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

"Oh, Brother Guoli, it's nothing! Just a little friction, a little friction!"

Li Guoxian's face flushed slightly, and he gave an awkward smile.

Li Guoli is Sai Honglian's eldest son, five years older than him, and is now a regimental commander in the army.

"Guoxian, if you ever make a move again, give me a heads-up. I'll take a platoon and make sure they're begging for mercy. Our Li family can't be looked down upon in this matter!"

His tone was resolute, and his gaze was intense.

It's clear that they're fiercely protective of their own, and they don't hold back when it comes to competing.

Soldiers should naturally have a tough attitude.

"Okay, I got it, Brother Guoli!"

Li Guoxian nodded hurriedly.

It turns out the Li family has such a tough guy in the army!

Duan Youming and Cao Baowei felt their backs stiffen upon hearing this, and cold sweat almost soaked through the back of their necks.

He thought to himself: If he had known about this relationship, Li Guoxian would have actually called his brother over back then. He would probably be crawling back home today.

"Are these two friends?"

Li Guoli turned to the two men, his tone softening slightly.

The two of them immediately straightened their backs and their breathing became lighter.

"Brother Guoli, let me introduce you—this is Duan Youming from the Duan family. Our fifth sister married his brother."

"This is Cao Baowei from the Cao family. His sister married my second brother; we're all family!"

Yup!

They're all relatives, what's the panic? Nothing to be afraid of!

The two suddenly realized what was happening, immediately put on smiles, and shouted in unison, "Brother Guoli!!!"

"Hello. Since we're all family, I'll reveal my identity—Commander of the 1st Regiment, XXX Brigade, XXX Division, XXX District. If there are any minor conflicts between the military personnel in the future, just mention my name, and someone will take care of it."

Li Guoli nodded, his tone calm yet unquestionable.

Duan Youming and Cao Baowei's eyes lit up, and they quickly bowed, saying, "Thank you, Brother Guoli!"

"Okay, I'm going now."

The jeep sped away in the wind, and the two men exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with the relief of surviving a disaster and an irrepressible joy.

He's managed to get close to a powerful relative in the military!

When we compete with other children from high-ranking compounds, our confidence will double – we're not afraid of having too many people, we're afraid of not having enough!

"Let's go to the hospital!"

The three people pushed open the door and entered.

It was during the Spring Festival, and there were very few doctors on duty. In addition, there were few hospitals and patients at that time, so the doctors were always busy and couldn't take care of the three of them.

"Nurse, could you please find any doctor and prescribe some ointment to improve blood circulation and remove blood stasis, or something to reduce inflammation and relieve pain? I'll apply it to my face!"

Duan Youming couldn't help but urge him on.

They waited for almost half an hour without seeing a doctor. The three of them sat there, their faces burning and swollen, feeling both pain and frustration. All their time had been wasted.

"The doctor hasn't arrived yet, please wait a little longer."

The nurse didn't even lift her eyelids, her tone revealing a hint of annoyance.

At the end of the year, these three men barged in, bruised and battered; anyone could tell they'd just been in a fight. The nurse, already prejudiced, simply ignored them and focused on attending to other patients. Ultimately, this nurse was petty and sharp-tongued, unable to bear seeing others do better than herself.

"Didn't come? Do you think we're blind? Several groups of people were going in and out just now, the doctor was clearly in the examination room!"

Cao Baowei was so angry that his temples throbbed.

They're clearly deliberately blocking us from seeing it. Do they really think we're easy targets?

"No noise is allowed in the hospital. Please wait quietly. I will make arrangements as soon as the doctor arrives."

The nurse didn't even change her tone, continuing to flip through the registration book in her hand with a cold face.

This completely enraged the three of them, and several patients waiting nearby also quietly approached, pricking up their ears to peek...

"Mom, let's go."

Li Jingfen, arm in arm with a woman in her early fifties, walked calmly down the stairs.

"Jingfen, it's so kind of you to come with me during the New Year to perform surgery on that patient. It's really kind of you."

The middle-aged woman looked apologetic and spoke gently.

"We're family, so let's not talk like strangers, Mom."

"Hello Dr. Li! Hello Dean!"

The medical staff along the way stopped to greet the two women, who simply nodded slightly, their smiles faint yet appropriate.

"Our Zhu family is truly blessed to have you as our wife!"

The middle-aged woman grew increasingly pleased with him—he was dignified in appearance, gentle and unassuming in nature, efficient and steady in his work, and his medical skills were impeccable.

"Mom, you're teasing me again."

As they chatted and laughed, the two reached the lobby on the first floor. Suddenly, they heard a commotion and saw a crowd gathered around. Their brows furrowed, and they quickly walked over.

"What kind of nurse are you? You're delaying treatment; the wound is already turning red. Can you take responsibility if something goes wrong?"

Li Guoxian pointed to the scabbed scratches on his face, his voice rising.

"Who told you to fight? If you hadn't fought, none of this would have happened."

The nurse crossed her arms, curled her lip, and showed no sign of backing down.

"What kind of work attitude is this?"

"That's my attitude!"

"Second Sister!"

Li Jingfen recognized him at a glance.

"Huh? Second Sister!"

Li Guoxian turned around abruptly, and there stood before him his elder brother Li Guohua's younger sister.

"Dr. Li! Dean!!"

The nurse turned pale instantly, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back.

That cry of "Second Sister" was like a needle, piercing her soul and making her tremble with fear.

The dean immediately lost his temper and scolded her until she was speechless, and then gave her a major demerit; Li Jingfen personally led the three of them to the pharmacy to get medicine and bandages.

Duan Youming and Cao Baowei stole glances at the dazzlingly beautiful Dr. Li, wondering to themselves: How come they always seem to run into Li Guoxian's older brother and sister wherever they go?

That evening, as soon as Li Guoxian stepped into the courtyard house in Nanluoguxiang, he was berated by Li Wenguo.

He was also ordered to communicate more with his elder brother and second sister in the future, to find out the intricate network of relationships in the capital. He was allowed to take action, but he had to see who the other party was first, so as not to make the joke of "family fighting family" again!

The first month of the lunar calendar has passed in the blink of an eye.

The year-end bonuses from various factories and enterprises have been arriving one after another.

That afternoon, the sunlight shone obliquely.

Li Guoyu parked his car in front of the bank.

He is Wen Keren's eldest son, born in 1936, and just turned twenty-four this year.

He opened the back door, pulled out two bulging, heavy snakeskin bags, and dragged them into the lobby with gritted teeth.

After scanning the area, he noticed a long queue in front of counter number three. The teller was a pretty young woman. After a moment's thought, he joined the queue.

Some people in the hall couldn't help but glance at them—what exactly was inside those two bulging snakeskin bags that looked like they were about to burst?

money?

But then he thought about it again and quickly shook his head, banishing the thought from his mind.

Nowadays, the average person only earns a hundred or two hundred yuan a year. Who can afford to spend such a large sum?

absurd!

It can only be said that living a very frugal life has narrowed one's horizons.

In fact, by this time, the capital city was already full of wealthy business owners.

It will be several years before those people leave and go far away.

Soon it was Li Guoyu's turn.

"Comrade, withdrawal or deposit?"

Kong Liuting was organizing the previous client's information with her head down, her voice clear and pleasant, like a mountain stream.

She didn't even notice the two snakeskin bags lying on the ground.

"Hello, comrade, I want to deposit money."

Li Guoyu smiled and spoke, his voice clear and bright.

She looked up at the sound—

stunned.

He had a angular face, fair skin, and a bright smile, looking every bit the handsome young man in his prime.

"Oh, okay, how much would you like to deposit?"

Her professional instincts allowed her to quickly regain her composure and her tone returned to normal.

"Ten million."

Li Guoyu spoke casually.

What?

Ten million?

Kong Liuting, sitting at the counter, froze on the spot, even her breath caught in her throat; the seven or eight people queuing behind Li Guobin also stopped moving as if a pause button had been pressed.

Ten million?

Did you hear me wrong?

Is this kid drunk or delirious from the fever?

The first thought that exploded in everyone's mind was one of shock and bewilderment, leaving them wondering what was going on.

It's absolutely outrageous—too absurd, too magical, too illogical!

Many people have never even touched a bundle of ten-yuan bills in their lives, and now, someone just throws out ten million yuan in cash, piling it up all over the counter... Is this some kind of attempt to cause trouble?

"Comrade, please double-check, you're really not joking?"

Kong Liuting lowered her voice, her tone full of caution.

"I'm not kidding. There's too much money, so I'll make two trips to carry it. I'll bring these two bags over first."

Li Guobin had anticipated this reaction—he had visited four banks before, and each time it was a similar scene: suspicion, frowns, repeated checks of his ID, and some even pointing fingers and calling him "brainless." But the teller who had been the most vocal in her insults ended up bowing to him, her face flushed.

He slammed the burlap sack heavily onto the table, unzipped it, and with a "whoosh," it spilled out—neatly stacked bundles of 1,000 sheets of paper, each stack perfectly rounded, the aroma of ink mixed with the slightly astringent smell of paper wafting towards him.

Gasps of astonishment filled the air!

Real gold and silver! All brand new!

The onlookers were speechless, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets—who had ever seen so much cash piled up like a mountain in their entire lives? This alone would be enough to brag about to their grandchildren for ten years!

Kong Liuting also stood there stunned, her lips slightly parted, her fingertips unconsciously digging into her palm.

Oh my god... are there really that many?

I'd have to count until the year of the monkey and the month of the horse?

Shocked as I was, I felt no envy or sourness, only a heavy sense of exhaustion rising within me: tonight's overtime work was definitely off, and tomorrow I still had to do supplementary data entry, verification, and data entry...

"This bag is worth one million, and there are nine more bags outside. Please count them first, and I'll go get the next batch right away."

Before he finished speaking, he deftly tore open the second bag, poured out another pile of stuff, and turned to walk towards the door.

What? !

Eight bags left?

Kong Liuting rolled her eyes and almost burst out laughing.

Good heavens, this guy's got some nerve!

Aren't you afraid someone will steal the money piled up here?

The people in line behind him shook their heads and clicked their tongues in amazement: "This young man is really wild!" "Isn't he afraid of flying away if we leave him here?" "Let's move him to another spot, so we don't keep him from counting his money."

Kong Liuting wiped the sweat from her brow and called out to the crowd, "I'm so sorry everyone, this order will take half a day to process. Please try another window. I'm really sorry!"

She was originally the most eye-catching teller in the branch, with bright features and a crisp voice, and customers preferred to flock to her—but what happened? Her business volume was consistently at the bottom of the entire industry? No, it was consistently number one! She complained about it a lot in private.

But today, the record was broken by his own hands.

Not long after, Li Guobin returned carrying two new bags.

"Uncle Liu!" she called to the middle-aged security guard in a dark blue uniform at the door, "Quickly call a few colleagues from the security department to help carry the rest of the bags in!"

Three or four burly men rushed forward, and in less than five minutes, ten bulging snakeskin bags were lined up neatly next to the counter, like a silent wall of gray bricks.