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

Rain followed behind him, habitually glancing behind him, and asked softly, "Brother, did you not bring your lunchbox back today?" There was a hint of expectation in her eyes, but more of a cautiousness, as if she was afraid of upsetting her brother.

At this point, He Yuzhu hadn't yet been brainwashed into the same idiotic state by Yi Zhonghai and others as he would later become, nor had he reached the point of being the ultimate simp for Qin Huairu. Although his lunchboxes were always intercepted when he brought them back, at least He Yuzhu could still think of his younger sister at home and share some with her.

He Yuzhu looked around the spacious but somewhat messy and desolate room and sighed inwardly. This girl would rather freeze than light the stove when she got home from school, preferring to wait for him to come back and do it. It seemed that he had been too indulgent in the past.

He turned around and looked at the rain: "I won't bring a lunchbox anymore."

"Ah?" Yu Shui's little face fell instantly, her eyes filled with panic. Not bringing a lunchbox meant that her family might go hungry again, just like when her father had just left. She was at an age where she could eat a lot, and the memory of hunger terrified her.

Seeing his sister's expression, He Yuzhu felt some of the resentment stemming from his past life dissipate, replaced by a pang of sadness. He softened his tone and said, "Don't panic. There's no cafeteria; we'll cook for ourselves at home. I promise, I'll make sure you're well-fed, and that the food is better than the cafeteria leftovers."

"Really?" Yu Shui suddenly looked up, her eyes instantly filled with disbelief. Although the cafeteria food was oily and greasy, she rarely ate anything substantial; she mostly ate scraps and rice soaked in broth. Being able to eat her fill was incredibly good news for her!

"When have I ever lied to you?" He Yuzhu looked at the simple and pure joy in his sister's eyes, and his heart softened a little, but he immediately hardened his heart again. He couldn't repeat the same mistake.

"However," he changed the subject, pointing to the somewhat messy room, "the house needs to be tidied up. Look at this floor, how long has it been since it was properly swept? The dust on the table, and your own room—you're a grown woman now, you should pay more attention to cleanliness. And you don't even light the stove when you come home, aren't you cold? I'm busy at work every day, so you have to take responsibility for cleaning the house, including washing my clothes. From now on, we'll cook for ourselves, and you'll have to wash the dishes promptly. Can you do that?"

Rain was currently immersed in the immense joy of having a full meal, and the request to do chores seemed trivial to her. She immediately nodded vigorously, a rare, genuine smile even appearing on her face: "Yes, brother, I can! I promise to clean the house spotless! I'll go sweep the floor right now!"

As she spoke, she excitedly turned to find a broom, her movements much lighter than usual. To her, earning the right to a full stomach through labor was a matter of course and an incredibly worthwhile thing. She hadn't expected to get something for nothing; it was just that her brother had taken care of everything, and since she often brought lunchboxes home and the family didn't cook, she had become lazy.

Looking at his younger sister's small, busy figure, He Yuzhu could only sigh. It seemed that he was mostly at fault. His boundless pampering in the early stages, followed by boundless neglect in the later stages, would have caused any normal person to have mental problems if they experienced such a huge contrast. It was already quite remarkable that He Yushui had finally severed ties with him after she was over middle age.

He slowly walked into the inner room, put down what he was carrying, and his gaze swept over everything familiar yet strange. Home, once his haven, had become his grave. Three main rooms, one side room, and the backyard house belonging to the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai—all had benefited the widow and that little beast Banggeng. In the end, the He family became the first in the courtyard to die out—a truly ironic turn of events.

As people gradually returned home from work, the courtyard began to echo with the sounds of commotion from each household. From the west wing, one could faintly hear Jia Zhangshi's shouts and curses coming from the direction of the Jia family. It was probably Qin Huairu recounting the important matter of never bringing boxed lunches again and Sha Zhu's unusual behavior.

He Yuzhu coldly curled the corners of his lips. Having been reborn, he was determined to sever all ties with these people today. He didn't know where this world would lead him, but one thing was certain: it was a fight to the death. He would avenge the grudges of his past life. He would use the most vicious, despicable, and cold-blooded methods to make these beasts wish they were dead. Death was too good for them; only by making them taste a hundredfold, a thousandfold, the pain he had suffered in his previous life could he quell the hatred in his heart.

They returned to the Jia family.

Qin Huairu pushed open the door and came in, her face looking very grim.

Madam Jia peeked out from the inner room, her small eyes gleaming as she scanned Qin Huairu's hands: "Huairu, what delicious food did that silly little rascal bring back today? Hey, why didn't you bring a lunchbox?"

Qin Huairu bit her lip, her voice a little tight: "Mom, Dongxu, Shazhu didn't bring his lunchbox home today."

"What?!" Jia Zhangshi's voice instantly rose eight octaves. "Didn't bring it? What's wrong with that silly Zhu?"

Jia Dongxu, who was taking off his factory uniform, stopped what he was doing when he heard this, his brows furrowing even deeper: "Why didn't you bring it for no reason?"

"He said the factory has been cracking down lately, and they're not letting us bring food from the canteen home anymore, saying it's undermining the country's interests," Qin Huairu said softly, her hand unconsciously rubbing her stomach.

"Bullshit!" Jia Zhangshi slammed her hand on the table and jumped up. "What are you talking about, undermining the country's foundation? That's just leftovers from the workers' meals! Isn't it a waste to throw it away? This idiot Zhu is clearly doing it on purpose!"

Then she pointed at Qin Huairu's nose and started cursing, "You useless thing! I always tell you to talk to Sha Zhu nicely, but all you do is put on airs! Now look what's happened, they won't bring us food anymore, right? What good are you? You're so pregnant and you can't even get a boxed lunch!"

Qin Huairu's eyes reddened, and she said aggrievedly, "Mom, there are rules in this factory that Sha Zhu can't be brought along. What can I do?"

"Factory rules?" Jia Zhangshi sneered. "Why weren't there any rules before? We've been doing this for so many years without any problems. Why are there suddenly rules today? I think this idiot Zhu is up to no good and is deliberately not delivering to our house!"

Jia Dongxu's face also darkened: "What else did Sha Zhu tell you?"

Qin Huai thought for a moment and said, "He's acting strangely today. He won't let anyone call him Sha Zhu anymore, saying he wants to be called Zhu Zi or He Yu Zhu. Also, he calls me Jia Jia's sister-in-law instead of Qin Jie."

"Hey!" Madam Jia slapped her thigh in anger. "That idiot Zhu's got too big for his britches, hasn't he? He wants to cut ties with us? He's dreaming. He's not called 'idiot Zhu' anymore? What right does an orphan like him have to be so picky? And 'Sister-in-law Jia'? We used to call him that so nicely, didn't we? What kind of airs is he putting on? Our Jia family used to treat him so well, and he's such a heartless little beast!"

"Mom, calm down," Jia Dongxu comforted his mother, but his brows furrowed deeply. With so many mouths to feed at home, my meager salary is hardly enough.

In fact, with Jia Dongxu's salary, he could definitely support five or six people in this era. After all, it wasn't the disaster year that followed, there was no rationing system, and grain prices were cheap. But what could he do when his family had a fat pig weighing almost 200 pounds who was picky about food?

Qin Huairu kept her head down and remained silent, her heart pounding with anxiety. She was pregnant and needed plenty of nutrition. There was also her son, Xiaobanggeng, who was at the age where he was growing and needed to eat well. And then there was that fat woman who ate the equivalent of three or four people's meals in one sitting. Without Shazhu's lunchbox, life at home would definitely be tough.

"It's all your fault!" Madam Jia grew angrier the more she thought about it, directing her anger entirely at Qin Huairu. "You jinx! You brought no good fortune into our Jia family! Now you can't even appease a simpleton like Sha Zhu, what good are you?"

"Mom, how can you say that? I'm Dongxu's wife. If you keep telling me to get close to Shazhu, how can my reputation be good? How can I live?" Qin Huairu was almost in tears.

"Pah! I see right through you. Stop pretending to be virtuous and talk back! I'll beat you to death!" With that, Madam Jia went to get a feather duster, ready to give Qin Huairu a good beating.