Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Since becoming the liaison officer of the institute, Liu Haizhong has changed completely. He likes to wander around the institute with his hands behind his back, acting like a leader.

In the past two weeks, he has also handled several minor disputes between neighbors. He is fair and does not favor anyone.

You could say that Liu Haizhong has personality flaws, but he's perfectly capable of doing things.

They handle weddings and funerals with great skill and competence.

Many neighbors who don't know anything about this go to him for advice.

The weather in Beiping in July is very hot, and the middle school entrance exam, vocational school entrance exam, and college entrance exam are all concentrated in this month.

At this crucial juncture, many people are holding back their emotions.

Parents with children who are about to take exams are feeling even more stressed, and this atmosphere can also affect their neighbors.

Especially in large courtyards, people tend to be more discreet when a neighbor's child is taking an exam, because you never know when your child might encounter the same problem in the future.

Yi Zhonghai and his three liaison officers also did a good job. They held a meeting and asked the residents to try not to make noise this month, to keep the children in check, and to give the students who are about to take the exams a quiet space.

This decision is good; families with children preparing for exams strongly agree with it and have expressed their gratitude to their neighbors.

Even Jia Zhangshi became very restrained, spending most of her days running around in other courtyards with her dog, Banggeng.

The neighbors have all reached a tacit understanding.

Yan Jiecheng was the first to finish the exam. He took the middle school entrance exam and came back to tell his father, Yan Bugui, that he was a shoo-in for high school.

Yan Bugui and his wife beamed with joy upon hearing their son's confident words.

Because at that time, it was still quite easy for high school students to find jobs, at least that's what Yan Bugui thought, so it was worth celebrating.

The family bought some meat and had a good meal.

When Yan Jiecheng finished the exam, the neighbors in the courtyard breathed a sigh of relief; one of them was done.

Immediately afterwards, Li Shanhe also successfully completed his college entrance examination.

At the end of the month, Liu Guangqi will take his vocational school entrance exam.

After all three of them finished their exams, the usual noise in the courtyard immediately returned to normal.

The loud voices of old women, the crying of children, and so on.

Yan Jiecheng was the first to receive his results. He successfully passed the high school entrance exam, and his grades were said to be quite good. Yan Bugui was overjoyed.

He tells everyone he meets that the Yan family has a flourishing literary tradition!

He even fantasized that his three sons could go to vocational school or university. If that really happened, Yan Bugui felt he would be willing to have his life cut off immediately.

In August, Liu Guangqi received his vocational school admission notice. He was accepted into an industrial vocational school in Beiping, and the school was in an uproar.

These are future leaders, figures who cannot be ignored.

Neighbors came one after another to congratulate Liu Haizhong.

"Happy" is not enough to describe the feelings of Liu Haizhong and his wife. Their son's success is the greatest pride for them.

This is our pride and a source of confidence; we can walk out with our heads held high.

Whether you're in Nanluoguxiang or in a factory, you're someone others would envy.

Yan Bugui was envious, of course, but he had confidence in his eldest son and believed that he could also get into university.

Not long after, Li Shanhe's acceptance letter was truly explosive!

He was admitted to Peking University, majoring in economics and political science!

This is a university at the very top of the pyramid! The neighbors were trembling with fear when they saw the admission notice.

Yan Bugui and Liu Haizhong, who have children at home, naturally know what level Li Shanhe is after graduation.

Upon graduation, one would be a level 22 staff member or clerk, just one step away from being promoted to deputy section chief.

Outstanding talents may even become deputy section chief level leaders right after graduation; it depends on the individual.

Many neighbors are saying that the Li family is about to produce a dragon (a person of great talent or ability).

Even the neighborhood committee came to congratulate them, bringing a lot of gifts. They joked that this was a talent from their neighborhood committee, and who knows, he might become a leader in the future.

Liu Haizhong hadn't expected the neighborhood committee to intervene; he had only been called in to congratulate his son on his admission to a vocational school.

The neighborhood committee immediately came to congratulate Li Shanhe on getting into university.

The difference in quality is immediately apparent.

However, Liu Haizhong was not discouraged. He believed that one should not judge others based on short-term gains or losses, but rather on the future.

Uncle Li Huaide was also very happy when he learned that his nephew had been admitted to Peking University. His family has a successor, and his hard work and struggle have not been in vain.

He works so hard partly for his family and partly for himself.

Only by becoming stronger can he make the path of his descendants smoother and better protect them.

At this time, it is important to be frugal and not to hold extravagant celebrations. Neither the Liu nor the Li families held banquets for the students' graduation.

Both families bought some peanuts and melons, and also ordered some Sachima from the Jia family to give to their neighbors and friends.

The neighbors in the courtyard felt sorry about this, but they didn't say anything. Everyone does this; they stretch every penny and save every penny.

After all, everyone is having a tough time right now. Every household in the courtyard has a job, so they're doing alright.

But most of the money earned isn't spent by the family. Don't they have any poor relatives?

Li Jiuzhou's family doesn't have many relatives, and neither do Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady.

The other residents all have relatives, and some even have parents or brothers living in the countryside, who need to help them out from time to time.

Although the countryside is not lacking in food and drink, it lacks in supplies and money.

Let me put it this way: my family farms in the countryside, while my older brother works in the city. If I have any difficulties, who else can I turn to if not my older brother?

Unless the relationship completely falls apart, you should always help them.

For example, on this day off, Yan Bugui's cousin entered the No. 95 courtyard looking dejected.

The neighbors recognized him and woke up Yang Ruihua, who was sleeping inside.

Yang Ruihua was quite happy to see her cousin arrive, because her cousin always brought some local specialties with him whenever he came, and the two families had always maintained a very good relationship.

But Yang Ruihua was still taken aback when she saw her cousin empty-handed and in a pitiful state:

"Budao, what's wrong with you?"

Yan Budao forced a smile: "Sister-in-law...sigh..."

When Yang Ruihua saw him like this, she knew he was in trouble, but she was just a woman and couldn't handle it. So she asked her eldest son, Yan Jiecheng, to call her husband back from fishing.

Yan Jiecheng went to the other side to find Li Jiuzhou:

"Brother Zhou, can I borrow your car for a bit? My cousin's here, and I need to go call my dad back."

"Ride there yourself, drive slowly and be careful," Li Jiuzhou said casually.

"Thank you, Brother Zhou." After thanking Li Jiuzhou, Yan Jiecheng pushed his bike out the door.

Li Jiuzhou wouldn't be stingy with such small things that he could easily do.

Another thing is that, apart from the deaf old lady, every household in the courtyard has a bicycle, and almost no neighbors borrow their bikes.

Even if there were any, it would be due to an emergency.

In Nanluoguxiang, their courtyard is the most extravagant. When young men from nearby courtyards get married, they usually come to borrow their cars.

Even the neighborhood committee often comes to borrow the car.

They would lend out money, so No. 95 Courtyard had a pretty good reputation in Nanluoguxiang.

Of course, no one could surpass Li Jiuzhou's extravagance; his family owned three bicycles, their wealth was boundless.