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

"Guojiang, this is medicinal wine, it's good for your health. The weather is getting cold quickly, drinking some will warm your muscles and bones and keep you warm."

"Now is the perfect time to drink this; I'll have to down a few glasses later."

Cui Jingjing said with a smile.

This bottle of wine is actually aged tiger bone wine, with a strong nourishing effect. She received it from a middle-aged male colleague—their motives were unspoken, but they both knew exactly what they wanted.

Before long, the two were eating and chatting. Cui Jingjing deliberately adopted the tone of a caring older sister, her words warm and her eyes gentle, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

The living room didn't get warmer, but both of them had sweat on their foreheads, flushed cheeks, and even their fingertips felt hot.

The effects of the alcohol were quietly seeping into the very bones.

"Oh dear, it's so hot... Guojiang, you keep eating, I'll go change my clothes."

Li Guojiang casually agreed without giving it much thought.

But as soon as the door opened, his throat tightened, and his eyes were almost glued to the doorway—Cui Jingjing came out wrapped in a thin nightgown, the neckline hanging loosely, her waistline faintly visible, and even his breath hitched.

A surge of anger rushed to his head, making his ears tingle.

After being persuaded to drink a few more glasses by her with a smile, the wine slid down my throat, and my body felt like it was being roasted over a charcoal fire.

As Cui Jingjing poured the wine, her hand slipped and tilted, causing the amber-colored liquid to run down the rim of the glass and spill onto his crotch, leaving a deep stain.

"Oh dear! I'm so sorry, Guojiang, I'm so sorry, I spilled it all over your pants—come with me, I'll get you a new pair of my man's old pants."

The two entered the bedroom one after the other.

Li Guojiang stared at her profile as she turned away to adjust her clothes: her shoulder blades were slightly hunched, her waist was shallowly sunken, and the hem of her skirt swayed gently against her knees... Before he could react, he had already pounced on her.

a long time.

"Teacher... I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I'm a bastard! I'm an animal! I deserve to be punished!"

"Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Li Guojiang's face flushed red as he slapped himself repeatedly, each slap harder than the last.

"Stop hitting him!" Cui Jingjing grabbed his wrist, her voice both soft and urgent. "It was the teacher's fault for being so careless. I didn't expect the liquor to be so strong, that's why it turned out like this... It's really not your fault, it was my mistake."

She lowered her head, pursed her lips, her eyes slightly red, her sincerity leaving no room for doubt.

Li Guojiang was stunned.

Suddenly, Liu Shujuan's tear-streaked face flashed into my mind—screaming, tearing, the police report trembling in her hand.

The person in front of me took all the blame without uttering a single complaint.

There's really no way to compare people.

In fact, Cui Jingjing had planned it all out long ago. But she played it even more meticulously: she didn't rely on coercion, but only on laying the groundwork; before the matter was over, she would wipe the sweat off your face.

"Teacher, I'm so sorry..."

The first time, I hurriedly admitted my mistake; this time, my voice was hoarse and my heart felt heavy.

"Guojiang, you really don't need to do this!"

"If the teacher hadn't brought out this wine today, none of this would have happened. The fault is mine, it has nothing to do with you. Don't worry about it—I've been a widow for many years, my reputation is no longer important, and I don't expect you to bear any responsibility. Just let it go in one ear and out the other, nothing happened."

Her voice was soft, but every word reached his ears.

At the entrance of the courtyard.

"Well... teacher, I'm leaving now."

Li Guojiang kept his head down, his toes brushing against the cracks in the blue bricks.

"Yeah, the alcohol's still wearing off. Drive carefully and don't bump into anyone."

"Oh, by the way, my cousin is definitely coming tomorrow, remember that!"

She leaned against the door frame, smiling gently.

"I'll definitely be on time!"

He hopped on his bicycle and pedaled away, the wind whistling past his ears, but his mind was filled with the curve of her clothes stretching as she turned around, sometimes his lips trembling with a dreamy look, sometimes his face contorted with a silly grin.

……

The following evening, Li Guojiang came again.

My cousin is still nowhere to be found.

The wine was still that same tonic.

Cui Jingjing waved her hand apologetically: "The factory placed an extra order at the last minute, and she couldn't leave... I spent several yuan on this wine, it's a pity to throw it away."

A hint of doubt flashed through Li Guojiang's mind, but as she spoke, she lightly pressed her fingertips against the back of his hand, and that suspicion vanished like mist.

The wine goes down again, the person becomes more dazed, and the bed creaks again.

As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect.

On the third day, as soon as she put down her rice bowl, Li Guojiang reached out and put his arm around her waist, leading her directly into the house.

Three days is enough to soften the words "Teacher Cui" from the authoritative tone of the podium into the warmth of the palm of your hand.

……

At the same moment.

Little Buddha and his two companions huddled in a dark, narrow alley, using the shadows cast by the streetlights and broken branches of the sycamore trees to conceal themselves.

He stared intently as a man in his late twenties, wearing a white shirt, pushed open the door and entered the house.

"It's him—Liao Zhixing."

"He wandered over to Wang Meilan's house, who worked at the same factory, but coincidentally, her husband had gone out to play cards—wasn't that clearly an invitation to do something shady?"

Xiao Fo lowered his voice, twitched his lips, and smiled, revealing gaps between his teeth.

They had been staking out the alleyway for four nights and had figured out the pattern: every Friday night, Wang Meilan's husband would go out without fail. Today, they finally timed it perfectly. "Hei Zi, go and call him back! Xi Gun, head straight to the police station and get Ai Min!"

The little Buddha gave orders with great enthusiasm.

Once the person arrives, apprehend them on the spot—it's a done deal!

This was a task personally assigned by Da Yan. Li Wenguo only gave one sentence, and everyone in between had to relay the message, and the people below had to run their legs off the ground.

"I'm going to beat you two scumbags to death today!!!"

"I'm going to beat those adulterous couple to death!!!"

"I'm going to beat those shameless scumbags to death!!!"

"Let me go! Let me kill them!!!"

At this moment, in Wang Meilan's room, tables and chairs were overturned, and basins, thermos bottles, and coffee tables were all smashed on the ground, with broken porcelain shards mixed with water stains all over the floor.

Wang Meilan's husband, who was yelling the loudest, was being held tightly by Xiao Fo and his group, unable to move.

Liao Zhixing and Wang Meilan were only wearing thin underwear, squatting in the corner with their hands covering their heads, their faces covered in bruises, all from the blows her man had just thrown at them.

Their eyes were vacant, their lips were pale, and they even breathed softly as if afraid of disturbing something.

If you get caught on the spot, you're stuck in a rut for life.

These days, marital infidelity is a real scandal, punishable by imprisonment in serious cases and dismissal from public office in minor cases.

State-owned factories cannot tolerate such people—they are morally corrupt and morally questionable; who would dare to keep them?

"Name!"

"address!"

"Workplace!"

Gu Aimin and the other security guard didn't waste any time. They quickly noted down the two men's identities and then escorted them away.

The next morning, Liao Daqiao rushed to the scene.

He was the director of the factory office, a division-level cadre, half a rank higher than the head of the police station.

After finding out what had happened, he went straight to the director's office and found Lu Gang.

That's right, Li Guozhi has been transferred and promoted to captain of the Criminal Investigation Brigade of the Public Security Bureau, which is also a division-level position.

His successor was Lu Gang.

Of course, if Lu Gang hadn't been regarded as a confidant by Li Guozhi's faction, how could he have gotten this position?

Liao Daqiao revealed his identity as soon as he entered, his words laced with sarcasm: "Things always need to be handled with tact... It's better for everyone to turn big problems into small ones, and small problems into nothing."

The saying "a higher-ranking official can crush you" isn't explicitly stated, but its meaning is quite clear.

If this matter had nothing to do with the Li family, Lu Gang might have nodded in agreement; but since the Li family specifically requested that this be done, Lu Gang smiled and said without a hint of ambiguity, "According to the law and regulations, every procedure must be followed without skipping a single step."

Seeing that Liao Daqiao was unmoved by either soft or hard tactics, he immediately changed his tone, his words carrying a sharp edge: "Although my position as section chief isn't the highest, I'll be a deputy factory director next year, a deputy provincial-level position. If I'm really transferred to another region, the position of mayor of a prefecture-level city isn't out of the question."

Lu Gang didn't even lift his eyelids after hearing this.

He knew perfectly well that Liao Daqiao's importance was nothing more than a hair in the eyes of the Li family.

Threat? Not worth mentioning.

"Just you wait and see."

Liao Daqiao uttered a harsh remark and turned to leave.

As Lu Gang watched his retreating figure, he knew perfectly well that he was either going to call for reinforcements or to find his superiors within his own system to force him to submit.

What a pity... haha!

Sure enough, less than twenty minutes later, the phone on my desk rang.

"So fast? You're really in a hurry to save your son."

Lu Gang slowly picked up the receiver.

"Hello, this is the xxxxx District Police Station, this is Lu Gang."

"Yes, I am Li Huaimin, the captain of the Public Security Bureau's Public Security Brigade."

Another division chief, two ranks higher than him.

"Yes, please give instructions!"

Lu Gang's voice suddenly tightened, and he stood up straight.

"I heard you carried out an operation last night and arrested two people? That's commendable. However, a comrade just came to inquire about the situation and raised some doubts—you must verify this repeatedly and make sure no innocent people are wrongly accused."

"Of course, we must not let a single bad person get away with it."

The "comrade" mentioned on the other end of the phone refers to Liao Daqiao; "suspicious points" is tantamount to determining innocence; "verify repeatedly" is a warning to him not to overstep his authority—a section chief should only manage his own affairs; "wrongfully accusing an innocent person" is a clear implication: release him.

Every sentence is coated with sugar, but inside are steel needles.

Li Huaimin didn't expect Lu Gang to understand everything. He was certain that Liao Daqiao had already given him a message, and as long as Lu Gang wasn't stupid, he should understand why the call was made.

To everyone's surprise, Lu Gang's clear and steady voice came from the other end of the microphone:

"Comrade Li Huaimin, Comrade Li Guozhi also inquired about this matter."

On the other end of the phone, Li Huaimin sat in his office, holding the receiver, and fell silent for a moment.

Old Liao!

This time, you've really messed up!

After a moment's thought, Li Huaimin said, "Since Comrade Li Guozhi is personally involved, I will listen to him on this matter."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Gang heard a "click" from the other end of the phone—the call was disconnected.

"Heh, at least you have some brains."

Lu Gang smirked and let out a cold laugh.

He had predicted it all: the moment Li Huaimin heard the words "Li family," his legs would tremble.

After hanging up with Lu Gang, Li Huaimin's fingers didn't stop; he immediately dialed another number.

"Old Liao, it's me!"

"Old Li? Did it work out?"

Liao Daqiao stayed by the telephone, grabbing the receiver as soon as it rang, his voice tense.

His eldest son, Liao Zhixing, was the culmination of half his life's work; all his connections, favors, and relationships had been piled onto him. If this matter were to fall apart, it would be like pulling away the ladder, causing him to fall straight into the pit.

"It won't work. Your son has messed with the wrong people—listen to me, get out of there as soon as possible."

After Li Huaimin finished speaking, he slammed the microphone shut.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Liao Daqiao gripped the receiver, frozen in place, his ears ringing.

Someone you shouldn't mess with?

Who?

He abruptly slammed down the microphone, grabbed the old bicycle parked by the door, and pedaled furiously towards the police station.

We need to ask him face to face—which deity did our son run into?

Is there any room for maneuver?