Back To The 80s-Chapter 140: Trap_1

Lu Zhanguo did not acknowledge Shen Heng’s questioning look. Instead, he continue, "Why would anyone want to pluck even the tiniest radish?"

Yuan Tan made a face. She couldn’t understand why Lu Zhanguo, like Gu Xiaobei, seemed to care so much about a few radishes and cabbages.

Shen Heng finally understood. Lu Zhanguo was speaking in metaphors. As he reflected on recent events, he realized he might need to change his perspective. However, he responded jokingly, "Alright, alright. I know you care about your sister-in-law. I promise to buy her a big bag of radishes when the weather gets cold."

Lu Zhanguo just nodded, staring out the window, silent.

"Let’s go for lunch," Shen Heng proposed, deciding to save the discussion for later.

Yuan Tan certainly wouldn’t leave on her own. So, she followed the two men to lunch. Lu Zhanguo drove them to Uncle Wang’s noodle shop.

Unexpectedly, Jin Cheng was also there, enjoying his noodles. Shen Heng and Lu Zhanguo pretended not to see him, seated themselves at a table further inside, while Yuan Tan followed them.

Jin Cheng, who was waiting for his noodles, leaned lazily against the wall and whistled rudely at Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan shot Jin Cheng an angry look in response but said nothing.

Uncle Wang came in from the backyard with a smile, "Zhanguo, you’re here. Your aunt and I were just talking about how it’s been awhile since you visited."

"We did come by a few days ago, but we were told you’d gone back to your hometown in the countryside," Lu Zhanguo said to Uncle Wang in a gentle tone.

"Hey, old man, hurry up with my noodles," Jin Cheng called out impatiently.

"Right away, right away. My wife is preparing it in the back," Uncle Wang replied, grinning broadly.

Yuan Tan looked around with a disgusted expression and grumbled, "Why would you choose such a filthy place to eat?"

"Huh, since when have you been all that clean?" Jin Cheng snidely commented.

Yuan Tan turned to Shen Heng and Lu Zhanguo in outrage, "Are you going to let him talk to me like that?"

"Just eat your food," Lu Zhanguo said expressionlessly.

"I’m going to check on the Aunt Wang in the back. You and Yuan Tan just wait here," Lu Zhanguo slapped Shen Heng on the shoulder and headed to the back.

Jin Cheng, shaking his leg casually, glanced about the room nonchalantly. After a while, he called out, "Old man, where is the restroom?"

Uncle Wang leaned out from the kitchen and replied, "It’s in the backyard."

Jin Cheng got up and passed by Shen Heng and Yuan Tan, giving them a dismissive snort as he sauntered off.

In the backyard, under a small grapevine trellis, Aunt Wang was rolling out dough. Seeing Lu Zhanguo, she greeted him cheerfully, "It’s been a while since we last saw you. We were planning to close up and head to our hometown for the winter. We were worried we might not see you before we leave."

"When we get a chance, Xiaobei and I will visit you in the countryside," Lu Zhanguo reassured her.

"That’s nice. The road there is a bit rough, but if you need, you can ask your Uncle Wang to give you a ride home on his donkey cart. And we’ll send you off with a jar of my homemade pickled sour vegetables," Aunt Wang replied cheerily.

Jin Cheng also strolled out, and Lu Zhanguo gave him a glance before telling Aunt Wang, "I need to have a word with him."

"Sure," Aunt Wang, though confused, didn’t ask any more questions.

Lu Zhanguo headed straight towards an apple tree in the corner of the yard. Jin Cheng followed him over, "Brother Zhanguo."

Lu Zhanguo gave Jin Cheng a long, deep look, "Jin Cheng, Shen Heng told me everything. What you’re doing is very dangerous. For now, Gao Dailin seems to be a minor player, but if he can’t fulfill his superior’s orders, there’s a good chance they’ll use you as bait."

"Don’t worry, Brother Zhanguo. I understand. As long as we can catch the big fish behind the scenes, I’m not afraid," Jin Cheng replied with utmost seriousness.

"Then you need to be careful. Remember, if you are sent to the south, you must be vigilant. Don’t touch what you should not. Qin Li is a good girl, and she cares deeply about you. For her sake, you must look after yourself well," Lu Zhanguo could only advise.

"I know, Brother Zhanguo. You also need to be careful. I heard them talking about tapping Gao Dailin’s phone calls. They’re likely planning to set a trap for you," Jin Cheng said with concern.

"I’ll be fine. But you... try to help me find a way to get Gu Weimin and his wife to leave T City. And for the time being, they shouldn’t come back," Lu Zhanguo was still bothered about Chen Qiumei hitting Gu Xiaobei. But his present task was to try and get Gu Weimin’s family out of harm’s way.

"Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they can’t come back to T City," Jin Cheng nodded and reassured him.

Lu Zhanguo asked Jin Cheng to go ahead, then went back in after chatting with Aunt Wang for a bit.

Jin Cheng was already slurping his noodles. Lu Zhanguo sat down and watched as Yuan Tan picked at her noodles disdainfully. She was particularly bothered by the rough porcelain bowl with a chipped blue rim - the black stains ingrained in the porcelain simply wouldn’t wash off.

Lu Zhanguo suddenly felt a wave of distaste for Yuan Tan. He lowered his head and began eating his noodles silently.

After finishing his noodles, Jin Cheng tossed 80 cents onto the table, shouting, "Old man, I left your money on the table." He then swaggered out. As he reached the door, he turned to whistle rudely at Yuan Tan one more time.

Yuan Tan glared at him angrily. But seeing that Shen Heng and Lu Zhanguo were merely eating their noodles, she picked up her own with a sigh and began to eat.

After finishing their meal, Lu Zhanguo asked Yuan Tan to return first since he had business to attend to with Shen Heng. Yuan Tan pouted her lips in discontent but was left with no choice but to storm off.

Only when Yuan Tan was out of sight did Lu Zhanguo say, "Do you know who replaced Gu Xiaodong?"

"Who?" Shen Heng asked, puzzled.

"Du Chengwen!"

"Is there a problem with him?" Shen hadn’t heard of this individual before.

"His brother is Du Chengjiang. That name should sound familiar," Lu Zhanguo reminded.

Shen Heng knew who Du Chengjiang was. He was supposed to go to the front line with Jin Jiadong back then. But as soon as they reached Y Province, he came down with malaria and was sent back to recover.

After Jin Jiadong was killed in action, Du Chengjiang insisted on joining the battle. However, he fainted before he even made it out of the hospital.

Later, when Lu Zhanguo’s squad came by, he desperately wanted to join them. But his malaria flared up again near the border, so once again, he was sent back to the hospital.

Somehow, he was hailed a war hero not long after. He married a doctor from the hospital and was transferred to G Province soon after.

Some people from the hospital claimed he had never had malaria and was only suffering from a common fever.

This cast suspicion on his actions, but everyone was aware of the implications. Unexpectedly, Du Chengjiang flourished after his transfer, eventually becoming the deputy prosecutor of G Province.

Confused, Shen Heng asked, "So, you’re saying there’s a problem with Du Chengwen?"

"It’s hard to say. Look into Du Chengjiang," Lu Zhanguo suggested, thinking they needed to broaden their investigation beyond T City.

"Alright. When are you going back?" Shen Heng was confused why Lu Zhanguo wasn’t in a rush to leave.

"I’m heading to the provincial capital now and will be back the day after tomorrow," Lu Zhanguo squinted as he spoke.

"Are you crazy? That’s hundreds of miles away," Shen Heng exclaimed.

"It’s fine. They’ve been leading us around by the nose all this time. Now, we’re going to make our move," Lu Zhanguo declared coolly.

"Be careful on the road. I expect they’ll know the moment you leave T City," Shen Heng advised seriously.