Courtyard Houses: Starting with the principle of hard work paying off

Chapter 106 The Power of the Sect (4k)

Two days later.

Li Hongbing got up early as usual.

Today is Li Hongmei's wedding day, so Li Hongbing naturally won't let her cook, lest she get the smell of cooking oil.

Li Hongbing cooked a noodle dish with fried eggs and pork cracklings. The aroma of the oil and fried eggs was so enticing that it made one's mouth water.

Such a breakfast would not be considered anything special in later generations, but in this era it could be described as quite a luxury.

However, everyone in the courtyard had long accepted that Li's family had a good appetite.

[Heaven rewards diligence! Congratulations, host, your cooking skill level has increased from lv2 to lv3, reaching a new level! Reward: 5 million cash and a box of premium rice!]

Just as Li Hongbing finished making breakfast and his cooking experience was refreshed, the system also displayed a notification that his cooking skills had been upgraded.

Double happiness!
During this period, Li Hongbing focused most of his attention on preparing for Li Hongmei's wedding and didn't pay much attention to these other things.

If Li Hongbing hadn't taken three days off specifically for this, he would have already accumulated enough cooking experience and leveled up a few days ago.

Once your cooking skill reaches level 3, the experience requirement for leveling up also increases to 10,000. The higher you go, the more difficult it becomes, but the greater the improvement and rewards also become.

However, this also means that Li Hongbing's cooking skills have improved from his initial beginner level to a more refined level.

Overjoyed, Li Hongbing quickly began to check the rewards for this upgrade.

Another five million in cash has been deposited!
Recently, Li Hongbing had spent almost all his money preparing for Li Hongmei's betrothal gifts and custom-made wedding clothes, plus stockpiling supplies. This reward of five million yuan came at a very opportune time.

As for the physical reward of a box of premium rice, Li Hongbing initially thought it was a bit stingy, but after checking his system space, he realized that it was anything but stingy; it was downright extravagant.

This box...

It's a whole shipping container!

It's not the kind of ordinary box you'd typically think of.

Sent!
With this container of premium rice, Li Hongbing will no longer have to worry about not having enough to eat. He can even exclude staple foods from his future food stockpiling.

Even if a food rationing policy is implemented next year, it will only limit the amount of food that can be purchased each month, not make it impossible to buy any at all.

[Host: Li Hongbing]

【Age: 16】

Strength: 61, Agility: 64, Constitution: 63, Intelligence: 86 (Standard adult value is 60)

skill:
【Clothing Design: lv0 (90/100)】

[Running: lv1 (182/500)]

[Cycling: lv2 (274/2000)]

[Calligraphy: lv2 (451/2000)]

[Cooking Skill: lv3 (7/10000)]

【Eight Pieces of Brocade: Level 3 (768/10000)】

……

Looking at the system panel, Li Hongbing's strength attribute had also increased over the past half month, with all values ​​reaching and slightly exceeding the standard values.

In terms of skills, apart from the newly promoted cooking skill, all other skills have also gained a lot of experience points.

After getting a bicycle, I started cycling to and from get off work every day, and my running experience points stopped increasing much.

During the three days he took leave, Li Hongbing frequently visited the farmers' markets on the outskirts of the city. His cycling skill not only leveled up to lv1, but his experience points also surpassed his running skill.

After breakfast, Li Hongbing practiced the Eight Pieces of Brocade several times, then went back to his room to change into the formal dress he had specially ordered from Chen Xueru.

have to say.

This Zhongshan suit is really handsome. Li Hongbing didn't make any major changes to the overall design, but only added some simple auspicious elements or patterns to make it look a bit younger.

At the same time, it also corresponds to today's joyous day.

Soon.

Li Hongmei also went back to her room and changed into her wedding dress.

After Chen Xueru brought it over for Li Hongmei to try on, she took it back and made some minor alterations, making it fit her even better.

"Hongmei, is this the same outfit that Manager Chen from Chen's Cloth Shop delivered to you last time?"

"It's so beautiful!"

"You look absolutely stunning in this outfit, like a fairy!"

"Hongbing, was your outfit also custom-made at Chen's Cloth Shop?"

"Beautiful! So beautiful!"

"The fabric, the workmanship..."

"These two outfits must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"..."

The two formal dresses and wedding attire that Li Hongbing and Li Hongmei specially changed into naturally drew gasps of admiration from everyone in the front yard.

It doesn't look cheap at first glance.

Especially when it came to Li Hongmei's wedding dress, Aunt Yan and the others couldn't help but drool with excitement and almost reached out to touch it.

Fortunately, they were able to control themselves. They were afraid of getting their wedding dresses dirty or damaged, and they knew that it would be impolite and inappropriate, so they forced themselves to hold back.

People first complimented the clothes, and soon after, they started complimenting the person.

Even the best clothes are only good if you wear them properly.

Li Hongbing and Li Hongmei, siblings, are already very good-looking, and wearing these two specially tailored outfits makes them even more outstanding.

Enjoying the praise from everyone, even though Li Hongmei was not a vain person, she still felt extremely satisfied.

Who doesn't like to be praised?
The key point is that these words of praise are not just flattery.

The value of spending so much money to have these two custom-made outfits fully demonstrated at this moment.

……

Soon.

Some children from the middle and back yards also ran over to see the bride and her beautiful clothes.

Li Hongbing and Li Hongmei distributed some candy to them, and the children's laughter and joy continued.

It was still early, and Zhao Weiguo wouldn't be there to pick up the bride so soon.

However, the Jia family had already started preparing at the Intermediate Court.

Most of the households in the courtyard sent people to help.

Not long after breakfast, the Jia family went from house to house borrowing tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks.

If they wanted to hold a banquet in the courtyard, the Jia family naturally didn't have enough tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks, so they had to borrow from other families in the courtyard, and each family basically cooperated unconditionally.

These are all rules passed down through generations.

It's the same when other families hold banquets on other days.

Even the Xu family, who had recently clashed with the Jia family, sent someone to help after Yi Zhonghai intervened and mediated.

However, this does not include the Li family in the front yard.

Not only did their family have a happy occasion today, but Li Hongbing had also publicly stated that he would no longer have any dealings with the Jia family, so Jia Zhangshi and her family naturally wouldn't go to their door to invite humiliation.

Similarly, they held a banquet today, but they didn't invite Li Hongbing to attend yesterday.

Both sides had a good understanding.

It's worth mentioning that, despite being persuaded by Yi Zhonghai and the Jia family, Sha Zhu still managed to get his master to take over the cooking.

The Jia family consisted of only Jia Zhangshi and Jia Dongxu. Because Qinjiacun was far away, in order to bring the bride back before noon, Jia Dongxu rode a bicycle that Yi Zhonghai had borrowed from someone in the middle of the night to go to Qinjiacun to pick up the bride.

Jia Zhangshi just talked and gave orders, doing almost nothing. Fortunately, Yi Zhonghai was there to oversee the overall situation.

As Yi Zhonghai's top servant, Sha Zhu was naturally not idle either. Yi Zhonghai assigned him the primary task of purchasing ingredients. Early in the morning, he led people out to serve the Jia family, running errands for them.

Li Hongbing had nothing more to say about Sha Zhu's actions.

One can only say that Yi Zhonghai is a master strategist.

Before He Daqing ran away, he asked Yi Zhonghai to leave behind preparations and a way out for Sha Zhu. He deliberately asked Yi Zhonghai to hide them, and only when Sha Zhu was desperate did he appear as a savior and rescue Sha Zhu from the "abyss".

Under such circumstances, given Sha Zhu's personality, how could he not be extremely grateful to Yi Zhonghai? It's almost like training "suicide squads."

The only unexpected thing was the bowl of rice that the Li siblings gave him back then, which made Sha Zhu grateful to them.

Even if He Daqing were to return now and not confront Yi Zhonghai in court to uncover the truth, he probably still wouldn't be able to match Yi Zhonghai's status in Sha Zhu's heart.

Right now, almost everyone in the courtyard is busy with the Jia family's wedding preparations.

If we're talking about people with plenty of free time, aside from children who aren't in school, it's the siblings Li Hongbing and Li Hongmei.

Today is not a rest day.

Those who have jobs have already gone to work.

As for Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu, and Sha Zhu, they had specifically requested leave.

Li Hongmei and Li Hongbing are also included.

usually.

Most people choose to get married on a day off because everyone has time on that day, and there are more people who can come and help.

The reason Li Hongbing chose this day was mainly because his master, Guo Youzhong, happened to be off that day, so he wanted to take advantage of the timing.

And the Jia family.

This was done to compete with the Li family and overshadow them, so they deliberately set Jia Dongxu's wedding date on the same day Li Hongmei got married.

Therefore, they always rush to do everything.

Li Hongbing and Li Hongmei, along with Zhao Weiguo and his family, had already begun preparations when they set their wedding date more than half a month ago.

"Hongbing, go out and see what's going on. A lot of people have come and are looking for you."

Around nine o'clock in the morning, Sha Zhu, who had gone out to buy groceries for the Jia family, returned with his men and the groceries he had brought back, and brought this news to Li Hongbing.

The voice just fell.

Several burly men surged in behind Sha Zhu.

"Is that Junior Brother Hongbing?"

Upon seeing Li Hongbing standing in front of the house, and noticing the festive red paper-cut window decorations and the character for "double happiness" pasted on the doors and windows, the person who led the way in glanced at Li Hongbing and then stepped forward.

"You are……"

"Our master sent us here."

"Are you senior brothers?"

"Come on, everyone, introduce yourselves to your junior brother. I am your senior brother, Liang Damin."

"Junior brother, I am your second senior brother, Sun Xinming."

“Zheng Liguo, your third senior brother.”

"I am Master's fourth disciple, Tang..."

"..."

After they introduced themselves, Li Hongbing understood.

This must be the person Guo Youzhong said he would help him find!
Li Hongbing only needed a few people to help move the dowry, but he didn't expect that his master, Guo Youzhong, would send all of his fellow apprentices over.

Li Hongbing had heard of these senior brothers before, but this was the first time he had met them.

As Guo Youzhong's early apprentices, they have all graduated and are now skilled cooks, some of whom have even made a name for themselves.

Just like Liang Damin, the senior chef, who is now a famous head chef at Dongxinglou, he may lack seniority and seniority, but his skills and reputation are by no means inferior.

When Luan Xuetang poached people from Dongxinglou, he originally planned to take him along as well, but Guo Youzhong let him stay.

With Guo Youzhong gone, his disciple Liang Damin stayed and was able to take his place.

Thus.

Dongxinglou wouldn't suffer too much damage from losing a chef, and Liang Damin, as the apprentice, would have a better future and independent development; otherwise, he would always be overshadowed by his master.

Guo Youzhong values ​​relationships and cares for his apprentices. As apprentices, they are also very respectful of their teacher and united with him.

Today wasn't their day off, but Guo Youzhong only said one word, and they all put down what they were doing and came to help.

After everyone had been introduced, Liang Damin, the eldest disciple, smiled and said to Li Hongbing, "Originally, the other junior brothers also planned to come, but Master said that there was no need for so many people, so we only came a few. Seventh brother... that is, your seventh senior brother, he is currently outside looking at cars and has not come in yet. I will introduce you to him later."

Guo Youzhong has not a small number of apprentices, but he has at least a dozen.

Li Hongbing couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

That's not much; it's enough to fill a whole table on its own.

This is quite a big mobilization!

Thinking that all of this was arranged by Guo Youzhong, and that these senior brothers who had never met him before were also willing to go without hesitation, Li Hongbing was filled with emotion.

If Li Hongmei, his blood-related sister, was unconditionally good to him, then Guo Youzhong, his mentor, genuinely treated him as a junior.

Seeing these were his buddies, Li Hongbing experienced for the first time the power of unity within his sect.

Upon hearing from Liang Damin that there were other senior brothers outside, Li Hongbing quickly said, "Senior Brother, please come inside and have some tea. I'll go and invite Seventh Brother in. As for the car, just bring it in."

"This... might not be very convenient."

Faced with Li Hongbing's arrangement, Liang Damin hesitated.

soon.

When Li Hongbing came outside and saw a row of bicycles adorned with big red flowers, as well as two tricycles, he finally understood what Liang Damin meant by "it's not very convenient."

If they really move in, they'll take up most of the front yard, affecting people's access and making it quite inconvenient.

However, this did not stump Li Hongbing. He couldn't let his seventh senior brother, who had come specifically to help, be out in the wind and sand without even a sip of water.

"Hu Zi, Guang Fu, Jie Fang, go outside and guard those bicycles and tricycles. Don't let anyone else touch them. If anything happens, come back and report immediately. Do you understand?"

"Brother Hongbing, don't worry, I will definitely keep an eye on the car for you."

"Me too!"

"And I!"

"..."

After giving him some candy as payment, Li Hongbing directed several children in the courtyard to bring back their seventh senior brother.

The front yard is close to the outside.

If anything happens, they can easily get out in time.

soon.

When Li Hongbing had made all the arrangements and invited his seventh senior brother back, Li Hongmei had already brewed tea for him and brought out wedding candies to greet his senior brothers.

……

the other side.

News of Liang Damin and his group's arrival also reached the busy Intermediate People's Court, sparking heated discussions.

"Oh my, this is terrible."

“The Red Army’s senior brothers have arrived.”

"What senior brother?"

"Are you stupid? Li Hongbing became an apprentice of the famous chef Guo Youzhong. Weren't all the apprentices he took in before Li Hongbing's senior brothers?"

"What are they here for?"

"Nonsense! It's Li Hongbing's sister's wedding today, what do you think they would be here for?"

"You didn't see it, what a grand display! Everyone has a bicycle, and they're still parked outside!"

"They're here to support the Li family and Li Hongbing!"

"I heard that Li Hongbing's senior apprentice brother is now the head chef of Dongxinglou Restaurant, and his second apprentice brother is Sun Xinming..."

"Sigh~~"

"..."

(End of this chapter)