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

"You know, these days, once you have a stain on your record, it's hard to ever turn your life around."

Upon hearing this, He Daqing's expression finally darkened.

Yi Zhonghai saw this and was secretly pleased. This was exactly what he wanted: for He Daqing to harbor resentment towards the Hao family. "Besides," he said, "after you left, the head chef's position in the cafeteria was given to Zhu Zi. And what happened? Because of Hao Jianguo's interference, Zhu Zi was transferred and is now an apprentice in the workshop. What can he do with that meager salary?"

Sha Zhu, standing to the side, slammed his fist on the table in anger, blaming all his misfortunes on Hao Jianguo and never reflecting on his own actions.

"Furthermore, your He family only has Zhuzi as their sole heir, and you're counting on him to carry on the family line."

Hao Jianguo, on the other hand, used some unknown means to arrange for Zhu Zi and Jia Zhangshi to get married. Isn't that absurd? I think he's deliberately trying to kill off the He family line.

"You have been so kind to them, even giving them houses, and this is how they repay you."

Old He, are you really going to swallow this insult?

Yi Zhonghai was indeed adept at stirring up trouble; a few words were enough to ignite the anger in He Daqing's heart.

"That little beast, how dare he!"

He Daqing had a fiery temper and couldn't stand such provocation, so he immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

Seeing their father's reaction, Sha Zhu and the others exchanged glances, their faces lighting up with joy—the plan was about to succeed.

"Dad, Hao Jianguo is a real scoundrel. We can't let him continue to run rampant."

That house must be taken back.

Sha Zhu seized the opportunity to speak.

He Daqing sighed unexpectedly, his face showing difficulty once again.

"How could I not want that too? But when the house was given to me back then, we had a written agreement."

Ultimately, that house is now considered part of the Hao family's property... How am I supposed to bring this up?

He coughed awkwardly twice.

If he had known that his son would be ruined by Hao Jianguo, he would never have given the house to the Hao family.

It's too late to regret it now.

Sha Zhu scoffed dismissively.

"Dad, what good is that worthless receipt? It's from so many years ago! They didn't pay a single penny and got such a huge advantage for free. There's no such thing as a free lunch!"

He Yushui chimed in, "Brother is right. Even if you admit it, Dad, we children will never accept it."

The brother and sister were adamant in their stance, making it clear that they were determined to cause a scene.

Yi Zhonghai stepped forward and patted He Daqing on the shoulder: "Old He, aren't you in a hurry to arrange a marriage for Zhuzi right now? Having an extra room will give you more confidence in the marriage proposal, right? Even when Yushui gets married in the future, she'll have more support."

"That Hao Jianguo is really going too far."

His father is his father, and he is his son. The accounts must be settled, and the house must be reclaimed.

Old He, don't you ever think about the injustice Zhu Zi has suffered?"

The people in the room took turns trying to persuade He Daqing to agree to take the house back.

He Daqing was getting a headache from the noise, but he was also harboring resentment towards Hao Jianguo.

In his view, Hao Jianguo had received some favors from the He family, and he didn't expect to repay them, but he couldn't treat Sha Zhu like this.

Besides, Hao Jianguo is now a cadre in the factory. What's so difficult about helping Sha Zhu out? As long as he asks, it's just a matter of a word for Sha Zhu to get back to the canteen.

The more He Daqing thought about it, the angrier he became.

"Fine, this time we're going all out. We're determined to get the house back!"

Finally, under the expectant gazes of everyone, He Daqing nodded.

The hearts of Sha Zhu and the others immediately settled down, and they all breathed a sigh of relief, their faces beaming with joy.

Sha Zhu narrowed his eyes, a calculating glint in them, and said with a cold laugh, "If you ask me, not only should we get the house back, but we should also make them pay back the rent they've paid over the years."

This debt needs to be settled carefully.

As he spoke, the corners of his mouth curled up higher and higher—he knew perfectly well that if this money were to be recouped, it would be a considerable sum.

With money, why worry about not finding a wife?

Thinking of this, Sha Zhu couldn't help but grin, and he actually started having a sweet dream in broad daylight.

Not only him, but also Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady showed joyful smiles, as if they had finally waited for the day when they could finally hold their heads high.

Looking at the group of almost frenzied people in front of him, He Daqing felt powerless and didn't know what to say.

"Dad, you have no idea how much I regret not calling you over sooner. Otherwise, we wouldn't have had to suffer so much for no reason."

He Yushui complained, clinging to her father's arm.

Yi Zhonghai also sighed with a worried look: "Old He, you're not in this courtyard, so you don't know what kind of life we've been living lately."

"My position as an elder brother is now just a shell, and the deaf old lady's prestige has plummeted... It's all Hao Jianguo's fault."

The group started talking all at once, putting all the blame on Hao Jianguo.

……

They had no idea that Hao Jianguo had overheard everything they were plotting inside the room.

When Hao Jianguo saw them gathered together behind closed doors, he knew it wasn't a good thing, so he simply enhanced his five senses and listened to their conversation.

Hao Jianguo narrowed his eyes, a faint sarcasm appearing in his gaze.

These people really forget the pain as soon as the wound heals. It's only been a few days since the incident with Sha Zhu, and they're already scheming again before things have even calmed down.

They have absolutely no sense of restraint.

"Want to get your house back? You've got some nerve."

That He Daqing is no good either; no wonder he abandoned his own child for a widow.

Hao Jianguo thought coldly to himself.

Hao Jianguo felt that his previous methods were too mild, which was why this group of people did not know how to restrain themselves and were still making trouble.

He certainly knew the inside story about that house.

But Hao Jianguo remembers even more how his father almost lost his life trying to save He Daqing.

It was precisely because of this immense kindness that the He family offered their house as a form of repayment.

It's not as simple as He Daqing made it sound. In Hao Jianguo's eyes, this man is utterly worthless, and his father shouldn't have saved him in the first place.

Actually, my father was unwilling to accept the house back then—in those days, people believed in doing good deeds without expecting anything in return, and the old man really didn't think about getting anything in return.

If we accept the money, wouldn't saving lives become a transaction?

But He Daqing insisted on forcing it over.

Is he really that kind? Does he feel uncomfortable having an extra house?

Hao Jianguo never thought He Daqing would make such a foolish mistake.

He and his father both knew perfectly well why the other party had done this.

When classifying social status, the He family happened to fall right on the line between rich peasants and middle peasants.

If they don't give away this house, the He family will be classified as rich peasants, which will worsen their social class; without the house, they will become middle peasants.

He Daqing was desperate to give the house to the Hao family, and that was exactly what he wanted.

In the end, what good intentions did this person have? Every move he made was driven by selfish motives and calculations.

Now they're even putting on an act of "sorry, I can't take it back."

His affected manner was simply laughable.

She forced the house on my father with selfish motives and ulterior motives, and now she expects me to be grateful?

This is utterly absurd. Do they really think Hao Jianguo is a fool?

Thinking of this, Hao Jianguo's lips curled into a cold smile as he crossed his legs and settled himself into the chair.

In his eyes, the group of people in front of him was still like a monkey show, not worth laughing at, and only adding more amusement to the courtyard.

"You want the house back now? Fine, I don't like that house anyway."

Hao Jianguo thought indifferently to himself.

Although it holds childhood memories, he wouldn't care at all if he gave it away—he'd get a bigger one sooner or later.

Let these people do what they want; they'll be envious in the future.

Hao Jianguo suddenly seemed to remember something, and a malicious smile flashed across his face.

"I'm afraid that even if I'm willing to pay it back now, you won't have the guts to move in."

After all, because the frog had gone to the zombie world, the passage between the house and that world was often open, and yin energy and corpse energy kept seeping out.

It was only thanks to Hao Jianguo's skillful cultivation that he was able to seal off the yin energy and prevent it from affecting Yu Li.

But once he leaves, he will naturally no longer bother to maintain the seal, and that will be enough to cause them trouble.

Hao Jianguo was quite looking forward to seeing what other tricks this group of people would come up with next.

The scum in this yard perfectly exemplifies the saying: "Those who do evil will not live."

The next morning, Hao Jianguo moved a chair to the yard to sunbathe.

Today was his day off, and with nothing to do, he was happy to enjoy this rare moment of peace and quiet.

The factory now treats him very well, and he has more days off, the intention being to let him spend more time with Yu Li.

Seeing Hao Jianguo so relaxed, Yan Bugui felt both envious and sour.

"Teacher Hao, you're taking another day off? Ah, you have such a comfortable life, unlike me, I'm busy all day and I can't even earn a few coins."

Yan Bugui stepped forward, smiling broadly as he struck up a conversation.

He is now single-mindedly trying to please Hao Jianguo—he understands that only by cultivating a good relationship with this man can he possibly gain any benefits.

Yan Bugui stood by the courtyard wall and tried to strike up a conversation, but Hao Jianguo merely glanced at him indifferently and didn't even bother to respond.

Yan Bugui didn't feel embarrassed at all. He leaned closer and continued to chatter, bringing up one trivial matter after another at school, as if the two were very close old friends.

In reality, he was just putting on a one-man show.

After rambling on and on, Hao Jianguo finally frowned, his helplessness almost overflowing.

How could this old man be so oblivious? He just wanted to bask in the sun in peace and quiet.

Just as Hao Jianguo was about to tell them to leave, the door of the He family across the street creaked open.

He Daqing led his family out quickly, followed by the deaf old lady and Yi Zhonghai.

Upon seeing this, a playful smile appeared on Hao Jianguo's lips—these men had huddled together in the room whispering and discussing for half the night, displaying an unwavering persistence.

His enthusiasm, however, made him feel somewhat regretful.

If they had put that energy into something worthwhile, things wouldn't have come to this.

Despite having stayed up all night, everyone was in high spirits, especially Sha Zhu, who walked at the front with his head held high and his face full of undisguised excitement, looking like a general about to go into battle.

Yan Bugui wasn't stupid; when he saw them walking straight toward Hao Jianguo, his brows immediately furrowed.

He lowered his voice and said to Hao Jianguo, "Teacher Hao, these people are probably up to no good."

Hao Jianguo, however, remained unmoved.

Yan Bugui thought about it again and realized it was unnecessary—with Teacher Hao's abilities, there was no need to worry about these things.

He then fell silent, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to observe the situation.

Liu Haizhong, who lived across the street, stepped out of the door with an enamel mug in his hand, cursing under his breath: "These troublemakers! Have they been quiet for even a few days? The Sha Zhu incident just ended, and they want to cause trouble again? Do they really think I'm just a figurehead?"

Old Jin's matter hasn't been sorted out yet, and the courtyard just held a funeral, so it's time for a few days of quiet.

Liu Hai was furious, but he didn't immediately step forward—Yi Zhonghai, the deaf old woman, and He Daqing were all people not to be trifled with.

He decided to check the wind direction first.

Other idle people in the courtyard gradually gathered around.

After these days, everyone knows perfectly well that when Yi Zhonghai and his group get together, something is bound to happen.

"Our college has been quite lively lately."

Yan Jiecheng moved a small stool to sit outside his doorstep, looking over there and muttering, "There's always a show to watch every day."

Liu Guangfu grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds and came over, cracking them as he spoke: "Isn't this great? We're just killing time anyway."

"But Yan Jiecheng, are you really not going to go help your father? If a fight breaks out later, your father will be in a very dangerous position."

He said it with a grin, completely adding fuel to the fire.

Yan Jiecheng knew perfectly well that they were all cunning foxes, and no one should try to play the role of a ghost story to the other.

"If things really get out of hand, do you think your father will just stand by and do nothing? I probably won't even have a chance to step forward; he'll be the first to rush out. Everyone in this courtyard knows that your father has long since taken for himself as the big boss in charge."

Yan Jiecheng's lips curled into a mocking smile as he spoke, shaking his head and scoffing softly.

"At that critical juncture, you'll inevitably have to lend a hand."

But Liu Guangfu, to be honest, your father is also stuck in a rut. You should advise him to let go of his worries.

What's so great about this "old man" title in our department? It's clearly a thankless and exhausting job; who can really obey him?

As Liu Guangfu listened to these mocking remarks, his brows furrowed even more deeply.

He glared at Yan Jiecheng, and there was no point in exchanging a single word.

I came here hoping to cause trouble, but instead I ended up feeling really annoyed.

Hao Jianguo remained comfortably reclining in his chair, basking in the sun, seemingly oblivious to the people who approached him.

Seeing his expression, Sha Zhu and the others immediately changed their expressions—in their view, this was clearly a deliberate attempt to intimidate them.