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

"Comrade, I made myself very clear just now—they forced me to go to dinner, my colleague only tried to stop them, and they were the ones who started it! What makes you say that?"

She turned to Fan Bin and Xiao Yang and asked urgently, her fingers trembling slightly.

"Using force is wrong. If you have a problem, call the police, not rely on your fists." Fan Bin's tone was harsh, like throwing a stone.

"you--"

"How could you make such a judgment?"

Cao Ying's temper flared up instantly.

How can this person not even distinguish between basic right and wrong?

"I'm looking for your director!" Before she finished speaking, she turned and walked inside.

"stop!"

Fan Bin stepped forward. "The director's office isn't something you can just walk into whenever you want!"

He knew perfectly well that if Duan Youming really met with Li Guoxuan, the case would immediately be overturned.

"My father and Director Duan were old comrades-in-arms. By seniority, I call him uncle. Does a niece have to make an appointment in advance to meet an elder?"

Cao Ying sneered, her eyes piercing Fan Bin's eyes.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she felt—this person was probably just nitpicking.

"The police station is a law enforcement agency, not a marketplace where you can just wander around and chat as you please."

Fan Bin refused to budge. He couldn't see the director; if he did, Li Guoxuan would escape.

"You wait."

Cao Ying glared at him fiercely, then turned and strode out the door.

"Xiao Yang, quickly draft the document!"

Fan Bin chased after him to the door, urging him in a low voice.

We must get the signature finalized before the director gets involved.

Xiao Yang silently shook his head and sat back down at his workstation. He spread out the paper, held the pen, and deliberately slowed down his movements—writing each character stroke by stroke, like carving a monument.

He disapproved of it, but dared not openly oppose it.

Cao Ying rushed into the security room at the entrance, grabbed the phone, and dialed her father, Cao Baoguo: "Dad, call Director Duan right now! Immediately!"

"Xiao Yang! Where's the paperwork? Has it been written yet?"

Fan Bin paced back and forth in the corridor, sweat beading on his forehead.

He knew what Cao Ying was doing outside—she was afraid that Duan Youming would suddenly appear.

"Almost done, almost done."

Xiao Yang had no choice but to pick up his pen and speed up the process.

In less than sixty seconds, the ink on the paper dried.

"Sign! Put your fingerprints on!"

Fan Bin slammed the letter of acknowledgment of responsibility in front of Li Guoxuan, and shoved a ballpoint pen into his hand with a click, his fingertips almost touching the back of Li Guoxuan's hand.

If this were in the old society, they probably would have grabbed his wrist and pressed him down.

Li Guoxuan naturally refused outright.

"Refuse to sign? That's not just about the case anymore—resisting law enforcement and obstructing the investigation, plus two more days of detention, it's a done deal." Fan Bin slammed his pen on the table, his voice low but firm.

Xiao Yang stood to the side, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets, staring blankly at Fan Bin: Is it really necessary? Last time, they didn't convict him because the evidence was insufficient; besides, Li Guoxuan was clearly set up and tricked!

He simply couldn't understand why Fan Bin was so fixated on Li Guoxuan.

"Don't sign!"

"Wait, don't start writing yet!"

Two shouts rang out almost simultaneously—one from the doorway and the other as someone rushed in from the end of the corridor.

It was Duan Youming and Cao Ying.

I almost left my fingerprint on it.

Fan Bin's knuckles turned white, and his fists were clenched tightly.

The moment Duan Youming arrived, the whole situation was turned upside down.

Li Guoxuan not only escaped unharmed, but was also publicly commended for his act of bravery.

Fan Bin was summoned to Duan Tianming's office that very night and given a thorough dressing-down for a full forty minutes.

Li Wenguo found out about this that very evening.

The next morning, the transfer order arrived in Fan Bin's hands—he was to be transferred to Qingyan County and take up his post immediately.

On the day Li Guoxuan returned to his unit, Li Jingye immediately made a decision to promote him one level, citing the reason of "promoting righteousness and encouraging responsibility".

"Bang!!!"

"Fuck your ancestors!"

"You blind bastard!"

"You dare to touch my young master?!"

"He's fucking tired of living!"

Deep in the alley, Xiao Fo, leading a dozen or so men, cornered the thugs who had harassed Cao Ying in the street and then attacked Li Guoxuan, showering them with merciless blows.

Li Guoxuan and Li Guoxian lived in the same courtyard house. The news of the beating that happened on the other side immediately reached Li Guoxian's ears.

The fact that they waited several days before taking action was to wait for the storm to pass and to give the other party ample time to "reflect."

The Li family won't let this go unpunished—only two days of detention for assault? That's too lenient.

Then let's take it back ourselves.

"Little...Little Buddha! Spare me! Please spare me! If you hit me again...I'll really be out of breath!"

The thug who had first rushed up to provoke Cao Ying collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. His face was covered in blood, and his right hand was twisted and crooked, clearly broken.

"Stop."

Little Buddha raised his hand to stop him.

If this continues, the injury will be severe, and no one can save them.

In the old society, people would throw fish into the river to feed them; nowadays, if you don't get medical attention in time, you can still die.

That's enough to convey the message—enough to keep them bedridden for half a year, unable to recover their strength and health, let alone be able to walk around.

He squatted down in front of the man, his face showing neither smile nor anger, and he didn't even lift his eyelids.

There's no need to put on a show when dealing with a few nameless, wandering street urchins.

"From now on, keep your eyes open. You'll know who you can mess with and who you can't mess with. Luckily, I was born in this era. If it were the Republic of China, I'd be drowned in the river and fed to turtles by now."

"Take care of yourself."

After saying this, he stood up, led his men, and left.

From then on, those thugs wouldn't even dare to glance at a woman wearing a skirt—afraid their hands would itch, and even more afraid of breaking their hands.

Afterwards, Xiao Fo led the two people into a narrow alley and stopped in front of an old house with peeling paint and a crooked door frame.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

The door opened, revealing a deeply wrinkled face, her clothes washed until they were gray – Aunt Liu.

Xiao Fo immediately put on a warm smile: "Aunt Liu, we are Xiao Cong's friends."

"Oh...did you need something?" Her voice was dry, and her brow furrowed as if she had been pricked by something.

"Your son did something important for the higher-ups, and the organization remembers it. This is a small token of our appreciation for your family."

He handed over a thick stack of brand-new banknotes, a full thousand yuan.

"This 1,000 yuan is for Xiao Cong. Also, it's been coordinated from above—he'll be back in five years, not ten. Keep the money safe; save it for him to get married and settle down."

She froze when the banknotes were stuffed into her rough palm.

The next second, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears, and her lips trembled.

She had lived for over fifty years and had never even seen a shadow of that thousand yuan.

The hard times are over, and the fiery red light is shining right before our eyes.

She even secretly planned: when Xiao Cong comes out, she might as well let him work with these young people - there's a future for him, and he'll make money!

Qingyan County.

After Li Guoxin became the county magistrate, the first thing he did was to find Tian Tian.

Three months ago, Tian Tian gave birth to a chubby little boy for him, whose face was so tender it looked like you could pinch water out of it.

The moment the child was born, the bond between the two became unbreakable.

As soon as it was time to leave work, he would rush over like the wind, holding the child and playing with him nonstop; at night, he would snuggle up next to Tian Tian, ​​their love tender and affectionate, often forgetting the time and even that he was still a county magistrate.

He had secretly bought the courtyard earlier, and also acquired the old house behind it, carving a hidden door in the middle—making it easy to enter and exit without anyone noticing.

In the end, the house ended up in Xiao Fo's name, just to be on the safe side.

That night, as soon as Li Guoxin entered the house, his younger brother Li Guoqing arrived and bluntly said that he wanted to find a woman to support.

Living in the same courtyard, Li Guoxin had no intention of hiding it from him; they were brothers, so there was nothing to hide.

"Nonsense! If you really want someone, wait until you go back to Beijing on vacation, and I'll have your sister-in-law and father find you a good match—a sugar daddy? Do you think you're going to live too long?"

Li Guoxin's face darkened, and his voice was resolute.

Although they were half-siblings, his father had personally instructed him to keep a close eye on him and discipline him. Li Guoxin would never let him cause trouble.

"Brother, aren't you raising your own child? You've already had the baby, everything's been fine, what happened?"

Li Guoqing's lips curled up, his tone full of resentment.

He's always been like this—wild, bold, and unconventional. In his eyes, the term "sugar baby" is just an ordinary word, not that serious.

……

Actually, he had never even considered it. He was full of youthful vigor, yet he just couldn't muster any interest in women. But when he caught his brother secretly keeping Tian Tian as a mistress and having a child with her, that little spark in his heart suddenly ignited.

They were just looking for a way out, so they reluctantly approached Li Guoxin.

"What do you mean 'it's nothing'?!"

"If I hadn't gritted my teeth and dumped her cleanly, she would have dragged me into this pit for the wedding ceremony long ago—you still want to marry your sister-in-law?"

Li Guoxin revealed all of Tian Tian's schemes.

She had been hiding her pregnancy for three months; who couldn't tell what she was up to?

Fortunately, he acted swiftly and ruthlessly, leaving no room for hesitation. Had he hesitated even slightly, or shown the slightest bit of mercy, Tian Tian would have ensnared him like a vine.

……

Now he himself is stuck in Tian Tian's mess, half of him covered in mud.

He didn't want Li Guoqing to get involved either.

Li Guoqing pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up, his tone frighteningly calm: "Brother, I'm different from you. Tian Tian is completely innocent with you, but she's holding a grudge, which is why she's clinging to you. Just find me a 'professional' who can relax—she doesn't have to be clean or chaste, so she won't cling to me."

Of course, one should choose a daughter from a respectable family when getting married; but if it's just for sexual gratification, why be so demanding about her virginity? When a woman gives you her first time, she always has some hope, especially someone from a family like theirs, who once they've climbed up, they won't let go.

Li Guoxin is a living example.

Therefore, Li Guoqing made up his mind: he would only choose "second-hand" women - widows would be best, as they are efficient, know their place, and know when to advance and retreat; as long as the money is paid in full, the two parties will be even and there will be no more entanglement.

Hmm, he does have the air of a warlord in troubled times.

"you--?"

Li Guoxin was stunned for a moment, almost choking. How did this idea come out of his brother's mouth?

"No, absolutely not!"

"If you dare to touch even a drop of it, I'll immediately take you back to the capital and lock you up until you come to your senses."

He kept a straight face and spoke slowly and deliberately.

He paused to catch his breath, then said, "Guoqing, don't rush. Next time you're on vacation, I'll have your sister-in-law help you find a well-mannered girl from a good family. Once you're married, your heart will be at peace."

Li Guoqing didn't respond, neither nodding nor shaking his head. His gaze remained fixed on the corner of the table, it was unclear whether he had taken the words to heart.

Inside the canteen of the instrument factory.

"Brother-in-law, why don't you bring Ziying and the kids back for dinner tonight? Parents have been asking for it for ages."

Zhao Ziping, carrying a tray, sat down opposite Li Guoxiong with a smile, adopting an extremely humble posture.

In the past few years, Li Guoxiong has risen from the lowest-level clerk to section chief in a speed that is dizzying.

Back then, he filed a formal complaint against Section Chief Shi for accepting bribes and demanding kickbacks. The other man was dismissed, and he took his place—which shocked the entire department.

Section Chief Shi has an uncle who is a division chief in the tax bureau. It took him ten years to become a section chief. Li Guoxiong? Four years.

How thick must that tree be standing behind it?