The Courtyard House: He Yuzhu Returns with Boundless Hatred for Revenge

And so the farce came to an end.

Supported by an older woman, Yi Zhonghai returned to the central courtyard. He was now hunched over, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant. The old man's imposing manner had completely vanished, leaving him only with constant anxiety.

In a single day, his biggest backer in this courtyard house collapsed, leaving him nothing. The loss of his treasures was heartbreaking, but what terrified him even more was the possibility that the old woman might not be able to withstand the pressure and would reveal everything about the shady dealings he had made with the deaf old woman over the years.

With the deaf old woman gone, his communication channels with Director Wang of the neighborhood committee were completely severed. Over the years, his ability to wield absolute power in this courtyard was largely due to Director Wang's influence. Now that the deaf old woman is in trouble, he can no longer maintain control of the courtyard. This old man, who has no descendants, still dares to dream of controlling the entire courtyard; he doesn't realize that tomorrow, even Gai Zi Wang will be finished.

Just as he reached the vicinity of his home in the Intermediate People's Court, his path was blocked by several people. Looking up, he saw that it was Jia and her son, along with Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui, whose faces were grim.

"Dongxu's master! You're finally back! Look what that little bastard from the He family did to my mother and me! This can't just be left like this! You're the head of the household, you have to stand up for us!"

The old fat woman, her brain seemingly filled with shit, spewed nonsense, "Pay up! You have to pay up! That little beast He Yubing dared to hit his elders, he has no respect for his elders! He has to give us two proper rooms! Otherwise, I'll smash my head against your door and die..."

Yi Zhonghai was furious. He thought, "He Yubing beat you up, and I won't compensate you? What, are you going to kill yourself in front of my house? Do you think I'm an orphan and easy to bully? Over the years, I've had to clean up the messes of this unreasonable and shrewish Jia Zhangshi for my retirement plans, but I never expected to run into such a tough nut to crack today. After being beaten so badly, this mother and son didn't offer a single word of concern, they just started throwing a tantrum, demanding money and a house. Do they really think I'm a fool?"

"I'm not going to get involved in your Jia family's affairs anymore!" After saying that, she shook off the old woman's hand that was helping her and tried to walk past them to her own home.

"Yi Zhonghai!" Liu Haizhong's fat body stepped forward to block his way. "Don't think I don't know what you and that deaf old woman have been up to all these years! I, Liu Haizhong, haven't gained much benefit from this, but if your scumbag affairs affect my work and hinder my advancement, I'll never forgive you!"

He spoke without any politeness. Liu Haizhong dreamed of becoming an official and was most afraid of getting involved with problematic people and things. As soon as the deaf old woman's incident came to light today, he immediately thought of severing ties with Yi Zhonghai. If this got back to the factory and affected his long-cherished plan to become an official, it would be worse than death for him.

With that, he glared at Yi Zhonghai and turned to walk towards his own house in the backyard.

Yan Bugui, standing to the side, wasn't much better. "Old Yi, you caused this trouble yourself, so deal with it yourself. If this affects my work, my whole family will come to your house for dinner."

The alliance of the stewards, who were once united against a common enemy, has crumbled in the blink of an eye. The old man, now widowed, is furious, his fingers trembling. "You all kept shouting 'you all' for so long, but when it came to getting benefits, you all scrambled to get your hands on me? Now you want to distance yourselves? Keep dreaming!"

Seeing that Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui had left and Yi Zhonghai was about to leave as well, Jia Zhangshi became anxious. She grabbed Yi Zhonghai's sleeve and shouted, "Yi Zhonghai, you can't leave! If you don't give me an explanation today, I'm not finished with you!"

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai was on the verge of exploding, Jia Dongxu quickly spoke up to persuade him, "Mom! Can't you just say less? Look how angry you've made my master! Let's go back first."

"Oh dear!" Madam Jia slapped her thigh and wailed, "I'm not dead yet! And you're already siding with this old man who has no descendants, not with your own mother! Old Jia! Come up and see for yourself! Look at your son, he's so unfilial! He's helping outsiders bully his own mother!"

Yi Zhonghai flung Jia Zhangshi's hand away, his voice icy, "Let go! Don't come looking for me about your Jia family's affairs anymore!" With that, he turned and walked into his house without looking back, slamming the door shut.

Jia Dongxu stared at the closed door, then at his mother who was still throwing a tantrum, his face filled with panic. His master wasn't going to help? Who would support the Jia family now? Would the whole family really starve to death?

He Yubing, too lazy to deal with the chaos outside, just wanted them to stop bothering her. She led the still bewildered Sha Zhu and the beaming He Yushui back to the main house.

He closed the door, shutting out the noise from outside. He Yubing glanced around the room, nodded, and finally a look of satisfaction appeared on her face. This silly Zhu had returned from his rebirth; putting everything else aside, at least he'd brought his love of cleanliness back with him, preventing the house from becoming a pigsty. That suited his taste.

But then he thought about it again and found it quite amusing. Wasn't this silly Zhu just his reborn self from another world? His personality and habits should be pretty much the same, except for a slight misunderstanding of the truth. Come to think of it, this feeling was actually quite interesting.

"Big brother, please sit down, please sit down and rest." He Yushui solicitously invited He Yubing to sit down, then jogged over to get a thermos and teacup. "Big brother, please have some tea. I'll go make your bed right away."

Actually, in the middle of summer, there's not much to tidy up. The men, wanting to stay cool, often just sleep in the yard. Two long benches with a bed board on top, a mat on top, and that's enough for the night.

He Yushui filled a basin with hot water, took out a mat from the cabinet, carefully wiped it inside and out with a hot towel, and then went to make a bed for He Yubing.

He Yubing took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lit one, took a deep drag, and then handed another one to Sha Zhu, who was sitting next to him deep in thought.

Sha Zhu paused for a moment, then silently took the cigarette, lit it with the match He Yubing handed him, and took a deep drag. The two brothers then began to puff away at the cigarette.

"Go to your workplace and ask for leave tomorrow morning."

Sha Zhu looked up at him. "Are you taking leave? Why?"

"Come with me to some places and take care of some things that need to be done."

Sha Zhu, reborn, is now a man who has seen through the fickle nature of the world. After today's events, he's slowly come to terms with things. Although he still doesn't see through Yi Zhonghai and his group's schemes, he at least knows that these people are problematic and might even be targeting him. Since his elder brother understands him better than he does, then calling him out tomorrow must not be without reason.

"Okay, I'll go to the factory to ask for leave first thing tomorrow morning..."