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

"Important my foot!"

"Having children is your duty as a wife; providing for the family and upholding the family's reputation is my responsibility as the head of the household! What you've done is shirk your duties and just stare blankly at your paycheck every day?"

His chest heaved violently, and the veins on his forehead throbbed slightly.

"No way! We've just started to get a lead on He Chaomin, and you want me to go home and rest during my pregnancy? Absolutely not!"

"You have to open the door for me, no matter what!"

"I'm the one carrying this baby; whether I give birth to it or not is up to me."

Dong Haitang turned her head, her tone soft yet barbed, clearly throwing a tantrum.

"Bullshit! You couldn't have gotten pregnant without me!"

"I planted the seed, so the offspring belong to me."

"You'd better give birth today, whether you like it or not!"

"I won't have the baby—if I do, my future will be ruined."

"Your future is your future, your ancestors' future!"

"With your meager salary, you can't even afford a decent meal. What are you trying to achieve? How pathetic!"

Li Wenguo finally broke down, roaring so loudly that the whole room buzzed.

"Li Wenguo, you can curse me all you want, but don't you dare drag my mother into this!"

Dong Haitang slammed her hand on the table with a "smack" and stood up abruptly.

She would grit her teeth and swallow her words when she was scolded; but her mother—the old lady who had cherished her since she was a child—wouldn't allow her to be touched at all.

"Okay, I won't mention your mother. Wait... I really didn't mean to insult your mother! But I'll say it here: you have to give birth to this child."

He was so angry that he blurted out that word without thinking, and he didn't actually mean it was about his elders.

"I'm not giving birth. If you want to, try crawling into my belly yourself!"

Her temper flared up, and she yelled at him without hesitation.

"Don't forget, in this house, my word counts."

"I haven't forgotten. But once I step out of this door, it's my own life, my own path, and it's none of your business to dictate what I do—at worst, I'll cut it off myself."

"You dare!"

The word "cut off" felt like a knife stabbing into Li Wenguo's ear, and blood rushed to his head.

Those are his own flesh and blood!

"Dong Haitang, I was so blind to have favored you before! If I don't teach you a lesson, you'll think I'm soft-hearted and easy to bully, won't you?"

He rolled up his sleeves and angrily approached her.

But after taking only two steps, her steps froze—her lower abdomen was still flat, but there was already movement inside.

If they really start fighting, what if someone gets bumped or bruised...

Wouldn't that be like sending your own son away with your own hands?

But once a man's words are out, they're like water spilled; if he takes them back, where does he put his face?

"You torment me every night, and you still dare to complain of pain? Aren't you ashamed?"

Seeing him raise his hand as if to strike, Dong Haitang decided to go all out, each word aimed at the tip of a knife, hoping to force him to make a mistake and end the matter once and for all.

"Making trouble? That's called a favor!"

Li Wenguo stubbornly tried to argue his way out of it.

"Pah! Favor my foot!"

"You old pervert!"

She cursed him more and more viciously, targeting the places where he was most embarrassed.

To prove a point, he pushed her down onto the bed, quickly stripped her down to her single layer of clothing, and then pulled out a belt to tie her wrists tightly to the bedpost.

But then, it was like the brakes had been applied—

Fight? Absolutely not.

Putting aside the risk of harming the fetus, just looking at that rosy face and that soft yet stubborn body, he couldn't bear to touch a single hair.

Seeing him standing there motionless, Dong Haitang immediately sensed his hesitation and added fuel to the fire: "Weren't you going to teach me a lesson? Giving up now?"

"If you don't dare to lay a hand on me today, don't blame me for looking down on you—you're not a real man at all!"

"Enough! Stop trying to play tricks on me! I'm a man of principle; I won't let you lead me by the nose!"

Li Wenguo glared fiercely, his voice like muffled thunder.

His words hit the nail on the head, and Dong Haitang immediately shut her mouth.

"What exactly do you want?"

After a long silence, he finally asked in a deep voice.

"I don't want to miss this opportunity. I want to rely on myself and establish myself."

She finally softened her tone and told the truth.

Yes, she has always been strong-willed, with a backbone harder than steel.

Oh shit!!!

These words made Li Wenguo's heart clench—

If I had known this would happen, why did I stab He Chaomin in the back?

Isn't this digging a hole for yourself and jumping into it?

To reassure her and help her give birth, he lowered his voice and whispered in her ear, "I still have a few deeper leads on Japanese espionage. Once you've safely delivered the baby, I'll immediately hand over the intelligence to you—you can earn the credit yourself."

After much pleading and heartfelt persuasion, Dong Haitang finally nodded reluctantly.

"Aren't you going to let go?"

Seeing that Li Wenguo was still holding her wrist tightly, she frowned and glared at him, her tone full of impatience.

"What's the rush? I'll loosen it for you later."

He was already furious with her, so how could he possibly give in to her so quickly?

"Aren't you afraid of hurting the child?"

In order to uncover more Japanese spies by following the clues, Dong Haitang was determined to keep this pregnancy.

"Damn! Do you think I'm a clumsy guy? Don't you know that?"

"You insulted my mother again?"

"Bullshit! You're turning the tables on me!"

Li Wenguo's voice deepened, and he retorted directly.

……

Dong Haitang is pregnant.

Li Wenguo specifically instructed Wen San and Wu Xiaogou to keep a close watch on her, not to follow her every step of the way, but to never let her out of their sight.

If the child gets hurt or injured, who will be able to take responsibility?

To Dong Haitang's relief, Chang Binghui finally made the decision to arrest He Chaomin.

They kept watch for three whole weeks.

They figured it out: He Chaomin was just a terminal contact point, most likely only communicating with his superiors on a single line; he was using the most old-fashioned dead mailbox—the location for retrieving intelligence was different every time, making it extremely difficult to follow the clues.

The only chance is to seize the letter on the spot when he goes to pick it up next time, intercept the intelligence before he swallows it, quickly decipher the next handover point, and then rush there to set up a control point. Only then can we hope to find out the mastermind behind it all.

Two days later.

At exactly five o'clock in the afternoon, the shops closed on time. He Chaomin pushed open the door and stepped out, joining the bustling crowd in the market.

Three groups of six agents, who had been lying in wait for some time, quietly moved in.

Today it's Dong Haitang's turn to be on duty, and her partner is Gao Yang.

Gao Yang is in her early thirties, married and has several children. She is calm and focused on advancement, so Chang Binghui paired her with another woman from the beginning—to keep things under control and prevent others from having ulterior motives.

Soon, He Chaomin turned into the outer perimeter of the park.

"what?"

Something's not right!

"He didn't go back to his place, but instead went here... There's probably a dead mailbox here, he's here to pick up some goods!"

Gao Yang's eyes lit up.

If things go as expected, once he gets the intelligence and surrenders, the subsequent arrangements can be immediately rolled out.

"After guarding for so long, we've finally closed the net."

Dong Haitang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She personally handed over the lead to He Chaomin—if he were caught, she would definitely get credit for it.

He Chaomin was a seasoned veteran; his every move revealed no flaws.

He strolled leisurely into the park, hands behind his back, looking up at the trees and down at the flowers, just like a typical old citizen taking a leisurely walk.

After wandering around for about half an hour, my steps became a little heavy, and I finally sat down to rest on a stone bench with a missing corner.

As he bent down to brush the dust off his shoes, his left hand discreetly reached into the narrow gap between the base of the stone bench and the pedestal—his fingertip touched the surface and pulled out a small oil paper package, which he quickly tucked into his palm.

He pretended to sit for another five minutes before getting up and leaving.

But his supposedly flawless act had already been caught by several pairs of eyes.

"Do it!!!"

Upon obtaining the stolen goods, Gao Yang lowered his voice and roared, then charged forward.

But someone was faster than him—another group of agents had already shot out like an arrow.

The third group was equally decisive, leaping out of their bunker almost simultaneously with Gao Yang and Dong Haitang.

Six people surrounded him from different directions, making quite a commotion. Even the old ladies taking a stroll glanced at him. How could He Chaomin not be alert?

Single-team operations always involve silently approaching and suddenly subduing someone by grabbing their throat—just like how Gao Yang and Dong Haitang teamed up to subdue the shadow posing as Xiaoben earlier.

Today, however, three groups are competing for credit. Whoever tackles someone first will get the credit.

If you're not quick enough, what's the point of arguing?

After all, in the Secret Service, it's always a matter of seizing credit on the edge of a knife.

He Chaomin glanced at the encirclement and, without hesitation, turned and charged into the gap between Gao Yang, Dong Haitang, and another group.

As he ran, he stuffed the thin piece of paper into his mouth, chewed it twice, and swallowed it.

He's not stupid—the fact that he was blocked as soon as he got the intelligence means he was already nailed to the spot.

At what point did I slip up?

He couldn't figure it out for a moment.

He thought his disguise was flawless, even his breathing was rhythmic, but he was exposed as soon as he showed his face.

He had no idea that Li Wenguo had stabbed him in the back.

Gao Yang, Dong Haitang, and another group of men, seeing He Chaomin suddenly charge into the gap between the two teams, immediately tightened their formation and moved closer together, like a fishing net being drawn in.

He Chaomin caught a glimpse of this scene, and a confident sneer appeared on his lips.

As soon as the four men gathered, he flicked his wide right sleeve, and a pistol landed steadily in his palm.

Immediately afterwards, the gun barrel flashed, and sparks tore through the air—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

"Oh no!"

"Scatter! Scatter now!"

Gao Yang roared out in a hoarse voice, his throat cracking.

The four people were crammed together, looking exactly like four targets.

really--

A burst of blood erupted from Gao Yang's left forearm; the other man was hit twice in the chest, fell backward, and never moved again.

Dong Haitang and the other person stood to the side, the bullet whizzing past them without causing any harm.

"Find cover!!"

Gao Yang gritted his teeth and covered his wound. He and Dong Haitang jumped behind a tree and rolled into the bushes. Before the last one could move even half a step, he was hit on the forehead and collapsed straight down.

That group was completely wiped out.

"Don't shoot!"

"Didn't you see him swallow the note?"

"It has to be alive!!!"

Just as someone in the group behind He Chaomin raised his gun to aim, his arm was grabbed tightly by his comrade.

Actually, this was all part of He Chaomin's plan.

Once the note is inside, the only option is to capture him alive—capture alive means pursuit, means a loophole, means a sliver of hope.

It looked like an old fox who had weathered the years, its fur glossy and its claws and teeth well hidden.

Before he finished speaking, He Chaomin spun around and retreated swiftly, cutting diagonally to the left to break through the encirclement while simultaneously firing a series of shots—

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The remaining two men, no longer caring about orders, instinctively pulled the triggers and fired back with lightning speed.

Not fighting back? That's just waiting to die!

No matter how hot the credit may be, it can't be hotter than your own life.

Unfortunately, one person immediately knelt down, blood gushing from his ribs; only one remained, gritting his teeth and fighting back, his curses still spitting out—

"Hold!"

He turned and lunged toward the nearest cover.

He Chaomin was a veteran who had survived countless battles. When he saw the enemy open fire, he ducked down, leaned against a thick tree trunk, and when the gunfire stopped, he ran away.

He knew perfectly well that if the other party wanted him alive, they would never shoot him in the back; they would only chase after him.