Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

After finishing his conversation with Section Chief Zhang, Xu Damao went straight to Li Jiuzhou's office in the Logistics Department.

After passing through the Logistics Department office, one must wait and be notified; whether or not to meet is entirely up to Li Jiuzhou to decide.

Li Jiuzhou would still see Xu Damao even if he came. As long as someone from the courtyard came to see him, Li Jiuzhou would meet with them.

Regardless of whether they asked for your help or not, refusing to even meet with them would be a bit disrespectful.

Besides, the neighbors in the courtyard usually don't come to the factory to look for him directly; it's more convenient to wait until he gets off work and goes home to look for him.

They're not stupid; on the contrary, they're quite clever.

There are strict requirements to find Li Jiuzhou in the factory; the deputy secretary is not someone you can just see whenever you want!

And what are the barriers to finding Li Jiuzhou in the courtyard?

At most, it's just the threshold of Li Jiuzhou's house. You can just step over it. What's wrong with that?

In the factory, only a few people in the yard would come to see him.

The logistics department is already familiar with the procedures, but they still need to give routine reports, which is with the permission of the leadership.

Another point is that Li Jiuzhou doesn't have a secretary yet, so they all want to prove themselves!

If you're chosen by your boss to be their secretary, you'll have a very promising future!

Previously, other leaders in the factory had come to greet Li Jiuzhou, wanting to introduce him to a secretary.

Li Jiuzhou is so young, yet he has such a powerful background. As long as you follow him closely, your future is bound to be bright.

Li Jiuzhou naturally refused; he didn't want a secretary for the time being.

The work isn't busy; the people in the logistics office will handle it.

Now, a section chief serves Li Jiuzhou; he's one of his second uncle's men, so Li Jiuzhou finds it easy to use him.

Xu Damao entered the office and saw Li Jiuzhou reviewing documents, so he went to make himself some tea.

Besides his desk, Li Jiuzhou also had a tea table right next to his desk, which he could easily move with a single step.

He got a set of Kung Fu tea utensils, which is nice for brewing tea when he has nothing to do.

Xu Damao finished brewing the tea, and Li Jiuzhou finished reviewing the documents.

"Brother, have some tea!" Xu Damao respectfully placed the teacup in front of Li Jiuzhou.

Li Jiuzhou took a sip, looking at Xu Damao with a half-smile:

"Da Mao, if you're being overly solicitous, you're either up to no good or you're trying to steal something. Just say what you need to say; we don't do that kind of thing."

Xu Damao scratched his head:

"Brother, nothing can be hidden from you, something really has happened."

Li Jiuzhou nodded slightly, indicating that he should speak.

"Brother, it's like this, my brother-in-law is getting married soon, and I want to get him a house, but I don't have the means..."

Xu Damao's words were simple and direct, without any concealment.

Li Jiuzhou laughed and teased Xu Damao:

"Heh, so you came looking for me?"

"But you don't seem like you're asking me for a favor. You just brought your mouth with you?"

Xu Damao was quite embarrassed by what Li Jiuzhou said. He only remembered it after entering the office, but since he was already there, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

So he smiled wryly and said:

"Brother, I, Da Mao, am not that kind of person, and neither are you, so please stop teasing me."

"From now on, you'll see how I behave. If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west; if you tell me to beat a dog, I'll never chase a chicken!"

"With so many hills in the factory, I'm just a brick on your hill. You tell me where to move me, and I'll move me there!"

Li Jiuzhou toyed with the fountain pen in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips:

"Where did all these mountains come from? Beiping is a plain area, there aren't that many gangs here."

"Da Mao, watch your words in the future!"

Xu Damao suddenly felt a jolt:

"Yes, Secretary Li, I will keep your words in mind!"

"As for your brother-in-law wanting a house, we do have one, the back house in the courtyard next door. Old Wang is dead there, isn't he?"

Others might find it dirty, but if you don't mind, you can take it.

Xu Damao certainly knew about the back room in the next courtyard; it was where the lonely old man, Old Wang, had passed away.

No one lives there yet; the neighborhood committee has locked it up.

Xu Damao quickly expressed his agreement, his face beaming with joy:

"Brother, don't complain. We're lucky to have a place to stay; how can you complain?"

Li Jiuzhou nodded:

"Your brother-in-law is not entitled to a room, and I cannot abuse my power for personal gain. The rent is 1.8 yuan per month, and utilities are not included."

"I'll give you a note, then go to our neighborhood office and find your sister-in-law."

Xu Damao was very grateful:

"Brother, thank you so much. Just watch how I do from now on."

Li Jiuzhou nodded:

"So, what about you today...?"

Xu Damao quickly patted his chest:

"I wasn't here today!"

Li Jiuzhou smiled and nodded:

"Hmm...not bad, you've got a knack for it. Get lost..."

After being praised by Li Jiuzhou, Xu Damao was as happy as a child:

"Hey, hey, I'm leaving right now..."

It was that simple; Li Jiuzhou solved what Xu Damao couldn't do with just a few words.

This made Xu Damao even more eager for advancement and incredibly excited—this was power!

The imposing aura emanating from Li Jiuzhou both frightened and filled him with longing.

Xu Damao acted quickly, immediately taking his brother-in-law to the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office and finding Fan Bingbing.

Bingbing smiled after seeing the paperwork approved by her husband, and then went to the neighboring courtyard with her subordinates and Xu Damao.

The neighbors in the courtyard also saw Bingbing and her group and curiously followed to watch the spectacle.

Jia Zhangshi was very clever. When she saw Bingbing with Xu Damao and his brother-in-law, she had some suspicions. So, as their representative, she stepped forward to ask:

"Bingbing, did Xu Damao get an apartment?"

Bingbing smiled:

"Aunt Jia, it's not what you think. The house is rented to Da Mao's brother-in-law."

"His brother-in-law is getting married, so he came to the neighborhood office to rent a house. He also has a job and meets the requirements."

The neighbors nodded in agreement when they heard Bingbing say this, and the jealousy in their hearts dissipated.

It's not that allocating a house is good; renting is fine too.

At this stage, it's not yet time for a house to become yours simply because you've rented it for a long time.

The house belongs to the government. As long as your name isn't on the deed, it's useless. No matter how long you rent it, it's pointless. At least that's what they think now.

Bingbing works at the neighborhood office and has handled many disputes caused by housing issues, so she is very adept at dealing with them.

Otherwise, how could she have become the deputy director of a subdistrict office at the deputy section chief level?

Do you think she relies on her husband?

You can't just brute force it without having some real skills!

After Bingbing handed the keys to Suhe, she and the staff from the street office went to get some.

Xu Damao went inside to take a look. The house was alright, but it needed some repairs before anyone could live in it.

The bed frame is still there, but Old Wang died right there. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for you to sleep there at night?

If he didn't know, that was fine; but if he did know, he had to pay it back. Xu Damao was still willing to pay this amount for his brother-in-law.

Moreover, he knows how to conduct himself. If he's going to do something, he'll do it well. Starting strong but finishing weak is not Xu Damao's style.

He immediately went to the neighborhood office to find someone to renovate the house and build a kang (heated brick bed) and stove for his brother-in-law.

Su He watched Xu Damao bustling about, while he himself looked like a fool. He was also deeply moved and his face was covered in tears!

Xu Damao was startled when he saw his brother-in-law like this:

"Xiaohe, what are you doing? Why are you crying? Are you not happy with the house?"

Su He wiped away her tears, shook her head, and choked out:

"Brother-in-law, you're so good to me, even better than my dad! I'll take care of you in your old age!"

Xu Damao's face darkened upon hearing this:

"Screw you, I don't need you. Wipe up the cat pee and get to work!"

If your brother-in-law doesn't want you to support him in his old age, then let's rephrase it:

"Brother-in-law, if you ever see anyone you don't like, just tell me, and I'll go and kill them!"

"I heard you and that 'Silly Zhu' guy in your courtyard don't get along. He doesn't respect you. I'm going to go and kill him tonight!"

Xu Damao quickly stepped forward and covered his mouth:

"What nonsense are you spouting, kid? We're decent people, stop talking about 'ga people' all the time, you hear me?"

Su He scoffed at these words:

"Brother-in-law, back then you often said you wanted to kill the second son of the Wu family and then marry my sister, and you even asked my father to go."

"Even though I was young back then, I could understand what they were saying..."

Xu Damao wanted to cry but had no tears:

"That was back then. Your brother-in-law is a cadre now, so I need to be mindful of my image. I'm warning you, don't cause me any trouble!"

"Besides, you think you can just go and mess with Sha Zhu?"

"Don't even mention ten of you, even twenty of you wouldn't be a match for him! Don't you even know what kind of strength Stupid Pillar possesses!"

Su He chuckled:

"Brother-in-law, I was just bragging a little to show my loyalty, why did you take it seriously? Do I look like an idiot?"

Xu Damao said irritably:

"You're a fucking idiot, you son of a bitch!"