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

Li Guohua bowed and said goodbye at the door: "Yueyue, take care."

"Yueyue, how did you feel after meeting Guohua's elders?"

"Oh, it's alright, it's just... a bit unusual."

Jiang Yue answered somewhat hesitantly.

"Special? How so?"

Jiang Xing, the older brother, immediately pressed for answers.

Even Jiang's father, who had been looking down at the newspaper, quietly put it down and pricked up his ears.

"Well... how should I put it?"

"His home..."

"Huh? What did you just say?"

"Guohua's father had more than ten concubines alone, and his younger siblings totaled more than sixty?"

"Is...is this even possible?!"

Jiang's father, mother, and brother were stunned on the spot, their minds buzzing as if struck by lightning.

In all their years, they had never seen or even heard of a man who married more than a dozen wives and concubines and had more than seventy children.

This isn't human! It's a war god among animals!

Even if we compare it to breeding pigs, they can only produce six or seven litters a year at most, and even with the most backward technology, that's still not enough; with more than seventy people, it would be impossible to accumulate that many litters without ten years of tireless work day and night!

That in-law, could it be that he's treating his bed like farmland, and living his life like a busy farming season?

The three of them were even more shocked than Jiang Yue after hearing this.

"Yueyue, according to you, Li Guohua's father must be a very wealthy businessman, right? By the way, do you know his name?"

Jiang's father asked the question earnestly.

He only knew that Li Guohua's mother was Mayor He Shuting, but he had never heard anyone mention this mysterious father-in-law.

After all, Li Wenguo had too many wives and concubines, and if the matter were made public, it would inevitably damage He Shuting's reputation, so very few people knew about it.

"Dad, Guohua's father is indeed a big businessman. One house is in the embassy district, a detached villa with a garden; the other is an old-fashioned courtyard house with three courtyards, and there are a row of imported cars parked at his house."

"Oh, his name is Li Wenguo."

Jiang Yue answered softly.

"Li Wenguo?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Father, have you heard of it?"

Jiang Yue pressed for more information.

Jiang's mother and brother also looked at their father.

"All I know is that he was a patriotic businessman who donated a large amount of supplies to support national construction in his early years and was a meritorious person. That's all I know."

"Moreover, the country invited him to take up a position, but he politely declined."

"I guess his family is holding him back, that's why he declined."

Jiang's father nodded in sudden realization.

In today's new society, organizations conduct extremely strict reviews of the families of cadres and would never tolerate such an absurd family background—otherwise, it would be crossing the red line and touching the bottom line.

"Oh... I see."

Jiang Yue responded softly.

"This is outrageous! One person could marry seven wives and eight concubines, and have over seventy children. This is unprecedented in history! Not even Emperor Qianlong could have produced this many children!"

Jiang Ge's mouth was agape, his eyes almost popping out, and he was still frozen in shock.

"So, Yueyue, what's your family's impression of you?"

Jiang's mother leaned forward slightly; this was what she was truly concerned about.

"Of course we're satisfied! Our sister's face was already the fourth most beautiful girl in Peking University before graduation—Li Guohua must have had incredible luck to marry into this family; it's like all the good deeds he's accumulated over three lifetimes have come together for this one!"

Jiang Ge spoke with absolute certainty, his eyes brimming with undisguised pride. His sister was the brightest spot on his mind.

"Hmph! Peking University is a place for nurturing talent, not a teahouse for you to arbitrarily create some kind of 'campus beauty ranking'!"

Jiang's father frowned and immediately put on a stern face to reprimand him.

Jiang Yue was taken aback—the campus beauty? She had never heard of such a term before.

"Brother, what's a 'campus beauty'?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Hehe, girls really don't know about this. It's just something we boys made up during our late-night chats in the dorm."

Jiang lowered his voice and winked mysteriously.

These kinds of rankings have existed in every era, but with the current climate of tension, who dares to put them out in the open? If they let slip a word, they'd probably be considered to have ideological or conduct problems and be forced to write a self-criticism.

"And before you even graduated, you were quietly relegated to fourth place."

"Oh? Our Yueyue is so pretty, and she's only ranked fourth?"

Jiang's mother became interested and joked with him.

"Who are the top three?"

This topic was like a hook, immediately grabbing Jiang Yue's attention.

"That's the strange thing—the top three names all have the same first two characters, only the last character is different."

"If the three of them hadn't stood together, with their completely different looks, temperaments, and personalities, I would have almost thought they were long-lost sisters!"

Jiang scratched his head, looking puzzled.

"Tell me quickly!"

Jiang's mother pressed for answers, and even Jiang's father turned the newspaper face down on his lap and pricked up his ears.

"First place—Li Jingmi!"

Brother Jiang cleared his throat and announced his name.

"Oh? It's her!"

Jiang Yue blurted it out, her voice rising a half-octave.

"Hey? Yueyue, you know her?"

Brother Jiang was taken aback, clearly surprised.

After all, Li Jingmi was a grade lower than her sister, and they weren't in the same class at all.

"They both studied at Peking University, what's so strange about them knowing each other? Maybe they were even bunk beds!"

Jiang's mother didn't take it seriously.

"No, no, Jingmi is a year younger than Yueyue, how could they be classmates?"

Brother Jiang quickly corrected him.

"That's not unusual. We see each other all the time, so it's perfectly normal to recognize each other's faces."

Jiang's mother waved her hand.

"Mom, have you forgotten? Back then, schoolwork piled up like mountains, and we couldn't even recognize everyone in the next class. Who had time to bother with the next graduating class?"

Jiang Ge pursed his lips, his tone resolute.

Jiang's mother thought about it and realized she was right. She turned to her daughter and asked, "So, Yueyue, when exactly did you get together with her?"

"I just met him today."

Jiang Yue suddenly felt like she was soaking in a vat of strong liquor, both intense and dizzying—the fourth most beautiful girl in the college, who had been secretly named before graduation, was actually Li Jingmi, whom she had only met for the first time today; even more coincidentally, the other girl was about to become her sister-in-law. And the remaining two most beautiful girls in the college also had names that started with "Li Jing"... In other words, her three future sisters-in-law were all on that privately circulated list.

"But didn't you go to meet Guohua's family today? How did you run into Jingmi?"

Jiang's mother was completely bewildered.

"Because... Li Jingmi is Guohua's younger sister."

Jiang Yue's voice sounded a little unsteady.

"What?! Guohua's sister?!"

Jiang Ge's eyes widened in disbelief, and his chin almost hit the table.

This is just too much of a coincidence.

But an even bigger coincidence was yet to come.

"It's not hard to understand—Guohua himself is strikingly handsome, and it's only natural that his sister is also beautiful."

Jiang's mother smiled, her tone revealing a hint of appreciation. To be honest, Guohua's good looks were enough to make even her, as an elder, feel a flutter in her heart. If he were twenty years younger, she might also have some designs on him.

"Mom's right. And what about second place—"

"Li Jingfen was in the same grade as Jingmi."

Jiang Ge had barely finished speaking.

really!

She's Guohua's younger sister, and a biological sister at that!

Jiang Yue's heart sank.

But she really didn't want to bring up this relationship—his face was so dazzlingly beautiful, what girl would want to praise someone more outstanding than herself to her face?

Unfortunately, no sooner had the words left his mouth than someone followed up with another question.

"Yueyue, are you familiar with this Li Jingfen?"

Jiang asked casually.

He had just acknowledged Li Jingmi as his wife, and then casually brought up this matter as well.

"Hmm...we're fairly familiar with each other."

Jiang Yue quietly let out a breath.

"know."

Her answer sounded a little hesitant, and her tone revealed a hint of helplessness.

It felt as if the moment I stepped through the door today, I was overwhelmed by the good looks of my future in-laws and couldn't even lift my head.

"Huh? You know each other again?"

"Could it be that we just met today?"

Brother Jiang's eyes widened.

It's rare enough to find one beauty in the college, how come they keep popping up one after another?

"Yueyue, how did you manage to connect with them this time?"

While asking questions, Jiang's mother deftly brewed tea, one cup for each person, and finally gently placed a steaming cup next to Jiang's father, who was reading the newspaper.

"No need to guess, we must have just run into her this morning. Besides—isn't she Guohua's sister again?"

Jiang's father put down the newspaper, picked up his teacup and blew on the steam, without even fully opening his eyelids.

He had already noticed the slight furrow in his daughter's brow and the stiffness in her fingertips. When he heard her forced nonchalance as she spoke, he knew what was going on: this girl was holding back a lot of resentment at being outdone.

"Oh? It's Guohua's sister again?"

Jiang's mother and brother both turned to stare at her, their eyes wide with as if they had seen a living goddess.

"Yes, Jingfen is Guohua's younger sister, born of the same parents, and is also Aunt He's biological daughter."

Jiang Yue had no choice but to nod in agreement.

"What? A younger sister? Then that Li Jingmi from earlier... could she be Uncle Li's daughter from another wife?"

Jiang Ge's Adam's apple bobbed, his face filled with astonishment.

He had seen He Shuting before—a beautiful woman who still retained her charm, looking like she was just over thirty even though she was in her early forties, with not even a fine line showing at the corner of her eyes. If she were her daughter, it wouldn't be surprising that Jing Mi was so good-looking.

But the most eye-catching one right now isn't her own daughter?

Wouldn't the other wife be even better?

That was the real reason he was stunned.

He blurted out, "Yueyue, isn't Li Jingmi's biological mother... even more alluring than Aunt He?"

"How should I put it... Aunt Yang is indeed dazzlingly beautiful, with a figure as supple as a willow branch, and eyes that are both charming and bright. She is just like Daji who walked out of an ancient painting, with eyebrows and eyes that are curved like hooks."

"Let's just say it all at once—Uncle Li has sixteen wives, each one a beauty among beauties. His son is handsome enough to be on the cover of a magazine, and his daughters are all stunningly beautiful. Any one of them is more beautiful than me."

"As for the third beauty in the courtyard? No need to ask, she's probably from their family too."

Jiang Yue simply laid it all out, crossed her arms, and slightly pursed her lips.

Her once-proud features were now being repeatedly overshadowed by these aunties, leaving her with no chance to look pleased.

"this……"

The man is handsome, and the woman is pretty?

Where did this strange family come from?

It's like a showroom that God himself created!

Jiang's mother was completely stunned, and subconsciously glanced at her husband and son.

Jiang's father remained unmoved, but Jiang's brother, like her, had an expression of disbelief on his face.

"The third place winner is a year ahead of us, in the same year as me, her name is Li Jinghan."

Jiang couldn't help himself and blurted out a comment.

"That's right, she's Aunt Guohua Lan's eldest daughter, my eldest sister, who will be my future sister-in-law."

Jiang Yue raised her chin slightly, her tone cool.

"Mother, you've been so busy asking these questions that you haven't asked the most crucial one yet—how are the Li family members treating me?"

Jiang's mother suddenly stopped, her voice unconsciously lowering, all her previous composure gone.

They used to think of their daughter as a phoenix, who would be pampered and worshipped after flying into the Li family; but now, hearing this scene, their hearts are filled with anxiety, fearing that the family will think she is not good enough.

"It's alright."

Jiang Yue lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.