Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

The Liu and Lou families had initially agreed on the marriage, and they asked Yan Bugui to help them choose an auspicious date.

Starting the next day, Liu Guangtian and Lou Xiao'e stopped being secretive and began to appear together openly in the eyes of their neighbors, clearly indicating that they were dating.

The neighbors weren't stupid, so they went to both families to verify, and finally got the correct answer.

Neither the Lou family nor the Liu family hid anything, openly telling their neighbors that the two young people were indeed dating.

The news surprised the neighbors greatly.

This is Lou Xiao'e, after all. She was, in the past, a genuine heiress; that goes without saying.

Although the Lou family is not as prominent as before, it's not so easy to remove the labels they've carried for so many years.

The neighbors naturally remembered what the Lou family used to do.

Ten years ago, half of the residents in the courtyard worked for the Lou family.

Therefore, in the eyes of the neighbors, Lou Xiao'e and Liu Guangtian's relationship was no different from a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung.

It's only because the Lou family is now down on their luck that they're so insanely jealous.

Hate capitalists, despise capitalists, and eventually become a capitalist yourself.

Even in this era, there are still people who have to work 20 years less.

The heartache of not getting what you want, and the joy of getting it so much you want to roar to the heavens!

It's fine to criticize someone for being a kept man; that's your own choice.

But once you actually eat it, you'll know just how delicious it is.

What was even more surprising was that the two families even set a wedding date, which Liu Haizhong personally went to Yan Bugui to arrange.

Five days later, on a day off, a simple wedding ceremony was held in the courtyard.

The neighbors then realized that something was wrong.

The speed was too fast; they couldn't react in time.

They got married right after starting to date?

It's quite reasonable these days; it's not uncommon for people to successfully go on a blind date today and get married the next day.

But Lou Xiao'e and Liu Guangtian are clearly not following common sense.

How could the neighbors not know how old Liu Guangtian is?

Isn't this utter nonsense?

The follow-up was that Liu Haizhong changed his son's age, which just met the requirements.

This is a bit intriguing. The neighbors aren't stupid; they'll try to guess and think about it.

Both are still young, so it's not uncommon for them to settle down first and then get married when the time is right.

Li Jiuzhou, Sha Zhu, and Xu Damao all went through this.

But Liu Guangtian's case is a bit different; he directly changed his age, which is highly questionable.

As a result, many neighbors would glance at Lou Xiao'e's lower abdomen with veiled glances when they saw her.

Do I even need to guess?

It's an undeniable fact!

Even Jia Zhangshi could guess it with near-perfect accuracy.

So, a group of old women in the courtyard naturally gathered together and whispered among themselves.

During the meal at the Jia family's house, Madam Jia Zhang was vividly recounting her story:

"Wow, good heavens, really good heavens, the second son of the Liu family is really something, he got Lao Louzi's daughter pregnant just like that, awesome."

"That old man is really something, he can't even control his daughter, he's ruining the family reputation!"

Although Jia Zhangshi's words were harsh, every word she said made sense.

Pregnancy before marriage is indeed shameful these days.

It's fine if it's not exposed, but once it is, the rumors and gossip can be overwhelming.

It was only because the Liu and Lou families acted quickly enough to set a wedding date that they were able to avoid being gossiped about behind their backs.

If the Lou family disagrees and sues the Liu family in return, then Liu Guangtian will be severely punished, if not killed.

Yi Zhonghai put down his chopsticks and glanced indifferently at Jia Zhangshi:

"Sister-in-law, don't talk nonsense. Do you have any evidence to prove that Lou Xiao'e is pregnant?"

"Don't talk about others in private without evidence, otherwise it will only cause trouble if it gets out."

Instead of getting angry at Yi Zhonghai's lecture, Jia Zhangshi's smile widened.

"Hey, Lao Yi, I'm just talking about it in our own home, why do I need any evidence? This is clearly going to cause someone's death."

"Besides, back then, wasn't it the same for me and Lao Jia, and for you and your sister-in-law?"

"Cough cough cough..."

As soon as Jia Zhangshi said this, everyone in the family, except for herself, started coughing.

"Sister-in-law, what are you saying? Why are you saying these things in front of the children?" Aunt Yi was a little embarrassed.

Yi Zhonghai looked at Jia Zhangshi with a dark expression. Why the hell do you bring up such an old story?

If you weren't pregnant, would Lao Jia have married you? I'm too embarrassed to even say it.

You, on the other hand, said it without even thinking.

Jia Dongxu and his wife looked at the three elders with great curiosity, seemingly quite interested in their past.

Seeing this, Yi Zhonghai pretended to be calm and explained:

"Dongxu, society used to be too chaotic and miserable. Your mother, your parents, and I didn't even have a proper wedding back then."

"Life is much better now, and some of the formalities and procedures have been made up for."

Tong Jie nodded in agreement, because she had witnessed it firsthand:

"Father is right. Conditions are better in the city now, and we've made up for the lack of manners and etiquette."

"But in our rural area, families with poor conditions don't even have weddings; they simply don't hold one."

"There's nothing shameful about it; most people have gone through this."

Tong Jie's words were met with silent nods from the whole family, for it was indeed the case.

Even in the city, some people choose not to have a wedding in order to save money.

Money isn't the issue; the key problem is the lack of vouchers—we don't have enough.

A few tables wouldn't be enough, let alone several or a dozen tables.

Forcing someone to come when you don't have the means will only hurt your own family in the end; it's not worth it for the sake of saving face.

Saving face is nothing compared to being well-fed.

At the same time, Li Jiuzhou received an invitation, which Liu Haizhong personally delivered to his office after going through several checkpoints.

And they requested that Li Jiuzhou be the witness at their wedding!

Li Jiuzhou frowned slightly after hearing Liu Haizhong's request.

Being a witness at a wedding isn't impossible, but there's a problem with that.

Liu Guangtian's age has been changed. If Li Jiuzhou officiates his wedding, will it implicate him if the incident comes to light later?

He wouldn't be implicated, but it's unreasonable for him to say he didn't know, since Li Jiuzhou used to live in the same courtyard as the Liu family.

You say you don't know?

Isn't that just treating the organization like fools?

Therefore, attending the banquet is acceptable, but serving as a witness at the wedding is not.

In the suburbs near Beiping, there were at least 800 to 1,000 people who were under the legal age to get married, so it wasn't a big deal.

Even the commune leaders wouldn't care. As long as ordinary people didn't force or coerce marriages, it was considered a happy occasion. Why would they care? What could they possibly do?

In the countryside, couples who are underage usually hold a wedding banquet first, and then obtain a marriage certificate when they reach the legal age. This is the most common practice.

It's less common in the city, but they all change their age to make it legal before getting married.

There's a crucial point here: if you don't change it, you'll still lose face a little.

If the factory finds out you're underage and getting married, they might not fire you, but they'll likely give you a warning, educate you, and even advise you and your partner to separate.

In more serious cases, a large-scale public criticism is held; a formal social death scene is an example!

Therefore, Li Jiuzhou will not break the law. He can just be an ordinary neighbor who attends the banquet. Let whoever wants to officiate the wedding do it!

Of course, Li Jiuzhou also mentioned this issue to Liu Haizhong, telling him to be careful.

After hearing this, Liu Haizhong understood and even felt a little worried that his actions might affect his career.

Li Jiuzhou told him not to worry, it wasn't a big problem, and as long as no one reported it, no one would pursue the matter.

But what Liu Haizhong was worried about was someone reporting him.

He was indeed a leading cadre in the institute, but he had done some really shady things there before!

For example, he personally reported the gambling gathering in the courtyard during the Spring Festival.

Even though we've talked things out and apologized, who the hell knows if someone will retaliate?

For a moment, Liu Haizhong felt somewhat anxious and uneasy.

But the invitations had already been sent out and the wedding date had been set, so I could only grit my teeth and keep going.