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

"But I... I really have no money left, I can't afford a single penny."

He Yushui's eyes reddened with anxiety.

When Jia Zhangshi throws a tantrum, she never holds back.

She suddenly pushed He Yushui away.

"No money? Fine, if you have no money, we'll take your belongings as payment!"

After saying that, she turned around and rushed into Shazhu's house, intending to move the items inside.

Madam Jia didn't care how Sha Zhu had helped the Jia family in the past.

In her view, since they are bullying her now, they must pay the price, or she will never give up!

Watching Jia Zhangshi's departing figure, He Yushui finally couldn't hold back her tears.

The surrounding crowd consisted mostly of onlookers, but not a single person was willing to stand up and say a word in their defense.

"Sigh, I don't think Sha Zhu can stay in our courtyard any longer."

An older woman suddenly stepped forward, pointing at Sha Zhu with disdain in her eyes.

"You're right. This kid's been single for too long, he's gotten senile. He even dared to touch Jia Zhangshi. What if he turns on us one day?"

"No, no, Sha Zhu isn't thinking clearly right now. We won't feel at ease if he stays in the yard."

Amidst the cacophony of voices, a growing sense emerged that they intended to expel Sha Zhu from the courtyard.

"I'd like to see who dares to lay a finger on my grandson!"

Just then, an angry shout suddenly rang out.

The surroundings fell silent instantly.

Everyone frowned and looked over, only to see the deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, angrily walking out of the crowd.

She looked down and saw Sha Zhu lying on the ground covered in blood, and her heart ached so much that her brows furrowed.

She had always treated Sha Zhu like her own grandson, so how could she stand by and watch him suffer such injustice?

"Let me tell you, Sha Zhu is perfectly clear-headed! Someone must have sabotaged this whole thing; Sha Zhu has probably been set up!"

The deaf old woman, leaning on her cane, shouted loudly.

Although everyone was quite dissatisfied with her behavior of turning black into white, no one dared to refute her on the spot.

Seeing this, Hao Jianguo felt bored, shook his head, and decided to take Yu Li home to rest.

Isn't it comfortable to have a gentle wife and a warm bed?

Moreover, Hao Jianguo knew in his heart that as long as the deaf old woman came out to stir things up, he probably wouldn't be able to watch the show anymore.

But to his utter surprise, just as he turned to leave, a shout froze him in place.

"Hao Jianguo, you stop right there! I understand now, wasn't it you who pulled this stunt behind the scenes?"

He's a complete paranoid freak.

The deaf old woman already disliked Hao Jianguo no matter what, and seeing him about to leave, she subconsciously concluded that he was involved in the whole affair.

Hao Jianguo didn't want to pay attention to this suspicious old lady, but to his surprise, she became even more persistent and grabbed his wrist, refusing to let go.

"What, you panic and want to run away now that I've revealed my true feelings? Hao Jianguo, you're not leaving today until you've explained yourself clearly!"

Seeing Hao Jianguo's reaction, the deaf old lady felt even more certain.

"That's not a fair argument."

Before Hao Jianguo could speak, Yu Li stepped forward first.

She couldn't just sit idly by while her husband was being wronged for no reason.

"Everyone saw what happened just now. We just arrived here. Why are you assuming we were the ones who caused this? Besides, given our relationship with Sha Zhu, do you think he would listen to us? I understand your concern for Sha Zhu and your desire to defend him, but you can't just falsely accuse someone."

Yu Li's words immediately drew agreement from those around her.

Many onlookers pointed and whispered about the deaf old woman, clearly disapproving of her attempt to frame someone.

Having already been rebuffed by Yu Li, the deaf old lady was already seething with anger. Now, being publicly refuted only fueled her fury.

Especially when she saw the pointing and whispering looks around her, she felt that her authority in the courtyard had been completely undermined by this new daughter-in-law.

The old lady immediately became anxious.

"Who do you think you are? A mere newbie who just joined the hospital, daring to act tough here? Let me tell you, as long as I have a breath left, it's none of your business to boss me around!"

To protect Sha Zhu, the deaf old lady would say anything.

Hao Jianguo's face darkened, and he was about to speak when someone beat him to it.

"Grandma, I disagree with what you said."

Yu Li is right, why bother arguing with a junior?

Liu Haizhong shook his head, hands behind his back. "Besides, everyone saw what happened to Sha Zhu. It was his own fault for being immoral. Who can he blame? I was with Jianguo and his wife the whole time. How could they have had time to do anything underhanded?"

"Such corrupting behavior must be dealt with seriously."

Liu Haizhong got more and more excited as he spoke, and he also wanted to take this opportunity to curry favor with Hao Jianguo.

The shrewd Yan Bugui was not about to fall behind; he wouldn't let such a favor slip by.

"You're saying Jianguo is pulling strings behind the scenes? Then I'd like to ask, how could Jianguo allow Shazhu to bully Jia Zhangshi? During the day, Shazhu is at home, and Jianguo is at the factory. At night, Jianguo is with Yuli, while Shazhu is always going to Yi Zhonghai's place—even if Jianguo wanted to interfere, he wouldn't have had the chance, would he?"

It has to be said that Yan Bugui usually acts like an observer in the courtyard, knowing exactly who is where and when.

Yi Zhonghai originally had no intention of getting involved, but Yan Bugui dragged him into it with a single sentence.

"Uncle Yi, tell me the truth, was Sha Zhu at your place around this evening?"

When asked this question in public, Yi Zhonghai could only nod awkwardly.

"See, old lady? If anyone were to give Sha Zhu advice, it should be Uncle Yi, not Jianguo!"

Xu Damao chuckled and chimed in, always enjoying joining in on the fun.

Yi Zhonghai's face darkened upon hearing this. Just as he was about to defend himself, Liu Guangfu, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, chimed in to his defense:

"Everyone in our courtyard knows that you, Uncle Yi, treat Sha Zhu like your own son."

"Tsk tsk, I didn't expect they'd even have similar tastes, both having taken a liking to Jia Zhangshi. That's truly unexpected."

Yi Zhonghai was furious. This matter had absolutely nothing to do with him, yet these people dragged him into it, even bringing up old grievances.

Xu Damao and the others enthusiastically explained the cause and effect to the unsuspecting neighbors, making it sound very convincing.

All eyes turned to Yi Zhonghai, and the subtle look in their gazes made him want to disappear on the spot.

It truly proves the old saying: good deeds go unremembered, but infamy travels far and wide.

The deaf old lady hadn't expected things to escalate to this point. Enraged, she slammed her cane heavily on the ground and shrieked, "Quiet down! Today we're talking about Hao Jianguo's underhanded tactics behind the scenes."

Everyone in this courtyard knows that besides Hao Jianguo, who else has a grudge against Sha Zhu? Sha Zhu is perfectly clear-headed; if someone hadn't been stirring things up, would he have done something so foolish?

Hao Jianguo finally couldn't listen anymore.

If he doesn't say anything, does this old lady really think he's easy to bully?

"Grandma, that's enough."

"I didn't want to say much because of your age, but you can't be so unreasonable, can you?"

"You're saying that I'm the only rival of Sha Zhu in the yard? I think not only are your hearing bad, but your eyesight is also failing."

What is Xu Damao's relationship with him? What do Yan Jiecheng and Liu Guangfu think of Sha Zhu? Even Uncle Er and Uncle San, go ask them what their attitude is towards Sha Zhu. Don't you really know how unpopular Sha Zhu is in the courtyard?

"In the past, Sha Zhu was always causing trouble. If it weren't for you guys protecting him, he would have been kicked out by everyone long ago."

"You still say I'm your only enemy?"

Hao Jianguo sneered, his tone full of sarcasm.

These words immediately drew agreement from Xu Damao and the others, who all expressed that they had long disapproved of Sha Zhu's behavior.

Seeing this, the deaf old woman's face grew even more pale.

She knew that Sha Zhu was usually a scoundrel, but she didn't expect him to be so unpopular. She was speechless for a moment.

Hao Jianguo seized the opportunity to continue, saying, "If you ask me, Sha Zhu not only has character issues, but he's also not very bright."

Keeping this kind of person around is just a nuisance; they should have been kicked out of the compound long ago.

These words struck a chord with Xu Damao.

He immediately voiced his support—if they could really get rid of Sha Zhu, he could finally vent his frustrations of the past few years.

Besides, if Sha Zhu leaves, that room will be empty, and maybe I can still try to get it.

There were quite a few others who were also eyeing the house, and a chorus of approval immediately rang out in the courtyard.

"Impossible! Sha Zhu is perfectly fine, I swear on my life!"

The deaf old lady hurriedly tried to explain, feeling both anxious and angry.

She looked at Yi Zhonghai in a panic, her eyes pleading for help.

Although Yi Zhonghai was extremely reluctant to get involved, he had no choice but to give the old lady face.

He had no choice but to step forward and say, "The old lady is right."

Sha Zhu is someone I watched grow up. Although he sometimes acts foolishly, he's definitely not someone who's not thinking straight.

The two of them took turns defending Sha Zhu, coming up with all sorts of far-fetched reasons, determined not to let him be kicked out of the yard.

Hao Jianguo watched coldly, and suddenly an idea came to him.

Aren't these people desperately trying to speak up for Sha Zhu? Doesn't Sha Zhu think about women all day long? Fine, he'll help Sha Zhu with this favor.

An invisible wisp of smoke drifted silently toward Sha Zhu, unnoticed by anyone.

Sha Zhu, who was lying on the ground, suddenly shivered and felt the temperature around him drop significantly, making it feel eerie.

Hao Jianguo looked at the two who were still arguing and suddenly raised his voice: "Uncle Yi, Madam, since you insist that Sha Zhu is fine, then I will prove to you that he is simply mentally ill."

These words stunned both Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady, who couldn't figure out what Hao Jianguo was going to do.

But the two of them reacted to Sha Zhu's "normal" behavior.

Unwavering in their belief, they refrained from interfering.

"Wait a minute, Hao Jianguo, didn't you absolutely need proof? Fine, this old woman will use our family's grain ration book as collateral for Sha Zhu's bet. Do you dare to bet with me?"

The deaf old woman straightened her back and said in a loud voice.

She glanced quickly at Sha Zhu, and seeing that he looked perfectly normal, she felt even more confident. "I'm asking you, do you dare to bet?"

Upon hearing this, a murmur of gasps immediately rose from the crowd.

Everyone knows what that little grain ration book means in those days—it's a certificate issued by the state to each household to purchase grain and oil in rations per person, and it's the foundation of having enough to eat.

The old lady is betting everything on herself, determined to fight Hao Jianguo to the death.

Those who know about the old deaf woman's past conflicts with Hao Jianguo can guess why she is so desperate—it's simply because she wants to completely bring down Hao Jianguo.

Seeing that she dared to use her grain rations as a gamble, some people who were initially skeptical began to waver.

The deaf old lady was always shrewd. If there was really something wrong with Sha Zhu, how could she dare to place such a heavy bet? For a moment, many probing eyes were turned to Hao Jianguo, wanting to see how he would deal with it.

Upon hearing this, Hao Jianguo merely scoffed and said, "Let's gamble then. Do you think I'd be afraid of an old lady like you?"

Seeing that he agreed, the deaf old woman immediately gritted her teeth and said hatefully, "Fine! If you lose, all your possessions will belong to me! Also, you and your Yu Li must get out of this courtyard house immediately and never set foot in it again!"

She became more and more excited as she spoke, her words revealing a reckless madness, but deep down there was an uncontrollable excitement surging up—after waiting for so long, she had finally seized the opportunity to completely get rid of these two thorns in her side!

An uproar immediately erupted around them.

No one expected the deaf old lady to raise the stakes to such an alarming level; this was more than just "madness"—it was a desperate gamble.

Anyone with eyes can see that this is purely a personal revenge and malicious harassment.

"This old lady is driving people to their deaths. Who would dare accept such a bet?"

"It all depends on Hao Jianguo's choice."

"What other choice do I have? If it were me, I'd just turn around and leave! She's gone crazy, are I going to go crazy with her?"

People whispered and discussed among themselves, almost all of them convinced that Hao Jianguo would never accept this absurd offer.

However, when Hao Jianguo's clear voice rang out, everyone was stunned, as if they had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

"Alright! I'll take the bet!"

The scene fell silent instantly, and disbelief was written on every face.

No one could understand why Hao Jianguo would jump into such an obvious fire pit.

Yu Li, standing to the side, was so anxious that her palms were sweating as she looked at her husband with worry.

She had made up her mind that even if she lost, she would never leave Hao Jianguo. At worst, she would take him back to her parents' home. She was determined to stay with him for the rest of her life.