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

Jia Dongxu was jolted awake by a soul-rending pain. However, he couldn't see anything when he opened his eyes, so He Yuzhu covered his face with a tattered cloth.

His thighs were still being relentlessly pounded by He Yuzhu; each pound sent shivers of excruciating pain through his very being. He suddenly opened his eyes, only to be met with complete darkness, with only the flashes of light caused by the intense pain. Then, once fully conscious, the hellish experience began.

"ah..."

A piercing scream suddenly erupted in the deathly silent alleyway of the winter night. The scream was so horrific, filled with inhuman suffering, that it gave the illusion that it was the howl of a ghost from legend.

Jia Dongxu's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, and blood vessels instantly filled his eyes. His fingers were gripping the frozen ground so hard that they were bloody and mangled.

"My legs, my legs! Help! Help! Is anyone there? Please help me!" His survival instinct drove him to scream for help at the top of his lungs. His voice was distorted and strained by extreme pain, making it sound even more eerie in the empty alley.

"Ugh!" Finally, after a violent convulsion, Jia Dongxu's head lolled to the side, and he lost consciousness again.

He Yuzhu didn't stop him. What he wanted was for Jia Dongxu to scream, so that people would be drawn over. Otherwise, he would have to find a way to lure people over himself, lest Jia Dongxu die here. He secretly stopped the bleeding in Jia Dongxu's femoral artery to prevent him from losing too much blood and dying later.

Sure enough, footsteps soon came from afar. He Yuzhu knew he had achieved his goal, and lightly flipped over the wall, disappearing into the deeper darkness with a few leaps.

. . . . . .

He turned back into the courtyard house and went directly to his room through the window. He gently closed the window, sat on the bed, took out his cigarette case, and lit a cigarette. He took a deep drag, trying to calm himself down.

Breaking Jia Dongxu's legs was a step he had planned long ago. In a sense, he even saved Jia Dongxu's life, at least preventing him from dying a tragic death in a workplace accident in his previous life. But that's not how it works.

Jia Dongxu was not the primary target on his revenge list; the real culprits were Qin Huairu and those three little bastards. Crippled Jia Dongxu, thus killing several birds with one stone.

A disabled husband, a burden requiring long-term care and unable to generate income while constantly draining the family's wealth, is enough to drag the Jia family into dire straits. Moreover, he is still fertile, ensuring Huaihua's successful birth. With a disabled husband, Qin Huairu will find it impossible to shake him off later. Furthermore, given the personalities of Qin Huairu, Jia Zhangshi, and Jia Dongxu, one can only wait for their infighting and dog-eat-dog battles—it'll be quite a spectacle, and perhaps even drag that old beast Yi Zhonghai to his death.

As for the drawbacks, there were naturally some. With Jia Dongxu disabled, Qin Huairu would inevitably have to take his place at the steel mill, and her rural household registration, along with the registrations of her several children, would be transferred to the city. In 1959, their family's ration quota was actually higher than in their previous life.

But He Yuzhu wasn't in a hurry. There were still nearly two years left; he had plenty of time to play with them. In his previous life, Xu Damao had revealed to him many of Qin Huairu's scandalous affairs at the factory in his later years, such as exchanging steamed buns for steamed buns, and even more sordid ones. He didn't believe it then, or rather, pretended not to believe it. Now that he was reborn, thinking about it again, how could those things be fake? Otherwise, why would he get a vasectomy?

What could a female factory worker, whose husband is disabled, whose family is in dire straits, and who is somewhat attractive, possibly do in the factory environment? As long as I wait patiently, I will eventually seize the opportunity and strike a fatal blow, plunging the Jia family into the abyss.

. . . . . .

At three o'clock in the morning, a series of urgent knocks echoed through the courtyard.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Open the door! Open the door now!"

In the front yard, Uncle Yan Bugui, the third oldest man, reluctantly got up, put on his old cotton-padded coat, and walked out of the house shivering. He was responsible for guarding the door; he had to get up and open it when someone knocked. He was paid two yuan a month by the neighborhood committee, plus one mao (0.1 yuan) from each household in the courtyard, which was all he was supposed to do.

"Who is it? In the middle of the night!" Yan Bugui asked irritably.

"Police station! And security from the steel mill! Open the door quickly, it's urgent, we need to see Jia Dongxu!"

Upon hearing that it was someone from the government, Yan Bugui knew that something serious must have happened. He dared not delay and quickly removed the bolt and opened the door.

Several uniformed police officers and security personnel from the steel rolling mill stood outside the door, their faces serious, and the beams of their flashlights shone directly in.

"Where does Jia Dongxu live?" the lead police officer asked directly.

"You live in the west wing of the central courtyard. I'll take you there right away," Yan Bugui said hurriedly, bowing and scraping. He was a small property owner and naturally feared government officials. At the same time, a sense of unease stirred within him. Jia Dongxu? What had this kid done to warrant the police station and security department coming to his door? Had he really gotten himself into serious trouble?

The commotion was quite loud, startling many neighbors in the front yard, who opened their doors and peeked out to see what was happening. In the middle courtyard, Jia Zhangshi was sleeping like a log, snoring loudly, completely unaware of what was going on. But Qin Huairu, heavily pregnant and already a light sleeper due to pregnancy discomfort and a vague sense of unease, was awakened.

Jia Dongxu hadn't returned yet, and she was already feeling quite anxious; he should have been home by now. Hearing the knocking at the front door and the approaching footsteps, a sense of foreboding washed over her. She hurriedly threw on some clothes, got off the kang (heated brick bed), and went to the front room. As soon as she opened her door, she saw several figures with flashlights already in the middle courtyard, heading towards her house.

"Who...who are you?"

"Mrs. Jia, these are comrades from the police station and the factory security department." "Comrades, this is Jia Dongxu's wife." Yan Bugui introduced them to each other.

An officer from the security department stepped forward. "Comrade Jia Dongxu was attacked outside last night and suffered serious injuries to both legs. He is currently receiving emergency treatment at the district hospital. He regained consciousness for a while and gave his name and workplace. We are here to take you to the hospital and also to gather some information."

"What?"

Qin Huairu felt a sudden darkness engulf her vision, her legs went weak, and she was about to collapse to the ground. Fortunately, several people nearby were prepared and reached out to support her, barely managing to steady herself.

"Dongxu, how is Dongxu? Is it serious? Who did it? Huh?" Qin Huai was already crying at this point.

"The specific situation is still under investigation. Calm down and come to the hospital with us to talk more," the police officer said from the side. Although his tone was as gentle as possible, the information he conveyed was extremely pessimistic. Qin Huairu's heart sank to the bottom.

By this time, the commotion had woken up all the residents of the Intermediate People's Court. Yi Zhonghai, He Yuzhu, and other neighbors all threw on their coats and came out to check.

Upon hearing that his own disciple had been beaten and was in the hospital with a broken leg, Yi Zhonghai couldn't sit still any longer. This was his handpicked mentor, and he couldn't afford to let him down. He quickly said something he would regret for the rest of his life to Qin Huairu, "Huairu, don't worry, your master will go to the hospital with you right away. Don't worry, I'll take care of everything!"