Courtyard House: Become Stronger Through Blind Dates

As Sun Decai watched his grandfather being carried away, he suddenly turned his head, his eyes fixed on He Yuzhu: "He Yuzhu, I'll fucking beat you to death!"

He roared and swung his fist to smash He Yuzhu's face.

He Yuzhu raised his right foot and, with a "bang," accurately kicked Sun Decai in the stomach.

Sun Decai let out a miserable scream and flew two or three meters backward before crashing heavily to the ground, clutching his stomach and curling up in a ball.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" He Yuzhu withdrew his foot and explained to the people around him with a "fearful" look on his face, "This was an instinctive self-defense. Everyone saw it. He attacked first."

The scene fell silent; everyone stared in disbelief, their minds reeling.

Today's match was packed with information...

The leader in the Zhongshan suit walked onto the stage with a livid face, picked up a megaphone, and shouted: "Silence! Silence!"

Once the situation was somewhat under control, he looked sternly at He Yuzhu: "Contestant He Yuzhu, you deliberately used unprocessed ingredients to prepare your dish, mocking the judges. Your behavior is extremely egregious!"

"I hereby declare you disqualified from the competition, and your results are void!"

He Yuzhu shrugged and said, "Oh!"

Is that all the reaction you're going to get?

The leader was speechless, choked by his attitude.

He Yuzhu turned around and began to pack up his knives, carefully wiping "Chenyuan" clean and putting it back in the wooden box.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he strode out.

As he reached the door, he suddenly stopped, turned back to look at Sun Decai, who was still curled up on the ground, and said loudly, "Senior Brother Sun, please apologize to your grandfather for me. This time, my cooking skills were not up to par. If Grandpa Sun needs anything in the future, I can make more original dishes for him as an apology!"

"Ha ha ha ha..."

With a hearty laugh, He Yuzhu's figure disappeared through the doorway.

The scene was a complete mess.

Stepping out of the Workers' Cultural Palace, the midday sun was a bit dazzling.

He Yuzhu took a deep breath of fresh air and felt completely refreshed.

"Awesome!" he couldn't help but shout.

Although he was disqualified from the competition, he felt no regret at all.

Anyway, there's no point in winning a prize in a competition with such shady dealings.

Making fun of that arrogant old man Sun in front of everyone, and even kicking Sun Decai away, is much more satisfying than winning any championship.

Just then, I heard hurried footsteps behind me.

"Master He, Master He, please wait!"

He Yuzhu turned around and saw Zhou Xiaobai, a reporter from the Beijing Daily, catching up with him breathlessly.

She was clearly there to cover the match, as she was wearing a press pass around her neck.

"Reporter Zhou?" He Yuzhu asked, somewhat surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Zhou Xiaobai ran up to him, calmed her breathing, and looked at him with a complicated expression: "I'm here today to report on the competition... I saw everything that happened inside just now."

"Oh?" He Yuzhu raised an eyebrow. "So, is this reporter here to interview me? Or to criticize me?"

Zhou Xiaobai shook his head, then suddenly laughed: "Nothing! I came to tell you that your kick just now was really beautiful."

Now it was He Yuzhu's turn to be stunned...

Zhou Xiaobai looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Old Sun has never had a good reputation in the food industry. He takes advantage of his seniority and suppresses younger people. Many people can't stand him, but because of his seniority, they dare not speak out against him."

She paused, a hint of a smile flashing in her eyes, and said, "You've certainly given a lot of people a chance to vent their anger today..."

He Yuzhu then realized what was happening and laughed, "So, I've become a hero who rid the people of a scourge?"

"I wouldn't call him a hero," Zhou Xiaobai said earnestly, "but at least he's a man of courage."

She thought for a moment, then took out a notebook and pen from her bag: "But as a reporter, I still want to ask, what do you have to say about today's events?"

Looking at her serious expression, He Yuzhu thought for a moment and said, "A cooking competition is meant to allow us to learn from each other, identify our shortcomings, and improve ourselves, not to pave a shortcut for our younger generations. I believe the higher-ups' intention in organizing this event is good!"

Zhou Xiaobai suddenly said seriously, "I will report this truthfully, but... your outburst today might cause some trouble in the future."

"Trouble?" He Yuzhu didn't care at all. "I'm never afraid of trouble."

Not wanting to continue the topic, he casually asked, "By the way, Reporter Zhou, I met a woman named Zhou Xiaomei on a blind date yesterday. Her name sounds similar to yours, doesn't it?"

Zhou Xiaobai was taken aback when he suddenly brought up his cousin. He paused for a moment before saying, "She's my cousin..."

She looked at He Yuzhu with a curious gaze: "By the way, Xiaomei speaks highly of you, saying that you are different from other men and can understand her thoughts."

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Everyone is an independent individual, and it's normal to have your own thoughts. Comrade Zhou Xiaomei is a person with aspirations."

Zhou Xiaobai nodded, and before he could say anything more, another person ran out of the cultural center—Master Wang.

"Zhu Zi, wait a minute!" Master Wang rushed over and was stunned to see Zhou Xiaobai there as well.

"Master Wang," Zhou Xiaobai greeted him politely, and knowing that the other party had something to say, he walked away into the distance.

Master Wang nodded, then turned to He Yuzhu, his expression complex, and said, "Zhuzi, you today...sigh!"

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "Uncle Wang, I didn't cause you any trouble, did I?"

"What trouble could I possibly be in?" Master Wang waved his hand. "But Zhu Zi, you need to be careful lately. Old Sun is a vengeful man. He's lost face so badly today, he definitely won't let this go."

"I understand." He Yuzhu nodded. "Thank you for reminding me, Senior Uncle Wang!"

"Alright, I just came to let you know." Master Wang patted him on the shoulder. "Zhao Dezhu of the Oriental Hotel is a sensible man. He shouldn't make things difficult for you because of this."

"But you also need to be mindful of your behavior and keep a low profile lately."

"clear."

After seeing Master Wang off, Zhou Xiaobai also said goodbye and left, saying she needed to organize today's interview transcript.

He Yuzhu walked alone on the way back to Nanluoguxiang, feeling particularly relaxed.

If you're given a second chance at life, sometimes you have to act decisively and vengefully, otherwise, it's really unbearable to be filled with resentment.

When he reached the entrance of the alley, He Yuzhu suddenly remembered something and went to the market to buy some meat and vegetables.

I'm in a good mood today, so I'll cook a nice meal to celebrate.

Carrying the groceries back to courtyard number 95, I was stopped by Aunt Qian as soon as I entered the front yard.

"Zhu Zi, you're back!" Aunt Qian approached curiously. "I heard you went to some kind of cooking competition today? How did it go? Did you win any prizes?"

He Yuzhu smiled and said, "I didn't get a ranking, but I did get into some trouble."

"Trouble?" Aunt Qian's eyes lit up, her gossip-loving spirit burning brightly. "What trouble? Tell me quickly!"

Just as He Yuzhu was about to speak, Jia Zhangshi's shrill voice came from behind him: "Oh, our head chef is back? Wasn't he supposed to be at a competition? Why is he back so early? Did he get kicked out?"

He Yuzhu looked up and saw Jia Zhangshi walking into the courtyard with a gloating expression.

Qin Huairu followed behind her. When she saw He Yuzhu, her eyes darted away, and she lowered her head without saying a word.

He Yuzhu wasn't angry at all. Instead, he grinned and said, "Aunt Jia, instead of meddling in other people's business, you should go home and do more housework."

"Don't act like a cripple without hands just because you have a daughter-in-law. All you do is yell at people to do chores. People who don't know any better will think you're some rich landlord who's hired a maid!"