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

"Alright, Mom! Huairu is pregnant!" Jia Dongxu was very unhappy. His male pride instinctively made him dislike Qin Huairu taking the initiative to chat with Shazhu, but what could he do? He was a mama's boy, and he listened to whatever Jia Zhangshi said. In addition, Shazhu's boxed lunches were indeed very good, almost equal to his salary. Since he started eating boxed lunches, he hadn't spent much of his salary on food, so he often had to endure humiliation.

Seeing that her son was clearly angry, Jia Zhangshi lowered her voice, but still wouldn't let it go. At this moment, the old fat woman was also panicking. This lunchbox was almost always filled with oil and fat, and in large quantities—something ordinary families simply couldn't afford. She was used to it, and if she were to start cooking at home again, she certainly couldn't do that. For someone accustomed to eating all sorts of meat and vegetables every few days, suddenly having to eat stir-fried cabbage and cornbread every meal would be worse than death.

A growing panic gripped her, and she suddenly sat on the edge of the bed, slapping her thigh and howling, "Oh, my old Jia! You left us so young! Leaving us, a widow and orphans, to be bullied! That idiot Zhu used to say he'd take care of us, but now he's turned on us like that! Old Jia, if you're watching from heaven, open your eyes and see! Take this little beast with you!"

Seeing his mother start summoning his deceased father again, Jia Dongxu could only helplessly say, "I'll ask my master to find a solution to this."

Madam Jia wiped away her tears, then suddenly her eyes lit up, and she stopped wailing. She stared at Jia Dongxu, her voice calculating: "Dongxu, I'm asking you, how did it go with your discussion with your master about getting a main house from the He family?"

Jia Dongxu was taken aback, not expecting his mother to bring this up suddenly. He glanced at Qin Huairu, then looked at his mother: "Mom, I haven't even spoken to Master yet, this can't be rushed."

"Why can't we hurry? Look at our two dilapidated rooms, how cramped they are! We can only sleep with wooden planks between us at night, and Huairu is pregnant again, it will be even more cramped! What are those three big rooms in the He family's house for? He's a childless heir with a little money-losing child, does he need such a big place?"

"But Mom, that's someone else's house."

"Whose house?" Madam Jia pressed on relentlessly. "He Daqing ran away, leaving those two siblings as orphans. They've only survived this long thanks to our help! If they dare refuse to give us a room, I'll scratch them to death! They have no gratitude whatsoever, they're ungrateful wretches! Besides, your master is here, isn't he? With him handling it, how could he not get it done? Even if you gave Sha Zhu a hundred lives, he wouldn't dare refuse!"

Jia Dongxu remained silent for a while. In fact, he had been eyeing the He family's three main rooms for a long time. They were the best rooms in the entire courtyard, spacious and bright, with an attached side room. But it was indeed difficult to bring it up.

"Mom, Master once said that Shazhu is stubborn and needs to be tamed slowly. It will be easier to ask for the house once he is completely obedient. We can't rush it."

"He's an old man without any family left, so of course he's not in a hurry. In a few years, he'll be all grown up. Do you expect him to sleep in the same bed with you? Besides, Huairu is about to give birth, and if there's another mouth to feed, the house really won't be big enough."

Qin Huairu, listening nearby, was also somewhat tempted. Having another room would indeed make things much more spacious. That night, the couple slept only a wooden board separating them from Jia Zhangshi, and they had to be extremely careful about what they did. In fact, the old woman could hear everything, and often, if they moved too vigorously, she would cough to signal them, which was incredibly embarrassing. Besides, Banggeng was already five years old, and there was another one in her belly; eventually, they would need their own room.

Jia Dongxu thought about it and felt that his mother's words made sense. His master, Yi Zhonghai, had always taken good care of him, so he should be able to handle this small matter. Besides, Sha Zhu had no parents, so his words didn't carry much weight in this courtyard.

"Okay, then I'll go talk to my master about it later." Jia Dongxu finally nodded.

He stood up and put on his coat, saying, "Then I'll go find my master now. This matter needs to be settled as soon as possible."

"Go on, go on," Jia Zhangshi urged. "Talk to your master properly and ask him to help us make a decision. With that silly Zhu's attitude today, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause in the future. The sooner we settle on the house, the better."

Jia Dongxu nodded, pushed open the door, and went out. His house and Yi Zhonghai's house were not far apart, one with a west wing, one with an east wing, and He Yuzhu's three main rooms in the middle, just a few dozen steps away.

As he walked, he pondered how to approach his master. His master had always doted on him, so this shouldn't be difficult. Besides, his master and Sha Zhu had a good relationship; if his master intervened, Sha Zhu certainly wouldn't dare refuse.

He soon arrived at Yi Zhonghai's door. The aroma of cooking wafted from inside, clearly indicating that an older woman was starting to prepare a meal. Jia Dongxu raised his hand and gently knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" came Yi Zhonghai's deep voice from inside the house.

"Master, it's me, Dongxu."

"Dongxu, come in, come in." Yi Zhonghai's voice was full of joy.

Jia Dongxu pushed open the door and saw Yi Zhonghai sitting at the table, on which was a dish of stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings and a small wine cup, clearly already in the middle of drinking. An older woman was busy cooking another dish at the stove; seeing Jia Dongxu enter, she greeted him with a smile.

"Master, Mistress," Jia Dongxu greeted respectfully.

"Sit down, sit down." Yi Zhonghai gestured to the stool next to him. "Has Dongxu eaten? If not, why don't you join your master for a drink?"

"No need, Master. Huairu at home has already cooked it and is waiting for me to eat when I get back." Ever since Shazhu brought him the boxed lunches, Jia Dongxu really didn't like Yi Zhonghai's two dishes. He would buy some braised pork, pig's head meat or something to go with his drinks every few days. Was this pork crackling and cabbage even fit for human consumption? The old man had such a high salary and was still so stingy with himself.

Jia Dongxu sat down and hesitated before speaking, "Master, I've come to discuss something with you."

"Speak, what is it?" Yi Zhonghai put down his wine glass and looked at his apprentice.

"Master, it's like this. Our family is too big for the house right now, and my mother wants to discuss with you whether we can spare a room from the He family."

Yi Zhonghai's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't show it on his face. He picked up his wine glass, took a slow sip, and then said, "I've told you about this before, haven't I? Rushing things will only backfire. The year before last, we finally convinced Sha Zhu to bring you guys takeout, and this year he's asking for your house. His name is Sha Zhu, but he's not really stupid."

"I know, Master," Jia Dongxu quickly said. "But Shazhu was acting strangely today. He said he wouldn't bring lunchboxes home anymore and he wouldn't let anyone call him Shazhu anymore. My mom is worried that he'll become more and more disobedient, so she's thinking about whether we can settle on the house deal as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai frowned, his heart tightening. Earlier, Yan Bugui had told him that Sha Zhu's behavior upon returning today was strange, showing little respect to him, an elder. He hadn't paid much attention then, but now he heard that Sha Zhu wasn't bringing a lunchbox? This wouldn't do. He used to subsidize the Jia family a considerable amount of money every year, but since Sha Zhu started bringing lunchboxes, this expense had decreased significantly, which he absolutely couldn't tolerate. It seemed he really needed to go and see Sha Zhu to find out the truth.