Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

The entire factory will be closed at 3 p.m. because tomorrow is Lunar New Year's Eve.

It's already quite late for a holiday to start at this point.

But for the workers, it doesn't really matter how many days off they get. You don't think I'll actually be able to relax when I have a day off.

That's impossible; there are other things waiting for us.

Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu rode their bikes to the market to buy things.

With meat at home, Da Hu bought roe deer meat, as well as grouse and wild boar. They both bought some, which should be enough for the New Year.

Two days ago, Sha Zhu sent some things to his father-in-law's house, the same few things as before: meat, cigarettes, and alcohol.

His wife is pregnant, and he doesn't want to go through the hassle of traveling during the few days of the Lunar New Year holiday; he just wants the things to arrive.

Li Jiuzhou's New Year is the real holiday; he can at most cook a dish, which is a piece of cake.

On New Year's Eve, Li Jiuzhou went to Yan Bugui's house because it was the liveliest day for him, with a lot of people.

Everyone comes to him to write couplets. This old fellow really does have beautiful handwriting, and nobody complains about him.

Neighbors who come to him to write couplets can give him a handful of melon seeds or money; he doesn't care how much or how little.

Even if someone doesn't give Yan Bugui a gift, he won't say anything, because that person is Jia Zhangshi.

During the Lunar New Year, Yan Bugui didn't want to invite bad luck or cause trouble with Jia Zhangshi, so naturally, some neighbors would tell Jia Dongxu and his wife about it.

Li Jiuzhou saw a newspaper at Yan Bugui's house. The news content made Li Jiuzhou feel both familiar and unfamiliar.

Do you know what he saw? He saw the news about the World Cup.

Of course, it's 1957 now, but the opening match won't officially start until 58.

However, the Chinese national football team will play a World Cup qualifier against Indonesia in May.

This is the first time China has participated in the World Cup.

Such news was a distant memory for Li Jiuzhou, because he was a person from the future.

The Chinese national football team was already widely criticized back then.

They kicked the ball wide, shooting into their own net. After losing to Vietnam, then to Myanmar, Thailand has nothing left to lose. They've lost all sense of shame.

Li Jiuzhou smiled as he thought of the national football team in the future. After all, the national football team was a topic of conversation among young people, and it was quite interesting to brag about it, since it was a joke in itself.

In his previous life, Li Jiuzhou also enjoyed watching football; how could a gambler not gamble on football?

He bet on France to win the World Cup in 2018 and made a small profit.

After chatting with the neighbors for a while, I took two Spring Festival couplets home and called my younger brother Shanhe to put them up together.

Tie Niu, with his small arms and legs, came over to join in the fun, helping to get some glue or something.

There are several types of paste for pasting couplets.

1. Mix flour and cold water to form a thin batter (without lumps).

2. Pour in boiling water while stirring, or simmer directly in a pot over low heat.

3. Cook until it becomes translucent, viscous, and "can be lifted with a spoon in a thin stream".

4. It can be used after it cools down.

People in the yard take turns making the paste, because it's not cost-effective to make it yourself.

Many of his neighbors have a couplet pasted on their doors. What can he do?

So they took turns, and this year it was Sha Zhu's turn. He actually used flour to make paste, and Qin Huairu rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky.

Previously, the neighbors in the courtyard mostly used cornmeal or sweet potato flour to make it, but it was less sticky.

It's different with white flour; as long as it doesn't get rained on, it'll be perfectly safe all year round.

Sha Zhu complained that the poor-quality viscous material wasn't sticky enough; it was Jia Zhangshi from the Jia family who made it last year, and it wasn't thick at all.

Sha Zhu even complained at the time, saying, "Can such a thin paste even be used?"

Jia Zhangshi replied, "If you stop being clingy, come find me."

Two months later, a corner of the Spring Festival couplet in Yan Bugui's house fell off.

Yan Bugui immediately gathered a group of neighbors to confront Jia Zhangshi and demand an explanation.

As a result, in front of the neighbors, Jia Zhangshi spat out a mouthful of phlegm, which stuck the couplets on Yan Bugui's door shut.

Oh my god, it disgusted the neighbors.

And it actually lasted for several months.

Sha Zhu's generosity earned him high praise from his neighbors, who were grateful that he had helped a large man.

Yi Zhonghai praised Sha Zhu highly, and began to repeat the old saying that one should not be too selfish...

Of course, the main reason is that Sha Zhu doesn't lack these things; half a pound of flour is enough to make paste.

Qin Huairu was not used to a life of extravagant spending. Even though she knew that the family had money and her husband could earn it, she still preferred to live frugally.

The deaf old lady greatly admired Qin Huairu's character; she was a person who knew how to manage a household.

But she felt bitter and conflicted because she wasn't a frugal person, yet she couldn't tell Qin Huairu.

When she said she wanted to eat something nice, Qin Huairu said that's not how life is supposed to be lived. The deaf old lady would get scolded by Qin Huairu even if she paid for it herself.

The deaf old woman was extremely helpless; she had money but couldn't spend it.

Qin Huairu had a well-thought-out plan; she wanted to save the deaf old lady some money, because it would all be her money in the future.

Actually, the deaf old lady wasn't wronged at all; the food at Sha Zhu's house was already quite good.

While other neighbors eat meat once a week, this family eats meat every other day, and they are already living a very comfortable life.

Which of the wealthy neighbors in the courtyard doesn't secretly stew meat in their house at night?

Because everyone has built earthen stoves in front of their homes, cooking meat outside would have too strong a smell.

So they would cook meat in the house at night using a coal stove.

Everyone thinks others don't know, but who doesn't know that you need ventilation when you light a coal stove?

Yan Bugui always says that his family eats meat once a week, but he stews meat in the house every few days.

The neighbors didn't say it outright, the eldest brother didn't mention the second brother, because saying it out loud would ruin the atmosphere.

The only families that openly eat meat in the courtyard are Li Jiuzhou's family, Sha Zhu's family, and Xu Damao's family.

Li Jiuzhou didn't think there was anything to hide. His neighbors all knew what his family's circumstances were, and it wasn't a difficult time yet, so no one would say anything.

After finishing their New Year's Eve dinner, the younger generation gathered together to play a few rounds of games.

Xu Damao had just gotten married, and his wife, Su Mei, wouldn't let him gamble at home. Upon learning this, Yi Zhonghai waved his hand and said he would go to his house.

Less than ten minutes later, Banggeng rushed in, crying loudly:

"Dad, Mom says her stomach hurts."

Upon hearing this, Jia Dongxu and Jia Zhangshi stuffed the money into their pockets and hurried home.

That's right, how could such a lively event be complete without Jia Zhangshi? She has to do a couple of things.

Yi Zhonghai, also anxious, said, "What do you all say? Shall we continue?"

Li Jiuzhou waved his hand: "Let's go take a look, just in case we need to help."

Everyone agreed that if Tong Jie were to give birth, they wouldn't be able to have fun.

A bunch of grown men coming in to help is definitely not an option, but they can lend a hand if there's an emergency.

At this point, the midwife couldn't be called, so Jia Dongxu decided to take Tong Jie to the hospital.

After a flurry of activity, the two families rushed to the hospital.

Bang Geng didn't go; he asked Qin Huairu to keep an eye on things for him.

Around 9 o'clock, Yi Zhonghai and his group returned from the hospital with good news: Tong Jie had given birth to a daughter.