Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

Wang Xiuying and Li Chunmei exchanged a glance and both frowned.

"What's wrong with him?" Wang Xiuying asked curiously.

Seeing their interest, Jia Zhangshi immediately perked up: "Let me tell you, this kid beats up old people, bullies neighbors, and acts like a tyrant in the yard. A few days ago, he even sent my son to the police station!"

She got more and more excited as she spoke: "Look at his face, he looks like he's thirty, but he's only sixteen. Who knows what's wrong with him! You young ladies need to keep your eyes open and not be fooled by him..."

Li Chunmei couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted, "Ma'am, isn't it inappropriate for you to talk badly about people behind their backs like this?"

"Oh, I'm doing this for your own good!" Madam Jia said with a "you don't know what's good for you" look. "It'll be too late once you suffer the consequences!"

Li Chunmei tugged at Wang Xiuying's sleeve and said, "Let's go back, the water's all gone."

The two ignored Jia Zhangshi and the other women, and quickly returned to He Yuzhu's house with the empty basin in their hands.

As soon as she entered, Li Chunmei angrily said, "Zhuzi, who is that fat old lady in your courtyard? Why is she so gossipy!"

He Yuzhu was taken aback: "The chubby middle-aged woman? Is she the one with triangular eyes and high cheekbones?"

"Yes, yes, that's her!" Wang Xiuying nodded.

He Yuzhu laughed: "That's Jia Zhangshi from next door. Did she talk badly about me to you?"

"That's right!" Li Chunmei repeated Jia Zhangshi's words.

He Yuzhu, however, didn't care. While processing the carp, he said, "Don't mind her. The Jia family has been quite lively lately. Let me tell you..."

He recounted the story of Jia Dongxu's blind date, the employee's detention for spreading rumors, and Yi Zhonghai's payment for the sewing machine.

The girls were stunned, then burst into laughter.

"Are there really such eccentric families in your compound?" Wang Xiuying laughed so hard she almost fell over.

"That Jia Dongxu is too stupid, he admitted it himself?" Li Chunmei shook her head.

Zhang Caixia smiled and said, "Zhu Zi, you've made them suffer so much, they must hate you to death."

"Let him hate me if he wants, I don't care." He Yuzhu shrugged. "Come on, the carp is ready, I'm going to start frying it. You guys stay away, be careful of the oil splattering."

The girls stepped back and watched as He Yuzhu skillfully fried the carp in the oil.

The oil sizzled in the pan, and the aroma of carp gradually filled the air.

"It smells so good..." Wang Xiuying sniffed.

"This is just the beginning," He Yuzhu laughed. "Just wait, today I'll show you what real good cooking is all about!"

After frying, He Yuzhu prepared the sweet and sour sauce and poured it over the fried carp.

"Sizzle—", instantly releasing an even more enticing complex aroma.

"Wow!" the girls exclaimed in unison.

"This color is so beautiful!" Wang Xiuying's eyes lit up.

"It smells so good it makes my mouth water." Li Chunmei swallowed.

He Yuzhu smiled and began preparing the next dish.

Braised pork ribs, Mapo tofu, steamed egg with minced meat, stir-fried cabbage... one after another, delicious and visually appealing dishes were served.

The kitchen was filled with delicious aromas, and the girls were overwhelmed by the sights.

"Zhu Zi, your skills are absolutely amazing!" He Lanlan praised sincerely.

"Sister Lanlan, you flatter me," He Yuzhu said modestly, but her hands kept moving.

After the last soup was cooked, He Yuzhu looked at the dishes on the stove and said, "It's almost done, let's put it on the table."

Several girls quickly helped carry the dishes to the octagonal table in the main room.

Five dishes and a soup filled the table to the brim.

"Please sit down," He Yuzhu said. "It's just simple food, please don't mind."

"If this is considered simple food, then we usually eat pig swill," Wang Xiuying joked.

"Zhu Zi, you've gone to too much trouble..." Zhang Caixia said softly.

"It's only right to welcome friends," He Yuzhu said with a smile. "Come on, let's start eating, or the food will get cold."

As soon as he finished speaking, several pairs of chopsticks reached for the dishes on the table almost simultaneously.

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment, then joined the "battle".

For a moment, only the soft clinking of chopsticks against bowls and plates and the sounds of chewing filled the table.

Seeing them enjoying their meal, He Yuzhu became interested as well, and started picking out the dishes they took the most of.

"Hey, Zhu Zi, leave me some spare ribs!" He Lanlan protested hastily when she saw He Yuzhu pick up two pieces of braised spare ribs.

"It's all up to your skills!" He Yuzhu laughed, picking up another piece.

"You!" He Lanlan quickly picked up a piece as well, afraid that there wouldn't be any left.

Seeing this, Wang Xiuying and Li Chunmei also sped up their serving of food.

Although Zhang Caixia ate quietly, her chopsticks never stopped moving.

The meal was eaten in a flash, and the girls didn't care about their image at all.

When they had almost finished eating, they realized that there was hardly any food left on the table.

Looking at the mostly empty plate, Wang Xiuying said somewhat embarrassedly, "Did we...eat too much?"

"That just proves I'm good at cooking," He Yuzhu said proudly. "If there were a pile left over, that would be a failure!"

Li Chunmei said somewhat shyly, "It's all over, our image is completely ruined."

"It was worth it!" He Lanlan leaned back in her chair with satisfaction. "Zhu Zi, with your skills, you could open a restaurant that would be a huge success!"

He Yuzhu smiled but didn't say anything, thinking to himself: I'm at the Oriental Hotel now, which is much better than running a small restaurant.

Zhang Caixia asked softly, "Zhuzi, who did you learn this skill from? How long did it take you to learn it?"

Just as He Yuzhu was about to answer, a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind:

[Ding! A potential blind date has been detected that the host is interested in the host, triggering a blind date task.]

[Task Requirements: The blind date must last at least 30 minutes; otherwise, the task will fail.]

[Quest Reward: Random skill or item.]

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat as a familiar countdown appeared below his field of vision.

He suppressed his excitement and answered Zhang Caixia's question calmly: "It's a family recipe. My father and grandfather were both cooks. I started learning from my father when I was five years old, and it's been eleven years now."

"You started learning at five years old?" Wang Xiuying exclaimed in surprise. "No wonder your skills are so good!"

"I was still playing in the mud when I was five years old," Li Chunmei said with a smile.

He Yuzhu was secretly delighted. This was a good deal; the mission had really been triggered!

This means the system has determined that someone in front of him is "interested" in him, but as for which girl...

His gaze swept across the faces of the four girls.

It's unlikely to be He Lanlan; her admiration for him is more of a friendship.

Wang Xiuying has a cheerful personality, but she seems to be there simply to eat.

Li Chunmei was very easygoing and didn't seem to have any special feelings for me.

Zhang Caixia was quiet and reserved, and kept her head down, so you couldn't tell anything about her.

Never mind, whoever it is, this is an opportunity!

He immediately perked up and actively joined the chat, occasionally asking questions to inquire about the girls.

He asked the question naturally, and the girls didn't think much of it and answered one by one.