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

"Brother-in-law, the policy changes so suddenly, they don't even give us a chance to breathe!"

He picked up his wine glass, chugging it down while sighing, filled with resentment.

Those factories, docks, warehouses, accounting offices... the foundation built with so much hard work was easily and effortlessly taken away by a single official document.

Although there are still dividends, his ambition is to build a business empire that spans the north and south. How can he sit at home all day, staring blankly at the four walls?

"I'm in the prime of my life, full of energy and ready to make a name for myself, but then one order came and tied my hands and feet. I'm so frustrated!"

Before he could finish speaking, he downed another glass of strong liquor in one gulp.

"Dad, take it easy!"

Her daughter, Lou Xiao'e, gently tried to comfort her from the side.

She was sixteen years old, and her body had not yet fully developed, but she already showed the signs of becoming a beauty: a small oval face, as pink and tender as a freshly peeled lychee, as if it could exude water when touched by a fingertip; she was tall, but her chest was still flat, her waist was slender, and her whole person was thin and upright, like a willow branch sprouting in early spring.

"Uncle Li, please try to persuade my dad."

She turned to her future father-in-law, her eyes filled with earnestness.

Li Wenguo took a sip of wine, put down his glass, and Lou Xiao'e immediately refilled it. He then slowly spoke, "Zhenhua, the current situation isn't something anyone can easily change. You want to build a business empire? There are plenty of ways—go to the US, or Hong Kong, you can still make a name for yourself there."

Lou Zhenhua smiled wryly: "I understand the principle, but these roots that grew here in the land, how can you just uproot them like that?"

At that time, the country was like a fertile land thirty years later, with gold sprouting everywhere and opportunities for survival galore. You could throw money around and hear the echoes. How could he be willing to give up?

"Zhenhua, do you trust your brother-in-law's judgment?"

"I believe it! Why wouldn't I believe it!"

Lou Zhenhua blurted it out.

He invested in the US after hearing Li Wenguo's words, and his assets tripled or quadrupled in a few years. How could he dare to have any doubts?

"Then I'll be frank—in thirty years, the country will definitely loosen its grip and vigorously develop commerce. Let's take advantage of these thirty years to accumulate capital in the United States or Hong Kong, and when the winds rise again, we can come back and fight our way to the main battlefield."

Actually, we don't need to wait thirty years; the spring thunder already sounded in 1979. Now it's 1955, so 25 years is enough.

However, he was unwilling to make any definitive statements, preferring to leave some room for interpretation.

"Thirty years? I'll be sixty-five by then!"

Lou Zhenhua frowned and shook his head.

"What are you afraid of? Take good care of your health. It's not too late to retire at eighty. You'll have more than ten years left to fight freely, consolidate your power, and then hand over the reins to your son. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

In the business world, being in your early sixties is a time when you're still going strong.

Look at Li Ka-shing, Lee Shau-kee, and Stanley Ho in Hong Kong—aren't they all still at the helm in their nineties? What's so old about being in your sixties?

"Okay! I'll listen to my brother-in-law!"

Lou Zhenhua clenched his fists, and a fire rekindled in his eyes.

"So, where do you plan to establish your foothold next?"

"American country?"

In his view, the United States is a large, complex country with many opportunities, making it a more worthwhile bet than the tiny territory of Hong Kong.

Li Wenguo waved his hand, "No, go to Hong Kong, register your household there, and when you return to the mainland to invest as a Hong Kong businessman, you'll be treated like an honored guest."

Lou Zhenhua immediately heeded his brother-in-law's words, packed his bags, and headed straight for Hong Kong.

Li Wenguo had already explained to him in detail the major opportunities for Hong Kong's future—

Real estate is poised for explosive growth, the film industry is taking off, finance is about to undergo a transformation, and manufacturing is also ready to take off.

With a large sum of money in hand, Lou Zhenhua simply took all four legs and became a trendsetter who wanted to swallow the whole sea.

Li Wenguo wasn't worried at all about him stealing his food.

For the nation, Hong Kong is but a small boat; but for businessmen, it is a vast ocean, and no one can monopolize the tide.

With the arrival of the Lou family, only two families remained in Hong Kong: the Li family and the Lou family. Other surnames couldn't even get a share of the pie.

That evening, Li Wenguo strolled into the courtyard house with its blue bricks and gray tiles in Nanluoguxiang.

"Mr. Li is here!"

"Hello, Mr. Li!"

"..."

As the year draws to a close, every household is sweeping and cleaning windows and doors, striving to earn the title of "Advanced Courtyard House".

When he pushed the door open and came in, everyone stopped what they were doing and greeted him with bows and scrapes.

Although the steel rolling mill has been nationalized, Li Wenguo is still one of the shareholders; his son has gone from being the director of the personnel department to a cadre within the unit's establishment, and his rank is firmly at the deputy director level.

This young deputy director's success is not only due to his Peking University background, but also to the support of He Shuting.

So no matter if he was an old man, a second old man, or a senior worker in the factory, everyone still treated him with the same respect.

No one dared to push dirty or strenuous work onto him and Qin Huairu.

"Everyone, you've all worked hard. It's almost 10 o'clock, are you still busy?"

Li Wenguo smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, his amiable demeanor as gentle as a spring breeze.

"Absolutely! We're determined to win the 'Advanced' award this year!"

Second Uncle Liu Haizhong spoke before First Uncle could, his voice bright and clear.

The old man's face darkened, and he began to have doubts.

Having his words cut off, he rolled his eyes and said slyly, "Last year, because of that Jia Zhangshi affair, I didn't get the advanced award. This year... it's definitely in the bag."

As soon as these words were spoken, the second uncle, the third uncle, and a few other quick-witted residents all frowned.

There was a barb in her words; who wouldn't notice?

Yo?

Is this some kind of attempt to dump a pot on my head?

Li Wenguo sneered inwardly.

That's right, following the old path, the advanced technology should have been theirs for the taking—but he came along and, with a gentle stir, turned the whole situation upside down.

Ah!

Today, I'll show you people who've spent half your lives struggling in this little courtyard what it truly means to have deep roots and a solid foundation!

"Actually, it's not that difficult to get an award for outstanding performance. My eldest son is now the director of the municipal office, a division chief. I asked him to put in a good word for us in the neighborhood, and this year's 'outstanding performance' award for Nanluoguxiang will go to our courtyard."

He spoke in a light tone, as if he were talking about what to have for dinner tonight.

What? !

Mr. Li's eldest son is actually the director of the municipal government's auxiliary office.

Right now!

He's half a rank higher than Director Li at the steel rolling mill!

hiss--

The entire courtyard gasped, and people forgot to wring out their rags.

Three months of hard work are not as effective as a single word from someone else.

One of the older men was filled with regret—if he had known this would happen, why bring up last year's events? Wasn't he just asking for trouble?

They could only secretly hope that Li Wenguo hadn't taken his words seriously at all.

Unfortunately, they had already taken it to heart.

Then, he turned and went into his own courtyard.

"Sir, you're back!"

Qin Huairu, wrapped in her close-fitting pajamas, was holding and playing with Xiao Guoxuan when she saw him enter. Her eyes lit up immediately, and she made a move to get up.

Li Wenguo raised his hand to stop him: "Don't move, just leave it like this."

Her ears instantly turned red, and she understood immediately. She quickly raised her hand to cover Xiao Guoxuan's eyes, and turned her body slightly to make room for him.

Li Jingtong helped for a month before returning to school to study at Peking University, never giving the other young people in the courtyard any hope.

Once Xiao Guoxuan was fast asleep, she lowered her eyes and said in a soft voice, "Master, I'll go boil some water for you to soak your feet."

"Save your breath, hurry up—let me have my fun."

A fire had already ignited in his eyes.

Having taken good care of herself and slept soundly all year, Qin Huairu had long since shed the earthy smell from her body, her skin now fair and radiant, so tender it seemed like you could squeeze water from it. Youth is an asset, and Li Wenguo held her close, unwilling to let go.

As soon as the lights went out, only low breathing and rustling sounds remained in the room.

Just because of a casual remark by Li Wenguo, the courtyard house lost its "advanced" plaque;

Because of his casual remark, Yi Zhonghai, an elderly man, lost his Level 7 pliers qualification on the spot.

Only then did the entire courtyard truly understand:

This Mr. Li is not someone who boasts; he has real backing and real influence.

We can't afford to mess with them, we really can't afford to mess with them.

Everyone in the factory gave a thumbs up to Uncle Yi Zhonghai's craftsmanship. He truly had the skill to work with all his might and tighten screws without them coming loose. It was a sure thing that he would be rated as a level seven fitter.

But because of Li Wenguo's casual remark, "You're still young, let's give it to the senior workers this year, and we'll definitely save it for you next year!" the steel rolling mill transferred the spot to another veteran fitter.

Anyone with eyes could see the implication: the old man's words that night, "If it weren't for Jia Zhangshi's mess last year, our courtyard would have had an 'Advanced' plaque hanging up long ago," were tantamount to lifting the lid in public—clearly implying that Li Wenguo forced Jia Zhangshi into the police station, causing the courtyard to lose face and fail!

The courtyard erupted in chaos. Except for Jia Dongxu, who maintained a straight face, everyone else couldn't help but smirk.

Why is he so cheeky?

Why do we have to lick the tip of a knife?

See that? Retribution comes in the blink of an eye!

The old man, Yi Zhonghai, could only shake his head with a bitter smile, feeling as if his heart was being cut by a dull knife, and he gasped for breath in pain.

Upgrade to the next level and you'll get an extra ten yuan per month!

That's 120 yuan a year!

Enough for the whole family to chew on for a whole year!

From then on, whenever he saw Li Wenguo, he nodded more often than a chicken pecking at rice, and when he left, he bowed all the way, so humble that he almost touched the ground. Only then did he stumble and struggle to climb the steps to the seventh-level fitter at the end of the year.

In the same year, Qin Huairu gave birth to a baby girl for Li Wenguo, named Li Jinghua—meaning that her mother gave birth to her when she was in the prime of her life.

That year, Li Wenguo's three sons got married one after another: the second son, Li Guofu, was Hongyu's biological son; the fourth son, Li Guozhi, was born to Dong Haitang and was thirty-two years old; and the fifth son, Li Guowu, was Xianglan's second son and was thirty-three years old.

Because the enterprise was transferred to state ownership, the construction company where Li Guofu worked was merged into the Construction Bureau, which was in charge of engineering projects. He naturally became the director, a division-level position, and held real power. His wife was the daughter of the factory director of the machinery factory, a well-connected and respected member of the Communist Party of China.

Li Guoping and Li Guowu, who were far away in Hong Kong, also married daughters of the He and Li families respectively. Their families were of equal social standing and their marriages were quite respectable.

In the same year, Li Wenguo's three daughters got married, and their husbands' families were all from prominent families. One of their fathers-in-law was even Vice Minister Wei of the ministry.

It wasn't that Li Wenguo was picky; it was just that his daughters were all beautiful, outstanding, and well-educated, a blessing that ordinary families couldn't possibly have. He also knew in his heart that he looked down on those poor, lowly families.

The same goes for his sons—he had long since abandoned the idea of ​​choosing daughters-in-law from the courtyard house. Daughters from ordinary families were not good enough for his sons' future prospects.

Qin Jingru had already arranged a marriage for herself with Li Guoxian, the son of Xu Wanqing. Xu Wanqing came from a humble background and was destined to never be associated with the powerful and influential families in the government, so the marriage was arranged as a compromise.

Speaking of Li Guoxian, he's the same boy who used to lead his younger siblings to ambush people and act recklessly. Li Wenguo was afraid that he would go astray, so he kept a close eye on him these past two years: checking his homework every day, explaining the principles repeatedly, teaching him to get along well with his family of brothers and sisters, and telling him to keep a low profile when he went out, not to be arrogant and cause trouble—even if he could fight back, being beaten would ultimately be a loss.