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

"Smack!!!"

Zhu Mancai slammed his palm down on the mahogany table, making the teapot lid bounce off.

"Bullshit! You think you're something special?"

"Don't be so stubborn! Believe me, the moment you step out of this restaurant, your whole family won't see the sun rise tomorrow!"

Zhu Mancai was used to being arrogant. In normal times, who wouldn't bow and scrape and call him "Master Zhu" when they saw him? Now, Li Wenguo had flipped the table and made harsh remarks in front of him. He was so angry that he wanted to pull out a gun and shoot him on the spot.

Upon hearing this, a cold glint flashed in Li Wenguo's eyes, and a murderous intent surged within him.

You want to wipe out my whole family?

Then I'll send you to hell first!

This dinner party naturally ended with a smashed glass and a complete break in relations.

They pressured the other side to release the person, or else they would massacre their entire family.

While refusing to budge, they also made exorbitant demands, asking for compensation for emotional distress.

Neither side is reasonable; it's no wonder they can't reach an agreement.

If they hadn't been carrying weapons on their waists, they would have been fighting to the death in the private room long ago.

"Master Zhu, this kid's too arrogant! He doesn't take our Flying Eagle Gang seriously at all! I'm leading the brothers to raid his hideout and chop up his whole family!"

As soon as Li Wenguo left, one of Zhu Mancai's men immediately slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"Chop? Chop my ass!"

"Are you really planning to grab a knife, storm into his yard, and start a fight?"

"Have you forgotten the police sweeping the streets of West Side lately? Blackie's been watching them like a cat watching a mouse!"

Zhu Mancai rebuked him sternly.

Li Wenguo has bodyguards who are always armed; if a gun is accidentally discharged, patrol officers can surround him within three minutes—the operation will immediately fall apart.

Besides, the other party is no pushover either. If you really stir up a hornet's nest, their retaliation will be enough to make your life miserable.

When you make a move, you must kill the enemy instantly; there must be no survivors.

"Mr. Zhu, what do you think we should do?"

Another man approached and asked.

"Arrange to meet him again in a couple of days. Bring plenty of men and valuable goods, and intercept him on the way."

"Once a person dies, the tree falls and the monkeys scatter—his connections with the police force automatically become invalid, leaving behind only a widow and her children, who are at our mercy."

As a seasoned gang leader who had been in the underworld for many years, he was quick-witted and shrewd.

"Wow, that's brilliant!"

"That's brilliant!"

"Master Zhu is still one step ahead!"

His two subordinates immediately gave him a thumbs up and flattered him repeatedly.

……

"Master Li, that bastard threatened to slaughter your entire family! Why don't we strike first and wipe out his Flying Eagle Gang's stronghold!"

Xiao Jie pulled the rickshaw quickly through the street, while Ding Xiaoqi jogged alongside, whispering to Li Wenguo inside the rickshaw.

Li Wenguo truly possessed such strength—his clone Liu Erkui commanded a guard of over a hundred men, each equipped with submachine guns and grenades, along with ten light machine guns and several mortars. They could go toe-to-toe with the local security forces, not to mention the Flying Eagle Gang, a group of thugs who made a living by carrying machetes.

Five hundred people? Annihilate them without hesitation.

Only then did Ding Xiaoqi dare to open her mouth.

"Tell Liu Erkui to wait for me at the usual place tonight."

Li Wenguo immediately gave the order.

The Flying Eagle Gang has become a major threat and must be eliminated.

After a secret meeting with his clone Liu Erkui that night, he sent Liu Shouhou and Sun Gang to sneak into Houhai overnight to find out where the Flying Eagle Gang was based.

After keeping a close watch all day, the two quickly figured out the details and promptly reported back to Liu Erkui.

Liu Erkui immediately mustered his men—since they were in the heart of the capital, they only carried submachine guns and grenades, determined to finish the battle quickly and completely wipe out the Flying Eagle Gang before dawn.

Before the police and the Lixingshe (a secret society) could arrive, they were to nip the problem in the bud.

……

Inside the main room of the Xu family.

"Defu, there's still no movement from the Flying Eagle Gang?"

Before receiving any news of Li Wenguo's annulment of the engagement, Young Master Xu could no longer sit still.

I just met with Mr. Xu today and casually mentioned Xu Meijing; the meaning couldn't be clearer.

"Young master, the Flying Eagle Gang was defeated on their first attempt."

"Li Wenguo is no pushover. He has guns and soldiers around him, and he also has connections in the police station. The dozen or so men they sent were all crippled and locked up in the station. They weren't even given any medicine, and their wounds weren't even bandaged. Several of them have already passed out and are about to give up."

"Zhu Mancai wanted to get people out of trouble, but he couldn't even get past the threshold. The day before yesterday, he even had the nerve to invite Li Wenguo to dinner, but he lost face completely and the meeting ended badly."

"This morning, he even asked someone to contact me and ask me to help mediate."

Defu had been keeping an eye on the matter and knew the whole story.

Defu was a servant raised by the Xu family since childhood.

"Outrageous! A nobody who climbed up the social ladder by working for a foreign firm dares to hire bodyguards and try to curry favor with the powerful?"

Upon hearing this, Young Master Xu's eyebrows twitched, and his chest felt as if it were on fire; he was both shocked and agitated.

I originally thought Li Wenguo was just a manager of a foreign firm, at most a decent head of servants, someone who could be manipulated at will.

But now that he has a pistol on his hip, armed bodyguards by his side, and has even made contact with the police—this is no longer a soft persimmon to be easily manipulated; he is clearly a hard walnut wrapped in iron.

Whether it's throwing punches or slamming signs, they can stay calm and handle it.

"Whom did he curry favor with at the police station?"

Young Master Xu's voice deepened, and he tapped his fingertips twice on the rosewood table.

Seeing that force was not an option, he decided to use connections.

Although Li Wenguo has connections in the police department, if he were just a minor clerk or squad leader, the Xu family could easily suppress him with a flick of their finger.

Defu, however, kept his head down and cut to the chase: "I've heard that he's on friendly terms with Director Yang Zhengde."

"Snap—!"

The teacup shattered with a crack, shards of porcelain scattering all over the floor, and scalding hot tea soaked his trouser legs.

The police chief? That's the highest position in the police department! To get any higher up, you'd have to beg a powerful figure in the city hall.

Is it worth owing a high-ranking official a favor for the sake of Li Wenguo? Not worth it. Not to mention, he doesn't even have the influence in the Xu family to ask for help; he wouldn't be able to get past the old man's hurdle.

He stood frozen in place, his knuckles white, his Adam's apple bobbing, a surge of suppressed anger rushing to his temples, and the veins on his forehead throbbing slightly.

For the first time, he, who had always had a smooth life, experienced being stuck in one place, unable to move forward or backward—not out of fear, but out of frustration, blockage, and the emptiness of not being able to clench his fists.

Seeing the dark clouds swirling in his master's eyes, Defu pursed his lips into a thin line and even softened his breathing.

Fortunately, Young Master Xu was only momentarily flustered. After a moment, he suddenly looked up, as if he had found a lifeline: "We can't just swallow this insult from the Flying Eagle Gang, can we?"

Local thugs like the Flying Eagle Gang aren't afraid of a few small fry in the police station; they're only afraid of powerful families and influential figures in the government who can truly shake the neighborhood. Li Wenguo's connections are nothing more than a minor inconvenience to them.

"That's right." Defu nodded. "Zhu Mancai personally said that Li Wenguo wouldn't live past this month."

"Oh?"

Young Master Xu sat up abruptly, the gloom on his face instantly vanishing, and a cold smile even appeared on his lips. "Then let him... shut up forever."

……

"Master Li, the Flying Eagle Gang has sent you an invitation to a banquet the day after tomorrow at the Golden Leaf Restaurant in the north of the city."

Ding Xiaoqi reported this with his hands hanging down.

"Golden Leaf Restaurant?"

Before Li Wenguo could speak, Xiao Jie stepped forward and lowered his voice: "Master Li, that place is not safe! The only way to get to the north of the city is through the old shantytown—it's dark, the police don't care, and gangs run rampant, making it the perfect place to set an ambush."

He paused, his gaze sharp: "Zhu Mancai is most likely going to make a move there and take your life."

Li Wenguo's face suddenly darkened. He grabbed the copper paperweight beside him and smashed it hard against the blue brick floor, making the window sills vibrate.

"Fuck his ancestors!"

"That old fox's eyelids droop, and he's plotting something wicked. I knew he wasn't a good person!"

"Dare to touch me? You're asking for trouble!"

He grabbed the pistol from the table, pointed it at the sky, and said sternly, "Xiao Qi, Xiao Jie, tonight at midnight, you two sneak over to Liu Er Kui—tell him to lead his men to ambush in the back alley of the dock warehouse, and strike when Zhu Mancai and his group cross the bridge! Leave no one alive!"

"Especially Zhu Mancai, he must be killed on the spot. And his four henchmen in the car with him, shoot them all in the head!"

His eyes were as fierce as knives—no one who saw his true face could survive.

"Yes, sir!"

The night was as dark as ink, and all was silent.

Even the chirping of insects around Houhai has ceased, leaving only a few intermittent barks of lazy dogs.

suddenly--

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Gunshots rang out, followed by two muffled thuds, like thunderclaps striking one's eardrums.

The entire neighborhood was instantly jolted awake. Adults pulled children under the bed, and the elderly trembled as they pulled the curtains. Everyone's face was ashen, and they huddled under the covers, barely daring to breathe.

Half an hour later, the gunfire ceased, and deathly silence returned. Only then did people dare to peek out, look at each other, their throats tightening, and they even forgot the words to curse.

Over here, Li Wenguo was leaning against the couch, one arm around the exhausted and fast asleep Dong Haitang, the other hand resting on his knee, waiting quietly.

Suddenly, his consciousness rippled slightly—his mind stirred, and he abruptly sank into the space.

A blank sheet of paper lay before me, the ink still wet, bearing only two words:

Get it done.

He let out a long sigh of relief, the tension in his shoulders finally eased, and his back, which had been tense all night, finally relaxed.

With the Flying Eagle Gang gone, a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

He turned his head to look at the beauty beside him, a smile playing on his lips, and his hand quietly reached out.

"Hmm... not again?" Dong Haitang opened her eyes groggily, shrinking back into herself, her voice hoarse from just waking up, "Are you trying to kill me? I have to catch the early shift tomorrow!"

"Shh—" He brushed his thumb against her cheek, his voice low and husky, "You go to sleep, I'll do my thing."

"No! If you keep doing this, I won't even be able to stand up tomorrow..."

"You really want to take leave?!"

"No, get down right now!"

Dong Haitang reached out and pushed hard, but the door didn't budge, as if it were welded to the wall.

"I'll come downstairs as soon as I'm done tidying up."

"You—you're a complete scoundrel!"

……

The next morning, Dong Haitang rubbed her sore eyes as she stepped into the department, almost missing her turn at the gate.

"Haitang, we have a mission. Set off immediately!"

Her colleague grabbed her sleeve, his voice urgent and low.

"clear!"

She answered decisively, turned around and walked quickly to the desk to get her equipment, her fingertips gripping the edge of the holster, but she secretly gritted her teeth: Haitang, hang in there!

She was originally from the intelligence section, so she shouldn't have had to get involved in the action team's mess. But Nie Wei, the head of the intelligence section, harbored a grudge and secretly sabotaged her, forcibly putting her into the Second Division's action team.

This team lived a life of constant danger. They targeted Japanese spies—either ruthless veterans of the Kwantung Army or highly trained agents, all vicious and willing to fight to the death. Every time they pulled the net, some never returned.

But Dong Haitang was the kind of person who would rather break than bend. The more dangerous it was, the straighter she stood and charged forward.

Before long, at the command of the action team leader Chang Binghui, Dong Haitang and a group of people quickly boarded the vehicle and set off.

Target: The stronghold of the Flying Eagle Gang in Houhai.

Gunfire erupted last night, waking the entire capital city.

The Flying Eagle Gang was wiped out overnight, leaving behind shell casings, severed limbs, and remains. Outside, everyone speculated: either the Communist Party was behind it, or Japanese spies were responsible.

Only these two groups dared to use submachine guns and grenades to wipe out a gang that had been entrenched for many years in the blink of an eye.

Nobody thought it was a feud between gangsters—they didn't have the firepower, and they certainly didn't have the ruthlessness.

The car sped along, and they arrived at the scene faster than expected.

The group of people had already arrived, standing in a dark row, staring coldly at the ruins.

They were specifically tasked with arresting underground party members, and they worked independently from the Second Division. However, their grudges ran deep, and they were like boiling oil meeting cold water, crackling and popping.

The two sides faced each other across the charred courtyard wall, neither speaking a word nor even bothering to exchange glances.

Mocking? Too lazy to even open my mouth. Arguing? A waste of breath.