Courtyard House: From Deputy Division Commander to Civilian, Progressing All the Way

The door was pushed open.

A woman exuding the aura of a top business tycoon walked in.

Lou Xiao'e.

She wore a perfectly tailored navy blue Chanel women's suit, with a silk scarf around her neck. Her once short, ear-length hair had been permed into the most fashionable waves in Hong Kong at the time. In her eyes, there was less of the naivety and nervousness of her youth, and more of a sharp and profound look forged in the cutthroat world of capital.

In the past three years, she has carved out a bloody path in Hong Kong, a den of iniquity that devours people without spitting out their bones.

"Godfather." Lou Xiao'e walked up to Lin Yang, took off her leather gloves, and bowed her head respectfully. But the moment she raised her eyes, the deep affection she had suppressed in her heart remained unchanged.

"Sit down. You've suffered these past few years in Hong Kong." Lin Yang placed the black piece on the chessboard, looked up, and gazed at her gently.

"It's not hard. Compared to the grand scheme you've laid out in China, my business battles in Hong Kong are just small fry." Lou Xiao'e sat down in the armchair opposite her and opened her custom-made crocodile leather briefcase.

She took out a thick document entirely in English and handed it to Lin Yang with both hands.

"Godfather, these are the top-secret bills and asset lists of the 'Ocean International Trading Group' for the past three years."

Lou Xiao'e's voice became clear and capable, exuding unparalleled confidence.

"Following your instructions, we successfully infiltrated Hong Kong's upper echelons of wealth by using the guise of foreign shell companies. Through a complex web of offshore accounts and entrepot trade, we successfully circumvented the COCOM embargo. In the past three years, we have secured a total of seventeen sets of five-axis CNC machine tools from West Germany, three special LCD panel production lines from Japan, and a large quantity of high-temperature resistant alloy materials urgently needed by the military industry for the country."

Lou Xiao'e paused, a ruthless glint flashing in her eyes.

"The British intelligence agency, MI6, had been monitoring us and sent people to investigate our accounts. I used the bottom-line authority you gave me, spent a lot of money to bribe a triad member with a knife, and staged a perfect 'gang shootout' accident, sinking the investigation supervisor and his car in Victoria Harbour. The trail was completely cut off."

Lin Yang listened to the report, which reeked of bloodshed and money, and nodded in satisfaction.

"Do it cleanly. I don't want a law-abiding businessman, but a vampire who can suck the blood out of the heart of capitalism for the country."

Lin Yang didn't look at the asset list. Instead, he pushed a red-headed document marked with a top-secret label in front of Lou Xiao'e.

"Now, it's time for you behemoths, fattened up overseas, to return home and give back to your country."

Lou Xiao'e opened the file.

When she saw the words "General Outline of National Development Strategy for Jiangdong New Area of ​​Shanghai" above her head, her eyes, which were used to seeing hundreds of millions of US dollars flowing through them, couldn't help but contract sharply.

"Five hundred square kilometers... a fully tax-free bonded zone... special approval authority for wholly foreign-owned enterprises..." Lou Xiao'e gasped, looking at Lin Yang in shock, "Godfather, are you trying to create another Hong Kong in Shanghai?!"

"Not just Hong Kong, I want it to be bigger than New York and Tokyo." Lin Yang stood up, his eyes blazing.

"Xiao'e, those local officials in Shanghai are stuck in the old system. They think developing Jiangdong is a bottomless pit. I need you, as a patriotic Hong Kong businessman, to bring the huge cash flow you've accumulated in Hong Kong over the past three years, and enter Shanghai with great fanfare!"

Lin Yang's fingers tapped heavily on the planning diagram on the table.

"I want you to pour the Oceanwide Group's first massive investment, a full fifty million US dollars! Directly into that prime, muddy beach in Jiangdong! Go and buy that land, and build China's first all-steel structure skyscraper—the China World Trade Center!"

"You must use this enormous sum of real money, enough to shatter everyone's understanding, to tell the bureaucrats across the country and the capital of the world that every inch of land in Jiangdong is worth its weight in gold!"

Lou Xiao'e was thrilled.

This is truly a masterful move. Using the power of the state to define the rules, and using the capital they secretly cultivated to ignite the first spark, completely disrupting a stagnant megacity.

"Don't worry, Godfather! I've already contacted three large construction consortia in the US and Japan in Hong Kong. As soon as your official policy document is issued, I'll not only bring the money, but I'll also bring the most advanced piling technology and bridge design teams from abroad!" Lou Xiao'e stood up, her eyes burning with wild fighting spirit.

A massive storm of capital and power is brewing.

On the edge of this storm, in that tiny corner of Beijing, the wheels of time were relentlessly crushing the fate of every individual.

No. 95, Nanluoguxiang, is a courtyard house.

As the national economy gradually recovers, some shady "scalpers" have begun to appear on the streets.

Yan Bugui, pushing a dilapidated old bicycle, sneaked in from the alley entrance with a shifty look on his face. A heavy snakeskin bag was tied to the back seat of the bicycle.

He returned to the front yard, quickly closed the door, and pulled the snakeskin bag inside.

The three women quickly gathered around and asked in a low voice, "Old man, did you get it? This is what we used to exchange for our life savings!"

Yan Bugui proudly pushed up his glasses, which were wrapped with tape, and untied the opening of the snakeskin bag.

Inside was a collection of gleaming digital watches.

"I went through eight layers of connections to get this hot commodity from the south! I bought it for ten dollars a piece, and I can make five dollars a piece by reselling it on the black market! Our Yan family is going to get rich!" Yan Bugui grinned so hard that his face was full of wrinkles.

Just then, a loud banging came from outside the door.

"Open the door! It's the neighborhood committee's joint defense team! Someone reported your family for speculation and smuggling contraband!"

Yan Bugui was so frightened that his hand trembled, and a bag of digital watches clattered to the ground. He slumped to the floor, his face ashen. He had no idea that this shipment had been a trap set by a few professional tyrants, specifically designed to rip off ordinary citizens like them who wanted to take advantage of others.

Intermediate People's Court.

Liu Haizhong sat on the threshold, watching Yan Bugui being led away in a sorry state by the joint defense team, even his bag of electronic watches was confiscated.

He gave a cold laugh and shook his head.

"Greed knows no bounds. Serves you right." Liu Haizhong patted his empty pockets and sighed deeply.

He has now completely resigned himself to his fate. His eldest son disowns him, his second son is under investigation, and this man who once desperately wanted to become an official can now only earn a few cents a day by pasting matchboxes together.

The familiar roar of a jeep could be heard outside the gate of the courtyard.

He Yuzhu, dressed in a black civilian outfit without any military rank insignia, strode into the courtyard.