Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

For the next few days, whenever Tong Jie went to empty the swill, Wang Zhiguo would always show up on time.

Tong Jie initially felt very embarrassed; a good woman is afraid of being pursued by a man!

The key point is that Wang Zhiguo is younger and more outstanding than Jia Dongxu.

Tong Jie might not say she had feelings for him, but she certainly didn't dislike him.

People praised her and helped her, and Tong Jie could vaguely guess what Wang Zhiguo was after. He just wanted her body, right? She wasn't stupid; on the contrary, she was very smart!

Because she knew she could never betray Jia Dongxu; she had a family, a son, and a daughter.

Tong Jie also thought that it would have been great if she had met Wang Zhiguo when she first came out of the countryside.

That way her life could have been better, but there are no "what ifs," and fate often plays the cruelest tricks on people.

The two of them were dumping swill together every day, so naturally someone with a keen eye would see them, and that person was Xu Damao!

He wasn't exactly a thoughtful person; he just happened to be wandering around when he was bored. Once was by chance, and twice could be somewhat understandable.

But damn it, he saw it three times.

He didn't want to be the bad guy, but Wang Zhiguo was clearly the one with ulterior motives.

Xu Damao knew a lot, and he felt that if they didn't leave soon, Jia Dongxu might end up being cuckolded.

This outcome is unacceptable to the younger generation.

Zhang Shih-hao already has one. If that guy in the courtyard were to wear one too, he would be laughed at by the neighbors. Xu Damao himself couldn't tolerate that outcome.

After thinking it over, Xu Damao decided to go and discuss it with Sha Zhu and Li Jiuzhou.

After calling Sha Zhu, they went to Li Jiuzhou's office together and explained what had happened.

Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu were dumbfounded.

"Nothing happened between them, right?" Sha Zhu asked in surprise.

Xu Damao shook his head:

"As of now, no, they were seen dumping swill together, chatting and laughing."

"I'd like to know how to handle this. Should I tell Jia Dongxu?"

Sha Zhu didn't know what to say, so he could only bring up Wang Zhiguo to criticize him, as he hated that kind of person the most.

Taking advantage of one's connections to undermine others—what's the difference between that and bullying others?

Li Jiuzhou shook his head:

"Don't tell Dongxu, he'll know that things will definitely turn upside down in the Jia family and the courtyard."

"Besides, Tong Jie didn't do anything wrong, did she?"

"If he finds out, things will get even more serious."

"Brother, what do you suggest we do?" Xu Damao asked.

Li Jiuzhou lightly tapped the desktop:

"I'll talk to both of them. Hopefully they'll listen; otherwise, we'll just leave them be. You can't reason with those damned devils!"

Xu Damao and Shazhu nodded in unison.

The three of them immediately set off for the fifth canteen, where Tong Jie was washing vegetables.

Sha Zhu went in and called her:

"Sister-in-law, come out for a second, I need to talk to you!"

When Tong Jie saw that it was Sha Zhu who was looking for her, she immediately replied:

"Okay, I'm coming!"

Following Sha Zhu out the back door, they immediately saw Li Jiuzhou and Xu Damao smoking.

Tong Jie warmly stepped forward to greet them:

"Jiuzhou, and Da Mao, you two are here too. Is there anything you need me to do?"

Xu Damao smiled and pointed at Li Jiuzhou:

"Sister-in-law, it's Brother Zhou looking for you."

After saying that, he and Sha Zhu walked away, leaving Li Jiuzhou to talk alone; there was no need for so many people.

Tong Jie was slightly surprised, but remained relatively calm:

"Jiuzhou, just let me know if you need anything. I'm not afraid of hardship or fatigue!"

Li Jiuzhou smiled and shook his head:

"Sister-in-law, I must have something to ask you, but it's not about work. It's about interpersonal relationships, or rather, relationships between men and women."

Tong Jie's pupils contracted upon hearing this:

"Nine...Nine Provinces, what do you mean by this?"

Li Jiuzhou didn't mince words with her; he spoke seriously and frankly:

"Sister-in-law, I'm a straightforward person and I don't like beating around the bush. Da Mao has seen clearly who you've been spending a lot of time with lately."

"Of course, don't misunderstand. They weren't deliberately trying to show concern for you; they just happened to see it by chance, and several times at that. That's a big problem, sister-in-law!"

"Da Mao has only told me so far, he hasn't told Dong Xu yet."

"Have you thought about what would happen if Dongxu found out?"

"He'll cause a scene, a scene that'll become known throughout the factory and cause an uproar throughout the institute."

"There's a high chance you won't be able to stay in the factory!"

The more Li Jiuzhou talked, the paler Tong Jie's face became, and she almost collapsed to the ground by the end.

"Jiuzhou, I didn't mean that, I..."

Li Jiuzhou waved his hand, interrupting her explanation:

"Sister-in-law, remember this: you are a married woman. What does it mean to be close to other men?"

"There are some things you could have refused, but you didn't."

"If you can't get along with Dongxu anymore, you can always get a divorce. That wouldn't be a bad idea."

Tong Jie panicked immediately:

"No, I can't get a divorce, I won't!"

Li Jiuzhou nodded:

"Since you don't want to leave, do you know what to do?"

Tong Jie immediately nodded:

"I know, I'll stay away from him."

Li Jiuzhou sighed:

"Sister-in-law, I know you're not wrong, but this will definitely affect you and your family harmony."

"You're already living a very good life, I hope you cherish it."

Tong Jie forced a smile:

"I understand, Kyushu. Thank you!"

"Okay, go back to work!"

After Tong Jie finished her conversation, Li Jiuzhou called Wang Zhiguo to his office for another talk.

Wang Zhiguo was a little confused, not knowing why Li Jiuzhou wanted to see him, but he still had to go when his boss asked him to.

"Secretary Li, you wanted to see me!"

Li Jiuzhou smiled:

"Comrade Zhiguo is here. Please have a seat and help yourself to the tea!"

"Thank you, Secretary Li," Wang Zhiguo said, first pouring tea for Li Jiuzhou before speaking to himself.

Finally, he took out a cigarette and lit it for Li Jiuzhou, then lit one for himself.

The entire process went smoothly and efficiently, clearly indicating that a lot of work had been done.

Li Jiuzhou was quite satisfied; at least this kid knew how to get along with his superiors.

Li Jiuzhou didn't waste any words, exhaling a faint puff of smoke:

"Zhiguo, I've called you here to tell you, and to warn you, stay away from Tong Jie!"

"She's a married woman, and you, a young man, are always running around emptying her slop buckets. Tell me, what are you up to?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhiguo jumped to his feet, dropping his cigarette to the ground.

"Secretary Li... I just happened to be passing by and saw how hard she was working, so I offered to help her. It's such a small thing, you don't need to trouble yourself, do you?"

Wang Zhiguo wanted to force an explanation, but he didn't want Li Jiuzhou to get involved.

Li Jiuzhou naturally understood and smiled:

"Of course, I don't need to worry about that, but what if her man comes with a knife and tries to kill you? Should I intervene?"

"What if you get killed? How am I supposed to explain this to Secretary Nie? How am I supposed to explain this to the factory director?"

Wang Zhiguo didn't believe the consequences were as severe as Li Jiuzhou described.

"Impossible, I didn't do anything. We just chatted for a while. I just wanted to help her."

Li Jiuzhou crossed his arms over his chest, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"Help her?"

"Help her escape the Jia family and into your arms, Wang Zhiguo?"

After struggling for a moment, Wang Zhiguo gritted his teeth and said the following:

"It's not that it's impossible... I just like her!"

Li Jiuzhou was so angry he laughed. He stood up, pointed at Wang Zhiguo's head, and scolded him:

"That's not what you call liking her, that's just lusting after her body, you're despicable!"

Wang Zhiguo lowered his head after being scolded by Li Jiuzhou, because he was right.

Li Jiuzhou's cursing did not stop:

"Let me tell you, Wang Zhiguo, you know your family's financial situation perfectly well. Does your father know about this? Does your grandfather know?"

"Do you even care about your future, you idiot!"

"With your looks and qualities, you could find any woman you want, but you insist on liking married women. If you really like that type, there are plenty of widows in Beijing."

"Go ahead and cause trouble, but don't do this in the factory. You've completely disgraced your father and grandfather!"

"I'm saying it one last time, I told you to stay away from Tong Jie, did you hear me?!"

Li Jiuzhou spoke the last sentence almost with suppressed anger, and the office instantly became chilling.

Wang Zhiguo looked at Li Jiuzhou in horror and took several steps back.

He instinctively wanted to retort, but when he saw Li Jiuzhou's extremely intimidating eyes, he also felt a chill.

We could only bow our heads and agree!

"Get lost!" Li Jiuzhou waved his hand impatiently.