Courtyard House: A Major Power's Heavy Industry, Hand-Crafted Nuclear Fusion

As night deepened, the cold wind continued to rage outside the window.

Most of the households in the courtyard house had already turned off their lights. In this era of limited entertainment and scarce resources, going to bed early and waking up early was to save lamp oil and also to reduce calorie expenditure.

Occasionally, you can hear a few suppressed coughs, or the whimpering of a child who is too hungry to sleep.

Inside Su Zheng's small house, however, the scene was quite different.

Although there is no electric heating, the smokeless and odorless high-energy coal, which has been systematically modified, is burning happily in the furnace.

This high-tech fuel from a time-space laboratory not only has an extremely high calorific value and an astonishing combustion efficiency of 99.9%, but also produces absolutely no harmful gases or odors.

In just over ten minutes, the originally cold temperature inside the room had risen to a comfortable 20 degrees Celsius.

Su Zheng took off his heavy cotton-padded coat, wearing only a thin shirt, rolled up his sleeves, and stood in front of the stove.

"I died from overwork in my past life. If I transmigrate and still neglect my stomach, wouldn't that be a waste of my time?"

Su Zheng hummed an unknown tune as he took out a top-grade Wagyu beef steak with clearly visible snowflake patterns from his system space.

Even in its raw state, the marbled fat veins exude an alluring sheen.

Next up was that golden brick-like French Presidential Butter.

Remove the pan from the heat and heat it up.

Su Zheng cut off a small piece of butter and gently dropped it into the already heated iron pot.

"Sizzle—"

With a pleasant soft sizzle, the pale yellow butter melted instantly under the high temperature, turning into a pool of golden liquid that danced merrily at the bottom of the pot.

An incredibly rich, milky aroma instantly filled the small room!

This is incomparable to the plant-based margarine of later generations; it has the purest aroma of animal fat, bringing a sense of satisfaction that strikes right at the soul.

"Can't take it already? The real show is yet to come."

Su Zheng smiled slightly and laid the thick-cut steak flat in the pot.

"Sizzle—!!!"

An even more violent sound erupted.

The high temperature instantly locks in the moisture on the surface of the steak, and the Maillard reaction proceeds rapidly at this moment.

Proteins and sugars undergo a remarkable chemical reaction at high temperatures, quickly turning the originally red meat into an enticing dark brown.

A domineering, mellow, and slightly charred meaty aroma, mixed with the previous milky fragrance, quickly filled every corner of the room like a nuclear explosion!

So delicious!

Su Zheng himself couldn't help but swallow.

In this courtyard house where even pork cracklings are considered a delicacy, the taste of this top-quality pan-fried steak is simply a game-changer!

It's not just the aroma of food, but also the cruelest torture for the neighbors who never have enough oil in their stomachs!

"Sharing happiness is worse than enjoying it alone."

A hint of mockery flashed in Su Zheng's eyes.

He walked to the window and deliberately opened it a crack, about the width of a finger, from the window that was originally tightly closed.

call--

The fragrance, which had been confined inside the room, suddenly seemed to find an outlet, like a flood bursting through a crack and rushing wildly into the cold night sky.

As soon as the wind blew, the alluring fragrance quickly spread throughout the entire central courtyard, and even drifted towards the front and back courtyards.

……

The Intermediate People's Court, the Jia family.

Madam Jia Zhang was sitting cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), sewing on her thousand-layer soles, still cursing: "That little beast, how dare he ask us to pay back the money! We were blind! We should never have let him into this courtyard! Doesn't he fear retribution..."

Qin Huairu was coaxing her two young children to sleep, her face filled with worry.

Banggeng huddled under the covers, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, his stomach rumbling.

Just then.

A strange fragrance drifted in through the crack in the door.

Jia Zhangshi sniffed and suddenly stopped moving.

"What does it taste like?"

Her cloudy old eyes widened instantly, and she sniffed like a dog.

"Meat! It smells like meat! And that...rich, fatty, meaty aroma!"

The boy in bed sprang up instantly, his eyes gleaming: "Mom! It smells so good! Who's cooking meat? I want meat! I want meat!"

Xiao Dang and Huaihua were also woken up by the craving, crying out that they were hungry.

Qin Huairu was also tempted by the fragrance, swallowing hard. She had never smelled such a wonderful aroma in her life.

"This...this looks like it drifted over from the Central Courtyard..." Qin Huairu said hesitantly.

"Who else could it be! It must be that jinx, Su Zheng!" Jia Zhangshi cursed viciously. "That heartless bastard! He wouldn't lend us money, but he hides in his room eating good food! Doesn't he worry about choking to death!"

"Mom, I want meat! Go get me some meat!" Banggeng jumped off the kang (a heated brick bed) and started fussing as he tried to rush outside.

Qin Huairu quickly grabbed him: "Bang Geng, don't go, Su Zheng is going today..."

"No! I want to eat it! That's my flesh!" Bang Geng threw a tantrum. He was the apple of the Jia family's eye and had been spoiled rotten. He thought all the good things in the courtyard should belong to him.

"Don't cry, my dear grandson!" Madam Jia hugged the stalk with heartache, a glint of greed and resentment flashing in her eyes. "That childless man, he's hoarding everything for himself. Sooner or later, he'll have a son born without an anus! Be good, Grandma will have him bring it to you tomorrow! Just bear with it tonight."

Although she said that, the fragrance grew stronger and stronger, hooking her soul like a hook.

It wasn't just the Jia family.

The entire courtyard was thrown into chaos by this sudden attack of "poisonous gas" in the dead of night.

An old man's house.

Yi Zhonghai sat up, his brows furrowed, "This Su Zheng is outrageous! He has a little money and he squanders it all like this, he doesn't know how to manage a household at all! And making such a commotion so late at night, isn't he just trying to provoke people? He not only lacks a sense of community, but he also lacks public morality!"

An older woman sighed, "Old Yi, forget it, it's their food, we can't interfere. But this smell...it really is amazing."

The home of my second uncle, Liu Haizhong.

Liu Haizhong, drooling with envy, cursed, "That Su Zheng, he always seems so honest, I never expected him to be so cunning! I'll definitely teach him a lesson when I get the chance!"

The family of the third uncle, Yan Bugui.

Yan Bugui was calculating tomorrow's expenses under the lamp when he smelled this aroma, and his glasses almost fell off: "Is this steak? And butter? Oh my god, how much will this cost! Spendthrift! What a spendthrift! He doesn't even know to invite his third uncle over to try it; he has no respect for the elderly!"

……

Su Zheng was completely unconcerned about the resentment that filled the courtyard; in fact, one could say he thoroughly enjoyed it.

His steak was now cooked.

Medium-rare, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with a hint of pink juice visible when cut open.

He didn't have any red wine, but he made himself a cup of espresso.

The bitter coffee paired with a succulent steak, this fusion of East and West, seems out of place in this era, yet it is full of a unique sense of ritual.

Su Zheng sat at the table, slowly cutting off a piece of beef and putting it into his mouth.

The rich, juicy meat bursts in your mouth, and the aroma of the fat assaults your taste buds.

"Comfortable."

Su Zheng squinted his eyes and let out a satisfied sigh.

This is the effect he wanted.

The point is to let these beasts see and smell it, but not be able to eat it!

Let them envy, let them be jealous, let them hate!

Only by maximizing their hatred and getting them to come forward on their own initiative will he have a reason to deal with them one by one and completely break their backbone!

Just as Su was enjoying the food.

[Ding! Malicious spying detected.]

The system notification tone suddenly sounded.

Su Zheng did not stop moving, but his eyes turned slightly cold.

"You can't hold back anymore?"

He put down his knife and fork, picked up his coffee, took a sip, and activated the Eye of Truth once again.

My gaze pierced through the curtains, through the walls.

Just outside his window, a thin, dark figure was sneaking along the wall.

It's a reference to the "Master Thief".

This kid was clearly blinded by greed, or perhaps he was used to stealing and thought Su Zheng's house was his backyard.

He tiptoed to the window, standing on tiptoe, his shifty eyes peering through the crack Su Zheng had deliberately left.

Seeing the plate of meat on Su Zheng's table, Bang Geng's mouth watered.

He swallowed hard, stretched out a dirty little hand, and tried to reach through the crack in the window to pry open the latch.

[Target: Jia Geng (Bang Geng)]

[Conduct Determination: Attempted Burglary]

[Structural Analysis: The angle between the finger and the window frame is 30 degrees, and the stress point is located at the edge of the window sash...]

Su Zheng looked at the hand that reached in like a rat's paw, and a cruel sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Want to eat meat?"

"Then I'll teach you a lesson first."

He neither shouted to stop them nor got up to grab them.

Instead, they waited quietly.

Just as the tip of Banggeng's finger was halfway inside the window crack, and he was about to exert force to turn the latch, the moment came.

Su Zheng suddenly raised his hand.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound.

He slammed the window shut and quickly bolted it!

"ah--!!!"

A piercing scream instantly tore through the silent night sky, a hundred times more ear-piercing than the sound of the cold wind just now.

Immediately following was the sound of a heavy object hitting the ground, and then a pig-like howl.

"My hand! My hand is broken! Waaaaah..."

Su calmly drew the curtains, sat back down at the table, and elegantly cut off a piece of steak and put it in his mouth.

Listening to the sudden uproar outside, Jia Zhangshi's wailing, and Yi Zhonghai's footsteps as he put on his clothes and went out.

Su Zheng's smile deepened:

"I concede in the first round."