Courtyard House: Is Xu Damao a childless man? Let me help.

"Oh, right, isn't there a little jinx in the backyard? This time it was Silly Pillar who took the blame, next time let the little jinx in the backyard take the fall!"

Qin Huairu shook her head. "Do you think everyone is as stupid as Zhu? Ye Jianchuan is very smart!"

"If I hadn't been quick-witted that day and offered to clean the house for him, and if he hadn't been wanting to slack off and find someone to do his chores, like cleaning or laundry, I wouldn't have had a chance of getting any food from him with my little tricks."

"Hey! That little jinx, he deserves to die! No wonder his whole family died!"

Jia Zhangshi muttered to herself again, while Bang Geng, standing to the side, was indignant. "If Sha Zhu doesn't want to take the blame, then he doesn't have to. This time, no one noticed that I was the one who took the chicken, did they?"

Next time I'll be more experienced, and no one will be able to tell that I took the chicken!

Chapter Thirty-Four: Qin Huairu's Scheme of Using One Tiger to Devour Another

Hearing her son's thieving-sage-like remarks, Qin Huairu felt a bit desperate. With two such useless teammates, no matter how smart she was, she felt she couldn't carry them!

"Good boy, just listen to Mom this once. Don't try to get your hands on Xu Damao's chicken anymore. If you're craving it, just tell Mom and I'll find a way to get you something to eat, okay?"

Bang Geng was still unhappy. "Why, Mom? I wasn't discovered at all! If no one could find me this time, then no one will be able to find me next time!"

Qin Huairu gritted her teeth and then spoke again, "Who said no one noticed? Ye Jianchuan guessed from the beginning that you stole it."

They just didn't expose Sha Zhu and make him take the blame because of me! You really think you're so great?

Bang Geng lowered his head, but secretly he remembered Ye Jianchuan in his heart—Hmph! When I get the chance, I will definitely rob Ye Jianchuan's house clean!

Just as Bang Geng was secretly resolving to diligently practice the 'Thief Saint's' skills, the confrontation between Qin Huairu and Jia Zhangshi began again.

"And after this incident, it will probably be difficult for us to get Sha Zhu's lunchbox again. Otherwise, I wouldn't have wanted you to do odd jobs to help support the family."

"What? Sha Zhu's lunchbox is gone too? Why?"

"Hey, isn't it all because of He Yushui? This time, Shazhu almost got labeled a thief because he was trying to take the blame for Banggeng. If it turns out he is a thief, then He Yushui will have to carry the reputation of being the thief's sister from now on."

This must have had a huge impact on He Yushui, so she is now unwilling to talk to us.

Sha Zhu also angered He Yushui because of this, so He Yushui has been staying at home these past few days, and Sha Zhu has definitely been saving his lunchboxes for her.

Okay, this was actually something Qin Huairu made up, but it's also half true. Although if Qin Huairu had been shameless enough to ask for it, she might have gotten it, but Sha Zhu definitely wouldn't have brought Qin Huairu a lunchbox on his own initiative.

Even... maybe Sha Zhu won't even dare to bring his lunchbox home anymore. After all, Ye Jianchuan had specifically warned Sha Zhu before. If Sha Zhu still dares to defy the warning, then he'll really have only himself to blame if something happens.

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi immediately began cursing, "Hey!! That damned girl He Yushui, she's ruined our family's lunchboxes from now on!"

"How much oil and fat will that take away? Without all that oil and fat, will we Bangzi still be able to enjoy our meals?"

But no matter how much she cursed, it was useless. Qin Huairu pressed her advantage and said, "Mom, you're just sitting at home doing nothing anyway."

"Our family is going through a tough time right now. You'll suffer for two months, but once He Yushui calms down and we can eat Sha Zhu's meals again, then you can rest, okay?"

As she spoke, Qin Huairu suddenly had a flash of inspiration. She turned her head and patted Banggeng, who was almost asleep and preparing to start practicing his inner thief practice, and then said...

"Bang Geng, Grandma will earn some money to buy you chicken. Let's not steal chickens, okay?"

Jia Zhangshi tried to play dumb again, saying, "No way! I won't do it! It's supposed to be odd jobs, but I'll be working myself to the bone all day and only earn ten or so yuan. I won't do it!"

Qin Huairu was just waiting for Jia Zhangshi to say this, so she turned to Banggeng and said, "Banggeng, we don't have much money left. Our meals might be a little worse than before. You'll have to make do with what we have from now on!"

Upon hearing that the food was not good, Bang Geng became unhappy, asking, "Why, Mom?"

Qin Huairu pointed at Jia Zhangshi and said, "Isn't it because your grandma doesn't want to earn money to buy you food?"

If your grandma were willing to work, she could easily bring our family an extra ten yuan a month!

Ten yuan can buy more than ten kilograms of meat!

This tactic of using one tiger to devour another can be described as a stroke of genius. After hearing Qin Huairu's words, Bang Geng immediately glared fiercely at Jia Zhangshi.

"Grandma? Why don't you go and earn money? If you don't earn money, how will I buy meat to eat in the future?"

Jia Zhangshi even tried to reason with Banggeng, saying, "My dear grandson, I'm just too old to do any more work!"

But Madam Jia forgot that Bang Geng's unreasonable skills were taught to her personally. "Hmph!! I think you just want to be lazy! I don't care, if you don't go and earn money, I'll never call you grandma again!"

Hearing this, Qin Huairu was overjoyed. She had only wanted to resolve the money issue after causing such a scene tonight.

Qin Huairu would be even more satisfied if she could keep her mother-in-law busy and scold her less in the future.

Unexpectedly, there was an unexpected bonus! Now Qin Huairu couldn't be happier that Jia Zhangshi would continue to hold on, so that Bang Geng would directly turn against Jia Zhangshi, and she would then have a chance to properly manage Bang Geng.

Unfortunately, Qin Huairu's plan failed, because Jia Zhangshi actually chickened out in the face of the threat from the stick!

And so, Jia Zhangshi, who had been lazy and good-for-nothing for most of her life, successfully started doing odd jobs to supplement her family's income under the threat of her beloved, ungrateful grandson.

Although she didn't get the unexpected reward in the end, which made Qin Huairu a little disappointed, she was still quite satisfied with achieving her initial goal.

Thus, the battle between the Jia family's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finally came to an end with Qin Huairu's great victory.

. . . . . .

The next day, Ye Jianchuan got busy again. The new sandwich bread didn't require much technical skill to begin with.

So after yesterday's 'training', the new workshop is now officially on track, and sandwich bread is being produced in a steady stream.

Of course, Ye Jianchuan was no longer an ordinary worker, so he didn't work as diligently as before. He slacked off a bit and then slipped away to Director Zhou's office.

"Uncle Zhou, I've found the chef you asked me to find! You've probably heard of Sha Zhu, the head chef at the steel mill, right?"

Upon hearing this, Director Zhou immediately nodded. "I've heard of him! Not only have I heard of him, but I've also eaten his cooking before! I heard he's a successor of the Tan family cuisine and has some knowledge of other dishes as well."

It just so happens that one of the managers of the store we're hiring this time is a big fan of this kind of imperial cuisine. So, go back and ask the chef what ingredients we need, and then go and help prepare them!

Once this is all done, your Uncle Zhou will definitely treat you well!

Chapter Thirty-Five: Is Liang Ladi also here?

Ye Jianchuan nodded and then said, "Uncle Zhou, as far as I know, the ingredients required for Tan Family Cuisine are quite complicated. Not only do they need rare ingredients like abalone, but they also have to meet the requirements for the freshness of the ingredients."

I think it's probably too difficult for us to prepare these things ourselves, but I think it's manageable if Shazhu prepares them himself.

Their family has some connections in Beijing's culinary circles; if he gets involved with other chefs, there should still be a chance to procure these ingredients.

Factory Director Zhou understood this principle, and with a wave of his hand, he said directly, "Go ahead and do it. I'll reimburse you for all expenses."

As for that silly Master Zhu, tell him to put in more effort. I'll give him a red envelope (cash gift) after it's all done!

Ye Jianchuan was overjoyed. Although he couldn't say he had all the dried ingredients needed for Tan Family Cuisine, he did have some dried abalone and fish maw on hand.

These were random rewards given by the system during the few days before he was officially hired. At first, Ye Jianchuan didn't know what the system meant, but now it seems that the system is giving him a chance to make a lot of money!

Happily accepting the task, Ye Jianchuan prepared to leave, but just as he reached the door, he turned back.

When Factory Director Zhou saw Ye Jianchuan return, he frowned. "What's wrong, Jianchuan? Is there anything else?"

Ye Jianchuan scratched his head awkwardly, then said, "Uncle Zhou, I want to ask you, are there any tailors with good skills around here?"

I haven't had any new clothes made in ages, so I'm thinking of finding a good tailor to make me a couple of new outfits.

Factory Director Zhou pointed at Ye Jianchuan with his finger and said, "Haha, you finally thought of this! You're already a team leader, yet you're still dressed so poorly. I was just thinking about whether I should find you a new set of work clothes for the day of the reception!"

As for tailors... I do know two, but one of them is a professional tailor, so his fees are very high. A single garment, including the fabric, will cost more than ten yuan to make.

Moreover, it probably wouldn't be very convenient for you to go see him, because he lives in the military compound, and you really can't get in.

As for the other seamstress... she shouldn't really be considered a seamstress. She just comes from a poor family, so she takes on odd needlework jobs to supplement her family's income.

But don't worry, this tailor not only doesn't charge high prices, but her craftsmanship is also excellent. I've had several jackets made by her before!

Upon hearing this, Ye Jianchuan quickly asked Director Zhou for the tailor's address, but Director Zhou waved his hand and said, "Just go to the machine repair shop next to our factory to find her."

Her name is Liang Ladi. Her husband passed away early, and she's raising four children on her own. She's a level-five welder at a machine repair shop. Her family isn't well-off. If you have some money, please give her a little something extra.

Ye Jianchuan was also stunned when he heard this. Liang Ladi? Isn't that a character from the TV series "People are Iron, Rice is Steel"?

If Liang Ladi is here... then is Ding Qiunan here too? And what about Nan Yi, Cui Dake, and the like? Are they here as well?

Now, Ye Jianchuan had even greater expectations for this world.

Seeing Ye Jianchuan standing there in a daze, Factory Director Zhou was also bewildered. "Jianchuan? What's wrong? Do you know this Widow Liang?"

Ye Jianchuan quickly waved his hand, "No, no, I don't know him, I just feel like I've heard others mention him."

Okay, thank you, Uncle Zhou. I'll go to the repair shop next door for help after I get off work!

After saying that, Ye Jianchuan walked towards the door again, but halfway there, he was stopped by Factory Director Zhou. "Hey! Wait, do you have any cloth coupons? If you want someone to make clothes for you, you'll have to prepare the materials yourself!"

Ye Jianchuan waved his hand smugly, "Don't worry, Uncle Zhou, I have everything I need here!"

. . . . . .

At lunchtime, Ye Jianchuan did not eat at the food factory's canteen, but went directly to the entrance of the machine repair shop not far away.

When the security guards at the entrance saw Ye Jianchuan approaching, they immediately stepped forward and stopped him.

"What are you doing here? Do you have a letter of introduction? If you don't have a letter of introduction, you can't go in unless you're a worker from the machine repair shop!"

"Oh, hello, I'm a worker from the food factory next door. I'm looking for Liang Ladi from your factory. If I can't get in... could you please go and call her for me?"

Upon hearing Ye Jianchuan's words, the guard immediately lowered his guard, but still looked at Ye Jianchuan with a strange expression, "What do you want with Liang Ladi? I haven't heard that Liang Ladi has any relatives or anything."

Ye Jianchuan shrugged and then said, "I heard from a colleague that Liang Ladi usually takes on some needlework to supplement her family's income. I'd like to ask her to make me two sets of clothes."

Now the guard really let his guard down. "Okay, wait a moment. It's lunchtime at the factory right now. Wait for our captain to come back and relieve me. I'll go to the canteen to look for her for you."

Ye Jianchuan offered a brief thank you, then pretended to take out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out and handed it to the guard, then calmly lit one for himself and started smoking.

The guard didn't stand on ceremony. He lit a cigarette, smoked it, and then told Ye Jianchuan to go to the security room to wait.

There was no way around it; it was almost winter, and the weather was still quite cold. He didn't want to wait outside with Ye Jianchuan.

But since I've already accepted the cigarette Ye Jianchuan offered, it wouldn't feel right not to invite him in to warm up as well.

And so, the two chatted idly in the security room. And surprisingly, Ye Jianchuan actually managed to gather some useful information from the conversation with the security guard.

For example, the machine repair shop's infirmary was a hot commodity, something Ye Jianchuan could guess, since Ding Qiunan was there, and there were quite a few single men who wanted to 'pick up girls' there.

However, to Ye Jianchuan's surprise, Cui Dake has not yet appeared in this timeline, which is something Ye Jianchuan did not expect.

Although Cui Dake is indeed a villain that no one likes, as a transmigrator, it feels like something is not quite right that he doesn't have these annoying supporting characters to teach him a lesson.

Moreover... now that I know about Nan Yi's existence, if I ever need a cook in the future, and Sha Zhu can't help, it seems like it wouldn't be bad to ask Nan Yi for help.