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

"Brother Li, do you think... he might have pocketed this batch of goods?"

Zhang Dadan stared at him and asked in a low voice.

"No way!"

"Both foreigners and Japanese devils are involved; does he really dare to wade into this mess?"

Liu Hongtao is definitely doomed this time. Li Wenguo didn't even bother to add insult to injury, sticking to the facts and hitting the nail on the head with every word.

"Oh……"

"The human heart is like a black cloth; who can truly know what it's wrapped in?"

Zhang Dadan shook his head, not believing in that.

Before the words were finished...

The door to the manager's office upstairs was pushed open with a loud bang.

Two patrol officers carried Liu Hongtao down from his left and right sides. His face was ashen, his eyes were sunken, and his spine seemed to have collapsed. He was no longer the arrogant man he used to be.

"Mr. Charlie, don't worry! No matter how stubborn this kid is, we can pry him open. We'll definitely get your goods back intact!"

The bureau chief bowed and scraped, his smile as thick as honey, patting his chest and swearing oaths.

His expression changed instantly, and he growled at the two patrol officers, "Take them away!"

"Liu Hongtao is completely finished now."

"Even if he doesn't die, he'll be skinned alive."

Zhang Dadan clicked his tongue and sighed.

He swallowed one sentence: "After they've skinned him alive, not even a bone fragment will be able to get him out of jail."

When Li Wenguo heard the phrase "peel off a layer of skin," images flashed through his mind of the crisp sound of a whip lashing flesh, the burning sensation of chili water being poured down his throat, and the dull thud of a tiger bench breaking a leg bone... His chest inexplicably sank, and a sour feeling welled up inside him.

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he gritted his teeth and suppressed it: if he didn't take him down, he would be the one to die later.

That belated sense of guilt was instantly crushed into nothingness.

Manager Charlie glanced down at the group of employees craning their necks to look, and his voice suddenly rose as he berated them: "What are you looking at? Have you finished your work?"

His anger was blatantly displayed on his face, impossible to suppress.

"Bang!!!"

He kicked the office door shut, making the door frame vibrate loudly.

Only Huang Kun remained at the door, his face so gloomy it seemed to drip ink.

Yes, he just came down with Charlie and the patrolman.

The list of stolen items included a small batch of weapons that he had personally handled.

Fortunately, he had eaten a meal with Li Wenguo that night, which gave him an irrefutable alibi—otherwise, Liu Hongtao would not be the only one being taken away by now.

Being innocent does not mean being free of responsibility.

Charlie made a harsh statement: The losses suffered by the trading company must not be reduced by a single penny!

These words sound easy, but in reality, they mean tearing his flesh and bleeding him dry.

That batch of weapons? It would be a miracle if we even found them!

The only solution is for him to pay for the money out of his own pocket.

But would someone as greedy and stingy as Huang Kun be willing to put in his own money? Dream on!

His eyes darted around, and he fixed his gaze on the person next to him.

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, he went straight to Li Wenguo with a long face:

"Brother Wenguo!"

"You've got to lend your brother a hand this time!"

"Hey, Lao Huang?"

"What happened?"

There are many rules in the capital, and people always use the informal "you" – Good morning? Have you eaten? Are you resting?

Although Li Wenguo found it tedious, he still had to follow the rules out of politeness.

He had long anticipated that this matter would implicate Huang Kun, and that he himself was the mastermind behind it all. He was secretly pleased, but on the surface, he frowned and pretended to be more anxious than anyone else.

"Ugh!"

"That damned Liu Hongtao has ruined everything! His gang of thieves not only stole the Japanese goods, but they also took the weapons from my order! Now the trading company is going to lose everything!"

"Brother, your lifeline is in my hands! Lend me a few dollars to tide me over! Once we get through this, Fuyuan Restaurant will throw a big feast to thank you! I'll sell everything I own to pay you back!"

Huang Kun was so immersed in his role that his eyes welled up with tears, and he almost wiped away his snot and tears.

Ah!

Invite me to a banquet?

Li Wenguo's stomach churned with a cold laugh.

He had already inquired about it...

Throughout Huang Kun's years working at the foreign firm, he never hosted a single banquet; yet, he never refused invitations from others; he didn't even host a single banquet for his son's wedding!

Expecting him to treat you? You'd better be reincarnated with money in your next life!

Besides, how can someone who's so stingy even think about paying back money when they ask for it?

He's good at everything: procrastination, lying, and playing dead.

Borrowing money? That's just making yourself look stupid.

"Oh, my dear Brother Huang!"

"To be honest, I don't know how to keep track of money, and my salary has long been spent in bits and pieces."

Besides, now that Liu Hongtao's gone, I can finally pursue Meijing more freely—think about it, that's a lifelong commitment, how can it be cheap? For the sake of my future happiness, brother, could you spare me a few dollars to tide me over?"

"If the deal goes well, you'll be absolutely satisfied with the meal at Fuyuan Restaurant!"

What does it mean to kill without shedding blood? This is it.

You want to lend me money, and you also have to promise me a feast—

I'll lend you money right away, and I'll still treat you to a banquet.

The words that come out of your mouth will return to your ears.

The reasons are impeccable:

Marriage is a major life event; anyone who tries to stop it will be struck by lightning.

As the old saying goes, "It's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage!"

Instantly.

Huang Kun was so angry that his face turned purple and the veins on his forehead throbbed.

How could he not understand the implied meaning in those words?

She glared at Li Wenguo, then turned and strode off to try and raise money.

But what was his reputation in the foreign firms? Everyone knew the answer to that.

Excuses for shirking responsibility come out of their mouths faster than turning the pages of a book.

In the end, he only managed to find a few junior employees who were under his strict control. They gritted their teeth and forced him to accept a few dollars, their faces showing their reluctance.

A month later.

Just past eleven o'clock at night, the old forest in the western suburbs of Beijing was so dark that it looked like ink had been splashed on it, and you couldn't even see your fingertips.

The sky hung extremely low, with layers upon layers of dark clouds swallowing up the moon and stars.

Suddenly, a bright beam of light shot out from the east of the forest, swaying twice.

Almost simultaneously, a beam of light cleaved in the west, firmly seizing the beam of light—like two knives meeting eyes in the darkness.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen beams of light lit up at once, including flashlights, gas lamps, and lanterns, illuminating the entire forest as if it were daytime.

Two groups of figures emerged from the shadows of the trees and the bushes, carrying rifles on their shoulders and pistols bulging on their belts. Their eyes were cold and hard, and their steps were steady. They were clearly people who had lived a life of danger.

"Squeak... squeak..."

One group of people pushed out five old handcarts, their wooden wheels crunching over withered leaves with a chilling sound.

A burly man with thick eyebrows and a broad face walked out from the opposite direction, grinning at Liu Daikui, a man with a fierce face and broad shoulders: "Liu Daikui, you've got some nerve today! You dare to steal foreign goods, you're something else!"

Liu Daikui, with his nostrils flared, scoffed, "These days, the bold get rich, and the cowards starve. What's the difference between robbing whom? Might as well pick the fat ones to slaughter—those foreign devils have mountains of gold and silver in their pockets, who else would we go after if not them?"

"This job will keep the brothers living it up for at least half a year."

"That makes sense!"

The man with thick eyebrows smiled and nodded, but his eyes narrowed into slits as he stared intently at the five carts.

His brow furrowed, and his voice suddenly turned cold: "Something's not right... Why are there only twenty-five boxes? You said fifty boxes!"

His gaze was sharp and fixed on Liu Daikui's face.

"Who said I dumped it all on you at once?" Liu Daikui smirked. "Half, settle the bill first. We'll talk about the other half when things calm down."

The man with thick eyebrows had an unpredictable expression on his face.

That's right, Liu Daikui did reveal the truth a few days ago: fifty cartons of top-grade opium, one carton costing 1,800 silver dollars, and he was sticking to the price.

He agreed on the spot, which was tantamount to accepting all the benefits—who knew that this old fox would play the trick of splitting the order at the last minute!

A chill ran down his spine; his original plans had completely fallen apart.

But then he had a change of heart: it's better to secure this batch of goods now and then ambush and snatch the rest back, still making a net profit of 45,000 yuan! That amount of money is enough to buy shops on half a street.

value!

That's right, this group was planning to double-cross each other.

The transaction was completed quickly and efficiently.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate with you!" Liu Daikui clasped his hands in a fist salute, his voice booming.

What a load of bull! The muscular man with thick eyebrows was inwardly churning.

A smile plastered on his face, and he cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, saying, "It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Daikui had just turned around...

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three sharp sounds ripped through the night. Liu Daikui was hit by several bullets in the back, his body shuddered violently, and he staggered forward.

Oh no! I overestimated myself!

The cooperation had gone smoothly for the past few months, with each transaction completed cleanly, so he had long since let his guard down.

Who would have thought I'd fall here tonight? It was so sudden and unexpected!

Gunfire is the command.

The thick-browed man's men were already in ambush, and they opened fire with their guns; seven or eight more dark figures sprang out of the woods, brandishing long spears and firing at the men.

Liu Daikui reacted a beat too slow, and in the blink of an eye, all ten or so people were knocked down on the muddy ground.

However, the muscular man had already taken precautions—he left one survivor, intending to pry out the location of the remaining shipment.

He strode forward, shoved Liu Daikui aside, and reached into his pocket for the checks.

"Click!"

A soft, yet sharp, snapping sound—the sound of a grenade's pin snapping open!

not good!

He leaned back sharply and fell into the haystack.

"boom!!!"

The flames exploded, and the heat wave overturned the fallen leaves. Liu Daikui was instantly shattered into several pieces. Although he himself was thrown over by the blast wave, he managed to use the corpse as a shield, but ended up with a charred body and a ringing in one ear.

"Quick! Turn him over and find the checks!" he roared hoarsely.

The check had already been stored in the clone's personal space, so how could it be found?

In the end, it was just considered to have been burned to ashes.

"call……"

He let out a long breath, wiped the blood and ash from his face, and muttered under his breath, "It's better that it's burned... Not a single penny of the boss's money is missing."

He secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

the other side.

Li Wenguo suddenly froze, his waist and abdomen stiffened, and his movements came to an abrupt halt.

—The connection with the clone has been severed.

Like a taut thread, suddenly snapping.

The person is gone.

That's right.

The burly man with broad shoulders and a fierce expression was his body double.

He was responsible for selling stolen goods and laundering them, running black markets, and making connections.

It's probably been swallowed by someone?

Li Wenguo's heart sank, and his throat tightened slightly.

I was too overconfident.

Fortunately, the check had been tucked into my personal belongings and hadn't ended up in someone else's pocket, so it wasn't a serious loss.

But Liu Daikui's face was completely ruined.

The lost guns are not difficult to replace; as long as the silver dollars are still available, manpower can be gathered at any time.

"Sir, why aren't you moving?"

Xianglan was in the throes of passion, her fingertips still wrapped around the back of his neck.

"Ugh, my lower back is so tight."

Li Wenguo gave a casual, nonchalant answer.

"It's alright, sir, please lean back!"

Xianglan immediately came over and helped him lie down, as if she were serving her own pillar of strength.