Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

On January 4, 1960, the New Year's Day holiday ended, and everyone went back to doing what they were supposed to do.

In any case, almost none of the neighbors in Building 95 enjoyed the holiday.

The men in the family were busy with the Zhang family's funeral arrangements, the women continued doing housework, and the children hardly played at all.

Only a few people, like Liu Guangqi and Yan Jiecheng, had the free time to go out and play.

In winter, the most popular form of entertainment for young people in Beiping was ice skating.

The ice rink in the park requires an entrance fee, but Shichahai doesn't; anyone can go ice skating there.

But there's one condition: you need ice skates or an ice sled.

Unfortunately, after the Great Leap Forward, who the hell still has ice skates? The iron blocks underneath were long ago taken by parents to be smelted into steel.

Many children from ordinary families can only watch others skate with envy.

Ice rinks have legitimate ice skate rental services, but these are usually only available to children of workers or those from privileged backgrounds who have the spare money.

Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangqi are the type who can afford to play around.

An elderly person in the nursing home passed away, and the young people felt uncomfortable staying in the nursing home without needing to help, so they made plans to go ice skating.

Of course, there are always people breaking arms and legs on the ice every day, that's normal. Don't you guys even know what you're doing?

Yan Jiecheng fell flat on his face, breaking two of his front teeth and swelling his mouth up like a sausage.

When he gets home, he still gets scolded by his father, Yan Bugui.

You have to scold them; it costs 50 yuan to fill two teeth, or 25 yuan per tooth.

Yan Jiecheng's monthly salary is only 18.5, which is far from enough.

Yan Bugui has to pay this money. His front tooth is broken. In old terms, this is disfigurement and bad luck!

Yan Bugui has to spend this money. His son is getting old and has lost all his front teeth. How is he going to find a partner?

We had no choice but to accept it.

After Yan Jiecheng fell like that, the elders in his family all advised their sons and daughters not to go ice skating anymore.

Ice skating is indeed fun; you can go incredibly fast, and the ice is thick, making it seem dangerous, but it's actually not safe at all.

Yan Jiecheng was injured because he shielded Lou Xiao'e from the attack.

Otherwise, with his skating skills, he would have been flying long ago.

Lou Xiao'e is a kind girl, and Yan Jiecheng felt a little guilty because she knocked out his front tooth.

I explained everything to my family when I got home.

Lou Bancheng naturally wanted to thank Yan Jiecheng after hearing this; if he hadn't intervened, his daughter would have flown away.

So he took a basket of eggs to the Yan family's house.

"Old Lou, what's this?" Yan Bugui asked, somewhat puzzled, as he looked at the Lou family father and daughter who had come to the door carrying some things.

Yan Jiecheng had guessed a thing or two.

"Old Yan, a few young people in the yard went ice skating, and my daughter lost control of her speed. Luckily, Jie Cheng blocked her way."

"Now that Jie has lost two front teeth, I feel terrible about it, so I had to come here."

"This is 100 yuan, which is for the dental filling. Take the eggs to nourish your body."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui glanced at his son. He hadn't heard his son mention this before, and exclaimed in surprise:

"I didn't hear that before. You're keeping this from everyone, from your parents, while you're raising the child. It's a terrible thing, damn it..."

Lou Bancheng waved his hand and laughed:

"Hey, Lao Yan, that's not how it works. This is called doing good deeds anonymously. There aren't many young people like that anymore."

"Please accept the money and eggs; it's all compensation from our family. If it's not enough, just let us know."

Lou Bancheng's words pleased Yan Bugui; he was a very competent parent.

If it were anyone else, who the hell would care about this? 25 for a filling is no small amount.

In other words, if Lou Bancheng were to take the fall for the Jia family, they wouldn't be grateful; in fact, they'd probably turn around and try to extort a few dollars from him, which would be quite normal.

The main reason is that they have a Jia Zhangshi (a woman surnamed Jia).

Yan Bugui also smiled:

"Hey, Lao Lou, we're neighbors, it's only right to help each other. Why are you taking these things? Your family isn't doing well either."

Yan Bugui was only pretending to refuse out of politeness. He would accept it as soon as Lou Bancheng offered it to him again; this was his bottom line, and he would not accept it again.

Because after two or three days, it's possible that it really won't be available anymore...

Yan Jiecheng knew his father's personality very well and knew that he was pretending to refuse.

He genuinely meant it when he shielded Lou Xiao'e from that attack; it was a classic case of a hero saving a damsel in distress.

If money is accepted, then the nature of the matter changes.

So he quickly got up, because his lips were still swollen and his speech was a little slurred:

"Uncle Lou, we're neighbors, we don't do this kind of thing."

"Besides, would I really let Xiao'e, a woman, fall down? I've always been tough since I was a kid. So what if I knock out two front teeth? It's no big deal!"

"Keep the money. Getting a filling doesn't cost much. If you give me any more, I'll get angry."

"This..." Lou Bancheng really didn't expect Yan Jiecheng to say that.

However, when her gaze briefly fell upon Yan Jiecheng, she was surprised to find that this scoundrel was spying on her daughter.

Now Lou Bancheng understood. Who was he? Lou Bancheng, who was once known as the man who could buy half a city. How could he not know what Yan Jiecheng was up to?

A knowing smile appeared on my face.

"No, no, Jiecheng, you're injured. Uncle Lou, this is just a small compensation. Please accept the money."

Yan Jiecheng shook his head and, without saying a word, stuffed the money on the table into Lou Bancheng's shirt pocket.

"This... Old Yan..." Lou Bancheng looked at Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui was speechless. He didn't know what was wrong with his son, who was always so greedy for money, today. He didn't want any money at all.

But he also has his pride:

"Old Lou, this is Jiecheng's own decision, and I, as his father, support him. We're all neighbors, so let's get along well in the future and not keep bringing up money. It hurts feelings."

"Alright then, take the eggs or not. I also have a few jin of meat coupons here. As an uncle, I can't refuse to help my nephews and nieces get some nourishment, can I?"

After saying that, Lou Bancheng took out three jin of meat coupons from his pocket.

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up, and he didn't refuse, nodding:

"Oh, alright, you're really too polite."

Seeing that Yan Bugui was willing to accept it, Lou Bancheng also planned to take his leave:

"Alright, you two rest first, my daughter and I will head back now."

"Jiecheng, take good care of your injury," Lou Xiao'e instructed.

Yan Jiecheng happily replied to Lou Xiao'e.

"Okay, okay, don't worry, it'll be fine in a few days."

"Okay, I'll head back now. Uncle Yan, you can rest."

"Alright, alright, come over for tea sometime." Yan Bugui stood up and saw the father and daughter out the door, then turned back and stared at his son:

"Tell me, what are you planning?"

Yan Jiecheng was not intimidated either:

"What could I possibly do? I just like Lou Xiao'e."

Yan Bugui raised an eyebrow upon hearing this:

"Is that what you call liking?"

Yan Bu spread his hands:

"I admit it, I was after her body, I'm despicable, okay..."

Now it was Yan Bugui's turn to be at a loss, and his tone changed as well:

"You can't say that. A beautiful lady is sought after by a gentleman. If you like her, that's fine. Dad isn't stopping you."

"The key question is whether she likes you. Lou Xiao'e is, after all, a rich heiress."

Yan Jiecheng laughed:

"So what? The Lou family are capitalists, and our family is just a small business owner, so it's a perfect match."

Yan Bugui's eyes lit up after hearing this:

"If you say that, Dad won't be sleepy anymore. That makes sense, absolutely right."

"As the saying goes, distant water can't quench immediate thirst, but those near the water get the moon first. I think we can try to make a move."

Yan Bugui himself was a small business owner, so how could he look down on the Lou family, who were capitalists? He wished he could become a capitalist himself.

Of course, this was Yan Bugui's previous idea. Although things are different now, he doesn't oppose it because of that.

Yan Jiecheng laughed:

"Dad, I didn't break my tooth for nothing. You reap what you sow. How can I pursue someone if I don't try?"

"Liu Guangqi in the backyard is also thinking about Lou Xiao'e."

Yan Bugui pondered for a moment after hearing this:

"Need Dad's help? I've got some tricks up my sleeve."

Yang Ruihua had been listening quietly, but she couldn't stand Yan Bugui's words any longer:

"You're a liar! If you hadn't gotten me drunk back then, if you hadn't made me cry... if you hadn't begged me on your knees, crying..."

Yan Bugui's expression changed, and he quickly stepped forward to cover Yang Ruihua's mouth:

"Ruihua, why are you saying these things in front of the child?"

Yang Ruihua opened his hand:

"Didn't you start bragging?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Jiecheng realized that his parents had a story from back then.