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

"Click—"

The lock clicked softly, and the iron gate was pushed open.

"elder brother!"

He Yushui rushed in carrying two bamboo baskets. As soon as she saw Shazhu, her voice suddenly rose, startling even the celery leaves in the baskets.

So that's how it is!

On the rooftop, as soon as He Yushui revealed the truth, Sha Zhu sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping.

"But have you ever considered that if you do this, people outside will point fingers and curse you behind your back—saying you're ungrateful, cold-blooded, and crueler than an ungrateful wolf?"

"You really don't care about carrying this burden for the rest of your life?"

Sha Zhu clenched his fists, his brow furrowed in a knot of anxiety and pain.

"I...I had no choice! I chose this path myself, so I can only grit my teeth and keep going...Brother, I don't really want to sever ties with you!"

He Yushui's eyes were red and her voice trembled.

More than twenty years of sibling affection, how can it be severed by a few words or a statement? If they could truly never see each other again, she wouldn't be standing here shedding tears.

"But now, outside, and inside the courtyard houses—"

He had intended to blurt out how his uncles, along with the neighbors, had berated her, but he stopped abruptly when the words were on his lips—the next day, Li Wenguo personally intervened and silenced all the rumors.

"Did they really give me a piece of their mind? Call me cold-hearted, call me heartless, call me worse than an animal?"

Seeing her brother stammering, He Yushui simply poured out all the unpleasant things he had said for him.

"No one was scolded... Mr. Li gave the order that day: anyone who gossiped would be kicked out of the yard. Now no one dares to say a word."

Sha Zhu's face turned pale. Who could have imagined that he would become in-laws with the Li family in such a muddle? Even more absurdly, to prevent being extorted, the other party forced his sister to sever ties with him.

Fuck!

Am I the kind of person who changes his stance depending on the wind, and who climbs the social ladder while stepping on the weak?

In my younger days, I was young and impetuous, and I was blinded by empty fame and fortune, which was fine; but now that I'm thirty-two, my bones have hardened, and I no longer believe in those shortcuts—I just want to rely on my strength and my two hands to steadily support my family.

"It's been suppressed?"

He Yushui's eyes lit up, and a feeling of gratitude for her father-in-law welled up in her heart, but then she thought about it and her heart sank: Li Wenguo wasn't suppressing gossip, he was suppressing the reputation of the Li family. He wasn't protecting her, he was protecting his own family's honor. That little bit of warmth vanished instantly.

"Yes, Mr. Li has managed to calm down. It seems he really cares about his daughter-in-law."

Sha Zhu didn't think too deeply about it, simply assuming it was someone who doted on their younger sister.

"Oh……"

He Yushui just smiled and didn't reply. She was afraid that her brother would act impulsively and confront Li Wenguo, and in the end, it would be the two of them who would suffer.

It would be better for each side to guard its own borders and live in peace.

She then laid out Li Wenguo's concerns. Sha Zhu listened, remaining motionless for a long time, only realizing it when the cigarette burned his fingers.

Those involved are the hardest to see the situation clearly—he never believed that he was really being treated like a pushover or a bloodsucker by the people in the courtyard; even though his sister told him herself, he still felt like he was looking through a layer of fog, vaguely refusing to believe it.

But he finally understood Li Wenguo's apprehension.

Finally, after He Yushui's repeated persuasion, Sha Zhu nodded: In private, they are still like brothers and sisters; when outsiders are around, they will pretend to be strangers.

"But what if Mr. Li finds out? Won't he take it out on you?"

Sha Zhu was still worried.

"No. My father-in-law just wants peace and quiet—as long as those people in the courtyard don't try to climb up the social ladder by clinging to the Li family, he'll turn a blind eye."

He Yushui saw things clearly.

Li Wenguo certainly wouldn't go to extremes. After all, Li Guotao was his own son, and he didn't want his son's family to fall apart because of his own words.

When children are living a peaceful life, parents can rest assured—isn't that the case for every family?

"Let's go, it's windy and the ground is cold, and you're carrying the baby."

Sha Zhu reached out to help her.

The two went downstairs one after the other. Li Guotao immediately came up to them, eagerly asking, "You've reached an agreement? You and your sister... have made up?"

He Yushui shook her head slightly, then smiled faintly: "I'm married and have a family now, and my child is almost due. What do you think he can do to me?"

"Oh, great! That's wonderful!"

Li Guotao breathed a long sigh of relief, his shoulders finally relaxing.

He was most afraid of his wife being caught in the middle, and now that they had reconciled, he felt truly at ease.

"By the way, where does your brother live? I should bring him some things during holidays."

"no."

Seeing Li Guotao's astonished expression, He Yushui immediately broke down the intricate relationships within the courtyard and explained them clearly—those people are opportunistic and only take advantage of the weak. If they knew that Sha Zhu had a brother-in-law with a powerful background, they would definitely swarm around him and pester him for this and that.

This is a minefield that the siblings must never touch.

Li Wenguo was also unwilling to provoke this bad luck, but she didn't say it aloud.

"If you want to give a gift during the holidays, just leave it at home. My brother can come and pick it up when he has time. You don't need to make a special trip."

"But... is this appropriate?"

Li Guotao hesitated, and his voice lowered.

He was a junior, and for his elders to personally come to collect the gifts was completely contrary to the "respect for superiors and adherence to etiquette" that his father had taught him since childhood.

"Of course it's suitable. The thought is what counts, and that's what matters most."

The two then walked out of the house one after the other.

My brother-in-law, Sha Zhu, was already busy in the kitchen.

He's skilled at stir-frying and stewing, and he's also adept at rolling out dough and chopping fillings. So, when it comes to making dumplings, there's no question about it.

After a hot meal, they became much more familiar with each other.

Sha Zhu felt a weight lifted from his heart, a relaxed smile spreading across his face as he stood up to take his leave.

Knowing the proper etiquette, Li Guotao didn't leave empty-handed; he insisted on stuffing a large bag of things over his shoulder—grain and oil, preserved meat, canned goods, snacks, and everything else.

Sha Zhu was proud and aloof, and refused to accept the gifts. In the end, his younger sister He Yushui forced a bag of rice, a bucket of peanut oil, a few pieces of cured meat, two cans of fruit, a small bag of crispy candy, and dried plums into his arms.

Before long, Sha Zhu stepped into the courtyard.

The residents in the courtyard immediately brightened up when they saw that his hands were full of things.

Banggeng, who was squatting by the screen wall playing marbles, spotted the can label, rushed over, fiddled around for a while, and then unscrewed a can of yellow peaches, gulping down half of it.

"Hello, Uncle Silly Zhu!"

Qin Huairu's eldest son, Li Guoxuan, stood under the eaves, bowing respectfully with steady demeanor, looking exactly like Bang Geng, as if they were cut from the same mold.

Sha Zhu stared at the sugar water on Bang Geng's lips, then at Li Guoxuan's upright little body, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he sighed silently.

On second thought, since they were relatives after all, he smiled and took out a can of mandarin oranges from his bag and handed it to him: "Guoxuan, take this, it's sweet."

"Silly uncle, are you really confused?"

"My family is struggling to make ends meet, and you're sending food out?"

Banggeng turned his head, glared and shouted, his tone so familiar that it was as if the things in Shazhu's pocket were rightfully under his family's control.

Sha Zhu's brow twitched, and his fingertips tightened.

Do you really think he's easy to fool?

Suddenly, I heard my younger sister He Yushui's whisper:

The Lin Meili family has long been treating you like a blood bank, sucking your blood.

"Thank you, Uncle Shazhu, but really, it's not necessary—I just opened a jar of pear syrup candy at home."

"Uncle Silly Zhu, great idea, I'm heading back now, bye-bye!"

Li Guoxuan waved to the two of them, then turned and walked towards the small courtyard to the east, his back view neat and quiet.

"Hmph, at least you're sensible."

Bang Geng muttered something, then snatched the can that Sha Zhu had just taken out, and without even opening the lid, he ran towards his house.

He didn't even notice that Sha Zhu's gaze, fixed on the back of his head, was as cold as water at the bottom of a well.

It was past nine o'clock at night at Sha Zhu's house.

He was still sitting at the old wooden table, in the exact same posture as last night.

As usual, there was a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), a dish of salted peanuts, and a dish of roasted melon seeds on the table, but an extra small plate of amber-colored walnuts and raisins had been added—these were the ones his younger sister He Yushui and brother-in-law Li Guotao had insisted on giving him that day.

This drink tonight was pleasant; it warmed my throat, unlike the dull feeling of last night.

At this time-

"Silly Zhu, are you asleep?"

The door creaked open, and Lin Meili poked half her body in without even knocking. She tiptoed in, as if she had been in and out of this room a thousand times.

Sha Zhu's eyebrows furrowed instinctively.

The image of Bang Geng's self-righteous face flashed into my mind in the evening.

Her tone tightened slightly: "Oh, Sister Lin, what's up?"

Lin Meili frowned slightly, and a glance around revealed that something was wrong—

Normally, Sha Zhu's eyes would light up when he saw her, but today they seemed veiled by a thin mist.

This is not a good sign.

She immediately sat down next to Sha Zhu, her waist slightly turned to the side, her full shoulders almost touching his arm.

A faint jasmine fragrance floated in the air, almost imperceptible.

Sha Zhu's mind went blank for a moment, all his thoughts scattered, and even his breathing paused for a beat.

For a man who has lived alone for many years and whose vigor has not diminished, a woman in the prime of her life is not a temptation, but a silent siege.

He fainted on the spot.

"Silly Zhu, I heard you brought back a lot of rice, oil, cured meat, and canned goods today?"

Lin Meili's voice was as soft as honey, with a slight upward inflection at the end.

She wasn't focusing on people, but on a few tangible things.

"Yes, I do! Sister Lin wants some? I'll pack it for you right away!"

They were too close, and before Sha Zhu could even ask for it, the words had already slipped out, and he stood up as well.

Yes, that's more like him.

Lin Meili breathed a sigh of relief, her lips curved into a smile, then she lowered her eyes, her voice suddenly trembling: "Then I'll have to trouble you... You know, I'm the sole breadwinner for five people in my family. My salary is so low, and my three children are always hungry. I don't even dare to lift the lid of the rice jar."

-

Sha Zhu couldn't stand seeing Lin Meili looking like a pear blossom in the rain. His heart felt like it was being tightly bound by a thin rope, both sour and tender, and he trembled.

"Sister Lin, please wait a moment, I'll get it right away!"

He jumped up and strode towards the kitchen.

But as soon as he turned away from Lin Meili's sight, his mind immediately cleared up, and his steps became slow and sluggish.

Silly Zhu, silly Zhu!

How can you be so spineless?

A few sobs and a couple of tears from someone, and you're like you've been frozen in place, eagerly offering them the food—your bones are lighter than a blade of grass!

No! We can't let her lead us by the nose!

Yesterday, his younger sister He Yushui's words were like a needle pricking his mind, awakening it from its long slumber.

In the past, he willingly let the Lin family empty his pockets. What was he after? Wasn't it just to take advantage of their proximity and sneak a peek at their beauty? To put it bluntly, he wanted to take advantage of them.

But what about now? They haven't gotten a single penny of the cheap deals, but they're giving away good stuff at rock-bottom prices—isn't that just stupid?

No wonder even the bastards call him "Silly Pillar" to his face!

I can't even understand as well as a little kid!

He raised his hand and lightly slapped his cheeks twice, both as punishment and to refresh himself.

Then he squinted and pondered: How can I exchange these things for tangible benefits? I absolutely cannot give them away for free!

Before long, a sly smile crept onto his lips.

For the first time in his life, he felt the slight itch of a woman's fingertips brushing against his palm;

That simple-minded and impulsive fool Zhu has finally quietly shed his naivety.