Courtyard House: A Start with Black Gold Swallowing 100,000 Silver Dollars

"My Song family has no plans at the moment!"

After she finished rinsing her mouth in the bathroom, Li Wenguo said those words verbatim.

"How is it?"

"What exactly does that mean?"

A moment later, seeing her brows relax, Li Wenguo immediately pressed her for details.

He became quite interested, as if solving a riddle.

"What I mean is that the Song family hasn't decided who to support yet, but this 'lack of opinion' itself is the price they're offering."

"Of course, it's not that no one has come to persuade them, but the Song family is still weighing their options, seeing who can offer the strongest and most reliable bargaining chips."

Xu Wanqing explained it clearly.

"Tsk, it's more winding than an alley."

Li Wenguo clicked his tongue and muttered under his breath.

Those who haven't navigated the officialdom before should probably avoid getting involved.

"The officialdom has always been a chessboard of interests. If you speak too bluntly, you'll seem tactless—if the other party is slow to understand, wouldn't it be a better deal if you concede a little more benefit?"

Xu Wanqing made a light nod, her tone carrying three parts reminder and seven parts probing.

"Alright, alright, so what trump cards does your Xu family plan to reveal?"

Li Wenguo waved his hand, too lazy to beat around the bush, and simply asked the question directly.

"The unit number of a reorganized division!"

To put it bluntly, it means handing over command of a full-strength army, letting the Song family take charge and control the troops, the kind that can mobilize guns and maintain order.

Right now, many people hold the title of division commander but can't even muster a brigade; being able to assemble a regiment is considered lucky, and the rest rely entirely on their own money to recruit soldiers and procure equipment. The Xu family's move can be described as a high-stakes gamble.

Li Wenguo's heart skipped a beat—nearly ten thousand men! That's no small number!

He immediately recalled the division that the Xu family had quietly expanded recently; it turned out they had been paving the way for today all along.

But then I thought again: if Xu Jia is willing to play this trump card, others probably won't stand idly by.

He followed up by asking, "What about other places? Are they about the same?"

"To be honest, this is all the bargaining chips the Xu family and several other families could grit their teeth and give up. That's why we were eyeing Miss Song's line... Unfortunately, you intercepted it halfway through."

As Xu Wanqing spoke, her eyes rippled slightly, and she turned her gaze away a little.

Li Wenguo, however, did not notice.

"So, Wenguo, as long as you act as the go-between and finalize this, the next time we meet—it's up to you, how about it?"

Before she finished speaking, she raised an eyebrow and gave him a charming look.

Absolutely irresistible!

"I'll try again and see if I get rejected, don't worry. You're so charming, it's worth it for me to go to great lengths to 'invite' you into my home!"

Li Wenguo patted his chest and agreed.

If all parties are truly evenly matched, and with the help of a personal favor, this deal is likely to be finalized.

He had already calculated the cost of exchanging a favor for a beauty like Xu Wanqing; moreover, he still had two favors owed to Song Qingzhi that he hadn't touched yet.

But we can't rush it. Let it drag on for a few days, and wait until the time is right before we talk about it—when discussing business, the worst thing you can do is show that you're impatient.

A few days later, Wen San came to report.

It was said that chaos erupted in the bandit stronghold of Wang'er Mountain: the second-in-command, Zhang Xiong'an, colluded with Japanese pirates to secretly kill his master, and the leader, Sai Xishi, was missing and had vanished without a trace.

Li Wenguo immediately pressed, "Have you found out the cause of the internal strife?"

Wen San nodded: "It's been investigated. Our men bribed Zhang Xiong'an's close aide and learned that he had risked his life to betray the enemy for a treasure map—he already had one, but had already sold it to the Japanese; while Sai Xishi had another one, which hadn't yet fallen into his hands. So he's casting a wide net across the mountains, searching for her like a madman."

"Sai Xishi is definitely hiding very well and will be hard to find for a while. Keep a close eye on Zhang Xiong'an and his gang. Once they catch her, find a way to kidnap her immediately and bring her to justice!"

"Also, we must find out exactly which Japanese person got hold of Zhang Xiong'an's map."

Li Wenguo spoke at a steady pace, each word carrying weight.

"Understood, Mr. Li!"

Wen San clasped his hands in acceptance of the order.

……

At this moment, Sai Xishi was practicing on the grain drying ground in Chenjia Village.

She changed into a blue military uniform, her cap was neatly trimmed, and her movements were nimble; she was already a respectable female soldier.

That's right.

After fleeing to Chenjia Village, she ran into Chen Jiang, Yang Yuerong and others. She learned that they were members of the underground Communist Party. Being alone and with nowhere to go, she joined the Red Army without hesitation.

It was during this period that I was baptized by ideas and ignited by beliefs, and the roots of faith—revolution—slowly took root in my heart!

Of course, the thought of avenging Xiao Zhuang and his brothers who died tragically remained burning in her heart, undiminished.

She simply refused to let personal grudges get mixed up with public duty, and she certainly wouldn't drag the whole team into filling the hole of personal grievances. Instead, she quietly accumulated strength and waited for the right opportunity.

"Lotus, come here, I just opened a bag of candied fruit, have a taste!"

Yang Yuerong greeted her with a smile as soon as training ended.

Both were pretty girls with well-proportioned figures and straightforward personalities. Since they were in the same trench, they naturally grew closer and became sisters who could talk about anything.

"Was this sent by your boyfriend through Battalion Commander Chen Jiang again?"

Sai Xishi took a cup of warm milk and glanced at the table: the candied fruit was glossy, the pastries were exquisite, and even the candy wrappers were shiny.

Where do these exquisite foods come from in this remote mountain valley?

"That's right! Battalion Commander Chen Jiang just came back from town. My wife prepared some things and asked him to bring them over as well."

Yang Yuerong smiled, her eyes crinkling, her face full of sweetness.

Sai Xishi nodded calmly, without a trace of envy—at this moment, her heart was filled with only two words forged in blood and fire: revenge.

"By the way, there's something important I need to tell you—the higher-ups have just issued a secret order, sending you to secretly infiltrate the capital to make contact with a comrade codenamed 'Red Owl' and be responsible for intelligence relay."

"Your new codename is 'Red Owl'."

Yang Yuerong, with a solemn expression, conveyed the order word by word.

"Understood, I will complete the mission without hesitation."

Sai Xishi stood up at attention and answered crisply and decisively.

Although she had worked as a bandit in her early years, she never committed arson, murder, robbery, or oppression of the people. She always avoided officialdom, and almost no one had ever seen her true face.

Otherwise, Dr. Ke and the others wouldn't have waited for her to introduce herself before suddenly recognizing her.

Furthermore, she is agile and extremely alert, and if she were to encounter danger, she could use her skills to break through or hide.

Most importantly, he not only knew the intricacies of Beijing's streets and alleys, but was also a complete stranger to everyone.

Not long after, Sai Xishi disguised herself and quietly set off for the capital.

In that small Western-style building in the embassy district.

He Shuting had just received a secret telegram from the organization.

After verifying the code, she bent down and copied down the translation:

"From now on, all intelligence sent by the organization will be received by the comrade codenamed 'Red Owl'."

Several connection points and handover methods are attached below.

He Shuting quickly replied: "Received."

A moment later, the organization sent another encrypted message. She deciphered it, turned around, went downstairs, and found Haozi.

"Haozi, tonight, stuff this thing into the hidden compartment in the back wall of No. 55 Donghuan Lane. Be quiet and don't leave any trace."

"Don't worry, Madam, I've got it covered!"

Haozi patted his chest and agreed.

A week later, on his day off, Li Wenguo visited Song Qingzhi again.

Song Caidie wasn't home; he figured she'd gone to dance practice again.

"Wen Guo, you've come at the perfect time! Come in and have a cup of tea!"

Song Qingzhi had anticipated his purpose and greeted him with a smile, inviting him to sit down and having tea served.

After drinking half of the tea, Li Wenguo finally presented the conditions that Xu Wanqing had set out.

Song Qingzhi pondered for a moment, then simply said, "It's roughly the same."

The meaning was clear—the other families had also promised a full division of troops.

"So...which bank does President Song prefer?"

Li Wenguo couldn't contain himself and tentatively asked.

"The conditions are similar, so it depends on who can better achieve long-term mutual benefit with the Song family."

Song Qingzhi answered slowly and deliberately.

"In your opinion, which option better suits the Song family's long-term interests?"

He added another sentence.

Song Qingzhi smiled slightly and shook his head, saying, "It's not for 'my' benefit, but for the benefit of the entire Song family."

"Oh, I see! So, President Song, in your opinion, which company would best serve the Song family's long-term interests?"

Li Wenguo immediately changed his tune, becoming even more humble.

Song Qingzhi gave him a meaningful look before slowly saying, "It's no harm in telling you, we're quite familiar with each other anyway—the Zhao family."

Hey!

Which pot is not open to mention which pot!

Are you deliberately trying to provoke me? Do you know all about the time I had a falling out with that young master from the Zhao family in the street?

Li Wenguo was inwardly puzzled, but put on a smile: "Hehe, President Song, what about... the Xu family? What do you think?"

"The Xu family is an old and established family in the capital, but they had no dealings with our Song family before; the Zhao family, at least, had some old ties with us."

Song Qingzhi said it casually, and it was impossible to tell whether it was true or false.

But the bias in these words is now crystal clear.

No!

We absolutely cannot let the Zhao family take the commander's position—otherwise, I'm afraid I'll really have to marry Song Caidie!

Li Wenguo's heart tightened, and he decided to take the plunge, saying, "President Song, you owe me a favor, which I haven't mentioned yet. May I be so bold as to ask: if I put that favor on the table, could you help the Xu family in their bid?"

He paused, then added, "Of course, this is just my personal opinion. If it goes against the overall interests of the Song family, then please disregard what I said."

After all, the interests of the Song family are of paramount importance, and he is not so naive as to think that an old favor can turn the tide.

"Hmm... I need to think this over carefully."

Song Qingzhi nodded, not refusing outright, which made Li Wenguo feel that there was still room for negotiation.

To be honest, Song Qingzhi didn't care who got the position—whoever offered the most benefits and had the most vision, the Song family would give them a push.

But when he saw that Li Wenguo was willing to stake his only favor on the Xu family's rise to power, a thought suddenly struck him: if he could truly help them, the Xu family would be grateful to Li Wenguo; and if Li Wenguo could marry his own niece, he would have the Song family backing him in politics and the Xu family helping him in the military, making his future as secure as a rock.

With the three parties working together as one and supporting each other, the Song family's ship will only sail further and more steadily.

The more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed.

By facilitating the rise of the Xu family, the Song family not only gained a promising son-in-law, but also firmly tied the Xu family to their own chariot.

This perfectly matched his true intentions for coming to Beijing.

The Song family's roots are in the Jiangnan region. This time, Song Qingzhi's northward journey carries the burden of expanding the North China market. If the Xu family can be connected, it would be a convenient and safe move.

As usual, lunch was served to guests. When Song Caidie returned from her dance practice, her eyes lit up as soon as she saw Li Wenguo, and she couldn't stop smiling.

After dinner, she dragged him along again, insisting on going horseback riding, but this time Li Wenguo wouldn't budge.

Last time, they beat Young Master Zhao so badly that he was covered in bruises. It's hard to say that they didn't have people lying in ambush at the horse farm, just waiting for him to walk into their trap.

He wouldn't do something so foolish as to risk his life for a spectacle.

Then he thought again: If I planted a few confidants in the army, they could become company commanders or battalion commanders, and then I would have real military power in my hands.

But right now, there are no other options.

The Xu family is indeed a powerful force, but unfortunately, nothing is certain yet, and Li Wenguo is too embarrassed to ask for it.

That's it!

Let's talk about this after it's settled!

It would be only natural to find a regimental commander position for Ding Xiaoqi or Agui then!

He had already considered this a done deal in his mind.

At this time, Lixingshe (力行社) was located.

Inside Zhou Dahai's office.

"According to a secret report from an informant in the base area, a local party member codenamed 'Red Owl' has taken up residence in the capital, specializing in radio transmission and control of intelligence feedback throughout the city; another local party member codenamed 'Crimson Owl' runs errands for Red Owl—receiving orders, delivering messages, and relaying coded telegrams. Uh…"

Zhou Dahai glanced at the blank looks on the faces of the three captains, paused, and then simply said:

"For example: telegrams from the base first go to Red Owl, and then Red Owl personally delivers them; intelligence from the capital to be sent out is also first given to Red Owl, and then she passes it on to Red Owl for dispatch. Do you understand?"

"Got it!"

The three responded in unison.

If you had said this earlier, who would have bothered beating around the bush?

They all rolled their eyes inwardly.

"Okay, I understand."

Zhou Dahai nodded in satisfaction.

"In other words, Red Owl is extremely well hidden. Apart from Red Owl, even the local gangs in the capital don't know her true identity. We should keep a close eye on Red Owl now—if we capture her, we can follow the clues and take down her contact points, and Red Owl will naturally come to light."

"Once their intelligence chain is cut off, the base will be deaf and blind. This achievement will be enough for us to go down in the annals of the Party and the State!"

"We swear to be loyal to the Party and the nation to the death!"

The three of them roared so loudly it was deafening.

One of them was Hammer.