Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

The two young men were brutally beaten by Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu, while their families watched on, gritting their teeth.

It hurts to see you suffer, but this is the only way we can do it.

Compared to the children's future, what's a beating? They were certain that Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu would at most go too far and break a leg, a price they could afford.

After they finish fighting, they'll go up and give their own kid a good beating.

That's how it is these days. If a child makes a mistake at school and gets beaten by the teacher, they not only won't get comfort from their family when they get home, but they'll also get beaten again.

Six young men lay on the ground groaning in pain.

Xu Damao received 20 yuan in compensation, which was at least a 100% return, so he didn't lose anything.

The deaf old woman and Jia Zhangshi each received 30 yuan for the medicine and compensation for emotional distress.

This compensation is too much, but it's not much if the six families share it.

Their punishment was that once they left the No. 91 compound, people from other compounds would gossip about them.

They say things like, "So-and-so's kid is dishonest."

This is unavoidable; once you've done it, you have to bear all the consequences and the resulting chain reaction.

Of course, as long as they can repent and reform, they will be forgotten over time.

After all, the matter has been settled, and the people in Compound No. 95 didn't pursue it to the end; everyone understands.

After all, the children didn't commit murder or arson, so they should still be given a chance.

If you commit the same offense again, it will be one plus one equals two, and you will be punished for multiple offenses. At that point, there will be no room for leniency.

Meanwhile, everyone from No. 95 Courtyard was gathered in the central courtyard, where Director Wang was holding a meeting with them.

Director Wang stood in the middle of the crowd, hands on his hips, spitting as he spoke.

"You guys are really something, do you know what's going on outside about your hospital?"

"What a feng shui treasure land, what a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, what the best courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang is."

"In the best-lived courtyard houses, every household had a stove, ate meat every day, and threw steamed buns on the ground to feed the dogs!"

"I'm afraid Nanluoguo Alley can't accommodate you anymore, why don't you move out?"

Director Wang talked at length, making all the neighbors in the courtyard blush.

They admitted that they had all boasted about what Director Wang said outside, and there was no way around it, they were just that awesome!

Seeing that they remained silent, Director Wang continued:

"How many times have I told you to keep a low profile? Why won't you listen? Even a cow knows to turn the corner after being taught three times. You guys are even more stubborn than cows."

"You've been targeted this time, haven't you? You've brought back a bunch of kids. What will you do if those with ill intentions take notice?"

"That's all I have to say. The specifics of how to implement this are up to your department to discuss."

After Director Wang made her point clear, she left. She actually had no complaints about the residents of Building 95; in fact, she thought quite well of them.

The residents there are all doing quite well; they can eat meat every day, and having all the essentials in their homes—that's their skill.

As the director of the subdistrict office, she couldn't very well tell capable people, "You can't do this; you can't spend money like this, you have to keep it hidden."

There is no such logic in the world.

Therefore, she only told Yi Zhonghai and his three liaison officers to be low-key in their lives and not to be too flamboyant, rather than saying that you can't spend your money.

When Yi Zhonghai and his two companions returned from the neighborhood office, they did the same, telling their neighbors to keep a low profile.

They really have been keeping a low profile, but they've still been targeted, which is really unfair to them.

"Old Yi, what do you suggest we do?" Yan Bugui asked.

Yi Zhonghai sighed and said to the crowd:

"Everyone, you all heard what Director Wang just said. You should keep a low profile in the future, or you might easily get into trouble."

Xu Damao stepped out of the crowd, shrugged, and smiled wryly:

"Uncle Yi, you make it sound so simple. We're already eating meat once every five days now. Isn't that low-key enough?"

Sha Zhu directly stood up and retorted:

"Come on, Da Mao. You keep your door closed at night and stew meat every day, as if nobody knows."

"Actually, I'm not talking about Da Mao. Everyone is the same. Apart from the meat we eat on the surface, we also stew meat every now and then in the middle of the night."

Sha Zhu stood up directly and made his point clear.

The neighbors were a little embarrassed, but it was good to talk it out, since everyone was in the same boat anyway.

Old Wu from the front yard asked:

"Zhu Zi, what's your take on this? I'm not bragging, but we can afford to eat meat."

"Why should I hide my abilities when I clearly have them? Besides, I don't even do anything special. Why do I have to hide my food? What's wrong with this world? I want to ask you this!"

"Yeah, it's just eating some meat, we didn't do anything else."

"That's right, the monthly meat ration isn't much, so what's wrong with eating a little?"

Wu Laoda's words received a warm response from the neighbors.

Yi Zhonghai also felt that his neighbors were right. To be honest, they could live their own lives behind closed doors in their No. 95 compound, and who the hell had a problem with that?

Everyone in the courtyard is well-off, so who are you trying to show this to?

Yi Zhonghai also felt that this life was frustrating. "I only make a hundred or so yuan a month, and you're telling me to keep a low profile?"

Why should I be low-key?

How can you expect me to keep a low profile?

Can I keep a low profile?

With a monthly salary of only a hundred yuan, Yi Zhonghai was destined to be unable to keep a low profile.

Everyone in Nanluoguxiang knows his income. Yi Zhonghai has no other expenses, and his wife doesn't need to take Chinese medicine.

It's safe to say that the residents of Nanluoguxiang can calculate how much Yi Zhonghai spends and how much he saves each month.

After thinking for a moment, Yi Zhonghai gritted his teeth and said:

"From now on, you can eat however you want, and stop secretly cooking meat in the middle of the night. Just eat it openly and honestly."

"But we need to keep the same word: once you leave the hospital, you should eat meat once every five days, just like before."

"Let's close the door and live our own lives."

"Then each family will contribute some money to hire someone to build a higher wall around their yard, so that thieves won't get in again."

"Old Yi, will this work?" Yan Bugui asked, swallowing hard.

Yi Zhonghai raised an eyebrow: "Then what do you suggest? Getting up in the middle of the night to cook meat won't interfere with your sleep, but eating meat at this time is bad for your health!"

Yi Zhonghai's words were widely agreed upon by the neighbors: "That's right, why hide it? It's exhausting."

Li Jiuzhou was quite surprised. He thought that everyone would hide their secrets even more after Director Wang finished speaking, but he didn't expect that Yi Zhonghai's words would make them stop hiding their secrets altogether.

That's fine too, Li Jiuzhou doesn't like the kind of life where he has to sneak around to eat something.

I just don't know how long this kind of life can last.

Yi Zhonghai waved his hand:

"Old Yan, close the gate. My family is making pan-fried pork belly today. It's driving me crazy."

Oh my!

The neighbors were incredibly surprised.

Yi Zhonghai is indeed Yi Zhonghai; he can even afford to eat pan-fried pork belly. No wonder he's an eighth-grade fitter at the steel rolling mill—he's so arrogant.

Liu Haizhong also said to his wife, Wang Guilian:

"Honey, let's not stew chicken today. Old Yi has been eating pan-fried pork belly. Let's just pan-fry chicken. I'm craving it too."

Yan Bugui, not to be outdone, said to his wife Yang Ruihua:

"Old Liu's already having pan-fried chicken, Ruihua, our family can't be left behind. Braise that fish, add lots of spices, make sure it's flavorful enough, I'm going to have a couple tonight!"

With the three liaison officers taking the lead, the other neighbors said that we couldn't be too stingy either, and each of them had their wives do the best.

At the same time, there's something I want to shout out:

"We can't keep a low profile!"