Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Since having a son, Sha Zhu has been overjoyed every day, telling everyone he meets that he has a son and showing off recklessly.

It's truly something to be happy about; the He family has had only one son for three generations.

After Yi Zhonghai and his wife found out that Sha Zhu already had a son, they were emotional for ten minutes...

It only takes about ten minutes. They're used to it. If they were to act like it's going to kill them every time a new baby is born in the yard, they wouldn't be able to live like that.

I might as well reincarnate sooner; then all this trouble will be over.

Besides, Bang Geng is so cute, always calling everyone "Grandpa" and "Grandma," and now he has another granddaughter, life couldn't be better.

You can tell how clever the Jia family is just from the way they are called "banggeng".

Jia Zhangshi did not object at all to her grandson calling Yi Zhonghai and his wife "grandpa" and "grandma".

What's there to object to?

Is it a lack of food or a lack of clothing?

Besides, Yi Zhonghai spent no less money on Bang Geng than the Jia family did.

Over the years, the two families have lived like one family in every way except for not sharing meals together.

Even when giving gifts to people in the courtyard, both families would do so in the name of the head of the family, Jia Dongxu, only the gifts they gave were a little more than those given to others.

Look at how well they've managed to live their lives, and nobody's gossiping about them anymore; they've even started to envy Jia Dongxu.

You should know that Yi Zhonghai is an eighth-level fitter!

Now they're all being treated as cadres through a system of "workers instead of cadres."

Whether it's in the factory or Nanluoguxiang, who dares to disrespect them?

They even had to give Jia Dongxu some face.

Being Yi Zhonghai's son must be incredibly lucky; who wouldn't be envious? A hundred yuan a month is more than enough to live on.

Jia Dongxu is practically begging for a godfather position, but actually, he doesn't need to. He's already kowtowed and become an apprentice. They agreed to take care of him in his old age, so there's no need to go through the formalities again.

In fact, Jia Zhangshi had also subtly suggested that the two families should start fighting together.

Although Yi Zhonghai was quite interested, he couldn't agree, as he knew how much Jia Zhangshi could eat.

He could spend the money however he wanted, not because he didn't trust his apprentice and his wife, but because he wanted to plan for the future.

Everything is subject to change. When things start to get heated, there will be more arguments and changes are likely to occur. Yi Zhonghai thinks it's good to maintain the status quo.

The couple isn't old; they can eat, sleep, and work well, and they're in good health. They haven't reached the point where they need help from others.

Besides, apart from going to Sha Zhu's house for meals and cooking together, the old lady in the backyard handles most of her daily chores by herself. She's still capable; she's not paralyzed.

They would only lend a hand to Sha Zhu and his wife if it was something difficult to handle.

The elderly in this era don't need their children to take care of them much.

During this period, the neighbors in the courtyard lived relatively peacefully, and nothing major happened.

Yan Bugui has been looking rather worried these days because their school's dean of students is retiring.

Yan Bugui originally had no intention of rising to power, but he couldn't stand the fact that there were too many powerful people in courtyard number 95, which put him under a lot of pressure.

If this continues, his position as a liaison officer will soon be practically nonexistent.

But climbing the ranks isn't that easy; there are several strong competitors.

He presented the gift, but the principal righteously returned it, saying that teaching and nurturing students is not the norm in schools.

That's where the difficulty lies.

Yang Ruihua felt a pang of heartache seeing her husband smoking with a worried expression. Suddenly, an idea flashed into her mind, and she said to Yan Bugui:

"Honey, why don't you go find Jiuzhou and ask him if he has any solutions?"

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up upon hearing this, but then dimmed again:

"Don't you understand the relationship between our two families? It would be strange if Jiuzhou would lend a hand."

Yang Ruihua added, "I'm not asking you to ask him for help, but to ask him for some ideas. He's the leader, so he might have some different opinions. Don't go empty-handed; take a bottle of good wine and some pig ears."

Yan Bugui thought about it for a while and decided that it would work, so he rode his bicycle out to buy things.

After dinner, Li Jiuzhou was at the door with his son when Yan Bugui arrived with some things.

"Jiuzhou, how about having a couple of drinks with Uncle Yan?"

Li Jiuzhou smiled and waved his hand:

Please sit down.

The two started drinking right at the doorway.

After a few drinks, Li Jiuzhou asked:

"Uncle Yan, it's not easy to get a drink from you in this courtyard. I won't drink for nothing. Just say what you need to say, let's not beat around the bush."

"Heh heh, you're so smart, kid." Then Yan Bugui explained his purpose:

"Jiuzhou, what should I do?"

After listening, Li Jiuzhou stroked his chin thoughtfully, and after a long while, he continued to ask:

"Uncle Yan, is this position as head of student affairs absolutely necessary?"

Yan Bugui sensed a glimmer of hope and his voice became excited:

"Jiuzhou, you have no idea, I freaking... I freaking desperately want to improve!"

"Seeing that Lao Yi has already taken on a work-study position, I can't be any worse than him!"

"If you have any ideas, talk to your uncle about them. Don't worry, you'll definitely get a lot of benefits after it's done."

"Although you might not be interested in it because of your status, I will never be stingy with what I should give you."

In his excitement, Yan Bugui made a verbal promise to Li Jiuzhou.

Li Jiuzhou smiled, but he really didn't care about the benefits or the drawbacks; he was just interested in the show that Yan Bugui had put on.

It might have appeared in the original drama, but it's estimated that Yan Bugui probably didn't succeed.

Li Jiuzhou was certain that even if Yan Bugui were to become the dean of students now, he would be removed from his post during a special period and wouldn't last more than a few years.

"Tell me first, what did you give your principal?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui clutched his chest, his face filled with heartache, and said:

"This is my carefully cultivated Huabei account, worth over a hundred yuan. This is going to kill me."

"The old man refused me, but I felt awkward taking the things with me, so I left them in his office."

Li Jiuzhou laughed: "Haha, you've lost both your wife and your army!"

"That's right..." Yan Bugui said with a frustrated look.

This situation is easy to resolve, and Li Jiuzhou decides to offer Yan Bugui some pointers:

"Uncle Yan, you've walked into a dead end."

"Oh, Jiuzhou, what did you figure out? Tell me quickly." Yan Bugui was a little impatient.

Li Jiuzhou said with some disdain:

"Uncle Yan, you've given us too little, just two pots of flowers, that's like giving money to a beggar."

"He's a primary school principal; people give him gifts like they're made of rice. Do you really think flowers worth a hundred yuan can impress him?"

"Aren't you just insulting me?"

"You think you can get someone to help you climb the social ladder by giving away such a small gift?"

"Don't even mention the principal, I even look down on you a bit."

Yan Bugui blushed slightly at Li Jiuzhou's words and stammered an explanation:

"I was just trying to test the waters first, who knew the old man would have such a big appetite."

Li Jiuzhou then smiled mysteriously:

"Listen to me, go all out. You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub. Sometimes, it's just a matter of taking that final step."

"If you don't take decisive action, your competitors might already be making their move."

Yan Bugui had already understood. Li Jiuzhou was right. Their principal wasn't as aloof as he appeared. Who knew what he was doing behind the scenes?

After hesitating for a moment, Yan Bugui said:

"Jiuzhou, how heavy are you referring to?"

Li Jiuzhou shook his head:

"That depends on you. I'm just giving you my opinion. Don't blame me if you end up doing something wrong."

Yan Bugui nodded: "Don't worry, it's not your fault. I know what I'm doing."

Li Jiuzhou smiled gently:

"Then how about you buy me a drink when you get promoted?"

"Absolutely!"