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

She rushed forward in a panic, trying to snatch back the tickets, but the frog was incredibly agile, as if it had anticipated her every move. With just a few nimble leaps, it dodged them all, leaving her no chance to even touch it.

"Give it back to me! You... ah!"

In her desperation, she disregarded everything else, and her screams echoed sharply throughout the room.

Perhaps because she was too flustered, she tripped over something and fell heavily to the ground.

By then, the frog had hopped to the door.

It skillfully used its claws to pry open the door latch, then glanced back at her—Qin Huairu could clearly see the mockery and disdain in its eyes.

She was actually looked down upon by a frog.

A surge of intense shame and indignation rushed to Qin Huairu's head, and she almost went mad.

But the frog didn't give her a chance to retaliate. It hopped around a few times and darted into Hao Jianguo's house next door, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Qin Huairu sat on the ground in a daze, everything that was happening before her eyes was beyond her comprehension.

She even had a dazed thought: Could it be that she had run into some kind of monster?

The money I finally got was gone just like that.

She felt empty inside, as if her soul had been ripped out. She sat there blankly, too weak to even move a finger.

Just then, perhaps because the previous commotion was too loud, Jia Zhangshi on the bed slowly opened her eyes.

"Ouch... this wine is really strong, it's making me dizzy."

She mumbled as she propped herself up, and immediately saw Qin Huairu sitting on the ground. Her brows furrowed instantly. "What's wrong with you sitting on the ground like that?"

Jia Zhangshi has always been greedy for money, and she feels uneasy if she doesn't count the money she hides every day.

She swayed as she tried to get out of bed to reach for the money box, but her movements suddenly froze—

At this moment, Qin Huairu was clutching her precious money box in her hand.

A piercing scream suddenly rang out, startling even the distraught Qin Huairu.

She looked down at the wooden box in her hands, and her heart sank.

Yi Chen: It's over, it's all over now.

"You heartless bastard! So that's why you suddenly changed your tune today, admitting your mistakes and pouring me drinks—you were just waiting for this! I'll teach you a lesson!"

Madam Jia roared and charged over, ignoring all explanations, and kicked Qin Huairu hard with her thick foot.

Qin Huairu cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground.

The money box was snatched back by Jia Zhangshi.

Madam Jia hugged the wooden box tightly like she was holding a child, muttering curses incessantly.

But the moment she lifted the lid, she froze completely.

The box, which was originally packed full, is now completely empty.

She counted the money she had every day, more than a dozen times a day, and cherished it more than her own life, but not a single penny was left.

"Qin Huairu! You thief! Where's my money? Tell me! Where did it go?!"

Like a mad tigress, Jia Zhangshi pounced on Qin Huairu, pinning her down and swinging her arm to deliver a powerful slap to her face.

Stealing her money was, in Jia Zhangshi's mind, an unforgivable crime punishable by death.

This time, she really went all out.

Several heavy slaps landed, and Qin Huairu's cheeks immediately swelled up, with blood seeping from the corners of her mouth.

Jia Zhangshi was still not satisfied and gripped her neck tightly with both hands, as if she really wanted to take her life.

Startled awake by the commotion, Jia Dongxu, upon hearing that his money had been stolen, leaped up like a ravenous wolf, pointing at Qin Huairu and yelling, "You jinx! You traitor! Mom, how dare you steal our money!"

With a roar, Jia Zhangshi finally let go.

How much of her sense was left? If someone were to die, not only would she not be able to recover the money, but she herself would probably end up in jail.

"Tell me! Where did you hide the money?"

Jia Zhangshi's eyes widened, and her spittle almost landed on Qin Huairu's face.

Qin Huairu collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, with a ring of purplish-red finger marks around her neck.

After finally catching her breath, she shakily raised her face: "Mom, Dongxu, you've wronged me so much... How was I supposed to know where you hid the money? Every time you hid money, you would send me away like I was a thief, so even if I wanted to steal it, I couldn't."

These words silenced Jia Zhangshi.

She guarded against her daughter-in-law like a thief, and never let anyone near her when hiding money.

But the fact remains that the tin box is empty.

"Can that money grow wings and fly away?"

Jia Zhangshi gritted her teeth and said, "Qin Huairu, if you confess honestly now, I might spare you."

If they try anything again—”

Before she could finish speaking, Qin Huairu shivered.

She knew all too well how terrifying her mother-in-law could be when she went crazy.

only……

Are you suggesting that the money was stolen by a frog? Anyone would just think that's nonsense.

"Still pretending to be stupid?"

Seeing that her eyes were darting away, Jia Zhangshi's anger flared up again, and she raised her arm to hit her again.

"I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Qin Huairu curled up in a ball, covering her head. "It really wasn't me... it was a frog... the frog took the money!"

The room fell silent for a moment.

Jia Zhangshi's face twitched violently, and she suddenly roared, "Release!"

He pounced on her like a mad tiger, his withered hand gripping Qin Huairu's throat tightly once more.

"If you don't hand over the money, we'll both die today! I won't live without the money!"

Qin Huairu struggled in vain, but the torment of the past few days had exhausted her strength. She felt her vision blurring and her consciousness gradually fading.

Just then, the neighbors in the courtyard were finally alerted by the escalating commotion.

Although they usually didn't want to provoke the Jia family, hearing the screams and commotion inside, they were afraid that someone might actually die, so they gradually gathered at the door.

The Liu family father and sons rushed into the house and saw that Jia Zhangshi was tightly choking Qin Huairu's neck. Their expressions changed immediately, and they hurriedly stepped forward to drag Jia Zhangshi away from Qin Huairu.

Surprisingly, Jia Zhangshi possessed astonishing strength, and it took Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiecheng considerable effort to barely pull her away.

"When will your Jia family ever have peace? You've only been back a few days and you've already caused such a mess!"

Liu Haizhong, hands behind his back, glared at Jia Zhangshi with a livid face. "If we had been a step later, someone might have died!"

He grew angrier and angrier, finally stamping his foot and yelling, "You're making such a ruckus all day long, don't you think the yard is chaotic enough already?"

Yan Bugui stood aside, shaking his head and sighing, no longer even bothering to offer any advice.

The neighbors who gathered in the courtyard upon hearing the commotion all had angry expressions on their faces, their eyes piercing Jia Zhangshi like thorns.

"It's all because of your Jia family! Our courtyard has long become the laughingstock of the neighborhood!"

"Can't a person get some peace and quiet in the middle of the night?"

Amidst the cacophony of accusations, Jia Zhangshi collapsed to the ground, slapping her thigh and wailing, "Why are you all blaming me? My money is gone! Over seven hundred yuan, all stolen by that heartless thief!"

Her withered fingers jabbed straight at Qin Huairu.

"More than seven hundred yuan"

The words exploded like thunder, and the surroundings fell silent instantly.

People gasped in shock, and their gazes towards Qin Huairu changed.

But then I thought, if I were tormented like this by Jia Zhangshi for a long time, I probably wouldn't be able to resist the thought of taking that money.

Liu Haizhong frowned, about to speak, when Jia Zhangshi suddenly rushed over and hugged his leg: "Second Uncle, you have to stand up for me! This is the money that stole my lifeline!"

Although Liu Haizhong felt uncomfortable with his thigh being held like that, a sense of smugness rose in his heart—Jia Zhangshi's behavior clearly showed that she treated him as the master in charge of the courtyard.

With Yi Zhonghai gone, isn't he the only one who has any real influence in this courtyard now?

He immediately straightened his back and adopted a posture: "Stand up and speak first."

As the second oldest man in the courtyard, I will naturally uphold justice.

We will definitely find a way to get that money back for you.

Only then did Madam Jia release her grip, but her gaze towards Qin Huairu remained venomous.

"Qin Huairu, is the money really with you?"

Liu Haizhong stood with his hands behind his back, his expression solemn. "The principle of leniency for those who confess needs no further explanation."

Seven hundred dollars is not a small amount. If you really took it, it's not too late to hand it over now.

Otherwise, if the matter is reported to the authorities and verified, he could face more than ten years in prison.

Qin Huairu's face drained of color, and she hurriedly shook her head: "Second Uncle, please believe me... I really didn't take her money! She hid the money so well, how could I possibly find it? Besides, we're family after all, why would I steal from my own family?"

As she spoke, she covered her face and began to sob.

The crying was three parts sorrow and seven parts grievance; someone else might have believed it.

But I heard "family" in Liu Hai's hair.

Those three words, though a sneer escaped his lips.

When he visited Jia Dongxu earlier, he clearly saw Qin Huairu smile when Jia Dongxu was on the verge of death; later, when Jia Dongxu pulled through, she cried her heart out.

From that moment on, Liu Haizhong understood that Qin Huairu had never regarded the Jia family as true "family."

Everyone has seen clearly how Jia Zhangshi has treated her these days—if Qin Huairu would touch that money, she certainly has enough reason to do so.

Thinking of this, Liu Haizhong's expression became even more serious.

But he also knew that everything required evidence, and without proof, a conviction could not be made.

"Mrs. Jia, what evidence do you have to accuse Qin Huairu of stealing money? You can't just accuse someone based on empty words, can you?"

Liu Haizhong asked solemnly.

Jia Zhangshi immediately brought out a money box: "This is the box where I hide my money. It was originally full of banknotes."

She got me drunk and tried to steal from me, but luckily I woke up in time and caught her holding this box! When I snatched it back and opened it, it was already empty—isn't that enough proof that she did it?

She spoke with absolute certainty, pressing her with every sentence, as if she wanted to push Qin Huairu to the brink of despair.

In her heart, money was far more important than her daughter-in-law.

Jia Zhangshi's words were so logical and clear that many people around her listened with a mixture of belief and skepticism.

Of course, for most onlookers, it doesn't matter what the Jia family does; they're just watching the show anyway.

"It really wasn't me!"

Qin Huairu hurriedly defended herself, "If I really stole it, why would I be so foolish as to hold onto the box? Wouldn't that expose my actions? I could have just thrown the box away."

These words made Liu Haizhong, who had intended to uphold justice, nod slightly – Qin Huairu's explanation did not seem entirely unreasonable.

"Then tell me, why are you in this box? And where did the money inside go?"

Liu Haizhong pressed for an answer.

These words piqued the curiosity of everyone in the courtyard, and they all turned their attention to Qin Huairu.

With so many eyes watching, Qin Huairu immediately resumed her act.

Tears streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls, and she sobbed as she spoke:

"I don't really know what happened... Earlier, I was serving my mother-in-law and Dongxu drinks, and after they got drunk, I thought I'd tidy up the house."

There are so many things to do at home these days. My mother-in-law has to take care of both Dongxu and the children, so I lend a hand whenever I can.

She became more and more upset as she spoke, her shoulders trembling slightly, looking extremely aggrieved.

Seeing her like this, the onlookers couldn't help but feel a little relieved—although Qin Huairu had a bad reputation outside, she seemed to be quite devoted to the Jia family and could be considered a daughter-in-law who didn't forget her roots.

It must be admitted that Qin Huairu was quite the actress; she managed to persuade everyone to change their minds with just a few words.

"But as soon as I started sweeping, a huge frog suddenly darted in, went straight to the corner of the wall, snatched the money box, and ran off with all the banknotes inside."

I tried to stop it, but it darted away so fast I couldn't catch it... I saw it jump into Hao Jian's courtyard.

Looking back now, those frogs must have been raised by Hao Jianguo, and he was definitely the one who stole the money!

After Qin Huairu finished speaking these words with great conviction, she found that the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

People looked at her strangely, as if they were watching some absurd joke.

After a brief silence, the courtyard suddenly erupted in uproarious laughter, the laughter filled with sarcasm.

Liu Haizhong's lips twitched violently twice as he glared at Qin Huairu:

"You, Qin Huairu, I asked you in a polite tone, and you think I'm a fool?"

Liu Guangfu followed his father's words and immediately shouted, "I really thought she was so good after hearing her effusive praise. Turns out she was just making a fool of us! Bah, I knew you, Qin Huairu, had no good intentions. How could you possibly be genuinely good to the Jia family?"

As soon as the father and son started arguing, the onlookers also got angry—and rightly so? Qin Huairu's current explanation was clearly just fooling everyone.

"Nonsense!"