Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Sha Zhu was absolutely right. Xu Damao came to Sha Zhu to brag immediately after mocking Yang Guangming.

At the back door of the canteen, Sha Zhu was smoking, pretending not to know about Xu Damao's promotion for meritorious service.

"Da Mao, what brought you here?"

Xu Damao knows his nemesis all too well. The whole factory has been praising me, Xu Damao, for my meritorious service and promotion, but you, Sha Zhu, are pretending to be blind, aren't you?

No problem, let's see how I, Deputy Section Chief Xu, deal with him.

"Hey Comrade He Yuzhu, do you even respect your superiors? You should address them by their titles when you're working."

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu's eyes widened, he threw away his cigarette, rolled up his sleeves, and began to utter threats:

"Xu Damao, you little brat, you think you're so great just because you got promoted? Daring to show off in front of Master Zhu, are you asking for trouble?"

Xu Damao reflexively stepped back; he couldn't help it, it was just a habit.

Wait a minute, I'm the boss now, why would I be afraid of that idiot Zhu?

So he craned his neck and moved closer to Sha Zhu, pointing to his head and saying:

"Come on, Sha Zhu, pound here! Come on, pound hard!"

Faced with Xu Damao's request, what could Sha Zhu say? Of course, he had to grant it!

Without saying a word, he slapped her across the face.

"Smack."

"Holy crap, you're really serious, Sha Zhu?" Xu Damao covered his head and trembled.

Sha Zhu burst into laughter upon seeing this:

"Hahahaha...Alright, Da Mao, I'm not messing with you anymore. I admire you for your act of bravery."

After he finished speaking, he personally lit a cigarette for Xu Damao.

"Hey? I have to say, the cigarettes you smoke, Sha Zhu, are really good for your lungs..." Xu Damao couldn't help but show off again.

"Shazhu, let me tell you, back then I did this and that..." Xu Damao began to tell Shazhu about his heroic act.

Sha Zhu didn't interrupt him; he still quite liked hearing about heroic deeds.

"Let me tell you, for the first half of the month, Yang Guangming was swaggering around in my little warehouse, constantly trying to give me orders."

"Damn it, I felt so humiliated back then. I would rather be beaten to death by you, Sha Zhu, than be humiliated by Yang Guangming again."

"Then, half a month later, hahaha, the tables have turned, and today it's my turn."

"Now I have to give Yang Guangming instructions every day. Who the hell told him to bully me before?"

Sha Zhu understood immediately. Xu Damao had been going to the countryside almost every day for the past two weeks, and he always came back to the courtyard covered in dust and dirt.

Although the neighbors in the courtyard had doubts, Xu Damao himself did not voice them.

Now that I hear this, I realize this guy really suffered a lot of injustice. Yang Guangming isn't a good person either.

The current "Silly Zhu" (a nickname for a man named Sha Zhu) does understand politics to some extent; after all, he's a cadre, no less. He couldn't help but remind Xu Damao:

"Da Mao, even though you're a deputy section chief now, you can't openly target Yang Guangming. After all, he has an uncle who's a factory director."

"If you really get serious, you might not even be able to keep your position as deputy section chief."

Xu Damao fell silent after hearing this, and took a few deep drags on his cigarette.

"I know, I'll just retaliate against him for a while and then stop, otherwise he'll really think I'm a pushover that he can easily bully."

Sha Zhu smiled and patted him on the shoulder like an elder:

"Da Mao, I'm very pleased that you think this way; it shows you've grown!"

Xu Damao was speechless upon hearing this.

"Who am I? Where am I?"

On a rest day, around nine o'clock in the morning, the street office organized people to walk towards the No. 95 compound with gongs and drums.

Neighbors from all around came out to see what was going on, because Xu Damao had been awarded a third-class merit, and the neighborhood committee wanted to show their appreciation.

Sending a plaque or something is still necessary.

Director Wang personally led the team, while the neighbors in the courtyard were already waiting at the door.

"Director Wang, you've arrived." Yi Zhonghai greeted him with a smile.

Director Wang was beaming with pride. Xu Damao had made a contribution, and she was also beaming with pride. Her superiors had even praised her, saying that it was about time to give her more responsibilities.

"Haha, Lao Yi, Lao Liu, Lao Yan, you three liaison officers did a great job."

"Da Mao has done a great job. I will remember all your contributions."

"Of course, of course." Yi Zhonghai and the other two smiled broadly after being praised by Director Wang.

Director Wang then praised Xu Damao's father, Xu Fugui:

"Old Xu, you've raised a fine son!"

Old Xu was dressed very formally today; you could say his ancestors' graves were emitting auspicious smoke.

"Not at all, Damao still has a lot to learn from you, Director."

Director Wang smiled and nodded, "Of course they should continue to learn from me. After all, she's a veteran of the battlefield." She then walked towards Xu Damao.

"Da Mao, congratulations! Well done!"

Xu Damao stood at attention and saluted, his voice loud and clear:

"Serve the people!"

"good!"

The people around them applauded and cheered!

The residents of No. 95 were all proud, after all, Xu Damao was their neighbor, and No. 95 was a community.

Collective honor is still highly valued in this era.

In addition to the plaque, the neighborhood committee also gave us some rice, flour, and cooking oil as a reward.

Of course, it wasn't as much as the reward from the steel rolling mill, which gave out two hundred yuan and many receipts.

However, Xu Damao didn't mind; the more the merrier.

At Yi Zhonghai's suggestion, the hospital organized a dinner party, and Xu Damao generously offered to pay for the food.

Take out 30 yuan to buy meat and ask Sha Zhu to cook a big pot of stew so everyone can have a good time.

Each family only needs to contribute a little bit of staple food.

The neighbors naturally wouldn't refuse such a good deal; it was just a matter of contributing some food, since they also needed to cook lunch anyway.

The men had a small drink at noon.

After dinner at Xu Damao's house, his wife, Su Mei, praised him:

"Da Mao, you're amazing! But don't do that again next time."

"That's too dangerous. What am I supposed to do if something happens?"

Xu Damao quickly hugged her:

"Honey, I'm fine. Don't worry, I won't do it again."

He then changed the subject: "Honey, I'm a deputy section chief now, don't you want to reward me?"

Su Mei blushed immediately: "Oh dear, it's broad daylight!"

"So what if it's broad daylight? It can't stop me from being intimate with my wife. Come on, honey..."

Soon, bursts of joyful singing filled the air.

I was so excited that I didn't stop all afternoon; it was one wave after another.

The deaf old woman in the next room looked very upset and couldn't help but stomp her cane.

"The world is going to the dogs, the world is going to the dogs..."

At night, a group of young people were smoking and chatting in front of Li Jiuzhou's house as usual. Xu Damao was naturally the main character, boasting to his brothers about his heroic deeds!

Late at night, Xu Damao finished washing up and returned to the kang (a heated brick bed), where his wife Su Mei was already waiting for him.

Seeing him get into bed, Su Mei smiled and went up to hug his neck.

"Da Mao, all the old women and young wives in the courtyard are praising you. It's my honor, Su Mei, to have such an excellent husband like you. I'd like to reward you again tonight."

Xu Damao smiled broadly when his wife praised him, but Su Mei's next sentence made his lips twitch and his smile freeze.

Who the hell is rewarding whom?

However, since his wife was in the mood, Xu Damao, despite the aftereffects of the afternoon, was determined to get started and give it his all.