Courtyard House: In times of famine, my hamster became a spirit.

The flimsy registration form landed on the table without causing a ripple. While the clerk was still in a daze, Zhou Jianguo had already walked away, hands in his pockets.

He didn't go back to the workshop, but went straight to the kitchen.

Through the screen window, the heat wave inside, mixed with shouts and curses, could be heard.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The large iron ladle banged against the stove with a deafening roar, the noise sounding like a death knell.

"MCA! Did you borrow that hand? Or were you just taken off a pig?"

He Yuzhu roared in his signature loud voice, followed by a muffled thud.

Through the gap in the screen window, you could see He Yuzhu's long face had turned a deep purplish-red, and he was kicking his apprentice Ma Hua in the buttocks.

"Ouch! Master, I..." Ma Hua was kicked so hard that he almost fell headfirst into the rice water, clutching his buttocks with a pained expression.

"What do you mean, 'what the hell'?!" He Yuzhu nearly poked the iron spoon into Ma Hua's nostril, spitting all over his face. "How many times have I told you? The water for soaking dried scallops needs to be three times warm and three times cool! You just poured in cold water? Trying to suppress the freshness, huh?"

Actually, Ma Hua was just a little slow in changing the water; the water temperature was perfectly fine.

But He Yuzhu didn't care about right or wrong at this moment; he just wanted to curse.

I had nowhere to vent my anger last night, so I got my revenge today.

In this kitchen, he's the king of the land; even if he calls a deer a horse, no one dares to utter a single word.

The women chopping and washing vegetables around them all huddled up like quails, their hands moving so fast they were practically steaming, afraid of offending this "local tyrant."

Seeing the obsequious manner of this group of people, He Yuzhu's vanity was completely satisfied.

He wiped the spoon on his apron and stood imposingly in the middle of the stove.

"Clean your ears and listen carefully!"

His voice carried an air of arrogant dominance amidst the noisy kitchen.

"From this day forward until the high-ranking leader's inspection concludes, not a single blade of grass, not even a grain of salt, in this kitchen is to be touched without my approval!"

He Yuzhu's sinister gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on the tin cabinet in the corner that held the valuable seasonings. "This time, I'm going to use the Tan family's most treasured secret technique! Apart from preparing the ingredients, all the seasoning and cooking will be under my sole control, He Yuzhu. Anyone who dares to glance at it or steals anything..."

"Duh!"

The cleaver flew out of his hand and landed firmly and accurately on the cutting board, its handle still buzzing and vibrating.

"Don't blame me for turning my back on you; I'll make sure you have nowhere to beg in the steel mill!"

The audience was silent.

This is the clearing process.

He Yuzhu wanted to transform the kitchen into an impregnable fortress, both physically and psychologically.

He was telling everyone, including Zhou Jianguo, who was nowhere to be found: This is my territory.

Just then, the side door to the kitchen was pushed open a crack.

A gust of cold wind carrying snowflakes swept in, followed closely by an old man named Yi Zhonghai.

Today, instead of walking with his hands behind his back, the old man looked around furtively like a thief. When he saw He Yuzhu, his pace quickened, making him seem much older than sixty.

"Pillar." Yi Zhonghai said in a low voice, his tone full of anxiety.

He Yuzhu was engrossed in his fantasy of being a "culinary master" when he was interrupted, which annoyed him. When he turned around and saw Yi Zhonghai, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly: "Grandpa? What are you doing causing trouble at this crucial moment? This is the kitchen, a very important place..."

"Stop talking nonsense and come with me!"

Yi Zhonghai ignored his boasting, grabbed He Yuzhu's greasy sleeve with terrifying force, and dragged the 180-pound strong man into a dark corner with piles of coal slag.

The place was dimly lit, and the firelight from the stove cast distorted shadows of the two people.

"Ouch, sir, take it easy! You're covered in oil!" He Yuzhu shook off his hand, rubbing his wrist with an impatient look. "Can't we talk about it back at the yard tonight? I still need to prepare ingredients, those dried scallops..."

"What's the point of preparing anything! If we lose, we'll both be starving!"

He looked at He Yuzhu: "Zhuzi, tell me the truth. How confident are you in killing Zhou Jianguo this time? I want absolute certainty, a clean slap that sends him crashing into the mud, so he can never rise again!"

He Yuzhu was startled by this display, shrinking back slightly before puffing out his chest with an air of utter defiance: "Hey, I don't think this is a big deal! Don't you know who I am? The authentic successor of Tan Family Cuisine! What is Zhou Jianguo? He thinks he can compete with me by cooking two bowls of noodles? Even if I cooked them with my eyes closed, the taste would still be ten times better than his!"

"That's not the kind of platitudes I want!"

Yi Zhonghai let out a low growl, looked around to make sure no one dared to approach, then took a step forward, pressed his ear against He Yuzhu's, and his voice trembled violently.

"Pillar, do you know what I sacrificed for this opportunity?"

Yi Zhonghai's chest heaved violently, his eyes bloodshot. "The money I gave that little bastard last time was my retirement savings! This time, to get things going with the higher-ups, and to make sure your first shot is a success."

He said with a pained expression, "I melted all the little yellow croakers."

"Wh...what?"

He Yuzhu's eyes widened like saucers, his jaw nearly hitting his feet. "A... a small yellow croaker? Sir, you still have this kind of hard currency? Didn't you say..."

"Shut up!" Yi Zhonghai shouted sharply, his eyes fierce. "Keep this to yourself! I'm telling you this so you understand that we can't afford to lose this time! If we lose, not only will I be broke, but we'll be meat on a chopping block in the yard and the factory, at the mercy of that little beast Zhou Jianguo!"

"My life, and whether you can get married in the future, and whether you can act with impunity in the factory, all depend on this meal!"

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over He Yuzhu's head, followed by a fire that ignited the desperado's greed deep within him.

bullion.

Yi Zhonghai has really gone all in.

He Yuzhu's jaw muscles twitched violently, and his nonchalant attitude completely disappeared.

He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes becoming fiercer than ever before.

"Uncle, please don't worry."

"Since you've even brought out your most treasured secret, if this still doesn't work out, I, He Yuzhu, will rip my head off and let you kick it around! This meal isn't just going to be a big deal, it's going to be spectacular! Zhou Jianguo wants to turn things around? Dream on! I'll make sure he can't even hold a spatula properly!"

The two stared at each other in the dark corner, like two drowning people clinging desperately to each other as a last straw.

However, beneath this supposedly flawless conspiracy, there lies a greasy gauze window.

Zhou Jianguo couldn't hear clearly through the window, but he could vaguely hear words like "gold bars" and "retirement savings."

"They're even willing to take out gold bars?"

Zhou Jianguo sneered inwardly, "Yi Zhonghai, it seems your obsession with retirement is deeper than I imagined. This is a good thing."

The bigger the bet, the more painful the loss will be.

He originally wanted to let the Ether Hamster in the system cause some trouble, but now he changed his mind.

Why bother?

If one mouse goes in, it will at most spoil the whole pot of soup.