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

Chapter 44 Lou Zhenhua

the next day.

Li Hongbing got up early as usual.

In those days, there was no nightlife.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the urban area of ​​Beijing continued to expand its power coverage, and Nanluoguxiang, located in the city center, had already achieved power supply.

only.

Due to the tight power supply, the current power supply is divided into sections according to area, and power outages are frequent. Every household still keeps and uses kerosene lamps for daily use.

To save electricity and kerosene, people generally go to bed early at this time.

Do as the locals do.

Li Hongbing naturally followed this routine as well.

After blocking Sha Zhu last night, Yi Zhonghai didn't make any further moves, so the night was very quiet.

In reality, Yi Zhonghai's skills are limited. After crippling his grandfather, he can't come up with any new tricks.

In the original drama.

Yi Zhonghai had been the manager of the courtyard house for over a decade, and it took him more than ten years to turn it into a "one-man show" for him and his fellow elders.

Now that Li Hongbing has arrived, such a thing is impossible.

They themselves didn't dare report the deaf old woman's situation to the police, so naturally they couldn't do anything about Li Hongbing.

After having breakfast at home, Li Hongbing set off for Fengzeyuan.

Because Fengzeyuan is farther away, Li Hongbing has to leave home much earlier than the others in the compound in the morning.

Not long after arriving at the kitchen, Li Hongbing saw Guo Youzhong come in from outside. He immediately went up to him with the bag of tea he had specially brought that morning and said, "Master Guo, thank you for your help the other day. I was off yesterday, so I went out and bought some tea. Please accept this!"

This tea was naturally half a pound of small-leaf jasmine tea that Li Hongbing bought yesterday at Zhang Yiyuan Tea Shop.

Although it's only half a pound, it's still not cheap.

Two days ago, Guo Youzhong stepped in and directly helped him solve a problem, so Li Hongbing naturally wanted to express his gratitude.

however.

Li Hongbing's actions, however, made Guo Youzhong's face darken.

"What are you doing?"

"Master Guo, a couple of days ago..."

"I already said, I just don't want to see you making a mess of the kitchen. I have no interest in your business. Take the tea leaves back."

“Master Guo, I didn’t mean anything by it. Regardless of what you were thinking, you really helped me, and I can’t just leave without showing my appreciation. Besides, I’ve already bought the tea…”

"I haven't even said anything to you yet! How much do you make a month? And you're buying such expensive tea. Aren't you living frugally? You young people, you squander every penny you have..."

"..."

It would have been better if Li Hongbing hadn't tried to persuade him; the moment he spoke, Guo Youzhong's expression turned even more unpleasant.

Li Hongbing hadn't expected this situation beforehand, and immediately felt somewhat embarrassed.

"Alright, give me the tea leaves!"

Seemingly sensing Li Hongbing's embarrassment, Guo Youzhong's expression softened slightly, and he said, "Just consider it as you running an errand for me. I asked you to buy this tea for me. Just tell me how much it costs. I don't have any money with me today, but I'll give it to you tomorrow."

"Hey!"

Given the current situation, Li Hongbing dared not object and had no choice but to comply.

There's no one else going to go this far with gifts.

Li Hongbing felt quite embarrassed.

But Li Hongbing could sense that although Guo Youzhong's attitude was not very good, it was also well-intentioned. He knew that Guo's salary was not high and did not want him to "spend money", so he did it on purpose.

But let’s be honest.

Li Hongbing is just an apprentice, earning only 150,000 yuan a month. Even with the 100,000 yuan bonus he received this month, buying this tea is already an overspending expense.

Li Hongbing couldn't bring himself to give away anything too shabby.

Things took a little beyond Li Hongbing's expectations, and aside from being a bit awkward, there was nothing else wrong.

"Hey! Lao Guo, what kind of tea are you drinking? It smells so good!"

"Yesterday, Xiao Li was off work, so I asked him to buy me some small-leaf jasmine tea that Zhang Yiyuan had bought for me."

"You really know how to boss people around. Little Li finally gets a day off, and you can't even let him have a moment's peace."

"Hahaha……"

"Give me some tea!"

"If you want some, go buy it yourself!"

"No way! Give me some! We're such good friends, you can't just keep good stuff to yourself, give me a little!" "Wow! Just a little? Give me more..."

"..."

Back in the kitchen, seeing this very interesting scene, Li Hongbing almost couldn't help but laugh.

End of episode.

What awaited them next was, of course, the familiar daily routine of working in the kitchen.

[Cooking Skill +1]

[Cooking Skill +1]

……

My cooking experience points are increasing little by little, but the speed is still not fast.

It's far inferior to cooking, at least compared to making dishes.

Even so.

After accumulating experience over this period, plus the thirty cooking experience points he gained yesterday, Li Hongbing finally received the system notification two days later than expected during the busiest time in the kitchen at noon.

[Heaven rewards diligence! Congratulations, host, your culinary skill level has increased from lv1 to lv2! Your cooking skills have reached a new level, and you are rewarded with three million in cash and a set of fine knives!]

comfortable.

Looking at the extra three million in system space and that set of exquisite knives, Li Hongbing was in a very good mood.

Yesterday, Li Hongbing went out and made a lot of purchases, which naturally cost him a lot of money. Today, the reward for unlocking the skill upgrade has made Li Hongbing's wallet bulge again.

As for that set of knives...

If a workman wants to be good, he must first sharpen his weapon.

A good cook, while not limited by external factors, certainly benefits from having a good set of knives.

[Host: Li Hongbing]

【Age: 16】

Strength: 56, Agility: 61, Constitution: 60, Intelligence: 86 (Standard adult value is 60)

skill:
[Running: lv1 (37/500)]

[Cooking Skill: lv2 (0/2000)]

Driving: lv1 (411/500)

Swimming: lv2 (967/2000)

【Eight Pieces of Brocade: Level 2 (1957/2000)】

……

After opening the system panel, I saw that in addition to the improvement in cooking skills, from lv1 apprentice cooking skills to lv2 beginner cooking skills, Li Hongbing's various physical attributes, such as strength, agility and physique, have also increased slightly compared to before.

Although the increase wasn't significant, Li Hongbing's physical fitness in all aspects is gradually improving.

After a brief lapse in concentration, Li Hongbing quickly returned to his work.

Now is the busiest time in the kitchen, and Li Hongbing is naturally busy as well.

Not long after, someone ran over to inform him: "Hongbing, the shopkeeper wants you to come over."

"Brother Zhang, I can't leave right now!"

Li Hongbing was somewhat embarrassed.

His current job requires constant supervision.

Don't underestimate the seemingly mundane task of scraping spoons; if done poorly, it can directly impact the operation of the kitchen.

Once the cooking stops, no one washes the pots that were just used for cooking.

Before long, the master chefs will run out of pots to use.

"Wu Jun, come and cover for Hong Bing for a while. The shopkeeper needs to see him."

soon.

Wu Jun, the "unlucky guy," was conscripted into the army with a bitter face on his face.

The job he least wanted to do was to help out with the cooking, because it meant being close to the master chefs and getting scolded easily.

"Brother Zhang, what does the shopkeeper want with me?"

On his way to see Luan Xuetang after leaving the kitchen, Li Hongbing couldn't help but ask Brother Zhang about it.

"Actually, it's not the shopkeeper who's looking for you, it's Director Lou who's here. He wants to see you!"

"..."

(End of this chapter)