Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Although she had figured out the whole situation, it didn't mean that Tong Jie needed to speak; she could only show an innocent and anxious look.

Seeing Yan Bugui pressing his wife Jia Dongxu for answers, Jia Dongxu was naturally unhappy and stood in front of Tong Jie to reply to Yan Bugui:

"You don't need to ask my wife. Our Jia family will take the blame. You just need to figure out how to settle this."

Yan Bugui didn't want to make a fuss anymore and directly stated his price:

"Hey, Jia Dongxu, you've got some guts. I won't ask for more. Just give me 50 yuan and we'll call it even."

"From now on, our two families will keep to ourselves and neither of us should mention the past."

"If you bring it up again, we'll have the neighbors testify."

The Jia family felt a pang of pain when Yan Bugui offered 50 yuan in compensation. This wasn't five or ten yuan, but fifty yuan, which was no small sum.

Jia Dongxu looked at Yi Zhonghai, seeking his opinion.

Yi Zhonghai nodded. The compensation was acceptable, after all, the neighbors all knew how much Yan Bugui's two magnolias were worth.

"Wife, go get the money," Jia Dongxu instructed Tong Jie.

Tong Jie didn't say anything, but went back into the house to get the money.

Finally, witnessed by the neighbors, Yi Zhonghai handed it over to Yan Bugui.

Just as Yi Zhonghai and the others thought everything was fine and were about to leave, Yan Bugui stopped them again:

"Wait, this isn't over yet."

Yi Zhonghai, with a stern expression, said in a deep voice:

"Old Yan, I've given you the fifty yuan you promised. What else are you dissatisfied with?"

"If you push your luck any further, I'll have to get involved too. Then it won't be as simple as you saying you'll stop."

The neighbors all heard Yi Zhonghai's words and looked surprised. It was rare for Yi Zhonghai to get angry, so he must have been extremely angry today.

Yan Bugui was also very unhappy about being threatened by Yi Zhonghai. "Damn it, do you think I'm a pushover? You think you can just squeeze me like that?"

What? It won't stop unless you tell it to? Who are you trying to scare?

Yan Bugui squinted and met Yi Zhonghai's gaze, shrugged, then pointed first at Yi Zhonghai and then at the Jia family mother and son:

"The three of you just beat me up, and I suffered internal injuries. Aren't you even going to pay for my medicine?"

"Guangqi is right. We need to separate things and make sure we understand each other clearly."

Hearing Yan Bugui say this, Yi Zhonghai breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he felt a sense of satisfaction from beating Yan Bugui up, and unconsciously started to chatter:

"Okay, we were wrong to hit you, but we did have a good time. So, how much do you want for the medicine? I'll pay you."

Jia Zhangshi was perceptive; seeing Yan Bugui's displeasure, she immediately intensified her efforts.

"Yeah, we felt good about beating you up. Just name your price for the medicine, it'll all be paid by Lao Yi anyway."

Jia Zhangshi's words not only angered Yan Bugui, but also infuriated Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai cursed inwardly, "Damn it, I was standing up for the Jia family, and now I have to pay compensation myself."

As soon as Jia Zhangshi finished speaking, she realized she had been a little too happy and had spoken her mind, so she quickly added:

"We're family, it doesn't matter who gives it to us."

Yi Zhonghai's expression softened a little after hearing Jia Zhangshi's words.

But Yan Bugui was different; he actually said it felt good to beat himself up? Good, good!

Yan Bugui's face darkened: "Fine, you're enjoying this, aren't you? I don't want any compensation from you, just come over here and let me beat you up!"

Yi Zhonghai looked at him speechlessly, then reached out and pulled out ten yuan, stuffing it into Yan Bugui's hand:

"Ten dollars, that's all. If you want to hit me, I'll definitely fight back."

Seeing that Yan Bugui remained silent, Yi Zhonghai could only continue, "Alright, I'll give you ten yuan as compensation. We'll buy a roast duck to make up for it later."

Then he instructed Jia Dongxu, "Dongxu, apologize to your Uncle Yan, and that will be the end of it. We can still be good neighbors from now on."

Jia Dongxu wasn't very willing, but with so many neighbors around, he had to give his master face, so he walked up to Yan Bugui, took out a cigarette, and lit it for him.

"Uncle Yan, we were young and didn't know any better, please don't take it to heart."

Yan Bugui felt he had a way out and smiled.

"Why bother arguing? We're all neighbors, we see each other all the time. Let's get along better in the future..."

The farce between the two families came to an end, and the neighbors had enjoyed the spectacle.

Li Jiuzhou went home with his hands behind his back. He knew that living in this courtyard would provide him with something to amuse himself from time to time.

After dinner, my younger brother Shanhe went back to his room to study. He's a senior in high school now and will be taking the college entrance exam soon, which is about a month away.

When I was in the third year of junior high school, I thought about whether I should take the entrance exam for a vocational school, but my second uncle, Li Huaide, suggested that it would be best to go to university if I could.

So Shanhe went to high school, and he was very confident about taking the college entrance exam.

The Li family has a prominent figure in officialdom, Li Huaide, and even Li Jiuzhou, who was originally a cook, has become a deputy section-level cadre.

At that time, Li Huaide told Shanhe that he could be deposed because he and Jiuzhou were above him.

But no one can guarantee that the road ahead will be smooth sailing, so it's best to rely on yourself if you can.

Li Shanhe listened and decided to take the college entrance exam, relying first on himself and then on his second uncle and eldest brother.

Because with my family's circumstances, I can find a good job regardless of whether I went to a vocational school or university; that's the connection.

But if you want a brighter future, you'll have to work hard yourself.

Being a college student is the best starting point.

Just kidding, he's not stupid. He knows very well what kind of conditions his second uncle's father-in-law's family has.

As long as I'm not a good fool, my second uncle will support me, and I'll have no trouble rising to prominence in the future.

Therefore, Li Shanhe is working very hard now, striving for his future.

Li Jiuzhou had seen his younger brother's actions and was quite pleased. It was best that he had come to his senses; the Li family should produce a scholar.

Li Jiuzhou also improved the meals, since the college entrance examination was approaching and it was not unreasonable to eat well.

Look at Liu Guangqi, he's been working so hard this year while he's repeating his senior year. His family has been eating incredibly well lately, with meat every day, all because Liu Guangqi has his vocational school entrance exam in just over a month.

Li Shanhe's college entrance examination will be held from July 15th to July 17th.

Liu Guangqi's vocational school entrance exam will be held from July 21 to July 25.

The Liu family started feeding Liu Guangqi meat more than a month in advance. Good heavens, that's really something!

The neighbors were all surprised when they learned about the situation. They all knew that the middle school entrance exam, the vocational school entrance exam, and the college entrance exam were very important.

At most, you can eat well during the few days of the exam. Who eats like this more than a month in advance? What kind of family is this?

Liu Haizhong would occasionally give his son a pig brain to eat, believing that this was a way to "replenish what is similar to it."

Liu Haizhong feeds his son so well that many neighbors are jealous and want to be his son.

Liu Haizhong ignored the gossip of his neighbors, feeling that he couldn't hold his son back.

She only hoped that her eldest son would study hard and make something of himself; as for the two younger ones, that was still a long way off.