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

Li Huaimin didn't say a word more. He knew perfectly well: even Li Huaimin avoided this person, how could he dare to mention his name? That would be like setting off a firecracker with his entire family's lives.

Not long after, he rushed into the police station, panting heavily.

They bumped into Lu Gang—the man was leaning against the door frame, his eyes full of the leisurely air of a cat teasing a mouse.

Liao Daqiao's heart sank: Sure enough, the higher-ups had already given instructions.

Upon seeing Liao Zhixing again, he immediately asked, "Who have you offended recently?"

Liao Zhixing looked bewildered: "I didn't offend anyone! If you really want to know, I just bumped into someone by accident—but how would I know who that is?"

Forced into this situation, Liao Daqiao had no choice but to bite the bullet and return to Lu Gang, asking in a humble voice, "Director Lu, please give me a straight answer—which important person dares to cross my line? I'd like to kowtow and apologize."

Lu Gang didn't even lift his eyelids: "I can't talk about this."

He's a member of the Li family, and his mouth is as tight as iron.

Liao Daqiao returned home dejectedly. Before he could even sit down properly, Liao Zhihua and his wife surrounded him.

"Father, what should we do about my elder brother's situation?"

"Yes, he's only in his early thirties. His future is hanging by a thread; he can't afford to fail here!"

Liao Daqiao let out a long sigh, his face scrunched up like crumpled paper: "Zhixing has offended a big shot... He's clearly trying to suppress him, and I can't lift a finger or even get a word in edgewise."

The other party doesn't even reveal their name, clearly intending to leave you with nowhere to kneel.

"What...what should we do?"

"Having an affair with a married woman and breaking up someone's family—that's a crime punishable by imprisonment!" Liao's mother's voice trembled, and her eyes reddened.

"I'll ask around again," Liao Daqiao said, wiping his face, his voice hoarse.

Everyone in the room was listless.

Later, an acquaintance quietly suggested to him, "Old Liao, think about it—did your son offend someone, or did your whole family unintentionally offend someone?"

These words were like a needle, piercing Liao Daqiao's heart.

He summoned his wife, youngest son Liao Zhihua, and eldest daughter-in-law to the main room that very night and questioned them one by one.

The daughter-in-law lowered her head and rubbed her hands: "Dad, I take care of the children and work night shifts every day, and I've never argued with anyone."

Liao's mother waved her hand, saying, "We've never argued, nor have we ever had any grudges."

His gaze shifted and landed on Liao Zhihua's face.

This kid has been spoiled since he was a child. Skipping school and getting into fights are common occurrences for him. He got into a fight just a couple of days ago, and there are still a few light blue marks on his cheekbone.

"Zhihua! Did you get into trouble outside? Did you offend someone and implicate your brother?" Liao Daqiao's voice was hoarse as he slammed his hand on the table.

"It really wasn't me! I haven't caused any trouble lately! It definitely wasn't me!" Liao Zhihua shook his head so hard it almost fell off.

He grew up in a government compound and knew how to behave properly—he would avoid those people who wore leather shoes and rode in cars, let alone dare to bump into them.

"Xiaohua, think about it again!" Liao's mother tugged at his sleeve anxiously. "You're always out and about. Have you ever accidentally bumped into someone? Like—someone in uniform? Someone driving a Hongqi car? Someone with an accent?"

Liao Zhihua scratched his head, then suddenly paused, "Speaking of strange people... just the other day, he got into another argument with that bastard Li Guojiang. Besides him, there really isn't anyone else."

"Li Guojiang?" Liao's mother blurted out, "Could it be related to him?"

"That's nonsense! The Li family only has a retired father, and his mother has never worked. How could she possibly be related to him?!"

Liao Zhihua shook his head, his tone resolute.

He thought that Li Guojiang's older brother, Li Guoxian, was just a street urchin who couldn't cause any trouble after the beating he received last time.

Would a truly capable person make a living by wandering around?

He had no idea that the people who caught his brother cheating were the same group of people who later beat him up. If he had known this, he would have immediately recognized them and understood that Li Guojiang was no ordinary person.

"Sigh...maybe Zhixing unintentionally offended someone with a single word or action!"

Liao Daqiao sighed deeply, and as soon as he finished speaking, his brows furrowed even more deeply.

He was unaware that he was the next target.

As soon as the work bell rang, Liao Daqiao sat in his office with a newspaper spread out beside him, but his eyes were blankly staring at the paper, not a single word absorbing into his mind. His mind was completely preoccupied with his eldest son.

After two days, they had used every connection they could, but the responses were surprisingly consistent: "We dare not touch the person your son has gotten into."

He felt like all his strength had been drained; his shoulders slumped, and his heart sank to the bottom. This time, he was probably really doomed.

Sure enough, the factory held an emergency meeting that afternoon.

The announcement was straightforward: Liao Zhixing committed adultery with another man's spouse, which seriously violated morality and showed a complete disregard for discipline. Effective immediately, he is expelled from the Party and dismissed from his employee status.

It's a done deal, there's no turning back.

Liao Daqiao closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, but he didn't speak.

But misfortunes never come singly.

"Comrade Liao Daqiao!!!"

Midway through the meeting, a committee member suddenly turned his head, his voice cold and hard.

Liao Daqiao's back stiffened, and his blood ran cold.

He knew perfectly well that this was aimed at him.

The moment his son collapsed, the knife was already at his neck—it was only natural.

"Yes, Comrade Chairman, please give instructions!"

He stood up straight, not daring to show the slightest sign of slackness on his face.

"Someone has filed a formal complaint alleging that you arbitrarily altered the allocation of job positions."

Before the chairman finished speaking, he slammed two documents on the table: one was the original quota list that had been roughly crossed out in red pen; the other was Liu Shujuan's employment approval documents—she had taken Li Guojiang's place.

As soon as he finished speaking, a clerk walked in from outside, clutching a freshly printed voucher in his hand.

Liao Daqiao's face instantly drained of color, his body swayed, and he fell heavily into the chair.

It’s over.

Only those two words remained in my mind.

With physical evidence on display and witnesses standing by, the evidence is irrefutable; he cannot escape.

Who exactly is trying to mess with our family?

Who exactly is it?

—What did we do to offend him?

No one answered. And no one intended to answer.

In the end, like his son Liao Zhixing, he was expelled from the Party and removed from his factory registration.

Considering that he joined the Party early and had seniority, and that his mistake did not involve public funds or property, the factory did not report the case to the police, but simply let him pack his things and go home.

Back then, public property was a matter of utmost importance; if not a single penny was lost, it wouldn't constitute a case, at most it would be considered a violation of discipline—expulsion from the Party and dismissal from one's post were the maximum penalties.

Liao Daqiao wandered back home, his mind elsewhere.

At the same time, at the chemical plant.

Under the secret arrangement of office director Gao Zhiyuan, Liu Shujuan's father made an operational error and accidentally threw a bottle of chemical reagent into the reaction tank, causing a large amount of waste to explode on the spot.

In reality, the pool had long been secretly replaced with waste material, and the so-called "loss" was all an act.

"From now on, you are suspended from your duties pending investigation. We will notify you of the results."

Gao Zhiyuan stood in front of the table, his expression solemn.

He was born with thick eyebrows and broad eyes, and was capable and efficient. He was 28 years old, came from a cadre compound, and was also Li Wenguo's son-in-law.

The father-in-law made it very clear: make Liu's father make this mistake so that he can hold the Liu family's weakness.

"Director Gao, when will we get the results?"

Mr. Liu rubbed his hands together, his voice strained.

Once suspended from work, my salary immediately stopped.

The whole family depends on this little bit of money to survive, for everything from food and drink to basic necessities.

Nowadays, everyone is living paycheck to paycheck and has no savings; my son is just an apprentice earning about twenty yuan a month, which is not enough to support a family of five; my daughter's job is not yet settled.

He was the only pillar of the family.

If the pillar falls, the house will collapse.

"Don't worry, I'll let you know as soon as I have any news. Go back and wait."

Although they said they would "discuss" it, Gao Zhiyuan could actually make the final decision on his own. But since his father-in-law had spoken, the final decision on how to put it on paper still depended on Li Wenguo's approval.

Liu's father walked away with a hunched back, turning back every few steps.

He pushed open the door and saw his wife sitting under the lamp, her brows furrowed – Liu Shujuan had just told him that she was pregnant.

More than two weeks have passed, and it's time to say it.

Liao Zhihua personally instructed Liu Shujuan to do this.

The Liu family has recently been plagued by one bad thing after another.

Mr. Liu was suspended from his job and lost his salary; his daughter was pregnant again—the family was shrouded in gloom.

Liu Shujuan never expected her father to be suspended from his job. If she had known, she would have kept quiet, but the words were already out, and it was too late to regret it.

Now that his daughter was pregnant, Mr. Liu had no choice but to put aside his own affairs for the time being and think about his daughter's future.

He and Liu's mother shared the same thought: Li Guojiang must marry their daughter.

It's only natural—if you're already pregnant, why not get married? Are you just going to keep it as a wedding gift?

Abort it? That won't do. These days, who doesn't give birth?

However, Liu Shujuan had already made up her mind not to agree, saying that she already had someone in her heart, and that the other person was sincere and did not mind that she was pregnant.

"Nonsense! The child in your belly is Li Guojiang's, so you have to marry him! He's the biological father, who does your 'favorite person' even matter?"

Mr. Liu yelled at his daughter on the spot.

"That's right, Shujuan, the child's father is Li Guojiang, you should marry him. Are you suggesting the child call someone else 'Dad'? That's utterly unreasonable!"

Liu's mother also joined in the persuasion.

They were just an ordinary family, and their thinking was practical: once you have a child, you should start a family.

Mr. Liu later made the final decision: "I'll let Li Guojiang go to work, and you can stay home and focus on your pregnancy and taking care of the baby. It's much safer!"

But this was what Liao Zhihua had instructed, so Liu Shujuan dared not nod.

She only followed his instructions and whispered three words:

"Alimony?"

Mr. and Mrs. Liu looked at each other, stunned.

"Little sister, if you need money, why don't you just send the baby back to the Li family after it's born? It'll save you trouble and won't interfere with your life with that man."

Brother Liu chimed in.

"You brat! If you want money, you might as well give the child to them!"

Liu's father's temper flared up again.

"Stop making a scene, Shujuan. I'll go with you tomorrow, we'll talk things out, and you can get a marriage certificate with Li Guojiang. Once he knows you're pregnant, how can he deny it?"

Liu's mother's tone softened a bit, but her meaning remained the same.

Now Liu Shujuan was completely stuck in the middle, unable to move forward or backward.

Young Liao Zhihua was too presumptuous, assuming that if he gave orders, others would have to obey.

Liu Shujuan listens to him, but why should Liu's parents listen to him?

He never considered things from a parent's perspective—as parents, all they want is for their children to be safe and sound; they don't care about revenge or anything like that.

Fortunately, Liu Shujuan was quick-witted and immediately said, "I'll go see Li Guojiang by myself tomorrow and have him give his parents a heads-up."

After thinking about it, Mr. and Mrs. Liu agreed.

The next day—

The first person Liu Shujuan met was Liao Zhihua.

The location is in that old park in the west of the city.

After hearing that the Liu family elders insisted she marry Li Guojiang, Liao Zhihua's face darkened, and she gritted her teeth and said:

"No! You absolutely cannot marry him! I want Li Guojiang to go to that hell, suffer, and preferably die there!"

He had just heard the day before yesterday that his father had been dismissed from his job and lost his support, which made him feel uneasy; now, hearing this, his anger flared up.

"But... my parents are pressuring me a lot, Zhihua, please tell me what I should do?"

Seeing his ashen face, Liu Shujuan's voice became weak.