Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Halfway through dinner, the sound of a car braking was heard.

Li Jiuzhou knew without guessing that his second uncle's family had returned.

Sure enough, he walked in with his wife and children before even entering his own home.

The door wasn't closed, but rather ajar.

When Li Huaide came in and saw so many people eating, his expression was quite interesting; it seemed that this occasion suited his taste perfectly.

Secretary Nie, seated in the main seat, immediately recognized the newcomer and waved warmly.

"Huai De's back! Come on, let's have a couple of drinks."

Xu Damao, being a sensible person, immediately stood up:

"I'll go get the bowls and chopsticks."

Bingbing then got up to greet her aunt:

"Auntie, bring the children over here to sit."

Li Jiuzhou poured a glass of wine for his second uncle:

"Uncle, I'm inviting the Party Secretary to dinner today, but it's not that I didn't invite you, it's just that you weren't here."

Looking at the table full of delicious food, and hearing his nephew say that, Li Huaide feigned displeasure:

"You little rascal, why didn't you tell me beforehand? There's so much good stuff here."

Li Jiuzhou laughed:

"No way, it was a last-minute decision. Let's eat, it's only just begun."

Li Huaide didn't say a word. He hadn't drunk any alcohol at his father-in-law's house that night, and he was thirsty now.

He picked up the cup, brought it to his nose, and gently sniffed it, a smile playing on his lips.

"Shanxi Lao Bai Fen, what a fine wine! Is this one of the Party Secretary's treasured possessions?"

Secretary Nie didn't indulge Li Huaide; his tone was somewhat lecturing of a younger man.

"What are you sniffing for, kid? The bottle is right in front of you, and you're still trying to do this whole wine-tasting thing with me?"

Li Huaide smiled helplessly. That was just the old man's personality, but he liked it.

"Alright, I was just being redundant. I'll finish this one, you can drink as you like!"

Without waiting for Secretary Nie's reaction, he downed the whole thing in one gulp.

"Ah..." Li Huaide was thoroughly enjoying himself...

"It's great to live in this family compound. You don't have to worry about what the neighbors say when you eat something." That was Sha Zhu's voice.

Neither Secretary Nie nor Li Huaide had experienced the daily life of a tenement courtyard.

However, they could glean some insights from Sha Zhu's words.

Li Huaide was a glutton to begin with, but now he is neither lustful nor greedy. Besides focusing on his career, all he wants is to enjoy a good meal.

Of course, it's a lie to say he wasn't a womanizer; Yang Ligong was quite successful in this area, which Li Huaide greatly envied.

But he held back; if he wanted to climb even better, he couldn't afford the slightest mistake.

Things done will eventually be discovered; you can't hide them forever.

Li Huaide was still thirsty, so he made up an excuse to drink:

"Zhu Zi, I heard you're in charge of cooking today. Let me toast you, the master chef."

Sha Zhu quickly picked up his wine glass:

"Uncle, how can I let you toast me? Here's what we'll do: you have one cup, and I'll drink three with you."

Li Huaide laughed:

"Zhu Zi, why are you being so polite? One cup is enough. This is just a home, it's not like we're entertaining anyone."

"Do you think you're Da Mao? You're all talk about 'one big, three small, two fives' and 'ten's'."

"Hahahaha..." Upon hearing this, those who knew Xu Damao all laughed.

Xu Damao laughed awkwardly at himself, and explained with a forced smile:

"Boss, that's my standard for banquets."

Li Huaide raised his hand and pressed it down:

"Don't call me 'leader.' This is home. Just call Jiuzhou 'brother,' and like he does, call him 'uncle.'"

Xu Damao was overjoyed; he had been accepted! He immediately prepared to show off his "one big, three small, two five, ten" style.

At this moment, Secretary Nie asked with great interest:

"What's with this 'one big, three small, two fives, ten' thing? Da Mao, what kind of trick is this?"

Before Xu Damao could even speak, Sha Zhu explained it for him:

"Grandpa, Da Mao has a three-step drinking method."

"The first step is to persuade your leader with kind words."

"Second, use grand words to persuade yourself."

"At the 'Big One,' the leader drinks one cup, and he drinks three."

"What if I drink three cups?" Secretary Nie asked with great interest.

Xu Damao couldn't wait to interject.

"If three times three equals nine, then I have to drink nine cups!"

Secretary Nie laughed heartily upon hearing this:

"Hahaha, good, not bad, very good, you have guts. So, what about the third step?"

Sha Zhu shrugged:

"A complete blackout! One big, three small, two big, ten small—who could handle that?!"

"Hahahaha..." Everyone laughed this time.

However, Xu Damao's popularity is not bad, which is why he didn't do anything reckless.

When it comes to drinking, Sha Zhu doesn't hold back at all.

Of course, today's occasion is not suitable for playing games like "one big, three small, two five, ten".

Such fine wine shouldn't be wasted like this; everyone should savor it slowly.

Each of the younger members can complete the game in one round.

Then, slightly tipsy, Secretary Nie began to reminisce about the glorious past.

To be honest, Li Jiuzhou and the others thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

Secretary Nie, a first-level political commissar of the brigade, was demobilized and fought the enemy countless times in real combat.

Every battle and every bloody conflict he spoke of was based on true events.

Li Huaide sighed with considerable regret:

"Old man, if you had entered the court that year, you could have easily carried one bean on your shoulder, if not two."

"I'm not good enough for that, even if I join the court, it won't work unless I have extraordinary military achievements."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Nie gave a wry smile, picked up a glass of wine, and seemed to feel a bit of regret, after all, it was a war to establish the nation.

The generals who did not participate all felt a little regretful.

"Huai De, I was over 50 back then, and I'll be 60 in the blink of an eye."

"My original intention was to fight this battle, and the leadership agreed after my strong request."

"Damn it, my long-standing injuries flared up, and I suddenly became much weaker, spending a month or so in the hospital."

"The fighting had already started by then, but I couldn't go because of my health problems, so I transferred to our steel rolling mill."

"It's like retiring early."

At this point, Secretary Nie revealed a smug smile:

"I was originally planning to retire a couple of years ago, but unfortunately I went even further, and now it's hard for me to retire even if I want to..."

Everyone was deeply moved by Secretary Nie's earlier words, but his last sentence was a bit like Versailles...

Only Secretary Nie himself knew that he was not lying. His good brother and fellow Daoist had burned everything before his death to tell him a divination, which indicated that he would live a long life.

So what is he afraid of? He'll rush to wherever the fighting is fiercest.

Otherwise, where would Political Commissar Nie come from? Where would Secretary Nie come from?

What's a little injury on the battlefield? You won't die anyway.

It would be quite an achievement to be able to transfer him to a department-level position, and that was only because of Secretary Nie's outstanding military achievements.

Some of the demobilized officers at the division or brigade level are not as good as Secretary Nie.

Moreover, what can you do after leaving the military? What can you do?

In the early days of the People's Republic of China, many generals who were used to leading troops could only lead troops.

Not everyone can transfer to local government; without any cultural knowledge, it's easy to make mistakes when working in a local area.

Otherwise, why is it that the world is conquered by military generals, but governed by civil officials?

If Zhu Laosi hadn't had Yao Guangxiao to advise him, he would have just stood on the high platform and shouted during the rebellion:

Brothers, line up! Eight hundred it is, eight hundred it! Charge with me!

Instead of using the euphemism "Acting in accordance with Heaven's will to quell the rebellion!"

Before the civil war even started, every one of Chiang Kai-shek's henchmen looked down on our generals.

They said they were all peasants, implying that our generals were uncultured and unfit for public service.

As a result, they all remained silent when attacked, and some who lost were still not convinced, saying that if they were given another chance, they would definitely not lose.

Damn it, you're a complete novice...

Right now, a bunch of self-proclaimed wise and shrewd generals are still singing "Tears Behind Bars" at Gongdelin Prison.