A courtyard house, equipped with a fishing system, living in an era.

After entering the twelfth lunar month, I've been busy almost every day.

As the year drew to a close, not only did the number of banquets at the factory increase, but even several factory leaders asked Xu Pingan to go on several business trips.

The most generous among them were Lou Bancheng and Li Huaide.

Lou Bancheng is truly wealthy, and he is generous with his money.

Xu Ping'an would prepare a banquet for him, and he would bring home all kinds of seafood and ham, and each time he would give him 20 yuan as a service fee.

Although Li Huaide didn't give that much, Xu Ping'an never went empty-handed when he went to help.

Even if they forcefully drag him out afterwards, they still have to give him 5 yuan as a "hardship fee".

The stingiest one is Factory Director Yang.

It's unclear whether he genuinely lacked the foresight or simply treated Xu Ping'an like a long-term servant.

"Alright, alright, stop complaining. He's the factory manager after all!"

Li Huaide made tea for Xu Pingan with a smile on his face.

Li Huaide listened to Xu Ping'an's incessant complaints behind him.

"Boss, it's not that I want to complain, but..."

Xu Pingan waved his hand.

"I'm not saying I'm after that little bit of money for the work. As my superiors, I'd be willing to work for free..."

"But I cooked them dinner, and I'm still hungry, and then I'm just kicked out? Is that fair?"

Li Huaide pushed the brewed tea toward Xu Ping'an.

"Have some tea before we talk. Isn't your throat dry?"

Xu Pingan picked up the teacup, blew on the tea leaves, and took a small sip.

"Old Yang is undoubtedly a capable businessman, but when it comes to being a person, he's just too rigid and inflexible!"

As he spoke, he asked the question as if it were unintentional.

"By the way, which leader's house did he take you to cook at yesterday?"

"I don't know him!"

Xu Pingan put down his teacup.

"Boss, you know me. I'm the kind of person who only cooks and doesn't care about anything else. Most of the time, I don't even leave the kitchen!"

As he spoke, he seemed to remember something and added a sentence.

"At most, they'll be concerned about my wages..."

How could I not know?

He is the newly appointed second-in-command of the Ministry of Metallurgy, the top leader in the original drama.

The Zhao Qi that Xu Pingan met at Director Wang's house.

However, he has always been concerned about his public image.

The chef's persona is actually quite simple; just put the template of the silly Zhu on yourself.

Just focus on cooking, don't ask about anything else!

Aside from complaining about how stingy Director Yang was, he never revealed any information about the guests he had invited.

This kind of persona has many advantages.

The most basic point is that Li Huaide himself feels at ease using it!

At least I don't have to worry about him going out and talking nonsense.

In the past year, Xu Pingan has also cooked at Lou Bancheng's house several times.

Every time Li Huaide subtly inquired, his answer was always the same: he stayed in the kitchen and never went out.

At most, I could chat with Lou Bancheng's youngest daughter for a few minutes, but I knew nothing else.

After leaving Li Huaide's office, Xu Pingan returned to the second canteen as if nothing had happened.

Xu Pingan didn't actually lack anything from Director Yang, nor did he lack the money for cooking.

However, Xu Ping'an had seen the answer and knew the rise and fall of the steel rolling mill over the next few decades.

Now that I've decided to get on Li Huaide's ship, I certainly can't keep changing my mind.

As it turns out, Factory Director Yang lacked any discernment. Why couldn't he find a cook anywhere? He insisted on having Xu Ping'an cook for him to curry favor.

This left Xu Ping'an with no choice but to express his loyalty to Lao Li by complaining about Lao Yang.

The Laba Festival was already on the 15th.

Two days ago, Xu Pingan bought various ingredients such as red dates, longan, raisins, chestnuts, lotus seeds, and ginkgo nuts at the dried fruit market.

I also bought walnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, hazelnuts and other nuts.

I'm planning to make a one-pot meal!

After all, no one has ever stipulated that eight-treasure porridge can only contain eight ingredients, right?

Nanluoguxiang is a commercial street, but it's not commercialized enough these days.

However, basic supplies such as rice, flour, and cooking oil can be purchased without leaving the alley.

However, Xu Ping'an wanted to buy more grain and store it in his space before the unified purchase and sale system was implemented.

Therefore, I rarely shop in Nanluoguxiang; I usually travel as far as possible to buy things.

In Nanluoguxiang, Xu Fang would take Xu Nian to the grain store to buy daily necessities.

Because of the thorough preparations, the festive atmosphere of this year's Lunar New Year was a level higher than last year.

"Big brother, this eight-treasure porridge is so sweet!"

"Of course it's sweet with sugar added!"

Xu Lian licked the bottom of the bowl clean and held the empty bowl, looking at Xu Ping'an.

"I'd like another bowl."

"Go get it yourself! Why are you looking at me? Do you expect me to serve you porridge?"

"Hehe, thank you so much, big brother! You're the best!"

Xu Fang rolled her eyes as she listened.

"I told you to drink less because I was worried you'd get indigestion if you drank too much and couldn't sleep at night. You added too much seasoning; the porridge is too thick. Wouldn't it be better to save it for tomorrow's breakfast?"

"Oh, I want to drink it, please, sister."

Xu Pingan silently drank his porridge without making a sound.

Most of the time, the two sisters support each other through life.

We went to school together and ate together.

Xu Pingan didn't participate much, so he didn't make decisions for them.

I was just having my porridge when I heard the argument starting again in the courtyard next door.

Xu Fang put down the bowl and sighed.

"They can't even have a moment of peace during the Lunar New Year... If I ever get married, I definitely can't marry into a family like that!"

puff!

Xu Pingan almost spat out the porridge from his nostrils.

"How old are you, already thinking about getting married?"

"I'm already thirteen years old... which means it'll be another five or six years."

"Don't worry, sister, I'll definitely choose carefully for you!"

"Alright, I'll help you choose then..."

If a storm happens to break out, and if he picks a troublemaker, Xu Ping'an will be in trouble too!

Therefore, Xu Ping'an was determined not to relinquish the power to choose a son-in-law.

I thought the argument would quiet down after a few words, but the noise just kept getting louder.

Xu Pingan finished the porridge in his hand in a few gulps.

"You two wash the dishes in a bit, I'll go see what's wrong."

"Let's shower when we get back, let's go together! Let's go together!"

Life in the courtyard was mostly monotonous, but the Jia family in the middle courtyard provided almost half of the liveliness of the main courtyard.

As expected, things remained the same.

Qin Huairu has been married into the family for over a year now.

But so far, there's been no sign of pregnancy.

Before going to the hospital for a checkup, Qin Huairu could only swallow her anger and silently shed tears.

Now, when pushed to the limit, she'll make a scene, dragging Jia Dongxu to the hospital for a checkup...

When Qin Huairu made a scene, Jia Zhangshi would scold her. When Jia Zhangshi scolded her, Qin Huairu would run to the courtyard and cry, airing her dirty laundry in public and making the matter bigger.

Sometimes, she could make Jia Zhangshi so angry that she would gasp for breath.

"I said a few months ago that the doctor said that infertility could also be a problem with the man."

Qin Huairu wiped away her tears as she made her accusations.

"I told you to have Dongxu come with me to the checkup, but you just wouldn't agree."

"Do you know that Dongxu is infertile, and are you trying to pin the blame for his infertility on me?"

Upon hearing this, the first person to be unable to withstand it was Yi Zhonghai, who lived right across from him.

After such a long period of reflection, he slowly began to move around in the yard again.

Although I always felt that everyone looked at him with a hint of disdain.

But gradually, he became immune to that look.

"Huai Ru, why can't we discuss things at home? Look, you have to come out and make a scene, making it impossible for everyone to eat properly."

"Master Yi, it's really not that I want to cause trouble, but my mother-in-law..."

Yi Zhonghai quickly interrupted Qin Huairu.

"Isn't the problem of not being able to have children always a woman's fault? Don't listen to that doctor's nonsense."

Qin Huairu paused in wiping away her tears, looked up at Yi Zhonghai in surprise, then at Luo Wencui, whose face was dark at the entrance of the Yi family's house, and understood what was going on.

It seems unlikely that Yi Zhonghai will side with her...

"Hey, Ping An, didn't you think this show was amazing?"

Xu Damao, with his donkey-like face, came closer.

"What's so exciting about that?"

"You think Yi Zhonghai's enthusiasm is because of him...?"

Xu Pingan ignored him.

Yi Zhonghai's name has been crossed out of his enemy's dictionary.

There was no other reason; it was simply because he had lost the ability to bring the matter to Xu Ping'an's attention.

However, Xu Pingan remembered that Bang Geng was born in early 54.

When the original drama started, Bang-kyung was only 13 years old (by Chinese reckoning).

Judging by the days, it should be about time.