist escaped from Jia Zhangshi's mouth.

With a flick of his right hand, the cigarette butt flew a long way and landed right in front of Sha Zhu's house.

Jia Zhangshi's elegant and natural demeanor seemed to be one of unparalleled skill.

Tong Jie was stunned, wondering what her mother-in-law used to do.

She doesn't smoke, but she knows that's not how you smoke.

Her mother-in-law's three forceful sucks terrified her, and she was afraid that she would faint.

But after a dozen seconds, nothing happened, and my mother-in-law even looked like she was enjoying it. It's really unbelievable!

Only then did Madam Jia notice Tong Jie behind her. She turned around, revealing an awkward smile, and forced an explanation:

"Daughter-in-law, well, wasting money is shameful!"

For Jia Zhangshi, smoking was actually a painful memory.

Back when he was taking care of the deaf old lady, he often picked up her cigarette butts and smoked them.

It wasn't that Jia Zhangshi thought smoking was so good, but she was extremely envious of the elegant way the deaf old lady smoked when she was young.

So I learned a skill.

When she was young, she had no money and could only pick up cigarette butts. Not to mention her, Lao Jia also picked up a lot of cigarette butts back then.

The two even got into a fight over a half-smoked cigarette on the ground.

Finally, the two weren't satisfied with just picking up cigarette butts; they even stole the deaf old lady's cigarettes to smoke. Of course, the end result was that the deaf old lady had Yi Zhonghai give them a severe beating.

All of these were painful memories of the past. After marrying Lao Jia, Jia Zhangshi stopped smoking.

At Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, around 10 a.m., all the workers were either sitting or standing in the workshop.

The machines stopped because the factory was broadcasting a message. The factory leaders specifically instructed everyone to set aside ten minutes to listen to the broadcast, as it concerned the workers' lifelong welfare, and they couldn't afford not to listen carefully.

Because the government announced a pension policy, workers will be able to receive pensions upon retirement.

This was a huge surprise for the workers.

This news was undoubtedly the greatest guarantee in Yi Zhonghai's life.

His body was trembling with excitement; the higher the employee's rank, the higher their retirement pension.

He is currently a Level 6 fitter, and there is still a lot of room for improvement.

This pension is of great significance to Yi Zhonghai and provides him with a significant safety net.

Later, when he got old and couldn't work anymore, Yi Zhonghai was afraid that his apprentices would scold him for being an old codger who was just eating for free.

Things are different now. I have a pension, so try cursing me.

People with pensions and those without pensions have different levels of confidence.

Those without pensions rely on their children for care, and it's alright if they are healthy and free from illness or disaster.

If you develop an illness, then you'll have to see a doctor. Prolonged illness tests even the most devoted parents, unless you have a pension…

A man only needs to believe in one thing from birth to death: money makes him strong!

Even when you're old, you should still speak loudly at home!

If you don't have money, then you really can only sit at the children's table...

Otherwise, why would so many shameless women in later generations demand that their boyfriends' parents have retirement pensions?

When Jia Dongxu heard that his mentor would receive a pension, he was happy for him and also felt a weight lifted off his shoulders.

As the head and pillar of the Jia family, he had to think about the future.

He had previously worried about what would happen when his master and mistress got old, but now everything is fine, their retirement pensions have solved everything.

From now on, all I need to do is take care of my master and mistress's daily life. That's just too perfect.

The notification came at the right time, giving the workers a huge surprise before the Chinese New Year.

After getting off work and returning to the courtyard, everyone was talking about it, and the neighbors couldn't hide their joy.

Li Jiuzhou found it somewhat amusing to see his neighbor looking so happy.

I really want to say you're celebrating too soon.

By then, not many people will actually be able to receive a pension.

Most people will hand over their jobs to their sons or daughters when they get too old to work, which is also called succession.

In this situation, you're not getting any retirement pension whatsoever.

In the original storyline, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and Yan Bugui retired normally and received their retirement pensions.

That's because their sons have all found jobs and don't need to take over the family business.

With only five days left until the Lunar New Year, heavy snow fell in Beiping, and the snow on the roads was very thick.

Last night, Li Jiuzhou made popsicles for his son, using honey water. They were left in their small yard overnight and turned into popsicles.

I was called upon to shovel snow as soon as I got up in the morning by three liaison officers from the compound.

There's a proper way to sweep snow: first, sweep the snow in front of your own door, and then go to the courtyard gate and alley to sweep and shovel snow.

With such heavy snow, the roof still needs to be cleaned. If the snow gets too thick in the middle of the night, the roof could collapse, which could be fatal.

Every year in Beiping, there are news reports of houses collapsing and people being killed, as well as people getting carbon monoxide poisoning from closing doors and windows tightly for heating.

The most terrifying case was a family that died from carbon monoxide poisoning; the entire family was wiped out. It was incredibly horrifying.

Slogans are now posted on walls all over Beiping:

"To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, install ventilation ducts and check chimneys."

It's fair to say that many residents didn't dare to sleep soundly at night. Firstly, they were afraid the stove would go out and they would freeze to death, and secondly, they were afraid of carbon monoxide poisoning. The windows couldn't be closed completely.

However, this threat does not exist in courtyard number 95, as almost every household has a kang (heated brick bed), so there is no risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Even Zhang Shih-hao and his wife, who had just moved into the rear house after getting married, had built a kang (a heated brick bed) in the room.

Although sometimes the kang (heated brick bed) is too hot and can burn your bottom, and it can also cause internal heat, it is definitely safe.

A person can easily die from a coal-fired stove if they're not careful.

The young couple were newlyweds, exhausted from plowing the fields like dead dogs. Who the hell would get up to check the stove? So the kang (heated brick bed) was very useful.

It's just a waste of money on firewood. If you want to save money, you can go outside the city to collect firewood yourself, but the competition is incredibly fierce.

In winter, more people go out of town to collect firewood than to go to work; those old women who have nothing to do at home love to save money.