In 2025, molecular gastronomy master Chen Fan unexpectedly transmigrates into He Yuzhu, nicknamed “Silly Zhu,” from Love in the Courtyard. Faced with Qin Huairu draining him dry, Xu Damao plotting against him, and the whole courtyard circling like wolves, he lets out a cold laugh. “Silly Zhu’s days as everyone’s sucker are over!”
Using modern culinary techniques and a scientific grasp of flavor, he filters water through stove ash to make fragrant brown rice, and turns a few drops of soy sauce into a broth that makes cabbage and tofu taste like soup stock. He becomes a legend with a single battle in the steel mill canteen. With firm boundaries and cunning schemes, he stands up to Jia Zhangshi’s tantrums, sees through Yi Zhonghai’s plans to rely on him in old age, and fights back against Xu Damao’s false accusations, turning the courtyard into his own showcase of cooking and strategy.
From head cook in the canteen to launching into business after reform and opening up with his “He’s Flavor House,” then building a nursing home to benefit his neighbors, he stages one spectacular comeback after another. His relationship with Qin Huairu deepens from tentative probing into true love, while his feuds with the courtyard residents gradually come to an end. Watch this transmigrated chef stir up a storm with a single ladle, live life on his own terms in the 1960s, and turn the courtyard into a warm, bustling place filled with love!
