Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

About half an hour later, Yan Bugui hurriedly returned. He came back first, and his eldest son brought back the fishing gear.

My son told me that my cousin had run into some trouble, and it seemed pretty serious, so I rushed back home.

After parking the car and entering the house, Yan Bugui felt a tremor in his heart and his nose tingled with emotion when he saw his cousin.

"Bu Dao, what's wrong with you? You look like you've aged more than ten years in just two months."

When Yan Budao saw his cousin, he broke down and hugged him, crying loudly, looking as aggrieved as a child.

The commotion was quite loud, and many neighbors heard it and came over to check.

Yan Bugui was extremely anxious and quickly tried to comfort him:

"Stop crying, who's gone?"

Yan Budao was stunned for a few seconds upon hearing this: "Brother, you've misunderstood. Everyone's here. My, damn it, my fish is gone..."

After saying that, he started howling again.

Yan Bugui breathed a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't a funeral.

The couple comforted and reassured Yan Budao, which finally helped him recover.

Yan Budao explained the reason: the two ponds of fish he raised in the countryside had all been poisoned to death.

Having emptied his savings and incurred over 300 yuan in debt, he came to his cousin for help.

The couple was furious and cursed the person who poisoned them and their ancestors for eighteen generations.

The person who poisoned us is nowhere to be found. There are no surveillance cameras and no one saw it, so we can't even look for them. We're just out of luck.

Those watching the commotion outside the Yan family's house heard it all and also voiced their indignation on behalf of Yan Budao.

The neighbors were compassionate. Yan Budao had visited the courtyard several times a year and had become familiar with everyone. Seeing him in such a miserable state, they couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

It's already tough enough living in the countryside, and this has only made things worse. They're now owing over 300 yuan in debt, and if things go wrong, their families could be ruined or even destroyed.

While we may sympathize, it's fine if the neighbors can temporarily give Yan Budao a meal; everyone has the heart to do so.

It's just a meal, they can afford it. If you want to pay, forget it. We're not related, who the hell are you to us...?

In short, now that Yan Budao has arrived, Yan Bugui will naturally resolve the matter.

However, it depends on the relationship between their cousins.

The neighbors don't know how much the Yan family has, but they definitely have no problem coming up with three hundred yuan.

Yan Bugui thought so too; he definitely had to help, as he and his cousin were sworn brothers.

Years ago, he was almost killed when he tried to renege on his gambling debts because he was broke. His cousin took the blow for him.

Yan Bugui insisted on helping him on this point, no matter what. He was stingy and calculating, that's true, but it depends on the situation.

Yan Bugui patted his cousin on the shoulder: "Alright, I'll take you to get a bath, then we'll have a good meal, and you can stay here tonight."

As soon as he said that, Yan Budao understood, stopped howling, and followed Yan Bugui out to get a bath.

After the two brothers left, a group of old women surrounded Yang Ruihua, asking him all sorts of questions.

"Ruihua, do you need help? That's over 300 yuan!" Aunt Yi asked first.

Yang Ruihua pretended to feel sorry for Yan Budao and said, "His cousin is in such a bad situation. If our family doesn't help, are we just going to watch his family be destroyed?"

"My husband Yan will definitely help; they're sworn brothers."

"Oh? Tell me more, tell me more." Madam Jia became interested.

"Yes, Ruihua, please tell us in detail," the old women chimed in.

Yang Ruihua also recounted her past experiences:

"Back then, my old man Yan went gambling and couldn't pay his debts. He was almost killed by the casino staff, but his cousin took the blow for him."

"If my cousin hadn't taken the knife for my old man Yan, his grave would probably be overgrown with weeds by now."

"Oh my..." The old women were all shocked.

"Your husband, Old Yan, was a gambling addict back in the day. No wonder he was so arrogant at Old Xu's house during the New Year," said Jia Zhangshi.

Upon hearing this, Yang Ruihua laughed awkwardly, "Just a little bit, just a little bit."

It wasn't hard for Yan Bugui's neighbors to guess his background: a once wealthy family now in dire straits.

This is not surprising; there are as many as rice in Beiping.

Once you leave the courtyard, chat with any passerby. If they're a native of old Beijing, they'll start bragging about how powerful and wealthy their family used to be.

It's really just vanity at play, a local trend of boasting. Even though his mother was a beggar three generations back, it doesn't stop them from bragging.

When you're out and about, you give yourself your own identity.

In the afternoon, Yan Bugui returned with his cousin. The two of them had taken a bath and came back feeling refreshed.

Yan Bugui definitely has to help his cousin resolve this issue, otherwise how will his whole family survive in the countryside?

During dinner that evening, he gave Yan Budao 400 yuan so that he could settle his debts and still have some money left over.

Yan Budao was deeply moved.

The next day, Yan Bugui got up very early and bought a lot of things for his cousin to take back with him.

When Yan Budao returned to his home in the countryside, there were people all at his doorstep, coming to collect debts.

Yan Budao had truly experienced the coldness of human relationships this time, and he took out the money to pay off his debt.

She even deliberately showed off what her cousin had bought: a huge pork leg, weighing at least 20 kilograms, and other miscellaneous items. The neighbors around her were green with envy.

At this point, a tall man started picking a fight:

"Yan Budao, where did these things come from? Could it be some kind of speculation?"

Yan Budao glanced at the man with disdain:

"I'm a speculator, go ahead and sue me!"

"My cousin is a schoolteacher in the city. Helping me is no small matter. Look, even though I lost a few hundred dollars, I can still make a comeback."

"I'm just being smug. I love seeing you annoyed with me but unable to do anything about it!"

"My family is having braised pig's trotters for dinner. Do you have any?"

"Your kid must be craving meat so badly, right? Have your son call me 'Dad,' and I'll give him meat for dinner tonight."

As soon as he finished speaking, the child beside the man immediately called out to Yan Budao, "Dad!"

Everyone laughed upon hearing this, with Yan Bu Dao laughing the loudest. He waved to the child.

"Child, come over tonight, Daddy will give you meat."

The man who had spoken provocatively flew into a rage and began to beat his son mercilessly.

He's calling someone "dad" just for a meal of meat?

You've lost all shame! I'll beat you to death today, you unfilial son!

Even in the countryside, there are disputes. Everyone in the village knows that there is a cousin of mine in Yanbudao Town.

They originally thought that Yanbu could borrow at most fifty or one hundred yuan from his cousin when he went into the city.

Unexpectedly, the 400 yuan they borrowed not only paid off their debts but also left them with a surplus.

They even brought dozens of kilograms of meat, as well as other oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. They were truly envious and jealous of having such relatives.

When Yan Budao started raising fish, the villagers didn't say anything, but they privately called him an idiot and said that raising fish was a terrible thing.

But as the fish grew bigger day by day and could soon be exchanged for money, I felt resentful.

Many people didn't want to see Yan Budao gain power. Who knows how many people poisoned the fishpond that night? At least a dozen.

When they met, everyone tacitly understood each other, since their faces were all covered.

Yan Budao's smugness made many villagers secretly curse him, thinking, "Damn it, why didn't your cousin die sooner?"

It really hurts that you're doing better than us!