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

They were out in just a few minutes.

It was nothing serious at all—the upper-class Westerners were hosting a dinner party a few days later, and Henry specifically asked him to attend, ostensibly to expand relationships, but really to attract clients and do business.

Li Wenguo had no reason to refuse, and even less did he want to refuse.

In such an occasion, socialites and noble ladies gather. Isn't it better to pick someone you like and marry them than to end up in jail?

After arresting Sun Youtian, he rested for two days before the Lixingshe (a secret society) sent word that he needed to come over.

When they arrived at Kang Bin's office, they were surprised to find that President Song was also there.

"Captain Li, that's incredibly efficient! Two Japanese spies caught in just seven days—that's unprecedented in our department!"

As soon as Kang Bin saw the man enter, he immediately smiled and praised him loudly—ostensibly to flatter Li Wenguo, but actually to show off his own skill in leading troops in front of President Song.

Bank Manager Song nodded in agreement: "Captain Li, you are truly a promising young man!"

He wasn't a fool; he knew perfectly well how deeply the Japanese spies were hidden, and that even peeling their skin and tendons wouldn't be enough to expose them.

"Huh? Wait a minute!"

He suddenly paused, "Wasn't the team leader for that last case a pregnant female captain? Why are you in charge now?"

He remembered—Li Wenguo wasn't one of the three team leaders last time, even though he was there at the time.

Li Wenguo explained it clearly in just a few words.

After listening, Director Song's tone became somewhat arrogant: "The more I think about it, the more I feel you're more like the team leader than those three?"

you do not say.

So far, only Li Wenguo, the acting captain, has managed to capture two Japanese spies; the other two official captains haven't even caught a glimpse of them.

"Oh, luck, pure luck!"

Li Wenguo smiled and waved his hand, brushing it off lightly—he didn't want to stand under the spotlight.

Bank Manager Song didn't press the matter. The most important thing was getting the items back; he couldn't be bothered to guess what Li Wenguo was up to.

He continued, "Captain Li, I called you here because of the antique that Sun Youtian found. Coincidentally, it was stolen from the same place and on the same day as the item I accidentally lost. So Sun Youtian can't escape involvement—even if he didn't hide it, it's most likely in the hands of his superior or accomplices."

Li Wenguo immediately understood: this meant he was to follow Sun Youtian's lead and dig deeper to find out the truth.

Pooh!

The person was already locked inside, and the wires were almost completely broken, so how could we possibly reach down there?

He rolled his eyes inwardly.

If it were really done by accomplices, they would have run away long ago once Sun Youtian was caught. Why would they be standing there waiting for you to come to them?

They're too busy hiding to even bother investigating!

He asked with slight dissatisfaction, "President Song, what exactly is missing? Can you give me a hint?"

"Even a clue would be helpful!"

Chang Binghui chimed in, "President Song, the news of Sun Youtian's arrest has already spread. In the past two days, those rats on the same side have probably already crawled into the ground."

Finding it again would be as difficult as climbing to heaven.

Of course, this was all thanks to Sun Youtian—his bones were as hard as quenched steel bars. He whipped the man for two days and two nights until his skin was torn and bleeding. When the man fainted, he was doused with ice water to wake him up and then beaten again! He gritted his teeth and didn't utter a single word. His toughness sent chills down people's spines.

As a result, all the clues were completely cut off, and they watched helplessly as the golden opportunity slipped away inch by inch, without even a trace of it.

By the time he finally couldn't hold on any longer and stopped arguing, he had already disappeared.

Upon hearing this, Bank Manager Song's face instantly darkened to the point of being so grim it could be wrung out.

He's not in this line of work, so how would he know the ins and outs of this kind of interrogation?

"Well... how about—"

His Adam's apple bobbed up and down, his brows furrowed, and his fingers unconsciously twirled his cuffs, clearly weighing things over in his mind.

"Director Kang, Team Leader Chang, please step aside for a moment."

The words were spoken with a clear tone—time was running out, and there was no time to waste.

But that gaze was clearly fixed only on Li Wenguo.

and many more!

Is this a private, private meeting?

After the conversation, what if they turn around and kill you to silence you?

Li Wenguo's eyelids twitched, and he immediately cut off the conversation: "No way, President Song! If you only say this to me and then go back on your word, I'll have no one to complain to even if I lose my head!"

Whether he truly had that thought or was just being polite, I absolutely cannot gamble my life on the phrase "trustworthy."

"Don't worry, President Song isn't that kind of person. The fewer people who know, the safer it is."

Kang Bin immediately chimed in, his tone gentle yet firm.

"How could I possibly have such wicked thoughts while serving the Party and the country?"

Bank Manager Song was both amused and exasperated, and shook his head as he spread his hands.

"No means no! If you really let Director Kang and the others leave, I'll turn around and leave—I don't care anymore!"

Li Wenguo stood his ground, refusing to budge an inch.

The secrets spoken by important figures are always hot to the tongue and painful to the heart. What if one night he remembers something wrong with it? Wouldn't you be throwing your life away for nothing?

"Alright, alright, Director Kang, you can stay!"

President Song finally relented.

"The items that are discarded are for internal use within the bank. Once they leave the bank, they are basically just a pile of scrap metal, worth at most a few cents per kilogram."

He certainly wouldn't say exactly what the object was, but this clue, though vague, at least outlined the boundaries of the search—very narrow, with hardly anything to be found.

The number of things that banks use can be counted on one hand.

Li Wenguo scoffed: "What can't be said outright? Why beat around the bush like this? Are you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?"

If it can't be found, who's to blame in the end?

It's all your own fault for keeping it too tightly sealed!

In fact, he already knew what was going on—the information that Ding Xiaoqi had secretly sent had already pointed out that the lost item was linked to the bank.

President Song's words were like adding half a drop of salt to plain water.

Pooh!

What a waste of time!

Li Wenguo returned home with a belly full of resentment.

After dinner, I checked on each of the children one by one, and then paced back and forth in the yard, my feet stomping so hard that the cracks between the bricks seemed to be smoking.

A fire is burning inside me, but I have nowhere to vent it!

Xianglan is still in her postpartum period, while He Shuting, Hongyu, and Dong Haitang's bellies are getting bigger every day; even Wen Keren outside is having her period these days.

Ugh!

The room was full of women, but not a single one of them was touchable!

Unbeknownst to him, he wandered to Xu Meijing's door.

"It would be good to go in and sit down, chat for a bit, and ask her if she would be willing to work for the foreign firm."

Xu Meijing stayed with her mother for three whole months, only to be forcibly sent back today by her own mother—who said, "What kind of logic is it for a daughter to always stay at her parents' house?"

She had just finished taking a shower.

The bathroom was still steamy, and she exuded a warm fragrance. Water droplets still dripped from the ends of her dark hair. She was wrapped in a pink silk nightgown, which made her face look like a freshly peeled lychee, fresh and radiant.

The moment the door was pushed open, Li Wenguo was immediately struck by the vibrant and sensual scene.

Xu Meijing was wiping her earlobes in front of the mirror when she heard the noise. She turned around abruptly, her cheeks flushing red: "Oh! What are you doing... Get out of here! I, I'll change my clothes!"

The young woman was so embarrassed that her fingertips trembled when she was seen wearing her pajamas for the first time.

But Li Wenguo was so engrossed in watching that he didn't hear a thing.

That full, rounded patch leaped into view without any restraint—it turned out she had been tightly wrapped with strips of cloth all along!

The true love you've been searching for all your life is right under your nose?

Now that you've seen this much, why pretend to be confused?

"Wen Guo, you go out first... I, I'll change right away!"

She hurriedly covered her chest with her hands and stumbled towards the bedside, where folded clothes lay.

"No need to change it, Meijing."

In a moment of impulsiveness, Li Wenguo's blood rushed to his head—this girl must be confirmed as the fifth concubine tonight!

Just then, He Shuting passed by the door carrying an empty ginseng soup bowl. As soon as she lifted the curtain, she heard a short, startled exclamation from inside: "Ah? Wenguo, what—what are you doing?!"

"Let go of me!!!"

"stop!!!"

"ah--!!!"

After listening, He Shuting curled her lip, shook her head, and scoffed, "This act by Master is really something!"

He turned and walked away quickly.

An hour later.

"Waaah...waaah..."

Xu Meijing gripped the blanket tightly, wrapping it around her trembling body. Tears streamed down her face, her shoulders trembled violently, and she cried until she could barely breathe.

Li Wenguo slowly and deliberately fastened his belt, his tone carrying an undeniable certainty: "Meijing, that previous debt is wiped clean. From now on, you are my lawfully wedded fifth concubine. Rest assured, I will treat you with the utmost respect—you will have everything others have."

"You bastard! You shameless!"

"I trusted you, I clung to you like a lifeline, and this is how you treat me?!"

"How are you any different from that beast Xu Jiancheng?!"

"Waaah...waaah..."

Suddenly, the image of her mother huddled in a corner, her clothes torn, flashed before her eyes—who would have thought that fate would twist and turn, pushing her into the same quagmire as well.

Why is my life so miserable?

"Alright, alright, it was my fault today. I lost my temper... but what's done is done, what can you do now?"

"Be your fifth concubine in peace. Just ask for whatever you want. I, Li Wenguo, will never break my word."

Knowing he was in the wrong and even more afraid that she would break down emotionally, he simply softened his voice and coaxed her.

"roll!!!"

"Get out of here right now!!!"

"Ugh—!!!"

Xu Meijing screamed, her voice trembling as if torn apart.

"Okay, okay, I'm leaving! But—don't get hung up on it, your mom's waiting for you to bring her medicine and feed her."

Seeing that she was acting like a madwoman, Li Wenguo had no choice but to back away.

"Brother, brother, why are you in such a hurry? Meijing already has my heart set on her. Winning her over should have been a natural progression. Why resort to such ruthless measures? Sigh... what a pity..."

He stared down at the ground, pacing back and forth while shaking his head, as if he hadn't done anything wrong, but rather as if he had been pushed by some invisible force.

The next morning arrived quickly.

When Xu Meijing wasn't at the dinner table, Li Wenguo's heart sank, but he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief—two conflicting feelings intertwined.

But ultimately, this was a bitter pill he had brewed himself. Whose fault was it?

After breakfast, he didn't go looking for her, but went straight out the door.

In his eyes, last night was just a wrinkle in life, something to be turned over and forgotten. Life goes on, and people have to bend down, turn around, and face challenges.

He was certain that Mavis Hee would eventually swallow her anger. Whether it was hatred or resentment, even the deepest hurdle would be smoothed out with time; people must eventually move on to new days.

Before long, Li Wenguo was already standing at the entrance of the Meifu Trading Company.

He didn't go to the Lixingshe (a secret society) – those three fat, greasy Japanese spies had already been wiped out; the only remaining postman was penniless and too lazy to deal with, so he could let Dong Haitang take over after she finished her postpartum confinement.

As for investigating the remaining Japanese spies? He had already sent people to keep a close eye on two powerful officials whose weaknesses he had thoroughly investigated. As long as he followed the clues and investigated their relatives, friends, and accounts, the suspicious individuals would naturally surface—whether to stake them out or arrest them directly depended entirely on the timing.

Japanese spies? There's never been a shortage of them.

As soon as I stepped into the foreign firm's gate, Zhang Dadan jogged towards me.

"Manager Li! The truck just docked this morning and is currently being transported from the pier to the warehouse!"

"Oh? You came quickly!"

"Let's go wait in the warehouse!"

Li Wenguo's eyes lit up—this was the first time he had ever touched a real thing in his life and the next. His heart warmed slightly, and his steps became lighter.

But as soon as he stepped out the door, a short, stout figure came towards him.

"Mr. Li, I've heard so much about you!"

Kotaro Kōtarō was the first to offer a cupped-hand salute, his smile gentle and humble.

Li Wenguo knew him too well—last time, he bought that batch of penicillin without hesitation, but Li Wenguo secretly intercepted it.

Could it be that they're after this thing again?

"Mr. Stubborn Tail, you're too kind! What business is it that requires your personal visit?"

He smiled as he offered her a cigarette, his fingers moving very steadily.

"I wouldn't presume to offer any special assistance; I simply wish to purchase some goods from your bank!"

Kotaro lowered his eyes and bowed, his posture so respectful that not a single flaw could be found—he was also the most tactful Japanese person Li Wenguo had ever met.

But you can't judge a book by its cover. Who can say for sure how many knives and fangs are hidden beneath that gentle exterior? Li Wenguo never believed a person's sincerity just because they smiled a little.

"Please come in, let's talk inside."

To see the car, we had to move to the back.

But Kotaro was extremely efficient; he could write a contract in less than half an incense stick's time.

This deal, besides penicillin, also included an entire shipload of oil—an astonishingly large quantity, with a transaction value approaching one million dollars.

Unfortunately, Kotaro Sakae insisted on sending the oil and penicillin directly to Northeast China. Li Wenguo sighed inwardly, feeling that he had missed a golden opportunity.

He had been thinking about whether he could intercept this shipment while he was at it!

He then strolled over to the warehouse.