Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Li Jiuzhou was in a great mood all day after receiving Fan Bingbing's invitation.

Although he hasn't gone to see Fan Bingbing these past few days, he's been quite active behind the scenes.

During the middle of the trip, Li Jiuzhou asked his second uncle to go home and check on Fan Bingbing's family situation.

He already knew that the Fan family was not a wealthy family, but they were definitely a family of scholars.

I live in No. 68 Gulou Street, a single-family courtyard.

Both of her parents were teachers, specifically middle school teachers.

Fan Huisheng was a schoolteacher before liberation, and he remained a teacher after liberation...

According to the investigation by the second uncle, Fan Huisheng and his wife had three children: two boys and one girl.

Fan Bingbing is the eldest daughter, whom the couple dotes on and who is also somewhat educated.

Since we're going to visit their home, a gift is a must for our first visit.

Fan Huisheng was a great lover of calligraphy, and Li Jiuzhou actually had something like that to give him.

It was found at the backyard by the deaf old lady; it's a piece of running script calligraphy by Yan Zhenqing from the Tang Dynasty.

Dog Seven shared his intelligence, saying that this thing was good and could be acquired.

This calligraphy work was hanging in the deaf old woman's room, and she gave it to Li Jiuzhou when she saw that he liked it.

The price is just a meal...

The deaf old lady likes gold, silver jewelry and money. She has quite a few antiques and paintings, but she doesn't really care about them.

With tears in his eyes, Li Jiuzhou filled another ten jin of tiger bone wine and bought some other miscellaneous items.

The next morning, Li Jiuzhou packed his gifts and prepared to leave, but Sha Zhu paced back and forth, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

Li Jiuzhou couldn't help but shout sternly:

"You've been hanging around in front of me this early in the morning, making me dizzy. What the hell are you trying to do?!"

Sha Zhu was startled and said with a pitiful expression:

"Senior brother, can I come with you?"

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou's eyes widened:

"What, trying to steal my wife?"

Sha Zhu was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands:

"No, no, no, senior brother, I was thinking that since my sister-in-law is so beautiful, she must have a younger sister or something..."

Li Jiuzhou laughed in anger:

"They only have two brothers, no younger sisters. If you like boys, I'll take you!"

"Oh, then forget it..." Sha Zhu slunk away.

"This piece of shit..."

After tying his things to his bicycle, Li Jiuzhou set off.

He didn't need to worry about anything at home. His younger brother could cook, and the family had everything they needed; they wouldn't starve.

A dozen minutes later, Li Jiuzhou arrived and saw Fan Bingbing standing at the door with two boys as big as mountains and rivers, seemingly waiting for someone.

Li Jiuzhou pressed the bell.

Fan Bingbing looked up and saw that it was Li Jiuzhou, then gave a sweet smile.

"You're here..."

"Yes, I'm here..."

The two boys sized Li Jiuzhou up and down, their eyes darting around, clearly not someone to mess with.

Fan Bingbing instructed her two younger brothers:

"Jingye, Jinghuan, quickly call for help."

Upon hearing this, the two boys grinned mischievously and said to Li Jiuzhou in unison:

"Hello, brother-in-law!"

The word "brother-in-law" froze the smiles on Li Jiuzhou and Fan Bingbing's faces.

The two boys had already discussed it inside the house: if Li Jiuzhou was ugly, they would call him "brother"; if he was handsome, they would call him "brother-in-law."

Fan Bingbing was both ashamed and angry:

"What are you two yelling about? I'll beat you up if you don't!"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Jiuzhou, they didn't mean it."

Li Jiuzhou touched his nose and said:

"I'd be more than happy to..."

"You..." Fan Bingbing blushed deeply.

The two boys knew they couldn't take the joke too far, so they quickly called out to Brother Jiuzhou.

The second brother, Jing Huan, acted like an adult, walking around Li Jiuzhou's bicycle with his hands behind his back.

"Brother Jiuzhou, you just said you'd come, why did you bring anything...?"

The eldest brother, Jingye, was not at a disadvantage.

"Yeah, why would a family bring anything?"

"Hahaha..." Li Jiuzhou was amused by these two clowns.

Fan Bingbing shook her head helplessly. These two naughty kids are too resilient. Their parents have given them plenty of beatings, so why don't they learn their lesson?

At that moment, a gentle voice came from the courtyard:

"Bingbing, is Comrade Jiuzhou here? Quickly, bring the guest in."

"Mom, Comrade Jiuzhou has arrived. I'll bring him in right away."

As Fan Bingbing and her two siblings entered the courtyard, they saw a well-dressed Chinese couple waiting for them.

Li Jiuzhou stepped forward to greet him:

"Uncle and Aunt, I'm sorry to bother you."

Fan Huisheng stared at Li Jiuzhou and looked him up and down as soon as he entered the courtyard.

He thought to himself, "What a handsome young man."

They were very polite, and instead of calling him uncle or aunt, they called him uncle and aunt, which surprised Fan Huisheng.

I originally thought that Li Jiuzhou, being a chef, would either have a big head or a thick neck.

However, the reality of seeing Li Jiuzhou in person was vastly different from the image in his mind.

Fan's mother stepped forward warmly and exchanged pleasantries, saying that it was enough that the person had come, and there was no need to bring so many things.

Fan Huisheng was a scholar, and his home was decorated in a very elegant style, clearly the home of a scholar.

After drinking tea, he was inevitably bombarded with questions from the two elders, who were mainly interested in his background.

Fan Huisheng had already found out the details a few days ago, but the proper procedures for the first meeting still needed to be followed, in order to get closer to the other person.

He did save his woman, so he's a benefactor.

Don't even talk about Li Jiuzhou being interested in his daughter; that's not even a question yet.

At this moment, Li Jiuzhou pretended to be puzzled:

"Uncle, I brought you a painting by Yan Zhenqing, but I don't know if it's an original or a forgery."

"Could you take a look?"

Fan Huisheng became very interested when discussing the calligraphy and paintings of famous people.

"Let me see."

Li Jiuzhou took out the calligraphy and painting and unfolded them.

Fan Huisheng picked it up and examined it carefully for a while, then said:

"An authentic work!"

"That's good, that's good, we didn't embarrass ourselves!" Li Jiuzhou said with a smile.

"Is this calligraphy and painting a gift for me?" Fan Huisheng asked with a half-smile.

"Of course, you are a gentleman, and your family is a scholarly family, so there is no better place for you to collect this."

"Hehe...you're quite good, kid," Fan Huisheng laughed.

By now, Fan Huisheng understood perfectly well that Li Jiuzhou had definitely inquired about his family and even knew his preferences.

He made it clear that he was openly eyeing his precious daughter.

"Kid, you're eyeing my Bingbing?" Fan Huisheng suddenly blurted out.

"Forehead..."

Li Jiuzhou was stunned by this sudden remark.

Li Jiuzhou looked at Fan Huisheng and saw that his eyes were full of sternness, as if he was full of vigilance towards the person who had designs on his daughter.

But he still had to respond, so Li Jiuzhou composed himself and said:

"Uncle, a beautiful and graceful lady is the object of every gentleman's affections. It would be a lie to say I don't like a girl like Bingbing."

"At the same time, I also know that your family has a tradition of scholarship and literature, and I, a cook, may not be worthy of it."

"But it's impossible for me to just walk away like this."

Li Jiuzhou's words made Fan Huisheng's stern gaze dissipate, and a smile appeared on his face:

"There are plenty of people eyeing my daughter, one more won't make a difference..."

Li Jiuzhou's lips twitched. "Damn you, Old Deng, are you messing with me?"

Fan Bingbing and her mother were helping to cook in the kitchen, her eyes glancing out every now and then, worried that her father might bully Li Jiuzhou.

Fan's mother joked:

"What, you've fallen for him after he rescued you?"

Fan Bingbing blushed so deeply she could drip water, and said coquettishly:

"Mom, please stop teasing me. I'm just worried Dad will bully him..."

Mother Fan rolled her eyes and continued:

"I think this young man is quite good. Although he is a cook, he is very polite and doesn't seem like a cook at all."

"If you like it, your parents won't object. It's a new country now, and freedom of marriage is valued."

Fan Bingbing's thoughts were immersed in her mother's words, imagining Li Jiuzhou's appearance and mannerisms, and she unconsciously murmured:

"It's really quite good..."