Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Sha Zhu successfully snatched the job. A few days later, on his day off, he picked up Qin the matchmaker early in the morning on his bicycle and headed to the countryside with bags and packages.

He brought a lot of gifts; he wasn't short of money, he just needed a wife.

He managed to cut the three-hour journey in half, and Qin the matchmaker was nearly killed.

When Sha Zhu arrived at Lao Qin's house, he received a warm welcome.

Qin Huairu's mother liked her very much.

The man was tall and strong, a city dweller, and he brought so many gifts, even riding a bicycle. He really made the Qin family look good.

Sha Zhu is riding high on his success, now let's talk about Jia Dongxu.

The Jia family's circumstances improved, but Jia Dongxu went further and further down the path of blind dates.

Because every time he went on a blind date, he would compare the woman's appearance with Qin Huairu's.

With his standards raised, Jia Dongxu no longer looked up to ordinary girls.

He went on four or five dates within a month but didn't find anyone he liked.

I don't know who gave Jia Dongxu his confidence, that he's so picky about these conditions.

And so, Jia Dongxu has once again become the laughing stock of Nanluoguxiang.

At that time, a matchmaker surnamed Wang brought a girl to meet Jia Dongxu.

Upon seeing this, Jia Dongxu was satisfied, and extremely satisfied at that.

Li Jiuzhou glanced at the girl unintentionally and immediately felt something was off.

Because this girl looks a lot like a movie star from later generations, namely Dong Jie.

This time, her surname isn't Dong; her surname is Tong, and her given name is Jie.

She lives up to her name and has a pure and innocent appearance; she is a true white lotus!

She was also a girl from the countryside, but she was the most beautiful girl in the surrounding villages, and like Qin Huairu, she was determined to marry into the city.

During the blind date, because Wang Po mentioned Jia Dongxu's past blind dates, the Tong family's dowry requirements were exactly the same as Qin Huairu's.

Damn it, the Qin family in the Red Star Commune next door has 200,000 yuan worth of sewing machines, so our Tong family can't be any less.

Jia Dongxu agreed to the terms on the spot.

At this moment, Madam Jia didn't think about anything else; she didn't want to test the girl's temperament anymore.

If they keep testing him like this, my son might really forget about getting married.

He readily agreed on the spot.

Engagement? What a load of rubbish! We'll just get married on our day off a week from now!

The blind date went very well that day, and Yi Zhonghai was so happy that he even set off a string of 3,000 firecrackers at the entrance of the courtyard!

The entire No. 95 compound was in an uproar! Oh my god, Dongxu from our compound is finally getting married! This has been so incredibly difficult!

During this week, Yi Zhonghai, the master craftsman, was extremely busy, and even personally bought back the sewing machine.

He claimed he would give it as a wedding gift to his apprentice.

The Jia family mother and son were so excited they couldn't contain themselves. What a wonderful thing!

Madam Jia even regretted it a little; she wished she had let her son become Yi Zhonghai's apprentice earlier.

Now they have a sewing machine and a bicycle (although it's Yi Zhonghai's bicycle, it's no different from the Jia family's; the master and apprentice commute to and from get off work every day, with Jia Dongxu riding and Yi Zhonghai sitting on the back, and even the routine maintenance is done by Jia Dongxu!).

Because the wedding is to be held in a week, the Jia family mother and son are discussing the banquet arrangements.

"Mom, Master, should we have Jiuzhou prepare a feast for me?" Jia Dongxu asked expectantly.

After hearing this, Jia Zhangshi was very eager to try the feast prepared by Li Jiuzhou.

Not only is it delicious, but it's also prestigious. Their son's wedding is the most important event for the Jia family!

But it's too expensive to ask Li Jiuzhou to prepare the banquet. The fee he charges could be used to prepare another banquet.

Jia Zhangshi was still hesitating; making money was hard and getting by was even harder!

Li Jiuzhou had already exhausted all options to lower the price further; the neighbors all knew that he was already offering a very good deal.

Seeing his mother like this, Jia Dongxu lost all hope. He knew his family's situation well.

There is money, but not much. If you really calculate it, it's probably around five million.

If Jia Dongxu is willing to spend the money, then I'm only getting married once in my life, it's the most important thing in my life, what's wrong with spending a little money?

The key issue is that the money is in his mother's hands, which makes things uncertain; his mother is like a greedy pig, only taking in money and never giving it out.

Yi Zhonghai remained silent. He also wanted Jia Zhangshi to invite Li Jiuzhou to host the banquet, as it would be a matter of face.

But he didn't want to get too involved in money matters; he even spent over a million on a sewing machine.

As a teacher, I have done more than enough.

Madam Jia was still thinking about inviting Li Jiuzhou to prepare the banquet.

She had a mental ledger, which she was carefully going through.

The bride price of 200,000 yuan, plus the gifts given on the day of the marriage proposal, will probably cost around 300,000 yuan.

The banquet has twenty tables, and at 30,000 per table, that's 600,000.

This alone will cost 900,000.

If we buy some more peanuts and fruits, estimated at 100,000 yuan, then it will be one million yuan.

I don't need to pay for the sewing machine anymore, so I guess I've made a profit.

The gifts from relatives and friends will definitely cover the cost, and you might even make a profit of 300,000 to 500,000 yuan.

If you invite Li Jiuzhou to host the banquet, you'll have to pay 880,000 yuan.

Based on this calculation, she only needs to pay around 500,000 yuan.

It's like Jia Zhangshi spent over 500,000 yuan to not only help her son get married in style, but also to earn a sewing machine!

A huge profit! An absolute huge profit!

If she were even more ruthless and hired an ordinary chef to prepare the banquet, she could even make hundreds of thousands of yuan in profit!

Jia Zhangshi repeatedly weighed the pros and cons in her mind.

Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu could clearly see the struggle on Jia Zhangshi's face, but they didn't disturb her, knowing she was thinking.

Yi Zhonghai remained calm and smiled knowingly, because she knew what Jia Zhangshi was thinking.

He had already figured out the Jia family's accounts; now it was just a matter of what choice Jia Zhangshi would make.

"Let the eldest son of the Li family host the banquet. It's only 880,000 yuan. My son's wedding must be grand and splendid."

"Old Yi, could you please take Dongxu to talk to the eldest son of the Li family later?"

Jia Dongxu's face lit up with joy.

"Okay, sister-in-law, I'll take Dongxu there right now."

After replying, Yi Zhonghai led Jia Dongxu towards Li Jiuzhou's house.

Meanwhile, Madam Jia calmly took out incense and candles from the corner, lit them, and began to mutter incoherently before Old Jia's memorial tablet.

"Old Jia, you rascal, open your eyes and look! Our son is getting married next week. You have to bless Dongxu's wedding to go smoothly."

"If you really care, come home for our son's wedding, maybe as a little animal or something..."

"You died too soon, otherwise you could be enjoying life... Waaaaah..."

As she spoke, Jia Zhangshi began to sob; she was truly suffering alone.

The reason for setting up an altar for Old Jia at home was that it was a place where Jia Zhangshi could find solace.

After her son went to work, she would talk to her husband about her feelings of frustration or joy, especially during holidays or when there were important family events.

Back at Li Jiuzhou's home, after hearing Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu's purpose, Li Jiuzhou agreed without the slightest hesitation.

It's only right for a neighbor to lend a hand; a fool wouldn't pass up a chance to make money...

At the same time, he was a little envious of Jia Dongxu. Even Sha Zhu had snatched Qin Huairu away, yet you still managed to find a beautiful wife. Sure enough, the plot was going to favor your Jia family.