Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

As night fell, members of the He family began to arrive at their door.

They were all grown men with a boy or a girl.

Xu Fugui brought his daughter Xu Xiaoling, while Liu Haizhong brought his second son Liu Guangtian, a chubby-faced boy.

It's important to mention Yi Zhonghai that he didn't have a son, so he brought his apprentice Jia Dongxu with him.

Neither the master nor his apprentice came empty-handed; they both brought gifts, as did the others.

It's perfectly normal to bring a boy or girl along when visiting someone's home.

Unlike some stories written in traditional courtyard houses, where people are stingy when treating others to meals, bringing a baby is no big deal.

It's not even a difficult time yet.

He Daqing was not stingy at all; this was within his expectations, and the food he prepared was more than enough.

Li Jiuzhou also took his second brother to the He family, and brought a bottle of fine Shanxi Fenjiu liquor with him.

"Oh, Jiuzhou, it's just a casual meal at your uncle's house. Why bring anything? You can take it back with you later," Bai Lian said politely.

Li Jiuzhou laughed:

"Hehe, it's alright, Aunt Bai. We guys will all be making it soon, so we won't be able to take it back."

After all the guests arrived, they sat down to smoke, chat, and drink tea. He Yushui directed her two younger brothers to run around serving tea and cigarettes.

This caused everyone to burst into laughter.

At Yan Bugui's house in the front yard, dinner hadn't started yet, and the whole family was salivating at the aroma wafting from the middle yard.

Yan Bugui's wife, Yang Ruihua, said indignantly at this moment:

"Master, why hasn't He Daqing come to invite you yet?"

"Didn't you say you were the only cultured person in our department, that we could do without anyone else but you?"

"Does He Daqing look down on our family?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui slammed his hand on the table:

"He wouldn't dare! Our family looks down on He Daqing!"

Yang Meihua pointed out incisively:

"But it's almost time to eat and they haven't come to invite you yet!"

Yan Bugui felt a dull thud in his chest and found it hard to breathe.

Although his wife's words were harsh, they were, unfortunately, true.

He Daqing didn't invite me. Isn't this a clear sign that Chema looks down on me?

All the residents in the courtyard who had large items were invited, but Yan Bugui was not invited. How is he supposed to face people in the courtyard after this?

No, he can't just sit and wait to die; he has to take the initiative.

So he stood up, went to the inner room and took out an unopened bottle of white wine, and said to Yang Meihua:

"There's good news at He Daqing's house, I'm going to offer my congratulations."

After saying this, he turned and left.

Little did anyone know that under the cover of night, Yan Bugui's face was flushed with embarrassment.

Yan Jiecheng, who had been waiting for dinner, immediately got up and chased after them.

"Dad, I'll go with you..."

Yang Meihua shook her head with a smile. Her own man was so stubborn, always trying to save face. He spoke so grandly and righteously, but oh well, let him be...

The He family set up two sets of eight-immortal tables, one for adults and one for children.

Seeing that Sha Zhu was almost done, He Daqing invited everyone to take their seats.

Just then, a voice rang out from the doorway:

"Wow, it's so lively here, Lao He! Congratulations! Look, I've brought some wine..."

Everyone looked towards the doorway, where the speaker was Yan Bugui.

Li Jiuzhou looked at Shazhu with a smile on his lips, just as Shazhu turned his gaze over as well.

Sha Zhu was incredibly disgusted; no wonder his senior had said "hard to say..." that afternoon.

That's really hard to say!

I didn't invite you, but you, Yan Bugui, are the most damn shrewish one, bringing your own wine.

The father and son had agreed in the morning not to invite Yan Bugui, but he still showed up anyway.

Yi Zhonghai and the others also looked at Yan Bugui with ambiguous smiles.

The courtyard is only so big, nothing can be kept secret, so of course they know who Sha Zhu invited that day.

I also didn't expect Yan Bugui to be so "self-aware!"

Yan Bugui was incredibly upset standing at the door, but on the surface, he maintained a calm and composed demeanor, even wearing a broad smile, as if to say, "Old He, I'm genuinely happy for you!"

He Daqing reacted immediately upon seeing Yan Bugui and laughed:

"Old Yan, we've been waiting for you. Please take a seat."

"My martial uncle is indeed a seasoned veteran," Li Jiuzhou thought to himself.

Yan Bugui smiled, a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart, and he also breathed a sigh of relief.

He was also afraid that He Daqing would act recklessly, and if he embarrassed him, it would be a huge loss of face.

Fortunately, He Daqing is somewhat sensible; I'll forgive you for now.

Because there were more men, the deaf old woman consciously went to the children's table, leaving a table full of men to drink.

No matter how He Daqing and the others tried to persuade him, they couldn't stop him.

Elderly people shouldn't be allowed to act recklessly just because of their status.

The deaf old woman's behavior made Li Jiuzhou look at her with newfound respect; she was so sensible!

Many novels about courtyard houses include this plot, where a deaf old woman must sit at the table.

What are you talking about? Our older generation would rather not sit at the table than not give their seat to the guests.

This is a quality of selflessness, but also the helplessness of the elderly, because they know very well that they are getting old and cannot cause trouble for their children and grandchildren.

Some elderly people with serious illnesses even wish they could die sooner, just because they are afraid of being a burden on their children and grandchildren.

So, on a side note, we must continue to uphold the traditional Chinese virtue of filial piety.

The dishes prepared by Sha Zhu drew frequent praise from Yi Zhonghai and the others; they were genuinely pleasantly surprised.

Is this the three stoves of Fengzeyuan?

It's so damn delicious...

The food was delicious, and the wine was excellent.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, everyone started chatting and even played drinking games.

Sha Zhu, that idiot, can't hold his liquor, but he's really mastered the drinking games.

Jia Dongxu lost several rounds and wanted to get revenge, but he ended up drinking even more and ended up crawling under the table.

"Hahahaha..." The people at the table burst into laughter. They had just drunk too much and it was nothing to worry about.

Even Yi Zhonghai was very happy drinking. His apprentice's alcohol tolerance could be improved, but his spirit could not be lost.

Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu teamed up to carry Jia Dongxu home.

Seeing this, Jia Zhangshi shook her head. She knew that He Daqing was treating everyone today.

In the past, their husband, Lao Jia, would definitely have been on the invitation list, and he would have brought his son along.

My son is of marriageable age now, so a little drinking is nothing to him.

But Li Jiuzhou and Shazhu, who were younger than him, didn't fall down, while he fell down so early.

Madam Jia Zhang didn't know what to say.

Sha Zhu's cooking was delicious; everyone, adults and children alike, ate until they were stuffed.

Especially Yan Jiecheng, the young master of the Yan family, who refused to put down his chopsticks even though he was already full.

This made Yan Bugui's face darken, and he thought:

"This son needs to be disciplined when he gets back. He's such a disgrace. Have I ever skimped on your food or clothing?"

Yan Bugui had his own way of disciplining his son. He never hit him; when his son made a mistake, he would copy a book.

If you make a single mistake, you have to rewrite it until I'm satisfied.

The meal lasted until 9 pm, and everyone was very satisfied, thanking He Daqing for his hospitality.

There are leftovers, of course; how could we possibly finish them all?

It's already nine o'clock and Jia Zhangshi is still awake, waiting for them to finish and come over to help clean up the leftovers.

I brought all the leftovers home.

Bai Lian, being a new bride, was shy and reserved. Even though the man had come to help out of kindness, she dared not stop him, even if he had ulterior motives.

The He family father and son were both drunk and had already passed out.

So Jia Zhangshi packed up all the leftovers and took them home, also taking a large bowl from the He family.