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

Later, in a state-run restaurant.

"Ha, a projectionist? Only thirty yuan a month? And you want to date me?"

The girl didn't even touch her chopsticks. After hearing about the profession, she said that and got up to leave.

The next day, Li Guobiao sat in a corner of the workshop and asked in a low voice, "Brother Xu, do you think... all the girls from well-off families are this materialistic?"

"It's failed again?"

Xu Damao was stunned, his eyebrows almost flying into his hair.

"Yeah. As soon as they heard I showed movies, they didn't even eat, they just turned around and left."

Li Guobiao rubbed his temples, his voice deep.

"Sigh... I'm also puzzled. Why are all the women with good conditions like this these days?"

He scratched the back of his head, a look of embarrassment on his face.

He paused for a moment before lowering his voice: "Guobiao, since they're holding you back from your job, why don't you ask your brother to help you get a promotion? It'll look good on them, and they'll feel more at ease—what do you think?"

Xu Damao finally revealed the truth.

"this……"

Li Guobiao unconsciously rubbed the rim of the enamel mug with his fingers, and said nothing more.

Two girls left without even drinking their tea, one complaining that he didn't have enough money and the other that he wasn't of high status. A small flame of anger was quietly rising within him.

He pondered for a moment, then slapped his thigh: "Great! I'll go find Third Brother after get off work and ask him to help me get promoted."

Ah!

That energy has finally kicked in!

Xu Damao was secretly delighted, his mouth practically stretched to his ears in a grin.

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of the workday, Li Guobiao went straight to his brother Li Guotai's office.

Six or seven years have passed, and Li Guotai has just turned thirty-five. These past two years have been a critical time for promotion—the position of factory director is almost certainly going to fall into his lap, which would be a ministerial-level cadre position. In the entire system, he can truly be considered a young man who has achieved great success.

"Third Brother!!!"

"Hey, Guobiao's here? What's up?"

Li Guotai raised his eyes and smiled, his tone very amiable.

"Um... Third Brother, do you think I could be transferred to a higher position?"

He scratched the back of his head and lowered his voice slightly.

Years ago, his third brother did ask him if he wanted to be promoted, but he declined.

But this time was different—after two blind dates, both women's families complained that his position was too low and his salary too meager, and they barely even met him a few times. Their words were full of "not suitable." The first time, he stood in front of the mirror for a long time, feeling that he was really inferior to them.

"Suddenly feel like moving? What's the reason?"

Li Guotai leaned back in his chair and tapped the table lightly with his fingers.

Working in the same factory, he had long since figured out his younger brother's true nature: he didn't compete or fight for anything, he was content with the status quo, so where did this eagerness come from?

"Well... I've been on two blind dates recently, and both of them came from well-off families. But as soon as they heard I'm just an ordinary factory worker earning only forty-something yuan a month, their faces immediately turned cold." He chuckled awkwardly. "So... hehe."

"Oh—" Li Guotai responded, but didn't say anything more. He just stared at the tea leaves floating in the teacup for half a minute.

When I looked up again, I already had an idea: "This month is almost over, I'll give you an 'Outstanding Employee' award at the end of the month; starting next month, I'll transfer you to the publicity department as a publicity officer; and next spring, I'll promote you to deputy section chief."

"Deputy section chief, although not a high-ranking official, at least has the word 'chief' in his name, so it's more respectable to find a partner."

He paused, then added, "If you want to pick someone even better—like a girl from the government compound—then wait another year, and I'll promote you to section chief."

This was just a casual remark—a deputy section chief is enough, but a section chief requires making room, building a team, and going through procedures; how can one be promoted so easily? But as an older brother, which one wouldn't want their younger brother to go further?

Upon hearing this, Li Guobiao quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need, brother, deputy section chief is fine!"

"Don't rush to make a decision," Li Guotai waved his hand with a smile, "Tell me in two days."

As soon as they stepped out of the office building, Xu Damao approached them: "Guobiao, how did it go?"

Li Guobiao lowered his voice and said, word by word, "Deputy section chief next year, section chief the year after!"

hiss--

This speed of ascent is even faster than riding a rocket!

Xu Damao felt a burning sensation in his chest, a mix of sourness and heat, and his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

Obediently boom!

Having someone back you up gives you confidence!

It's just a matter of a word, faster than others running their legs off!

"So what did you reply?" Xu Damao hurriedly asked.

"I said deputy section chief would be enough, but my third brother told me to think about it some more and he'd give me a definite answer in two days."

—After all, a full section chief position is not an empty title. You have to make room for someone, pave the way, and select the right person. You have to plan ahead for all of these things.

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao's eyelids twitched and his teeth itched: "Such a good ladder is right in front of you, and you're taking a step back? Did your brain get squeezed by a door?"

Alright! We need to give it another push!

"Guobiao, have you thought about this?" He took a half step closer, lowering his voice, "There's a famine right now, and food prices are rising every day—last year eggs were 22 cents, this year they're 34 cents, and who knows what will happen next year or the year after? With a deputy section chief's meager salary, he probably can't even afford a few eggs! Don't you think the section chief is more resistant to hunger?"

"Uh... Brother Xu is right, but Section Chief has too much to do..."

"Hey, that's easy!" Xu Damao patted his chest. "After you transfer there, get me into the propaganda department too. I'll take care of all the work for you!"

It was late at night at the Li residence.

Inside the Golden Flower House.

Li Guojiang, eighteen years old, Jin Hua's third son, stood under the lamp with his head down, his voice as soft as a mosquito's hum: "Dad... the college entrance exam has been cancelled, I don't want to study anymore."

Actually, I haven't missed you for a long time, I'm just using this as an excuse to start talking.

"Not going to school?" Li Wenguo slammed down his enamel mug, splashing water all over the table. "What do you think you're doing? Wandering the streets with those thugs, carrying around bottles of liquor?"

He's long since stopped saying that he has too many sons to manage.

This child was born to Jin Hua, and was the youngest in the family. They rarely saw each other throughout the year and barely spoke a few words. Jin Hua's attention was entirely focused on her eldest and second sons, and she had always neglected her third son, Li Guojiang, let alone supervised his studies. He didn't put any effort into his books and spent his days wasting time hanging out with a group of classmates who also disliked studying.

Skipping classes, climbing over the school wall, fighting, causing trouble—he's practically a half-grown street thug in the making.

If this continues, he'll eventually become a street thug.

Li Wenguo, as a father, absolutely could not allow his son to fall to such a low level. He was a respectable man in the capital, and if rumors spread that "the third son of the Li family was acting arrogantly on the street," where would he put his face? Upon hearing that the teacher had come to complain, his anger flared up instantly.

"Let me tell you something—if you dare sneak out of the school gate again, I'll break both your legs on the spot!"

Li Wenguo roared through gritted teeth.

The teacher just finished a phone call today, and he's furious.

"Sir, please calm down. He's just a kid. A few scoldings or a light tap are fine, but it's not worth getting upset and harming his health."

Jin Hua gently comforted her husband from the side, her fingers lightly stroking his back to soothe her son.

"Let me tell you—do you still want those legs? Get out!"

Upon hearing this, Li Guojiang felt as if he had been granted a pardon and ran away as fast as he could.

"Damn it! I, Li Wenguo, have been in Beijing for decades. If outsiders knew that my son was squatting on the curb whistling, chewing sunflower seeds, and flirting with girls, I'd never have to step out of the house again!"

Li Wenguo was still furious, his chest heaving.

"Don't worry, from now on, I will personally keep an eye on Guojiang and won't let him wander off."

Jin Hua quickly agreed, leaning closer to him, her plump body trembling slightly.

"Good that you remembered. Right now, I'm burning with anger, so hurry up and cool me down!"

Li Wenguo said in a low voice.

"Why!"

She immediately understood.

She had a classic oval face, but her jawline was sharply defined, and when she lowered her head, the lines were as sharp as a cone. Her eyes were large and bright, the most alluring of all the women in the village, and they complemented her face, exuding a natural charm. Li Wenguo loved watching her when she was bent over from above.

the other side.

Li Guofang clutched his newly received salary and obediently handed it to Xu Yaling.

"Ninety yuan?"

"Why are there ten extra dollars?"

Xu Yaling was breastfeeding her child when she heard this. She glanced up and her brows furrowed.

His gaze then fixed on Li Guofang's face, full of suspicion.

She was convinced that he had been hiding money before, and this time he had accidentally revealed it.

"Tell me quickly, did you secretly save money before?"

"No, not at all! I was just promoted to deputy clerk last month, and I got a raise of ten yuan."

Li Guofang quickly offered an explanation.

After the child was born, he became a puppet in Xu Yaling's hands. If he did anything against her will, she would pinch his inner thigh—and the child would cry out in heartbreaking pain, making Li Guofang's internal organs cramp.

"You've only been working here for two years, you're not even a technician yet, why would the factory promote you out of turn?"

He did odd jobs in the office at the machine factory; normally, it would take seven or eight years to gain seniority, unless…

"Forgot? Deputy Factory Director Cao Baoguo is my brother-in-law. Last month, the deputy section chief retired, and he took my place, which is why my salary increased to ninety."

"Oh—right, Cao Baoguo is your brother-in-law."

Xu Yaling then remembered.

Her eyes darted around, and she asked again, "Given this relationship, have you ever considered pursuing a career in politics?"

She was also thinking that her husband's brothers all worked in the bureau and the committee, and they could lend a hand.

"I don't want to. My dad said that the officialdom is a place where you have to rack your brains and scheme every day. I just want to live a peaceful life."

He didn't finish speaking—

"Wow!!!"

The baby in my arms, who was nursing, suddenly burst into tears.

"What are you doing?!"

"Why are you pinching the child for no reason? Are you crazy?!"

Li Guofang was so anxious he jumped up and down.

"Do you even want to move up in the ranks?"

Xu Yaling stared at him, her tone unwavering.

"I don't……"

"Wow!!!"

The crying was even sharper and more urgent than before.

"Do you want to?"

"I think!!!"

He practically yelled it out.

I was afraid the child would get hurt again.

Xu Yaling nodded: "You said those words yourself, remember them. In a few years, I want to be the factory director's wife—if you can't make it happen, your son will cry every day."

"Are you serious? How old is the child? Just a tiny little lump of powder, how could you do that?"

Li Guofang's voice was hoarse, and he was filled with resentment.

"I'm being ruthless this time so that our children can have a stable future. Tell me, what about the rule your father set—five kids, not one less? If you spend your whole life as an ordinary worker, maybe a section chief at best, how will you pave the way for your children?"

"this……"

Xu Yaling spoke sharply and logically, and Li Guofang opened his mouth but couldn't respond.

These words are harsh, but true—without power or influence, you can't even protect your own doorstep, let alone support your child.