Courtyard House: The Fisherman Never Goes Sick

"Grandma looked so beautiful when she fell!"

"Grandma, get up again and let me fall again!"

As Jia Zhangshi slipped and fell backward, she heard the sound of a little boy clapping his hands and laughing behind her. It was her beloved grandson, Jia Dongxu's son Banggeng—the infamous "ungrateful brat" from the TV series.

Hearing the commotion, Yi Zhonghai rushed over and grabbed Jia Zhangshi's arm to pull her up. He strained with all his might and finally managed to lift her halfway up, but the ground was too slippery, and Jia Zhangshi, being quite plump, swayed to the side as soon as she regained her footing. Yi Zhonghai hurriedly tried to support her, but her arm felt like it was made of lead, and he couldn't hold on to her at all. With a "thud," the old woman crashed heavily into the snowdrift again, splashing snow all over both of them.

Even more deadly was that when Jia Zhangshi fell, she grabbed Yi Zhonghai's clothes tightly with one hand, which pulled Yi Zhonghai down to the ground.

"Ouch! Ouch!" Jia Zhangshi twitched in pain, falling twice and feeling like her bones were about to break. Yi Zhonghai fared even worse. When Jia Zhangshi fell, her plump bottom landed right on his right leg. His small arms and legs couldn't withstand that weight, and he winced in pain, his mind filled with worry: I hope she doesn't get seriously injured.

"Yay! Grandma, let's do it again!" Bang Geng was still clapping and jumping around. Yang Wei glanced at the farce, shook his head, turned around and went back into the house, too lazy to watch anymore.

"It must be that selfish Yang Wei cursing me! Otherwise, why would I have fallen like that? You old man, it's all Yang Wei's fault!" Jia Zhangshi's angry curses came from behind.

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors rushed over to help, and together they helped the two women up. After a lot of effort, Jia Zhangshi finally managed to stand up, but she was bruised and swollen, limping into the house, groaning "ouch" as she went, clearly in a lot of pain.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Jia Dongxu frowned as he went to greet her.

"That selfish Yang Wei glared at me and made me fall!" Jia Zhangshi cursed, tears streaming down her face. "He's a jinx! He'll definitely die young and have no descendants!"

"Mom, don't worry, that selfish Yang Wei won't live long! He might get caught in a machine one day!" Jia Dongxu chimed in. He was also angry with Yang Wei; Yang Wei always ate well and never helped the Jia family, so naturally he didn't like him.

After scolding them, Jia Zhangshi plopped down in a chair, turned to Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua who were playing nearby, and yelled, "You two good-for-nothings, come here and give Grandma a massage!"

The two little girls rushed over, but they didn't know their own strength. They used too much force on the painful spot, and Jia Zhangshi immediately cried out in pain, "Ouch! You two useless things, you can't even massage a leg properly!" As she scolded, she raised her hand and slapped Xiao Dang across the face with a crisp sound. Xiao Dang was stunned, and Xiao Huaihua was so frightened that she shrank into a ball and dared not make a sound.

Just as she was cursing, footsteps came from the doorway. Jia Zhangshi turned her head and saw that Qin Huairu had returned, carrying a small lunchbox, which she had taken from Sha Zhu without asking.

Madam Jia frowned, her voice rising eight octaves: "You jinx! You always bring back so little food, who's going to eat it all? Don't you expect Sha Zhu to come back with a whole piece of pork or a whole chicken like Yang Wei?"

"Exactly! Qin Huairu, can't you let Sha Zhu take more?" Jia Dongxu chimed in. "He's the cafeteria chef, it won't hurt him to take more! Even if the cafeteria doesn't have it, he can buy it himself! He earns 39 yuan a month, what's the point of keeping it if he doesn't buy anything?"

Hearing this, Qin Huairu's nose tingled, and she almost burst into tears. She had struggled with Sha Zhu for so long to finally get this little bit of something, and her in-laws were ungrateful and even scolded her. She felt a tightness in her chest from the resentment. But she dared not show it, and could only force a smile. At this moment, she regretted it deeply. If she hadn't married into the Jia family, how could she have ended up with such a vicious mother-in-law and husband?

On the other side, Yang Wei had just arrived at his own door when he heard a noise coming from Yan Bugui's house next door. Looking up, he saw Yu Li coming out—Yan Bugui's daughter-in-law, who was pretty and had a figure that made men swallow hard.

"Sister-in-law, where are you going?" Yang Wei greeted her with a smile.

"Going out to buy some things... Yang Wei, you just got off work?" Yu Li smiled, her eyes unconsciously glancing at the meat in his hand. That meat was really fatty! Their family hadn't had any meat in a long time.

"Yes." Yang Wei nodded. He and Yu Li usually had a good relationship and always greeted each other when they met.

As Yu Li watched with envy, Yang Wei turned and went inside, saying, "Sister-in-law, I'm leaving!"

Yu Li came to her senses and only saw Yang Wei's figure disappear behind the door.

Winter nights come early.

Yang Wei's room was only about ten square meters, with mottled and old walls, and the furniture was also covered in the dust of time. The room was not only not well-ventilated, but the wind always managed to sneak in through the cracks, howling and filling the corners, making him feel the chill of winter even inside.

He pressed the switch, and a dim light appeared, but it didn't brighten the room much. Compared to the suite he lived in in his previous life, it was like heaven and earth. However, in this era, the conditions were already much better than many people's.

Yang Wei sat down in the chair, opened the system warehouse with his mind, and took out the bronze treasure chest.

"Ding! Congratulations, Master, you have obtained the title of [Gourmet]!"

"Achieve Master-Level Culinary Skills!"

"You've received a braised pork recipe!"

The system notification sounded in my mind.

A gourmet title plus master-level culinary skills—that sounds amazing! Yang Wei's eyes lit up: with such skills, he could apply for a job at the cafeteria and maybe even snatch He Yuzhu's head chef position. Besides, he himself is a foodie; he'd be overjoyed to be able to cook delicious food.

"Ding, mission activated!"

"Please make a dish of braised pork!"

"Rewards for completing the task: One serving of premium fish bait, one bag of Longjing tea, one tea set, and five pounds of milk candy!"

Another string of reward notifications appeared, and Yang Wei almost burst out laughing. These things were luxuries these days. He immediately used his mind to open the braised pork recipe. Thanks to his master-level culinary skills, he understood it at a glance. The quality of this recipe was even higher than the version he remembered from state banquet chefs; otherwise, the system wouldn't have singled it out as a reward.

Just then, he bought a string of pork belly and immediately started cooking.

He first laid out the bait, and the system said there would be a harvest within 24 hours. Then he busied himself at the stove. His cooking skills, which were originally mediocre, were now like those of a century-old chef, and he was extremely familiar with the rhythm of cutting, stir-frying, braising, and stewing.

In the courtyard, each family began to cook dinner.

On the Jia family's side, Jia Zhangshi, who had a bitter expression on her face, suddenly twitched her nose as she smelled an alluring fragrance.

"What smells so good?" she wondered.

"Grandma, it looks like meat." Xiao Dang came over.

"Meat? What kind of meat smells this good?" Madam Jia smacked her lips, seemingly having never smelled such an enticing aroma. Could it be Yang Wei's? But his cooking skills... could he even do it? Or perhaps it was Sha Zhu? If that idiot Sha Zhu had made it, wouldn't he have brought it to the Jia family?

A series of thoughts flashed through her mind. Banggeng, who was inside the house, sniffed, then dashed out and rushed back a moment later, shouting, "Grandma, the smell is coming from Yang Wei's house!"

Braised pork? Jia Zhangshi immediately thought of the pork Yang Wei had bought that morning. The aroma grew stronger, and she couldn't help but swallow. This old widow hadn't had fresh meat in days, let alone something so fragrant. Yang Wei made such delicious meat, and didn't even think to share it with his own family! He'd eat himself to death! She cursed inwardly.

If it were anyone else, she would have sent Banggeng to ask for it long ago, but not Yang Wei. Ever since he fell out with the Jia family, she had sent Banggeng to ask for it, but he was turned away.

Not only was she craving it, but the rest of the Jia family suffered as well. Xiao Dang and Xiao Huaihua's drool was almost dripping onto their clothes, and Bang Geng was constantly swallowing. The more Jia Zhangshi thought about it, the darker her old face became, and the curses churning in her heart grew even fiercer.

Yang Wei, of course, knew nothing of this. He was sitting at the table, picking up a steaming piece of braised pork and putting it in his mouth. Delicious! So delicious! The tender meat melted on his tongue; he almost wanted to swallow his tongue. He had never tasted such amazing braised pork in his previous life. It was indeed the quality produced by the system—worth it!

"Mission complete. Rewards include a premium fish bait, a bag of Longjing tea, a tea set, and three catties of milk candy!" The system notification sounded at the right time.

At this moment, the Jia family's dining table was also set out, but there were only a few pieces of meat in the dishes. Bang Geng was unhappy as soon as he saw it, while the aroma of meat wafted over from Yang Wei's side.

"I want to eat meat! I want to eat delicious meat!" he shouted, his voice echoing throughout the yard.