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

The older brother, Liao Zhixing, had already started his own family and lived separately, leaving only the father and son in the house.

Liao Daqiao had a square face, a pair of old-fashioned glasses perched on his nose, a slightly balding head, dark skin, and a medium build, yet he possessed an imposing and steady demeanor.

Upon seeing his son's bruised face and torn clothes, his brow furrowed, filled with shock and anger, his heart clenching as if it had been squeezed: "Zhihua? Who did this?!"

Liao Zhihua simply repeated the lie he had told his mother before:

"I... got into an argument with a classmate, and we ended up fighting. I was badly hurt, and he wasn't much better off."

These words put Liao Daqiao at ease—both sides had suffered losses, so it was considered even.

"Dad, you can't just pretend you didn't see me get beaten up like this. Otherwise, who will respect me in the future?"

His eyes were downcast, his voice trembled, and he looked as aggrieved as if his spine had been broken.

"That's right!" Liao's mother immediately chimed in, "Zhihua has never been beaten since he was a child. Look at his face, his arms... it hurts my heart just looking at him! That little rascal must not be let off easily!"

She was so heartbroken that she kept wiping her eyes, completely unaware that all these injuries were the result of her son jumping into the fire himself.

"Who's the guy who hit you?"

Liao Daqiao didn't rush to make promises; he first asked about the background—he had spent half his life in the underworld and knew that revenge wasn't about randomly swinging a stick.

"His name is Li Guojiang. He's the son of an employee at our No. 2 Garment Factory. His father retired a long time ago; he was just an ordinary worker."

After a pause, Liao Zhihua lowered his voice, "Dad, he's currently occupying a permanent employee position at the factory... Do you think we could remove that position and replace him with someone else?"

This matter just happens to fall under his father's jurisdiction.

I used to be reluctant to lend a hand out of consideration for others; now that I hate them to the core, I don't care about anything else.

He would only be satisfied if Li Guojiang got out of the factory and went to work in a brothel.

"Okay, I'll take care of it tomorrow morning."

Liao Daqiao readily agreed. He wasn't afraid of offending anyone if he wanted to stand up for his son.

What kind of trouble can a retired worker cause?

In terms of influence, no one can surpass him as the workshop director.

"Dad... could we change the spot to another classmate's name?"

Liao Zhihua's eyes lit up, and he immediately seized the opportunity to climb up the ladder, plotting to give the position to his lover.

……

Li Guojiang followed Li Guoxian into the courtyard house.

"Guoxian, you brought your younger brother again?"

As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, Sha Zhu came up to him, holding a baby boy who was only a few months old in his arms, smiling so broadly that his eyes disappeared.

The child's name was He Xiao, and he was born to Lin Meili. Sha Zhutou was overjoyed to become a father again, his heart pounding like a rabbit.

He patted his chest and promised the old man: "From the day you pass away, I will take care of every meal and every blanket you need!"

Lin Meili had just said she wanted to get an IUD inserted, and he didn't even utter a word of objection—after all, having a child at fifty, this life was worthwhile.

He truly lives up to his nickname "Silly Pillar".

"Yes, Brother Shazhu, this is my younger brother, Li Guojiang."

"Silly Brother Zhu".

Li Guoxian introduced the two parties.

In this courtyard, there are few people he truly respects, and Sha Zhu is one of them; moreover, his younger sister He Yushui is married to Guo Tao, so they are related by marriage and kinship, and Aunt Qin's family has always been distant, so only Sha Zhu can open his heart to him and say a few honest words.

"Guojiang, come visit us anytime!"

As both his brother-in-law's younger brother and family, Sha Zhu extended his hand warmly.

"Silly Brother Zhu".

Li Guojiang nodded and followed Li Guoxian to the east room.

"Sister-in-law Jingru!"

Qin Jingru had already set the food on the table and was coaxing the two children to start eating.

She looked up and smiled, "Hello, Uncle Guojiang, please sit down and eat while it's hot."

It is now 1968. Qin Jingru has grown up, with bright eyes and clear skin. She speaks softly and her every move exudes gentleness.

That rustic air of my early years has long been worn away by time and experience.

Now everyone who sees her thinks she's a girl who grew up in the city.

In recent years, she has given birth to a son and a daughter, and her belly has quietly swelled up again—next year, she will be adding another person to the family.

"Brother Guoxian, today was really satisfying! But I know Liao Zhihua too well; he'll never swallow this insult so easily."

Li Guojiang poured each of them a full glass of baijiu.

"Afraid of him?"

"In terms of connections in the underworld, he's no match for us; in terms of family background, his father is just a minor office manager, how can he compare to us? If he insists on going against the grain, the old man can crush him with a single finger."

Li Guoxian picked up his wine glass without even lifting his eyelids.

At this time, Li Wenguo had secretly arranged for people to keep a close eye on Liu Shujuan's family.

Her father worked at a chemical plant, and the plant's director happened to be Li Wenguo's son-in-law.

Li Wenguo gave only one instruction: Find a pretext to cause Liu's father to make a mistake, then use the word "expulsion" to shut them up and stop them from dwelling on their son's matter.

The methods were a bit crude, but the fault didn't lie with the Li family—their daughter schemed against their son first, so they shouldn't blame the Li family for retaliating with even heavier blows.

"Ziying, I'm so sorry to have troubled you..."

Inside the small house, Li Guoxiong and Zhao Ziying were penniless, so they had to open the gift box they had originally bought for the Zhao family to fill their stomachs.

There wasn't much food to begin with—just a few pieces of coarse sugar and half a pound of mixed noodles—not nearly enough to fill our stomachs.

"It's okay, things will be easier once you start work next month."

Zhao Ziying gently shook her head.

"But what about the next two weeks?"

His voice was strained, and his brows were furrowed.

"I'm looking for some work—making shoe soles for people, earning a few cents, just to get through these few days."

Making shoe soles is a tough job: the stitches are dense, it's mentally taxing and strains the eyes, and by the end of the day, your back aches and your waist hurts, but the pay is pitifully low.

Only retired, idle older women in the neighborhood would accept the call, just to pass the time and exchange it for a couple of fruit candies.

Didn't Jia Zhangshi sit by the window every day, stretching shoe lasts and pricking them one by one?

Want to make a living this way? No way.

Li Guoxiong nodded after hearing this, thinking he could really get through it. Little did he know, this job couldn't support him at all.

At night, on a narrow bed, the two could only sleep side by side.

He was in the prime of his life, full of youthful vigor, and as his nose brushed against her soft shoulder and back, his breathing became erratic...

The next morning, Liao Daqiao walked into his office and pulled out a document.

He picked up a pen and heavily crossed out the three characters "Li Guojiang" in the form, replacing them with "Liu Shujuan".

They then asked the clerk to print another blank registration form.

The plan was to take it home and give it to her son, Liao Zhihua, so that Liu Shujuan could fill in the basic information and then send it back to get it stamped.

The number of employees is now a done deal.

Unfortunately, Li Wenguo had already sent Li Guoyu to secretly keep an eye on Liao Daqiao and his son's every move.

This matter had already reached Li Guoyu's ears from the moment he put pen to paper.

The bell rang to signal the end of the workday.

The clerk who organized and printed the application materials for Liao Daqiao handed the completed documents to Li Guoyu for a report.

After listening, Li Guoyu simply nodded slightly and then instructed him to continue to keep a close eye on the progress.

"Heh, misappropriating employee quotas without authorization—that's crossing a line!"

He twitched the corner of his mouth, shook his head, and sighed.

As soon as night fell, Liao Zhihua rushed into the mixed-use courtyard where Liu Shujuan lived, stuffed a few cents into the hand of a errand boy in the courtyard, and called the girl out.

"Zhihua, don't come here lately. If Li Guojiang and the others see you, I'm in big trouble."

Liu Shujuan thought he was trying to rekindle their old flame again, and before she could finish speaking, she instinctively pulled her hand back behind her.

"No, that's not it—I have good news for you."

Here, take it!

He shoved the bulging brown paper bag into her hand.

"What is this?"

She looked down and checked the seal, but didn't open it.

"The application materials for formal employees of the Second Garment Factory. Fill in your name, get it stamped, and you'll be a member of the factory."

"By the way—this spot belongs to that bastard Li Guojiang."

When he uttered the curse, his jaw was clenched so tightly that his eyes looked like they were filled with ice shards.

"What?!"

"Li Guojiang's spot?!"

Liu Shujuan's voice suddenly rose, and her fingertips trembled.

With this, she wouldn't have to go to the brothel, nor would she have to marry into the Li family, that shady clan.

"Zhihua, if I really become a factory worker, will I be able to completely get rid of Li Guojiang?"

"Get rid of him? No, I want him to go eat sand and drink wind, preferably collapse on the road and never come back."

He gritted his teeth, each word spoken with fierce determination.

"What about...the baby in my belly?"

Her voice lowered, and her fingers unconsciously pressed on her lower abdomen.

"Of course it belongs to Li Guojiang."

"I've already planned this: once he leaves, you'll marry my brother, Cu Liu. He doesn't want to go to [a certain place] at all; this marriage will serve as a cover so we can visit each other more often in the future."

"Furthermore, just tell everyone that the child is Li Guojiang's—you go to his house every month to ask for child support, and let his whole family support him for us."

He's hard-hearted, ruthless, and his schemes are meticulously planned.

"I'll do whatever you say."

She agreed without hesitation.

"After you've completed the formalities in a few days, go back and tell your parents: you don't approve of Li Guojiang, the marriage is off. Make their family pay you a 'breach of contract fee,' understand?"

"I've got it."

Liao Zhihua's face was so dark it looked like it could be wrung out. Before leaving, he pinched her arm hard and turned to leave.

Inside Xiao Cui's room at the Li residence.

Li Wenguo originally planned to go find Jinhua and Xiaoxue to play Pai Gow, but he was intercepted halfway by Xiaocui's son and had to turn into this room.

"Dad, there's a girl in my class who wants to have a fake marriage with me to hide from [a certain person/organization]."

The speaker was Li Guolei, Xiao Cui's third son, born in 1948, who had just turned twenty.

He was ranked low in the family hierarchy and was never given much attention; but he had one strength—he listened attentively to every word his parents said.

But this also became a weakness: he couldn't come up with any ideas of his own.

"A fake marriage?"

Li Wenguo frowned.

Wow, this is something new these days!

He understands that if they really get married, it's to avoid [illegal activities].

Nowadays, wedding processions in Beijing are lined up in long queues, setting a record for the busiest weddings in history.

Many intellectuals also responded to the call and went to the front lines of construction to get real work done.

But if you get married, it doesn't count, and your reputation is ruined. What's the point?

He initially wanted his son to refuse on the spot, but then he thought: This kid is studying at Peking University and is only staying at home because the school is closed. That female classmate is probably also a prospective student at Peking University.

So she changed her question and asked, "Why did she insist on having you fake a marriage?"

"Know."

Li Guolei nodded and continued, "She used to have a boyfriend who was fighting in the south. They had planned to get married after his triumphant return, but then the war broke out, so they asked me to help her out."

"She also said: If that person were to die, she would really marry me and bear his children..."

"Oh!"

Li Wenguo let out a cold laugh.

Utterly selfish—using other people's lives as stepping stones.