Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Li Jiuzhou's wedding wasn't just about his second uncle's concern and financial contributions; his master, Li Tielong, was also very involved.

The chef even suggested holding the banquet at Fengzeyuan Restaurant, and he booked the entire restaurant for the day, paying for the banquet himself.

Manager Luan also spoke up, agreeing to the matter, as did the construction manager, and even offering a 6% discount on the food!

After thinking it over, Li Jiuzhou decided that it would be better to set up the stall in the courtyard, as it would be more down-to-earth.

He still has some people he needs to invite, such as his regular customers who often ask him to cook. These people of status are considered honored to have their way of visiting No. 95 Courtyard.

Li Jiuzhou didn't care much; he had already given out the invitations, and whether they came or not was their business.

We've discussed setting up a banquet in the courtyard with Yi Zhonghai and a few of the older folks; we need their help in organizing it.

Yi Zhonghai and others were overjoyed.

When Sha Zhu told them that Li Jiuzhou might hold his wedding at Fengzeyuan, they were incredibly anxious!

If Li Jiuzhou really holds his wedding at Fengzeyuan, then not many people in the courtyard will benefit from it; at most, a few people can be invited.

But it's different when it's held in the courtyard. Even if Li Jiuzhou doesn't ask, the men and women in the courtyard will take the initiative to help.

It's not that they actually want to eat that bite, it's that they fucking want to eat it!

That was the wedding of a chef who hosted state banquets, and Li Jiuzhou was arguably the highest earner in Courtyard No. 95.

The dishes are absolutely top-notch, and the neighbors in the courtyard are really looking forward to it.

Indeed, Li Jiuzhou had no intention of being stingy at his wedding. Marriage is a major event in life, so why not splurge once?

As long as it's within your own tolerance range, that's fine.

Li Jiuzhou had already prepared the menu for the wedding, which consisted of sixteen dishes, and his senior apprentice, Wang Shan, would be the head chef.

Senior brother Wang Shan has already been cooking at Fengzeyuan Restaurant, so it's enough for him to prepare the feast.

The menu consists of twelve dishes, the first of which is Fengzeyuan's signature dish:

Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions (Shandong Cuisine)

Four Happiness Meatballs (Shandong Cuisine)

Braised Shrimp in Oil (Shandong Cuisine)

Braised abalone (Shandong cuisine)

Braised soft-shelled turtle (Shandong cuisine)

Sweet and Sour Carp (Shandong Cuisine)

Sea cucumber and chicken soup (Shandong cuisine)

Cuttlefish Egg Soup (Shandong Cuisine)

Boiled fish fillets (Sichuan cuisine)

Sichuan-style Spicy Chicken (mouthwatering chicken)

Kung Pao Chicken (Sichuan cuisine)

Boiled Beef (Sichuan Cuisine)

Ginger Duck (Fujian cuisine)

Oyster omelet (Fujian cuisine)

Braised Pig's Trotters with Chestnuts (Original by Li Jiuzhou)

Pearl, Jade, and White Jade Soup (Imperial Dish)

Li Jiuzhou prepared sixteen tables. He didn't have many relatives and friends, so he never expected to be able to invite sixteen people.

The Fan family's relatives and friends totaled about five tables, which was quite a lot; the rest were from Li Jiuzhou's side.

Li Jiuzhou himself could only invite a maximum of five tables of people, while his second uncle and master Li Tielong shared the remaining six tables.

My second uncle invited some of his comrades-in-arms.

The master hired some of his old colleagues.

In short, sixteen tables are more than enough. Of course, you should reserve food for one extra table in case there are too many guests.

If you can't finish it, you can keep it and eat it at home that evening.

On the morning of October 1st, Courtyard No. 95 was already very lively.

There were quite a few red paper-cut window decorations, which Li Jiuzhou had asked the women in the courtyard to cut.

Even if you don't say that the entire No. 95 courtyard was decorated with colorful ribbons, it still had a festive atmosphere.

At 8 o'clock, senior apprentice Wang Shan arrived with several kitchen helpers, and also brought over the ingredients from Fengzeyuan.

Li Jiuzhou stepped forward and gave each of Wang Shan and the others a pack of cigarettes.

"Senior brothers, and brothers as well, thank you for your hard work!"

Wang Shan laughed:

"You brat, why are you saying all this? It's only right."

"Go ahead and do what you need to do. Leave the cooking to your senior brother."

"Alright, I trust you with your work, Senior Brother. I need to prepare some other things."

Li Jiuzhou's second uncle and aunt arrived shortly after, along with his master's family, all coming to help Li Jiuzhou oversee the affairs and receive the guests.

Li Jiuzhou was dressed in a black Zhongshan suit today, his leather shoes were so shiny they could reflect a mirror, and the red flower on his chest was particularly eye-catching.

The neighbors all praised it when they saw it:

"The groom looks very dashing!" (This is also a subtle way of saying "handsome!")

A jeep was parked outside the courtyard gate; it was something my second uncle had gotten, and the red flowers on it had already been arranged.

The morning passed quickly, and at 10 a.m., the auspicious time had arrived. Time to set off the firecrackers!

Li Jiuzhou and the others went directly to the bride's house.

Upon arriving at the Fan family's residence, another round of firecrackers went off.

In the Fan family, there are rules for serving tea to the parents and giving red envelopes to the younger brother-in-law and a group of children.

Fan Bingbing wore a red cheongsam with floral patterns and red shoes today, looking very beautiful and festive.

Makeup? Sorry, no thanks!

At most, he wiped his mouth with a piece of red paper.

Li Jiuzhou was almost at his limit and couldn't wait to enter the bridal chamber.

After serving tea, the mother-in-law held her daughter Bingbing's hand, her eyes filled with tears, clearly reluctant to part with her.

Old Fan's expression also showed reluctance. In order not to delay the auspicious time, Old Fan still waved his hand and let Li Jiuzhou take his daughter away.

We made our way back to No. 95 Courtyard without any trouble, and the sound of firecrackers echoed throughout Nanluoguxiang.

Li Jiuzhou carried his bride into the courtyard. Many guests who came to attend the wedding couldn't help but exclaim after seeing the bride, "She's so beautiful. Jiuzhou is so lucky!"

There was no custom of kneeling and kowtowing upon entering, but Li Jiuzhou, along with Bingbing, offered tea to his second uncle, second aunt, master, and mistress.

During the tea-serving ceremony presided over by Yi Zhonghai, he secretly wished to go up and have Li Jiuzhou serve him a cup of tea, but it was clearly impossible.

Next, we continued welcoming guests, and the banquet started promptly at 12 o'clock.

Li Jiuzhou's guests included his colleagues from Fengzeyuan and Manager Luan, among others.

Then there are his clients, such as Lou Bancheng and Master Qi.

These people were accompanied by their master and second uncle at the banquet.

Li Jiuzhou drank quite a bit of alcohol at the wedding banquet, but by the second half he was drinking water instead, as he couldn't drink any more.

The banquet ended close to 2 a.m., and there was still a table of food left uneaten, which was the one that had been prepared as a backup.

I rested indoors for an afternoon, and when I woke up in the evening, the food was already heated up, prepared by Bingbing.

My second uncle and aunt were also there, along with Li Jiuzhou and his two siblings, and Bingbing, making a total of six people.

This table represents the entire Li family.

The uncle and nephew drank a bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor), mainly because they were happy; the Li family was about to have many descendants.

Because Li Jiuzhou's second aunt is pregnant, more than two months along.

The Li family is celebrating two happy events!

Around 9 p.m., when the neighbors in the courtyard were about to go to bed, Li Jiuzhou and his newlywed husband also went to wash up.

The two leaned against the bed, looking at each other, and the atmosphere became increasingly ambiguous.

Li Jiuzhou had reached his limit. Now that she was married into his family, he could do whatever he wanted with her!

Looking at the beautiful woman before him, Li Jiuzhou felt his throat was extremely dry, and his anger kept rising.

Youyou said to Bingbing:

"Wife, we must not waste this beautiful time."

Bingbing gave him a shy, glaring look.

"Then hurry up and come here! What are you sitting there for?!"

Li Jiuzhou smiled upon hearing this:

"Yes, yes, I was too forward, beautiful lady, I'll be right there..."

The entire night was wonderful; the two, having tasted forbidden fruit for the first time, were incapable of stopping...