Courtyard House: The Frog Boy Brings Back a Genetic Potion at the Start

Hao Jianguo patted the little frog squatting on the corner of the table. "So thoughtful, it knows to add more food."

After saying that, he happily began to enjoy the unexpected delicious meal.

The aroma of mutton wafted from the grill and drifted out of the courtyard wall on the breeze.

The smell made the people in the courtyard restless, and the food in their hands suddenly lost its flavor.

The most upset were those families who had a grudge against Hao Jianguo; they were all gritting their teeth, wishing they could rush over and confront him.

Sha Zhu was so angry he almost overturned the table—he was living a miserable life, so why was that guy able to have such a comfortable life?

Even the usually composed Yi Zhonghai muttered to himself: as an eighth-grade fitter, with the highest income in the institute, how come he doesn't know how to enjoy life as well as Hao Jianguo?

However, Hao Jianguo didn't take their jealousy to heart at all.

After finishing the lamb leg, he took out the recipe and tried it out.

In just a short while, I felt lighter and my senses were much clearer than before.

……

On the second day of his rest, Hao Jianguo had originally arranged to meet Yu Li.

Just as he was about to leave, he caught a glimpse of Jia Zhangshi sneaking around outside his door.

"It seems the lesson learned last time wasn't enough."

Hao Jianguo found it amusing—the old woman's demeanor was downright guilty.

It's written all over their faces.

Since she wants to play, let's play along.

He had already stored all the valuables in his storage space, and now he deliberately took out a few pieces of meat and hung them high in a conspicuous place in the room.

There was a stool under the meat, but he had tampered with it.

Given Jia Zhangshi's weight, if she were to step on it to steal meat, she would surely fall hard.

"I'm afraid you won't dare to come."

Before leaving, Hao Jianguo thought to himself, and was actually somewhat looking forward to seeing how bold the old woman was.

……

Yu Li was already waiting in the park.

She craned her neck and kept looking around, looking like a stone waiting for its husband.

During this time, Yu Li was constantly on edge.

After their last meeting, she was extremely satisfied with Hao Jianguo and thought he would take the initiative to contact her, but she waited and waited without any news.

She even asked one of her sisters who worked at the factory to secretly inquire, fearing that he had already lost interest in her.

Hao Jianguo was actually aware of all of this.

He had his own way of dealing with such a naive girl.

"You're here!"

Upon seeing Hao Jianguo, Yu Li's face immediately broke into a smile.

The two spread out a cloth on the lawn and sat down side by side.

Hao Jianguo brought a lot of food, and while sharing fruit and chatting, the distance between them gradually shortened.

People came and went in the park, and many eyes fell on the young couple.

The man was tall and handsome, and the woman was pretty and gentle; they were a perfect couple.

"Look how lucky that girl is! Her boyfriend is handsome, and she even has a bicycle!"

"Is that a watch on his wrist? He probably comes from a cadre family..."

"They eat so much food, I might not even be able to afford that much during the Lunar New Year."

The whispers drifted over, making Yu Li's cheeks flush, but her heart felt sweet.

At this moment, Hao Jianguo took out a small iron box from his pocket and handed it to her.

"I brought you some face cream; the scent suits you quite well."

Yu Li's eyes lit up instantly, and when she took the box of face cream with both hands, her joy almost overflowed from her eyes.

"Try applying it and see if it suits your taste."

Hao Jianguo said gently from the side.

She nodded immediately, lightly applied a little cream with her fingertips, and delicately spread it evenly on her cheeks and the back of her hands.

As the delicate fragrance wafted through the air, Yu Li knew in her heart that this must be a top-quality product, and that Hao Jianguo must have put in a lot of effort. Thinking this, a hint of embarrassment appeared on her face.

Once the cream had fully melted and her skin was smooth and radiant, she noticed Hao Jianguo staring intently at her, his brows slightly furrowed, as if there was something on her face.

"What's wrong? Is there... something wrong with my face?"

Yu Li couldn't help but feel nervous, and her voice became a little softer.

Hao Jianguo nodded seriously. "Yes, it is a little different."

"Don't move, let me take a look."

Hearing him say that, Yu Li felt a pang of anxiety, fearing that she might have made a fool of herself in front of him.

Just as she was feeling uneasy, Hao Jianguo's fingers gently landed on her cheek and quickly pinched it with a warm touch.

Yu Li felt a "boom" on her face.

The ground suddenly burst into flames, and even the roots of my ears felt scorching hot.

"What... is different?"

She lowered her eyelashes, her voice as soft as a whisper.

Hao Jianguo suddenly leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"A different kind of beauty."

If these words were spoken in later generations, they might seem too blunt, or even a bit cliché.

But at this moment, for Li, it was like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples.

Just that one sentence made her heart skip a beat, then start pounding again. Amidst her shyness, a sweet feeling also welled up inside her.

"You...you're just talking nonsense."

She playfully pushed Hao Jianguo away, and couldn't help but smile.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Hao Jianguo took Yu Li to see a movie.

Throughout the entire day, the smile on Yu Li's lips remained almost constant.

As dusk fell, Hao Jianguo escorted her to the alleyway near her home.

As they were parting, Yu Li suddenly turned around and ran to him, tilting her head up, her eyes reflecting the twilight.

"Jianguo, thank you."

My sisters... they're so envious of me.

Hao Jianguo smiled with a hint of doubt and asked, "What do you envy?"

"You envy me... for being able to be with you."

Before she finished speaking, she had already turned and run away. The evening breeze ruffled the stray hairs on her forehead, but could not hide the blush on her cheeks.

As dusk settled, the courtyard gradually fell silent.

After peering around cautiously for a while, Jia Zhangshi shrank back and quietly slipped out the door.

She had been observing carefully during the day, and seeing that Hao Jianguo's family had not made any move, she figured he wouldn't be back anytime soon, which emboldened her.

"You're always eating and drinking well, and you don't even know how to hide it. It's making people's hearts itch... You asked for it if I took something from you today."

She muttered to herself, as if trying to find a pretext for what she was about to do.

Jealousy gnawed at the old woman's heart, enabling her to justify such shameful thoughts with a clear conscience.

Of course, such self-justification is nothing more than a fig leaf to cover up those shameful thoughts.

Compared to her grandson Banggeng's previous aggressive act of kicking down the door and blatantly robbing, Jia Zhangshi was more guilty and knew to cover it up.

She was carrying an enamel basin with a few old clothes piled up haphazardly inside, and she was walking towards the Hao family's house while muttering to herself.

"Sigh, we're neighbors, it's not good to keep things at odds."

You're a grown man, your house must be a mess. I'm just doing you a favor and tidying it up, washing and cleaning, as a way of making things easier for you."

She almost believed it herself.

After all, didn't her own daughter-in-law, Qin Huairu, often clean the house and do the laundry for that silly Zhu? She felt that this excuse was flawless.

When she arrived at Hao Jian's house, Jia Zhangshi was delighted—the door was ajar and not locked properly.

She quickly slipped inside, closed the door behind her, and glanced guiltily outside.

After calming herself down, she finally looked around the room.

With just one look, it was as if my eyes were nailed to the spot.

There were quite a few snacks on the table, dried meat and dried fruit, scattered about, as if they were waiting for someone to enjoy them.

"That bastard really knows how to enjoy life! He has so many nice things hidden in his house; he must have bought them with the money he swindled from us!"

"Since they were purchased with my money, they naturally belong to me. What's wrong with taking my own belongings?"

The old woman grabbed an apple from the table with a straight face and took a big bite. Her other hand was already full of sunflower seeds, which she cracked open incessantly, scattering shells all over the floor.

She turned around and started rummaging through drawers and cabinets again, completely disregarding whether she would make a mess of the house.

Ironically, the old woman's behavior was exactly the same as her grandson's, which shows that there was indeed a reason why the child had gone astray.

After searching for a long time, Granny Jia couldn't find even a single copper coin.

She had been hoping to recover some of the money Hao Jianguo had taken from her in the past, but now she couldn't help but mutter angrily, "How strange, where does that kid hide the money? Does he carry it on his person all the time?"

Seeing that it was getting late, any further delay might cause them to run into their master returning.

She hurriedly grabbed some things she could carry and rushed to the eaves where the cured meat was hanging—she had her eye on this meat as soon as she entered the house, and it was her primary target for the day.

Without thinking, Granny Jia stepped onto the low stool, stood on tiptoe to reach for the fleshy rope, but then "snap!"

With a crisp crack, the wooden stool fell apart!

"Ouch--"

She screamed and fell to the ground with a thud, her sturdy body knocking over the table and shattering cups, plates, and bowls all over the floor.

Granny Jia couldn't care less about anything else; she only felt as if her hip bones were about to crack, and she screamed in pain.

The commotion alerted everyone in the courtyard.

Yi Zhonghai rushed into the house first and quickly helped up the wailing old woman, Jia Pozi, from the ground.

Second Uncle and Third Uncle followed closely behind, and even Xu Damao, who was originally curled up in bed, came to watch the excitement.

Seeing the mess inside the house and the miserable state of Granny Jia, everyone immediately understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

"You, Jia Zhangshi, how dare you sneak into Hao Jianguo's house to steal things?"

The second uncle put his hands behind his back, his official tone immediately taking on a commanding air, "Your thinking is seriously flawed; I'm going to have to teach you a lesson today!"

Upon hearing that she was about to be criticized, Granny Jia panicked and shouted, "Nonsense! Liu Haizhong, don't wrong me!"

In her excitement, she aggravated her injury, causing her to wince in pain.

Xu Damao found her appearance ridiculous and interjected sarcastically, "Oh my, how can you say such a thing? Look at the mess in this room, and look at this broken stool—what else could it be but stealing meat? It's so obvious, are you trying to fool a three-year-old?"

A burst of snickers immediately erupted from all around.

The Yan family boy muttered with a sneer, "No wonder Bang Geng is such a jerk, he's been learning from the old man! Bah, a grown man still doing this kind of thing, has he no shame?"

Sha Zhu was displeased upon hearing this.

The Jia family's affairs are Qin Jie's affairs, and Qin Jie's affairs are Sha Zhu's affairs.

He immediately widened his eyes, ready to retort, but was interrupted by a sudden sneer.

"You want my old lady to clean your house? Nobody believes that!"

He Yuzhu thought to himself, the Jia family doesn't even have a man to take charge now—Jia Dongxu, who is paralyzed in bed, obviously doesn't count.

Under such circumstances, how could he not lend a helping hand to Qin Huairu?

"Nonsense! Didn't you see that Granny Zhang is still carrying a basin? In my opinion, she must be here to tidy up Hao Jianguo's house and do his laundry."

The mess in this room is clearly the result of Hao Jianguo's own actions, that bachelor!

He Yuzhu straightened his back and confidently uttered these words.

Jia Zhangshi's eyes darted around, and she hurriedly echoed her sentiments.

The two's distorted and contradictory statements drew stares and criticism from the surrounding neighbors.

Yi Zhonghai cleared his throat and gave He Yuzhu a disgruntled look.

He knew perfectly well that this matter should not be delayed any longer, otherwise the situation might become difficult to manage.

He Yuzhu was so determined to protect the Jia family that he really didn't want to see this hothead cause any more trouble.

"Say less! The most important thing right now is to take Madam Jia to see a doctor. We can discuss the rest later."

Yi Zhonghai's conciliatory words clearly indicated his intention to appease the situation.

As he spoke, he gave Qin Huairu a wink.

Qin Huairu understood immediately.

While everyone was busy helping Jia Zhangshi out of the house, she quietly tidied up the mess inside, trying to minimize the impact of the incident.

Jia Zhangshi was so sturdy that even He Yuzhu couldn't carry her. In the end, everyone borrowed a cart and pushed her away.

Just then, Hao Jianguo stepped into the courtyard.

Seeing this commotion, he immediately understood—the old hag had indeed been unable to resist and had sneaked into his house to steal.

His previous arrangements were not in vain.

"Hao Jianguo, you're finally back! Your house has been burgled!"

Liu Guangfu rushed forward to complain.

Having received two yuan from Hao Jianguo, he felt that it would be a good thing to be on good terms with this man.

Hao Jianguo raised an eyebrow and strode towards his house.

But Qin Huairu was frantically cleaning up, trying to erase all traces.

"Qin Huairu! Who gave you permission to enter my room? And what are you doing?"

The shout startled Qin Huairu so much that she trembled all over and stammered, unable to answer.