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

Sha Zhu was easily swayed, and when he heard Jia Zhangshi's sobs, his heart skipped a beat, and he felt that she was quite distressed.

What are you doing?

"Why are you arresting me? I haven't broken any laws!"

Before he finished speaking, two comrades dragged Jia Dongxu, who had been cowering in the inner room, out of the house. He was yelling and kicking, his arms flailing wildly, like a mudfish out of water.

"Grandpa! Help me! Tell the comrades, I didn't do anything wrong, grandpa!"

He twisted his neck and stared at Yi Zhonghai in the crowd, his voice cracking.

In this courtyard house, Yi Zhonghai was always his umbrella—even if he was in the wrong, it would only be a drizzle; even if there was no umbrella, it would always shield him from the wind. Over time, when trouble came, his first reaction wasn't to look for his own mother, but to rush to Yi Zhonghai.

Yi Zhonghai raised his eyelids, his mind racing, and immediately came up with a way out: let Jia Zhangshi take the blame for everything!

He stepped forward, his tone steady: "Comrade, how old was Dongxu back then? His mother was in charge; what did he know?"

He then winked at Jia Zhangshi, who was sprawled on the ground, and urged in a low voice, "Isn't that right, Dongxu's mother?"

The meaning couldn't be clearer—you take the blame, he gets away with it; otherwise, both of you will fall into the pit, and neither of you will be able to climb out.

A sudden realization struck Jia Zhangshi, and she immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, "Comrades! The idea was all mine! It has absolutely nothing to do with my son! He was so young then, he didn't understand a thing! It was all my fault for being so foolish! Please, spare him, spare him!"

This back-and-forth singing made everyone in the courtyard frown.

Three years ago, Jia Dongxu was already eighteen, a grown man, not a child.

Now that the person is about to be taken away, everyone is too lazy to give them another kick.

"No need to argue, just take them all."

DouDing waved his hand decisively, "We'll do this job, we won't wrong an innocent person, and we won't let a bad person go unpunished."

Jia Dongxu's eyes darted around, and he caught sight of Li Wenguo standing beside him. His survival instinct kicked in instantly: "Factory Director Li! Factory Director Li, save me! Save me!"

Factory Director Li?!

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhangshi froze, then realized—this was the deputy director of the steel rolling mill, the one who actually made the decisions in the factory!

He was filled with remorse: If he had known he was Director Li, he should have packed his bags and left that very day!

In her eyes, the deputy factory director was a pillar of strength, a talisman, and even a ruthless figure holding her son's livelihood in his hands. Now, things are really messed up; his livelihood is likely gone without a trace!

"Wow--"

Thinking of this, she howled even louder than before, her face covered in tears and snot.

Afterwards, Li Wenguo only pursued the matter of Jia Zhangshi occupying the house, omitting the two charges of trespassing and robbery; he also asked Dou Ding to impose an eleven-year sentence.

Jia Dongxu was released on the spot because his mother insisted that "I did it all".

This is the thread that runs through the entire drama—the story of the courtyard house begins in 1965, and it's only the end of 1953. She was sentenced to eleven years, and was released in the winter of 1964; it wouldn't matter, and it wouldn't steal the spotlight.

Although Jia Zhangshi occupied his five rooms for three years, in return she spent eleven years in prison. All things considered, it was a win-win situation.

After Jia Zhangshi was taken away, Li Wenguo strolled back to the courtyard house. The five rooms were completely empty of the Jia family's belongings, which had been moved back to their own courtyard without leaving a single item behind.

Li Wenguo ordered a complete renovation of the house and then added a whole set of brand-new furniture. Once the furniture was placed inside, the five rooms instantly became bright, clean, and spotless, just like a newly built residence.

The neighbors who rushed over to see what was going on stared wide-eyed, their mouths twitching with envy.

Of course, more importantly—since Jia Zhangshi had just been sent to the police station, everyone secretly regarded Li Wenguo as a ruthless character who was not to be trifled with, and treated him with utmost respect.

At this moment, an elderly man named Yi Zhonghai rubbed his hands together, a sheepish smile on his face, and leaned forward to ask in a low voice, "Um... Director Li, is Jia Dongxu still an apprentice at the steel rolling mill?"

The words weren't explicitly stated, but the meaning was clear: Do you intend to kick him out?

Li Wenguo didn't take it to heart at all. Jia Dongxu? He was nothing more than a shadow that couldn't even make a ripple. He was destined to die in 1962, not even worth mentioning in the story. Why bother figuring out if he was gone or not?

"His mother is the one who's wrong, it has nothing to do with him."

"Oh my! Director Li really knows the rules and understands the difference!" Yi Zhonghai immediately clasped his hands in a bow, his face beaming with joy, as if he had just received a pension policy and the weight on his heart had finally been lifted.

Li Wenguo glanced at him sideways and sighed inwardly: All your hard work has been in vain!

Sure enough, all of Yi Zhonghai's years of painstaking cultivation of Jia Dongxu came to nothing, and in the end he could only turn to help Sha Zhu.

After settling into the housing situation, Li Wenguo asked Haozi to pick up Qin Huairu and bring her over, intending to give her a proper makeover.

Her family wasn't well-off, and the red cotton-padded jacket she wore on the day of the marriage proposal was the newest and most presentable item in her wardrobe—it looked incredibly dowdy, making Li Wenguo frown. Would she still be dressed like that after marrying into the family? Wouldn't that be embarrassing for him?

Before long, Qin Huairu arrived.

The red cotton-padded jacket she was wearing was indeed the one she wore when the marriage proposal was made, and the cuffs were still slightly worn and white.

The little girl stood at the door, her eyes filled with a mixture of timidity and sparkle, as if she were new to the capital: she was both excited to be able to step into this imperial city and slightly hunched over by the unfamiliar high-rise buildings and bustling traffic.

But when she looked up and saw Li Wenguo, she felt as if she were being steadily supported, and her heart immediately settled down.

The marriage was arranged, and the man before her was her only support from now on. With him, the entire capital city was no longer a maze, but simply a world within his grasp.

"Brother Wenguo—!"

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a slight tremor at the end, making your ears burn just listening to it.

Unfortunately, that old-fashioned outfit was really awful, completely overshadowing her charm.

"Okay, let's go buy some things first."

"No need, no need! I don't need anything!" Qin Huairu quickly waved her hand, afraid of spending an extra penny.

She has always been meticulous in her calculations: having children, raising them, paying for their education, saving money for their wedding... aren't all of these real expenses? Even knowing that her future husband is incredibly wealthy, she doesn't dare to relax for a second.

Little did she know, Li Wenguo had enough money in his pocket to support the entire alley without breaking a sweat.

People with a narrow perspective will never be able to estimate how high a mountain is.

"You 'don't need'? Look at what you're wearing! You're so dowdy! And look at me—if we go out together, people will definitely think you're my maid! Don't you think so?"

Li Wenguo didn't raise his voice; he only gave her a calm look, and Qin Huairu involuntarily lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and obediently fell silent.

It took Qin Huairu an entire afternoon to truly understand what it meant to be "rich".

They buy clothes without even trying them on; they just buy whatever catches their eye and pack it up. The shop assistants follow behind, carrying seven or eight paper bags, panting heavily, but beaming with joy.

When she was ushered out of the clothing store, half of the shelves were already empty, and the shopkeeper almost jumped up in frustration.

"Brother Wenguo, I can't wear that much..."

She was about to speak when Li Wenguo glanced at her indifferently, and she immediately bit her lip, swallowing her words.

The change of clothes was even more swift and decisive: she immediately took off her old red cotton-padded jacket, put on a high-necked pure white cashmere sweater, a gray fitted long skirt, and then draped a thick and long bright red mink coat over it.

...In an instant, the whole person seemed to be redrawn.

The rustic air vanished, replaced by a gentle and alluring charm in her eyes and brows.

Li Wenguo nodded slightly, knowing in his heart that the foundation was not bad to begin with, and now that it was all sorted out, it could finally be presented to the public.

The shoe store had toned it down a bit—if the size was wrong, it would be useless. But Li Wenguo's words still stunned Qin Huairu:

"Size 37, all included."

Their arrogance was astonishing; even the sales clerk was stunned, looking at them with suspicion.

Until Haozi pulled out a stack of brand-new ten-yuan notes from his pocket, slapped them in his palm with a "slap slap," and the banknotes clattered—the clerk immediately turned and ran to the shelf, faster than a rabbit.

"Brother Wenguo, I really can't fit into so many pairs of these shoes."

Qin Huairu stared at the stack of brand-new ten-yuan notes, her heart feeling heavy as if it were being clenched.

If this money were kept in a savings account, how many peaceful days could one live!

"Stop talking nonsense! What's money? If you embarrass me, that's a truly earth-shattering matter!"

Li Wenguo didn't even lift his eyelids; his voice was as deep as a ballast stone.

Qin Huairu immediately fell silent, her fingers secretly twisting the hem of her clothes.

Just then, a heated argument suddenly erupted at the back of the shop, abruptly drawing Li Wenguo's attention away.

"We're still picking out the shoes, why are you taking them away like that? Have you thrown your rules at us?"

The speaker was a young man, whose voice was clear but held a tense temper.

"Sir, please don't worry. A customer just placed an order for all the size 37 shoes in the store—since you haven't made a decision yet, we have to cancel the order for now."

The female boss personally came out to greet us, speaking quickly but with a neither too soft nor too hard attitude.

"But we're looking at these shoes right now! People are expected to queue in order, but when it comes to buying things, they're being unreasonable?"

He took half a step forward, his tone becoming more urgent.

"Alright, are you going to buy it or not?" the female shop owner asked crisply.

"If you don't buy it, I'll seal the box immediately."

The shop assistants next to them didn't stop working; the cardboard boxes were piled up almost waist-high, and the tape was being wrapped around them with a "sizzle" sound as they quickly wrapped them.

The young man turned his head and smiled gently at the woman beside him: "Jinghan, do you like these shoes?"

"If you like it, I'll buy it for you."

Jinghan!!!

Li Wenguo's pupils suddenly contracted—it was his own daughter!

Li Jinghan, 23 years old, was born 14 days earlier than her younger brother Li Guohua. She has been the apple of his eye since childhood.

"Jinghan, do you like these shoes? If you do, I'll buy them all."

He was wearing a light blue Zhongshan suit and white canvas shoes, and his brows exuded a clean and neat air.

"I haven't tried them on yet." Li Jinghan looked down at her burgundy high heels, her voice soft, like a freshly peeled tangerine.

Upon hearing the voice, Li Wenguo, who was standing at the door, recognized the person instantly.

"Hurry up! Only this pair, size 37, is left that we haven't packed!"

The female boss was in a hurry, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead—when you encounter someone who can empty the shelves in a flash, how can you dare to be negligent in the slightest?

If it weren't for her business ethics, she would have asked the couple to move out of the room long ago.

Although the girl was indeed dazzlingly beautiful, one of the most eye-catching girls she had seen in the ten years she had run her shop, she didn't want to find a boyfriend, so no matter how pretty she was, she couldn't be used as money. How could she compare to the sugar daddy in front of her?