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

"But Father, I really can't let her go... How about you let me be assigned to the same place as her?"

"Smack!!!"

Another resounding slap.

Li Guozhui rubbed the back of his head in pain, staggered backward, and even held his breath.

Li Wenguo sighed and softened his tone, "How about this, let's compromise."

He's my own son after all. If I forcefully stop him, he might get stuck on his own ideas. It's better to go along with him and give him a way out.

"Go and explain to Shanshan: let her go for a year first. If she changes her mind halfway through, write a letter back and I will immediately process her return to the city—once she comes back, she can marry into the family."

"A year is enough to wear down her passion. She won't be so heartbroken that she'll remarry someone else. When she comes back, she can settle down and be a good, virtuous wife. Wouldn't that be better than what she's doing now?"

These words sounded reasonable, but Li Wenguo had other plans in mind:

A year is neither long nor short.

Perhaps the child will turn around and meet someone more agreeable;

Perhaps the girl will understand after experiencing hardship;

Even if nothing changes, there's still time to reconsider.

Even if you still have feelings for that female classmate, once you get through this year, your mindset will likely be different.

After listening, Li Guozhui frowned deeply.

Xianglan, the mother, immediately chimed in, "Your father is right. Go down there and train yourself; once you're more grounded, you'll be worthy of being a good daughter-in-law when you come back, and you'll know how to cherish you and take care of the family."

Father Li Wenguo and Mother Xianglan took turns speaking, their words few but weighty. Li Guozhui remained silent for a long time before finally nodding—it was only a year; he believed he could handle it, and he believed Shanshan could wait.

He found Shen Shanshan early the next morning.

Shen Shanshan had just turned eighteen, with a bright and clear face and lively eyes, just the beginning of her blossoming years. She still had a touch of childishness, but she already exuded a capable and efficient spirit.

As soon as the two met, Li Guozhui told Li Wenguo what his father meant: if she really couldn't endure being sent to the countryside for a year, the family could ask someone to transfer her back so that the wedding could proceed.

Shen Shanshan didn't laugh; instead, she pursed her lips.

Things have gone astray.

Her plan was to drag Li Guozhui to the ** (likely a place name), and then use the engagement as a condition to get him to give up his employee position to her brother—her brother had been faking illness to avoid marriage for so many years, and now that he was of marriageable age, who would marry him if he continued to pretend? But if they really went to the **, she was afraid it would ruin his life.

That's why she set her sights on Li Guozhui's position. If he followed her, the position would become available, her brother could take it, get married, have children, and the family would be stable. And her? She agreed to marry him.

To put it bluntly, it was a carefully weighed exchange.

As for why she didn't just marry him and get a spot in the city? If they got married and neither of them had a job, how would they survive? Live off the wind? Rely on their parents? She wouldn't do that. It would be better to go to the city first, and then be assigned a job there after returning. She'd get seniority, residency, and marriage leave—a win-win situation.

It was tough, but she wasn't afraid.

Shen Shanshan is straightforward and has always had her own ideas. She is calm in the face of problems and doesn't like to beat around the bush.

But upon hearing Li Guozhui change his mind, his heart sank.

What should I do about my brother?

Should I continue to feign illness?

Will I be able to find a wife?

"Guozhui, didn't you say you liked me? You even promised me a couple of days ago that you'd go to ** with me, how come you've changed your mind so quickly?"

As long as he agrees to go, the employee position will be automatically cancelled, and his brother can smoothly take over.

Anyway, once we return to the city, ** will arrange a job, and the wedding will proceed as planned.

"This...it was my father who stopped me from going to the temple, so he came up with this idea."

Li Guozhui's voice was weak, and his ears were red.

You just agreed to something, and then you regret it the next minute. The other person is someone you love dearly. How can you not feel guilty?

"My dad stopped me from going to the police station, so I came up with this idea."

Shen Shanshan dug her fingertips into her palm.

This is difficult.

Once her parents intervened, her original path was cut off.

They were too young and only thought about how to get him on board, but they didn't expect that before the boat even left the shore, the rudder would be seized by their family.

If it were her, she would probably have stopped it too.

But Li Guozhui was stopped, leaving his brother's marriage hanging in the balance, teetering on the brink of collapse.

After thinking it over, she raised her head.

"Then let's... break up."

"Break up? Break up?" Li Guozhui suddenly looked up, his voice cracking.

"Shanshan, why are you suddenly bringing this up?"

"Your dad's idea sounds pretty good—you go to [a certain place] and suffer a bit. If you can't take it, he can just bail you out, and you can get married. Isn't that a safe bet?"

Shen Shanshan gently shook her head: "Guozhui, you still don't understand me."

"I went to ** not to escape a life of leisure, nor to find a shortcut back to the city. I genuinely want to settle down here, to contribute to the Guo family, and to build their lives up inch by inch. That is my ambition, and my aspiration. No matter how difficult it is, I will not back down."

"But you're afraid of hardship, afraid of uncertainty... The spirit in our bones is just different."

"Then let's call it a day."

Li Guozhui hurriedly stepped forward: "No! Shanshan, it's really not like that! I wanted to go with you too! But my dad locked me up and scolded me, and wouldn't even let me sit at the dinner table!"

"Trust me, I'm not afraid!"

"Aren't you afraid?" Shen Shanshan looked directly at him. "Then come with me."

"On the day I returned to the city, I married you wearing a red veil."

Otherwise—those who walk different paths cannot make plans together.

Whether by coercion or enticement, she laid her last cards on the table.

This marriage is indeed true.

Li Guozhui was handsome and had a tall, upright figure. In any era, he would have been the kind of man that girls would first look at when choosing a partner.

Shen Shanshan's gaze was like iron, unyielding in the slightest. Li Guozhui clenched his teeth and blurted out, "I'll go back and tell my father again."

"Guozhui, don't go back—your dad will definitely stop you. If you're really determined to come with me to [a certain place], then just go and sign up. A man has to stick to what he's decided."

She reached out to stop him from speaking.

Judging from his timid and hesitant manner, there was no need to guess. Mentioning going home would surely ruin things. She simply blocked his path: she had to leave first, then turn back, only then could she drag him along.

"But...but I'm afraid...if my dad finds out, he'll beat me to death."

It's not that I'm unsure, it's that I'm genuinely afraid.

Coward! So cowardly!

Shen Shanshan was furious and spat inwardly.

"Alright, let's call it a day. Listen to your father and have him find you another wife."

"goodbye!!!"

She turned and left, her steps quick and firm.

"Shanshan! Wait!"

Li Guozhui grabbed her sleeve, sweat beading on his forehead: "Okay—I'll go back and try again. If he stops me again, I'll sign up immediately. Is that alright?"

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

That's exactly what she wanted to hear.

"But Guozhui, what will happen to our factory employees' status if you leave?"

He paused for a moment.

This status is extremely valuable. In any dynasty, it was essential for securing a stable livelihood.

But before the words were even out of his mouth, he had already made up his mind: "If it's lost, it's lost."

"Heh..." She chuckled, her eyes softening. "You're willing to give this up for me, I believe you. When we get back to the city and I'm assigned a job, I'll marry you."

"How about we get engaged first?"

His face flushed instantly.

But then she changed the subject: "It's just that—it's such a waste to give up this position."

It's more than a pity; it's like jumping into a ditch.

"How about... you give it to my brother? Your future brother-in-law. He can take over, wouldn't that be perfect?"

That's what she really wanted to say.

"Give it to your brother-in-law?"

Li Guozhui was stunned, his heart skipped a beat.

But then I thought: everyone's gone to the ** (likely referring to a specific location or organization), and when they come back, the state will assign them to different positions. Keeping this quota is just an empty shell.

"Hmm...that works too."

He scratched the back of his head and nodded.

He trusted her because she had always been fearless and determined—carrying the flag, making oaths, writing pledges, every word emblazoned with gold, every sentence for the country. Who would suspect that she was after his meager livelihood?

Furthermore, having just been "broken up with," she was completely disoriented and had no time to scrutinize things.

Even if she later realized something was amiss, it was hard to conclude that she was deliberately scheming—after all, if she really wanted to go to the brothel, the engagement was still there.

That's what makes it so great.

She specifically instructed, "Don't mention the transfer to your father, lest he misunderstand that I have ulterior motives."

He was eager to marry her and readily agreed.

That evening, Li Guozhui went into his father Li Wenguo's room again.

"Father... I still want to go to **."

His head was bowed low, his eyes fixed on the tips of his shoes.

Li Wenguo had just finished three rounds of mahjong and was feeling refreshed when he heard these words, but his face immediately darkened.

"You're not just stupid, you're despicable! Why would you leave a perfectly good office to crawl into the mud? Farming, carrying manure, sleeping on a mud bed—have you lost your mind?!"

My chest feels tight and heavy.

"Dad...I like Shanshan."

She said, "If I don't go with her, we'll break up."

"What can I do?"

Li Wenguo sneered: "What to do? Do you even need to ask? There are plenty of women in the world. Find another one—fairer, prettier, and more sensible than her!"

"But... I only want Shanshan."

Hey! This kid's already been completely bewitched!

Li Wenguo was extremely displeased when he saw his son suddenly look up with a determined expression.

Li Wenguo caught a glimpse of his son suddenly raising his head, his eyes hard and unyielding, like an unfired brick, and a fire instantly welled up in his heart.

Naturally, they couldn't reach an agreement.

Li Wenguo resolutely forbade his son, Li Guozhui, from going to the countryside with that girl he considered "out of his mind," otherwise he would pretend he had never had a son.

These words sound harsh, but they were actually spoken in anger, meant to intimidate Li Guozhui.

After all, this child had been well-behaved since childhood, never talking back, and always obeying his father—following his father's arrangements for school, waiting for job assignments after graduation, and rarely making his own decisions about clothing and food. Li Wenguo was certain that as long as he put on a stern face and put on a stern tone, his son would definitely back down.

The next morning, the neighborhood office delivered the transfer documents: Li Guozhui had secretly transferred the position of clerk at the thermos factory to Shen Shanshan's second brother, Shen Laifu; he himself had voluntarily filled out a form to apply to go with Shen Shanshan's group to settle down in a village called "Zhangshu'ao" in the south.

Sometimes, love can really make people lose their minds. Even knowing that ahead lies a muddy mountain road, leeches in the rice paddies, and a mud house without electricity or water, they still insist on plunging in headfirst, without even taking a moment to catch their breath.

In the Shen family courtyard, the blue brick floor was bleached white by the autumn sun.

"Shanshan, you handled this matter poorly."

Mr. Shen sat in an old rattan chair, a pipe between his lips, sparks flickering, his gaze fixed intently on his daughter's face.

He understood perfectly well what was going on.