Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

In the evening, Li Jiuzhou returned to the courtyard with his younger siblings and greeted the neighbors with auspicious words.

It's just a simple "Happy New Year." You can't say "Have you eaten?" at this time of year anymore, or people will laugh at you.

Then I went to the backyard to wish the old lady a Happy New Year. I couldn't kowtow, so I just clasped my hands in a fist and bowed.

"Alright, alright, you're all good children. Here, each of you will receive a red envelope. Grandma has already prepared these for you three siblings."

The old lady was very happy and gave the three siblings lucky money.

She's not short of money. It's true that she shamelessly comes to Li Jiuzhou's house for dinner on her days off, but she always leaves some money behind every now and then.

She made a lot of money, and she didn't take advantage of the situation for nothing.

To be honest, Li Jiuzhou couldn't bring himself to dislike such a gluttonous old lady.

Li Jiuzhou wasn't afraid of her eating him at all; with his current income, what was there to be afraid of?

How much can an old lady eat? Not even as much as my second brother Shanhe.

Li Jiuzhou accepted the red envelope and joked:

"Hehe, Grandma, did you enjoy your New Year's Eve dinner? How was your grandson's cooking?"

The old lady grinned upon hearing this, seemingly quite satisfied with last night's New Year's Eve dinner.

"That's quite good, with fish and meat. My grandson is very generous..."

The two chatted about other things, and Li Jiuzhou learned that the Yi family and the Jia family were celebrating the New Year together.

Yi Zhonghai invited the deaf old lady, but she declined.

Although Sha Zhu didn't officially cook, his culinary skills were far superior to those of Yi Zhonghai's wife and Jia Zhangshi.

The deaf old woman understood the situation; the Party's propaganda was that the people were the masters of the country, and she didn't want to order around the people who used to be around her anymore.

What if we get dragged out for target practice?

She also had a lot of money and gold and silver jewelry, more than enough for her to live to the end.

So she's eager to sever ties, and she really doesn't care much about the issue of retirement.

With money in her pocket and the government being reliable, she wasn't afraid of dying and no one taking care of her.

Knowing her grandson Shazhu as she did, she was certain he would take good care of himself after she passed away.

Plus, there's Li Jiuzhou around. As long as you give this kid some benefits, he'll definitely take care of your funeral arrangements in a grand and glorious way.

No need for any underhanded tactics, just transparent transactions!

If Li Jiuzhou knew that the old lady was thinking this way, he would only tell her that she was dreaming.

You can handle your own death without any problem, but a grand funeral is out of the question.

It seems the old lady passed away during a period of turmoil, so there was no way she could have had a grand funeral.

Damn it, you can't even burn paper money for the dead. You'll be a poor ghost in the afterlife. You've enjoyed enough while you were alive, it's time for you to experience hardship...

It was easy to deal with people leaving during that period.

They would basically stay at home overnight, and then be taken away for burial as soon as it was light.

It was all so simple and smooth; for Li Jiuzhou, it was just a matter of lending a hand. What was so difficult about that...?

After the New Year holiday, people happily resumed their normal lives and work.

Meanwhile, the courtyard at No. 95 became lively again because our Jia Dongxu was going on a blind date.

Now that the New Year is over, Jia Dongxu will be 20 years old, and it's time for him to continue the Jia family line.

So after the New Year, Jia Zhangshi started making arrangements for this matter everywhere, and even Yi Zhonghai helped by running around asking around.

They inquired whether there were any suitable girls for their Dongxu family.

Finally, Granny Wang from Nanluoguxiang introduced a girl to Jia Dongxu.

The conditions aren't just good, they're fucking amazing.

After hearing about the girl's situation, Jia Zhangshi couldn't help but spread the word everywhere.

Because this girl comes from a well-off family; her father is a manager at a textile factory, and she also works at the textile factory.

The day of the blind date was a day off, and Jia Dongxu was dressed in a brand-new Zhongshan suit with his hair slicked back with oil.

He went in and out of the courtyard, and every time he came back he was carrying something in his hand, probably the dishes for lunch he had prepared for the girl.

Li Jiuzhou was also waiting in the courtyard; he wanted to see what the commotion was about.

Because Jia Dongxu's true love is Qin Huairu, who is this Liu Yuling?

Around 10 o'clock, Granny Wang led a young girl into the courtyard.

"Wow, senior, this girl is pretty good. She's not tall and has fair skin."

"Silly Zhu joked."

Li Jiuzhou rolled his eyes at him and didn't say anything.

A neighbor greeted Granny Wang.

You can't offend the matchmaker; every family has a son and a daughter, and they'll need Wang Po to act as matchmaker in the future.

The Jia family mother and son, along with Yi Zhonghai and his wife, were all waiting at the door.

Upon seeing the matchmaker, he greeted her with a smile and quickly went to meet her.

"Oh, Sister Wang, I've been waiting all morning! I'm so glad you two have finally arrived."

"This must be Yu-Ling, she's really beautiful!"

Madam Jia stepped forward and showered her with praise, showing the utmost courtesy.

He then led the two people into the house.

Jia Dongxu stared intently at the girl.

Yi Zhonghai couldn't help but laugh at his appearance; who hasn't been young before?

Once inside, tea was served, followed by peanuts and fruits, and people chatted about everything under the sun.

Jia Zhangshi asked Yi Zhonghai's wife to cook, as she was the hostess and had to entertain the matchmaker and the girls who came to meet her.

After entering the house, Liu Yuling subtly observed the Jia family, muttering to herself.

She also remembered her father's instructions, and now she understood.

Although it was Jia Dongxu's first blind date, he gradually started chatting with Liu Yuling after being shy at first.

They talked about nothing more than work, their current situation, or how many years of schooling they had attended.

A large table of dishes was served at noon, with chicken, duck, fish, and meat all included.

Some people wonder why Jia Zhangshi would be so generous?

At least she's being generous now; her son's blind date's father is a leader, so if things work out, she won't lose out.

Therefore, Madam Jia was very generous this time.

Even Yi Zhonghai was very satisfied with her actions this time.

Both parties were very satisfied with the meal.

This is a necessary step in blind dating; regardless of whether either party is satisfied or not, they still need to have a meal together.

After the meal, Jia Zhangshi and the others went to Yi Zhonghai's house, leaving the two young men behind to talk.

Jia Dongxu took a deep breath and said seriously:

"Comrade Yuling, this is my first blind date, and I'm very satisfied with you. I'd like to date you. What are your thoughts?"

Lucy Liu smiled slightly:

"Comrade Dongxu, I am also very satisfied with you, but it's too early to talk about dating. I have a few requests, and we can start dating if you agree to them."

"Then tell me quickly, I'll agree to anything I can do!" Jia Dongxu said excitedly.

"First, can you be a live-in son-in-law?"

"Can my children take my surname after I have them?"

Jia Dongxu was stunned upon hearing this. Was this an attempt to extinguish the Jia family line?

Before he could refute Liu Yuling, she continued:

"My family has a courtyard house on Qianmen Street. It's a single-courtyard house. My dad said he'd let me live in it separately after I get married."

"We can also transfer you to a textile factory, let you get familiar with it for a year or two, and then promote you directly. That's much better than being a worker."

"My dad also said that as long as you're willing to come over, he'll provide you with all the 'three turns and one sound' (referring to a radio, a sewing machine, and a smart speaker)."

After she finished speaking, Liu Yuling stared intently at Jia Dongxu.

Liu Yuling's first words infuriated Jia Dongxu, but her later words were incredibly tempting.

Not only do they have independent courtyards to live in, but they also have the "three turns and one sound" (a set of three watches and a radio), and more importantly, they can become cadres!

Is there really such a good thing?

But this is on the premise that Jia Dongxu has to marry into the family, and he is the only son in the Jia family!

Even the greatest temptation wouldn't work. He himself really wanted it, but the problem was he couldn't go against his mother and master...

Shaking his throbbing head, Jia Dongxu smiled wryly:

"Comrade Yuling, this is too big a matter for me to make a decision on."

"hehe..."

Liu Yuling didn't say much; she genuinely looked down on the Jia family's circumstances—they were too poor.

Of course, the conditions she mentioned were true; as long as Jia Dongxu was willing to marry into the family, everything she had just said could be fulfilled.

Not long after, Jia Zhangshi and the others returned, and Wang Po left with Liu Yuling.

"How did it go, Dongxu? Did it work out?" Jia Zhangshi asked excitedly.

Jia Dongxu gave a wry smile and repeated Liu Yuling's words verbatim.

Yi Zhonghai and his wife frowned as they listened.

Madam Jia Zhang was furious:

"Go to hell! Is that coin edged with gold or something?"

"They even want my Dongxu to be a live-in son-in-law? Who does his grandma think she's embarrassing?"

The whole courtyard knew about Jia Zhangshi's scolding.

The neighbors all felt that the conditions the girl was asking for were too much.

Knowing full well that Dongxu is the only son in the Jia family, to still make such demands is simply bullying.

But some people say that the conditions are not bad at all. The private courtyard and the three turns and one sound system are simply defying the heavens and changing one's fate!

The person who said this was Yan Bugui. If his son weren't still young, he would have wanted Yan Jiecheng to become his son-in-law.

The uproar surrounding Jia Dongxu's blind date didn't stop there. The next day, Jia Zhangshi went directly to Wang Po's house and gave her a thorough dressing-down.

They even brought up their ancestors for eighteen generations, and the result was self-evident: Jia Zhangshi was severely beaten by Wang Po's sons.

It was the officers who would come to handle this matter.

After paying for the medical expenses, Wang Po's family even threatened that Jia Dongxu could forget about getting married in Beiping.

Wang Po was also deceived; she was innocent, that's true. But she apologized to Jia Zhangshi, was willing to return the money, and even offered to compensate for the cost of the meal she had served the previous day.

But Jia Zhangshi was too vicious and her insults were too harsh. Wang Po's family could no longer tolerate it, so they decided to take action directly!