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

When Yi Zhonghai left the hospital, he felt more exhausted than ever before. The elderly person he had painstakingly raised for five years was now useless, and the whole family was a mess, impossible to shake off, and he was covered in filth. Back at the courtyard house, he ate something, told an older woman about the situation, and then went to the deaf old woman's room in the backyard.

The deaf old lady was sitting in a grand chair resting when she saw Yi Zhonghai come in, and she didn't even lift her eyelids.

"Grandma," Yi Zhonghai called out, his voice irritated.

"Hmm, you're back? How's that kid Dongxu? I heard about him from Guifen this morning. Humph, he's no good. He's so young and already indulging in drinking, gambling, and eating. If it weren't for the strict regulations in Xinhua, I bet he wouldn't even let go of whoring. And you have the nerve to keep saying how sensible and filial he is."

"He's awake, but both his legs are gone; he's completely crippled." Yi Zhonghai sighed. "Grandma, what can we do now? He's my disciple who kowtowed to me; we can't just abandon him."

She then briefly recounted how Jia Dongxu had told the police about her gambling at the hospital, and the story of Jia Zhangshi.

"Grandma, could you please put in a good word for Dongxu with Director Yang again? If he loses his job, our whole family will be doomed."

"Hmph!" The deaf old woman slammed her cane on the ground, interrupting him. "Zhonghai, you're getting worse with age! Jia Dongxu is a cripple now. Is it worth wasting my last bit of goodwill with Factory Director Yang for a cripple? What if something happens to you at the factory later? What will I use to help you then?"

"The Jia family is a bottomless pit! Don't you know what kind of person Jia Zhangshi is? She can easily get into trouble and still have to pay a hundred in compensation! You should stay far away from a family like that, instead of thinking of getting close to them? Take my advice, cut ties with the Jia family as soon as possible! It's good that Jia Dongxu lost his job, since those houses belong to the factory. Just take them back and let them fend for themselves! Otherwise, they'll rot in the courtyard and suck your blood!"

"Grandma, that's true, but Dongxu is, after all, my own disciple whom I kowtowed to. As for Huairu, she's a good, sensible, and filial child. If the Jia family really falls apart, she'll be left with the child... Sigh."

At this moment, Yi Zhonghai's mind conjured up the image of Qin Huairu, her face streaked with tears, clinging tightly to his arm and pleading. A thought began to stir within him again. Jia Dongxu was crippled; perhaps Qin Huairu... ... He even entertained a bold idea: Qin Huairu seemed like a woman who could bear children easily; what if she could give him a son or daughter...?

The deaf old woman was shrewd and experienced. Having colluded with him for years, how could she not see through Yi Zhonghai's schemes? She sneered, "I know what you're up to! Qin Huairu? She's a vixen! She's only behaving subserviently in front of you now because she has no other choice. Once she's no longer restrained, do you think she'll obediently support you in your old age? Dream on! She's even more cunning and calculating than Jia Zhangshi! Be careful, or she'll end up gnawing you clean!"

Yi Zhonghai, feeling embarrassed that his thoughts had been exposed, said awkwardly, "Grandma, you're too kind. I just feel that Huairu has had a tough time."

"There are plenty of people who have it tough! How can you possibly manage them all?" The deaf old woman waved her hand impatiently. "Alright, I can't handle this, and I have no way to manage it. You'll have to figure out Jia Dongxu's job yourself. I'm not going to waste my time cleaning up the messes of these idiots! Go back now, I'm tired."

Seeing the deaf old lady's resolute attitude, Yi Zhonghai knew that further pleading would be useless. He couldn't help but feel resentful, but he dared not show it. He could only suppress his anger and reluctantly take his leave.

After leaving the backyard, Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and decided he still needed to arrange for someone to go to the hospital to relieve Qin Huairu. After all, she was heavily pregnant, and staying up all night would definitely be too much for her, plus she needed to come back to get the money. Back home, he instructed an older woman who was sewing shoe soles, "Go to the hospital tonight and look after Dongxu for Huairu overnight."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged woman paused, looked up, and said with obvious reluctance, "Old Yi, you know my health, and besides, Dongxu is a man after all. How can I..."

"Just go when I tell you to!" Yi Zhonghai was already annoyed and didn't hold back at all. "Huai Ru is about to give birth, can she hold on? The Jia family is in such a state now, if we don't help them out, what will the neighbors think? If it weren't for you, this barren hen, I, Yi Zhonghai, wouldn't be in this situation now!"

Seeing that Yi Zhonghai was getting angry, the old woman dared not say anything more. She could only put down her work, get up and pack her things, while cursing the Jia family ancestors for eighteen generations in her heart.

After settling things with the older woman, Yi Zhonghai finally felt a little more at ease. As for Jia Dongxu's job, he could only wait and see, and wait for the factory's decision. Right now, he needed to appease the Jia family, especially Qin Huairu.

. . . . . .

In the evening, Qin Huairu dragged herself slowly back to the courtyard house. After finally dealing with the concern of Yan Bugui and the crowd of onlookers in the front yard, she finally returned home.

As soon as they entered the house, Bang Geng, who was already dizzy from hunger, cried out for food. The eldest prince hadn't eaten all day, and at five years old, he couldn't cook for himself. The neighbors around heard Bang Geng crying, but no one paid any attention, including an old lady. Right now, the Jia family was like dog shit; whoever got involved with them was doomed.

Qin Huairu quickly started a fire and made a few cornbread buns for Banggeng to eat. The little beast was still clamoring for meat, clearly looking down on this coarse grain food. Little did he know that in a while, even having enough coarse grains to eat every day would be a luxury for the Jia family.

After settling Banggeng in temporarily, Qin Huairu followed Jia Zhangshi's directions and went to the corner of the inner room. She carefully pried open a loose brick. Reaching inside, she found a cloth bundle.

I took out the cloth bag, opened it, and my eyes widened in surprise!

Inside were stacks of banknotes! I counted them—over four hundred! There were also a dozen silver dollars and a large bundle of gold yuan notes!

That old hag! She's hiding so much money and won't give a single penny out, watching her whole family starve and not even paying for Dongxu's medical bills when he's injured! And it looks like this is just one of the places she's hiding the money!

And these gold yuan notes, why didn't we exchange them back then? Now they're all worthless! Qin Huai cursed Jia Zhangshi a thousand times over.

Anger rose in my heart, and evil thoughts arose in my mind. I steeled myself and took out 150 yuan from the 400-plus yuan.

"We can't just stand by and watch the whole family starve, and Dongxu not have money for nutrition, can we?" Qin Huairu consoled herself. "As for whether that old hag will come after me when she gets out, we'll deal with that later! Right now, I can only worry about what's in front of me!"