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

"Director Yang!!!"

Chang Binghui quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting to "Yang Zhengde," and waved for his men to disperse and investigate.

As soon as this major case came to light, Liu Erkui was quickly replaced by "Yang Zhengde" by Li Wenguo, who then staked out the location in advance.

He glanced around and suddenly saw Dong Haitang standing in the crowd; his heart sank.

hiss!

She's a member of the Lixingshe (Powerful Action Society)?! Not a member of the underground Communist Party?!

The clone felt a chill run down its spine: the main body was probably going to have a headache!

He smiled bitterly to himself: He had two wives, one hiding in the shadows to carry out a revolution, and the other wearing a uniform to catch spies. They were both kept in the dark, so things were peaceful. But if the truth came out, they would probably flip the table on the spot.

Upon hearing Chang Binghui's question, "Yang Zhengde" immediately regained his composure and said in a calm tone: "Captain Chang also saw it—the killer's firepower was fierce, with submachine guns and grenades. How could ordinary bandits or gangs have such abilities? They are probably Communists or Japanese spies."

He paused, his brow furrowing, his voice suddenly turning cold:

I lean towards the latter.

Li Wenguo hated the Japanese to the core, and his first reaction to any dirty business involving them was to shift the blame onto them.

"Flying Eagle Gang leader Zhu Mancai was riddled with holes, and his head was chopped off and hung on the flagpole—the Red Party knows how to act with restraint; only the Japanese would resort to such beastly methods!"

That's right.

Zhu Mancai's head was deliberately cut off to frame him.

"Um!"

Chang Binghui nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

A moment later, Dong Haitang's face turned pale, and she approached with a male agent to report.

The content is basically consistent with what Yang Zhengde said.

This was the first time she had ever faced a scene of corpses strewn everywhere. Her stomach churned, and her throat tightened, but she forced herself to swallow the words back.

But she knew that she would have to get through this sooner or later.

"Captain Chang, since it was the Japanese who did it, we won't get involved."

Zhou Dahai's men also came over. After hearing the suspect's identity, they immediately bowed and took their leave, waving goodbye and turning to leave with their men.

Time is extremely precious—the Red Party is still catching its breath in the city.

"Go and investigate the current situation of the Flying Eagle Gang, especially keep a close eye on Zhu Mancai's movements, and see if he has provoked the Japanese recently."

As soon as Chang Binghui finished speaking, everyone readily accepted the order and dispersed.

As Dong Haitang passed by Yang Zhengde, she paused slightly and lowered her voice: "Director Yang, please don't mention my involvement with the Lixing Society to my husband."

The two met once at the wedding banquet.

"Of course, Miss Dong."

Yang Zhengde nodded in agreement, his face open and honest, but inwardly he sneered: What a father-in-law, he really knows how to swindle me.

If Li Wenguo had known earlier that Dong Haitang was a spy, he probably would have weighed the marriage proposal over and over again, and most likely would have backed out on the spot.

Nowadays, the word "spy" is no longer a sneaky shadow, but a hot potato that everyone avoids like the plague, so stinking that even the old man selling pancakes on the street corner dares to spit on it.

Not long after, Li Wenguo felt a chill on his fingertips and pulled out the note that his clone had stuffed into the interlayer of his space.

He always relied on this method to communicate with his clone—it was more reliable and efficient than the secret mail tubes used by the Communist Party, the dead mail boxes set up by Japanese spies, or even those crackling radios; it was simply not on the same level.

Oh my god!

Haitang wasn't a member of the underground Communist Party, but a spy?!

Li Wenguo's brain suddenly throbbed, and his temples throbbed.

The first wife in the family, He Shuting, is a genuine underground party member; if Haitang were to discover her secrets, who knows what kind of storm it would cause.

After all, the two parties are currently irreconcilable, facing each other head-on, so there's no room for sentimentality.

They later joined forces to resist the Japanese, but that's another story.

After much deliberation, Li Wenguo finally made up his mind: to secretly reveal Haitang's background to He Shuting, so that she would be aware of the situation and not accidentally expose her identity.

Just after dinner, Li Wenguo took his son Li Guohua from Xiao Ju's arms, rocking and teasing him as he strolled toward He Shuting's room.

He Shuting, with a smile on her lips and her skirt swaying gently, followed her in.

"Was Xiaohua well-behaved today? Did she cause any trouble?"

Li Guohua, who was only two weeks old, was awake for once. His bright black eyes darted around and stared intently at his father, who was swaying in front of him.

This child looks exactly like He Shuting—fair and radiant skin, large almond-shaped eyes, and a high, slightly upturned nose. He's bound to be a handsome young man who attracts attention from all sides in the future.

Only the hint of heroic spirit in his brow bone vaguely reveals the shadow of Li Wenguo.

The daughter is more like Xianglan.

Li Wenguo didn't mind his children resembling their mother. He himself was at best a handsome young man, maybe a 7 out of 10 in a crowd; but Xianglan, He Shuting, Hongyu, and Dong Haitang—weren't they all stunning beauties? A 9 out of 10, no doubt. His children taking after them was bound to be a good choice.

"Babies cry when they're hungry, wet, or soiled; it's their natural instinct to remind adults to feed them or change their diapers."

He Shuting gazed at her son in her arms, her eyes gentle, a smile playing on her lips, the resilience and radiance of a young woman subtly rising to her brows.

Li Wenguo felt a surge of warmth in his heart and thought to himself: This behavior of yours is also instinctive!

"Oops!!!"

Xiao Guohua suddenly grinned and shouted indistinctly, his little body twisted into a pretzel.

"Quick, quick, they must be starving!"

Li Wenguo hurriedly handed it over.

He Shuting casually lifted her clothes and skillfully scooped up the child.

Li Wenguo reacted quickly and moved to the other side.

"Are you courting death? Trying to steal milk from your own son?"

She pretended to be angry and slapped his forehead, trying to push him away.

"Don't worry, you have plenty of breast milk!"

Li Wenguo tilted his head back and chuckled, then remained motionless.

"Hmph! If you fatten my son up to be thin, I won't let you off the hook!"

He was stubborn in his words, but his body stopped pushing him away.

"Don't worry, there's still Xianglan. Xiaohan can't possibly finish it all."

"What? You want my son to eat her?"

"No way! My son's food rations are none of anyone else's business!"

There was always a hurdle between her and Xianglan—the fact that the concubine had become pregnant first was like a thorn stuck in her heart.

Fortunately, it was a daughter; otherwise, the dispute over legitimacy would have been endless.

To ensure her son was well-fed and watered, she simply shoved her husband away, angrily snapping, "Go find her yourself!"

"hey-hey!!!"

"I've tried all the food from her place, but yours is still the best."

Li Wenguo, shameless as ever, moved even closer, getting half an inch closer.

Humph! !! !!

That old idiot!

He Shuting thought to herself, her gaze sweeping over his slick smiling face, but a strange feeling of tenderness welled up inside her, and her hand loosened its grip, no longer pushing him hard.

Then the two chatted on and on, talking about private things that only husband and wife would understand.

Of course, nine out of ten sentences were spoken by Li Wenguo. He Shuting's ears burned, and she cursed him in her heart as a "pervert," but her cheeks were hot and her heart was trembling slightly.

Unfortunately, I'm still in my postpartum period, so I can only listen and worry helplessly.

"I haven't forgotten the important matter." Li Wenguo changed the subject, his face darkening: "Guess who I ran into today?"

"Who is it?"

He Shuting responded listlessly, showing little interest.

The world may be vast, but nothing is bigger than the kitchen stove; the Party may be powerful, but nothing is greater than a baby in swaddling clothes—what do outside affairs have to do with her?

"There was a fight at Houhai last night, and the whole group was wiped out, did you hear?"

She shook her head.

While confinement at home after childbirth, I was so oblivious to the rain outside the window that I couldn't even hear the birds chirping outside the courtyard wall.

If she were working at a newspaper, this news would have been circulating in her ears long ago.

Li Wenguo's face suddenly darkened. "I was just strolling over today and bumped into Haitang—she was walking side by side with the Lixingshe people. It turns out she's been a female spy all along."

"No wonder she always gave evasive answers when I asked her what she did for a living... I knew something was wrong back then..."

Upon hearing "Dong Haitang is a female spy," He Shuting froze, as if nailed to the spot, her ears ringing, and Li Wenguo's subsequent words became indistinct noise.

My heart was pounding, and my mind raced: Which words were spoken too hastily? Which look betrayed my fear? Was there ever a time when my hands trembled violently while pouring tea?

There's nothing I can do.

Right now, the Communist Party is hiding in the shadows, while the secret agents are walking openly in the light. They are facing off against each other, like a cat chasing a mouse—the suffocating feeling pressing down on you makes it hard to breathe.

He Shuting was so nervous that her fingertips went cold, and she didn't even realize when the child in her arms had fallen asleep.

Li Wenguo glanced at her distraught appearance and almost burst out laughing inside.

With your awkward demeanor, if you hadn't rarely seen Haitang and barely exchanged three sentences with her, she probably would have already noticed something amiss.

"Oh dear, the baby's sleeping soundly, hurry up and put him on the bed!"

His shout brought He Shuting back to her senses. She hurriedly and carefully placed the baby into the cradle.

"How could you marry a female spy? Aren't you afraid she'll ruin our whole family?"

She complained about her husband, her voice trembling.

On second thought, I realized I was being far too paranoid. When we meet, we only exchange glances at the dinner table; they eat a couple of bites and then get up and leave, as swift and decisive as if they're in a hurry to be reborn. It would be truly bizarre if I could spot a flaw in such a small gap.

"Damn it! I'm so upset! Why can't she just be a comfortable rich lady? Why does she have to run off and risk her life like that! What if she gets shot one day? I'll have to collect her body—isn't that just deliberately trying to annoy me? How did I end up with such a jinx? In the end, it's all because of that father-in-law, Mr. Dong! He kept it a secret so well, otherwise I wouldn't have been so clueless..."

Seeing that she had finally calmed down, Li Wenguo said no more.

"Haitang's identity is a hot potato, and there are dangers everywhere. I'm afraid she'll implicate our family sooner or later... Why don't you just divorce her?"

"This matter... we'll discuss it later."

When He Shuting brought up divorce, he mumbled it but inwardly rolled his eyes a hundred times—he had finally managed to get a Teacher C who was more powerful and experienced, and he was extremely comfortable using her, so why would he easily let go?

The couple chatted until after 10 p.m. before Dong Haitang finally stepped into the house.

To investigate this case, she and her colleagues had been running around all day, and with her eyes bloodshot from staying up all night, she felt completely drained and just wanted to go home and sleep. But Li Wenguo showed no consideration whatsoever and, as usual, reached out to ask for a "routine inspection."

Looking at the old rogue's face in front of her, Dong Haitang felt as bitter as bitter herbs—to be stuck with such a scoundrel was truly the worst luck imaginable!

……

On the other end.

The Xu residence.

"Young master! Something terrible has happened!"

"The Flying Eagle Gang was wiped out last night!"

Defu waited from dawn until the moon was high in the sky, and finally the drunken young master Xu staggered into the courtyard.

"Huh? What did you say?!"

Young Master Xu was still tipsy and his mind was fogged up, so he didn't hear clearly for a moment.

"The Flying Eagle Gang was massacred last night! Zhu Mancai's head is hanging on the city gate tower this morning!"

These words were like a bucket of ice water poured over his head, instantly sobering up Mr. Xu considerably.