Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Besides the major factories expanding and upgrading, the entire city of Beiping was undergoing construction.

The expansion of manpower is what the public is really talking about.

The topics of conversation were always the same: whose eldest daughter had gone to work in a textile factory, whose eldest son had gone to work in a steel rolling mill.

Yan Jiecheng, from courtyard number 95, is also about to face this problem.

Yan Jiecheng felt a little sad. Liu Guangqi, who was the same age as him, had graduated from vocational school and was waiting for the school to assign him a job.

He himself waited at home.

Well, all he could do was wait; he didn't even have the qualifications to register directly at the steel rolling mill.

He was only eligible for a job if he received a recommendation letter from the neighborhood committee.

During this time, he did not ask his father, Yan Bugui, for help, because he knew very well that once he asked, he would have to pay a price that he could not afford.

Yan Jiecheng knew all too well what kind of person his father was.

Although he has become more generous in his personal life since becoming a leader in the past two years, this is only a superficial appearance.

Yan Jiecheng had attended high school and understood the saying, "It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature."

His father's very being exuded cunning.

Of course, Yan Jiecheng is the same; it's all hereditary, and he can apply it freely without learning.

But now he has encountered a problem, a turning point in his life.

Some of my close classmates also graduated from high school and quickly found jobs, all with the help of their parents.

Yan Jiecheng wanted to arrange a job for himself, and he was a bit arrogant.

He just wanted to find a job on his own without relying on anyone.

He ended up empty-handed, and even told the recruiter that he graduated from high school. Comrade, look carefully, this is my graduation certificate!

The staff member scoffed and laughed dismissively.

"You only graduated from high school?"

"Lots of people are graduating from high school these past two months, who do you think you are? Get lost!"

No factory was hiring, so Yan Jiecheng became a blacksmith.

Seeing his classmates and friends go into factories one by one, his self-confidence suffered an unprecedented blow.

Yan Bugui was aware of his son's actions, and sometimes even followed him to see if he could actually succeed.

If it works out, great; if not, I'll find a way.

He's still my son, and the eldest son at that. I have to find him a job. He can't keep living off his father forever. How can I allow that?

Yan Bugui was waiting for his son to back down and suffer the harsh realities of society before taking action to resolve the matter.

But Yan Jiecheng refused to go no matter what, and wouldn't back down. So he went to Li Jiuzhou and begged him for help.

Asking someone for help might be a shameless act of going empty-handed, but Li Jiuzhou wouldn't dare; the other person's status speaks for itself.

So it's not that Yan Jiecheng is stingy; it all depends on the other party's status.

He went to Erhu in order to get Li Jiuzhou to help him find a job.

If you're going to give a gift, you have to go all out. How could he possibly offer ordinary cigarettes and alcohol?

After his father became the dean of students, he often mentioned this saying: "You can't catch a wolf without risking your cub."

If his father could do it, Yan Jiecheng felt he could do it too.

He has saved up a lot of money during this period, which is more than enough to buy several cartons of good cigarettes and alcohol.

One evening, Yan Jiecheng found Da Hu and offered him a cigarette:

"Brother Tiger, do me a favor."

Da Hu remained calm, because the people who came to him were simply looking to get some good cigarettes and alcohol. After taking a puff of his cigarette, he spoke:

"Jiecheng, tell me what's on your mind first."

He didn't agree immediately, but instead asked Yan Jiecheng what he wanted him to do.

"Brother Tiger, I'd like to ask you to get me two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes and two bottles of Moutai," Yan Jiecheng said with a grin.

After hearing this, Da Hu looked at Yan Jiecheng as if he had seen a ghost:

"Jiecheng, are you kidding me?"

"It's Zhonghua cigarettes and Moutai again. Did you steal your dad's fake liquor and drink too much and haven't sobered up yet?"

Seeing that Da Hu didn't believe Yan Jiecheng, Yan Jiecheng became a little anxious:

"Brother Tiger, I'm not kidding, I really want it, to give it away as a gift."

"I want to find a stable job."

Hearing Yan Jiecheng say this, Da Hu began to believe it; most people in the compound knew the situation.

Da Hu could help with this; it was just a favor for the younger generation of brothers in the compound. But he doubted Yan Jiecheng's character. Would that brat really pay him?

Don't let them deny responsibility after you've given them the goods.

Two packs of Zhonghua cigarettes and two bottles of Moutai liquor are not cheap.

Da Hu felt he had to be a villain first and a gentleman later:

"Jiecheng, these two items aren't expensive, but they're hard to find, and you need coupons. Do you have enough money on you?"

Yan Jiecheng naturally sensed the distrust in Da Hu's words, but he didn't care. After all, when asking for favors, Da Hu needed to be more cautious.

If it were Yan Jiecheng, he would have done the same.

So he smiled and said, "Brother Tiger, I don't have any cigarette or alcohol coupons. Just tell me how much you need. If you really can't afford it, then forget it."

Hearing Yan Jiecheng say this, Da Hu smiled and patted him on the shoulder:

"Haha, Jiecheng, you're a man of principle. To tell you the truth, a carton of Zhonghua cigarettes costs 15 yuan without a coupon."

"A bottle of Moutai costs 12 without a receipt."

"The two together cost 56 pieces. That's no small sum, you..."

At this point, Da Hu stopped talking and looked at Yan Jiecheng, letting him make his own decision.

The price is definitely several times higher than the market price, but the saying "there's a price but no market" is no joke.

You can't buy it even if you have money if you don't have the ability, but coincidentally, my Tiger just happens to have the ability.

Even if I, Da Hu, don't I have one? My older brother, Li Jiuzhou, doesn't he?

At worst, I can just buy some goods from his house. His brother has so many Zhonghua cigarettes and Moutai liquor that he can't possibly smoke or drink them all.

After hearing Da Hu's words, Yan Jiecheng was caught in a dilemma.

The price is fucking expensive; even though I was prepared, I was still shocked.

I've been working myself to the bone catching frogs for the past two months and only earned 90 yuan. It sounds like a lot, but those things don't just appear out of thin air.

It depends on luck. A while ago, Yan Jiecheng thought that making money by catching frogs in this life was not bad.

But after not seeing him for several days in a row, he changed his mind and started looking for a job.

Yan Jiecheng quickly made up his mind, took out all the money he had, counted out 56 yuan, and handed it to Da Hu.

Da Hu was a little surprised to see Yan Jiecheng pull out a stack of money, but he quickly understood. This was hard-earned money, and he deserved it.

He knew that Da Hu had gone to the factory to sell frogs to Sha Zhu, and he had eaten them; they were indeed delicious.

Da Hu took the money and nodded:

"Go home and wait. I'll bring it to you before you go to sleep."

Yan Jiecheng was somewhat surprised:

"So fast?"

Big Tiger was somewhat smug:

"Have you forgotten that I work in purchasing at the factory? You're right up to my expertise to do this job."

Yan Jiecheng gave Da Hu a thumbs up:

"That's what you call a career change, I'm impressed!"

"That's right, it's not that far from here," Big Tiger said smugly.

After the two parted ways, Da Hu saw Yan Jiecheng leave the courtyard and went directly to Li Jiuzhou's house.

Upon seeing Li Jiuzhou, he immediately cried for help:

"Brother, I'm in urgent need of help. I urgently need a carton of cigarettes and two bottles of Moutai."