Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

He Yuzhu returned to the kitchen carrying a paper bag, and Wang Jianguo and Li Weidong immediately surrounded him.

"Master He, what does Director Zhao want with you?"

"Is it the competition the day after tomorrow?"

He Yuzhu took out the chef's uniform from the paper bag and showed it off, and the two of them immediately exclaimed "Wow!"

"This fabric, this embroidery...it's really impressive!" Wang Jianguo exclaimed enviously.

"Master He, if you wear this the day after tomorrow, you'll gain an extra three points of presence just by standing there!" Li Weidong gave a thumbs up.

He Yuzhu smiled and carefully put the clothes away.

When he had nothing to do in the afternoon, he continued the teaching mode he used in the morning, which made the learning atmosphere in the kitchen unprecedentedly high.

Even some middle-aged craftsmen were attracted over and stood on the periphery listening for a while.

He Yuzhu didn't finish teaching until after get off work, changed his clothes, and left the restaurant with a paper bag.

He didn't go straight home, but instead went to Xu Dahai's house.

Upon knocking on the door, Xu Dahai was somewhat surprised to see him and said, "Zhu Zi? Come in quickly, have you eaten? If not, eat here!"

"Uncle Xu, I've already eaten. I need to talk to you about something," He Yuzhu said as he entered the house.

Xu Ning was also at home and quickly poured He Yuzhu a glass of water.

"What's wrong? Tell me," Xu Dahai asked as he sat down.

He Yuzhu recounted the incident in the newspaper, then said, "Uncle Xu, that's the situation! Now that I'm in the newspaper, many people are asking me to book banquets, but I've turned them all down."

"We arranged your wedding banquet beforehand, but to the outside world... we need to stick to the same story. Let's say I received... one million from you, is that alright?"

Xu Dahai understood immediately and said with some worry, "Zhu Zi, if you quote this price, who will dare to book banquets with you in the future..."

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Uncle Xu, I just don't want to host the banquet. Your relationship with my family speaks for itself, otherwise I wouldn't have agreed."

"Okay, then my family will say so!" Xu Dahai agreed.

After the matter was settled, He Yuzhu chatted with the Xu family father and son for a while about the details of the wedding banquet before taking his leave.

---------------

When I returned to courtyard number 95, it was already dark.

As soon as He Yuzhu stepped into the front yard, a figure rushed out from the Qian family's house.

"Oh, Zhu Zi, you're finally back!" Matchmaker Wang grabbed his arm, her face beaming. "I've been waiting for you for ages!"

He Yuzhu was startled: "Aunt Wang? What's wrong with you...?"

"Great news! Excellent news!" Matchmaker Wang exclaimed excitedly. "I've found you a wonderful girl. She's beautiful, has a good temperament, and her parents are both factory workers. You can't be picky!"

He Yuzhu was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Really? Which family's daughter is she?"

"She lives near Dengshikou, her surname is Zhou, her name is Zhou Xiaomei, she's eighteen this year, and she works in the finance department of the machinery factory." Matchmaker Wang recounted the details with great familiarity. "Let me tell you, I've met this girl, she's absolutely a perfect match for you!"

He Yuzhu paused for a moment when he heard the name "Zhou Xiaomei".

Zhou Xiaomei? How come her name sounds so similar to that of the female reporter Zhou Xiaobai? Could they be related?

However, he didn't think too much about it; the most important thing now was to complete the system task.

"Aunt Wang, I'll be free tomorrow afternoon, what do you think..." He Yuzhu said.

"Tomorrow afternoon?" Matchmaker Wang hadn't expected him to be in such a hurry, but she immediately replied happily, "Okay, I'll go to the Zhou family right away and tell them. I'll let you know once the time and place are set!"

As she spoke, she turned to walk out.

"Aunt Wang, wait a minute," He Yuzhu called out to her. "Where shall we meet?"

"Of course it's your house. I wouldn't dare let you go to someone else's house again," Wang the matchmaker teased deliberately.

"Okay, thank you for your trouble." He Yuzhu said politely, without feeling embarrassed.

Matchmaker Wang laughed and said, "Ever since you were in the newspaper, many people have been asking me about you! If you weren't a bit too young, there would be several eligible young women of marriageable age who are quite well-matched."

"Oh, thank you for your trouble!" He Yuzhu said.

He really wanted to tell Wang the matchmaker, "Don't be shy, bring them all to meet me on blind dates."

Unfortunately, people in this era are still too conservative; doing this will only damage their reputation.

If this system existed in modern times, it could arrange 16 hours of blind dates a day, two per hour, which would be 32 per day, completely overwhelming the blind date system.

Matchmaker Wang left in a hurry, but the two had been talking quite loudly, and several houses in the front yard heard the commotion.

Aunt Qian was the first to come out of the house, a mischievous smile on her face: "Zhu Zi, has Matchmaker Wang arranged another marriage for you? Which family's daughter is it this time?"

Her question was like opening a floodgate.

The doors of each house in the front yard opened one after another, and Aunt Li, Aunt Wang, Aunt Zhang, and seven or eight other women, both older and younger, gathered around.

"Zhu Zi, don't rush into a decision! You're the golden phoenix of our compound now, you need to be selective about the girls you choose!"

"Exactly! He was in the newspaper at sixteen, and he's the head chef at the Oriental Hotel. You can't find many people like that in Beijing!"

"Take your time choosing, no rush, good food is worth waiting for!"

"..."

For a moment, the middle-aged women started talking all at once, promoting the "resources" they had.

He Yuzhu was surrounded by praise and recommendations.

He knew perfectly well that these people's flattery had ulterior motives, but...

These words... why do they sound so comforting?

He Yuzhu felt as if his feet were rooted to the ground, and he couldn't move an inch.

A smile involuntarily spread across his face, and he said modestly, "Aunties, you flatter me. I'm just a cook..."

"What's wrong with a cook? Food is the most important thing for people!" Aunt Wang shouted the loudest. "With your cooking skills, Zhu Zi, you'll never go hungry. Marrying you is a blessing!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" everyone echoed.

He Yuzhu has been here for so long, when has he ever heard so many nice things?

Even though I know it's a sugar-coated bullet, this sugar coating... is so sweet!

He stood in the front yard and chatted with this group of middle-aged women and young wives for a full half hour.

He Yuzhu only snapped out of his daze when the older women were called back for dinner.

"Well... ladies, it's getting late, I'll head back now." He Yuzhu finally regained her composure.

"Alright, Pillar, take care!"

"Remember to consider my niece!"

"My niece is really great..."

With repeated "admonitions," He Yuzhu finally managed to escape, quickly crossed the front yard, and returned to his own home.

"Damn, these people really know how to talk..." He Yuzhu shook his head and muttered to himself.

He walked to the table, poured himself a glass of water, and drank it.

Thinking about going to the Lou family tomorrow morning to thank Lou Bancheng and Tan Yali, and then going on a blind date in the afternoon... my schedule is packed.

"That was fulfilling." He Yuzhu stroked his chin, his eyes filled with anticipation. "I just wonder what reward the system will give me for tomorrow's blind date?"

He ate at a restaurant that night, lit a fire to heat the kang (a traditional heated brick bed), washed up, and went straight to bed.

Moonlight streamed through the paper window, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

He Yuzhu closed his eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, he seemed to be back in the front yard, surrounded by a group of middle-aged women, each holding a picture of a girl…

"Pillar, choose my niece!"

"Choose my niece!"

"select…"

He Yuzhu laughed out loud in his dream...