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

As soon as he left the hospital, his brows furrowed slightly.

I just casually asked, "Ziying, are you planning to stay home or go to work?"

The other person answered readily: "If it's convenient, I'd like to go to work."

These words were like a fine needle, piercing Cui Jingjing's heart.

Zhao Ziying's mother-in-law is Wen Keyi—the deputy director of the Education Bureau, wielding considerable power. If she were to enter the education system, wouldn't Wen Keyi prioritize her daughter-in-law's career? Promotion would be a natural progression.

Then her path will be narrowed.

As soon as she entered courtyard number six, she immediately called out to Li Guojiang: "Guojiang, I need to discuss something with you."

"explain."

Li Guojiang was bent over the table carving a piece of boxwood. The carving knife moved swiftly, and the outline began to emerge—a foal with its head down, drinking water. It was the first gift he had prepared for his child.

But when Cui Jingjing glanced at him, she saw only calmness on his face, no expectation, and not a trace of fervent fatherly love. There was, however, a fleeting hint of weariness across his brow.

She had asked him about his plans before. He said, "I just want a peaceful life, to make a cup of tea, read the newspaper, and live a quiet life."

Well, a salted fish lying completely flat.

She immediately understood that this person lacked the drive to climb higher, and there was no way to help him up.

To put it bluntly—it's like trying to plaster mud on a wall.

From that day on, she had no hope for him anymore.

Now, she has to walk her own path, step by step, relying solely on herself.

"I just went to Guoxiong's house for a while. His wife, Zhao Ziying, was chatting with me and said she wants to work in the future too. I was thinking, why don't you go to Guotai's place tomorrow and ask the steel rolling mill if they can make room for her?"

Cui Jingjing spoke in a plain tone, as if she were recounting an ordinary matter.

She didn't ask any relatives in her own courtyard for help, because she was afraid that if she spoke out, her little scheme would be exposed.

"Isn't Aunt Wen the deputy director of the Jade Bureau? Just let her handle it casually, why are you getting involved?"

Li Guojiang frowned, feeling that this was a complete waste of time.

People who want to work have their own ways; it's not your place to arrange it, yet you're still eagerly trying to get involved. What are you trying to achieve?

"What exactly constitutes 'busywork'? I've thought about it..."

She explained her thoughts one by one.

You're overthinking it.

Li Guojiang curled his lip, not agreeing at all.

After all, he was only nineteen years old, had little experience of the world, and only had a superficial understanding of human nature. How could he compare to Cui Jingjing—a person who had stood on the podium for many years, whose words carried weight, and whose mind was full of wisdom?

"Guojiang, you can't go wrong by listening to me."

"Oh, really, there's no need to go to so much trouble! Besides, it would be too much trouble for Brother Guotai!"

Li Guojiang hesitated, clearly unwilling to agree.

"What's the problem? Tell me."

Upon hearing this, Cui Jingjing's face darkened, and her tone hardened, just like when she used to stand in front of the classroom taking attendance.

"When you ask someone for a favor, isn't it troublesome?"

He noticed her expression harden, and immediately recalled the moment he was suddenly called on in class. His heart tightened, and his tongue almost tied in knots.

"What's the trouble? He's your older brother. It's only natural for a younger brother to talk to his older brother."

The voice grew even colder.

"But……"

He had barely opened his mouth when she cut him off: "No buts. Tomorrow morning, go find Uncle Guotai and ask him to make arrangements. If there are no vacancies at the factory, ask those guys in his yard—don't leave any out."

"Sigh... Fine then!!!"

He bowed his head in agreement, his shoulders slumping slightly.

snort!

What a coward!

Cui Jingjing sneered inwardly, a hint of pleasure rising within her.

"Come on, let's get on the boat—it's yours tonight."

A slap followed by a treat—she was very familiar with this tactic. Just like how Xu Yaling manipulated Li Guofang, it was nothing new.

Li Guojiang immediately perked up and jogged to bed.

On the other end.

Li Wenguo took out a jade-colored pill from his spatial storage—round and translucent, like solidified fat and frozen snow. He put the pill into clear water, gently swirled the cup, and in just a few breaths, the pill had dissolved completely, leaving the water as clear as ever.

This is the Youth Preservation Pill, the only unlocked fantasy pill recipe in the Jade Upgrade System Shop. To refine a second one, you need to add jade, and it can only be obtained through jade exchange.

Take it, and for fifty years your appearance will remain youthful, your skin will remain as youthful as ever, and your physical strength will remain constant.

In this world, it would be a truly miraculous medicine.

He stared at the seemingly ordinary glass of water, which had in fact altered his destiny, and muttered to himself:

"Should we buy a private island first?"

—Since the goal is to keep all women looking young forever, it's inevitable that the deception will eventually come out. It's better to prepare an escape route early: build an island, and after a decade or so, take them all over, isolating them from the world.

Just then, He Shuting, dressed in an eye-catching nightgown, gracefully emerged from the bathroom and sat directly in his lap.

"Sir, I'm all better!"

The meaning is clear: you can board the ship now.

"Wait a moment, have some water first."

He handed over the cup of water infused with cinnabar.

He Shuting winked at him, then tilted her head back and drank it all in one gulp.

Li Wenguo observed her reaction discreetly.

"Sir, this water feels strange... I feel much better after drinking it?" She frowned slightly.

"Hehe, this isn't ordinary water. In a minute, it'll make you so happy you won't even remember your own name."

"Ugh... I hate it!"

She thought it was some kind of entertainment, her ears turned slightly red, and she lightly traced a line on his chest with her fingertip.

He scooped her up in his arms and turned to leave.

Six months have passed.

Let's jump to 69.

Three months ago, Cen Weiwei was outmaneuvered by Li Guolei and gave birth to a daughter.

Late that night, the master bedroom was dimly lit.

She held the swaddled baby girl, leaned against the headboard, and looked at Li Guolei as she spoke:

"Jinzhi has been working for three months now. Shouldn't you transfer your work to me?"

"How old is your child? Can't you stay home with her for a few more months? At least wait until she's weaned before transferring the job to you—it's not like we won't give it to you, what's the rush? Can't you even endure a few months?"

Li Guolei spoke in a harsh tone, his brows slightly furrowed.

After spending time with her, he quickly saw through Cen Weiwei: she only cared about interests and calculated gains and losses. All that enthusiasm she had back in school, giving speeches and participating in volunteer activities—wasn't it genuine? She was clearly after the children of high-ranking officials, aiming to get into the government compound and climb the social ladder. Even that "military partner" was a complete fabrication, a way to use him as a sucker.

If he had known earlier, Li Guolei would never have agreed to marry her.

But it's too late now—she's already his wife, and she's pregnant. What's done is done, and he has no choice but to accept it.

Fortunately, this pregnancy also completely extinguished her hopes of marrying into the family compound. No matter how beautiful a second-hand wife is, the compound won't open a crack in the door for you.

Cen Weiwei herself understood the situation perfectly well.

"Can't you take care of it? Feed it formula during the day, and I'll breastfeed it when I get back at night."

She was pretty, but her family was poor; her parents were ordinary workers. These days, a permanent position in the factory was more precious than gold, and her family had no connections to help her get one.

Seeing her peers getting stable jobs one by one, she felt envious even though she didn't say it.

Snobbish people, besides currying favor with the powerful, also care about face and showing off, always wanting others to look up to them and praise them. For her, having an employee status was proof that she could stand tall with her head held high.

"Think carefully. Once you have a job, you can't sleep in whenever you want. You'll have to cycle to and from get off work every day, and you'll have to do whatever the factory assigns you. You won't have any say in what you do."

Li Guolei offered this reminder.

"Alright, alright, isn't that what being an employee is all about?"

"Besides, that's a clerk position, not someone swinging a sledgehammer in a factory. You sign a few documents, fill out a few reports, and then spend the rest of your time making a cup of tea and flipping through the newspaper. Everyone knows that, right?"

Cen Weiwei waved her hand, her tone revealing impatience.

Li Guolei had promised her that he would give up his job after she gave birth, and he had no intention of going back on his word.

The next morning, he entrusted the child to Xu Yaling downstairs and then took Cen Weiwei to the thermos factory.

It's the kind of old-fashioned thermos flask you can still occasionally see in hospitals in later generations—a glass liner, a bamboo woven shell, and a tightly fitting wooden stopper at the spout.

Nowadays, in cities and rural areas, every household has at least one, and often more, a cabinet full of them.

Therefore, this factory is now a well-known large factory, with a daily output of over 10,000 units, and its products are distributed to supply and marketing cooperatives across the country.

Li Guolei's older sister, Li Jinghan, is the deputy director of the factory, a deputy director-level cadre.

If it weren't for the fact that having a baby delayed her for a few years, she would have been promoted to the rank of director-general by now, at the age of thirty-eight.

However, the procedures for job replacement are not under the jurisdiction of the deputy factory director; you have to go to the office director to handle them.

The two quickly arrived at the door of the director's office.

"Hello Director Li, I brought my spouse here today to handle the job transfer."

Li Guolei spoke first.

"Hey, Xiao Li? What's wrong? You were doing your job perfectly fine, why are you suddenly transferring it to your partner?"

Director Li greeted us with a smile. He was in his early forties, slightly balding on top, with a round and oily face. When he smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, with almost no whites visible.

It was Cen Weiwei's first time meeting a division-level cadre, and she was initially a little reserved, but she was taken aback by how easygoing the other party was.

It's just processing paperwork for a regular clerk, why all the enthusiasm?

It's far from the "leader's authority" and "awe-inspiring presence without anger" that we usually hear about.

"No problem, she just wants to go to work, so I'll let her have it, it's that simple. Director Li, could you please handle this for me?"

"After I finish this, I still need to take her to Deputy Factory Director Li's office."

Having long seen through Cen Weiwei's snobbishness and greed, Li Guolei had never mentioned their family relationship to her—fearing that she would become even more pretentious if she knew, and also fearing that her appetite would grow ever larger.

But now that she's been laid off, she's probably going to take advantage of it.

We need to reveal the older sister's identity first, so she can weigh her own worth.

"Okay, sure! Comrade Li, I'll get right on it!"

Director Li deftly pulled out several forms, handed them over to be filled out, signed, and fingerprinted, and finally stamped with a bright red seal—the formalities were complete.

Then, Li Guolei led Cen Weiwei toward the deputy factory director's office.

"Why did you bring me here?"

Director Li was the highest-ranking leader Cen Weiwei had ever met. Now she was going to meet an even more senior figure, and a slight ripple of excitement stirred within her. However, that excitement was quickly suppressed by a heavy sense of nervousness.

You'll see when you get there.

The words had barely left his mouth when the person arrived.

The two pushed open the door to the deputy factory director's office.

Li Jinghan was thirty-eight years old, but she looked like she had just turned thirty. Her eyes were bright and her demeanor composed; every gesture exuded an undeniable authority that made people instinctively hold their breath. "Guolei? What brings you here?"

She gave Li Guolei a slight smile, then turned her gaze to Cen Weiwei.

This deputy factory director... has such a good temper?

Why are all the managers at this thermos factory so gentle and kind?

Cen Weiwei was secretly puzzled.