Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Seeing the Jia family hesitate, the Dharma Protector Elder shook his head, then smiled mysteriously:

"If you don't believe me, that's fine. Anyway, Brother Dongxu is going to suffer another ordeal soon, and then you'll know whether his leg will be broken or not in three years!"

"I've said all I need to say. You should go back now and come back after this has happened."

The family walked out of Baiyun Temple in a daze, their minds a jumble of confusion and a hint of worry.

Because the old sage said that Jia Dongxu would suffer another calamity soon, they were naturally uneasy.

At the entrance of Baiyun Temple, a family sat on the steps, still half asleep.

Having calmed down a bit, Jia Zhangshi's tone was very anxious:

"Daughter-in-law, Dongxu, what do you think we should do?"

Jia Dongxu smoked one cigarette after another, his eyes vacant as he stared ahead.

He heard what his mother said, but he had no heart to reply.

Jia Zhangshi's words also broke Tong Jie's deep thoughts. Seeing her mother-in-law's anxious expression and her husband's ashen face, an idea instantly came to her mind:

"Mom, Dongxu, cheer up. The old fortune teller said Dongxu will face another calamity, which means it won't be life-threatening. Don't be afraid." She then looked earnestly at Jia Dongxu.

"At most... at most you'll suffer a little."

"Dongxu, are you scared? If the old fortune teller is right, I'll break your right leg right after the Lantern Festival in '62, and then I'll break your left leg right after the Ghost Festival!"

Madam Jia Zhang thought her daughter-in-law's earlier words made sense, but the more she listened, the more upset she became, and she couldn't help but speak up:

"What are you doing? Why are you making me hit him? How can a mother break her own son's leg? If I don't do this, I'll be struck by lightning!"

Tong Jie suppressed a laugh and continued to persuade her:

"Mom, Dongxu is your son. If you won't do it, are you expecting me to?"

"I'm just a woman, where would I get the strength..."

"Anyway...anyway, I'm not doing it!" Jia Zhangshi refused to agree at all.

Jia Dongxu watched the two arguing about breaking his leg and couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, so he tried to mediate:

"Mom, wife, stop arguing. Let's wait for the old fortune teller's words to come true. Even if he's going to break my legs, it'll be more than three years. There's really no rush!"

When Jia Zhangshi and Tong Jie heard this, they felt it made sense and relaxed, since the old sage had said that Dongxu would suffer a bit.

Suffering a little is better than dying; once I understood that, I felt at ease.

Since we're out today, we might as well take it all in. We'll stroll around Beiping (Beijing) and maybe spend some money—they're rich!

It wasn't until evening that the family returned to the courtyard, and they answered the neighbors' friendly greetings with perfect tact.

That evening, Yi Zhonghai, who was very concerned about his student, came over after dinner to inquire about the situation.

After hearing their story at Baiyun Temple, Yi Zhonghai fell silent.

He had absolutely no idea how to answer.

Seeing Yi Zhonghai remain silent, Jia Zhangshi asked:

"Old Yi, give me some ideas."

Yi Zhonghai took a deep drag on his cigarette:

"Just do as the old immortal says. Dongxu, don't feel burdened. You're not going to die anyway."

"Just eat and drink whatever you want during this time!"

Yi Zhonghai's words reassured Jia Dongxu a lot; at this point, this was the only option.

In the following days, Jia Dongxu seemed like a different person, and his mentor Yi Zhonghai rode him to and from get off work.

He was exceptionally cautious while working in the factory and rarely argued with others; he was very low-key, which was somewhat out of character for him.

After being cautious for more than half a month, Jia Dongxu naturally relaxed his vigilance when he saw that nothing had happened.

Because he was tired. Who knows when trouble will come? There's no point in him trying to guard against it. He might as well face it head-on. He even seems to be deliberately looking for trouble, just trying to get over this hurdle.

But things didn't go as he wished. More than two months passed in the blink of an eye, and it was already January 1958.

At this point, Jia Dongxu completely stopped taking the old fortune teller's words seriously and felt that he had miscalculated this time.

Even Tong Jie and Jia Zhangshi didn't say much, they were also secretly pondering.

Li Jiuzhou has been very busy lately. His work used to be quite easy, but he has become busier as the year draws to a close.

Because he is not only the canteen director but also the deputy director of the logistics department, he must have something to do.

There is a lot of supplies needed at the end of the year because workers were not given benefits last year, so they must be given them this year.

The Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill now has more than 15,000 employees, regardless of their position!

How to distribute the welfare benefits to these 15,000+ people, and what to distribute, all need to be decided by the logistics department, and the purchasing department needs to make the purchases.

To clarify, the Purchasing Section is under the management of the Logistics Department.

My second uncle, Li Huaide, said that everyone in the factory receives at least one pound of pork as a perk.

The higher the rank of a worker or leader, the more benefits they receive.

Then the total amount of pork to be purchased will be high.

The factory leaders suddenly remembered the promise made by their superiors that supplies would be given priority, so they came up with an idea to ask for supplies from higher up.

The only person in the factory who could report directly to the Ministry of Metallurgy was Secretary Nie, so he was chosen to take charge.

Secretary Nie was at a loss. Everyone had reached a consensus, and if he refused, he would be breaking the rules. So he reported it to the Ministry of Metallurgy.

About an hour after the report was submitted, Secretary Nie received a phone call and uttered only one word:

"roll!"

The Ministry of Metallurgy was furious. "Your Red Star Steel Rolling Mill is currently making its own money and spending it as it pleases, but you still have to ask us for money to buy pork."

We haven't even reached down yet, and you've already pulled us out.

Secretary Nie suffered a silent loss, so he held an emergency meeting and launched a full-scale attack, scolding Yang Ligong and everyone else in turn!

This kind of meeting isn't a democratic life meeting; if you're being scolded, you have to listen obediently.

Secretary Nie's thinking was simple: if I've been wronged, then you all shouldn't stand idly by either, you should all suffer along with me.

We had all planned to try and get some benefits from our superiors, but we ended up losing more than we gained.

Only Li Huaide could step forward because the amount of materials to be purchased at the end of the year was too large, and the factory would have to make a lot of sacrifices, requiring coordination from all sides.

The factory leaders didn't want to coordinate this time, so they turned their attention to higher-ups.

The result was a "get lost" message that made them incredibly embarrassed.

The leaders of the Ministry of Metallurgy were a little angry. Yes, that's right, we promised to give priority to your Red Star Steel Rolling Mill for supplies, but you can't be this shameless, can you?

Minister Wang was so angry that he laughed when he heard the order for 30,000 jin of pork. Did they really think they were treating the old men in the Ministry of Metallurgy like pigs to be slaughtered?

He immediately called Secretary Nie and told him to get lost!

The next day, another document was sent out. The entire document contained not a single official word, only plain language!

It's just one sentence, but it carries immense weight!

as follows:

"We're having a 'pig-killing feast' the day after tomorrow, and we're also taking a pork knuckle home!"

The document bears the handwritten signatures of 11 leaders of the Ministry of Metallurgy!

Secretary Nie was stunned when he saw the document, and the leadership team was stunned as well.

These damn old men have no sportsmanship and bully others by relying on their power. I'm going to sue them until they're bankrupt and their families are ruined!

This is a blatant counterattack! You think you can get something for nothing from us?

We'd like to get our money back from you for free!

So what if the document was written and signed?

Do you have a problem with that?

The Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill is still an asset of the Ministry of Metallurgical Industry. Is there anything wrong with us eating pork raised by our own farmers?

No problem, if you say that, then there's absolutely nothing wrong with it!