Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

The Jia family was the only ones capable of transporting grain from the countryside to the city.

He's been quite the star in the courtyard lately.

The neighbors in the grain yard had seen it before, but they rarely saw several hundred kilograms of grain at once.

Living in the city, people don't buy much grain, because the grain stores are always open, and they can buy it whenever they want.

Most families in the compound buy food in monthly quantities; being in the capital, they have no sense of crisis about food shortages.

There's a blind confidence in me!

Since the start of the war, the only problem with grain in the capital has been its high price; there has never been a shortage.

They are quite reassured about this.

Moreover, many grains cannot be stored for long and will spoil.

Li Jiuzhou has no plans to store food at the moment.

Of course, this is only on the surface. He really didn't have any extra food at home, but he had quite a lot of food stored in his personal space.

He stored 1,000 jin each of wheat flour and rice.

He had a thousand pounds of fresh corn, but he didn't plan to turn it into cornmeal; he just steamed it and ate it directly, which tasted much better.

He also stored up quite a lot of various kinds of meat.

Since the space is static, whatever you put in will come out the same way, so there's no fear of it breaking.

This was also a strategic move; he didn't want to wait until the difficult times arrived to start gathering food, as that would attract attention.

It's always best to be cautious in everything you do.

One morning, Li Jiuzhou woke up very early, not because he wanted to get up early, but because the noise in the courtyard was too loud.

The sounds of washing up and clattering pots and pans filled the air, and although the neighbors tried their best to restrain themselves, they still woke up those who were light sleepers.

Li Jiuzhou had gotten used to it, he had gotten used to it over the years, and he had developed an immunity to it. As long as he was still trapped, even thunder could not wake him up.

He had slept enough today, and getting up early wasn't a bad thing, so he simply got up and washed up.

As dawn breaks, people don't necessarily have to go to the central courtyard to wash up. Every household has a water tank, and many people fetch water at their own doorstep for convenience.

Especially in the backyard and front yard, most people take care of their own water needs right at their doorstep, and there are small drainage ditches, so there's no fear of water accumulation.

Only the middle courtyard staff washed up by the pool because it was nearby.

Li Jiuzhou fetched water from the kitchen and then washed up in his small courtyard.

His family's small courtyard is nearly 70 square meters. It's not big, but it's a world of its own.

A chicken coop was built in the corner, and an old hen was happily wandering around with a group of chicks.

There is also a persimmon tree planted in the middle of the courtyard.

This tree was planted by Li Jiuzhou when he moved in, and it has been more than four years now, during which time it has blossomed and borne fruit.

But because the tree is small, it only produces a dozen or so persimmons each year, not even enough to fill a tooth gap.

But this year is different. The persimmon tree is now as tall as the roof of the courtyard house, and it bears far more fruit.

The persimmon tree is growing so well because Li Jiuzhou and his brother have put a lot of effort into taking care of it.

Li Jiuzhou didn't count, but estimated that there were several hundred fruits.

It's a beautiful orange glow.

The boys in the yard often came to watch after school, hoping that the persimmons would ripen so they could eat one or two.

It's just the beginning of the Frost's Descent season, and there's an old saying that you shouldn't pick persimmons during Frost's Descent. This is the time when persimmons are at their peak sugar content, and they'll be ready in a few days.

Persimmons shouldn't be eaten immediately after picking. They need to be left in a cool, shady place for a few days until they turn completely red before they can be eaten and will be sweet and delicious.

My second brother, Li Shanhe, picked a few and kept them for a few days, but after tasting them, he still felt they weren't good enough.

Five days later, on their day off, Li Jiuzhou took out a ladder—a double-legged ladder, which they had already had at home.

This ladder is used to shovel snow from the roof in winter.

That morning, the front yard was crowded with people, while Li Jiuzhou's small courtyard was full of boys who were not yet grown up.

It was chattering and making a lot of noise.

Picking persimmons at Li Jiuzhou's house was a big deal in the courtyard!

Previously, the persimmon tree was too small, and the fruit it bore was not enough for Li Jiuzhou's family to eat.

But this year is different; there are hundreds of fruits!

Although the neighbors had no intention of asking for anything, they were still willing to come and watch the excitement.

The girls and boys in the family had already rushed over to help.

They're happy to do that. They don't have to eat, but can't I even take a look?

Yi Zhonghai and the other gentlemen watched from the sidelines, smoking and laughing. They loved watching such a lively scene.

If there were an excavator, that would be even better; they could watch it all day long!

Li Jiuzhou, Sha Zhu, and several other young people worked for a long time to clean it up completely.

The once vibrant red and orange persimmon tree was now reduced to bare branches.

There were 365 persimmons in total.

Li Jiuzhou wasn't stingy; he gave each family in the courtyard six persimmons.

There were more than a dozen households, so seventy or eighty people had to be relocated.

The neighbors who received persimmons were very grateful.

Li Jiuzhou collected the remaining persimmons; they would ripen in a few days.

He also wanted to give it as a gift, since although it wasn't expensive, the sentiment behind it was a small gift.

Since it's homemade, it's natural to give some to relatives and friends to strengthen relationships.

Ten days later, the persimmons were fully ripe and completely red. Li Jiuzhou ate six in one go.

Sha Zhu ate eight in one go and exclaimed that it was so satisfying!

Now that it's ready, it should be given away as a gift.

My father-in-law's family has 30 people, my second uncle's family has 30 people, my master's family has 30 people, my senior brother's family has 20 people, and He Daqing's family has 20 people.

Sha Zhu's family had 20 members, but he and his father had separated and couldn't be counted as one family. Sha Zhu was also put in charge of delivering the persimmons.

The boy took the persimmons to his father's house first, and then immediately went to the countryside to deliver his share to Qin Huairu's family.

Because Sha Zhu can go to his senior brother's house anytime he wants to eat persimmons, it's just a persimmon, not some kind of delicacy.

My second uncle came back, took the persimmons, and brought them back for my father-in-law's family to eat.

His father-in-law was quite pleased because Li Jiuzhou was sensible.

He did not try to curry favor with the powerful because of his high position.

Many people have given him gifts, but he refuses them all because he believes that accepting gifts makes one feel indebted, and that someone might need to ask for his help someday.

But he had to have Li Jiuzhou's persimmons; they were such a good thing, free of charge and grown by himself.

I feel incredibly safe and secure eating here.

"Huai De, we still have some canned fruit and other things at home. Take some to your nephew; it's only fair to reciprocate!"

"Okay, Dad!" Li Huaide replied with a smile.

Li Jiuzhou also went to his fiancée's house and brought her some persimmons. His two brothers-in-law immediately came to eat them, without any hesitation.

After delivering the gifts to everyone, Li Jiuzhou returned to his courtyard house. As soon as the car entered the yard, he heard screams!

"Gaia~"

Li Jiuzhou and Yan Bugui at the door exchanged a glance; that voice sounded familiar.

"Oh no, it's Jia's sister-in-law's voice!" Yan Bugui exclaimed and rushed to the central courtyard.

Li Jiuzhou parked his car and headed to the Intermediate People's Court.

Neighbors who heard the screams rushed to the scene.

Upon arriving at the Intermediate People's Court, they saw Jia Zhangshi sitting on the ground, covering her face and screaming incessantly.