The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

Small town street, black market.

The north wind howled, stinging and numbing like ice daggers on people's faces.

Liu Haizhong covered his face with a gray cloth, revealing only a pair of cunning eyes filled with trepidation, tension, and a hint of excitement.

He wanted to hire someone to kill Liu Hao and Ye Juan, those two scumbags who insulted, bullied, oppressed, humiliated, mistreated, and made things difficult for him, in order to vent his hatred.

Throughout his many years in politics, he has always been dedicated to his duties, working diligently and conscientiously for the well-being of the people. He has devoted himself to serving the masses wholeheartedly. Through years of hands-on practice, he has not only accumulated solid and profound work experience, but also established a very high reputation among the people in the institute, and solidified his sincere original intention to serve the people and his pragmatic and resolute determination to get things done.

Everyone thought that with Yi Zhonghai's downfall and imprisonment, he had finally made it through and could rightfully become a respected elder, taking charge of Compound No. 95 and leading the residents to a better life.

As a result, he was slapped by Liu Hao and whipped with a bamboo stick by Ye Juan several times, ruining his reputation and losing all his prestige.

With those two vicious beasts, Liu Hao and Ye Juan, living in the courtyard, he has no chance of being reinstated as a judge, and his political future is completely ruined.

I'm so unwilling, so very unwilling!

Upon arriving at the entrance to the black market, he paid a dime, quickened his pace, and entered the black market. After several twists and turns, he stopped in front of a small, extremely secluded courtyard hidden at the end of an alley.

He took two deep breaths of the cold air to calm his nerves and raised his hand to knock on the mottled elm door.

Thump thump thump thump~ thump thump~ thump thump thump!

The knocking was very rhythmic; it wasn't random knocking, but a code.

The man who lives in this courtyard is nicknamed Xiao Heizi. He's a quick-witted, ruthless man who will do anything for money and is very tight-lipped.

It was purely by accident that Liu Haizhong knew Xiao Heizi and even knew where Xiao Heizi lived.

In 1961, the most difficult year of the three years of hardship, he went to the black market to buy grain. Suddenly, he had to urinate, so he ran to Xiao Heizi's courtyard to relieve himself. He overheard two people who had come to Xiao Heizi for business talking at the door, and he memorized the coded knocking signal.

The password for knocking is 423!

With a creak, the elm door opened from the inside, and Xiao Heizi stood behind it, holding a lantern and staring at Liu Haizhong.

Xiao Heizi, in his early forties, had dark skin and droopy eyebrows. He looked like an honest, ordinary person. No one would guess that this seemingly ordinary man was hiding the most ruthless gunman in Dongcheng.

The dim light of the lantern flickered in the wind. Xiao Heizi's cold and indifferent gaze swept over the gray cloth covering his face through his bangs, and without uttering a single word of nonsense, he said: "The code is correct, get to the point."

Liu Haizhong's Adam's apple bobbed as he glanced towards the alley entrance to make sure no one was following him before lowering his voice to a whisper, trembling uncontrollably.

"Master Xiao, I need to arrest two people, Liu Hao and his wife Ye Juan, from No. 95 Mao'er Hutong, Nanluoguxiang."

Xiao Heizi, expressionless as a statue, asked, "The reason is self-evident. The criteria are: live or dead, and how much?"

See, that's what professionalism is all about!

That's what you call a professional! Decisive and straightforward, no beating around the bush!

Liu Hai was overjoyed, thinking to himself that he had finally found the right person today.

His expression was fierce as he angrily declared, "Those who die must die!"

"The two lived in the west wing of courtyard number 95. The man was tall, with fair skin and a very handsome appearance. The woman had an outstanding figure and was even more beautiful—the kind of strikingly beautiful!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Heizi's dark face remained expressionless, but his gaze into Liu Haizhong held a hint of scrutiny and an almost imperceptible heat.

His Adam's apple bobbed very slightly, and his voice, lower than before, had a hint of huskiness and magnetism: "Neat-looking? Strikingly beautiful?"

The question was asked calmly, yet it revealed an unusual level of concern.

Liu Haizhong was taken aback, but immediately realized that Xiao Heizi was a lecher, which made things easier.

He hurriedly added fuel to the fire: "That's right! Ye Juan is stunningly beautiful, with a figure that's absolutely gorgeous, a fair complexion with a rosy glow, and eyes that are so captivating that they can turn heads wherever she goes! If you saw her, Mr. Xiao, I guarantee you'd think she's a beauty of unparalleled grace."

Xiao Heizi's lips curled up almost imperceptibly. He withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and stroked the handle of the lantern. His fingertips were rough, but there was a hint of inexplicable urgency in them.

"The west wing of the courtyard house at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang, the man was tall, fair-skinned, and handsome, the woman had a good figure and was beautiful."

He repeated the features, his tone no longer cold and hard, but instead tinged with a casual, playful air, as if he were weighing a desirable object.

"Master Xiao, you are wise!"

Liu Haizhong quickly took out a cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to Xiao Heizi with both hands.

"These are fifty 'Great Unity' coupons and fifty jin of national grain coupons. Mr. Xiao, are you satisfied with that?"

Xiao Heizi glanced at the marks on the back of Liu Haizhong's hand and wrist from the bamboo strips, then reached out and took the cloth bag without checking it.

"Both of them will die within three days!"

Liu Haizhong was overjoyed, bowed deeply again, and turned to leave with a heart full of happiness.

Xiao Heizi closed the door, a faint smile appearing on his lips, tinged with a hint of lewdness and ruthlessness.

He touched the Browning in his lower back; the gun was cold, but a strange fire was burning in his heart.

This job is really generous, and I can even see those stunning beauties who could bring ruin to a country. It's pretty good.

……

The next morning.

Liu Hao got up to go to the bathroom, wearing black shorts and a white short-sleeved pajama top.

As I walked into the courtyard, I saw Ye Xi, wearing gray wool trousers and a beige turtleneck sweater, jumping rope.

As she jumped up, her 36D figure swayed up and down, bouncing with the rhythm of the rope, instantly waking Liu Hao from sleepiness, his eyes glued to her.

Ye Xi, who was focused on jumping rope, seemed to notice something, turned her head to look over, and her fair face turned bright red in an instant.

This guy is shameless; he actually dares to stare at his sister-in-law!

"Is it pretty?"

Liu Hao was a little embarrassed, but he is an honest person and wouldn't lie.

"Yes, it looks good!"

"hehe."

Ye Xi laughed in exasperation, raising her eyebrows slightly: "I'm going to tell Juan'er right now that you were spying on me this early in the morning!"

"Sister Xi, you've wronged me. I'm not lustful; it's just that the flowers are in full bloom, and if I didn't look at them, I'd seem unromantic!"

Ye Xi was stunned by his words, and a blush spread from her cheeks to her neck, even her ears felt hot.

"You smooth talker! You always know how to make excuses for yourself. How did Juan'er end up marrying someone as shameless as you!"

Liu Hao laughed and said, "That's right. Sister Xi, with your figure and looks, you're like a painting when you stand here. Who wouldn't take their eyes off you? We can't pretend to be blind."

These words were straightforward yet not cheesy, making Ye Xi's heart race. She kept a straight face and pretended to be serious.

"Get lost, you're never serious!"