Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Li Jiuzhou and his two siblings ate their New Year's Eve dinner at their master's house again, and stayed overnight.

Because the fellow apprentices from the first year of junior high school were coming to wish their master a Happy New Year.

The whole morning was quite lively, with all six members of He Daqing's family coming.

In another room, Sha Sha Zhu pulled Li Jiuzhou aside to whisper something:

"Senior brother, here's what happened. I was scared out of my wits yesterday, afraid that Yan Bugui wouldn't make it."

After learning the details, Li Jiuzhou smiled and patted him on the shoulder:

"It's alright, don't worry about it. Good people don't live long, but bad people live a thousand years."

"Judging from Yan Bugui's appearance, he doesn't seem destined for a short life, haha~"

Sha Zhu laughed upon hearing this:

"Senior brother, you can tell fortunes too? Tell my fortune too!"

Are you sure?

"certainly!"

Li Jiuzhou, recalling the simple-minded Zhu from the original story, slowly said:

"You're destined to be someone else's crony!"

Sha Zhu got angry:

"No, who would be so kind as to help others out? That's just stupid!"

Li Jiuzhou smiled:

"Then your grandpa and your dad were both idiots. Forming cliques is a tradition. Your grandpa formed cliques, and now your dad is forming cliques too. I reckon you're not much different."

"It's the He family's ancestral bloodline, you know~"

Sha Zhu's face darkened after Li Jiuzhou's words, and he angrily retorted, "Damn it, they even dug up my grandfather's grave during the Qingming Festival..."

"Hahaha, no, no, it's not that big of a deal!"

Sha Zhu was also happy to joke like this with his senior brother.

At first, he might be misled by Li Jiuzhou's words, but once he realized it was a joke, he could talk more than anyone else.

However, Sha Zhu was secretly encouraging himself, vowing that he must not go to any brothels and must find a virgin to marry and have children with!

After a lively lunch, Li Jiuzhou took his younger brother and sister back to the courtyard.

When you meet a neighbor, you greet them with a New Year's greeting. There aren't many entertainment programs during the New Year at this time.

At most, neighbors would visit each other and chat; as for playing cards or gambling for money, that was completely unheard of.

They're not exactly rolling in money, who the hell has spare cash to gamble with?

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, my second uncle and aunt came back in a small Jeep, making quite a grand entrance.

Even if the children in the streets and alleys had seen it many times, they all knew that it was Li Huaide who drove it back.

But every time he drives back, the children come over to touch and look at him, showing their interest.

Today we've arranged to go to Li Jiuzhou's future father-in-law's house together.

As Li Jiuzhou's only two elders, Li Huaide and his wife naturally had to pay a personal visit.

He brought quite a few valuables, after all, it was his first visit, and his second uncle did a very good job.

Back then, Li Huaide looked energetic and radiant in his military overcoat!

His face glowed with a rosy light, and even ordinary people who didn't know anything about fortune telling or face reading could tell that he was no ordinary person.

Li Huaide often chats happily with his neighbors in courtyard number 95. He frequently returns and has become familiar with his neighbors.

Because my nephew has never put on airs while living in this courtyard.

The neighbors all knew that Li Huaide was a military officer, and after several encounters, they found him easy to get along with and were able to chat with him for a while.

The men came up and started handing out cigarettes.

Li Jiuzhou came out carrying the prepared items.

"Jiuzhou, are you done yet? It's almost time," Li Huaide urged with a smile.

"Okay, let's go!"

"Oh~ I can ride in the car again~" the little sister's sweet and cheerful voice rang out.

There were quite a few people on the road on the second day of the Lunar New Year, but there was absolutely no traffic jam. The car arrived at the Fan family's door in about ten minutes.

The two boys from the Fan family are waiting at the door right now.

He was incredibly excited when he saw the car drive up.

"Brother-in-law, is that a toy car? It's so beautiful!"

Li Jiuzhou greeted him:

"Hehe, you two come over and get your things first, then you can have your fill of them later."

"Okay~"

Fan Huisheng was dressed very well today and came out to greet him upon hearing the sound.

Fan Bingbing looked shy, after all, it was her first time meeting her parents.

Chatting and eating, the elders of both families became somewhat acquainted.

Fan Huisheng had nothing to complain about. What was wrong with having several relatives who were officials?

That's fucking amazing!

Fan Huisheng, having lived through the ravages of war, knew all too well the advantages of having a relative in an official position.

If anything happens at home, it will be easy to solve.

It doesn't matter whether an official is high-ranking or low-ranking, as long as they are an official.

The worst thing is having nothing at all; when you have nowhere to turn, that's the most desperate situation.

Fan Huisheng witnessed too many family tragedies in Beijing during the first half of his life.

Even though a new country has been established, the shadow left by the old society still lingers.

Although Li Jiuzhou, the prospective son-in-law, is a cook, he knows quite a few people from all walks of life.

Not to mention he's also a famous chef, and knows many high-ranking officials and dignitaries.

Now he also has a second uncle who is a military officer.

As long as Li Jiuzhou doesn't get carried away, life will be fine, and he can entrust his daughter to him with peace of mind.

Of course, it wasn't that many sons of high-ranking officials had taken a liking to his daughter in the past, but he rejected them all because she was too young.

Firstly, his daughter was indeed young, and secondly, he dared not aspire to marry someone of such high status.

Li Jiuzhou's appearance was very timely, and Fan Huisheng also liked this prospective son-in-law.

The main problem is that his daughter's heart has been stolen; he has no choice but to accept it!

The meal was a pleasant affair for both host and guests, and Li Huaide suggested that the two children could get married once they reached the appropriate age.

Fan Huisheng had no objection and said that they could get engaged on May Day this year.

Li Jiuzhou hadn't seen Fan Bingbing for a while, so he dragged her to a secluded spot and they had a good time kissing.

In courtyard number 95, at Yan Bugui's house, Sha Zhu brought a can of meat to his house.

The canned food was given to him by Li Huaide; he gave him several boxes, after all, this kid was very sweet-talking, calling him "Second Uncle" nonstop whenever they met.

They call him "my nephew" more often than "Nine Provinces" and "Mountains and Rivers".

Sha Zhu, with his hands behind his back, casually knocked on the Yan family's door. Inside, the whole family was listening to the radio.

When Yang Ruihua opened the door, he was greeted warmly by Sha Zhu.

"Happy New Year, Teacher Yan and Teacher Yan!"

Yan Bugui gave a dry laugh:

"Zhu Zi is here! Happy New Year! Please have a seat!"

"Wife, make some tea."

Yang Ruihua quickly brewed a cup of jasmine tea for Sha Zhu.

"Teacher Yan, are you feeling better? This canned food was given to you by my second uncle. Please have a taste."

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses and smiled.

"Oh, thanks to you I feel much better. This canned meat is a rare treat. Thank you, Zhu Zi."

Sha Zhu waved his hand: "No need, no need, it's my pleasure."

Upon hearing this, Yan Bugui's eyes sharpened, and he said with a half-smile:

"Heh, you said it should be, right?"

"Did you saw that plank in the outhouse, kid?"

"Don't deny it, I've decided it's you!"

"Uh...hehe, Teacher Yan, please don't joke around. We didn't do anything so despicable," Sha Zhu said, blushing as he defended himself.

Yan Bugui shook his head:

"Alright, I'll let bygones be bygones for what happened before, since you took me to the hospital and gave me New Year's greetings and gifts on the second day of the Lunar New Year."

Sha Zhu immediately replied upon hearing this:

"Then let's call it even?"

"You..." Yan Bugui pointed at Sha Zhu with a dark face, unable to speak for a moment.

"Alright, alright, Sha Zhu, we men of Beijing are men of our word, if we're even, we're even!"

"Let's not cause trouble for each other anymore!"

Sha Zhu clapped his hands: "It's settled then!"