Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Sha Zhu stormed downstairs, seemingly unsure of where to go.

Before I even left the compound, I ran into Liu Guangqi.

"Brother Zhuzi," Liu Guangqi greeted him warmly.

"Guangqi, are you here to run for a position?" Sha Zhu, being a shrewd person, immediately guessed Liu Guangqi's purpose in coming to the family compound.

Liu Guangqi blushed deeply and quickly stepped forward to whisper:

"Brother Zhu, keep your voice down."

Sha Zhu laughed:

"Heh heh, you little rascal, you're really interesting, very interesting. Confess honestly, who did you try to get an official position from?"

"Could it be me?"

Liu Guangqi said resentfully:

"I'd like to contact you, but can you do it?"

This completely piqued Sha Zhu's curiosity:

"You go first. Don't worry, I won't blab."

Liu Guangqi, with a try-it-and-see attitude, whispered:

"I want to be Brother Jiuzhou's secretary, Brother Zhuzi, can you do that?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu pretended to look up at the sky:

"Hey, the weather's nice today, Guangqi. Let's pretend I didn't see you today, go do whatever you need to do..."

After finishing speaking, he was about to leave, but Liu Guangqi grabbed him:

"Brother, brother, why are you like this? Help me!"

Sha Zhu gave a bitter smile:

"What do you mean, 'help me out'? Do you think I can just interfere with the factory manager's secretary like that?"

"It's true that my senior is good to me, but I can't interfere in this kind of thing. A secretary is the leader's closest subordinate. If I meddle in this, how will I advance my career?"

"Don't you dare get me into trouble..."

Liu Guangqi held onto Sha Zhu's hand tightly, refusing to let go.

"Alright, then take me to Brother Jiuzhou's house, okay? Don't say anything, just pretend we bumped into each other, okay?"

"I'm too scared to go alone..."

Sha Zhu thought for a moment and nodded. He had nowhere to go, so having tea at his senior brother's house wasn't a bad idea.

"Then let's go. Let me tell you, don't even think about me speaking up for you."

"I know, I know." Liu Guangqi was overjoyed, feeling half at ease with Sha Zhu by his side.

Li Jiuzhou was drinking tea and admiring the moon in the courtyard. Although a few days had passed since the Mid-Autumn Festival, the moon was still big and round.

The door wasn't closed properly, and Sha Zhu knocked once before coming in on his own.

Upon seeing the visitors, Li Jiuzhou warmly invited them to come into the courtyard and sit down.

"Zhu Zi is here! Oh, Guang Qi is here too! Come over and have some tea."

Li Jiuzhou has a good attitude; he keeps work separate from work and doesn't bring work-related matters home.

Once he's home, he's no longer the factory manager, but Li Jiuzhou himself, and he doesn't put on airs.

My father-in-law said that I should be able to take things in stride. When I get home, I am a husband and a father, so I shouldn't put on airs or act arrogantly.

"Brother Zhou," Liu Guangqi greeted with a smile, and slowly sat down.

Li Jiuzhou poured tea for the two of them.

"Guangqi, how long have you been working at the factory since graduation? You should have been a permanent employee by now, right?"

Liu Guangqi immediately sat up straight and replied:

"Yes, Brother Zhou, I've been working at the factory for two and a half years. I'm now a level 14 technician with a monthly salary of 48.5 yuan. With all the subsidies, I can earn more than 50 yuan a month."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou showed an expression of appreciation and couldn't help but applaud him:

"Clap clap clap clap... Well done, Guangqi, you didn't embarrass our department."

"You've already reached level 14 technician in just two years? You must have endured a lot of hardship, right?"

Li Jiuzhou admired him because Liu Guangqi himself had exceptional qualities.

You should know that when he first graduated from vocational school, he wasn't even a technician; he was just a regular trainee or intern.

Two and a half years, from trainee level 18 to level 14, that's a huge leap.

Looking at his hands, there was residual grease on his fingernails, which showed that he had put in a lot of hard work.

Li Jiuzhou appreciated this.

Upon being recognized by Li Jiuzhou, Liu Guangqi's face instantly turned red. He had truly endured a lot of hardship during his two and a half years of training.

Because he was offered a technical position, not an administrative one.

If you want to climb the ranks in a technical position, you have no choice but to dedicate yourself to mastering the technology.

Moreover, technical positions don't involve as many twists and turns or backstabbing. As long as you have excellent skills, it's not a problem to advance several levels in a year.

After all, their technical department emphasizes winning people over with skills.

If you don't have the skills, step aside; if you do, climb the ladder. It's that simple.

Liu Guangqi worked so hard because he had a strong desire to climb the social ladder.

"Brother Zhou, to be honest, I'm very satisfied to have your approval!"

"So what brought you here this time?" Li Jiuzhou looked at him with a half-smile.

He didn't believe Liu Guangqi was just visiting; the cloth bag next to him, judging by its shape, contained cigarettes and alcohol.

Liu Guangqi was speechless for a moment, and kept his head down without saying a word.

Sha Zhu couldn't help but speak up:

"Senior brother, this kid is mute. I just ran into him in the compound. He said he's here to run for a position and wants to be your secretary."

"He shamelessly begged me to come with him to your place."

"Is that so?" Li Jiuzhou stared intently at Liu Guangqi.

Liu Guangqi mustered his courage and said:

"Brother Zhou, to be honest, Brother Zhu is right, I really want to improve..."

Li Jiuzhou said calmly:

"Guangqi, it's not wrong for people to have ambition. I don't blame you; it's just human nature."

"You've simply taken the wrong path."

Liu Guangqi looked at Li Jiuzhou, waiting for him to answer his questions like a student.

"First of all, you're not in an administrative position, so transferring you here as a secretary doesn't meet the requirements."

"The factory manager's secretary has too many things to do. Don't tell me you can learn it; there are specialists who can do professional things."

"Don't be resentful. There is another path you can take, and you can still make progress."

Liu Guangqi immediately became interested:

"Brother Zhou, whatever you say, I'll do it."

Li Jiuzhou smiled:

"That's right, why be so fixated on becoming an official?"

"Your current situation is incredibly fortunate."

"Guangqi, you have talent and ability, and most importantly, you are still very young."

"Look, if you put in a little hard work to learn, you'd be a level 14 technician now."

"What if we try even harder and give it our all?"

"Level 10, Level 9, isn't engineering your future path?"

"The factory has so many materials for you to learn from, and you can also practice in real-world situations, which is enough to make your skills improve quickly."

"I can make you a promise: as long as your skills break through level 10, I'll reserve a position for you in the technical department."

Upon hearing this, Liu Guangqi's breathing became rapid: "Brother Zhou, what...what kind of seat should we reserve?"

"What position? It's definitely deputy section chief!" Sha Zhu said matter-of-factly.

Li Jiuzhou stepped in to correct him:

"What deputy section chief? You're talking about a full section chief!"

"Hiss~" Liu Guangqi gasped, he was so surprised... A section chief! He'd been dreaming of this ever...

"Guangqi, you have talent. I hope you can become an engineer in the factory. Level 10 is just the beginning, not the end."

Li Jiuzhou continued:

"You, Zhuzi, Damao, Dahu, and I are all brothers from the same compound. You can't be a hindrance to your brother; you have to help him, understand...?"

"If you, Guangqi, can become an engineer, you'll be the pride of our institute. What's so special about being a deputy section chief or a section chief?"

"You have to become one of a kind in our No. 95 compound, then I'll have something to be proud of!"

Liu Guangqi trembled all over after hearing this, constantly trying to reassure himself:

"That's right, I'm Zhou Ge's brother from the same compound. I can't hold him back. I want to become an engineer and bring him honor!!!"

"Brother, I've made up my mind. I'll do what you say and become an engineer!!!"

Li Jiuzhou smiled with satisfaction; the brainwashing and empty promises had been successful.

"That's right, that's a good younger brother for his older brother. Zhu Zi, go to the storeroom and get Guang Qi two packs of good cigarettes to smoke."

Sha Zhu pursed his lips and went to the storeroom to get something, thinking to himself:

"Senior brother is fooling people again. No wonder he's the factory director, he's so good at talking. Liu Guangqi is almost being fooled into a limp."

Liu Guangqi, beaming with pride, took the cigarettes Li Jiuzhou had given him and went back to the courtyard.

Sha Zhu also told him about his wife, Qin Huairu.

Li Jiuzhou frowned:

"Zhu Zi, what are you thinking? Do you also want to improve?"

"Senior brother, I'll listen to you. What do women know about men's affairs? If she doesn't listen, I'll beat her up."

Li Jiuzhou nodded:

"Yeah, that ignorant brat really deserves a beating. Be careful when you do it, and take him down once and for all, so he won't hold you back later."

Seeing that even his senior brother had objections, Sha Zhu gritted his teeth:

"Don't worry, senior brother, I can't beat her to death... damn it!"