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

"Guoshu, you're so young and you've already been featured in the Shanghai Daily and been named an outstanding young entrepreneur... What's your family background?"

Li Guoshu put down his chopsticks and said in a calm tone, "My father was a retired worker from an old factory in Beijing, and my mother always took care of the household chores. Back in the Republic of China era, my father remarried, and later, due to changes in the political situation, that branch of the family moved to Hong Kong. Now their business there is quite large, and this time when we came to Shanghai to set up a factory, they helped us with the funding and connections."

He had rehearsed these words beforehand and memorized them repeatedly... With more than ten households and dozens of brothers and sisters in the family, listing them all in detail would either frighten people or arouse suspicion. It would be better to follow the old custom, mentioning only one branch and omitting the rest, which would be both reasonable and avoid attracting attention.

"Oh, I see." Wang Hancheng nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

More than thirty years have passed; the timeframe is accurate.

Lu Wanchan continued, "So where are you staying right now?"

Holiday Inn Wukang Road

"What a coincidence, that hotel is owned by my brother in Hong Kong."

Li Guoshu added a sentence, his tone soft, yet it was like a reassuring pill.

"What?" Wang Hancheng's hand trembled, spilling half a drop of liquor. "Li Guoji, the 'Hotel King' of Hong Kong... is your older brother?"

His Adam's apple bobbed. As a prominent figure in Shanghai, Li Guoji had twice traveled to the city to discuss investment, and he had personally stood by at the signing ceremonies. A group with assets worth tens of billions was currently a formidable force in mainland China… capable of controlling projects and commanding respect.

"Hehe, it's my elder brother." Li Guoshu smiled. "The refrigerator factory and real estate development all relied on the foundation laid by him."

That smile held a genuine confidence.

Lu Wanchan looked at him: "Now that you've settled down in Shanghai, you should be able to stay here permanently, right?"

Her gaze darkened slightly as she wondered if her daughter would follow her north in the future, and they would only see each other a few times a year.

"Don't worry, Auntie, now that I'm here, I don't plan to leave," Li Guoshu replied readily.

In Beijing, there are many vendors, and stalls are densely packed together. Doing business in one place means you're bound to run into a tough opponent sooner or later. Shanghai is different... With a father-in-law like Shuji looking after you, there's a market, space, and no one to steal your business.

Lu Wanchan nodded: "Shanghai is indeed better than Beijing. The weather is much clearer, the air is cleaner, and things go more smoothly. We feel more at ease knowing you're staying here."

Her tone softened, and her eyes warmed. As long as her daughter didn't leave, the marriage was practically a done deal.

At 8:00 AM sharp, Li Guoshu got up to say goodbye.

Before leaving, he gave Wang Tingxi a wink... the meaning was clear.

At twenty-three, full of vigor and vitality, someone who has tasted the sweetness of life is not willing to give up easily.

Wang Tingxi tilted her head and smiled, then blinked: "I'm sleeping with my mom tonight, I'm not going back to the dorm."

He smiled, didn't linger, and turned to leave.

No rush. What's meant to be will be.

Just as I reached the gate of the compound, a commotion broke out.

"Let me in! I'm looking for Li Guoxin; I'm his relative!"

A plump woman in a dark green cheongsam blocked the entrance to the security room, her voice sharp yet sophisticated.

The security guard said sternly, "Vice Mayor Li's wife just called and said she doesn't know you. Please leave immediately."

"Call him! Tell him to listen to me, and he'll definitely come out!" The woman took a step forward, her nails almost digging into the door frame.

"If you keep causing trouble, I'll call the police."

"Li Guoxin...you come out here! Otherwise I'll go to the entrance of the municipal party committee compound tomorrow and shout!" She suddenly raised her voice, each word hitting the ground.

"Xiao Zhao, call the police!" the security guard shouted as he turned around.

Li Guoshu paused in his steps.

Li Guoxin? ...Brother Guoxin.

Who is this woman?

Her belly was showing, her clothes were taut, her eyebrows and eyes were beautiful, but her expression was unusually anxious.

His brow twitched: Could it be that something from outside has come knocking on his door?

Inside the room, Xiao Zhao had already picked up the phone.

"Wait a minute." Li Guoshu stepped forward, his voice low but steady, "I know this comrade. I'll take her away."

Xiao Zhao looked up, recognized him, and immediately released the receiver.

The security guard hesitated for a moment, but didn't stop them.

That's right, it's Tian Tian.

Li Guoxin had just been transferred to the position of vice mayor of Shanghai two months ago. Zeng Minzhi had long ago instructed her husband: keep it from Tian Tian, ​​the longer the better. She had calculated it correctly... Tian Tian was after status and position; unless things got really bad, she wouldn't ruin her own future.

She hadn't anticipated that Tian Tian was well-informed and acted even faster. In just sixty days, she was already standing at the entrance of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee's residential compound.

If this matter goes to the police station, and they investigate, Li Guoxin's name will be firmly in the spotlight.

Without hesitation, Li Guoshu raised his hand, signaling Tian Tian to follow.

The two walked one after the other, turned past the shadows of the sycamore trees, and disappeared at the alley entrance.

"Comrade, I am Li Guoxin's younger brother, Li Guoshu. Please get in the car."

It was cold outside, and there was still a month until the Lunar New Year. Tian Tian exhaled, and the white mist dissipated in a flash.

She glanced at Li Guoshu… His features didn't resemble Li Guoxin's, but his upright and sharp demeanor was exactly like Li Guoqing's. He wore a navy blue wool coat, the cuffs revealing half of his military green sweater collar, and on his wrist was an old-fashioned Shanghai watch, its strap worn smooth and shiny. Tian Tian quickly assessed him: someone from a government compound, unpretentious, quiet, with clear, bright eyes—trustworthy. Without hesitation, she opened the car door and got in.

The guard at the gate didn't stop him. The man leaned against the gatepost with his hands behind his back, not even lifting his eyelids. Having done this job for over twenty years, he'd long since figured out one rule: close your eyes when you should, turn away when you should. He'd transferred over a dozen people before and after, all wanting to get ahead, to investigate thoroughly, to ask detailed questions. And the result? A transfer order sent him to a remote county to guard a grain depot or a forest farm. He's still sitting here, simply because he hasn't said a word… He doesn't listen to what he shouldn't hear; he doesn't ask what he shouldn't ask.

"Brother Zheng, that girl with the big belly just now... was she...?"

When Xiao Zhao saw Zheng Baowei push the door open and come in, he immediately lowered his voice and leaned forward.

"Shut up." Zheng Baowei took off his cotton hat and shook off the snow. "Watch your mouth."

Xiao Zhao shrank his neck.

"Since I took over, I've lost count of the security guards who've been transferred. Why did they leave? Do you really want to know?"

Xiao Zhao nodded, then quickly shook his head.

"Where do you live?" Li Guoshu asked, turning his head as he gripped the steering wheel.

Tian Tian lowered her eyes, her hand resting on her protruding belly, her knuckles white. She didn't answer, only sniffed softly, as if enduring something. The warm air in the car blew evenly, the leather seats had a matte finish, and a thin layer of frost had formed around the edges of the windows, reflecting tiny specks of light from the streetlights outside.

"I... just arrived in Shanghai, and haven't settled in yet." She spoke slowly, her voice trembling slightly at the end.

She came alone. She entrusted her two children to her sister-in-law's care, saying she'd bring them over once everything was settled. She didn't mention Li Guoxin's name, but it was already firmly planted in her heart… she would only ever acknowledge him as her one and only.

Li Guoshu didn't ask any more questions and turned around to drive towards the Holiday Inn.

"You just said you're my brother's relative?" He handed over a glass of warm water, the inside of which was slightly hot.

Tian Tian took the cup, her fingertips brushing against the back of his hand before quickly withdrawing. She looked down at her swollen belly, her Adam's apple bobbing: "I'm your brother's mistress."

Li Guoshu frowned: "He's a government employee, so the rules are stricter than anyone else's. If this really happened, were you the one who posted it first?"

"No!" She looked up abruptly, her eyes reddening. "Fifteen years ago..."

She spoke plainly, without crying or wailing, simply laying out the facts: Back then, Li Guoxin was stationed at the grassroots level, running around the village with a fever of 40 degrees Celsius, still busy with flood prevention. She brought him medicine and food, and that's how they got pregnant. Later, he was transferred back to Beijing, and she followed him, giving birth to their first child in a tenement building; when she became pregnant with their second child, he was attending a Party school training program, and she sat alone outside the delivery room for six hours before finally getting the necessary paperwork done; the third pregnancy was discovered this spring, by which time he had been transferred to the position of vice mayor of Shanghai, and on the phone he only said "let's take it slow," and after that, even the phone calls stopped.

She didn't say "abandoned," only "cut off contact"; she didn't say "afraid of affecting his career," only "his wife has been unwell recently"; she didn't mention Zeng Minzhi at all, only saying that she dragged herself all over Beijing to inquire about several ministries, and finally asked someone to find out the license plate number of the car in the Shanghai Municipal Committee's family compound, and then she came all the way here.

On the day she set off, she couldn't get a train ticket, so she stood for eighteen hours. When she arrived at the station, her legs were so swollen that she couldn't take off her shoes.

As Li Guoshu listened, he didn't screw the lid of his thermos back on.

"You can stay here for now." He stood up. "I'll go to the municipal annex tomorrow morning and have him come see you."

"Wait." Tian Tian suddenly reached out and grabbed his coat sleeve. The force wasn't strong, but it was noticeable. "I haven't had a single hot meal since I got off the bus this afternoon. I'm not hungry, but the child can't go hungry."

Li Guoshu stopped in his tracks.

It's nine o'clock. It's five degrees below zero outside, and the wind feels like knives on your face. A pregnant woman, almost due, has been enduring this long on an empty stomach? He didn't say anything, but turned around and dialed the front desk, ordering two bowls of hot porridge, a steamed egg, and a small bowl of tenderly stewed pork liver soup.

Tian Tian looked at the back of his head, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, very faintly, and it was gone in an instant.

This uncle is too honest.

At 1 p.m. the next day, Li Guoshu pushed open the glass door of the coffee shop diagonally opposite the municipal annex.

Li Guoxin sat in the innermost seat by the window, wearing a gray cashmere sweater. His coffee was half-cold, and there were three cigarette butts piled up in the ashtray.

"A cappuccino," Li Guoshu said to the waiter, then pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Brother, you know Tian Tian, ​​right?"

Li Guoxin raised his eyes, his gaze calm, and did not deny it: "Yes, it's someone from outside."

He knew it last night. Tian Tian went to the government compound and was blocked at the gate of the guardhouse by Zeng Minzhi. She didn't go in or make a fuss, but just stood in the snow for forty-five minutes until the guard sergeant came out and persuaded her to leave.

He did not show up.

When he returned to Beijing last month, his grandfather, Li Wenguo, slapped him across the face. It wasn't for anything else, but because Zeng Minzhi, at the dinner table, slowly picked up a piece of cabbage heart with her chopsticks and said, "Guoxin has lost weight recently. I heard he's very busy and doesn't even answer the phone at home."

Li Wenguo threw down his chopsticks on the spot.

So he handed Tian Tian's matter over to Zeng Minzhi. He didn't care how she handled it.

After listening, Li Guoshu pursed his lips and remained silent.

He believes a man in his position might indulge in some extramarital affairs. But to father three children, ignoring one and raising the other, leaving the entire burden to the woman… he can't do that.

Tian Tian didn't say it was bitter, but every word she said hurt him deeply.