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

This regret will only be slowly tasted as time goes by.

But on the day she moved in, she was overjoyed: a fully furnished suite, 150 square meters, bright and airy, with a futuristic style that looked like it was stolen from the future, the tiles so shiny you could see your reflection, and the clean lines of the ceiling that didn't look like they were from the 1980s. Moving in made her feel instantly lighter.

By marrying into the Li family with this house alone, she had already won half the battle.

With an apron tied on and a spatula in hand, she deftly served several dishes: braised pork ribs glistening with oil and fragrant, stir-fried pea shoots vibrant green, and a side of hot and sour shredded potatoes—a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.

She then took out a bottle of baijiu and poured it for her husband and Guo Weibo.

After the meal, she washed the dishes and wiped the table as swiftly as a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves.

After wiping the last pair of chopsticks clean, she smiled and looked up: "Uncle Guowei, I'd like to apply for the position of deputy workshop foreman. What do you think?"

Li Guowei is Xiao Cui's eldest son, born in 1935, and just turned thirty.

He agreed immediately, decisively, and then turned to his younger brother and asked, "What are your thoughts on the second workshop foreman being reassigned next year?"

As his own brother, he naturally put in all his effort to elevate him.

He Yushui felt a surge of warmth in her heart and almost burst out laughing—she was promoted to deputy team leader, and her husband was going to take over as team leader, a meteoric rise!

But the next second, her smile froze on her lips.

Li Guotao hesitated and shook his head: "Brother, isn't this inappropriate? Everyone in the factory knows I'm the deputy factory director's brother. If I go up there so quickly, people might gossip..."

He Yushui felt a surge of anger rising within her: "Is he stupid?!"

Hesitant and indecisive, like a frightened quail, he has no adventurous spirit whatsoever!

Others, once they've established connections, are eager to fly to the sky; but he, on the other hand, shrinks back even when reaching out to grab a ladder!

She immediately interrupted, winking at Li Guowei, and said quickly, "Uncle Guowei, don't listen to him! He's just too cautious. You can rest assured and make arrangements for him; he can definitely handle it!"

As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Li Guotao—

If you keep making excuses, believe me, I won't let you sleep in my bed tonight.

Unfortunately, Li Guotao is a simpleton by nature, and his thought process goes in a completely different direction from that of ordinary people.

He scratched the back of his head, his voice low but unusually serious: "Brother, how about... the team leader lets the rainwater dry? I really don't need it."

Li Guowei didn't answer immediately, but tapped his fingertips lightly on the rim of his wine glass.

He had long seen that his younger brother had been used to being trampled on since childhood, with no one paying attention to him or supporting him. Over time, he even stopped trusting his own words.

I thought that settling down and starting a family would calm me down, but I'm still the same: indecisive, unambitious, and even when opportunities are right in front of me, I instinctively shy away.

To be honest, he really felt that his younger brother was not as good as Yushui.

At least she dared to think, dared to fight, and dared to concentrate resources into a powerful force to carve out a path.

He sighed inwardly, but his gaze secretly fell on He Yushui—

I am truly relieved.

One is shrewd and decisive, the other is mild-mannered and unassuming; together, they are like a dull knife with a whetstone: she pushes him forward, and he guards the bottom for her.

With her around, Li Guotao is unlikely to stumble when he's out there.

Li Guowei had already made a plan in mind—he might as well promote He Yushui and let her take care of Li Guotao so that things would go smoothly from now on and he wouldn't have to worry about anything anymore.

He had a pretty good understanding of He Yushui: all alone and without any support, would she really dare to touch Li Guotao? That man had the entire Li family backing him.

"What nonsense are you talking about? One is a deputy team leader, and the other is a team leader. We can each take one, and you, you don't even have the nerve to think about it?"

He Yushui kept her voice down and gently nudged Li Guotao's arm.

"so!"

As soon as Li Guowei spoke, the two men immediately turned their heads.

"Sister-in-law Yushui, you can take over as deputy group leader at the end of the year; next spring, we'll promote you to group leader directly—once you're settled, we'll hand over the deputy group leader position to Guotao. What do you think?"

"You're really making me the team leader?"

He Yushui's heart skipped a beat.

She had only been working at the textile factory for a little over a year, half a year later than Li Guotao, and her experience was far less than his. They weren't even in the same workshop. The position of team leader was originally assigned to Li Guotao's workshop, and she had never even considered it—she was already incredibly lucky to be able to get a deputy team leader position in her own workshop.

But right now, Li Guowei has actually served her this bowl of hot soup, the team leader's gift.

Her mind raced, and she smiled as she agreed, "Whatever you say, big brother!"

Li Guotao wasn't someone who couldn't be helped; he was indeed qualified to be the deputy team leader, so he didn't refuse any further.

Once the year-end arrives, things will be settled.

He Yushui officially became the deputy team leader.

My salary increased by ten yuan.

They also gained real power—helping the team leader manage the work assignments in their workshop.

If you don't like someone, you can get rid of the dirtiest and most tiring work with just one sentence.

At the same time, Li Guotao was also transferred to He Yushui's workshop. After she replaced the original team leader after the Spring Festival, he immediately took over as the deputy team leader.

The factory workers quickly sensed the shift in the situation: Deputy Factory Director Li Guowei was a true confidant of Li Guotao and He Yushui.

In an instant, people flocked to the couple, offering words of comfort, rushing to hand them hot water, and taking on tasks for them.

For the first time, He Yushui experienced the feeling of "having someone listen to her," and her ambition to climb higher burned even brighter.

Now that she has severed the last blood ties with He Yuzhu, she must squeeze every last drop of profit out of the Li family.

Only in this way can one be worthy of one's own heart-wrenching resolve, and suppress the pent-up grievances and resentment in one's heart.

It's only human nature—who would want to pour out their heart and soul only to receive no response in return?

"Guotao, I have something I want to ask you."

That night, after the two lay down, He Yushui turned to her side and spoke softly.

"Okay, go ahead."

Li Guotao had his eyes closed, and his voice still sounded sleepy.

Do you know any police officers at the local police station?

"Huh? Why are you asking that?"

He opened his eyes abruptly.

"My dad... ran away with a woman. I want to find him and bring him back."

Indeed, the name He Daqing remained a thorn deep in her heart.

When she chose to marry the local policeman, ostensibly because she was afraid of being dragged down by the courtyard house, deep down she just wanted the advantage of being close to the source—it would be convenient for investigating people.

"What?!"

"Your dad ran off with someone?"

Li Guotao straightened up halfway, his face full of astonishment.

"Um……"

He Yushui lowered her voice, as if she were holding a piece of ice in her mouth.

"By leaving like this, isn't it the same as abandoning you and your siblings?"

"Why are you still looking for him?"

It's worth mentioning that He Yushui and her father-in-law, Li Wenguo, kept it a secret from Li Guotao—they didn't tell him that she and Shazhu had already severed their sibling relationship.

Li Wenguo felt ashamed and didn't want his son to think about it too much; He Yushui made up another story: she said that her brother absolutely refused to let her marry Li Guotao, but she gritted her teeth and insisted on marrying him, and as a result, the siblings turned against each other on the spot.

These words only added to Li Guotao's heartache and guilt.

"My dad used to treat me extremely well, but when he passed away, he didn't even say goodbye... I just want to understand: was he truly heartless, or was he forced into it, or was he hiding some difficult reason?"

He Daqing is a knot she can't get around.

She didn't believe her father would abandon her without a reason.

Before leaving, the two rooms were clearly divided, and Sha Zhu's job was also planned well in advance—if he really wanted to abandon them, how could he have made such a thorough arrangement?

Therefore, she was certain that her father must be hiding unspeakable difficulties.

"So that's how it is..."

After listening, Li Guotao nodded slowly.

"My brother works at the police station. His name is Li Guozhi, and he's He Shuting's second son. I'll go with you tomorrow morning."

"real?"

"Very good!"

He Yushui's eyes lit up immediately.

Having connections makes things much easier!

The next day, the two of them each took an hour off and went out.

The two mounted their brand-new bicycles and pedaled so hard that the wheels spun rapidly, attracting frequent glances from the neighbors.

These days, owning a bicycle is like carrying the keys to a Porsche decades from now—who wouldn't be envious?

If the situation hadn't become increasingly tense, Li Wenguo would have already thrown out a Shanghai-brand sedan—that thing would be even more conspicuous than a private helicopter in later times.

Before long, they stopped in front of the police station.

He got out of the car, quickly locked it, and pushed the door open to enter.

Even though it's just outside a police station, people still manage to steal things even if the gate isn't locked. These days, traffic lights are a rarity, let alone security cameras. Stealing a car is as easy as picking an onion; nobody notices.

"Hello sir, are you here to report a crime?"

They happened to run into Lu Gang, the captain on duty. He looked up and took the initiative to come over and ask.

"Hello, my brother Li Guozhi works here, and we would like to meet him."

Li Guotao spoke modestly, his back ramrod straight.

Ok?

Isn't this the director himself?

They were looking for the director?

Lu Gang felt a slight tremor in his heart, and his gaze lingered on Li Guotao's face for a couple more seconds.

Unfortunately, the two brothers have absolutely no resemblance in their eyes or eyebrows.

"Comrade, what is your surname?"

He cautiously asked another question.

"My name is Li Guotao."

"This is my lover, He Yushui."

Li Guotao immediately took over, his voice not loud, but clear and steady.

"Alright, please have a seat, I'll go ask for instructions right away."

Lu Gang wrote down the name, then turned and strode quickly toward the director's office.

Li Guozhi has considerable experience: he worked in the Industrial Safety Bureau for several years in his early years, and was later directly promoted to director; I heard that he will return to the Public Security Bureau next year, and his promotion to deputy director level is a sure thing.

In short—you're young, but your future is bright!

He was He Shuting's second son and was related to the Duan family in the public security system, so his career advancement was naturally smooth sailing.

"Guotao?"

"Yes, it's my younger brother. Please invite them in."

After listening, Li Guozhi nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Guotao is the second son of Aunt Ju's family, so of course he knows him, but they don't usually interact much.

Most of the Li brothers weren't very close to Guotao—the boy was always quiet and shy, and when they gathered together during holidays, he would always huddle in a corner drinking tea and say very little.

On the contrary, Li Guoxian, who used to bully him when he was a child, now cares about him a lot, mostly because he feels guilty and takes care of him from time to time.

"Comrade Guotao, Comrade Yushui, please follow me."

Upon hearing that he was the director's younger brother, Lu Gang immediately put on a smiling face and his tone became much gentler.

He Yushui noticed all these subtle changes and quietly wondered: Could this uncle be someone of importance?

It wasn't until she pushed open the door to the station chief's office that she was truly stunned—it turned out that this "Uncle Guozhi" was actually the most authoritative person in the entire police station! Coincidentally, he had even come to support her and Li Guotao's wedding banquet.

Since they were family, things were handled exceptionally efficiently. Li Guozhi immediately decided, "My sister-in-law's affairs are my affairs. I'll personally oversee the search for her."

As Lu Gang politely saw the two of them off at the gate, He Yushui, though she knew that the Li family had deep roots and that there were people in the police station, never expected that—they were in charge right under her nose!

She glanced sideways at her honest and simple-minded husband beside her and shook her head to herself: This dull and taciturn man was born into such a tough family; it really proves the old saying—simple people have simple blessings.