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

"ah--!"

Wen Keyi suddenly closed her eyes and cried out.

Li Wenguo pulled her into his arms, gently patting her back. "Shh, it's alright, it's just a dead man. Do you know how many lives are lost every day in Beijing outside the embassy district?"

"Dozens? Hundreds? This little noise isn't even worth mentioning."

She remained silent.

Tonight felt like a red-hot iron, burning her heart with pain. Kuang Xingyun's contorted face at the moment of his death flashed before her eyes again and again—his eyes bulging, snot mixed with blood streaming down his face, gurgling sounds coming from his throat…

"Mr. Li, what should we do with this corpse?"

Liu Shouhou leaned closer and asked in a low voice.

"Have Lao Wei and the others left?"

"They haven't left yet!"

Li Wenguo had already left instructions—stay put, you might come in handy later.

"Drag them into the city and let Lao Wei and the others clean them up."

"yes!"

After giving his instructions, he led Wen Keyi upstairs to rest.

The corpse, bloodstains, and debris were cleaned up by his men overnight.

But she refused to sleep in this house.

Someone had just died, and the floor still smelled of rust. She could barely stand, let alone lie down.

The two changed their clothes and hurried back to the small villa.

She gripped his arm tightly the whole way, her knuckles turning white, as if if she loosened her grip, he would fall apart.

She never imagined that her husband, who used to serve her tea and water and tuck her in, could wipe out an entire family in the blink of an eye—cleanly and efficiently, without even blinking an eye.

In that instant, a chill ran down her spine, and a sense of fear arose in her heart.

But then I thought: with someone like this standing in front of me, my child will feel truly secure stepping on any brick in the future.

When I got home, the whole family was already fast asleep.

Seeing that she was still clinging to him tightly, Li Wenguo didn't say much, but simply led her into her room.

At night, she pressed half her body against his chest, her breath trembling slightly, until the first light of dawn before she gradually drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, she finally came to her senses.

It's not that I'm not afraid anymore, it's that I gritted my teeth and swallowed my fear back—life goes on, and the baby in my belly needs to be born safely.

If it were her older sister, she would probably have stayed in bed for three to five days, unable to eat or drink.

It wasn't until the afternoon that news of the massacre of the Kuang family spread.

The Kwong family had been rooted in the embassy area for decades, with some members working in government and others in business, making them a respectable family.

The news caused an uproar throughout the city.

The on-site investigation concluded that it was a home invasion robbery and murder—a blatant slap in the face to foreigners, a heinous case unseen in a century.

Everyone on the streets and alleys hunched their shoulders, even avoiding the alley entrances when buying groceries.

Who knows which door those desperados will kick down next?

The foreign official was furious and immediately took charge of the matter, even deploying the patrol battalion to block off the streets and conduct inspections.

In less than two days, the case was "solved": Kuang Xingyun, the second son of the Kuang family, colluded with ruthless bandits to rob his own family's residence. To silence them, he personally slaughtered the entire family before escaping over the wall from the embassy grounds.

That evening, Liu Shouhou and Dashan had already secretly set up two bamboo ladders inside and outside the embassy wall. Muddy footprints and broken branches provided "conclusive evidence."

"Sir, was it really you who did this?"

In the master bedroom, He Shuting leaned against the door frame with her arms crossed, a half-smile on her face.

"Heh heh, how could I possibly have such extraordinary abilities?"

Li Wenguo laughed and lifted Xiao Jingqi high in the air, "Sweetie, call me Daddy—call me Daddy!"

"Father!"

The youngest daughter, Li Jingqi, with her delicate pink cheeks like a peach blossom, tiptoed forward and called out in her sweet, childish voice, "Daddy—Daddy!"

"Oh my, my little darling!"

Li Wenguo beamed and lifted her high above his head, his eyes narrowing into slits with joy.

"Sir, I'm asking you something important!"

He Shuting frowned, poked his shoulder with her fingertip, and rolled her eyes in annoyance.

Then, lowering his voice, he said, "A couple of days ago, Dashan secretly told me that Keyi was being harassed by a guy called 'Young Master,' and as a result, the Kuang family disappeared without a trace—the rumors that spread the most were that you were behind it."

"Ha, he dares to steal my girlfriend?" Li Wenguo's lips curled into a sneer, his eyes as cold as ice. "I can't stand people who are falsely accused. He insists on putting that label on me, so why wouldn't I take it off him?"

His tone was light, but his words were heavy as a thunderclap.

"Lift...lift your hat!"

The little girl blinked and mimicked every single word.

"Oh my little darling!" Li Wenguo quickly covered her mouth, sweat beading on his forehead. "You can't just say things like that! Come on, call me 'Daddy' again, or 'Mommy' will do too—be good, say it now!"

We can't let our kids learn gangster slang before they're even weaned!

"Mother-mother!"

The little girl turned around and stretched out her two small, lotus-root-like arms to He Shuting.

"Oh my, my darling!"

He Shuting took it from her and hugged her tightly, kissing her until her cheeks flushed pink.

Although she was born to Sai Honglian, the child had bright eyes and a clear, cheerful laugh; who wouldn't be moved by her?

Besides, there's still no news about Sai Honglian, so why not just treat her as someone we raised ourselves—as time goes by, even if blood ties aren't strong, water will become thicker.

"Sir, let me make this clear beforehand: the embassy district is too peaceful right now, so don't overstep your bounds. If you really cause trouble, our whole family might have to pack our bags and leave."

She wasn't afraid of trouble, but she was afraid of losing this peaceful place where she could live and make a living.

"Don't worry." Li Wenguo patted his chest, his voice firm. "As long as you want to stay, we can settle down here, get married, have grandchildren, and live here until our hair turns completely white."

Those guards were under Niu Dali's command, and even if they slipped up one day, he would take the blame.

Unless Binzi and Liu Shouhou, these close old brothers, turn against them, no one can touch them in the slightest.

Even if we take a step back and consider the worst-case scenario, weren't the Tianjing Concession and the Shanghai Concession both places glittering with lights and teeming with powerful figures? At least there was a roof over one's head and a hot meal to eat.

"Sigh... When will we be able to drive those little notebooks out and reclaim our own land?"

He Shuting gazed at the shadows of the sycamore trees outside the window and sighed softly.

As a staunch comrade in the organization, she felt the weight of the entire country in her heart and wished she could personally nail the invaders to the pillar of shame.

"Shu Ting, believe me: our country is not a sick cat, but a lion lying on the top of Kunlun Mountain. Right now it is resting with its eyes closed, but every time the little devil kicks it, burns a village, or slaughters a city, it is rubbing salt into its eyelids."

Li Wenguo's voice wasn't loud, but it resonated like a bell, making people's eardrums vibrate.

"Yes, I believe it too." She looked up and smiled, her eyes shining. "The books written by foreigners also say that once the sleeping lion of the East opens its eyes, the mountains will shake and the earth will tremble. Sir, what you say is even more heart-wrenching than what's in the books."

Seeing the gloom between her brows dissipate, Li Wenguo felt relieved and quickly made a mental note—he would allocate her a business opportunity worth three to five hundred million yuan as a token of encouragement.

"Beep beep beep—!!!"

The radio suddenly blared, shrill and urgent.

It was a secret telegram from the Party and the State: ordering Li Wenguo, the station chief in Beijing, to immediately eradicate the Soviet Union's military industrial lifeline in North China—the bullet factory, the gunpowder depot, the ordnance assembly line, along with the iron and copper smelting workshops, leaving none alive.

To put it bluntly, the goal was to cut off the Japanese army's supply lines, artillery routes, and lifelines.

"The situation at the front is extremely dire..."

After scanning the translation, Li Wenguo tapped his fingers twice on the edge of the table.

"Sigh, our industrial foundation is far too weak." He Shuting shook her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. "They have been running their machines for thirty years in this small place; we have vast mountains and rivers, yet we can't even hammer out a single decent screw."

"That's right." He nodded. "Industry is the backbone. Without a strong backbone, no matter how tall you are, you're just made of paper."

Look at that little notebook, not even as big as our entire province, yet it managed to push us back step by step with its chimneys and gears scattered all over the mountains—this isn't warfare, it's a crushing defeat forged with molten steel!

"Beep—!!!"

The radio rang again.

He Shuting grabbed her earphones and quickly answered the call.

This time, the instructions came from the organization, and every word was like a knife: the goal is the same, the means are the same, and keep a close eye on the logistics vulnerability of the small notebook.

An unseen, protracted war has begun.

Skillful!

Their eyes met, and without a word, they understood each other perfectly.

Join forces!

Local party members and secret agents, breaking with tradition, stood side by side, holding the same flag.

The head coach is naturally Li Wenguo.

"With you here, I have complete peace of mind."

As soon as she finished speaking, the little one in her arms was fast asleep, her little mouth slightly open, exhaling warm, sweet breath.

Li Wenguo's eyes lit up, and without saying a word, he grabbed He Shuting by the waist with one hand and tore open her clothes with the other—his movements were as fast as a cheetah pouncing on its prey, without daring to delay for even a moment.

Just as he picked up his spear, ready to go into battle, He Shuting stopped him with a smile, saying that "relatives" had come to visit. Li Wenguo had no choice but to suppress his anger, flick his sleeves, and turn to leave.

Li Wenguo, his enthusiasm dampened, wandered aimlessly down the corridor. Besides He Shuting, the Wen sisters, Wen Keren and Wen Keyi, and Yang Yuerong were also carrying babies—they could manage, but it was hard to enjoy themselves.

Should we take another concubine?

But after looking and looking, they couldn't find a single decent seedling!

There are plenty of brothels and red-light districts, but they've all been thoroughly slept with, and he finds them disgusting and doesn't want to get involved.

He scratched the back of his head, but his feet involuntarily stopped in front of Yang Yuerong's door. He decided to push the door open and go in to take a look.

Ever since she learned that he was He Shuting's legal husband and had also taken the Wen sisters as concubines, Yang Yuerong has become completely cold-faced and hasn't said a single word to him since.

"Knock knock knock!"

After completing the formalities, the door was pushed open.

She was sitting at the table flipping through a book; her profile was slender, and the ends of her hair fell over her shoulders.

"Yuerong, I've come to see you."

He put on a smile and spoke in a gentle tone.

"go out!"

She didn't even lift her eyelids, her voice like ice shards scraping against an iron plate.

The deeper the love, the fiercer the hate.

At least he didn't yell "Get out," which saved him some dignity.

"Yuerong, what's wrong?"

He took a half step forward, his tone tinged with grievance, "We've been an old married couple for ages, and you're carrying my child in your belly. Why do you still act like you're seeing an enemy when you see me? It really makes my heart ache."

"You have the nerve to bring that up?" She looked up abruptly, her eyes blazing with fury. "Liar! Utter liar!"

"You not only stole my heart, but you also completely deceived me with your body!"

Her fingertips turned white at the mere mention of this.

Li Wenguo is He Shuting's husband, and he and He Shuting are both comrades and partners. He knew all along that he was a member of the local party, but he pretended to be deaf and dumb, and continued to pursue her and coax her as usual. He was a complete womanizer.

Even more absurdly, she had privately cursed this man as a "parasite that drains the country dry," yet she lost her composure to his gentle words.

It's like personally placing the person you despise on a shrine, only to find yourself kneeling lower than anyone else when you look down.

Who can understand that sense of shame and indignation?