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

"Oh, these are appliances that my nephew Jiacheng got, and he asked me to help him sell them. Here, this is what I earned running errands for him over the past six months."

As Li Guojiang spoke, he smoothed out several five-yuan bills stained with sweat.

"What kind of appliances do you sell? How do you make so much money?"

Cui Jingjing was truly stunned.

Like Li Guojiang, she didn't have much of a sense of reality about money—her payslip showed tens or hundreds of yuan, but after paying taxes and household expenses, she barely had any left. Yet, over 60,000 yuan in six months was more substantial than the factory manager's bonuses over three years.

Finally, the two of them counted the bills one by one, and it came to a total of 63,428.

This matter was borderline, and she originally wanted to persuade him to stop. But when she heard that he was doing it with a group of third-generation scions from the Beijing compound, her mind wavered—she herself needed more connections and more influence, and it would be inappropriate to pour cold water on him at this time.

Li Guohang's side.

He and Zhong Linlin had been secretly seeing each other for almost seven months.

That night, just as the two had settled down, Zhong Linlin turned to the side, circled her fingers twice around the second button of his shirt, and whispered, "Guohang, I'm pregnant again."

Li Guohang sat up abruptly, a chill ran down his back, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his heart pounded so hard that his eardrums rang.

The memory of his father's beating was still fresh in his mind; if Zhong Linlin's family caused a scene, he was afraid he would really have to go to jail for a few days.

"You...you said it was all within the safe period, didn't you?"

His voice was strained, and his tongue seemed to be tied in knots.

"Oh dear, how can you predict your period every time? Didn't you say 'it'll definitely be fine' last time too, and look what happened?"

Zhong Linlin lay on her back, her tone relaxed, her fingertips casually tracing the back of his hand.

She had indeed calculated it all.

Last time, she asked Li Guohang to help her brother get a job transfer. After tasting the benefits, and with her brother's advice, she simply gritted her teeth and gave herself to him—she had already given away her innocence, and coming from that kind of family, how could she easily let go? Isn't Tian Tian a living example?

However, Chung Lin-lin is still young and her life is short. She is not yet at the point where she needs to "climb the social ladder" and just wants to hold on to this high branch.

"So what do we do now?"

His Adam's apple bobbed. "If my dad finds out, he'll break my legs."

"If your parents find out... will I have to spend some time in jail?"

"No, this child can't stay. Let's go to the hospital now."

He lifted the covers and was about to get out of bed.

"I'm not going."

Zhong Linlin grabbed his wrist, sat up abruptly, and without any hesitation, stepped barefoot onto the floor, gripping his arm with both hands. "I'm determined to have this child."

"Aren't you afraid your parents will find out?"

"If I move out, how can they keep an eye on me every day?"

"...Where to move to?"

He blurted out the question.

Zhong Linlin leaned closer, resting her chin gently on his shoulder, her voice as soft as honey: "Wherever Air China tells me to move, I'll move there."

The meaning couldn't be clearer: You need to give me a place to stay.

"what?"

He was taken aback, then realized what he meant, "You mean... I should buy you a yard?"

"Um!"

Her eyes crinkled into a smile, and she stood on tiptoe, "Thank you, Air China!"

"Pop—"

A loud kiss landed on his cheek.

She had already planned it out—if she stayed at home while pregnant, her parents would at most scold her a couple of times; but if the neighbors saw her going in and out with a big belly, gossip would immediately spread throughout the entire alley.

After seeing Zhong Linlin off, Li Guohang turned around and went upstairs, heading straight for his elder brother Li Guofang's house.

"Sister-in-law... I want to borrow some money from you."

He scratched the back of his neck, his voice a little weak.

That's right, they came to borrow money.

He wasn't short of money, but he and his wife, Song Xiaoqin, jointly managed the household accounts. If a large sum suddenly disappeared, she would definitely question him about what happened. He couldn't come up with a plausible reason, so he could only go around to his sister-in-law to ask.

How much do you need? I'll get it for you right away.

Xu Yaling didn't even lift her eyelids before her hand reached for the dresser drawer. To her, money was just paper; whether the number was big or small, it was about the same as the fluctuations in vegetable prices.

"Um... lend me two thousand first. I'll pay you back as soon as my business is up and running!"

two thousand?

Xu Yaling paused, puzzled: Which of his uncles didn't have several thousand yuan in savings? Two thousand yuan wasn't even enough to buy a black and white TV, so why make a special trip?

She had originally thought that he would ask for at least tens of thousands.

She turned and went inside to get money, and Li Guohang squatted down to play with his three-year-old nephew, building blocks.

"Here you go, Uncle Air China, take this ten thousand."

When Xu Yaling came out, she handed over a bulging brown paper envelope.

"Sister-in-law, we really don't need that much, two thousand is enough."

"Take it. In business, you don't use money only once. You'll need it for future turnover."

"But I really..."

"Stop nagging." She patted his shoulder with a smile. "Back when your brother was starting out, didn't I step in to help him get started?"

Li Guohang waved his hand and pushed the stack of banknotes back.

He first counted out two thousand from a stack and neatly stacked it on the corner of the table; the remaining eight thousand were then gently pushed in front of Xu Yaling.

Xu Yaling didn't even lift her eyelids, and smirked: "Keep it. I'm not going to lower myself for such a small amount of money."

The two pushed and shoved each other, the banknotes sliding back and forth on the wooden table like two undercurrents unwilling to yield.

Finally, she suddenly smiled, resting her chin on her hand: "How about this—consider this money my contribution to your future business? It'll be a nominal contribution, but at least it'll be real."

"This..." Li Guohang paused for a moment, then could only nod, "Okay, then I'll listen to my sister-in-law."

He never expected that his casual "investment" would one day grow into a mountain of gold. Xu Yaling herself never imagined that the ten thousand yuan she handed over today would one day multiply many times over.

"Air China," she said, picking up her teacup and blowing on it, her gaze fixed on his face, "you need so much cash, and you're avoiding Xiaoqin, could it be... it's really for Zhong Linlin?"

As soon as she said it, she stared into his eyes—she had already mentally rehearsed it countless times: the girl had just been transferred to the county, and he was already looking at houses in Houhai District. What a coincidence!

Li Guohang's Adam's apple bobbed, and he gave a wry smile: "Sister-in-law, you really noticed."

"Heh," she chuckled softly, tracing a circle on the rim of her glass with her finger, "an unmarried man and a recently divorced woman, put together, their hearts racing, their hands touching—who would believe it's not real?"

Her tone shifted abruptly, then turned serious: "But Air China, let me give you a piece of advice—don't get too deeply involved. If you really fall in, you might not even have a chance to recover."

She didn't say it explicitly, but they both knew: that incident, that time in jail, wasn't just a scar, it was a mark branded into their bones.

Li Guohang lowered his eyes, didn't respond, and only sighed in his heart: It's too late.

Now that I'm pregnant, how can I just cut ties?

He gave a vague reply: "I know what I'm doing."

After saying that, he stood up, grabbed his coat, and said, "Sister-in-law, I'm leaving now. Xiaoqin will be off work soon."

The figure flashed out the door, even the back of the person conveyed a sense of urgency.

Xu Yaling stared at the empty doorway, slowly placed the cup back on the table, and shook her head.

Men, they may talk tough, but they're all soft-hearted—wasn't her own husband, Li Guofang, completely under her thumb?

Outsiders might just think she's strict, but in bed, she understands better than anyone: guidance is worse than suppression. When her husband is at ease at night, he won't be preoccupied with other women during the day. Is she shrewd? It's not in her words, it's in her actions.

A few days later, Zhong Linlin took Li Guohang to Houhai District.

In the old alley with its blue bricks and gray tiles, a three-courtyard house stood quietly, its lintel high and wide, its courtyard bright and spacious. She had wanted to test just how thick his wallet really was, but to her surprise, he didn't even haggle over the price. He took out the deposit slip, glanced at it, and signed it on the spot—his movements as swift as buying two pounds of tofu.

Chung Lin-lin's heart was pounding, and her fingertips were numb.

Wow, they're so rich...

At that moment, she was absolutely certain: clinging to this person was more secure than clinging to any position.

But then I thought, I have a job, I have a house, and I'm pregnant. What's next?

It seems... there's nothing else to gain besides this person himself.

The truth about the children can't be hidden forever.

At first, Mr. Zhong slammed his fist on the table and yelled at Li Guohang to divorce his wife and remarry. But Mr. Zhong sat down in a chair and slowly said a few words: he helped his sister get transferred to the personnel department of the county bureau; the property certificate for the new house that Li Guohang bought was in Zhong Linlin's name; even the reading glasses that Mrs. Zhong recently got were brought back from Hong Kong by someone Li Guohang asked.

After listening, Mr. Zhong stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and didn't say another word.

He knew perfectly well that his children had long ago decided to use the Li family as a stepping stone to climb the social ladder. He himself lacked the ability to pave the way for his children, so who could he blame? He could only let them do as they pleased.

Qingyan County, Saturday.

Li Guoxin held his eldest daughter's hand, while Zeng Minzhi carried her youngest son. The family of four strolled around the park.

The sun was gentle, the aroma of roasted chestnuts wafted down the street, and children chattered away, their laughter as crisp as glass beads falling to the ground.

Just then—

A little boy in a red sweater suddenly emerged from the crowd. He had a round, pink face and short hair. When he saw Li Guoxin, his eyes lit up, and he ran towards him, shouting, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Li Guoxin stopped in his tracks, his face turning deathly pale.

Zeng Minzhi frowned and stared at the child's face—those eyebrows, that nose, that slight smile, were exactly like Li Guoxin when he was a child.

What should I do?

Where is Tian Tian?

How could she let her child run out alone?

He cursed inwardly, but his palms were sweaty. What sense did the child have? He lunged at his father as soon as he recognized him, not caring who was standing nearby.

Fortunately, when they were still five or six steps away, a figure in a blue dress rushed over, scooped the child into her arms, turned around and quickly nodded in their direction, smiled apologetically, and carried the child away.

The little boy, still nestled on her shoulder, asked, "Mommy, Daddy's here, why aren't we saying hello?"

The figure vanished in a flash.

But Zeng Minzhi's face was already as cold as if it were covered in frost.

It's not exactly a giveaway, but it's worse than a giveaway.

"Daughter, let's go home."

Her voice was completely flat, and she took her eldest daughter's hand, turned around and left without even glancing at Li Guoxin.

Li Guoxin stood frozen in place, holding his son, who was not yet a year old, in his arms, like a wooden stake stuck in a crack in the cement.

He knew this was no coincidence.

It was Tian Tian who meticulously planned and orchestrated this scheme, timing it perfectly.

The goal is simple: to give him a wake-up call—stop playing dead. If he continues to ignore you, next time it won't just be the child calling out "Dad."