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

"Listen up, neighbors! What kind of twisted logic is this? Besides, the Jia family's sly habit is probably incurable—they get away with stealing anyway, so everyone should be careful in the future, because who knows whose turn it will be next."

From this day forward, my door will be locked at all times, to keep out thieves like those from the Jia family!

He Yushui, who was listening anxiously, couldn't help but speak up again when she saw everyone agreeing with Hao Jianguo.

Hao Jianguo glared at her fiercely and shouted angrily, "He Yushui, who gives you the right to interrupt? Get out of here!"

"Don't think you can get away with this today!"

Startled by the sudden outburst of anger, He Yushui's thin body trembled slightly, and she involuntarily took two steps back.

She had never seen Hao Jianguo lose his temper like this before.

The deaf old lady sighed silently in her heart.

She understood perfectly well that the Jia family was completely in the wrong in this matter.

If we continue to show favoritism without any principles, we may end up getting burned.

Yi Zhonghai spoke up at this moment.

"Jianguo, this handling of the matter has indeed wronged you."

Your desire for severe punishment is not unreasonable.

This surprised Hao Jianguo.

Has Yi Zhonghai changed his personality?

But what he said next immediately made Hao Jianguo realize that a leopard can't change its spots.

"It's true that I helped the Jia family."

Dongxu is my apprentice. Given his family's current situation, I'll lend a hand if I can.

However, the Jia family also has three children.

"Bang Geng has gone astray, but Huaihua and Xiaodang are still young."

"If their grandmother gets a 'thief' reputation, how are these two children supposed to face the world?"

Yi Zhonghai adopted a compassionate expression and spoke slowly.

These words silenced many people.

Despite disliking Jia Zhangshi, the children are always innocent when adults commit wrongdoings.

Looking at the innocent faces of Huaihua and Xiaodang, many people felt a little softer.

All eyes turned to Hao Jianguo, awaiting his final decision.

"Okay, I agree with what you said."

I can give the Jia family one last chance.

Hao Jianguo remained calm. "But Jia Zhangshi must apologize to me in front of everyone in the courtyard—including admitting all the old grievances by kneeling down."

Back then, the Jia family often slandered Hao Jianguo behind his back; otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up so isolated in the courtyard.

"The apology must be sincere, and the damage to the house must be compensated in full."

Hao Jianguo glanced at Yi Zhonghai indifferently, then paused.

Doesn't this old guy want to be a good person?

Who doesn't know how?

More importantly, he knew all too well what kind of person Jia Zhangshi was.

The so-called "opportunity" being offered now is actually a trap set for her.

He believed that his reasonable request was enough to drive Jia Zhangshi mad.

If she could willingly bow her head and admit her mistakes, she wouldn't be Jia Zhangshi.

The opportunity was given, and I did the right thing.

If Jia Zhangshi herself doesn't cherish it, then Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old woman will have nothing to say.

Thinking of this, a faint smile appeared on Hao Jianguo's lips.

For some reason, even though Hao Jianguo had already given his word, Yi Zhonghai still felt a vague unease looking at his expression and demeanor.

But after thinking it over and over, he still couldn't figure out what was wrong.

"Alright, it's time for Jia Zhangshi to apologize to you."

The deaf old woman quickly agreed.

In her view, all that mattered was that Hao Jianguo would let the Jia family go.

The Jia family was in the wrong in this matter.

……

in the hospital.

Qin Huairu rushed to the ward, intending to tell Jia Zhangshi everything that had happened in the courtyard and persuade her to apologize to Hao Jianguo.

However, a simple "I'm sorry, I was wrong" could settle things—in Qin Huairu's mind, this couldn't be simpler.

As Qin Huairu stepped into the ward, she heard Jia Zhangshi's agonizing screams, like a pig being slaughtered.

The old lady hurt her bottom and could only lie face down; she couldn't lie down or sit up.

She had twisted her ankle in the latrine before, and this time the fall was even worse. The new injury was on top of the old one, and she was in so much pain that she was convulsing.

Seeing her mother-in-law's state, Qin Huairu was having a headache when the nurse came to urge her to pay the bill—the injury had been treated properly, there was no need to stay in the hospital, and she could leave after settling the bill.

Qin Huairu's head was throbbing with anger. The Jia family had been losing money every day lately, there was no peace and quiet.

She caught a glimpse of Sha Zhu, who had brought Jia Zhangshi to the side, and her eyes immediately reddened, her nose tingled, and tears were about to fall.

"Oh, my dear sister, please don't cry!"

Sha Zhu couldn't stand this. He immediately rushed forward as if bewitched and coaxed, "Tell me what's wrong! I, Sha Zhu, will definitely help if I can—you know, I can't stand seeing you cry."

Qin Huairu scoffed inwardly, but her face remained composed, her brows furrowed and eyelashes lowered, maintaining a weak and helpless appearance. "It's money again... You know, the family has been losing money for days, we're almost starving, where would we get the money..."

She hesitated, a lump forming in her throat, perfectly capturing her sorrowful demeanor.

Sha Zhu slapped his thigh, then breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought it was something serious! Leave it to me, it's just a few dollars, I have it!"

He patted his chest and spoke with great bravado, but fearing that Qin Huairu would refuse, he turned and rushed out of the ward before finishing his sentence, rushing to pay the bill.

Once the footsteps faded into the distance, Qin Huairu turned her gaze back to Jia Zhangshi.

To be honest, she already harbored a lot of resentment towards her mother-in-law.

"Mom, how could you go to Hao Jian's house to take things?"

She grumbled under her breath, feeling utterly ashamed.

To everyone's surprise, Madam Jia, known for her fierce and shrewish nature, refused to admit anything and instead glared at them, shouting angrily, "Qin Huairu, what nonsense are you spouting! What do you mean by taking or not taking? Was that stealing? Let me tell you, stop talking nonsense!"

She grew increasingly agitated, even becoming quite eloquent: "Don't you even think about how much Hao Jianguo has cheated us out of the past? Every single piece of food in his house was bought with our money! What's wrong with me taking back my own things!"

Looking at Jia Zhangshi's tantrum and stubborn refusal to admit her mistake, Qin Huairu felt utterly powerless.

"Besides, didn't you see I broke my leg?"

Jia Zhangshi spat as she spoke, "This is all Hao Jianguo's fault! This time he absolutely has to pay for it—medical expenses, damages, not a penny less!"

Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat.

If this old hag really causes trouble, Hao Jianguo will definitely not let it go.

If Jia Zhangshi were arrested and imprisoned, she would be happy to have some peace and quiet, so she wouldn't have to serve that old shrew.

But if it damages one's reputation, then it would be a case of losing more than one gains.

"Mom, aren't you just being unreasonable?"

She forced herself to remain calm and advised, "Hao Jianguo previously said that as long as you sincerely apologize, the past can be forgiven."

She briefly recounted what had happened, her tone deliberately softening.

Unfortunately, this attempt to turn things around was completely in vain.

Upon hearing this, Madam Jia was struck dumb, as if by a bolt from the blue. She exploded: "What? That little beast dares to make me kneel down and admit my mistake? Who does he think he is! I—"

Foul language poured out of her mouth like water, making the ward buzz with insults.

When Sha Zhu returned after paying the bill, hoping to curry favor with Qin Huairu, he was met with a barrage of curses as soon as he stepped inside, leaving him stunned at the doorway.

"What...what happened?"

He asked blankly.

Sha Zhu scratched his head, puzzled, his gaze shifting back and forth between Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu, wondering to himself if he had missed something important during his brief absence.

Qin Huairu sighed softly and gave him a brief summary of the matter.

She had hoped that Sha Zhu could offer some words of comfort to Jia Zhangshi, but the other party completely misunderstood her intentions, taking it as her coming to confide her grievances—especially since Jia Zhangshi's cursing had not yet stopped, which made Sha Zhu even more certain of this assumption.

"What? Has Hao Jianguo gone mad? He just went inside to get something, is it really necessary to make such a fuss? He even knelt down to apologize? I think he's becoming more and more arrogant, really treating this courtyard as his personal playground?"

Qin Huairu felt a lump in her throat upon hearing this.

Why not just offer some advice? Why add fuel to the fire? Isn't that just making things worse?

"Grandma Zhang, I'm on your side."

We absolutely cannot back down on this. You must insist that you didn't steal it and stand tall.

"No matter how arrogant Hao Jianguo is, what can he do to the old man?"

Sha Zhu actually started offering suggestions with a serious expression.

Qin Huairu almost vomited blood.

Don't you know Hao Jianguo's temperament?

What can we do?

Once the sirens start blaring, nobody's going to have an easy time!

Jia Zhangshi was already unruly, and with Sha Zhu's support, her arrogance grew even stronger, and her face became contorted.

"That's right! Let's go, get discharged! We'll settle the score with that brat back in the courtyard! Does he really think I, Jia Zhangshi, am a pushover, someone he can bully?"

Before she finished speaking, she had already grabbed Sha Zhu's arm and limped towards the door of the ward.

Qin Huairu, standing beside her, wanted to offer further advice, fearing that things would escalate beyond control.

To everyone's surprise, Madam Jia was completely ungrateful and instead launched into a tirade of abuse:

"You, Qin Huairu! I see you now—tell me, are you seeing how successful Hao Jianguo is now, and want to rekindle your old relationship with him?"

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu immediately tensed up.

He had always been thinking about Qin Huairu. If she really got back together with Hao Jianguo, where would he have a chance?

"Mom, what makes you say that? You've seen how much I've sacrificed for this family over the years, how can you wrong me like this?"

Qin Huairu immediately put on a wronged expression, her eyes slightly reddening.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu quickly changed the subject and tried to persuade Jia Zhangshi.

But Madam Jia only snorted coldly from her nostrils, completely ignoring the two of them.

Back in the courtyard house, Jia Zhangshi became increasingly furious and stormed straight to Hao Jianguo's door.

"Hao Jianguo! You heartless, rotten bastard, get out here! How dare you make me kneel down and beg for forgiveness? You disrespectful beast!"

That shout shook half the alley.

The neighbors in the courtyard gathered around in astonishment, peering around to see what the old woman was up to now.

"Is this...is this to apologize?"

"What's there to apologize for! Have you ever seen anyone apologize like this, all fierce and menacing? I think that old hag is acting up again!"

"It was her fault to begin with, look at her arrogant attitude—bah! We were truly blind before, actually speaking up for someone like her!"

Whispers began to rise from all around, fingers almost poking Jia Zhangshi's back.

She was already angry, and hearing these sarcastic remarks only fueled her fury.

What infuriated her most was that, despite the fact that someone was clearly inside, Hao Jianguo failed to answer the door.

Jia Zhangshi went completely mad.

She lunged at the door, pounding and banging on it, screaming and cursing:

"Open the door! You have the guts to do it but not the guts to admit it? I know you're in there!"

"Hao Jianguo! Don't cower in silence! You have the guts to force me to kneel, but why don't you have the courage to open the door?"

"Come out! You come out here right now!"

The sound of banging on the door was mixed with foul language. She was disheveled and looked like a madwoman.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Sending Lady Jia to the Jail

Most of the onlookers were dumbfounded. A few of the bolder ones tried to pull them apart, but Jia Zhangshi shoved them away.

She rolled to the ground, kicking and swinging her arms, causing the person pulling her to awkwardly withdraw, unable to move forward or backward.

Banggeng pushed Jia Dongxu, who was in a wheelchair, into the yard. As soon as the mother and son saw this scene, they immediately started shouting and cursing in his place.

The Jia family's aggressive and spittle-flecked demeanor would make an uninformed person think that Hao Jianguo had bullied them.

But this behavior only aroused disgust in the eyes of the surrounding neighbors.

Even though they were clearly in the wrong, the Jia family acted like victims, and for a moment, many people in the courtyard sided with Hao Jianguo and spoke up for him.

But when it comes to the ability to curse, no one can beat Jia Zhangshi's sharp tongue.

Seeing that Hao Jianguo's door was still tightly closed, Jia Zhangshi couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt that Hao Jianguo's reluctance to show himself must be because he was afraid of her.

As long as you overwhelm the other party with your presence and force him to the point where he can't hold his head up, he will eventually have to give in.

When it comes to cursing, Jia Zhangshi has always been quite confident and has never lost.

"Enough, Jia Zhangshi! Are you ever going to stop? There's a limit to your unreasonable arguments!"

A furious shout suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned around in surprise and saw Yi Zhonghai supporting the deaf old lady, walking towards them with an angry expression.

Upon seeing these two people appear, many people present had subtle changes in their expressions.

They had been protecting the Jia family both openly and secretly, but what was the result? The Jia family themselves were too disappointing.

At this moment, many people are watching with a sense of schadenfreude, wanting to see how Yi Zhonghai will handle this situation.

Yi Zhonghai's face was ashen, and he felt a burning anger rising in his chest.