Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Jia Dongxu couldn't wait to light a Peony cigarette and smoke it, the smoke he exhaled was quite beautiful.

He was almost home when he suddenly remembered something he hadn't done. He slapped his forehead:

"Oh dear, I forgot to ask Da Mao to give me some pork knuckle. My brain is acting up..."

I wanted to go back, but I felt it wasn't appropriate. I had already taken half a pack of cigarettes from them, and going back would be too much.

Just then, Sha Zhu's nonchalant voice rang out:

"Dongxu, has Da Mao's 'Fuqiang Rice Noodles' arrived yet?"

Jia Dongxu brandished the half-pack of Peony cigarettes in his hand and said smugly:

"I didn't get any Fuqiang flour, but I managed to snag half a pack of peony powder..."

"Wait, how did you know I went to ask Da Mao for some fermented bean curd?"

Silly Pillar laughed:

"You had a cloth bag with you before you left, where is it?"

Jia Dongxu patted his forehead again:

"Oh crap, I forgot to take it. Never mind, I don't need it..."

In the backyard of the Xu family's house, Su Mei held a cloth bag and looked it over from left to right:

"Da Mao, this cloth bag is pretty good, it's very sturdy."

Xu Damao smiled:

"As long as it's sturdy, take a red thread and embroider the character 'Xu' on the cloth bag. From now on, it will belong to our family."

"Alright, I'll go right now!" Su Mei didn't even ask if it was appropriate. Why ask so many questions between husband and wife? Just do it.

This is what a normal couple should be like: the husband steals and she keeps watch; he lights a fire and she hands him the matches. This is what it means for a couple to be of one mind and one heart.

When Jia Dongxu returned home, his hands were empty, and both Jia Zhangshi and Tong Jie showed strange expressions.

"Dongxu, you didn't get the strong starch, and you don't want the cloth bag either?" Jia Zhangshi asked.

Jia Dongxu said somewhat embarrassedly:

"I brought back half a bag of peonies, so I'm even with Xu Damao."

"Then light one for me." Madam Jia wanted to try what the Peony cigarette tasted like.

"Okay..."

Tong Jie was speechless at the constant bizarre actions of her mother-in-law and husband.

Just now, while eating, the mother and son were discussing the high-gluten flour from Xu Damao's family, and they wanted to get some to eat.

Tong Jie didn't stop them; she wanted to see if these two really had any ability.

Is it possible to get some Fuqiang flour from Xu Damao at minimal cost?

It seems she was overthinking it; the mother and son are as useless as ever, utterly hopeless.

They only gave me half a pack of Peony cigarettes, and I even lost a cloth bag that I'd used for over ten years. You could say I lost a fortune.

Half a pack of cigarettes will be gone tomorrow, but the cloth bag can last for at least several years. Isn't that a loss?

At least Tong Jie was at a loss, but she was too embarrassed to say it.

I'm afraid they'll both be embarrassed if I tell them.

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai came out of the house. He was in a good mood today and wanted to eat fermented bean flour. He was simply craving noodles made from fermented bean flour.

His wife would make noodles, then cut some meat and boil it; he would never forget the taste.

Yi Zhonghai knew that Fuqiang rice noodles were expensive, but he had money.

As an eighth-grade fitter at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, he was entitled to receive several kilograms of high-gluten flour as part of his annual New Year's bonus.

The couple usually can't bear to eat it, only taking it out to make noodles when they have a headache or fever.

It's all gone from my home now.

"Where are you going, Uncle Yi?" Sha Zhu couldn't help but ask Yi Zhonghai as he sat at the door of his house. Although he had guessed it, he still wanted to ask.

Yi Zhonghai was quite open about it and didn't hide it:

"Go ask Da Mao to get some high-gluten flour. Your auntie makes amazing noodles with it, and I'm craving it. I haven't been eating much meat lately, so I'm thinking of getting some meat to make noodles tomorrow!"

Sha Zhu gave Yi Zhonghai a thumbs up:

"He's a foodie, you go ahead with your work."

Yi Zhonghai nodded and went to Xu Damao's house with his hands behind his back.

Yi Zhonghai was easy to talk to and told Xu Damao to do everything according to the market price.

Xu Damao was willing to befriend such a straightforward person, so he gave him ten jin and asked for five yuan per jin.

Without batting an eye, Yi Zhonghai took out the money and gave it to Xu Damao.

Then he took the basin from Xu Damao's house and went home, but eventually returned the basin.

He's not like Jia Zhangshi, who wants everything and thinks that anything that enters the Jia family becomes hers.

Apart from Yi Zhonghai, no one else went to see Xu Damao; the savvy neighbors wouldn't want to make a fool of themselves.

It's so expensive, who the hell can afford it? Only Yi Zhonghai can afford it.

Even Liu Haizhong couldn't bear to eat this stuff.

In the end, Sha Zhu also went, and brought back ten pounds of Fuqiang flour without spending a penny.

Xu Damao forced it on me, and even after paying him, I still got scolded.

What could Sha Zhu do but accept it? He could make up for it in other ways.

He could ask Da Hu to get some Fuqiang flour, but it's so expensive he couldn't bear to eat it every day.

If you really want to eat it, wouldn't it be better to ask your senior for a few tickets for Fuqiang Rice Noodles?

With a ticket, it's only 25 cents a pound, even a poor person can afford it.

The main reason is that the tickets are scarce. Sha Zhu knows that his senior brother's food ration book has a monthly quota of 15 jin of enriched flour.

With all the receipts given by leaders, my senior probably has a lot.

Li Jiuzhou didn't value these things; his family ate regular white flour.

There is enough food for the whole family, and no extra food needs to be prepared.

Even if there wasn't enough to eat, he had extra food stamps. He didn't lack these things; as a deputy director-general, how could he lack such things?

No one else will go hungry, but he won't.

Not to mention that he also manages logistics. If Li Jiuzhou's fingers were to sew up even a little bit, all the neighbors in the courtyard would be able to eat white flour until they were stuffed.

Aside from occasionally helping his father-in-law, Li Jiuzhou mostly used the extra receipts he had to reward his subordinates, or Da Hu to use for other purposes.

Sha Zhu doesn't lack receipts, and the section chief certainly doesn't lack these things; Li Jiuzhou gives him a large handful every month.

This was distributed from above, and Li Jiuzhou also wanted to give a share to his subordinates.

My second uncle, Li Huaide, used to do this, which is why his men are all very loyal.

They really help when someone needs it, and they'll help them all the way through.

Subordinates asking him for receipts is the smallest, most trivial thing.

Even if you want some meat, no problem. I can't give you more than ten pounds, but it's just a matter of a word.

Li Jiuzhou also had this ability; sometimes it was really hard to get a thousand or eight hundred catties of pork.

But getting dozens of kilograms of pork is no big deal, is it?

You can make a phone call to the meat processing plant and they'll deliver it right to your home.

The shortage of supplies is also targeted; there are no large-scale shortages, and the allocation of small amounts of supplies is just a matter of a leader's word.

Li Jiuzhou was drinking tea in his office when there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Come in."

"Minister, someone is looking for you. Is this a convenient time?"

Li Jiuzhou frowned. Logically speaking, shouldn't you just tell me who came looking for you?

So insensible?

Seemingly sensing the leader's displeasure, the staff member lowered their voice and said:

"Boss, it's our factory's former owner, Lou Bancheng, who's here to see you!"

Li Jiuzhou smiled; he understood the staff's awkwardness.

"Oh, it's him! Please come in!"

Lou Bancheng was quickly brought in, and looking at the exceptionally handsome Li Jiuzhou, he couldn't help but sigh:

"Jiuzhou... oh no... Secretary Li, I apologize for disturbing you."

Li Jiuzhou smiled:

"Hahaha, Uncle Lou, when did we become so distant? Please sit down."

After brewing the tea, Li Jiuzhou asked his first question:

Why haven't you left yet?

Lou Bancheng felt like dying after hearing this. "Where am I supposed to go? I eat and sleep well every day, where am I supposed to go?"