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

Xu Damao, who was watching the show while holding his teacup, choked on his water. He wiped his mouth and sneered, "Oh, Zhu Zi, what are you up to? The New Year is over, are you still trying to beg for red envelopes like a junior?"

His harsh words drew laughter from those around him.

As the laughter subsided, a series of surprised and uncertain gazes were cast toward Hao Jianguo.

No one could see what had happened in that instant.

Hao Jianguo looked down at the slumped He Yuzhu on the ground, his voice calm and unwavering: "Trying to make a move on the first day of the Lunar New Year, it seems the previous lesson hasn't taught you enough."

"cell"

The two words were like ice entering his eardrums. He Yuzhu trembled all over and struggled to get up, but he couldn't even lift his fingertips.

Seeing that her hopes had been dashed, Qin Huairu felt a hint of annoyance in her eyes and had no choice but to step forward herself.

Her eyes reddened, and tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks. She said in a mournful voice, "Jianguo, I know you harbor resentment towards our Jia family."

It's all my fault, no matter what. If you have to blame someone, blame me alone.

"He's such a good kid... He's just an innocent child, how could you bear to hurt him?"

Before she could finish speaking, Jia Zhangshi had already rushed over.

She glanced at her wailing grandson, then turned and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Hao Jianguo! You hurt my grandson, you're not leaving here today without paying compensation!"

There was little anxiety in that shrill voice, but the desire for money was obvious.

Hao Jianguo almost burst out laughing.

He glanced around, a hint of amusement in his voice: "Is there no one in this courtyard willing to reason with us?"

His gaze first seemed to casually sweep over Yi Zhonghai, but just as the other man perked up and straightened his clothes, ready to speak, he suddenly turned to Liu Haizhong. "Second Uncle, since you're in charge of the affairs of the courtyard, could you please say a word for me?"

Yi Zhonghai stood frozen in place, his face turning pale and then flushed. The slight expectation that had just welled up inside him turned into embarrassing embarrassment and anger.

Liu Haizhong straightened his back and nodded with an air of officialdom: "Of course! Jianguo, just say what you want, and I will certainly handle it impartially and without any bias."

Hao Jianguo took in everyone's expressions and said slowly, "I was sleeping soundly at home and didn't get involved in anything."

Why is Banggeng injured? What does that have to do with me? Qin Huairu, have you found out why your son got caught? If you don't, what's the point of crying and making a scene here?

Liu Haizhong immediately cleared his throat and put on airs: "That makes sense! Everything must be clarified from beginning to end."

"Hey, tell me, what exactly happened?"

Kebang Geng just covered his hands and wailed, unable to utter a single word.

Liu Haizhong frowned, turned to the timid little Huaihua beside him, and softened his tone: "Huaihua, you've always been honest. Tell your second grandfather, how did your brother get hurt?"

Surrounded by many eyes, young Huaihua nervously clutched the hem of her clothes, her little face turning slightly pale.

After hesitating for a moment, Huaihua stammered out her words.

"Brother...brother, take us to ask for New Year's money."

But the door was bolted shut from the inside, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't push it open.

"I had no choice but to climb in through the window."

As soon as she said that, everyone around her understood immediately, and the cause and effect became crystal clear.

This morning, most of the households in the courtyard had their doors knocked on by these three little guys, who then asked for red envelopes.

At this moment, the neighbors, who were already dissatisfied with the three children's behavior, immediately started criticizing them.

"Hmph, first thing in the morning, they managed to take three yuan from me."

"You're complaining that one or two yuan isn't enough? Are you begging? What kind of upbringing did you receive?"

"Listen to this, is this even acceptable? Climbing through the window when you can't break down the door? Would a normal kid do something like this?"

Despite the accusations from those around her, Jia Zhangshi ignored them completely. Instead, she glared fiercely at the crowd, as if the ones who had done wrong were not her son Banggeng, but the onlookers.

"What nonsense are you spouting! Let me tell you, my son is perfectly fine! And you, Hao Jianguo, not giving me New Year's money is one thing, but why are you putting a mousetrap on the windowsill?"

After a period of frustration, Jia Zhangshi's personality became increasingly stubborn.

At this point, she no longer cared about reason and simply retorted arrogantly.

Just hearing those words made Hao Jianguo furious.

"I'm in my own home, I can do whatever I want, what business is it of yours to interfere? Jia Zhangshi, you're meddling too much."

Besides, did I beg him to climb through the window? If he hadn't climbed himself, would he have gotten his foot caught?

"As everyone knows, my house has been broken into before. I'm trying to protect myself by putting out a trap, is that not allowed?"

A "thief"

The words made Jia Zhangshi's face turn pale and then red.

She knew perfectly well who Hao Jianguo was referring to.

"Jia Zhangshi, you know in your heart that your family has stolen things from my place before."

It's not unreasonable for me to be wary of your Jia family, this den of thieves, is it?

In the end, Hao Jianguo bluntly stated that the Jia family was a den of thieves, showing no mercy to the shrew.

Yan Jiecheng immediately stood up to voice his support:

"That's right! If Bang Geng hadn't been climbing through people's windows, would this have happened? He has only himself to blame."

"I think getting a pinched hand is the least of his worries; he deserves it!"

"It's possible that asking for New Year's money is just a pretext; they might actually be trying to steal something."

Everyone should go back and check today to see if anything is missing from their homes.

Liu Guangfu and the others immediately joined in the commotion.

Each word was like a slap in the face, relentlessly striking Jia Zhangshi's face.

Her face turned deathly pale instantly.

Liu Haizhong walked out with his hands behind his back at the opportune moment.

Everyone, please be quiet.

Now it's clear that Bang Geng himself caused this trouble.

Children are too young to understand, so adults should teach them to distinguish right from wrong and to know what they can and cannot do.

"Now that things have turned out this way, you can't blame anyone else."

Seeing that they were about to incur public wrath, the Jia family was momentarily intimidated.

Qin Huairu was still hugging the stick, looking like she had suffered a great injustice, and she was sobbing.

Hao Jianguo had not completely drained Sha Zhu's energy; he had only temporarily depleted Sha Zhu's strength.

By this time, Sha Zhu had recovered and managed to get up from the ground, though his legs were still trembling.

But when Sha Zhu saw Qin Huairu's tearful face, his heart clenched.

"Bullshit! What do you mean by 'blaming others'? Liu Haizhong, I bet you're in cahoots with Hao Jianguo!"

Sha Zhu naturally wanted to protect Qin Huairu and couldn't bear to see her suffer the slightest grievance, so he immediately started cursing.

"I don't care about anything else, I just know that Bang Geng was injured by your mousetrap."

You lost money, that's an indisputable fact!

Originally short of breath, Jia Zhangshi perked up immediately when she saw Sha Zhu stand up and speak up for her family again. She joined in the shouting and forced Hao Jianguo to pay compensation.

"You want me to bear the losses? Silly Zhu, I see you're particularly concerned about the stick-shaped thing."

Could it be true, as the neighbors have been saying, that this child is yours? Otherwise, why would you say something like that out of the blue?

"It's obvious, everyone understands it, but you're the only one making things up."

The intricacies involved here are probably not simple.

Hao Jianguo threw out a cold laugh.

Xu Damao, who was standing next to him, rolled his eyes and immediately chimed in.

"Oh, now that you mention it, it really does seem like it! Who knows, Bang Geng might be Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu's illegitimate son."

Otherwise, why would I think that kid looks so simple-minded and a bit silly? No wonder Jia Dongxu was muttering the other day, suspecting that Bang Geng wasn't his biological son—it turns out you, Sha Zhu, were the good guy behind his back!

Upon hearing this, the surrounding onlookers immediately erupted in commotion.

Those who enjoy watching a spectacle are never afraid of things getting out of hand.

"Nonsense...nonsense!"

Sha Zhu was so angry that he trembled all over and almost ground his teeth to powder.

If he weren't still feeling weak and powerless, he would have already punched Xu Damao in the face.

Xu Damao, however, adopted that cheeky, smug look: "I'm talking nonsense? Then why are you protecting him so desperately? He's not your son, so why are you protecting him so fiercely?"

Stunned by these words, Sha Zhu felt a tightness in his chest and was speechless, wanting to defend himself.

"Wait, there's something else we need to figure out."

Hao Jianguo spoke again at that moment.

"Bang Geng and his friends are still just kids. They couldn't possibly come up with such a wicked idea as asking for New Year's money from door to door."

I'm sure someone's pulling the strings behind this—Silly Zhu, is that you?

His gaze pierced straight ahead, his target clear and unmistakable.

Sha Zhu's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.

His name is Sha Zhu, but he's not actually stupid.

The situation is crystal clear: the demand for New Year's money has angered everyone, and people might have tolerated this injustice out of consideration for the child.

But if he admits now that it was his idea, wouldn't these neighbors tear him apart?

Sha Zhu immediately shook his head, glaring fiercely at Hao Jianguo: "Stop spouting nonsense! This has nothing to do with me!"

Hao Jianguo ignored him completely and instead looked at Banggeng, who was shrugging his neck to the side.

"Hey, don't play dumb."

This matter could be considered a big deal or a small deal; to put it bluntly, it's extortion.

If you call the police, they will definitely not let you off easily.

Xu Damao and the others also took the opportunity to chime in, their pent-up resentment from the morning finding no outlet.

"Hey, you guys may say you're asking for New Year's money, but think about it, what's the difference between that and threatening or extorting? On the first day of the Lunar New Year, who wants to hear unlucky things? If this gets to the police station, do you think they'll let you off the hook?"

"Don't tell me you want to go to juvenile detention?"

If only Hao Jianguo said this, perhaps they could still hold on.

But at this moment, all around him were threatening and intimidating voices. Bang Geng was still just a child, and he panicked completely.

He shivered and instantly betrayed the cause.

"It's none of my business! It was Sha Zhu who called it that! Go find him, don't come looking for me!"

This guy is always cunning and always tries to get something for himself by sticking close to Sha Zhu. Now that he heard he was going to a juvenile detention center, he was terrified and immediately pushed Sha Zhu out.

"Alright! It really was you, Silly Zhu, who was pulling the strings behind the scenes!"

"That silly Zhu, can't he be quiet on the first day of the Lunar New Year? Always causing trouble, and now he's even encouraging his child to do such a despicable thing!"

"Pah! What a scoundrel!"

In no time, everyone who had ever been asked for New Year's money started cursing at Sha Zhu.

"I...I..."

Sha Zhu was rendered speechless by the scolding.

The main problem is that this spineless bastard Banggeng betrayed him in the blink of an eye, and even though he had a bellyful of excuses, he couldn't utter a single one at this moment.

"Ah, no wonder."

Near Zhu Zhechi, near the ink is black.

Such despicable ideas can only be taught by certain individuals.

Hao Jianguo sneered, his gaze seemingly drifting towards Yi Zhonghai beside him.

Yi Zhonghai stood silently in place, without saying a word.

When Hao Jianguo's gaze swept over, Yi Zhonghai's expression suddenly darkened, and an inexplicable anger surged in his chest.

"Uncle Yi, I didn't name you specifically, why are you in such a hurry?"

Hao Jianguo chuckled softly, cutting Yi Zhonghai off before he could respond.

Xu Damao and the others could no longer contain themselves and surrounded Qin Huairu.

"Give the money back!"

"That's right, you got these New Year's money by coaxing and intimidating them. There's someone behind it all. You have to pay it back today, or this matter will never be over."

Amidst the cacophony of reproaches from all around, Qin Huairu's cries grew even louder.

But she absolutely refused to part with the money.

Now that it's already in the Jia family's pocket, why would they easily give it back?

Even when she learned that Banggeng and the other two were asking for New Year's money, Qin Huairu had already quietly taken all the money from the children's pockets and put it into her own pocket.

At that moment, she only covered her face and sobbed, trying to get by with this appearance.

Unfortunately, such tricks might work to appease Sha Zhu, but now that Xu Damao and his group are angry, no one cares whether she cries or not.

Xu Damao was about to take action and search her for money.

To everyone's surprise, Qin Huairu suddenly shook off Xu Damao's hand and shamelessly pointed at Sha Zhu beside her.

"You can't find us for this, and it wasn't something we did on purpose."

Since it was Sha Zhu who was behind this, you should go find him.

No one expected that Qin Huairu would shift all the responsibility onto Sha Zhu in the blink of an eye, leaving him to bear it all alone.

This behavior is exactly like her son's.

Madam Jia immediately perked up. She realized that once the money entered the Jia family, it belonged to the Jia family, and there was no reason to return it.

"That's right, if you're going to look for someone, look for Sha Zhu. It was his idea, it has nothing to do with us."

"Maybe Sha Zhu already took the money."

Seeing this scene, Aunt San and the others shook their heads, their faces filled with helplessness, and their hearts filled with contempt for the Jia family's behavior.

Of course, they felt no sympathy for Sha Zhu, only that he deserved what he got.

Ironically, Qin Huairu and her son were blatantly harming Sha Zhu, yet Sha Zhu remained completely oblivious, even believing they had done nothing wrong.