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

"Alright, alright, she's just turned 18, why are you yelling at her?"

Instead, He Shuting felt sorry for the girl who used to be so diligent, sweet-talking, and thoughtful, and tried to smooth things over for her.

Yang Yuerong glanced sideways—another one with a pretty face, a hot body, and even younger than herself. Her chest felt like it was stuffed with a wet cotton ball, making her feel suffocated.

The Wen sisters didn't even glance at it. Adding a few more people to their paternal home was no big deal, just like adding a couple more bundles of firewood to the stove.

"Listen up," Li Wenguo swept his gaze across the four faces, "This ungrateful wretch has angered me. From now on, she'll be treated like a maid at home, serving tea, holding the baby, wiping the floor, doing whatever she's supposed to do—I don't need to save face for her."

Not sentencing her to three years of hard labor was already a lenient punishment.

The four of them were all taken aback, their eyes immediately falling on Xiaoxue, their eyes full of confusion: She looks so well-behaved and sensible, how could she have offended the master so much?

Xiaoxue hung her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, looking like a scolded little sparrow, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"Sir, has her... status been decided yet?" He Shuting asked softly.

"It's settled."

"That's it."

Now that you've entered the household, you can continue with the respectable tasks like serving water and looking after the children, but you can skip the dirty and heavy work—otherwise, you'll be covered in dust and grime when you serve the master, and he'll be disappointed.

After being away from home for a month, Li Wenguo spent the rest of his days chatting with several women, coaxing the children, and trying to make up for the lost intimacy.

On the outskirts of Beijing.

In a remote mountain ravine.

Battalion Commander Chen Jiang led two platoons to lie in ambush behind a low earthen slope, their guns aimed at the distance—a Japanese platoon was heading towards the village in the valley.

This is the only passage they can take.

"The Japanese are coming in! Keep a close watch on them! Don't move until I fire!"

He lowered his voice and gave orders to the soldiers behind him, then turned to stare at a female soldier beside him, his tone leaving no room for discussion: "Captain Sai, you stay at the top of the slope and set up the heavy machine gun. Don't come down—this is a death order, do you understand?"

"yes!"

Sai Honglian gritted her teeth and agreed, inwardly rolling her eyes: This piece of junk is something I can carry and hit accurately, but I'm just sitting here as a decoration!

That's right. Chen Jiang was afraid that she would rush in too recklessly and either get injured or die, so he specially assigned her the safest job. The Japanese army's small squad of only fifty men didn't even bring mortars, so how could they dare to fire at high altitudes?

Sure enough, before long, the Japanese troops staggered into the ambush area.

A crisp gunshot ripped through the mountains and fields, and the ambushing soldiers suddenly leaped up.

The enemy was overwhelmingly outnumbered, and in a short time, nearly half of the Japanese soldiers had been taken down, and the rest turned and ran.

Chen Jiang roared and led his troops in pursuit, his figure like an arrow released from a bow, rushing straight into the fleeing enemy ranks.

Sai Honglian wanted to run after him, but he forced her to stay put by an order—to lead the men to count the corpses.

"Ugh, this is infuriating! When will these miserable days finally end?"

"Hmph, it's all that bastard's fault!"

With a stern face, she spat and casually cursed her husband, Li Wenguo, into oblivion.

It was precisely because of Li Wenguo's unequivocal instructions that Battalion Commander Chen Jiang had no choice but to protect her so meticulously. As a result, with the gun practically licking the Japanese soldiers' foreheads, she could only watch helplessly.

Chen Jiang, who had only rushed out a short distance, suddenly clutched his stomach and staggered back, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Only seven or eight soldiers, covered in dust and dirt, followed him back.

Sai Honglian's heart sank suddenly—Oh no?

Her guess was spot on. That small Japanese squad was a complete liability; three elite detachments were silently lying in ambush behind them, just waiting for them to jump into the pit. "Retreat! Retreat now! The main force of the Japanese is attacking—run!!!"

Fortunately, the night was as dark as ink, and of the nearly one hundred people in the two platoons, only about ten lives were saved.

"well……"

"Another one couldn't hold on."

Inside the low earthen house at the entrance of Zhaojia'ao Village, Chief of Staff Zhao Ligang stared at the body covered with a white sheet on the ground and sighed heavily.

Currently, three Japanese battalions are advancing in a triangular formation, like three sharp knives, taking turns stabbing at the surrounding villages. Chen Jiang simply split his troops, sending two lightly armed platoons to infiltrate and specifically target patrol squads. The first few battles were fought well, but bullets don't discriminate, and wounded soldiers were inevitable.

Ironically, the medicine box was cleaner than his face. They removed the bullet, bandaged the wound, poured in some coarse salt water, and then carried the rest by hand—if you made it, you were lucky; if not, they wrapped you in a white cloth and buried you in the back hill.

The one we just brought back passed away like this.

Even worse was his case: half of his left leg was torn off by a grenade, and a section had to be sawed off. He developed a high fever that night, and before he could even cool down, his soul left him.

"Chief of Staff! Something terrible has happened! Battalion Commander Chen Jiang's wounds have become ulcerated, and he's unconscious from the high fever!"

A soldier scrambled in to deliver the message.

Zhao Ligang's face tightened, and he grabbed his riding whip and galloped out.

During the ambush that day, Chen Jiang was shot in the stomach. The bullet was removed, but the wound had already turned black and was oozing pus. Whether he could live or not depended entirely on whether he could grit his teeth and bear it.

"Captain Sai, could you please ask Mr. Li for me—does he have any penicillin? Or any other anti-inflammatory medication?"

He found Sai Xishi and lowered his voice considerably.

With war raging across the globe, medicine was rarer than gold. Zhao Ligang had previously inquired with Li Wenguo, who adamantly denied having any. But Zhao knew in his heart that this man wasn't lacking medicine; he was simply hiding it well. He dared not ask directly, so he asked Sai Honglian to sound him out.

"...Okay, I'll go ask."

Sai Honglian paused for a moment, then nodded.

She knew Chen Jiang's condition—without anti-inflammatory medication, it was tantamount to pushing him towards death. He had always treated her kindly and never considered her an outsider; she didn't want to watch him die.

She hastily packed two things, mounted her horse, and headed straight for the tunnel entrance.

The intelligence agent had already sent a telegram to He Shuting, informing Sai Honglian in advance that she was coming.

Before leaving, Zhao Ligang deliberately pulled her to the corner of the wall. He didn't say it outright, but his meaning was clear: "Sister-in-law, please take good care of yourself and let her get some fresh air. If Master Li really has any stock, please share as much as you can. Right now, there are fifty or forty wounded soldiers, and more than a dozen of them are lying here with high fevers and unconsciousness."

Sai Honglian agreed with a straight face, but felt a tightness in her chest.

The thought of having to beg that bastard again makes my chest feel tight.

At the same time.

Li Wenguo was accompanying Lou Meie to take wedding photos at the old photo studio at the east end of the town.

In just a few days, Lou Meie was about to get married, and she softly mentioned that she wanted to take a wedding photo. He agreed without hesitation.

"Wenguo, am I handsome?"

She wore a pure white strapless wedding dress and slowly walked down the curved staircase.

Her features were exquisite, her figure tall and slender, and her skin as delicate as a freshly peeled lychee. The entire magnificent lobby of the photo studio seemed to lose its color instantly; only she shone brightly in the world.

"Meie, you are so beautiful—there is no woman in this world more radiant than you!"

Li Wenguo's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was warm and unwavering.

Lou Meie's lips curled into a smile, the joy spreading to the corners of her eyes. Being held so tenderly by her man warmed her heart. She was naturally sensitive and deeply attached to him, wanting to present her most beautiful and vulnerable side to him.

The two took more than a dozen photos. Just as they stepped into the changing room to remove their makeup and take off their skirts, Li Wenguo reached out and stopped her, then locked the door with a "click".

"What's wrong, Wenguo?"

Lou Meie blinked, somewhat puzzled.

"You look so alluring... I can't resist."

Before he finished speaking, he had already loosened his belt.

"ah???"

"But this wedding dress belongs to the store... I can't afford to pay for it if it gets damaged..."

She didn't flinch, but gently gripped the hem of her skirt, worried about wrinkling the wedding dress.

"Hehe, don't worry, I just picked up this wedding dress when I checked out—now it's ours, we can do whatever we want with it!"

Li Wenguo grinned, his eyes slightly narrowed, revealing a hint of smugness and a touch of roguishness.

"Hmph, you're utterly wicked!"

Lou Meie's cheeks flushed slightly, her eyes sparkling, and she gently poked his chest with her fingertip.

An hour later, the two walked out of the wedding photo studio hand in hand, reluctant to part.

After returning to Sai Guohao's residence to wash up and play around for a while, they drove to a French restaurant for their appointment. The candlelight flickered, and the red wine was slightly intoxicating. After dinner, they strolled into the cinema and chose a tender romance film. Throughout the night, Lou Meie's heart was burning, like she was holding a fluttering little sparrow. Her mind was filled with only one thought: to marry him quickly, to stay by his side every day, never leaving his side.

She used to keep her heart closed off and would never have been so clingy; but now her heart was firmly tied to Li Wenguo, and this infatuation and fervor felt perfectly natural. On the way back, the two whispered sweet nothings to each other for a long time; when it was time to part, Li Wenguo stood at the building entrance and watched her go upstairs—after all, the wedding was approaching, and he had to save face by not letting her stay out overnight.

When he pushed open the door to return home, he was surprised to find Sai Honglian already in the living room.

She was holding Xiao Guoli, whose fair and rosy complexion had returned, and who was giggling and playing with building blocks.

……

Sai Honglian had been taking care of him for nearly four years, and even though there were occasional periods of estrangement, the child still recognized her at a glance.

"Daddy's back!"

As soon as four-year-old Li Guoli saw his father, he immediately ran over, hugged his leg, and looked up at him with a big smile.

"Daddy, Mommy's back!"

"Oh? Your mother actually took the time to come back and see you two siblings. That's rare, truly rare!"

Li Wenguo bent down and patted his son's head, his face full of smiles, but his words were like ice shards, each one piercing the heart.

The state gift was oblivious and only focused on chuckling.

Sai Honglian's face darkened instantly, and her brows furrowed.

"Guo Li, it's time for you to sleep. Go on, sweetie."

Li Wenguo's tone was light, yet carried an undeniable urgency—he knew that Sai Honglian never came without a reason and always had something in mind.

"No, no! Daddy, I want to play with building blocks again!"

"If you don't behave, your bottom will get a spanking again!"

He deliberately put on a stern face and pretended to raise his hand.

"Oh dear, Guoli, go to sleep now!"

The child's face fell, he immediately changed his tune, and turned to run away—clearly, this tactic was well-practiced, and although he wasn't beaten much, its deterrent effect was considerable.

After the maid took Xiao Guoli away, Li Wenguo's expression turned serious. He turned to Sai Honglian and gestured with his chin: "Come in."

"Sir, I... have something I'd like to discuss with you."

Once inside, Sai Honglian lowered her eyes, her voice slightly hoarse.

"Ha, you wouldn't come here without a reason?"

He scoffed, showing no politeness whatsoever.

Then he leaned back on the sofa armrest and said casually, "Something wrong? Sure—make me comfortable first, then we'll talk."

These words were like a thorn, piercing straight into Sai Honglian's ears. Her nails dug into her palms, and she bit her back teeth: What's with the attitude? So what if you have a few more wads of cash in your pocket?

Does this person think she's a servant girl, or someone to be summoned at will?

But being under someone else's roof, she couldn't afford to be defiant.

She had no choice but to step forward and silently unbutton his shirt and help him take it off, her movements meticulous.

The next morning, Sai Honglian opened her eyes and glimpsed five boxes of anti-inflammatory medicine lying quietly on the bedside table, with a note underneath.

She picked it up and glanced at it—

"I was as stiff as a corpse last night, completely listless, that's all it took."

Deceiving too much!

Her fingertips trembled, and the note was instantly torn into snowflakes.