Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

After getting information out of Jia Dongxu, Sha Zhu had a better understanding of the situation and planned to bring Qin Huairu to the courtyard at a suitable opportunity.

Li Jiuzhou's life was relatively uneventful; compared to other transmigrators, he had very few troubles.

He reads books and practices calligraphy in his spare time, not because he enjoys it or has any other purpose, but because his father-in-law arranged it for him.

He even assigned him homework, treating Li Jiuzhou like a student.

However, he couldn't resist the fact that the book his father-in-law gave him was good-looking, rich in content, and contained all sorts of intrigues and schemes in officialdom.

The brain-teasing segments were very appealing to Li Jiuzhou.

As a cook, all I had to do was use my hands, but I ended up using my brain.

As a chef, there isn't much of a brain-intensive aspect to it; at most, memorizing recipes and ingredients is enough.

Tossing the wok and chopping vegetables are all actions performed using muscle memory.

Li Jiuzhou suddenly had much more free time after his father-in-law arranged his studies.

At the same time, Lou Bancheng would invite Li Jiuzhou to the steel rolling mill for a meal almost every week.

Although the restaurant in his factory is not decorated in a high standard, the dishes he purchases are all top-notch.

Because in Lou Bancheng's eyes, there was nothing that a chef as awesome as Li Jiuzhou couldn't cook.

So, in order to satisfy his and his guests' appetites, he searched the capital for all kinds of delicacies and provided them to Li Jiuzhou to use.

It has everything: things that fly in the sky, swim in the sea, and are hidden in the mountains.

Li Jiuzhou did not disappoint Lou Bancheng, always going all out and displaying his culinary skills with ease.

Many delicacies from the mountains were forbidden to be served at the funeral.

Things are different now; we can eat anything we can catch.

For example, this time, around 8 a.m., Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu arrived at the back kitchen (small stove) of the steel rolling mill.

The two were no longer surprised to see a large amount of food.

Because Lou Bancheng personally delivered a bunch of bear paws to Fengzeyuan yesterday, which he had just found.

Because the bear paws needed to be processed in advance, they were sent to Li Jiuzhou first so he could consider them.

The two bear paws were braised until very tender, and the aroma was so enticing it was almost intoxicating.

Li Jiuzhou kept swallowing his saliva while he was cooking, because he himself had never eaten bear paws.

Sha Zhu stared intently at the braised bear paws that were ready; he was also craving them.

Sha Zhu wiped away the drool that was about to drip down his face and whispered:

"Senior brother, save some! This is a top-notch delicacy!"

Li Jiuzhou didn't refuse; he wanted to eat too. The cook, who wouldn't accept stolen grains, said:

"Plate it, but make sure it's not too big, and pay attention to its appearance!"

"Just you wait and see..."

Li Jiuzhou prepared 12 dishes by combining various delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and a special person served the dishes after they were finished.

Each time, the two brothers would be invited out for a drink, which was a kind gesture from the host.

As usual, Lou Bancheng invited the two brothers out today.

To Li Jiuzhou and Sha Zhu's surprise, there was a man at the dinner table whom they knew very well.

That's right, that person was Li Huaide, and he was even winking at the two brothers.

Li Jiuzhou found it amusing, thinking:

"Second Uncle, it seems you've become corrupt, but your path to progress has also begun."

Li Huaide didn't greet Li Jiuzhou, nor did Li Jiuzhou. Sha Zhu pretended not to know them either.

Only Lou Bancheng knew the relationship between Li Huaide and Li Jiuzhou.

Didn't we invite Li Huaide's father-in-law to dinner before? The banquet was even prepared by Li Jiuzhou.

Lou Bancheng just smiled at the three men's winking and gesturing, pretending not to notice.

However, this did not affect his relationship with Li Huai-della.

Who is Li Huaide?

That's a shrewd person; his father-in-law has already given him a preliminary outline of his future path.

He's no longer needed to fight; he either has to leave the military and go into politics, or continue to work in the army.

He was originally carrying three stars, and it wouldn't be impossible for him to add another one within ten years if he proceeded step by step.

If you want to advance further and become a general, it's probably unlikely.

There are countless officers at the regimental level in the country now, and every one of them is a veteran with numerous battles and merits.

Everyone wants to become a general?

Li Huaide felt that he came from a family of chefs, but during the War of Resistance Against Japan, he put down his kitchen knife and picked up a cleaver.

Although I had been carrying a kitchen knife for several years when I first joined the army, that kitchen knife was actually used to cut Japanese soldiers, and I took my first blood with it!

Later, he studied countless knife techniques for cutting down Japanese soldiers with a kitchen knife. Once, he became so enraged that the entire regiment joined the fray.

The cookhouse didn't have guns, but they did have kitchen knives. When Li Huaide, who had just arrived on the battlefield, saw the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, he almost wet his pants.

But after his comrades-in-arms, with whom he had spent every day, were all sacrificed, he went mad. The moment the bugle sounded, he charged the fiercest and fastest!

He jumped up and started hacking at a Japanese soldier who was carrying him on his back. Good heavens, he was really something!

Seeing how fierce the cooks were, the other comrades fought even more ruthlessly!

Li Huaide shook his head, trying not to think about what happened back then; it was too painful.

In short, he has now decided on his path and is preparing to enter politics, which is why Lou Bancheng invited him to dinner.

After Li Jiuzhou finished drinking the host's wine, he returned to the kitchen, and the two of them ate whatever the host ate.

The two brothers have become quite picky about food over the past few months.

There was no way around it; Lou Bancheng was just too good at creating things, even getting Li Jiuzhou to make a menu.

He takes care of buying the ingredients needed; he can handle it because he has money. How much can a few ingredients cost?

It's fair to say that Lou Bancheng has been getting out of control lately.

The guests invited to dinner were either prominent businesspeople or government officials.

A delicious and exquisite meal can bring people closer, and Li Jiuzhou played a significant role in this.

Of course, you think Lou Bancheng just invited people to dinner and that was it?

Li Jiuzhou had also seen it by chance, and he even gave it as a gift.

What kind of gift? Even a fool could guess!

This kind of pattern is too common in China's five thousand years of history; it's nothing special.

Also, not everyone can ask Li Jiuzhou to be their host; it's really not possible to get him.

Li Jiuzhou had also told Lou Bancheng in advance that he was not allowed to go to other people's houses to cook without his permission.

If you, Lou Bancheng, are willing to entertain us, you can come to Fengzeyuan Restaurant; or if you want something better, you can come to the steel mill's kitchen.

One important reason why Li Jiuzhou liked to entertain Lou Bancheng was that he gave him a lot of expensive and valuable ingredients.

This improved his cooking skills, and sometimes Li Jiuzhou even wanted to throw the imperial chef's recipes given to him by Seventh Master in Lou Bancheng's face.

You want to eat it? As long as you have the ingredients, I'll make it for you.

Meanwhile, Lou Bancheng invited Li Jiuzhou to work at the steel rolling mill more than once, offering him a much better deal than He Daqing had ever done.

Li Jiuzhou didn't agree. He didn't want to go to work at the factory yet; the time wasn't right.

Li Jiuzhou has a rather leisurely job at Fengzeyuan.

He no longer needs to be busy at the stove during mealtimes.

Unless someone specifically requests him to cook, which of course has certain requirements.

Li Jiuzhou will only make a move if the customer has made a purchase or if the customer is someone of high status.

Otherwise, he'd be idle and still get paid.

The manager had no objections whatsoever; in fact, he sometimes even needed Li Jiuzhou's help.

He has social skills and needs to improve himself; everyone has a boss.

After working at Fengzeyuan for a period of time, the manager of the company also clearly understood the rules of Qinhang.

Top chefs like Li Jiuzhou are highly regarded in major restaurants.

Therefore, he would not offend Li Jiuzhou unless absolutely necessary; it would be best to maintain a good relationship.