Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

As usual, He Yuzhu got up early and practiced a few sets of boxing before washing up and locking the door.

He glanced around; the Jia family's door was tightly shut, and there was no sound from the Yi Zhonghai family's house either.

Aunt Qian was carrying an enamel basin from the front yard when she saw He Yuzhu. Her face immediately lit up with a smile: "Zhuzi, up so early?"

"Good morning, Aunt Qian." He Yuzhu nodded with a smile. "Was Brother Da Niu alright last night?"

"It's nothing, just a minor scratch," Aunt Qian said with a smile.

She gestured towards the Jia family's direction with her lip, and said gloatingly, "Jia Dongxu didn't come back last night, and Yi Zhonghai didn't return until midnight. His face was as black as the bottom of a pot."

He Yuzhu shrugged indifferently and said, "He only got what he deserved."

After chatting for a few more minutes, He Yuzhu went out.

The atmosphere in the compound was quite subtle for the next two days.

Jia Zhangshi no longer had the same enthusiasm she had for showing off her sewing machine a few days ago.

Yi Zhonghai always has a stern face when he goes to and from get off work, and once he gets home, he doesn't come out again.

On the evening of the third day, He Yuzhu returned with the groceries he had bought from the market on his way home.

As soon as I entered the front yard, I saw Yan Bugui standing there chatting with Old Wang's wife in the back yard.

He Yuzhu paused, but Yan Bugui merely glanced at him and then continued chatting with Wang's wife as if he hadn't seen her.

He Yuzhu paused for two seconds, then laughed.

He carried his things across the front yard, muttering to himself, "Hey, I'm such a jerk... I get uncomfortable when people ignore me."

But then I thought, this is good too, it's peaceful.

-----------

Meanwhile, at the Nanluoguxiang Police Station.

Officer Liu sat in the duty room, looking utterly disappointed.

It's been three days, a full three days!

Comrade He Yuzhu, what happened to the promised presentation of the banner?

"Xiao Liu, what are you daydreaming about?" The station chief walked in from outside and teased him when he saw him like this, "You're not really waiting for someone to give you a banner of appreciation, are you?"

Officer Liu coughed twice, somewhat embarrassed: "Chief, I didn't..."

Upon seeing his expression, the station chief's face immediately changed, and he reprimanded him, "We are the people's police who serve the people, and we cannot serve the people with ulterior motives."

Officer Liu blushed, but stubbornly insisted, "Chief, I didn't..."

That's what he said, but he was still a little disappointed.

The station chief said irritably, "Don't you know Old Wang is a big mouth? He's already spread your little schemes throughout the entire station!"

Officer Liu was completely stunned. After the station chief left, he slapped his own mouth hard, wondering why he couldn't help but confide in Old Wang.

That evening, Jia Dongxu was finally released from the police station, and Yi Zhonghai personally went to pick him up.

After three days apart, Jia Dongxu looked completely listless, with dark circles under his eyes and a scruffy beard.

"Master..." Upon seeing Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu's nose tingled, and he almost burst into tears.

"Alright, let's go home first." Yi Zhonghai's expression was also unpleasant. "We'll talk about it when we get back."

The two walked back to the compound in silence.

Upon entering the Intermediate People's Court, Jia Dongxu subconsciously glanced in the direction of He Yuzhu's house.

He gritted his teeth, lowered his head, and quickly went into his house.

Madam Jia was already waiting inside. As soon as she saw her son return, she rushed over and burst into tears: "My son...you're finally back...I hope no one made things difficult for you inside? Have you eaten? I cooked you some eggs..."

Jia Dongxu felt even worse after his mother started crying.

He pushed Jia Zhangshi away, plopped down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and mumbled, "Mother, I'm fine..."

Yi Zhonghai followed him in and asked in a deep voice, "Alright, take a good rest at home tomorrow. Go clean yourself up this afternoon. I'll go with you to Qin Family Village to propose marriage the day after tomorrow."

"Thank you, Master..." Jia Dongxu said softly.

Yi Zhonghai said with exasperation, "You'd better learn your lesson and don't do such a stupid thing again..."

Listening from the side, Jia Zhangshi couldn't help but interject, "Master Yi, this can't be entirely blamed on Dongxu. If it weren't for Shazhu..."

"Enough!" Yi Zhonghai abruptly interrupted her. "Sister-in-law Jia, you've spoiled Dongxu rotten. Do you think those scoundrels are so easy to mess with?"

Jia Zhangshi was choked and speechless, her face turning bright red.

Yi Zhonghai took a deep breath and softened his tone: "Alright, let's not talk about the past."

"I know I was wrong, Master," Jia Dongxu nodded obediently.

Yi Zhonghai gave a few more instructions before getting up and leaving.

As he walked out of the Jia family's house, he stood in the courtyard, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards He Yuzhu's house.

On the window, a young figure was busy at the stove, and the aroma of stir-fried dishes could be faintly smelled.

Yi Zhonghai's eyes were filled with complex emotions as he thought to himself: This silly Zhu... seems different now.

At this moment, He Yuzhu had no idea what kind of thoughts Yi Zhonghai was having outside the door.

He was happily stir-frying twice-cooked pork, the pan sizzling and the aroma filling the air.

"Tsk, this pork belly is really good, the fat and lean meat are perfectly balanced..." He Yuzhu muttered to himself as he tossed the wok. "Tomorrow He Lanlan and the others are coming, I'll have to buy another fish and make a squirrel-shaped mandarin fish..."

Just as I was pondering the menu, there was a knock on the door.

"Knock knock knock".

He Yuzhu was taken aback. Who could it be at this hour?

He finished packing the food, wiped his hands, walked to the door, and asked, "Who is it?"

"Zhu Zi, it's me, Xu Dahai." Xu Dahai's voice came from outside the door.

He Yuzhu quickly opened the door and saw Xu Dahai and his son Xu Ning standing at the door, carrying two bottles of wine.

"Uncle Xu, Brother Xu Ning, come in quickly!" He Yuzhu stepped aside, "It's cold outside, let's talk inside."

The two entered the house, and Xu Ning smiled somewhat apologetically: "Zhu Zi, sorry to bother you."

"Hey, don't be so polite." He Yuzhu gestured for them to sit down and poured them some hot water. "Uncle Xu, what brings you here..."

Xu Dahai placed the wine on the table, rubbed his hands together, and said with a smile, "Zhu Zi, I've come today because I need to trouble you with something."

He pointed at Xu Ning: "Well, Xiao Ning's wedding is settled, it'll be after the New Year. We'd like to... ask you to help with the wedding banquet."

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up: "That's great! Congratulations, Brother Xu Ning! When? Where is it being held?"

Xu Ning blushed slightly: "It's set for February 18th, and we'll hold it right here in our courtyard. The bride's family doesn't have many relatives; it'll mostly be people from our side."

He Yuzhu mentally calculated the days, turned around, took out a new calendar from the drawer, turned to the February page, and slid his finger down the dates.

"February 18th...that's a Tuesday." He Yuzhu looked up. "Okay, no problem, I should be able to rest that day."

They have one day off per week, but they can only take turns resting from Monday to Thursday, with Tuesday falling within that period.

Tomorrow is Sunday, and he still had to make a special request to Director Zhao, using the excuse of going on a blind date, before the other party finally agreed.

Upon hearing this, Xu Dahai's face lit up with joy: "Really? That's wonderful!"

He paused, then asked somewhat embarrassedly, "Zhu Zi, um... how much do you charge for a banquet these days?"

He Yuzhu was stumped by the question. Since transmigrating, he had never actually hosted a banquet for anyone.

He tried hard to recall the prices He Daqing charged for private jobs in the original owner's memories. Back then, He Daqing would occasionally go out to cook banquets, and he would usually charge between 100,000 and 200,000 yuan, depending on the dishes and the number of tables.