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

He Yuzhu heard every word of the cries and curses coming from Yi Zhonghai's house. He was smoking in the yard at the time, and his senses were far beyond those of ordinary people, allowing him to hear everything that was happening next door. The old woman's advice, as well as the past grievances and Yi Zhonghai's vicious accusations, all fell into his ears.

"When dogs fight, they all end up with a mouthful of fur." ​​He Yuzhu felt no sympathy for the middle-aged woman. In his view, two kinds of people couldn't share a bed. Zhang Guifen had been with Yi Zhonghai for decades; even if she wasn't the mastermind behind his schemes, she was definitely aware of them. Knowing but not reporting, tacitly approving or even cooperating—that was the original sin! She enjoyed the stability brought by Yi Zhonghai's schemes, and now she deserved to be betrayed. Moreover, judging from Yi Zhonghai's words, Zhang Guifen's parents must have owed him a debt of gratitude for being adopted. She could watch her husband curse his parents without doing anything; did she also have to be unfilial? There's always a reason why someone is pitiful.

However, He Yuzhu's eyes flickered with a hint of amusement at Yi Zhonghai's mention of not being able to have children. Having children wasn't just a woman's responsibility. Thinking about certain possibilities, an idea arose in his mind. It seemed he needed to find an opportunity to make a fuss about this, to give that old man Yi Zhonghai, who had no children, a bit of trouble. He couldn't let him keep coming to cause trouble for him; that wasn't in his style.

In the following days, just as Yi Zhonghai and his associates had planned, various rumors about He Yuzhu began to circulate quietly in the streets and alleys, and even inside the steel rolling mill.

"Have you heard? That cook from Hongxing Steel Mill, He Yuzhu, is a real tyrant in their courtyard."

"Is it that guy named Shazhu? What happened to him?"

"Hey! Don't even mention it! I heard she's a tyrant at home, even daring to beat and scold the oldest person in the neighborhood! She has absolutely no respect for the elderly or care for the young."

"That's not all! I also heard that he beats even five-year-old children severely, and he doesn't hesitate to beat women too. He's practically a living devil."

"Tsk tsk, he looks like a spirited young man, how come he's this kind of person?"

"You can know a person's face but not their heart! He's a tyrant in their courtyard; nobody dares to mess with him. I heard he's beaten up several of the old men in charge of the courtyard."

"Why doesn't the factory do anything about these black sheep?"

Rumors spread like wildfire, their content revolving around how He Yuzhu disrespected the elderly, beat women and children, acted tyrannically in the courtyard, disrupted neighborhood unity, and lacked collective honor. The rumors grew wider and more frequent, with details embellished and vividly described, as if everyone had witnessed it firsthand.

Every day on his way to and from get off work, He Yuzhu could feel the strange looks and whispers from those around him. Even at the market, the vendors recognized him as the bully of the compound, which was quite frustrating. At the factory, only the people in the canteen were close to him. Luckily, he wasn't in charge of the large batches of food anymore, nor did he go to the kitchen to serve food; otherwise, he would definitely be the center of attention at lunchtime.

However, He Yuzhu remained remarkably calm, even indifferent, in the face of all this. This level of public criticism was like a gentle breeze to him, utterly harmless. He was no longer the foolish Yuzhu who cared about empty fame and was easily morally manipulated. Having died once, he knew better than anyone that these superficial things meant nothing in the face of real power and profit.

Of course, that's the point. If someone else were in that situation, they might not be able to withstand such a public outcry. And once it escalates to a certain point, both the factory and the local government would inevitably have to intervene. The saying "Public opinion cannot be defied, and the people's hearts cannot be betrayed" is not just empty talk.

But this was nothing to He Yuzhu. Because he possessed a tremendous asset, one that those beasts had consistently overlooked—He Yuzhu's trump card: his status as a third-generation farmer. Whether the beasts' understanding was truly limited to their small courtyard house, or whether they knew very little about class background, no one seemed to grasp the true power of a farmer's status.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Party Constitution clearly defined the roles of poor peasants and hired peasants, with the most crucial word being "pure." Such a pure group—you think you can harm them with mere rumors? Isn't that ridiculous?

Without concrete evidence, any vicious attacks, rumors, and slanders against this class can be seen as harboring malicious intentions and ulterior motives, or even escalated to a higher level, indicating that the enemy has never given up on destroying us.

This is He Yuzhu's greatest source of confidence. Otherwise, when the storm raged in his previous life, he first beat up Li Huaide, the director of the GWH (Government Affairs Bureau) of the Wanren Steel Rolling Mill, then beat up the deputy director Xu Damao, and finally escaped unscathed. Did you really think it was because of Li Huaide's magnanimity, or because a deaf old lady broke a few panes of glass? Don't be ridiculous! Anyone who has read a few books on the history of the Cultural Revolution will understand that even a group leader back then could kill someone.

The only thing that brought him some warmth was his colleagues in the cafeteria. Because he had told them about what happened in the courtyard house early on, they were all united in their hatred of the enemy and stood by his side from the very beginning.

Liu Lan was the most enthusiastic among them. She rushed to He Yuzhu in the morning, saying, "Yuzhu, be careful! Someone outside is deliberately spreading rumors about you! In our alley, a couple of days ago there was a fat, triangular-eyed old woman who kept talking badly about you to everyone she met, making it sound so credible. Do you think it could be someone from your courtyard?"

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu's eyes turned cold. Fat and chubby, with triangular eyes? Most likely, it's that old hag Jia Zhangshi! It seems these beasts have completely lost all shamelessness, resorting to any means necessary, even such despicable tricks.

He had a rough idea of ​​what the beasts were up to, so he held back, wanting to see if anyone would actually stand up for them and end up getting their heads smashed, just as he had imagined.

"Sister Lan, thank you for your trouble. But it's alright, let them pass it on." He Yuzhu calmly took a sip of tea. "It's like a toad crawling on your foot; it doesn't bite, but it's disgusting. That's all they're capable of."

"Don't be careless!" A middle-aged woman who was helping out in the kitchen chimed in worriedly, "Gossip can be a real killer! Zhu Zi, if your reputation is ruined, it'll be hard for you to find a partner in the future!"

"A partner?" He Yuzhu scoffed. "Auntie, if I'm going to find someone, I'll find someone reasonable. I wouldn't even consider someone who can be fooled by a few rumors. Besides, right now I just want to do my job well and raise my sister. Nothing else is urgent. A real man has nothing to worry about when he can't find a wife."