Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

What does it mean to pave the way with money?

Lou Bancheng will tell you personally.

Lou Bancheng managed to figure out a compact three-courtyard house in just one and a half months.

Of course, the money that is publicly known is all paid to the workers by the neighborhood committee.

Lou Bancheng gave all the money he had saved for building the house to the neighborhood office, so that his neighbors wouldn't be envious.

Jiuzhou said that all the neighbors in the courtyard are shrewd people, so we should be careful in our actions.

Lou Bancheng wasn't a fool; he knew how to hide his abilities. When neighbors asked, he praised the neighborhood committee for being so efficient and capable.

The interior decoration is quite simple, all in whitewash, which is the most basic standard.

Lou Bancheng is no longer foolish enough to want elaborate renovations. He just wants something livable. If he wants something special, how can he integrate into the group?

The best way to integrate into a community is to get along well with your neighbors; whatever they eat, I eat too.

I won't live much better than you, nor will I live much worse than you; just the same will do.

The Lou family handed over a portion of their wealth, but even so, they still had several million in cash and large yellow croakers in their hands.

Even the government doesn't want antiques, so how much are they worth?

It's really worthless now, to be honest.

Lou Bancheng kept these things for himself; he knew the value of gold in times of chaos and antiques in times of prosperity.

However, Lou Bancheng wasn't very interested in antiques, so one day he found Li Jiuzhou and gave him all of them at once.

I have to give them away; he has nowhere to put them. His new home simply can't accommodate so many antiques.

He dug a cellar to hide money and gold bars, believing that this was the capital for his Lou family to make a comeback in the future.

As a capitalist, he knew all too well the current prices of antiques. He had been to state-run stores before, and even a rare treasure could be bought for tens of millions of yuan.

Then why would he keep it? Good things should be saved for those who appreciate them.

Since Li Jiuzhou likes these things, then give them all to him.

On the night Lou Bancheng moved, Li Jiuzhou went to the Lou family home alone and put all the antiques into his spatial storage.

My hands were shaking a little at first, but they became numb later on...

The Lou family brought several bicycles to the new house, along with other common large items such as radios.

We have everything we need, and we've given up everything we needed to give up.

Lou Bancheng also had a car, which he found and said he would donate to the factory.

Li Jiuzhou gladly accepted the gift and then handed the keys to Secretary Nie. Only the secretary of the factory was qualified to ride in this kind of car.

Why can't a high-ranking official at the vice-ministerial level sit there?

Logically speaking, even Yang Ligong and Li Huaide are qualified, but there's Secretary Nie above them. You try sitting down, and you'll die...

Secretary Nie accepted it without even blinking; such equipment was definitely meant for him.

He plans to pass the business on to Li Huaide or Yang Ligong when he retires.

The day the Lou family moved into the courtyard happened to be a day off, so they found a few young men from the courtyard to help them move.

A family of thirteen needs a lot of daily necessities.

Moreover, Lou Bancheng had already made preparations.

Without any attempt to hide, he swaggered into the courtyard under the watchful eyes of his neighbors.

The neighbors were curious because they wanted to see what other good things the Lou family had to bring over.

Bicycles, radios, pots and pans, clothes, backpacks—I didn't see anything worthwhile...

Lou Bancheng wrapped all the important items in bed sheets or clothes.

On the surface, it looked very, very ordinary, and even Yi Zhonghai completely believed it.

He believed that the Lou family was most likely finished, and he would feel more confident calling Lou Bancheng "Old Lou".

That's right, after a month and a half of getting along with his neighbors, Lou Bancheng earned a nickname: Old Lou.

Lou Bancheng wanted to die, but after so many people shouted for him, he got used to it.

Well, I guess I'll just have to live like this. What can I do when I'm down on my luck?

If anyone had dared to call me that back in my prime, I would have ordered Old Xu (Xu Fugui) to throw them into the Sea of ​​Destiny and feed them to turtles...

Lou Bancheng was the old Louzi, and his two sons were the big Louzi and the little Louzi.

That's what we call orderly inheritance.

Sha Zhu's son is also privately called Little Sha Zhu, so the nickname can be passed down from father to son.

Want to run?

Sorry, that's not possible...

Lou Jiaxin wasn't unhappy about getting the nickname; on the contrary, he was even happier. What does this show? It shows that they integrated into the group.

Li Jiuzhou also played a role in pushing things along. Completely integrating isn't that simple; you always have to give something in return.

When Lou Bancheng moved into his new home, he paid Sha Zhu to set up a boiler in the courtyard and invited all the neighbors to eat offal, which is Beijing-style braised pork.

He did this to show goodwill to his neighbors.

Before lunch, Lou Bancheng stood in the middle of the crowd and spoke:

"Dear neighbors, today I, Lou... Old Lou, am treating everyone to braised pork offal. My Lou family is not what it used to be, so this is a bit meager for us. Please forgive me."

"From now on, we are part of No. 95 Courtyard. If you ever need anything from me, Old Lou, just ask. Don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you to all my neighbors."

"Good... clap clap clap..." Sha Zhu was the first to cheer, followed by a chorus of applause.

There's nothing wrong with having something to eat; even offal is meat.

The braised dishes, thanks to Chef Sha Zhu's skillful preparation, were incredibly delicious. We were so grateful and ate as much as we wanted.

How long has it been since I ate meat like this?

Jia Zhangshi ate until she cried; she was suffering so much...

The Lou family also started eating these things they used to avoid at all costs, and oh my god, they were so delicious...

Director Wang arrived midway through the journey with several staff members to congratulate Lou Bancheng and presented him with a thermos and other daily necessities.

Of course, a few bowls of braised pork are a must.

Li Jiuzhou also went home to get two packs of Peony cigarettes and gave them a two-yuan red envelope.

Seeing this, the neighbors all went home and gave Lou Bancheng a red envelope.

They have coins of 50 cents and 1 yuan; it's all the thought that counts.

The Lou family initially refused, but they couldn't refuse the neighbors' kind offer, so after several rounds of back and forth, they finally accepted it.

We're neighbors now, and you've already hosted a party for your new home, so it's only right that we do something in return; that's called social etiquette.

There's still a long road ahead.

Lou Bancheng asked Mr. Yan Jiecheng to record the gift money, and the reward was two packets of peony.

This kind of thing has to be done by Yan Bugui. He even chose the auspicious day for the Lou family to move into their new house. If he doesn't do it, who will?

Yi Zhonghai doesn't know how to choose auspicious dates, and he can't understand those kinds of books, so he can only rely on Yanbu Guigan.

Even for weddings and funerals throughout the entire Nanguogu Lane, the owners would come to Yan Bugui to choose the auspicious date.

Of course, he's not a geomancer; he just knows this kind of knowledge. Books teach it, and you can understand it by studying it.

Yan Bugui could easily figure out what was auspicious and what was inauspicious simply by flipping through a book.

He can write couplets for happy occasions, and he can also write elegiac couplets for funerals.

With this knowledge, Yan Bugui can even save money on cigarettes. That's real skill!

After this meal, the Lou family was completely integrated into No. 95 Courtyard and became a part of it.

The Lou family lived a life just like ordinary people. Lou Bancheng's wife and two daughters-in-law went to the vegetable market to buy groceries with the old women and young wives in the courtyard every morning, and they integrated into the family very quickly.

Li Jiuzhou could often hear the calls of the old women in the courtyard.

Things like, "Big Lou's wife is going to buy groceries, Little Lou's wife is doing laundry together."

Lou Bancheng's grandson was also called various Louzi.

Anyway, the Lou family is now a complete mess.

Everyone is safe now, just waiting for someone in the compound to stir up trouble.