Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

This year's Spring Festival is bound to be the most lively since the founding of the new country.

Li Jiuzhou was in an exceptionally good mood. He ate the New Year's Eve dinner at his master's house as usual, and he personally cooked the meal.

Also, after the war was over, the master's two sons returned a few days before the Lunar New Year. Fortunately, both brothers were safe and sound.

They didn't go astray; they joined the army of our Party.

Currently, one is serving as a regimental commander in the military, and the other has transferred back to civilian work in the military control commission.

These days, Master Li Tielong doesn't even want to go to work anymore. His son has come back, but his mother is still single.

They're almost thirty, and the couple is extremely anxious, so they've been busy with this matter these past few days.

In the morning, after putting up couplets and doing some household chores with my younger brother Shanhe, I picked up my things and rode my bike straight to my master's house.

The person who opened the door was the master's eldest son, Li Zhan, who was 29 years old and about 175 cm tall.

Although he wore a kind smile, the murderous aura emanating from him was impossible to conceal.

"Big brother, Shanhe and I are here!"

"Hehe, Jiuzhou, Shanhe, you two come in quickly, it's cold outside."

As Li Zhan spoke, he helped the two brothers carry their things into the house.

Hearing the commotion from inside, Li Dou walked over with a smile and strode over to help carry the things.

This is Li Tielong's youngest son, Li Dou, who is 27 years old!

Li Tielong's naming strategy was quite simple: the two characters together mean "fight!"

If you're not convinced, then let's fight!

When the two brothers returned home and saw a little girl in the house, they thought it was a new little sister their parents had given them.

They were quite happy about this for a while, but after their parents explained it, the two brothers weren't too disappointed.

On the contrary, they treated Li Jiuzhou and his two siblings exceptionally well, taking care of them as if they were their own younger brother and sister.

Li Tielong came out smoking a cigarette. He saw the pottery jar his apprentice was holding and felt it looked familiar, so he smiled and asked:

"Apprentice, what's in the clay pot?"

"Master, I've been making this stock these past few days. It's almost Chinese New Year, so let's have something good to eat."

"It's time to treat my two older brothers!"

"Hahaha, alright, these two lads are in luck." Li Tielong laughed loudly.

"What is Jiuzhou doing, Dad?" Second Brother Li Dou asked in confusion.

"You'll find out tonight, just keep your mouths on." Li Tielong didn't answer directly, but instead told them to just keep their mouths on tonight.

Li Jiuzhou has been scrambling for ingredients these past few days.

One advantage of working at Fengzeyuan is that as long as you're willing to pay, Manager Luan can get you the ingredients.

Li Jiuzhou not only obtained bird's nest and shark fin, but also a whole bunch of seafood.

Of course, the price isn't cheap either.

After all this, Manager Luan even wanted to spend the New Year at Li Tielong's house.

After a simple lunch of dumplings, Li Jiuzhou got busy.

The two older brothers and their sister-in-law all helped with preparing the ingredients, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

"Jiuzhou, let me tell you, when I enlisted, I was a member of the cooking squad."

"His Mapo Tofu was so delicious the whole group raved about it..."

The Li brothers were born into a family of chefs, and their father was a renowned chef in Beiping, so they naturally knew a thing or two.

After joining the army, I became a cook. Don't think that the cooks just cook; they also go to the battlefield to fight the enemy. Otherwise, I wouldn't have my current position.

With everyone's help, Li Jiuzhou easily prepared a table full of dishes.

Nine-Turned Intestines (Shandong Cuisine)

Braised Sea Cucumber with Scallions (Shandong Cuisine)

Stir-fried Double Crispy Delicacies (Shandong Cuisine)

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall (Fujian cuisine)

Chinese Splendid Lobster, also known as Flower Lobster (prepared by steaming with garlic and vermicelli).

Stir-fried hairy crab

Steamed Yellow Croaker

Braised Shark Fin (Tan Family Cuisine Recipe, taught by He Daqing).

Braised abalone (Tan family recipe)

Clear Broth Bird's Nest (Tan Family Recipe)

Steamed Chicken with Straw Mushrooms (Tan Family Recipe)

Boiled cabbage in clear broth (Sichuan cuisine)

Ginger Duck (Fujian cuisine)

Mao's Braised Pork (Hunan Cuisine)

Braised Pigeon (Cantonese cuisine)

Eight-Treasure Winter Melon Soup (Cantonese Cuisine)

The meal consisted of sixteen dishes, representing the cooking methods of five different cuisines, excluding Tan Family Cuisine.

Everyone except Li Jiuzhou was dumbfounded, including Li Tielong.

Li Tielong was even more surprised by the various cuisines his apprentice could cook. He was a fucking genius!

"Hey Jiuzhou, this meal must have cost at least a million, right?"

Li Zhan frowned. As a soldier, his long-standing habits made him dislike extravagance and waste.

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou smiled slightly, for he had already anticipated this turn of events.

"Brother, don't waste it. This is our own home. You are war heroes who shed blood and sacrificed your lives for the country."

"We don't know what reward the country will give you, but this is at home."

"This is a gift from the family to celebrate my two older brothers. It's not wasteful. If we can't finish it today, we can eat it tomorrow."

At this moment, Li Tielong spoke up:

"Yes, Jiuzhou is right. This is home, boss. Don't bring your military style home!"

"Today is Chinese New Year, a day for our whole family to reunite. I'm so happy, Dad! You young men, have a few drinks with me!"

The second brother, Li Dou, also gave his eldest brother a meaningful look.

Li Zhan smiled helplessly:

"Alright, let's be happy today, forget about all that, Dad, I'll toast you!"

The atmosphere quickly became lively, with the two older brothers amazed by Li Jiuzhou's cooking skills and repeatedly toasting him.

There was no other way; since I couldn't mess with my own father, I could only mess with my younger brother.

Li Jiuzhou accepted all drinks offered, and when he was enjoying himself, he even played drinking games with his brothers.

Li Tielong was itching to join in. He had initially maintained the demeanor of an elder, but seeing his son and apprentice having so much fun, he could no longer resist joining in.

Shanhe and Jiaojiao waved their arms and cheered from the side.

The master's wife watched kindly from the side, her smile never fading.

The two older brothers also told many interesting stories about the battlefield, but they wouldn't talk about the bad things, for fear of worrying their parents.

The New Year's Eve dinner lasted a full two hours. None of the people who drank were drunk, but they were close to being drunk.

Half of the dishes were left on the table, and the master's wife and her younger siblings cleaned them up.

After brewing tea, Shanhe and Jiaojiao set off firecrackers at the gate.

I didn't go back that night, so I slept at my master's place.

The leftovers from last night tasted delicious and went perfectly with rice this morning.

The two older brothers also packed their things and prepared to go pay New Year's visits.

Since I'll be working in Beijing from now on, I'll naturally have to go and pay my respects to my former boss for the New Year.

Li Jiuzhou didn't go anywhere, waiting for his senior and junior brothers to come and wish their master a Happy New Year.

The two arrived carrying gift boxes before 10 a.m.

He Daqing's whole family came.

Senior Brother Wang Shan came alone.

The three brothers respectfully kowtowed to their master and mistress to wish them a Happy New Year.

Of course, there were also plenty of red envelopes. The master was always generous, and each red envelope contained 10 yuan.

At noon, Sha Zhu cooked, and his two senior brothers gave him pointers on his skills.

It's not bad, just so-so. In terms of Sichuan cuisine cooking skills alone, Sha Zhu has already reached the level of Fengzeyuan Sanzao.

This was all thanks to Li Jiuzhou, who frequently had him do hands-on work and taught him personally.

Uncle He Daqing was naturally happy, as his son had followed the right person, so he generously taught Li Jiuzhou the Tan family cuisine.

She even showed him the family recipes.

In He Daqing's view, if his son could master the essence of Sichuan and Shandong cuisine, that would be amazing.

As for Tan Family Cuisine?

It's not that he looks down on his son, but two different cuisines are really enough for him to learn; he can't bite off more than he can chew.

Besides, how many people can afford Tan Family Cuisine these days?

Only his junior apprentice, Li Jiuzhou, had the opportunity to come into contact with high-end ingredients because he was often invited to cook for wealthy families.

There's another reason why the teacher's nephew, Tan, always brings his son along when he goes out to cook.

Therefore, handing over Tan Family Cuisine to one's nephew is equivalent to handing it over to one's son.

It would be wonderful if my son could learn Tan Family Cuisine in the future.