Back To The 80s-Chapter 128 - 127: Serial _1

"Why aren’t you eating more?" Lu Zhanguo asked Gu Xiaobei, noting that he had only had one piece.

"It has a strong earthy taste, which I don’t like," Gu Xiaobei replied.

"When there’s time, I’ll take you up the mountain to hunt for wild chickens. The meat tastes good."

Gu Xiaobei pouted, "You are a liar! You promised to take me for a barbecue, but we haven’t gone yet."

"Okay, we’ll go barbecuing this Sunday, and might as well see if we can spot any wild chickens," said Lu Zhanguo. He chuckled at Gu Xiaobei’s pouty expression.

"You better not lie this time. Let’s invite Chen Gang and Jiujiu, and also call Li Fengmei and the others. It will be more fun with more people," Said Gu Xiaobei, who believed that the more the merrier.

"Okay." Suddenly, an idea sprang to Lu Zhanguo’s mind.

On Saturday, Gu Xiaobei asked Jiujiu to come home after school and join him for lunch at Li Fengmei’s. He also gave Jiujiu the house key, asking him to take a nap after lunch before heading to school.

By the time Lu Zhanguo came to pick her up, Gu Xiaobei was already waiting by the road. It was the end of September and a slight chill was already hanging in the air, but Gu Xiaobei wore a white dress over a thin, light green cardigan - a colorful man-made fiber. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

When Gu Xiaobei got into the car, she discovered that Cheng Qijia was sitting in the back. "Going to the city, Xiaocheng?"

"Yeah, I’m going to a military area meeting." Cheng Qijia looked at Gu Xiaobei dressed in her white dress and was reminded of Qin Li. He wanted to ask about it, but felt too shy to do so.

Lu Zhanguo glanced at the delicate legs that Gu Xiaobei exposed and asked with a frown, "Aren’t you cold?"

Gu Xiaobei sitting on the passenger side, shot Lu Zhanguo a coquettish look, "Beauty, at the risk of cold, get it?"

Lu Zhanguo was silenced instantly, knowing Gu Xiaobei was full of eccentric phrases.

Gu Xiaobei fell asleep under Lu Zhanguo’s coat. When she woke up in a daze, the car was almost reaching T City.

"Can you drop me off at Qin Li’s first?" Gu Xiaobei thought that that girl never loved to work anyway, so she may as well bring her along for an impromptu shopping spree.

"OK." Lu Zhanguo believed that it would be comforting to have someone accompanying Gu Xiaobei.

When Cheng Qijia heard Qin Li’s name, his heartbeat quickened.

"Where should I wait for you?" Gu Xiaobei suddenly realized that once they parted, without phones, they would totally lose contact.

"I should be done by around three. After you both have lunch, wait for me at the entrance of the department store," Lu Zhanguo calculated the time and said.

"Okay." Gu Xiaobei totally forgot that she didn’t even have a wristwatch.

Qin Li was bored at work. Being a civilian police officer in the household registration section, her daily works were idle. She was pleasantly surprised by Gu Xiaobei’s sudden appearance.

"Sister Xiaobei, why are you here? Oh, I’m so bored!" Qin Li spoke excitedly.

"I came to shop with you, are you free?"

"Yes, yes! I’ll take a leave from work right away." Her mentor was too lazy to monitor her, criticizing her for lacking initiative.

Women are naturally enthusiastic about shopping, and Gu Xiaobei, who came from the 21st century, can thoroughly enjoy shopping even in just one department store.

Qin Li gaped at Gu Xiaobei, who was buying a lot of stuff. "Sister Xiaobei, you’re like a nouveau riche, buying so much stuff."

"It’s not easy to come to the city, and the weather is turning cold. We need to buy some clothes for the change in season." Gu Xiaobei went over to the yarn stall and bought lots of yarn. She discovered that they could help knit sweaters for a little extra fee. Saving herself the trouble, Gu bought rose-red yarn for Jiujiu, bright-red yarn for herself, and khaki-colored yarn for Chen Gang. The sweaters would be knitted and ready for collecting later. She instructed Qin Li to pick them up when they’re ready.

She then bought yarn for Li Fengmei. When it came to choosing yarn for Lu Zhanguo, however, she was far from satisfied with any of her choices.

Qin Li was stressed out shopping with Gu Xiaobei; it was exhausting. Eventually, Gu Xiaobei chose a deep blue, pure wool yarn for Lu Zhanguo, which was two yuan more expensive per pound than the synthetic yarn.

"Wow, you really do spoil your man - buying synthetic yarn for yourself and pure wool for Lu Zhanguo." Qin Li teased.

"He’s the pillar of my household, he deserves the best," Gu Xiaobei replied with a smile.

By the time they finished shopping for everything, Gu Xiaobei realized that she didn’t have a wristwatch and had no idea what time it was. Qin Li also didn’t have one - so she thought about just buying one.

The watch sales counter was on the first floor of the department store. Gu Xiaobei cringed at the plain and ugly quartz watches that were priced at over eighty yuan and was reluctant to buy one. She sneaked a peek at the wall clock - it was almost one. After having lunch and heading over here, the timing would be just right.

Qin Li was confused, "Weren’t you going to buy a watch? Why didn’t you?"

"They were too expensive. The money can be used to buy winter clothes for the whole family," Gu Xiaobei thought and decided to buy a wristwatch the next time she earned author fees.

When Lu Zhanguo left the leader’s office, it was already almost half-past two. He still had a meeting in the park with Shen Heng and he had to hurry over there.

"What’s the matter?" Shen Heng asked impatiently the moment he saw Lu Zhanguo.

"Someone reported me for leading a luxurious and extravagant lifestyle, with expenditures far exceeding my personal salary," said Lu Zhanguo without beating around the bush.

"Did your leaders believe it?"

"No, they see this as an opportunity. I’m being suspended from work on the surface to be investigated, but secretly I’m to cooperate with you to find out who Bai Hu and the person behind him are," Lu Zhanguo said, feeling a little down thinking about Guo Huaqiang’s performance.

"Okay, also, Yuan Tan has been staying in T City recently looking for work." Shen Heng was somewhat suspicious of Yuan Tan.

"We’re planning a barbecue at Hulu River tomorrow. Bring Yuan Tan along, invite Qi Family too, let’s give it another try," said Lu Zhanguo after pondering for a while.

"Okay. Also, your mother-in-law went to your residential area and hit your sister-in-law. Did you hear about it?" Shen Heng asked, watching Lu Zhanguo’s expression turned grim; he knew that Gu Xiaobei hadn’t mentioned it and that Lu Zhanguo was unaware.

"What happened?" Lu Zhanguo’s bottom line was Gu Xiaobei.

Shen Heng went through the events and then said, "Your sister-in-law was quite extreme at the time. She threatened Gu Weimin and his wife. So, in the future, if anything happens to Xiaodong, they’ll blame your sister-in-law. You have to be careful."

Lu Zhanguo squinting his eyes, emitting a dangerous light. After a while, he nodded, "Okay, I got it. I’ll handle it, I’m heading to the department store to pick up your sister-in-law now. Please find a car and drive over tomorrow."

"Sure, got it. You should go now." The two bid farewell and left.

Lu Zhanguo’s face was ashen as he drove, thinking about the grievances Gu Xiaobei must have suffered when he was not at home, he felt suffocated. He also had a sense that someone was guiding the situation. If not, Gu Weimin and his wife wouldn’t have known about the incident.

He must first find a way to get Gu Weimin and his wife out of T City to prevent them from being used and entangled in this matter.

When Lu Zhanguo saw Gu Xiaobei and Qin Li standing in front of the department store with big and small packages, his face had already returned to normal, showing no fluctuation.

When he parked the car, he got out and helped them put the things into the trunk. Suddenly, remembering about the barbecue scheduled for the next day, Gu Xiaobei asked, "Should we buy some charcoal and skewers?"

Lu Zhanguo was surprised, "We don’t need to buy anything for a barbecue. Just bring some salt and chili."

"Huh? Then what do we use to grill?" Gu Xiaobei asked curiously.

"You’re having a barbecue tomorrow? I want to join!" Qin Li interjected enthusiastically.