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

In their eyes, Li Wenguo and his two companions were like fish on a chopping board, to be chopped into pieces or minced as they pleased.

Wen San immediately flew into a rage and was about to rush forward to kick the spitting bastard over.

Li Wenguo reached out and pressed down on his shoulder.

This group of people were clearly prepared, lying in wait to ambush someone—it's better to find out who's behind them before taking action.

"We're complete strangers, who ordered this?" He asked calmly, yet with a heavy tone.

"Wow, those who've studied abroad are really shrewd!"

"I was originally planning to give you the font size after I finished typing, but since you asked, I might as well tell you—"

"Someone wants one of your legs and one of your arms, and to deliver a message: stay away from Miss Xu. Otherwise, next time it will be your life."

"Did you understand?"

The leader raised his chin, his face full of smugness.

That's it!

Someone has their eye on Mavis Hee!

No wonder she was so desperate to escape the Xu family!

Have I been dragged into this?

Li Wenguo suddenly understood, but he also felt a sense of frustration.

So, my one arm and one leg are only worth 60,000 silver dollars?

I'm worth millions, yet I've become a discounted item on clearance?

"Brother, who's behind this? Why don't you give me a hint?" he asked casually.

It's most likely the Xu family did it, but we can't rule out the possibility that some madman went crazy.

"Oh!"

"Do you still want to find out who did it?"

"Pooh!"

"This piece of trash we can't even handle dares to seek revenge?"

The leader's face was full of disdain, and his spittle almost landed on Li Wenguo's face.

"Hahaha!"

"Hahaha!"

The others joined in the commotion, their laughter shrill and unrestrained.

Li Wenguo's face suddenly darkened.

Wen San and Wu Xiaogou were already bulging with veins, just waiting for the order to knock all these bastards to the ground.

"Damn it, a bunch of scum from a pile of bedbugs—go! One leg and one arm for each of them, go straight for the joints! I'll make them crawl on crutches for the rest of their lives!"

Before the words were even finished, Wen San and Wu Xiaogou had already drawn their Browning pistols from their waists with lightning speed.

They couldn't wait any longer.

hiss--!!!

Sixty-one

The dozen or so thugs were taken aback at first, then they all gasped in shock.

gun!

They actually brought a gun!

"No, no, no! Please don't fire!"

"The moment you pull the trigger, the patrol officers will be there!"

The leader tried to remain calm, but his voice was weak and he shouted in a fierce but cowardly tone.

"We're from the Flying Eagle Gang! We have hundreds of brothers. If you dare lay a finger on one of our heads today—you'll all be dead!"

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, I'll just sever your tendons."

Li Wenguo stared at him, his tone as calm as if he were asking what to have for dinner.

"Even if you cripple us, the Flying Eagle Gang will never..."

"shot!"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Wenguo interrupted him sharply.

boom!

boom!

boom!

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen figures collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.

His kneecaps and elbows were precisely pierced by bullets, shattering his tendons and veins.

Even if he is sent to the hospital and a steel plate is inserted, he will never be able to walk properly or raise his arm steadily for the rest of his life.

"Kid, you're finished! The Flying Eagle Gang will chop you into mincemeat and grind your bones into powder, then scatter them into the moat!"

"I'm going to smash your limbs piece by piece, so you'll suffer while you live..."

"Noisy."

Li Wenguo frowned and tilted his head towards Wen San: "Kill him."

Without saying a word, Wen San raised his gun and pointed it directly at the man's skull.

The other party's face turned ashen instantly, his knees buckled, and he scrambled to his feet, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Taking advantage of the situation, Li Wenguo pressed further, asking, "Who sent you?"

"The Xu family! It was the Xu family who instigated this! It really is the Xu family!"

"I'll tell you! I'll tell you! Spare me! Please spare me!"

It really is the Xu family.

Li Wenguo's gaze darkened slightly, and he asked again, "Which branch of the Xu family? It can't be that the entire family is eyeing Xu Meijing, can it?"

He had already thoroughly investigated the situation—the Xu family was deeply entrenched, with powerful connections in the municipal government, influence in the military, and power in the business world. It was not something that any one person could easily control.

"This...this is truly unclear! It was the gang leader who gave the order! If Master Li wants to get to the bottom of this, he'll have to ask the gang leader himself!"

"What's your gang leader's name?"

"Master Li, I know the Flying Eagle Gang well—the gang leader, Zhu Mancai, has his stronghold in the Houhai area."

Wen San suddenly interrupted.

He came from the underworld; back when he was a dockworker, he'd met all sorts of people, and he could tell you about 70-80% of the names, territories, and backgrounds of all the big and small gangs in Beijing.

Li Wenguo glanced at him sideways and nodded, saying, "Not bad, you're quite well-informed."

"Hehe, back when I was a porter at the docks carrying sacks, everyone in that line of work had to pay respects to the local leaders. Over time, everyone knew who was in charge of which area and who made their living from which job."

Wu Xiaogou nodded in agreement: "That's right, Master Li, the Flying Eagle Gang is now a well-known gang in Beijing. I heard they just expanded to almost 500 people a couple of days ago."

Li Wenguo glanced at him sideways—no need to ask, this kid must also be from the docks.

"Hmph! Do you even need to tell us? Our Flying Eagle Gang surpassed the 500 mark five days ago! We're practically the kingpins of the capital! You lot dare to slap us in the face? You're asking for trouble!"

When his gang was mentioned, the man straightened his back and his voice became a bit louder.

"Mr. Li, should we silence him forever?"

Wen San spoke coldly.

The man immediately gritted his teeth, sweating profusely from the pain, but dared not utter a sound.

Beep—beep—beep—

A piercing whistle cut through the air; the patrol officers had arrived.

The man's eyes lit up, and he yelled at the top of his lungs, "Captain Wang! Captain Zhang!! We've been waiting for you!"

"These three men were armed and attacked! They maimed more than a dozen of our people in broad daylight!"

"Hand them handcuffed and take them away! Execution would be too lenient!"

He preemptively turned the tables, portraying the perpetrator as the victim and the defender as a thug.

The other thugs, ignoring their own pain, chimed in with a cacophony of shouts: "Thank goodness you arrived in time! Any later and we'd all be dead in the street!"

"Yeah, yeah!!!"

They were certain that Li Wenguo and his two companions were doomed this time.

But the next second, they were all dumbfounded—

The patrol captain leading the team didn't even glance at them, walking straight through the crowd and quickly reaching Li Wenguo, bowing extremely low, his voice full of respect:

"Master Li!"

"Oh, Captain Kong is here?"

The person who arrived was Kong Wu.

Having only been in the police station for a month, he was quickly promoted to the position of patrol captain for the area where Li Wenguo lived.

"Master Li, you flatter me! Just call me Kong Wu, as always!"

Kong Wu scratched the back of his head with a wry smile.

Everything he had was paved by Li Wenguo himself. He carried this kindness in his heart and always kept a low profile, like the green bricks under the eaves, never daring to raise his head in the slightest.

So when Li Wenguo made a joke, he couldn't even manage a smile, let alone reply with anything that crossed the line.

"Alright, alright."

"Kong Wu, these dozen or so hooligans are blocking the alley entrance with iron bars. It's obvious they're after your lives and your money—my men are just brandishing their knives to protect themselves."

Li Wenguo changed the subject, his tone becoming serious.

"What?!"

Kong Wu's spine tightened, his hair stood on end, and ignoring the last faint red glow on the horizon, he turned and roared at the thugs lying haphazardly on the ground, "In broad daylight, how dare you bastards commit murder and robbery in the street? Do you really think we patrol officers are just paper signs? Drag them away! Take them back to the station for a thorough interrogation!"

"yes!!!"

"yes!!!"

Five or six patrol officers, quick-witted and agile, recognized that even their superiors had to bow and address this man as "Master Li," so they dared not be negligent. They responded in unison, swiftly handcuffed him, and dragged him away.

The thugs bared their teeth and cursed, shouting things like "officials protect each other" and "black eats black," spitting everywhere.

Li Wenguo leaned close to Kong Wu's ear and whispered, "Later, give your men some real stuff, understand?"

If you want people to follow you wholeheartedly, you can't just scare them; you have to share the profits.

"Don't worry, Mr. Li, I know what I'm doing!"

Kong Wu had spent a month at the police station and had thoroughly figured out the ins and outs of the job.

"Let's follow the trail and find out who's been sabotaging me."

Kong Wu nodded vigorously, then turned and led his men away.

These scoundrels probably won't see the sun rise tomorrow.

The clone "Yang Zhengde" will be charged with "attempted murder" and imprisoned in a high-security cell, where his wounds will not be bandaged and his medicine will not be delivered.

Once the pus and blood have spread and the high fever has burned through the bones, there will naturally be fewer mouths to feed in the prison.

Not long after, Li Wenguo stepped into his home.

He first ordered Wen San and others to increase the number of sentries and tighten the guards, and then stepped through the courtyard gate.

In the hall, He Shuting held the baby, Xianglan leaned to the side, and Hongyu, whose belly was slightly protruding, was also very close. The three of them chattered around the swaddled baby, as lively as a flock of sparrows on a spring branch. Only Dong Haitang sat quietly in the corner, as if separated from the warm light by an invisible wall.

Li Wenguo glanced at her and saw that her back was straight, like a gun that refused to bend, standing alone outside the noise.

He felt a slight stirring in his heart, but did not step forward.

After all, Dong Haitang was as proud as a snow-capped plum blossom, aloof and untouched by worldly affairs; and she brought a substantial dowry with her when she entered the family, always disdaining to associate with He Shuting, Xianglan, and Hongyu.

Even though He Shuting was the legally wedded wife, she treated her as nothing more than a decoration under the eaves.

Over time, the three of them became united and subtly pushed her further and further away.

Of course, Dong Haitang didn't care about their enthusiasm at all.

"Sir, you're back!"

Hongyu, with her sharp eyes, rushed forward as soon as she saw the figure, deftly took the coat, and lightly touched his wrist with her fingertips.

"Everyone's here? Hurry, hurry, let's eat!"

Li Wenguo smiled and squeezed the back of her hand, his voice filled with familiar intimacy.

He truly adored her plump and charming body.

Hongyu gave him a playful glare, but her eyes held a captivating mix of shyness and allure, making it hard to tell whether she was annoyed or flirting.

Xiao Cui and Xiao Ju immediately lifted the food lid, set out the bowls and chopsticks, and took the child from He Shuting and Xiang Lan's arms. The family then sat down around the table.

Dinner was prepared by the elderly cook hired by the Gu family.

While it cannot compare to imperial banquets and meals, it is substantial and spacious.

Four kinds of meat dishes—fish, duck, pork, and beef—were prepared, with the Bianyifang roast duck glistening and crispy, its aroma filling the air. Four dishes of vegetables were refreshing, the ginseng chicken soup was bubbling with golden foam, and the seafood soup was topped with shrimp slices—a total of ten dishes, steaming hot and piled up on the entire octagonal table.

Dong Haitang was the first to put down her chopsticks.

She didn't say a word the whole time, just kept her head down and ate her rice. Her movements were quick and efficient, unlike Xianglan who would always put a piece of braised duck leg in his bowl, or Hongyu who would smile and scoop up a spoonful of soup, blow on it to cool it down, and hand it to him.

People with a background in espionage always eat as fast as the wind, swallowing their food in a few bites, pushing their bowls away and getting up from their seats, rarely even uttering the words "I'm done eating."

"snort!"

"Disrespectful to elders, lacking in manners!"

He Shuting slammed her chopsticks on the rim of the bowl with a "smack," causing the soup to splash lightly.

"Oh, no, no, no, we don't do these formalities in our family."