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

"Sister Jinghan, this is my husband. I promised her before that I would give her my job after she gave birth. I brought her here today to complete the formalities, and they're all done."

Li Guolei spoke calmly and clearly.

Upon hearing this, Li Jinghan's eyebrows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She understood—hidden beneath those words was an exchange, a calculation.

His gaze immediately turned cold, sweeping directly at Cen Weiwei.

Cen Weiwei's heart tightened.

The words "Sister Jinghan" hit her like a pebble, catching her off guard: So they were that close? But before she could think about it, that gaze swept over her like a thin blade, her back stiffened, and her palms became slightly damp.

"Sister Jinghan, Weiwei has never done this job before. Please bear with her if anything is not done properly."

Li Guolei added another sentence.

"Don't worry, Guolei, you're my own brother, and Weiwei is my sister-in-law. I'll naturally keep a close eye on the matter you entrusted to me."

Li Jinghan's lips curled slightly, her words carrying weight and meaning.

Cen Weiwei could certainly hear the unspoken meaning – this was revealing her hand and also handing over her backing.

She was stunned for a moment: it turned out that the deputy factory director was her husband's older sister! No wonder Director Li smiled at her so warmly, it turned out that there was this relationship between them all along!

But this time, she couldn't be "snobbish" at all.

On the contrary, Li Jinghan's words subtly changed her attitude towards Li Guolei—it became more speculative and less certain.

"Guolei, do you want me to give you another seat?"

These words were like a needle, pricking her until she belatedly realized the pain.

If she had known this path would be so smooth, why did she force Li Guolei to step down?

She was afraid he would find her annoying, afraid she would seem too calculating, and also risked being looked down upon...

Why don't you just ask for one directly?

State-run restaurant.

Li Guobiao is now the head of the publicity department.

The blind date this time was a real daughter of a leader—the only daughter of the director of the office of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, a girl from a proper division-level cadre family.

It wasn't a "fake" that Xu Damao paid to hire, nor was it a superficial project done by asking someone to pull strings.

It was through Xu Damao's connections with seven or eight matchmakers that the final choice was made after careful screening and questioning.

"Hello, my name is Li Guobiao. I am the head of the publicity department at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. My monthly salary is a little over 110 yuan."

This time, he stood up straight, his voice was clear, and even his breathing had a long-lost sense of ease.

He was born in 1943 and is 26 years old this year. He is truly one of the best among his peers to be able to sit in the position of section chief in the factory.

His father had been trying to find him a wife for two years, but after being persuaded by Xu Damao and then being given the cold shoulder twice, he gritted his teeth and turned down the marriage arranged by his family, insisting on waiting until he got a promotion and had more leverage before talking about it.

And so the wait has continued until today.

"Hello, my name is Duan Yunyun, and I work in an office at the Municipal Public Security Bureau."

Duan Yunyun has regular features, speaks calmly and slowly, and has clear eyes when she nods.

But a line had already been quietly drawn in her heart: This person in front of her was far too flamboyant, with an uncontrollable arrogance between his brows.

That's right—Li Guobiao's triumphant arrogance was seen by her as conceit and domineering.

If he knew, he would probably smile wryly: He had just made it through the tough times and wanted to stand tall for once, but how did it become a negative point?

Afterwards, as usual, the two chatted about their family backgrounds, interests, and personalities.

When Li Guobiao learned that Duan Yunyun's father was indeed a powerful division-level cadre in the bureau, with a stable family background and solid connections, and seeing that she herself was dignified, generous, and outstanding in appearance, he had already tacitly agreed to the marriage.

What about Duan Yunyun?

I had no objection to his appearance or position, but I found the "smugness" in his expression somewhat irritating.

When he introduced himself, he said his salary was higher than mine and his position was also one level higher, so he couldn't help but sound very proud of himself.

Duan Yunyun had already harbored prejudices against him, thinking that he was a petty person who had suddenly become powerful and was full of self-satisfaction, which inevitably made her more distant.

However, this is not the society of decades to come.

An ordinary young man with no connections or backing was able to climb to the position of section chief in just a few years, faster and more steadily than she, who had her parents' support—even if she was a little arrogant, it was understandable.

And so the two of them officially became a couple.

The next morning, Li Guobiao went to work at the steel rolling mill as usual. As soon as he entered, Xu Damao, dressed neatly and in high spirits, greeted him: "Guobiao, how did the date go last night?" He glanced at Li Guobiao's smiling face and lighter steps, and he was already seven or eight parts confident.

Sure enough, Li Guobiao nodded with a smile: "It's settled, Yunyun has agreed to date me."

"Haha, I knew it! Now that you're a section chief, who would dare to be arrogant or speak coldly to you? It's just that when you're in a higher position, you speak with more authority!"

Li Guobiao nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, feeling reassured. His two colleagues had been treated differently after their promotions, and now that it was his turn, he could finally hold his head high.

For the first time, he truly experienced the weight of power: it wasn't intangible, but rather the extra bow when someone offered him a cigarette, or the extra two minutes of speaking time given during a meeting.

Xu Damao changed the subject and asked, "Guobiao, after you get married, do you have any other plans in mind?"

He was quite familiar with this question, after all, thanks to Li Guobiao's promotion, he was now the deputy head of the propaganda department, managing several clerks under his command. His salary had increased, and he had gained considerable prestige. Having tasted the sweetness of success, he naturally wanted to climb even higher.

Li Guobiao scratched his head: "The next step... isn't that deputy director of the office? That's deputy division chief level. I'm afraid I can't handle that."

He didn't say it outright, but he knew in his heart: when he was deputy section chief last year, Xu Damao took on all the work; this year, when he was promoted to section chief, Xu Damao still handled all the affairs, big and small—if he really became deputy director, who would protect him?

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately sensed the lack of substance in the words and his heart skipped a beat: If you don't take the job, how can I become a section chief?

His mind raced, trying to figure out how to give this fish, which was used to lying flat, another push.

In the blink of an eye, he had an idea. He patted Li Guobiao on the shoulder and said, "Don't be afraid, I'm here! I'll take care of things for you. You just need to oversee things and I won't let you be too busy."

He paused, then lowered his voice: "Besides, Yunyun's father is a section-level cadre, two ranks higher than you. If she keeps bringing this up after you get married, will you have any say in the family? Are you going to have to live at her beck and call?"

……

Li Guobiao shook his head vigorously: "That won't do!"

"That's right! You need to be at least at the division level for her to dare use her position to pressure you. Don't you think that makes sense?"

"Yes, yes, Brother Da Mao is right."

Li Guobiao agreed readily, and the little bit of hesitation in his heart unknowingly dissipated.

Xu Damao smiled slightly and nodded.

Later, as Li Guobiao spent more time with Duan Yunyun, he became increasingly aware that something was amiss—she would often casually mention her father's position, her words carrying a certain weight, as if she were weighing whether he, as a section chief, was worthy of the title.

He became increasingly convinced of Xu Damao's words: if this marriage really happened, he would probably be half a head shorter.

He didn't realize that he had wronged Duan Yunyun.

In fact, Duan Yunyun's repeated mentions of her father were not to boast or put him down. She wanted to curb Li Guobiao's smugness—that kind of arrogance that comes with just a little success, making him think he's the most important person in the world.

When a person becomes too complacent, their mind easily becomes rigid, they cannot see the advantages and disadvantages, they cannot listen to reminders, and they are prone to making mistakes.

This kind of mentality is not good for anyone.

That's why she used this method to subtly subtly warn him.

But Li Guobiao didn't think that way.

He turned around and went to his third brother, Li Guotai.

"Brother Guotai, I recently started dating someone. She's quite pretty, and I'd like to marry her as soon as possible. But her dad is a mid-level official, and whenever we chat, the conversation always revolves around this... I'm thinking that after we get married, I'll probably be the one being overshadowed."

He rubbed his hands together, his voice trailing off, "So... could you take another look and see if there's any chance of moving it up a bit?"

Li Guotai nodded: "Oh, is that so?"

After a moment's thought, he frowned and said, "You've only just been promoted to section chief. According to the rules, a deputy director of the office has to serve for two years. You can only be promoted once a year, unless you make a great contribution. Otherwise, there's no exception."

"However, you are currently a section chief, and next year I can promote you to the rank of deputy director—that's the best I can do right now."

Li Guobiao and Duan Yunyun had only been dating for two months when they started planning their marriage.

Ever since Duan Yunyun started mentioning her father, a division-level cadre, Li Guobiao's attitude softened noticeably—his previous arrogance (actually, a long-suppressed desire to finally vent) gradually disappeared. Feeling that her words had worked, she took the opportunity to suggest meeting her parents.

Back then, love wasn't even a concept; even "liking" someone was a rare thing.

As long as men and women find each other pleasing to the eye, they get married, start living together, and live as a couple, as if they are just following a set routine to complete a task.

Behind this is the entire era pushing people forward.

There's no point in going into details, so let's stop here.

Duan Yunyun lived in a small compound belonging to a government agency, where all the residents were division-level cadres. Given her qualifications, marrying into a similar compound would have been a certainty; at the very least, she would have been qualified to live in a larger compound.

But he was stuck on the age difference—twenty-six, the same age as Li Guobiao.

Women of this age usually have two children by now.

Therefore, the criteria for choosing a partner have to be relaxed: either the families are of similar social standing and the man himself is somewhat down-to-earth; or the man is outstanding and his family doesn't need to be too particular.

In the eyes of the Duan family, Li Guobiao belonged to the latter category.

At twenty-six, he was already a section chief, and he wasn't considered outstanding? At thirty, he was promoted to division chief, which, in their view, was just a natural progression.

Duan Yunyun herself was only a deputy section chief.

The meeting went smoothly.

The entire Duan family was satisfied with Li Guobiao—tall and long-legged, with strong features, and there was no other young man in the entire courtyard who was more spirited than him.

This is also why Duan Yunyun can tolerate his occasional arrogance and even take the initiative to help him suppress his arrogance: who wouldn't be attracted to such a handsome man?

Unfortunately, when it was time to meet Li Wenguo, something went wrong.

He went to Hong Kong.

After landing, we transferred to another flight to Nekol Island, an undeveloped and pristine island in the Pacific Ocean.

That's right, the island has been bought by Li Wenguo under the name of the US-based Li Sai Consortium and has become his private property.

He plans to build it into a top-tier resort so that he can bring his wives here to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing time.

After reuniting with Selena, he quietly gave her a youth-preserving pill; the few days he spent touring and sightseeing on the island took a toll on her.

Alex, Alice, and their children have all grown up and taken over important positions in the conglomerate. In recent years, Selena has also frequently stayed in Hong Kong, mainly to keep Li Wenguo company.

Nourished by the essence, she looked no more than thirty years old, with a captivating charm, and her energy and physical strength were at their peak, making Li Wenguo reluctant to let her go.

Although he was unable to meet Duan Yunyun in person, Li Wenguo immediately approved his son's marriage.