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

She could only say in a deep voice, "If you refuse to leave, then Guoxiong has to go back and apologize to his father."

"We can't let him stay at odds with his family forever, can we? What about the children? Are they going to be excluded from the Li family genealogy?"

Zhao Ziying was speechless for a moment.

I thought I was standing up for him, but after hearing this, I realized that my "support" was actually narrowing the road ahead—dragging it out would only harm my husband and cause suffering for my children...

"Okay, I will do my best to persuade Guoxiong to go back and admit his mistake." She immediately agreed.

"Okay, I'll wait for your reply."

"As long as Guoxiong is willing to humble himself, I will accept you as my daughter-in-law."

After Wen Keyi finished speaking, she turned and left.

Zhao Ziying felt a sense of relief and almost wanted to lean on the door frame to catch her breath—the oppressive aura emanating from this old woman was truly suffocating.

But as soon as he lowered his eyes, he saw that the bundle of banknotes on the ground was still lying neatly.

She hurriedly grabbed the money and chased after her, shouting, "Auntie, you left your money behind!"

"Take this and give it to the child to help him recover. Don't let my grandson suffer." Wen Keyi said this without turning her head.

Zhao Ziying had no choice but to stop.

But as she clutched that thick stack of banknotes, her mind began to churn: What kind of family did Li Guoxiong come from?

He said his father was an ordinary factory worker, and his mother just stayed home to do housework...

But the man before them was dressed in fine clothes, had a calm demeanor, and spoke slowly and deliberately. Even his attendants stood guard downstairs without making a sound. What "ordinary family" could raise such a person?

He casually handed over a thousand yuan in cash without batting an eye... This isn't just being wealthy; it's clearly having an incredibly solid financial foundation.

When Li Guoxiong returned home that evening, Zhao Ziying didn't mention her mother-in-law's visit, but simply spoke softly:

"Guoxiong, I've thought about this for a long time these past two days. Let's not make things too tense with our families. They are your parents; they raised you with great difficulty, how can we just cut ties like that?"

"Don't you think so?"

Li Guoxiong frowned: "Weren't you always on my side before? Why the sudden change?"

"I supported you before because I was afraid you would feel like you couldn't stand on your own two feet without your parents. But look at you now, you're working, supporting your family, and you can handle everything—you've already established yourself."

"The fact that your life is getting better and better proves that you don't need to rely on your family to live well. That's why I think it's time to make peace."

She had already considered these words repeatedly in her mind.

"If that's the case, then we're already capable of living on our own, so there's no need for me to apologize. I have no intention of asking them for help."

"This isn't about relying on your family. It's about the two people who gave you life and raised you."

"And—I'm pregnant. Can you really bear to let the child never even see their grandparents?"

Li Guoxiong remained silent for a long time before finally nodding.

At eight o'clock that evening, in Wen Keyi's bedroom, he knelt before his father, Li Wenguo, his voice low and steady:

"Dad, I was wrong. I shouldn't have talked back to you, shouldn't have made you angry, and I shouldn't have gone to get the marriage certificate without your approval."

"Father, please... spare me this time."

Li Wenguo kept a straight face and didn't even lift his eyelids.

Wen Keyi, sitting next to him, quickly tried to smooth things over: "Sir, look, Guoxiong really knows he was wrong this time, and he spoke the truth. Please let him off this time."

"Even husbands and wives quarrel in bed and make up before they get out of bed, let alone fathers and sons? They've been at odds for so many days, their anger should have subsided by now."

But Li Wenguo wasn't buying it at all, and scoffed, "Calm down? Calm down what? I still have a rock stuck in my stomach!"

Turning to stare at Li Guoxiong, she abruptly stood up, her finger jabbing straight at his chest: "Weren't you so tough? What, now you've learned to bow your head? Is this how you apologize? You think you can get away with a forced smile?"

Finally, he shouted sternly, "Kneel down!"

Li Guoxiong lowered his head slightly, and when he heard this, he looked up and saw his father staring intently at him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his mother standing behind his father, quietly gesturing a "kneel" sign to the ground. Without hesitation, he lowered his knees and knelt down.

Li Wenguo then sat down, his expression softening slightly, and said, "Let's start again, and talk properly."

Li Guoxiong then repeated what he had just said, word for word.

He knew in his heart that since he was going to kneel, he should kneel completely; kneeling to his parents was not shameful.

After listening, Li Wenguo nodded slightly.

With many sons, the rules must be stricter—otherwise, they won't be able to be controlled.

Ultimately, this old father has never stopped worrying.

"You have to kneel here for a full hour before this matter is considered closed."

Without punishment, how can there be discipline? Without discipline, how can there be rules?

He stood up and said to Wen Keyi, "Come on, let's go see your sister."

Wen Keyi glanced at her son kneeling on the ground and secretly rolled her eyes.

She knew perfectly well that this meant she and her sister were being asked to "serve" the master.

Before leaving, she lowered her voice and added, "Guoxiong, once you've knelt down enough times, you can go back on your own."

The meaning couldn't be clearer—that's enough. Nobody's watching you, so don't just stand there dumbfounded for the full sixty minutes.

She knew Li Wenguo too well: as long as the two sisters were around, he would never stop until two hours had passed.

……

Time flies by.

Li Guoxiong was stubborn; he stood up straight with his knees on the ground for a full sixty minutes before getting up and going home.

In Wen Keren's room.

Halftime break.

The two sisters leaned against Li Wenguo, one on each side.

He had one person on each side, his arms steady and strong.

"Sir, when will Guoyu be able to take the position of the head of the garment factory?" Wen Keren asked.

She dared not relax for a moment when it came to her son's future.

"You wish!" Li Wenguo scoffed. "You were just promoted to deputy factory director last year, barely settled in, and you're already eyeing the full-time position?"

"You've got some nerve—do you think you're in charge of the Guo family now?"

"I'll leave you with this: he won't be able to touch that official position before he's thirty-eight."

Li Guoyu was promoted very quickly.

Eight years ago, I was just a clerk. Then I became a section chief, deputy section chief, section chief, deputy division chief, division chief, and last year I was promoted directly to deputy director-general. Even a rocket couldn't propel me that fast.

In just one year, Wen Keren has already asked for the factory director's chair. She really dares to ask for such a thing!

He's only thirty-two this year, a real greenhorn in the government-run factory system.

"Sir, I was just asking casually. Besides, Guotai became the factory manager at thirty-five?"

Wen Keren pouted, her words laced with sarcasm.

Li Wenguo glanced at her sideways: "Can you even compare? Back then, Guotai's factory was a joint public-private enterprise; it was a very murky place. You'd be promoted to section-level cadre right away. What makes Guoyu think he can compare?"

Wen Keyi chimed in, "Sister, these days, resources are one thing, but seniority is an absolute hurdle. That's the rule; there's no circumventing it."

She knew in her heart that her sister was becoming increasingly blatant in her behavior—two years ago, she sent her second son to Hong Kong to "help with the business," and it was obvious to everyone that she was trying to secure a share before the family division; now she was rushing to fight for her eldest son's position, which was too unseemly and would annoy her father sooner or later.

Wen Keren shut up as soon as her sister pointed at her.

But then her eyes darted around, and she remembered her third son, his hand, painted with a bold, dark red nail polish, had already slipped down...

A moment later, the familiar, long and intense battle song rang out again in the room.

Since Li Guoxiong has already admitted his mistake and been punished, and since his father Li Wenguo has relented, he should naturally be given the respect he deserves.

So they let him choose for himself: a newly allocated apartment or a small courtyard house in Mao'er Hutong.

Li Guoxiong had already made his plans—to gain a foothold in officialdom, the deeper his network of connections, the better. He chose the small courtyard.

That was No. 7 Mao'er Hutong, right next to the homes of Li Guoyu, Li Guozhi, and Li Guojiang, making them true neighbors.

As Zhao Ziying dragged her suitcase across the threshold of No. 7 Courtyard, she heard people explain who her neighbors were. Her heart skipped a beat, and she stood there stunned for a long time.

It turns out that her husband, Li Guoxiong, had been faking it all these years! Despite being born into a prominent family, he insisted on pretending to be a child from an ordinary family, keeping his mouth shut even before and after marriage—rich kids really love playing this trick of hiding dragons and crouching tigers.

"Guojiang, a newlywed couple moved into Courtyard No. 7 today. What's your relationship with them?"

As night fell, in courtyard number six, Cui Jingjing gently massaged Li Guojiang's shoulders and neck with her fingertips, her voice as soft as honey, yet with a hook in it.

She was pregnant and had long since stopped having sex. Seeing that the young couple was about the same age as her husband, she figured they weren't some high-ranking elder or relative, so she didn't rush to visit. Logically speaking, since she was the one who moved in first, it was only proper to wait for the other party to come and pay their respects first—whoever settled in first would have the "first place in terms of status."

"Yes, I checked. It's Guoxiong, the same age as me."

"By the way, they actually got their marriage certificate even earlier than us, but they had a falling out with his father years ago and were kicked out of the house. They probably admitted their mistake this time and that's why they were brought back."

Upon hearing this, Cui Jingjing pursed her lips impassively, her heart sinking. Another son disliked by his father-in-law? Her interest vanished almost entirely.

She knew perfectly well that Li Wenguo would only turn a blind eye if Li Guojiang married her, a widow. To kick his own son out of the house meant he had committed a truly heinous crime.

"Oh, right... Guoxiong's biological mother is Aunt Wen."

"That's your very, very, very boss."

Cui Jingjing stiffened, sat up abruptly, and a sharp light flashed in her eyes.

The following night, she took a box of peach shortbread and knocked on the door of No. 7 Courtyard.

When Li Guojiang mentioned Wen Keyi's name yesterday, she couldn't sit still any longer. These days, if you don't seize the opportunity, it will never come your way.

Unfortunately, Li Guoxiong was changing his shoes and preparing to go out to visit someone. They nodded and exchanged a few pleasantries before passing each other.

Zhao Ziying came out to greet them, and the two politely exchanged names. Cui Jingjing didn't linger and turned to point out the other five households in the courtyard to Zhao Ziying: "Number three on the east side is Guoyu and his wife, number five on the west side is Guozhi, number four diagonally opposite is Guojiang's family, and numbers two, eight... they are all our relatives."

As Zhao Ziying listened, her palms became slightly damp.

Of the five households, the highest-ranking official reached the provincial-level position, while the lowest-ranking official was a division-level cadre with real power.

It turned out that I had stepped into a real government compound!

Upon further reflection—the last time my mother-in-law came to our door, it turned out to be the deputy director of the Education Bureau!

Zhao Ziying stood in the courtyard, a silent, bitter smile on her face.

Her parents and brother were always snobbish and eager to marry her into a family that grew up in a government compound. They looked down on Li Guoxiong because he "had no background" and "no connections." Little did they know that he was actually a true "direct descendant of the compound."

Ugh!

Father, Mother, Brother... who exactly did you push away with your own hands?

She knew in her heart how cold her family had been to her back then. Although Li Guoxiong wouldn't hold a grudge now, he would never lend them a hand again.

Cui Jingjing didn't stay long. After chatting for about half an hour, she got up to say goodbye.