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

"ah--!!!"

In the blink of an eye, both hands were severed at the root.

He writhed and rolled on the ground, twisting and turning in pain, like a live fish nailed to a chopping board.

Xu Meijing had already turned her face to the side, looking out the window at the dark sea churning below the cliff.

She ultimately couldn't bear to look directly at that bloody scene.

"Sir, let's go."

Her voice trembled slightly, and all she could hear was that shrill scream. A night wind blew, sending chills down her spine and making her scalp tingle.

That night, she truly saw what the rules of the underworld meant—it wasn't a place for reasoning, but a place where lives were at stake.

Of course, this is also why Li Wenguo insisted that she see it with her own eyes.

In those turbulent years in Hong Kong, if you weren't tough and ruthless, you couldn't even stand firm.

"Okay, let's go back."

Li Wenguo nodded in agreement, and before leaving, he waved behind him: "Throw it into the sea, feed it to the sharks."

By this time, the man was in so much pain that he could no longer cry out. He probably had already contemplated suicide—what was the point of living without his hands?

But when he was dragged to the edge of the cliff and heard the roaring waves, he cried out in a hoarse voice:

"Don't throw me away! Please... let me live!!"

It's better to live a miserable life than to die a good death.

As soon as Xu Meijing stepped onto the carriage shaft, her brows furrowed, and she swallowed her words back.

But in that instant, a turmoil quietly began to surge within her heart.

Two days later, Li Wenguo set off for the capital city, seeing off Xu Meijing, Dong Haitang, and the eight children, to begin his duties at the Reincarnation Department.

Time flies.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

It was the spring of 1953.

During this period, Li Wenguo successively moved to Hong Kong with his wives to settle down. Except for He Shuting, Yang Yuerong, Sai Honglian, and Wen Keyi, all the others had obtained Hong Kong residency. However, none of the children had obtained residency.

All four of them hold important positions: He Shuting has taken charge of a city and has risen to the position of mayor; Yang Yuerong and Sai Honglian are both high-ranking military officers and shoulder the responsibilities of party leaders; Wen Keyi is stationed at Peking University, serving as both the director of the academic affairs office and a chair professor.

In this way, by taking advantage of his Hong Kong residency, the marital relationships under Li Wenguo's name can also be legally justified.

In addition, he reorganized all his properties in Beijing: more than 20 courtyard houses, garden villas and Western-style buildings in the embassy district, some of which were transferred to a real estate company in Hong Kong, while others were assigned to the US-based Saiguo Consortium for management.

He left behind only the original three-courtyard house—an old house with about forty rooms.

Today, almost every house is full of people.

There are just too many children.

Xu Wanqing gave birth to six children, four sons and two daughters;

Xianglan had seven children, four sons and three daughters;

Hongyu gave birth to eight children, four sons and four daughters;

Xiao Cui had six children, three sons and three daughters;

Xiaoju also had six children, three boys and three girls;

Later, Xiuxiu, who came into the family, had four children, two boys and two girls;

Jin Hua also had four children, two sons and two daughters;

Xiaoxue, the last one, also had four children, two boys and two girls.

These eight households alone have forty-five children.

Not even counting the offspring of the other seven families—even ancient emperors would likely have struggled to achieve such a number.

Today happens to be a day off.

The eldest son, Li Guohua, and his girlfriend, Jiang Yue, visited their elders. They had already met with He Shuting that morning.

Jiang Yue was his classmate at Peking University, and now they work together in the municipal system. They have known each other for many years.

After Li Guohua informed his father, Li Wenguo conducted a private investigation and immediately agreed. They only needed to wait for the parents of both sides to meet before they could choose an auspicious day for the engagement.

When Jiang Yuechu was led to the small Western-style building, she paused, her heart trembling slightly.

Li Guohua has an astonishing number of younger siblings.

Upstairs and downstairs, in the front and back courtyards, lived He Shuting's four children, Wen Keren's five children, Wen Keyi's four children, Yang Yuerong's three children, Sai Honglian's three children, and Lou Meie's four children—a total of twenty-three young men and women, who moved in and out of the houses, laughing and talking noisily.

Jiang Yue has never seen a family in her life that could gather together a whole generation of children and grandchildren!

Calling them a prominent family or clan would be more accurate.

Li Guohua was aware of his family's special circumstances, and had only vaguely mentioned before: "My father took several concubines during the Republic of China era, so I have a few more siblings."

Jiang Yue was not surprised when she heard this—she knew that Li Guohua came from a prominent family and his father was wealthy. It was normal for him to marry three or four concubines, and it was also reasonable for each concubine to have two or three children, making seven or eight brothers and sisters.

Unexpectedly, this future father-in-law is so "prolific," with at least nineteen known children!

What's even more astonishing is that that afternoon, Li Wenguo actually said with a smile, "Yue'er, you also need to go to the other house—there are still some elders there, you need to get to know them."

Jiang Yue was stunned on the spot.

Another place? And a concubine? And children?

day!

What kind of family is this?

Who exactly was this future father-in-law during the Republic of China era?

"Guohua, tell me the truth—how many wives does he have over there? How many...how many younger brothers and sisters?"

Before she even stepped over the threshold, Jiang Yue frowned and turned to ask him a question.

"Heh... Yueyue, you'll understand when you see them."

Li Guohua chuckled twice and quickly changed the subject.

He was terrified—if he told her right now that there were eight wives, an elder sister, and more than forty younger brothers and sisters over there, Jiang Yue would probably turn around and run away without even having time to drink a sip of tea.

This is entirely possible, and we must be on guard.

"Hmph, here we go again! It seems your father's other family is quite large as well."

Jiang Yue gave a soft snort, her tone full of resentment.

However, she figured that since the villa was already so lively, the other side would only need to add two or three more rooms at most.

Because a man's energy is ultimately finite, how could he possibly take on so many properties at once?

Jiang Yue didn't take it to heart.

In the blink of an eye, the two had arrived at the vermilion gate.

"Uncle Haozi, Uncle Big Eyes."

Li Guohua bowed and greeted him, his tone revealing familiarity.

These two elders have been visiting our home since he was a toddler, and they've long been like family to him.

……

"Uncle Haozi, Uncle Big Eyes."

Jiang Yue also greeted them with a smile.

When she smiled, two shallow dimples appeared on her cheeks, making her look sweet and endearing.

"Oh, it's Young Master Guohua and Miss Jiang Yue. Master Li has been waiting in the main hall for quite some time."

Haozi was approaching forty, with a neatly trimmed mustache on his lip; Da Yan was a year older than him, but his chin was clean-shaven, with only two thick eyebrows pressing down on his eye sockets.

Along with Binzi and Dafei, they were among Li Wenguo's toughest men—no one could be more timid than Master Li. Back then, when Li Wenguo offered to settle in Hong Kong or arrange respectable jobs in Beijing, all four shook their heads, saying they were committed to following him for life. Li Wenguo immediately decided: "I will pave the way for my descendants."

"Then let's go in."

Before Li Guohua finished speaking, he had already naturally taken Jiang Yue's wrist and led her across the threshold.

This was Jiang Yue's first time stepping into this three-courtyard house.

Upon entering, a bright and spacious view unfolds before you—in the large courtyard, seven or eight gleaming Ford sedans are parked quietly, their hoods reflecting the sunlight with a cool and steady glow.

She glanced around, unsurprised. After all, she'd seen mansions like Sai Guohao's; ten more cars parked here would just be icing on the cake. But just then, another Ford silently slid into the doorway.

Li Guohua and Jiang Yue paused, both looking out the car window.

"My younger brother, Li Guofu, was driving, and my older sister, Li Jinghan, was in the passenger seat."

Even through the glass, Li Guohua smiled and began to introduce himself.

As soon as the car came to a stop, the three people got out one by one.

Besides Li Guofu and Li Jinghan, a pregnant lady also got out of the back seat.

She was in her early thirties, with a sharp yet soft oval face. Her newly permed wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, and her skin was as white as porcelain, almost dazzlingly so. The dark green cheongsam she wore was originally a wide-sleeved, high-necked style, but it was stretched taut against her body by her bulging breasts and rounded pregnant belly. The skirt was pulled up high, barely stopping above her slender ankles, making her long legs appear even longer and straighter.

Li Jinghan inherited her mother's bone structure, with bright features and a tall, curvaceous figure. Standing there, she resembled a vibrant, blooming kapok tree.

Jiang Yue looked at the mother and daughter, and her heart suddenly sank—

Why does everyone in this family look like they stepped out of a magazine?

The man was strikingly handsome, and the woman was breathtakingly beautiful.

She was originally very confident: she couldn't find any flaws in her appearance; and her figure was slender and well-proportioned. This morning, she specially chose the most elegant suit, just to make a good impression on her fiancé's family.

As soon as she entered Sai Guohao's residence, she was stunned—the women of the Li family, regardless of age or status, were all more captivating than her, with slimmer waists, brighter skin, and a stronger aura; her younger sisters all resembled their mother, with even more delicate features than her.

At that moment, she felt as if her confidence had been drained, and she felt like she was just an extra standing among a room full of jewels.

Now, she's run into her fiancé's younger brother, whose face is so tender it looks like you could squeeze water out of him; his older sister, who's radiant and dazzling; and Aunt Xue, whose belly is as big as a drum and whose charm is growing ever stronger... Her last bit of confidence has been crushed once again.

Li Guohua introduced them one by one, and Jiang Yue forced a smile, but it was somewhat stiff, just like when she first entered Sai Guohao's residence that morning.

After all, if even your best asset, your face, has been completely defeated, what else can you hold your head high?

"This is Aunt Xue."

Li Guohua gestured to the side.

"Hello Aunt Xue, I'm Jiang Yue, Guohua's girlfriend."

She quickly bowed in greeting, but before she could finish speaking, her gaze suddenly froze—

This belly... could it be my father-in-law's?

Can a 48-year-old have another child?

She looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Li Guohua saw through it at a glance and awkwardly scratched his ear.

"Oh, you're Jiang Yue? I just got back from my prenatal checkup. Luckily I made it in time, otherwise my father would have started nagging me about how I'm so irresponsible."

Xiaoxue smiled gently at her, her voice clear and bright, then raised her hand, "Come on, let's go inside, Master is getting impatient."

The group then slowly made their way towards the main hall.

Jiang Yue, who was lagging behind, quietly tugged at Li Guohua's sleeve.

"Yes, the one in Aunt Xue's belly will be your uncle or aunt in the future."

"Your dad is just too... fierce."

Jiang Yue muttered in a low voice.

She was 48 years old and pregnant; she didn't know whether to admire her or facepalm.

"Brother Guohua, is this our sister-in-law?"

As we passed through the courtyard and stepped into the small courtyard in front of the main hall, a group of children rushed over. There were at least a dozen of them, each with delicate features and rosy cheeks, like porcelain dolls that had jumped out of a painting.

The boy at the front was about fourteen years old, tall and straight, with delicate, almost sharp features, looking every bit the handsome young man.

"Oh, Guoxian's here? Yes, this is your sister-in-law, look how beautiful she is!"

Li Guohua smiled broadly, his tone brimming with undisguised pride.

After all, Jiang Yue was the undisputed number one beauty in the workplace.

"Tch, she's just so-so, not even as good-looking as Jinghan."

Li Guoxian raised his chin, slightly pursed his lips, and didn't even bother to raise the corners of his eyes.