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

As she spoke the last few words, she felt as if a huge rock was pressing on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Jia Dongxu gritted his teeth, his heart churning, but in the end he could only swallow his anger.

As soon as Jia Zhangshi left, the courtyard erupted into chaos.

All eyes turned toward the deaf old woman's room, their gazes filled with surprise, doubt, and apprehension.

"I never expected... that leader would have such great abilities, even managing to get people out of jail."

Someone sighed in a low voice.

"I knew he was no ordinary person, but I didn't expect him to have this much power."

Another person's interface.

Suddenly, someone approached mysteriously, their eyes gleaming with gossip: "I've heard some interesting news—that Boss Zhao is getting married soon, guess who the bride is?"

This really piqued their interest, and the others nearby were itching to know what to do, urging, "Stop keeping us in suspense, tell us already!"

Someone nearby impatiently urged, "If you know anything, just say it. Don't try to be mysterious here."

This remark drew a chorus of agreement, and everyone began to complain.

The person who had spoken earlier looked embarrassed, chuckled dryly, and didn't delay any longer: "Alright, alright, I'll tell you now."

I heard that Director Zhao is about to marry the daughter of a certain district leader—and that leader is...this one.

He deliberately gave a thumbs-up to emphasize the other person's status.

A collective gasp of surprise immediately filled the air.

No one expected things to develop in this direction.

Someone exclaimed, "Director Zhao is already quite capable; if he were to marry into the leadership's family, what would become of him? Wouldn't the old lady be able to do whatever she wants?"

The words had barely left his mouth when they were met with a sneer.

"What are you saying? Aren't they powerful enough now? If you ask me, with this connection, I doubt anyone in this courtyard will dare to mess with them from now on."

The speaker's tone was mocking, yet also revealed a cold reality.

Those who had previously changed their allegiance now stood tall, their faces beaming with pride, as if their earlier choices had been incredibly wise.

Although many people despise their behavior, they can't help but feel a pang of bitterness in their hearts.

Some people also turned their attention to Liu Guangfu and Yan Jiecheng, looking on with expressions of anticipation for a good show.

Everyone knows that the Liu and Yan families once supported Hao Jianguo. Given the current situation, Hao Jianguo himself is in dire straits, and these two old men will likely be implicated as well.

Losing his position as manager is probably the least of his worries; his future is uncertain.

Xu Damao saw this and secretly rejoiced that he hadn't taken sides back then, otherwise he would be in big trouble now.

He quietly moved away from Yan Jiecheng and his group, afraid of being mistaken for one of them.

But then he thought about it again and became worried.

Everyone knows about his old grudge against Sha Zhu. Now that the old lady is in power, it's hard to guarantee that she won't find an opportunity to settle scores with him.

The thought of leaving the courtyard house flashed through his mind, but he immediately rejected it.

His roots are here, his job is here, where can he run off to? Even if he moves away, as long as he's still in the factory, Sha Zhu and his gang can still easily mess with him.

A thought that made him feel extremely humiliated gradually became clear: Should he go and apologize to Sha Zhu?

Although just thinking about it made him feel suffocated, Xu Damao had to admit that this might be the only way out at the moment.

Hoping Hao Jianguo could turn the tide? He dared not harbor such illusions at all—how could Hao Jianguo possibly contend with Director Zhao?

Xu Damao steeled himself and finally decided to bow down and admit his mistake to Sha Zhu.

Even if I have to live a miserable life under the other party's oppression, it's still better than losing my life.

Although he had made up his mind, he still wanted to delay and observe how the situation would change.

Yan Jiecheng and Liu Haizhong exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with resentment and anger.

Normally, upon hearing such remarks, I would have already cursed them out; I wouldn't tolerate such arrogance from others.

But the situation is different now. Both of them know that their family is in a difficult situation and neither of them wants to cause any more trouble at this critical juncture.

They all looked in the direction of Hao Jianguo's country without prior arrangement.

She didn't resent Hao Jianguo because of this—everyone chose their own path, and naturally they had to bear the consequences themselves.

At this moment, a sliver of hope remained deep in their hearts: Hao Jianguo had weathered many storms, and perhaps he could turn the tide this time as well.

But the thought was quickly suppressed by reason, and the hope was ultimately very slim.

Hao Jianguo was well aware of the discussions among the people in the courtyard.

Most people are cautious when mentioning him, fearing retaliation.

But those opportunists seemed to have gone mad, using Hao Jianguo as a sitting duck, spewing all sorts of foul language at him.

"They've gone too far!"

Yu Li heard it clearly, and anger surged in her chest.

Hao Jianguo was as important as life itself to her; how could she tolerate such slander and humiliation? She rolled up her sleeves and was about to rush out to argue, but her husband gently pulled her back.

Hao Jianguo shook his head with a wry smile.

He was naturally pleased that his wife was protecting him, but he also knew that those people were not good people. If he let Yu Li go and argue with them, he was afraid that he would suffer the consequences.

"Jianguo, are you afraid of them?"

Yu Li looked at her husband with a puzzled expression.

The Hao Jianguo she knew was never a timid or hesitant person.

Then, thinking of Zhao Hai's influence, she sighed, thinking she understood her husband's concerns—although this was not Hao Jianguo's true thought.

Afraid of Zhao Hai? Afraid of the deaf old lady?

A faint smile appeared on Hao Jianguo's lips.

Even though Zhao Hai wielded immense power, he never caught his eye.

"He's just Zhao Hai, why would I be afraid?"

He gently comforted his wife, "I don't want you to argue because they don't deserve it."

He's just a clown, why bother taking him to heart?

Hearing him say that, Yu Li's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and a smile spread across her face.

She knew that her husband never disappointed her.

"Jianguo, do you have a way to deal with this? Those people say Zhao Hai will come looking for trouble sooner or later."

Yu Li was still somewhat worried.

Hao Jianguo simply shrugged indifferently.

"When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it."

Since Hao Jianguo had put it that way, Yu Li didn't ask any more questions.

Over the years, they had developed a tacit understanding, which was also a testament to her trust in him.

Yu Li knew perfectly well that since her man had spoken, he would never let her down.

But then a thought crossed her mind, and she couldn't help but feel a little curious—what unexpected methods would he use to deal with the deaf old woman and her group if they really wanted to retaliate?

……

That deaf old lady was never one to stay still.

She had only felt her power restored a few days ago when she couldn't contain herself again and stirred up trouble in the courtyard.

On a weekend morning, as everyone in the courtyard was enjoying a moment of leisure in their dreams, a sudden burst of loud gongs and drums shattered the tranquility, abruptly pulling them out of their sleep.

Many people angrily cursed and rushed out of the house, intending to find the person banging the gong and drum and have a good argument with him.

But upon seeing who was standing in the courtyard, his anger immediately subsided.

The one banging the gong was Sha Zhu, and the person he was supporting was the deaf old woman with her chin held high and a smug look on her face.

Her posture was just like that of a victorious rooster, with smugness hanging in the corners of her eyes and brows.

Everyone felt angry and frustrated, but no one dared to speak out and accuse them. They had to suppress their morning grumpiness.

Everyone knows that going against the deaf old woman at this time will only bring bad luck.

Although ever since Zhao Hai showed up, the people in the courtyard knew that the deaf old lady was probably going to start acting like a tyrant again, they had been preparing themselves mentally for the past few days.

But seeing her put on such a show, that feeling of annoyance and anger still surged up.

Everyone secretly thought: This is probably just the "appetizer" for the deaf old lady and her ilk to torment us.

That's it.

Who knows what even worse things might happen in the future?

Based on their understanding of this old woman, they knew she was absolutely capable of doing it.

The clearer this is to many people, the more suffocated they feel.

But the deaf old woman didn't care about their resentment. Now she was determined to regain all the face she had lost recently, so she acted with even less restraint.

In fact, just as everyone expected—ever since Zhao Hai revealed himself as that "big leader" in the compound...

After putting on airs, the deaf old woman and Yi Zhonghai and a few others discussed in private how to rebuild their lost prestige.

Of course, for them, the most satisfying method would be to simply drag Hao Jianguo away.

But as they pondered, they knew in their hearts that even if Zhao Hai was in a strong position, he would have to come up with a plausible excuse to bring down a factory cadre.

This matter is not urgent.

The most important thing right now is to re-establish our authority in this courtyard and make everyone see how foolish it was to dare to oppose us before.

Seeing that most of the people had gathered, the deaf old woman cleared her throat.

The voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced the courtyard.

She was clearly very satisfied with the result. Her gaze slowly swept over the group before she nodded, and deep wrinkles appeared on her old face as she smiled.

"I know that disturbing everyone's sleep so early must be upsetting for you."

The deaf old woman slowly opened her mouth.

Upon hearing this, many people below couldn't help but roll their eyes inwardly, their anger rising even higher—if you know you're going to be disliked, why bother making such a fuss?

This old lady is clearly deliberately looking for trouble.

While everyone was secretly annoyed, those few opportunists who always changed their tune with the wind had already started to cheer and applaud.

Grandma, you're just too thoughtful.

How could we possibly have any complaints about you? Every decision you make must have its reasons, and we will definitely support you.

That's right! I, Zhao Laoliu, am making this clear right now—from now on, if anyone dares to utter a single word about you behind your back, I'll be the first to object!

You've worked so hard for our compound for so many years, and now you've gathered everyone here so late at night, there must be something important going on.

We should be grateful; if anyone still harbors resentment, then they are truly heartless.

Immediately, those who were adept at changing their tune with the wind all chimed in, flattering him with their words.

Some people even rolled up their sleeves and struck a pose, as if they could pounce on anyone who dared to show the old lady the slightest disrespect.

This behavior made some people around feel disgusted, and their gazes toward that group were filled with undisguised contempt.

Yan Bugui and the others stood to the side, cursing inwardly: to please the old lady and for those vague benefits, this group of people had even abandoned their dignity and become spineless.

Despite their cursing, Yan Bugui and his men understood that in the current situation, a simple "no" was necessary.

He couldn't utter a single word.

They couldn't stop these people from bowing and fawning, nor could they stop this sudden surge of sycophancy.

Many onlookers in the courtyard began to waver as they watched—should they also step forward and say a few nice words?

The old lady could easily see through those shifting thoughts.

The more everyone acted this way, the more comfortable she felt.

This was exactly the scene she wanted: people vying to pledge their loyalty, allowing her previously wavering position to be firmly re-established.

"Okay, okay."

The old lady's voice was filled with relief, "Our old neighbors in the courtyard are indeed all reasonable people."

The reason I called everyone together today is actually for some happy occasions—it's almost May, isn't it? This year, we're going to have a proper celebration for the May Day festival.

She paused, her gaze slowly sweeping across the courtyard: "Last year, our courtyard lost its 'Advanced' plaque."

This holiday is a good opportunity to bring back that spirit of working together as one.

From now on, we'll have to work together as one to make this place a thriving success.

May Day?

These three words stunned many people, who exchanged puzzled glances.

In previous years, this festival was just something to be dealt with casually, but now that it's suddenly being celebrated in a big way, it's obvious to everyone that the old lady is trying to use this opportunity to regain her power and prestige.

They guessed correctly, but no one dared to say a word.

Seeing the old lady with her hands behind her back, looking like she was in charge of everything, even if I was very unhappy, I could only suppress my emotions.

Whether they want to or not, they have to get through this; they have no choice.

Wherever the old lady's inspection-like gaze fell, the group of clever people immediately smiled and cheered.

In their words, the old lady had become a great philanthropist who always thought of the courtyard and worried herself sick for the collective honor day and night.