Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

In the days that followed, Jia Dongxu took the initiative to do the most tiring work in the workshop, as suggested by Yi Zhonghai.

The work is a bit tiring, but it's safe.

He also actively helps his coworkers, not only when they are working at the factory, but also in their daily lives.

What should I do?

That meant borrowing money, or sending them homemade Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry). Over the course of a month or two, Jia Dongxu actually built up a good reputation.

Taking advantage of the situation, Yi Zhonghai added Jia Dongxu's name to the list of advanced workers.

As the deputy director of the workshop, he had this authority.

Then, through Yang Ligong's connections, Jia Dongxu directly became the group leader of the first fitter workshop.

There's no administrative rank; I'm just a group leader, but I get an extra five yuan a month in subsidies.

This is a very good start for the Jia family.

Sure enough, they're going to make Sachima again at the end of the year.

Tong Jie personally delivered five jin of Sachima to each of the neighbors in the courtyard, expressing her gratitude for their usual care for the Jia family.

Such a generous gift should be reciprocated by the neighbors; only through mutual exchange can relationships be maintained better.

If you only take the money back but don't get it back, who the hell will want to be with you in the future? Isn't that just taking advantage of someone else?

Just as the New Year was approaching, there was good news in the courtyard: Zhang Shihao's wife, Tong Jinfeng, was pregnant.

The neighbors were shocked and somewhat taken aback when they heard the news.

Damn it, Zhang Shih-hao, why are you blaming me so quickly?

It hasn't even been half a year, right?

The Tong family's daughters are so fertile!

Only Da Hu had a blank face, because he had been thoroughly tormented by Zhang Shih-hao and his wife.

These two have so much energy, they're always up to something, sometimes they don't stop for a whole week.

At first, Da Hu and his wife could keep up with their pace, but later they couldn't.

Da Hu was at a loss. They were just having fun as a couple; he couldn't exactly go over and knock on their door to tell them to stop, could he?

What upset Da Hu the most was that Zhang Shihao's wife was pregnant, but after trying for half a year, there was still no sign of pregnancy. What kind of situation was this?!

Of course, another person who is upset is Xu Damao. He has been married for long enough, and the fact that this newcomer has surpassed him will cause gossip among the neighbors.

Sure enough, as soon as Tong Jinfeng became pregnant, the blame immediately fell on Xu Damao and Dahu, who had been married for some time but had not conceived.

During a gathering of the younger generation in the courtyard that evening, Xu Damao couldn't help but start complaining:

"Ah Hao, do you have some secret? You got pregnant so quickly. Ah Hao and I are so frustrated."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes immediately turned to Zhang Shih-hao.

Zhang Shih-hao felt a little nervous being stared at by so many eyes.

"I... what tricks do I have? It's just... I just have a lot more variety." After saying that, her face turned as red as her butt.

"Hahahaha..." Everyone burst into laughter.

Li Jiuzhou smiled as he smoked, thinking to himself:

According to the original storyline, Xu Damao did not have children, and he should have been lacking in some way.

There might be a way to save it in the future, but it's really difficult now.

Moreover, if there were no descendants in this era, life would be extremely dark, and there would be no goal to strive for.

However, it's hard to say; she might not be pregnant yet.

After a moment, Li Jiuzhou spoke:

"Da Mao, Da Hu, a couple of years ago, Zhu Zi was just like you two, extremely anxious, but in the end, his wife got pregnant too."

"You two should go to the hospital as soon as possible. Zhu Zi got pregnant because he went to the hospital for treatment. Don't be afraid to seek medical help."

Sha Zhu also chimed in:

"Yes, just go get checked out. If there's a problem, we'll treat it. If there isn't, that's best. Don't be afraid."

Xu Damao and Da Hu nodded in unison after hearing this. Since there was the example of Sha Zhu, they had nothing to hesitate about.

The two agreed to go together, since they were both in the same situation anyway; if you laugh at him, you're laughing at yourself.

A few days later, on their day off, the four of them went together and, through Sha Zhu's introduction, found the doctor who had treated them.

When the doctor saw four people together, his expression became somewhat strange, and he asked:

"Are you a family?"

Xu Damao stepped forward to explain:

"No, doctor. We are from two different families and are neighbors, but we have the same situation. We've been married for a long time and haven't been able to conceive."

The old doctor nodded:

"Come up one by one to take their pulse."

The two women went first, followed by Xu Damao and Dahu.

The old doctor pointed at Su Mei and Wang Xiu'e, then said something surprising:

"You two seem to be fine, and you're full of energy and vitality; you're clearly well-nourished..."

"Uh..." Upon hearing this, the four of them blushed as red as monkey bottoms.

The old doctor burst out laughing when he saw them blushing and smiling.

"Hehe... What's there to be embarrassed about? I've seen more patients than you've eaten meals."

What could Xu Damao and the others say? They could only nod in agreement, avoiding eye contact with the others.

The old doctor then looked at Xu Damao and Da Hu, and said with a half-smile:

"As for you two, you're the complete opposite of your wife. It's obvious you've had a lot of plastic surgery, and your bodies are all weak from it."

"I understand. Young people don't know how to control themselves. They just like this kind of thing and will do it whenever they feel like it."

When the old doctor said that, Da Hu and Xu Damao wanted to disappear into the ground. They couldn't help but curse Sha Zhu in their hearts, "What kind of doctor did you recommend? Why do you keep saying such embarrassing things?"

Su Mei and Wang Xiu'e were so ashamed that they didn't even dare to lift their heads; they were truly too embarrassed to face anyone.

The old doctor continued:

"Hold your head high, what's there to be embarrassed about? If you're so capable, why are you afraid of what others say?"

"You two young men have kidney deficiency. If you don't take good care of it, it might get worse."

"Impossible, absolutely impossible."

"Yes, how could I possibly have kidney deficiency!"

Xu Damao and Da Hu stubbornly retorted.

"Hehe... Don't worry, I can cure it!" The old doctor smiled.

"Doctor, save me x2." Xu Damao and Da Hu were practically kneeling down.

The old doctor waved his hand:

"Don't rush this. You're having trouble conceiving, so it's more important to get this checked out first."

"Yes, yes, check this first, it's important." Xu Damao quickly agreed, this was the main point of their visit today.

The old doctor then wrote out a prescription for them to undergo a series of tests.

After a whole day of various tasks, they returned to the doctor's office in the evening.

The doctor's expression turned serious after looking at the report.

"The two girls are fine."

"Both of you young men have low sperm count, which means you'll have some difficulty conceiving. Your bodies will need a long period of conditioning."

"You need to exercise more and reduce your smoking and drinking."

"You need to undergo treatment for six months. You can't have any surgery during these six months. Even if you want to, you'd better resist the urge!"

Everyone said it was that serious, so Xu Damao and Dahu had to do it. Kidney deficiency was a minor issue; they would be devastated if they lost their fertility.

After the old doctor prescribed the medicine, the four of them returned to the hospital with heavy hearts.

Back in the hospital, I had to cheerfully say that I was fine. Being a person is just too damn hard.