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

"I've made my plans. When the Party and the State start fighting, I'll side with the Party. But who would dare to give a fence-sitter like me a chance to betray the country? I'd probably be relegated to managing warehouses or guarding outposts, and I'd have to be wary of some irrational high-ranking officials digging up old grievances and using me as a scapegoat. So from now on, I need to donate money and supplies in a high-profile manner and make real contributions to the country—then, even if someone wants to get rid of me, they'll have to think twice about whether they have a valid reason, understand?"

Everyone knows perfectly well who those few were "out of their minds".

"Don't worry, sir. The organization has always been fair in its rewards and punishments and will never wrong you."

Hearing that her husband was going to join the organization, He Shuting felt a surge of warmth in her heart, like holding a fluttering little sparrow in her arms.

"What do you mean 'absolutely not'? Shu Ting, life is like a game of chess, every move can be unpredictable. You must do exactly as I say, without the slightest ambiguity, do you understand?" Li Wenguo instructed in a deep voice.

"Alright, sir, Shuting has memorized it."

"Hehe, that's a good boy—come on, take off your clothes first."

"No, you need to take a shower first."

She remembered that he had just been outside and smelled of fish.

"Sure, let's shower together, hehe!"

Inside a low, earthen house in the Shaanxi base area.

The top leader has just received a telegram from He Shuting.

"Our comrades are truly of high moral character, selfless and fearless!"

A leader with a broad forehead and a black mole on the lower left side of his chin, speaking with a heavy Nanhu accent, exclaimed in a loud voice.

"That's right! When people are united, they can move mountains. How can we not drive away those little notebooks?"

Another leader surnamed Zhou nodded in agreement.

"Come, come, look at this!"

He handed over the intelligence.

A leader nearby glanced at the contents and his eyes lit up: "This is just in time! Five bullet production lines—this is a godsend!"

"Exactly! The fighting on the front lines is at a stalemate, and bullets and shells are being used up like crazy. We're constantly counting our inventory, and the pressure is immense. With five more production lines, we can produce bullets like crazy, and the burden on our shoulders will immediately be halved!"

After reading it, the leader surnamed Zhu nodded repeatedly.

The telegram was handed over to Wang Zhiguo.

He raised the corner of his mouth and slowly said, "Comrades, there's something I'm afraid no one has told you yet—this batch of supplies was actually made possible entirely by Comrade He's husband."

"Oh? Tell me quickly."

The high-ranking leader leaned forward, clearly enjoying himself.

"Sir, this is what happened..."

Wang Zhiguo then recounted Li Wenguo's background to everyone, point by point.

(Details omitted here to avoid trouble)

Streets of Beijing.

The traitor Cheng Shuxing, leading several puppet army soldiers, swaggered around with his arms outstretched.

Upon seeing delicious food at a stall, they would reach out and grab it, munching as they walked; the vendors gritted their teeth, not daring to even lift their eyelids.

"Sir, this is a small business with meager profits. Please, have mercy and give me a few coins!"

This time, when the old man selling meat pies saw him grab two pieces, he stood trembling in front of him, his voice full of pleading.

Meat patties are different from others; they're oily and expensive. If two of them are taken away for nothing, the whole day's work is for nothing.

"Hey, you son of a bitch, are you tired of living? Ask around, Master Cheng never has to pay when he buys things in the capital! You coffin-stuffed coward, how dare you ask for money? Don't you want to live?"

Cheng Shuxing's face darkened, and his anger flared up—everyone else was shrinking back and pretending to be mute, but you, an old man, dare to reach out and beg for money.

"Sir, this old man relies on this meager income to make a living. My wife is bedridden, and my two grandsons are crying from hunger... Please, have some compassion and pay me back for the bread. Have some decency!"

The old man's legs were trembling, but he remained hunched over, his hands clasped together, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

His family was truly destitute: his son and daughter-in-law had been captured by the Japanese army long ago and had not been heard from since; only his two grandchildren were left to be fed, and his wife had been suffering from cough and asthma for many years, with the medicine pot never leaving the stove.

"Fuck your ancestors! You dare ask me for money? Smash it! Turn this old bastard's mess up!"

When the traitor Cheng Shuxing saw that the man actually dared to ask for money, he flew into a rage, kicked the old stall owner to the ground, and then shouted angrily to the puppet soldiers behind him—Smash it! Overturn the man and the stall together!

"I was wrong! Spare me! I don't want the money anymore! I really don't want it! Please, have mercy..."

The old man fell to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his face, his forehead pounding against the bluestone slab with a loud thud.

"Too late! Serves you right for being unlucky! You dare ask me for money? You're blind as a bat!"

Cheng Shuxing put his hands on his hips and sneered, spitting directly onto the old man's face. He also deliberately glanced around, displaying an arrogant and domineering attitude.

Most of the onlookers on the street clenched their fists and gritted their teeth. Some had ashen faces, and some had their Adam's apples bobbing, but none of them dared to take a step forward—for fear of inviting disaster.

For the old man, this was his family's only hope for survival; for Cheng Shuxing, it was nothing more than a farce to pass the time. He dusted off his sleeves, turned around, and continued his stroll.

Suddenly, his eyes twitched: two men wearing baseball caps brushed past each other, their caps pulled low, their fingers flashing under their sleeves—they were clearly passing something to each other!

hiss--

Could I have struck it rich? Am I really going to catch an anti-Japanese element handing over intelligence?

Cheng Shuxing's heart pounded wildly, and his blood rushed to his head.

That's a commendable achievement! This is a truly solid accomplishment!

He suppressed the urge to pounce and grab the person, and only gave a wink to the two men behind him: "Keep an eye on the one who walks away!" He then led two other soldiers to silently follow the person who turned into the alley.

Cast a long line to catch a big fish—knowing the fishing spot is the real skill.

If you single out someone who's stubborn, you won't get a reward even if you're interrogated to death; the authorities are stingy, without real evidence or witness testimony, who's going to give you money? Who's going to give you women?

He led the group, crouching low and holding their breath, trailing far behind, their shoes barely touching the ground, their breaths reduced to a thin wisp of wind.

After wandering around for nearly twenty minutes, the man finally stopped in front of a black lacquered courtyard gate, glanced around a few times, and then took out his key to open the door.

Cheng Shuxing immediately retreated to the alley entrance, crouched against the wall for a moment, and then peeked out with half his face showing.

The gate had barely opened a crack when the man slipped inside; immediately afterward, another dark figure, gun in hand, peered out through the crack, scanning the area warily.

Cheng Shuxing jerked his head back, his back slamming against the brick wall, his heart nearly leaping out of his throat—

They have guns! They're definitely anti-Japanese elements!

Ha! We've found the hideout!

He felt feverish all over, as if he could already see boxes of silver dollars and cosmetics piled up in front of him.

"Quickly! Report back to the military police headquarters! Go now!!"

Before he finished speaking, he had already run back, not even bothering to wait for the two soldiers who had been sent out to keep watch—the two had already lost track of the other anti-Japanese fighter.

No sooner had he left than a man holding binoculars slowly put down his equipment on a gray-tiled roof not far away, a cold and sharp smile appearing on his lips.

Upon hearing that Cheng Shuxing had found the hiding place of the anti-Japanese elements, Yu Kongdejian's eyes flashed with a sharp light—

Even if the underground party members couldn't withstand the torture and confessed everything, all that would be left when we arrived was an empty courtyard. But now that we have a precise address, we can catch them all in one fell swoop!

He praised Cheng Shuxing to his face, making him beam with joy. Cheng immediately decided that as long as the stronghold was destroyed and the criminals were captured alive, he would be promoted to vice president of the maintenance committee and rewarded with five thousand silver dollars and two young and beautiful girls.

Cheng Shuxing's eyes reddened with excitement. He knelt down with a thud, swearing allegiance to the Emperor and vowing to be the empire's sharpest blade.

After seeing Cheng Shuxing off, Yu Kong immediately mobilized his troops and made arrangements. This time, he decided to lead the team himself—to show off his skills right under General Xintian's nose.

"Did the notebook take the bait?"

Li Wenguo squatted down next to Cai Cai Zi, watching her fiddling with the medicine pot, and casually used his divine sense to transmit his thoughts to Niu Dali.

After Niu Dali came up with this plan, he reported it to us immediately.

Without saying a word, Li Wenguo arranged for people to perform this play that very night, waiting for Cheng Shuxing to fall into the trap.

"They're absolutely certain. Mikuriya has already started mobilizing people; they'll definitely make their move tonight."

Niu Dali's echo was crisp.

"Okay, let's proceed as planned."

Li Wenguo narrowed his eyes and chuckled softly, a laugh devoid of any warmth, more like a viper flicking its tongue: "He swallowed the bait readily, but as for the 'generous gift' that followed... I wonder if he's tough enough to handle it."

Yes, besides detonating that deadly trap set by the military police tonight, Niu Dali, the clone, also discovered a hidden armory belonging to Xiaobenzi the day before yesterday—hidden in a mountain valley on the outskirts of Beijing. Inside were several Type 92 infantry guns, boxes of high-explosive shells, and a large number of Type 38 rifles.

These cannons were intended by the Japanese to build permanent fortifications in the hills north of Beijing; those rifles were for expanding the puppet army—in preparation to raise a puppet army to sweep through the surrounding villages and towns for the Japanese.

With only its limited forces, the Japanese army was already stretched thin. More importantly, the Anti-Japanese United Army and the Eighth Route Army were elusive in the mountains, and their ambushes inflicted heavy casualties on the Japanese army. General Shinoda simply resorted to the tactic of "using Chinese to control Chinese": supporting puppet troops as cannon fodder, using Chinese to fill Chinese positions, so that his own troops would bleed less.

At this moment, the Japanese were assembling a large-scale puppet army.

Taking advantage of Yu Kongteng's move to divert the military police to raid the non-existent "underground stronghold," Niu Dali immediately led the special agents straight to the armory—wiping it out in one fell swoop and seizing the spoils.

To put it bluntly, this is a classic case of making money from both ends, a multi-pronged strategy, a double whammy...

Nanako, however, caught a glimpse of the fleeting, flirtatious smile on his lips, and twisted her waist even more tightly.

"Hiss—pot!!!"

"Nanako is awesome!"

Li Wenguo trembled as she pushed him, and blurted out a compliment.

A moment later, he grabbed her shoulder and said in a low, husky voice, "Come on, I'm going to make you feel really high and mighty today!"

Nanako's brow twitched suddenly.

Although it was still Japanese, the tone was too wild and rough, unlike the way they spoke in their notebooks.

Could he be Chinese?

Her heart skipped a beat.

Li Wenguo never expected that a casual, crude remark would allow Nanako to detect a flaw in his statement.

But even if she's exposed, so what? The negative is in his hands, and she'll have to bow her head for the rest of her life.

"Where is Nanako's hometown?"

Half an hour later, Li Wenguo, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and his arm draped over her shoulder, asked lazily.

It's still early before dinner, so let's chat for a bit to pass the time.

Gunma Prefecture in the Kanto region.

Gunma Prefecture?

Oh—Isn't Mount Akina, where Takumi Fujiwara became famous for his racing, right there?

Li Wenguo raised his eyelids and recognized it!

Of course, it's from the anime that I'm familiar with.