Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

When He Yuzhu exposed Jia Zhangshi's thoughts on the spot, her old face only twitched slightly, without the slightest embarrassment.

She rolled her triangular eyes and said matter-of-factly, "Hey, what are you saying? Our family isn't as well-off as the Qian family."

"This blind date is still in the works, what if it doesn't work out? Wouldn't all the good stuff be wasted? There's definitely no meat, but there's plenty of potatoes, cabbage, and radishes!"

He Yuzhu had anticipated her response, and while he sneered inwardly, he remained outwardly composed.

He simply nodded and said in a calm tone, "Okay, I don't care. Whatever dishes you prepare, I'll cook them. I promise I won't waste anything. I won't eat your food either. I'll leave as soon as I'm done."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi exclaimed, "What a great thing! Free labor, and such excellent skills!"

Afraid that He Yuzhu might change his mind, she quickly interjected, "Oh, it's a deal then! I'll call you in advance!"

Yan Bugui, who was standing to the side, was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh.

He pulled He Yuzhu aside and said, "Zhuzi, are you out of your mind! With skills like yours, you couldn't find anyone to hire on the street. How can you work for free? Even if you don't take money, you should at least get some meat to eat!"

His words echoed the sentiments of many around him. These days, good cooks are a scarce resource, and who wouldn't want to make their wedding or funeral banquet as presentable as possible?

In their eyes, He Yuzhu's skill just now was already quite remarkable.

He Yuzhu knew exactly what was going on, but he had his own plans.

He looked at Yan Bugui, shook his head, and said with a deliberately helpless tone, "Teacher Yan, you flatter me. I'm just a junior apprentice; I haven't even graduated yet!"

"If my master finds out I'm taking on jobs outside to earn money, he'll definitely expel me from the sect. I wouldn't dare break the rules."

Upon hearing this, two or three families in the crowd who were planning to hold banquets soon clicked their tongues in dismay.

"Sigh, so you haven't even finished your apprenticeship yet..."

"What a pity, the craftsmanship looks really good."

"Yeah, I thought I could get Zhu Zi to help me out..."

"Apprentices who haven't completed their apprenticeships aren't allowed to take on jobs randomly; if they break the rules, no one will dare hire them anymore!"

He Yuzhu chuckled inwardly; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

Now, by displaying the "not yet a master" sign, we can shut up those who want to take advantage of us and make us work for free.

He chatted with the group for a while, mainly answering questions about the details of going to Baocheng to find He Daqing, satisfying everyone's curiosity.

As it grew late and the cold wind intensified, everyone reluctantly dispersed.

He Yuzhu, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, slowly returned to the front door of his house in the central courtyard.

He took out his key, opened the door, went inside, and bolted the door in one swift motion.

Returning to his familiar yet unfamiliar home, He Yuzhu let out a long sigh of relief.

He lit the kerosene lamp on the table, and the dim light from the CD player dispelled some of the darkness.

The house felt rather cold and deserted because no one had lived there for several days.

He Yuzhu went to the stove in the outer room and started a fire to heat up the kang (a heated brick bed).

Sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) that was gradually warming up, He Yuzhu began to carefully sort out the "master-level inheritance of Tan family cuisine" in his mind.

This analysis deeply shocked him.

This is not just about being able to cook a few famous dishes; it encompasses a complete system of profound skills, from ingredient selection, knife skills, cooking time and temperature, seasoning to plating, as well as various stock preparations, dried goods processing, and secret sauce blending.

Many of the tricks and secrets were probably only partially understood by his father, He Daqing.

"I've really struck gold..." He Yuzhu muttered to himself, a genuine, heartfelt smile appearing on his face—the first such smile he'd had since transmigrated.

With these skills, even without any further missions from the system, he was confident that he could live well in this era.

Then he thought of the system. The rewards for the newbie missions were so generous that he was full of anticipation for the subsequent missions.

"It seems I need to establish the persona of the Courtyard War God, and even be more ruthless, so ruthless that those beasts won't dare to mess with me to my face!" He Yuzhu stroked his chin, pondering to himself.

After all, things are different now than in later generations. You keep asking people to introduce you to things, but you never seem to like them.

If this goes on for too long, no one will want to date you anymore.

He remembered that in the original drama, He Yuzhu's blind dates were always ruined by the people in the compound.

What a coincidence! He doesn't even need an excuse. He'll just wait until his reputation is ruined, then expose the crimes of everyone in the compound and reap another harvest.

"Hehehe..." Thinking of this, He Yuzhu couldn't help but let out a strange cry.

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Meanwhile, at Yan Bugui's house in the front yard.

Yan Bugui sat at the table, eating cornbread with pickled vegetables, but his mind was still replaying He Yuzhu's words and actions from earlier.

"Old woman, do you think this Sha Zhu is really stupid or just pretending?" Yan Bugui pushed up his glasses and asked Yang Ruihua.

"Why do you ask that?" Yang Ruihua asked, puzzled.

"Look at him, his father ran away, and he ran to Baocheng. Instead of crying and begging his father to come back, he sent his sister there, divided the family property, took the money, and even signed a written agreement... Is this something a sixteen-year-old idiot would do?"

Yan Bugui analyzed, "Today at the Qian family's house, he tricked Lao Yi out of his pocket with just a few words, and took back the million yuan on the spot. His mind is not simple!"

Yang Ruihua thought about it and agreed that it made some sense: "Now that you mention it, it does seem a bit strange. What would he gain by cooking for the Jia family for free?"

"What's the point?" Yan Bugui narrowed his small eyes. "Learn the blind date process? I doubt it. This kid's probably up to no good!"

"Mrs. Jia is trying to take advantage of him; who knows who'll end up hurting whom? We'll just have to wait and see; things are about to get interesting in this courtyard!"

After saying that, he smacked his lips, then sighed and said, "What a pity, I haven't even finished my apprenticeship yet!"

Yan Bugui was already planning how to get closer to He Yuzhu so that when he needed to use his skills in the future, he could hire him at the lowest possible cost.

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The atmosphere in the Yi family compound was extremely somber.

Yi Zhonghai sat in the chair with a livid face, saying nothing.

His wife sat beside him, also looking worried.

"Old Yi, did you just give him that million?" His wife finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Yi Zhonghai slammed his hand on the table, startling her: "What can I do if I don't give it to you? I let it slip in front of so many people. That bastard He Daqing, he tricked me! He clearly said..."

He stopped abruptly at this point, swallowing the rest of his words.

"Then... what will we do in the future?" his wife asked worriedly.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes were sinister. After a long silence, he slowly said, "No rush... Zhuzi is still young. How easy is it for him to live alone? There will always be a time when he comes to us for help..."

"You need to keep a close eye on Jia Dongxu; you can't put all your eggs in one basket..."

His gaze drifted through the window toward He Yuzhu's house, and he began to reconsider his plans.