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

This delay meant that it was past midnight when I finally got back to my lodgings.

He walked to Dong Haitang's door and gently pushed it. The door was unlocked, but the room was quiet. She was lying on her side, breathing evenly, and had long been fast asleep.

Pregnant women shouldn't stay up late, so he couldn't bear to wake her.

"Hmph, I'll settle this score with you next time."

He then turned and went to He Shuting's side.

"Sigh, Shuting is so thoughtful—the lights are still on at this hour. It's all worth it to spoil her."

Seeing the warm yellow light reflected through the window screen, his heart warmed.

Pushing open the door, I saw her sitting under the lamp with her back to the door, knitting a sweater stitch by stitch.

Her waistline was extremely slender, her hips were round and full, and her figure undulated like flowing water, making one's heart itch.

He stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her into his embrace.

"Honey, I'm home."

It is warm and soft to the touch, with well-proportioned bones and flesh, soft as if boneless, and smooth as solidified fat. Once you hold it, you won't want to let go.

"Sir, you're back?"

She tilted her head slightly, sniffed lightly, and noticed that he was clean and tidy, without a trace of any unusual fragrance. The corners of her mouth unconsciously curved up.

"Shu Ting, I haven't spoiled you for nothing—you're still awake waiting for me so late. Come, let me pamper you properly."

His voice was deep, and his hand was already on her lower back as he moved her toward the bed.

"Sir, please wait!"

She gently pulled away, placing her palm against his chest, her tone soft yet unquestionable.

"What's wrong?"

Li Wenguo frowned slightly and blurted out.

A sudden tightness gripped my heart.

Could it be that the organization has encountered some troublesome task again, and they absolutely have to find me?

I said, "It's so late at night, why aren't you resting? Why are you waiting here for me to come back?"

"Sir, I'm afraid I won't be able to serve you anymore from now on."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Wenguo's heart sank.

Oh no—has my identity been exposed?

Should they pack their belongings and run away overnight?

Fortunately, He Shuting's next sentence put his mind at ease.

She gently stroked her lower abdomen, her eyes warm and radiant with maternal tenderness: "I had severe dry heaving this morning, so I went to Baorentang to see a doctor, and it turns out I'm pregnant again."

"Haha! Great! Excellent! Grandpa's going to have another member in the family!"

Li Wenguo laughed loudly, his chest filled with burning joy.

When he first came into this world alone, he was lost and confused, and at night he was often enveloped by a sense of emptiness and loneliness.

But after starting a family, the smell of firewood in the stove and the sounds of laughter under the eaves gradually warmed and dissipated the loneliness.

Now that his family is growing, he feels more open and at ease.

They even planned to have more children, so that the family would flourish and spread far and wide, with descendants all over the world.

Before the excitement of the cola had even worn off, Li Wenguo was already looking at the delicious-smelling piece of fatty meat in front of him but couldn't touch it, and he immediately deflated.

Xianglan's belly is already quite swollen, she's over five months pregnant; Hongyu has long been taken to the villa to rest and prepare for childbirth; Haitang is also quietly two months pregnant; Xiaoju and Xiaocui are only sixteen, still quite immature, they need to be nurtured for another two years.

Pooh!

Counting on my fingers—the room was full of beautiful women, yet I couldn't touch a single one of them!

It seems we really need to bring a few more rooms in!

Of course, after three months, they could have sex, but they had to be extremely careful and dare not be reckless. What was the point? Li Wenguo simply avoided it.

"Shuting, now that you're pregnant again, how about playing a tune for me tonight to relax?"

It was too late at night, and it was pitch black outside. I was too lazy to go out and seek pleasure, so listening to some traditional music was a good way to comfort myself.

"No, I want to sleep."

He Shuting hates this the most, and she refuses without even thinking.

"Hey! Don't try to renege on your debt—you still owe me four more!"

Li Wenguo was unwilling to back down.

"Ugh! Just thinking about it makes me angry! We agreed that it would be settled once that person moved into our house, but what happened? We haven't even seen him yet, and I've already been the one who suffered!"

"And now you're bringing it up with such confidence? Sir, how can you be so shameless?"

He Shuting was so angry that her cheeks puffed out.

"Hehe, you're right—I'm shameless, so what? Anyway, you agreed in black and white, and you still owe four more payments. Let's settle it tonight while it's still hot!"

Li Wenguo persisted relentlessly, refusing to listen to reason.

"I...I'm not doing it! You can sleep wherever you want!"

She turned over, her back to her husband, the blanket pulled tightly shut.

"Sigh, Shuting, how have I treated you all this time? I've been the one supporting the entire newspaper for you, and you just want to watch me suffer like this?"

If a hard approach doesn't work, they have to resort to a softer one and play the family card.

"Sir, I'm not trying to be mean, but you really should settle down! I was hoping to grow old with you—but you keep pushing yourself to the limit. What if you suddenly pass away first, leaving us, a widow and orphans, behind? Can you really bear that?"

He Shuting is no pushover either; she can still cut sharp with a soft knife.

Moreover, every word he said hit the nail on the head.

If it were anyone else, they would have been completely drained of their strength long ago.

But Li Wenguo is different—he has an iron back and a volcanic aura. After more than a year, who doesn't know how he is?

Even if he were to actually sit on the dragon throne, with three thousand concubines taking turns every night, he would still live as robustly as a pine tree.

"Hmph, I know my own body best—I'm as vigorous as a dragon and as strong as a tiger! Who among you hasn't tasted the thrill in the past year or so? I guarantee I'll live to ninety-nine without even breaking a sweat! Quick, come and put out the fire!"

"I'm not coming."

He Shuting was resolute.

"Sigh...Are you just going to stand by and watch me suffer?"

Li Wenguo let out a long sigh.

"You're welcoming your new wife in a couple of days, aren't you? Just bear with it and let her cool you down when she arrives."

Li Wenguo was taken aback, but didn't notice the hint of sourness in her words.

Oh!

It's Mavis Hee!

I was so busy with important matters that I almost forgot about this—it's just a fake marriage, not a real marriage.

However, he did not explain that it was common for men in the Republic of China to have multiple wives and concubines, so there was no need to make women jealous.

Mavis Hee?

He is handsome, with features as exquisite as a painting!

It's a pity my chest is too flat, so I can't get excited—otherwise, we could really turn this into a real thing!

Li Wenguo shook his head inwardly.

They've become picky eaters; used to delicacies from land and sea, they find it hard to swallow even plain soup and cabbage.

If it had been when I first transmigrated here, it would have been fine; but now? I really don't have that thought.

In that brief moment of distraction, He Shuting's breathing became even and soft.

She had waited for him for so long, still sewing the child's clothes, and was completely exhausted.

Li Wenguo waved his hand, got up, and strolled to the cradle. He leaned down to look at his sleeping eldest son—his little face was as pink and tender as a freshly peeled lychee. He couldn't help but gently rub the soft cheek with his fingertips, and the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up. But he never expected that no sooner had he finished talking about Xu Meijing than half of her backyard had collapsed.

Xu Meijing's father ultimately did not live to see his daughter's wedding.

This afternoon, he couldn't catch his breath and passed away.

The mother and daughter originally planned to keep the body quietly for three days, waiting for the situation to calm down before announcing the funeral. However, it wasn't just Xu Jianwei's family that was eyeing their household. The second wife was also eagerly waiting, and even the cleaning lady and the servant who emptied the chamber pots in the mansion had been bribed with silver coins. Before the body was even warm, the news spread like wildfire, reaching the ears of both main residences in the blink of an eye.

One is the main house, where Xu Jianwei is in charge;

The other family was the second branch, which also produced a "Young Master Xu".

Those who coveted Xu Meijing were all pampered young men who indulged in bird-keeping, cockfighting, and dog racing; the respectable elders wouldn't even bother to lift a finger to look at her. And among them, the most ruthless, impatient, and daring to make a move were these two.

However, Xu Jianwei was already intimidated by Li Wenguo—his eyes were as cold as ice picks, and his moves were as ruthless as a guillotine. He had long since nipped the idea in the bud.

But the second wife had no idea what was going on. When she heard that the first wife had stepped down, she immediately slammed her fist on the table, gathered seven or eight burly thugs, and stormed into the Xu family's old house.

The documents were torn to shreds on the spot, the house and land deeds were stuffed into his arms, and the gold bracelets, jade hairpins, and sandalwood boxes in the storeroom were all swept away. Before leaving, he even ordered his men to carry Xu Meijing away, intending to send her to the Xishan military camp to be presented to a deputy regimental commander surnamed Feng as a "toy to relieve boredom".

It wasn't until the next morning that Li Wenguo received the secret letter delivered by Xu Jianwei via express messenger.

"Sir, what happened?"

As dawn broke, Li Wenguo sat at the dining table, clutching the letter, his brow furrowed, his chopsticks hovering motionless in mid-air. He Shuting immediately noticed something was wrong and asked him a question.

Xianglan and Dong Haitang also put down their porridge bowls and looked over at each other.

"Sigh, it's business, not worth mentioning."

He always kept the difficulties at home to himself; and he was even more unwilling to let women get involved in the dangers outside.

He carried this burden himself.

After hearing this, the three women lowered their heads and continued drinking their porridge, none of them asking any further questions.

Li Wenguo turned and entered the space. With a flick of his finger, the note flew towards his clone, "Yang Zhengde".

This double, posing as the police chief, had long since mastered the intricacies of Beijing's officialdom: who was on which side, who owed whom a favor, whose ancestral graves were either emitting auspicious or inauspicious smoke...

Before long, a reply arrived:

The patriarch of the Xu family was a scholar from the Hanlin Academy during the Qing Dynasty. After the reorganization of the Republic of China, he entered the Presidential Palace and the National Assembly. Although he has now retired, his influence remains. His eldest son is in charge of the municipal government office, his second son is in charge of the finance bureau, his third son is a powerful regimental commander in the military, and his fourth son is engaged in import and export trade, making so much money that it flows out of the city gates. Although the collateral branches of the clan are not very influential, they still occupy several sinecure positions.

Definitely a prominent family in Beijing!

He could reach into government offices and step into military camps; even the head of the telegraph office would bow and address him as "Master Xu."

Li Wenguo stared at the note, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Trying to snatch someone from such a behemoth is like pulling teeth from a tiger's mouth.

Are they really just abandoning their responsibilities?

But if that playboy from the second wife is allowed to treat Xu Meijing like a commodity and send her to the military camp—I'm afraid that people will come to his door every day with a "gift list" to test his bottom line.

This kind of person is cowardly yet greedy, incompetent yet prone to arrogance. Their only way to make money is through robbery, fraud, and extortion!

Fuck!

If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have agreed to help her stage that fake marriage!

He punched his thigh hard, and the veins on his forehead throbbed twice.

But this is something that can't be delayed or avoided.

After quickly finishing his porridge, Li Wenguo wiped his mouth and got up.

Ding Xiaoqi and Xiao Jie were already waiting outside the door, their backs straight, their shadows stretched out straight in the morning light.

"Mr. Li, we've found out who the man from the Rizhao Photo Studio is. His name is Zhao Xiaoye, he's from Northeast China, and he's been renting a place at No. 165 Fangkou Lane in Beixi for almost three years."

"Kong Wu is currently reviewing his detailed resume."

Xiao Jie followed them all night, staking out until midnight. He slept for two hours in a rickshaw across from the photo studio, and before dawn, he went door to door asking questions.

Yes, that was done well!

But this matter is ten times more important than Zhao Xiaoye's.

Li Wenguo nodded slightly: "Understood, put it aside for now. I have a pressing matter to attend to—leave two men to guard the courtyard, and the rest, prepare your weapons and be ready to obey orders at any time."

A few months ago, he expanded his guard team, adding ten capable men.

With more people in the family, each wife needs a bodyguard and driver when she goes out and a welcome when she returns home. He Shuting even has two people on duty at the same time.

"Alright!" Xiao Jie turned and ran.

"I'll go keep watch on the trading company first, and you can follow me."

"Oh, right—develop those negatives immediately, by hand, don't let any third hand touch them."

"Understood, Mr. Li!"

The wheels had barely rolled over the bluestone slabs when he summoned "Yang Zhengde" once more from within the spatial realm:

First, try persuasion, then force him to come to your door in the name of the police station to demand your release; if he pretends to be deaf and dumb, then show solid evidence, call in the police, and forcibly remove him according to Article 3 of Chapter 7 of the Draft Civil Code!

If that young master Xu dares to cause trouble, we might as well take him down with us.

Li Wenguo was so skilled at this kind of thing that he could execute it swiftly and decisively without even blinking.