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

Xu Damao raised his voice, "Child abduction, you call that a 'trivial matter'? According to you, only when a child is actually lost is it considered a serious matter, only then is it worthy of reporting to the police? Are we supposed to wait in line to see Hao Jianguo make a fool of himself?"

Hao Jianguo let out a short, cold laugh at the opportune moment, his sharp gaze sweeping over the deaf old woman.

The deaf old woman's face froze, speechless at their back-and-forth banter.

She was well aware of the dark thought in her heart that she hoped Hao Jianguo would suffer misfortune and that she would enjoy the spectacle, but she dared not utter it aloud.

If she were to reveal the truth, the spittle from everyone in the courtyard would drown her.

"I...I didn't mean that!"

The old lady hurriedly tried to explain, but her voice became noticeably weaker.

"Oh, you may not have said it aloud, but you've probably been thinking it for a while now, haven't you?"

Liu Guangfu immediately responded with a sarcastic remark.

Now, the Liu family is single-mindedly focused on being Hao Jianguo's pawns, eager to make a good impression and mend the rift left by Liu Haizhong's past offenses. "Old lady, you're really heartless. Do you only feel comfortable watching other families fall apart?"

"You...you bastard!"

The deaf old woman trembled with anger at Liu Guangfu's words that struck at her heart. Her finger trembled as she pointed at him, her face turning pale and then red, her chest heaving violently. Everyone around her held their breath, fearing that the old woman might faint on the spot.

"What are you youngsters doing here, meddling in important matters? The elders are discussing serious business; it's none of your place to interrupt!"

The old lady quickly raised her voice and cut the conversation off, afraid that if she was even a beat too slow, Xu Damao and his gang would cause some trouble.

In her view, as long as things are kept within the walls of this courtyard, no matter what the final outcome is, there is always a way to "smooth things over behind closed doors".

"Think it over carefully—last year, we lost our reputation as an 'advanced compound' because of those petty things. Do you want to lose it again this year?"

She laid out the pros and cons openly.

If a household is recognized as an advanced unit, everyone benefits, and the factory will also provide some additional benefits.

Having already suffered a loss last year, if they fail again this year, many people in the hospital will probably be extremely anxious.

When their personal interests were mentioned, everyone fell silent and looked at Hao Jianguo, with no one speaking for a moment.

The old lady was secretly delighted by the scene.

She had lived in this courtyard for most of her life and knew these people's temperaments very well—their reaction was clearly because they were afraid of making a scene and getting burned.

She then gave Yi Zhonghai a wink.

Although this "old man"

Although his prestige is not what it used to be, the title was still given by the local community, and his words still carry some weight.

Moreover, since the matter involves Sha Zhu, Yi Zhonghai could not possibly stand idly by.

Yi Zhonghai put his hands behind his back and adopted his usual posture of upholding justice.

"If you ask me, the old lady is right."

It's best to resolve this matter right here in the courtyard.

"Hao Jianguo, I know you're angry."

But right now, the child hasn't been lost, and the matter hasn't been verified, so why make a scene and cause such a public uproar? We all live in the same compound, so we should at least consider our reputation.

Our institution already had a bad reputation last year. If rumors of child abduction spread, how will we ever be able to hold our heads high on this street again?

He spoke earnestly, his face beaming with the thought that he was "thinking of everyone."

look.

The neighbors, who had already been somewhat persuaded by the old lady, became even more hesitant, and some even nodded unconsciously.

Yi Zhonghai took in everyone's reactions and felt a sense of relief—it seemed that he still retained some authority in this courtyard.

Having said that, he glanced at Sha Zhu and Jia Zhangshi, signaling them to leave as soon as possible.

"Leaving? Sir, in such a hurry to see someone off?"

Before Sha Zhu could even lift his foot, Hao Jianguo shouted to stop him.

The group froze on the spot, their faces alternating between pale and flushed.

Hao Jianguo turned back, his gaze sweeping over Yi Zhonghai and the old lady, his tone icy:

"That's quite unusual."

"You two seem quite concerned about this matter, could it be... that you were involved in this dirty work of child abduction? Otherwise, why are you so eager to smooth things over and rush to kick people out?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady turned ashen-faced.

They knew perfectly well that once they got involved in this matter, they would have no place in this courtyard anymore.

"Hao Jianguo, you...you mustn't talk nonsense! What does this have to do with us?"

Uncle Yi immediately retorted, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.

Child trafficking is an unforgivable crime. If he were to be labeled as such, the reputation he has painstakingly maintained for most of his life would be ruined.

The deaf old lady was also pale.

If "flower shoot"

The suspicion fell on her. Forget about the dignity of being a three-generation martyr and a recipient of the Five Guarantees. Even if her capable grandson were present, he probably couldn't protect her in the slightest.

"Hao Jianguo, you're making baseless accusations!"

The old woman trembled with rage, slamming her cane heavily on the ground. "Where's the evidence? On what grounds are you slandering us like this?"

The onlookers, seeing the two men's disheveled appearance, exchanged glances and shook their heads in secret.

Compared to Hao Jianguo's composure and calm demeanor, Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady's panicked state was particularly striking, making the difference in their abilities immediately apparent.

Naturally, no one in the courtyard truly believed that the two of them would have an affair with the kidnapper, but their behavior of disregarding right and wrong and blindly protecting Sha Zhu was truly chilling.

"If you claim it's unrelated, why are you protecting these criminals?"

Hao Jianguo's gaze was piercing, and his words were firm and resolute: "With your level of knowledge, don't you know that child trafficking is a serious crime? Child traffickers are utterly depraved, yet you desperately defend them. How are you any different from accomplices?"

These words were like sharp blades, cutting through the dignity the two men were trying so hard to maintain, startling them so much that they swayed and almost lost their footing.

"When the compound is evaluating advanced individuals, we naturally want to compete."

Striving for excellence does not mean condoning wrongdoing!

Hao Jianguo turned to the crowd, his voice suddenly rising, "Think about it, everyone! If you dare to steal my Hao family's child today, you'll dare to break into your homes tomorrow! For the sake of your own families' safety, you should uproot these scourges!"

His words were like a pebble thrown into water, creating ripples all around.

Compared to the empty title of "advanced", the safety of one's own child is naturally more important.

"Comrade Hao is right! We must not let the evildoers get away with this!"

Immediately, someone loudly echoed this sentiment.

"Which family doesn't have children? This kind of trouble must not be allowed to continue!"

"I will never forgive someone who follows Hanako!"

Hao Jianguo already had considerable prestige, and now, by pleasing the people, his reputation soared even higher.

Amidst the clamor, Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu were already ashen-faced, their legs trembling like leaves in the wind, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to disappear into immediately.

But the surrounding gazes were like an impenetrable wall, leaving them no way to escape. After this commotion, everyone already regarded the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law as "flower shoppers."

They were equal.

"How dare you do such a despicable thing!"

Someone shouted angrily and kicked Jia Zhangshi in the back of her large waist.

Caught off guard, Jia Zhangshi screamed and fell to the ground.

In an instant, curses erupted, and several people even started to fight, throwing punches and kicks.

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and he took advantage of the chaos to squeeze out of the crowd and dashed towards the police station.

"We're innocent! Stop hitting us... We really aren't kidnappers, we didn't steal the child!"

Jia Zhangshi curled up on the ground, crying and wailing, stubbornly refusing to admit it.

Qin Huairu was filled with fear and hatred, cursing that brainless idiot Sha Zhu a thousand times over—if it weren't for his reckless accusations, how could she have been driven to this desperate situation? This was clearly a blood feud!

"Stop everything!"

A sharp shout suddenly rang out.

The people in the courtyard paused, turning their heads to look in the direction of the sound, only to see Xu Damao leading several policemen rushing in.

The police acted swiftly, especially since this incident involved human trafficking, they dared not be negligent in the slightest.

However, they couldn't help feeling a little annoyed: the courtyard had disturbed them many times last year, and they didn't expect it to be just as noisy this year.

When will this place finally find peace?

"What's going on? Who's the kidnapper?"

A police officer frowned and asked in a deep voice.

Before he finished speaking, fingers around him were pointing at Jia Zhangshi and her group. Some busybodies even accused Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady of being accomplices, making their faces turn ashen.

"Officer, we've been wronged! How could we be kidnappers?"

Yi Zhonghai hurriedly stepped forward to explain.

Now that the police have arrived, it's no longer possible to cover this up.

For Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady, it's already a blessing that they can keep themselves safe.

As for what Sha Zhu and He Yushui will face, Yi Zhonghai sighed inwardly, fearing they could only leave it to fate.

After hearing his explanation, the police officers' expressions grew even more unpleasant.

They glared at Yi Zhonghai sternly, their eyes revealing obvious displeasure.

It's truly disappointing that an elderly man living in the compound would be so careless about the seriousness of a matter.

When Yi Zhonghai met that gaze, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

He naturally understood what the police meant, and at this moment he dared not confuse right and wrong as before, otherwise he himself would not escape punishment.

He immediately lowered his head and fell silent, like a student admitting his mistake.

"Not everything can be settled privately in the courtyard."

A police officer sternly surveyed the crowd. "If they really are human traffickers, your handling of the situation privately constitutes harboring a criminal, and you will be held criminally liable as well, understand?"

These words sent a chill down many people's spines, and cold sweat broke out on their backs.

Fortunately, Hao Jianguo had reported the case to the police earlier, otherwise they would have almost unknowingly broken the law.

Thinking of this, everyone had even more respect for Hao Jianguo—he was indeed a knowledgeable person who understood the law, unlike them who were so ignorant.

Looking at Yi Zhonghai and the deaf old lady again, his eyes were full of resentment: the two of them had tried to smooth things over and almost dragged the whole courtyard down with them.

If he really becomes a harborer, he will go to jail.

Upon thinking of this, everyone felt a chill of fear.

"Damn it, they almost got me into serious trouble!"

"Exactly! If we had listened to Yi Zhonghai, we'd probably all be in jail!"

"Does this kind of person even deserve to be called a 'big shot'? The neighborhood committee should have dismissed him long ago!"

"I think even Liu Haizhong is more capable than him!"

Discussions arose, and discontent spread among the crowd.

Hearing these words, Liu Haizhong was secretly pleased, feeling that it was everyone's recognition of him.

However, he knew that if he really wanted to sit in that position, he would need Hao Jianguo's support, and he had to maintain a good relationship with him.

Jia Zhangshi remained completely oblivious, and in front of several police officers, she began to wail loudly, repeatedly proclaiming that she had suffered a tremendous injustice.

To be honest, if Hao Jianguo hadn't personally experienced the whole story, he probably would have been fooled by the two men's performance.

"Comrade, we've been truly wronged!"

"Yes, officer, how could we be kidnappers? All the neighbors in the courtyard know about our family situation. Although we're not well-liked, we wouldn't do something so heinous."

Jia Zhangshi and Qin Huairu were crying bitterly at this moment. Jia Zhangshi, in particular, even rushed to the feet of a young policeman and grabbed his trouser leg with tears streaming down her face.

That sight made the officer who was being held feel nauseous, and he almost couldn't help but kick the person away.

But with his duties to fulfill, he could only suppress the disgust in his heart.

Upon seeing this, Liu Haizhong sneered and quickly stepped forward to help the police officers drag Jia Zhangshi aside.

The young police officer gave him a grateful glance, and Liu Haizhong immediately felt a sense of pride.

"Bah! Madam Jia, even now you dare to spout nonsense? Don't you remember what Sha Zhu just said!"

Liu Haizhong turned to the police officer and repeated exactly what Sha Zhu had confessed earlier.

Yan Bugui seized the opportunity to interject: "Comrade, I am Uncle San from the courtyard, and I can testify that everything Old Liu said is true."

Sha Zhu couldn't withstand the shock and quickly learned the truth from a few questions.

"Yes, we all heard it!"

"Officer, it was Sha Zhu who confessed!"

The surrounding residents who were watching the commotion chimed in, and some even pointed at Sha Zhu's nose and started cursing.

Every gaze felt like a needle piercing his body. Sha Zhu felt a chill run down his spine, his whole body trembled uncontrollably, and his face turned ashen.

"I...I was just making that up...Officer, please don't believe me!"

This explanation is weak and unconvincing.

The officers present were all experienced veterans, and they saw through his shifty eyes at a glance.

One of the burly police officers snorted and stepped forward, deftly grabbing Sha Zhu's arm behind his back.

Under the absolute suppression of power, Shazhu was like a dehydrated fish, not even daring to struggle.