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

After searching high and low for half an hour, the two of them had no choice but to push open the back window of her dormitory and crawl inside to find a note on the table, the ink still fresh.

"I'm going down the mountain with the team to carry out the mission. Follow orders and don't worry."

"She really went to the capital."

Yang Yuerong handed over the note.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!"

The chief of staff's temple throbbed, and he turned and strode toward the battalion headquarters.

"Ugh, this is outrageous!"

After hearing this, Chen Jiang slapped his thigh, feeling both anxious and annoyed, wishing he could drag her back and give her a good scolding.

But what's done is done, there's no stopping it, all we can do is patch things up.

He immediately summoned another radio operator and, in a low voice, instructed him: "Send a secret telegram to Li Wenguo, saying that Sai Honglian has entered Beijing with the team without authorization, and tell him to keep a close eye on her; also—don't let Yang Yuerong know about this."

Li Wenguo was afraid that Yang Yuerong would find out about his philandering and break off all contact with him, so he gritted his teeth and kept it a secret.

Unfortunately, fate was not on her side, and Yang Yuerong's belly remained flat for a long time. Otherwise, if she had gotten pregnant, it would have been easier to conceal the pregnancy.

At the same moment, He Shuting had just received a secret report. Only after Li Wenguo pushed open the door to return home did she slowly hand over the message: "Sai Honglian has also joined this operation."

"Pooh!"

"That woman, she's always causing me trouble!"

"They never stop for a moment!"

"I absolutely have to drag her back and give her a good beating!"

Li Wenguo stared at the messages on his phone, veins throbbing on his forehead, and he gritted his teeth and growled.

"He used to be the leader of the mountain stronghold, so it's not surprising that he doesn't follow the rules."

"But to act so recklessly at this critical juncture is simply reckless!"

He Shuting frowned and added a sentence.

She has always disliked those who disregard organizational discipline.

"If she dares to cause trouble this time, I will not let her off easily."

Li Wenguo uttered a harsh statement.

He turned around and grabbed the phone, urgently calling Niu Dali and ordering him to immediately send a trusted person on horseback to the city gate to inform Tiedan—let them pass, don't stop a single one!

That's right, Tie Dan was leading a group of patrolmen to guard the west gate of Beijing in cooperation with the Japanese and puppet troops. They were responsible for checking and registering people entering and leaving the city, as well as managing the opening and closing of the city gate at dawn and dusk.

Niu Dali immediately picked two of his nimble brothers and they took a shortcut and ran over.

Less than an hour later, Company Commander Sun Hang, along with Sai Honglian and others who had been disguised, entered the city in three groups.

Tie Dan had already received instructions. He merely glanced at the documents and faces symbolically before letting them pass, saving himself the trouble of asking questions.

Once inside the city, Sun Hang and Sai Honglian met up using a secret signal and quickly found Lao Pan and his group at the entrance of the alley.

"Company Commander Sun, you've finally arrived!"

Several people came forward, their hands clenched tightly, their palms sweaty.

"Come, let me introduce you all—this is Captain Sai from the artillery unit." Sun Hang patted the person next to him, "She personally came to oversee the bombing of the puppet government this time."

After all, she's the only woman in the team, and if she doesn't explain clearly, it's easy for people to misunderstand.

Old Pan glanced at the scene, and his face suddenly darkened.

Although Sai Honglian had put on makeup and changed into coarse cloth clothes, making her look rustic, he recognized her at a glance from her eyes and her spirit. And when he heard her surname "Sai," how could he not understand? How had she managed to sneak in?

Does Mr. Li know?

Old Pan's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran down his spine.

He knew all too well who Sai Honglian was working for, and he knew even more how protective Li Wenguo was of his own—if she were to get even a minor scratch during a mission, the entire underground network would likely suffer the consequences!

Without saying a word, he pulled Sai Honglian to a shady spot against the wall, and without bothering to arrange for backup, he immediately asked:

"Madam Sai, is Master Li aware of your trip to the capital?"

"Don't mention him!" Sai Honglian's voice was as cold as ice. "Now, he and I are keeping to ourselves."

She had long anticipated that all these acquaintances had been instructed by Li Wenguo to treat her like a caged bird. But she refused to be that decoration—so she took the initiative and severed all ties cleanly.

Sigh... I really didn't know!

Old Pan sighed inwardly, but lowered his voice even further: "Have you considered this? What if something happens to you? If Master Li were to fly into a rage, wouldn't it implicate the entire operation?"

"Without his intelligence and supplies, we can't even keep our hiding place warm."

He made the consequences sound serious and realistic, hoping she would back down – this job was like walking on thin ice, and a slight misstep could mean total failure.

"this……"

Sai Honglian was stunned and speechless for a moment.

She suddenly remembered that the radio parts they had used recently, the food they had hidden in the courtyard, and even that crucial map had all been secretly delivered by Li Wenguo. If this link in the chain were to break, they probably wouldn't even last three days.

"Then...why don't we just not tell him?"

Her voice was weaker, tinged with a hint of relief.

Do you think this can be covered up?

Old Pan retorted, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"If you don't tell him, he won't know?"

She subconsciously felt that Wang'er Mountain would keep it from her—she couldn't just invite trouble and provoke Li Wenguo to take his anger out on her, could she?

But she misunderstood. Chen Jiang, the chief of staff, and even Lao Pan himself—who dared to hide it? Who dared to gamble?

Li Wenguo's protective nature was already well-known in this area.

"Master Li has connections everywhere; our little tricks won't fool him."

Old Pan shook his head, his tone softening slightly but becoming even more somber: "This time, please don't get involved. If something happens to you, and he stops in a fit of anger, we won't even have a place to breathe—please understand our predicament."

Do you understand your difficulties?

Then who will understand my difficulties?

Sai Honglian dug her fingertips into her palm, her throat tightened, and she ultimately couldn't bring herself to say those words.

That man was so heavy that she didn't dare to be too assertive.

Seeing that she kept her eyes downcast and remained silent, seemingly having listened, Old Pan breathed a sigh of relief and asked softly, "Could you... perhaps try contacting Master Li and asking him to send someone to pick you up and take you out of the city?"

She paused, then gently shook her head: "Can't get in touch."

She could. But she didn't want him to know—she had plunged headlong into this fire pit before he even nodded.

So, he swallowed the truth back down.

Of course, Lao Pan had no intention of contacting Li Wenguo at all. His plan was to have Li Wenguo personally escort Sai Honglian out of the city.

"well--"

Old Pan sighed softly, his brow furrowing slightly.

Just as it was getting dark, Niu Dali arrived.

His face was covered with a black cloth, but Wang Youli and Jiang Liang recognized him at a glance—his tall frame and deep, husky voice were unmistakable.

However, upon hearing that he was feigning allegiance to the Japanese, the two of them kept quiet and pretended not to have seen anything.

"This is the overall plan of the maintenance committee and the detention center."

Niu Dali spread a yellowed drawing on the wooden table. The drawing was densely marked with sentry duty shifts, explosives burial points, prisoner holding areas, and even ventilation openings, shift changes, and patrol blind spots were clearly drawn. Following this plan would guarantee success.

"In addition, I will assign ten people to assist you."

"That's great! Thank you so much, Brother Niu!"

Old Pan and the others immediately perked up and bowed in greeting.

"Move over here."

Sha Qiang and Hao Zi stepped forward, each carrying two heavy black leather bags, their shoulders taut.

"Here you go, the gun and the explosives."

The two men unzipped their jackets, and with a whoosh, Thompson submachine guns were neatly tossed into the hands of the group.

"Thompson! This is it!"

Company Commander Sun Hang gripped the gun, and Wang Youli grinned, his eyes shining brightly.

In close-quarters combat, a submachine gun is one's lifeline.

"Get the magazine yourself."

Sha Qiang pushed the leather bag forward.

Seeing them walk around her, Sai Honglian immediately turned to Haozi and raised her voice, "Haozi, where's my gun?"

She was very familiar with Haozi—Li Wenguo's driver and bodyguard, who always accompanied her in and out, and always greeted her with a smile.

Haozi suddenly froze, his face turning bright red. He stammered for a long time, unable to utter a single word.

Li Wenguo had given a strict order: she must be safely brought into the embassy compound.

"You are not allowed to participate in this operation. Come with us now, someone wants to see you."

Niu Dali's tone was cold and hard, leaving no room for negotiation.

Who do you think you are?

"Just because you say no, does that mean I really won't allow it?"

"Why should I?!"

Sai Honglian immediately turned hostile, her voice sharp and shrill.

She knew perfectly well who that person was; was there any need to guess?

What incredibly bad luck!

Not a single word could be kept out!

Seeing the two men on the verge of exchanging blows, Wang Youli, Qin Shaofeng, and Company Commander Sun Hang looked at each other in bewilderment: They were clearly very familiar with each other just now, even calling Haozi's name affectionately, how could they have torn each other apart in the blink of an eye?

Only Old Pan lowered his eyes and smiled, fully aware of the situation:

They came to take Sai Honglian to see Master Li.

"Just for this!"

Niu Dali pulled a piece of paper from his pocket and slapped it on the edge of the table.

As soon as everyone got closer, they only caught a glimpse of the word "contract" before Sai Honglian swiftly reached out to block it, grabbed it, and stuffed it into her sleeve.

"...I'll go with you."

She gritted her teeth and agreed.

That piece of paper was the agreement signed in black and white back then—she was a woman of her word and couldn't renege on it.

"Captain Sai, are you alright?"

Sun Hang was completely confused, but seeing that the other party was no match for him, he lowered his voice to probe and even winked at her secretly:

Were they forced into this? Should we intervene?

"It's nothing, really nothing, I'm just going to see an old acquaintance."

Sai Honglian quickly waved her hand, speaking rapidly.

"Are you really alright?"

Sun Hang asked another question, sensing that something was amiss—

Her cuffs were still trembling slightly, and she was clutching that piece of paper with more urgency than she was keeping her life on the line. This was hardly the behavior of someone going to an appointment normally.

Only Old Pan spoke slowly: "Don't worry, the person Captain Sai is going to meet is definitely an acquaintance, it's all very proper."

Sun Hang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this and stopped asking questions.

"Haozi, take the men and leave."

After the two figures disappeared through the courtyard gate, Sha Qiang brought over two more bamboo food boxes.

"Let's start at midnight tonight, let's eat first."

Niu Dali lifted the lid, and a rich aroma wafted out—tenderly stewed braised pork, glistening and fragrant braised chicken, duck and goose, and thick, chewy braised beef; the four-layered food box was full of hearty dishes.

This meal was really satisfying!

Everyone stared wide-eyed, their Adam's apples bobbing, swallowing hard with envy.

On the other side, Haozi led Sai Honglian through the tunnel and stepped into the embassy grounds.

"Where is this?"

As soon as she stepped out of the courtyard gate, she looked up and saw an unfamiliar street scene, and couldn't help but ask.

"Returning to Aunt Sai, this is the embassy grounds."

Haozi answered respectfully, then casually opened the back door of the car in front of the yard. "Please get in, Mr. Li is waiting."

"Oh... he's hiding in the embassy."

"I said he's such a coward, how dare he stubbornly refuse to leave the capital?"

Sai Honglian showed Li Wenguo no mercy whatsoever, and spoke without hesitation.

Haozi and the big-eyed guy in the passenger seat froze on the spot, even their breathing became soft.

In the blink of an eye—

The car came to a smooth stop in front of the small villa.