Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Inside He Yuzhu's room, Li Jiuzhou asked him:

"Zhu Zi, not many people live in this courtyard. Many rooms are empty."

"Hey, senior brother, you don't know this, this courtyard house belongs to the old lady in the back."

"She's been good to me since I was little, I always call her Grandma."

"Our main house and side room were bought by my father from the old lady."

"The east and west wing rooms in the front yard are all empty."

"These days, who has the spare money to buy a house?"

Li Jiuzhou nodded in agreement.

At this moment, He Yuzhu slapped his forehead:

"Hey, senior brother, I almost forgot about the important matter. Let's go to the backyard; the rain is still in the old lady's room."

"Take the lunchbox over there."

The two walked towards the backyard, and He Yuzhu knocked on the door and called out:

"Grandma, Yushui, I'm back to bring you food. Please open the door quickly."

"Brother!" came a startled cry from inside the house, followed by rustling sounds.

When the door opened, a little girl of about four or five years old was seen, followed by an old man.

Li Jiuzhou immediately understood the situation upon seeing it.

She was indeed a deaf old lady. It was only 1947, and she didn't look that old yet.

She looks to be under 60, but her skin is exceptionally fair, which shows that she has lived a life of luxury for many years.

Ordinary people don't have her kind of style.

deaf old lady

"Hehehe, Zhuzi's back. Yushui ate some here, and we're about to take a nap."

"Who's this guy next to you? Can you introduce him?"

He Yuzhu replied with a smile:

"Hehe, grandma, this is my senior brother Li Jiuzhou. I just came back to bring you two food and brought my senior brother over to introduce us to the place."

"May you be blessed, Madam." Li Jiuzhou greeted her with a fist and palm salute.

The deaf old woman smiled upon hearing this:

"Good, good, good, Kyushu, right? Master Li's outstanding disciple, indeed a handsome man."

"I know your two master, Li Tielong. Years ago, he and Zhuzi's father cooked for me a lot."

Li Jiuzhou didn't say anything after hearing this; he wasn't interested in the affairs of the previous generation.

Whatever dirty secrets they have, it's none of his business.

The old lady led the two into the house and poured them some water.

"Madam, I heard from Zhu Zi that this entire compound belongs to you. I wonder if any of the vacant rooms are still available for sale?"

Li Jiuzhou suddenly asked.

The deaf old woman gave Li Jiuzhou a meaningful look, then joked:

"What's wrong? Do you want to buy a house because your current place isn't big enough?"

Li Jiuzhou glanced at He Yuzhu, who immediately understood and spilled out all of Li Jiuzhou's experiences.

The deaf old woman understood:

"Good boy, there aren't many good people in this world. You're a good one, and Master Li is also kind and righteous."

"Of course, hehehe..." He Yuzhu immediately smacked his lips.

The deaf old woman continued:

"The house is vacant, but do you have the money?"

"Grandma, all the rooms here are top-notch, they're among the best in Nanluoguxiang, and each room isn't cheap."

It wasn't that she looked down on Li Jiuzhou; she was just talking big. If he wanted to buy a house, fine, but he had to put up the money.

"Madam, can I borrow it from the master first? I can pay it back slowly later."

"I didn't have my own place in Beiping, and to be honest, I felt very uncomfortable."

"I can't stay at my master's house forever. Even if he's willing, I'm not."

The deaf old woman nodded. Although she had never experienced the feeling of living under someone else's roof, she knew it must be unpleasant. She said:

"If you really want to buy it, let Zhuzi show you around the yard."

"If you really find someone you like, then just bring your master over and we can talk."

Li Jiuzhou smiled slightly:

"Okay, that makes sense. Thank you in advance, Madam. Zhu Zi, show me around."

As the two walked, He Yuzhu introduced them to each other.

This courtyard is said to have three courtyards, but it actually has four; it's quite large.

Each of the east and west wing rooms is over 40 square meters, not big, but enough to live in.

He Yuzhu's main house is 76 square meters, which is a bit larger.

Li Jiuzhou stopped in the front yard; he had his eye on the west wing.

The west wing has side rooms on both sides.

If we take over the west wing and also the two side rooms, the total area will be quite large.

It's nearly 80 square meters.

Li Jiuzhou also wanted to take over two rooms of the rear building, because there was a small open space at the connection of the west side rooms, which would be equivalent to having a courtyard after being opened up.

However, this would be a lot of talk. Wouldn't that make people jealous?

"How about it, senior brother? These rooms are all pretty good, right? We can move in after adding some household items and a stove," He Yuzhu said from the side.

He would be quite happy to let Li Jiuzhou move in, so that he would have company on his way to and from get off work.

Li Jiuzhou nodded:

"That's fine, but I still need to discuss it with my master."

"Of course, let's go. It's getting late, let's go back to Fengzeyuan."

"become..."

After returning to Fengzeyuan, Li Jiuzhou went to find his master, who was chatting with He Daqing in the courtyard.

Hearing that his apprentice wanted to buy a house, he immediately became displeased, glared at Li Jiuzhou, and shouted:

"What's wrong? Haven't your master and mistress treated you well? Why are you in such a hurry to move out?"

Li Jiuzhou quickly waved his hand:

"No, no, no, my master and mistress have always treated my siblings and me very well, but it's still inconvenient."

"What if my two older brothers come back someday? There definitely won't be enough room for them."

"I want to fix up the house and have a home of my own."

At this moment, He Daqing interjected:

"Senior brother, I think what Jiuzhou said makes sense. The sooner the house is finished, the sooner we can have peace of mind."

"If you're short on cash, I have some left; you can use it first."

"You talk too much." Li Tielong glared at He Daqing.

"Hehehe..." He Daqing wasn't annoyed, and just chuckled while scratching his head.

He Yuzhu grinned from ear to ear at the sight of his father's expression.

"What the hell are you laughing at? Did you eat honey shit? Get out of here!"

Seeing that his son was actually laughing at him, He Daqing became somewhat embarrassed and angry, and scolded him.

"Tch..." He Yuzhu rolled his eyes, not wanting to talk to his father.

Seeing that his apprentice was determined to buy a house, Li Tielong had no choice but to say to He Daqing:

"Tomorrow at noon, Daqing, you and I will go to your courtyard and have a word with that person."

"Okay." He Daqing agreed immediately.

By noon the next day, they rode two bicycles to Nanluoguxiang.

One car was borrowed from Mr. Guo, and the other belonged to Li Tielong.

Li Tielong usually doesn't ride that bicycle; it's very close to his workplace, so he can walk.

After entering the courtyard, the group headed straight for the backyard.

"Hehe, Tielong, you really came. That scoundrel from Daqing told me about it yesterday."

The deaf old woman greeted Li Tielong familiarly.

Li Tielong also greeted him with a smile:

"Madam, how are you? It's been so long since we last met. How have you been?"

Seeing an acquaintance, the deaf old lady was also quite happy:

"I'm fine, thank you for your thoughtfulness. So, are you really going to buy a few houses for your little apprentice today?"

"Yes, madam, it's better to be early than late. The sooner we get the apprentice settled, the sooner we can put our minds at ease, so that this brat won't have any wild thoughts." Li Tielong looked helpless.

The deaf old woman smiled upon hearing this:

"Hehehe, I heard a bit about your apprentice's story from Zhu Zi. He's a good person, and I think highly of him."

"His future achievements are sure to be impressive."

Li Tielong cupped his hands slightly and said, "Then I'll take your kind words."