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

The biting wind was like an invisible knife, scraping painfully against people's cheeks. The crowd, which had been so agitated moments before, gradually quieted down. It was only a little over ten days until the Lunar New Year, the coldest time of year in Beijing, and it was late at night. The wind blowing through the wall was unbearable; some people started stamping their feet, others tucked their hands into their sleeves and breathed on them to warm them. The scene gradually became chaotic, and even the loudest ringleaders lowered their voices.

"The child can't take it anymore, I'll take him home first."

"It's freezing! How long are we going to keep going?"

"Forget it, I'm going back too. I still have to carry heavy loads tomorrow. If I get sick from the cold, no one will care about my family. Whether Sha Zhu kicks me out or not is none of my business. Anyway, I won't get the house."

One by one, some people couldn't stand the cold and huddled up, sneaking home. Some mothers, seeing their babies' faces turning blue from the cold, quickly took them inside to warm them up. The once dense crowd visibly thinned out. This commotion and chanting of slogans were one thing, but actually getting them to actually fight was foolish. What could a bunch of little beasts possibly accomplish?

He Yushui moved a stool next to He Yuzhu and placed it on the stool, then went back to making dumplings.

He Yuzhu felt a warmth in his heart, thinking to himself that his younger sister was indeed sensible. He picked up his teacup, blew on the steam, took a slow sip, lit a cigarette, crossed his legs, and looked down at the beasts present.

"Have you shouted enough? My door is open. Come on, who was yelling about kicking me out? Come on in, I'll let you go. You can come in as you please, I promise I won't stop you."

At this point, even the commotion had died down. No one spoke, and no one dared to take a step forward; a deathly silence reigned. No one wanted to be the first to act. Even Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui remained silent like quails. They now doubted whether their few men would be enough to defeat Sha Zhu. After all, the difference in strength between them when they slapped Yan Jiecheng earlier was beyond description, not to mention that they had already lost one of their men.

Yi Zhonghai cursed inwardly that they were all useless. In critical moments, not a single one of them could be relied on. When things got serious, they all chickened out. Just as Sha Zhu had said, they were truly a rabble. Once their morale was broken, it would be hard to raise it again. The situation was getting worse and worse, and he also saw a new and terrible situation emerging.

At this moment, several figures were sitting on the walls of the adjacent courtyards on both sides of the central courtyard. It turned out that people from other courtyards on both sides had climbed up to watch the commotion. Among them was an old man smoking a pipe. Yi Zhonghai recognized him by his figure as Old Fang, the liaison officer of courtyard number 96, who was also his sworn enemy at the street office. He had repeatedly reported to the street office that the liaison officers of courtyard number 95 often held meetings and made their own decisions, coercing the neighbors. Fortunately, Director Wang of the street office had suppressed the reports with the grounds that there was no evidence.

Yi Zhonghai inwardly cried out in alarm. He could fool people with his act behind closed doors in the courtyard, but if outsiders, especially Old Man Fang, saw it, who knew what rumors would spread tomorrow! This matter couldn't continue like this, and he couldn't let He Yuzhu lead him by the nose any longer. He had to step in now, no matter what, and get the old lady to cooperate later. He had to resolve this quickly and forcefully settle the matter based on the courtyard rules and the will of the people.

Having made up his mind, he cleared his throat, preparing to steer the discussion back to getting He Yuzhu to help the Jia family.

An unexpected turn of events occurred.

Five-year-old Banggeng, who had been held by Jia Zhangshi, could clearly see He Yushui sitting at the table inside He Yuzhu's house, eating the leftover dumplings, through the open door! The Crown Prince could no longer bear it. When had he ever suffered such humiliation? If he wanted dumplings, Shazhu had to obediently bring them to him. Bah! A little bitch like her dares to eat dumplings?

Before Jia Zhangshi could react, Banggeng shot out like a firecracker, rushed up to He Yuzhu, pointed at him with his little finger, and imitated Jia Zhangshi's shrewish tone.

"Shazhu! Bring out the dumplings for me to eat! Grandma said your house, your money, and your dumplings will all belong to the Jia family in the future! You're just a childless heir! Your sister is a money-loser! Give me the dumplings now!"

Children's words may be innocent and harmless, but they are the most hurtful and also the best reflection of the quality of family upbringing.

Bang Geng's words shocked everyone present! Even Old Fang, who was watching the commotion from the wall, was stunned. He then revealed a mocking smile, puffed on his cigarette, and watched with even more fascination.

A cold glint flashed in He Yuzhu's eyes, and he slapped him hard across the face with a backhand!

This little beast was He Yuzhu's second most ruthless target for revenge. In later years, He Yuzhu treated this person with utmost sincerity, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him his own son. In many ways, He Xiao's treatment was not as good as Bang Geng's. He gave all the resources and favors he had with the big boss to this ungrateful wretch, and gave him the house and money to help him get married and have children.

But how did he treat his stepfather? On New Year's Eve, he personally threw him out of the house, not allowing him to take any of his belongings from the dilapidated house, even though there were only a few hundred yuan left. He was deliberately trying to let him freeze and starve to death. How could there be such heartless and ungrateful people in the world, and all five of them were in the Jia family? He Yuzhu was now certain that even God couldn't stand these beasts' arrogance and had given him a second chance at life.

"Snapped!"

With a sharp crack, Banggeng's small body couldn't withstand the blow. He was sent flying into the air, landing more than three meters away, rolling twice on the ground before coming to a stop, and immediately losing consciousness. This was only because He Yuzhu had held back and used a clever technique; otherwise, Banggeng's watermelon head would have flown off. He Yuzhu didn't want to die with one of them before even getting revenge; he wanted to collect some interest first and then proceed slowly.

"Bang Geng! My dear grandson!" Jia Zhangshi let out a pig-like howl and rushed over with Qin Huairu, tenderly hugging Bang Geng in her arms.

"Shazhu! You dare hit my son! I'll fight you to the death!" Jia Dongxu roared, his voice trembling with fear, but his feet were rooted to the spot, and he dared not step forward. He was truly terrified of He Yuzhu's slaps; his mouth was now full of ulcers, and even drinking a sip of water was so painful that he felt like he was going to faint.

Madam Jia sat on the ground, slapping her thighs as she began to cast a spell: "This is outrageous! He Yuzhu is bullying us orphans and widows! He even beats such a young child so badly! Old Jia, come and take a look..."

A series of dazzling accidents left the onlookers on the wall utterly astonished.

"He Yuzhu dares to stand up to the entire hospital by himself; he's quite a character!"

"Yi Zhonghai and his team have really bitten off more than they can chew this time. But they went too far, even hitting such a small child."

Old Fang scoffed, "Young? They spew vulgarities and curse people as childless. If their parents don't discipline them, someone else will! If you ask me, well done!"