Back To The 80s-Chapter 453 - 463: Encounter_1

Gu Xiaobei sighed, "Xiao Hong is also a poor child, growing up without a father, her mother raised the three siblings all by herself. She said her mother has never even been to a restaurant, so she wants to take her out and let her see the world."

Lu Zhanguo nodded his head, acknowledging the girl’s sense of filial piety. She is not bad.

When they arrived at Huixiang Building, Xiao Hong and her group had already arrived. There were only two private rooms, they had been booked early, so they had to make do with the main hall, joining two square tables together to make room to sit down.

Xiao Hong’s mother, in her fifties, was not talkative, but she always had a smile on her face. When she met Gu Xiaobei, she kept expressing gratitude, "Thanks to you, our Xiao Hong was able to get such a good job. She earns more than our neighbors who work as factory workers in state-owned factories. I’m really grateful."

Gu Xiaobei stepped forward, grabbed Aunt Xiao’s hand and said, "Aunt Xiao, there’s no need for formalities. The main thing is that Xiao Hong is capable and a good girl."

Xiao Hong shyly pulled her mother to sit down and Gu Xiaobei, watching Chen Zhao standing rigidly to one side like a wooden stick, surreptitiously nudged him with a look that said, go and pour the tea.

Only then did Chen Zhao clumsily go to pour the tea, accidentally spilling a bit.

Due to the presence of Lu Zhanguo, Aunt Xiao was a bit restrained and quietly ate the dishes Xiao Hong was serving her.

Gu Xiaobei sighed inwardly. Your own man is really not cut out to play matchmaker. She smiled and asked Aunt Xiao, "Xiao Hong is 21 after the New Year, right? What kind of partner is Auntie thinking of for Xiao Hong?"

This question made Chen Zhao, who was pouring water, spill some on the table in his nervousness.

Aunt Xiao laughed, "As long as he is local, ambitious, and doesn’t need to meet any familial conditions but he must have a residential permit for own-supplied grain."

The last sentence cooled Chen Zhao’s enthusiasm.

Gu Xiaobei saw that things were not going well and didn’t ask any more questions. She signalled Xiao Hong and they went to the restroom together.

The restroom was in a lane outside the restaurant. Gu Xiaobei, pulling Xiao Hong aside, asked, "What are you thinking?"

Xiao Hong sighed, "It’s useless no matter what I think if my mom doesn’t agree."

"Then let Chen Zhao try harder to get your mom’s approval," Gu Xiaobei comforted her with a smile.

When the two came out of the restroom and turned a corner, they almost bumped into someone.

Before Gu Xiaobei could see clearly who the person was, she said, "I’m sorry, I’m sorry."

"Xiaobei, what are you doing here?" Xiangmin seemed very surprised to say.

Gu Xiaobei finally noticed that the person she almost bumped into was Xiangmin. Somewhat surprised, she casually replied, "We came to use the restroom."

Xiangmin was still very enthusiastic, "We’re having dinner at Huixiang Building. Have you eaten yet? Join us."

Gu Xiaobei swiftly realized, this was not a coincidence, they were waiting for her on purpose, right? Pretending to be surprised, she said, "We are eating there too, why didn’t we see you?"

Xiangmin laughed, "We are in a private room, you are in the hall, of course, you can’t see us."

Gu Xiaobei laughed, Xiangmin’s intelligence seems to be decreasing rapidly, she admits without being asked. She replied, "No wonder, we arrived late and didn’t get to book a private room. Who are you with?"

"We are here with our family of three, plus my mother-in-law. Come sit with us for a while?" Xiangmin warmly went to hook arms with Gu Xiaobei.

Gu Xiaobei subtly stepped back to avoid Xiangmin’s outstretched hand, laughing, she said, "Okay, I’ll go ask Lu Zhanguo. Are you in Room 1 or Room 2? We’ll come find you." She wanted to see what these people were up to.

"We’re in Room 2. I’ll tell Guo Huaqiang, you must come, okay?" After Xiangmin finished talking, she turned around and hurriedly went back into the restaurant.

Gu Xiaobei watched Xiangmin’s retreating figure, then turned back to look at the path to the restroom. She felt more certain that Xiangmin was up to something.

Back at the table, Gu Xiaobei whispered into Lu Zhanguo’s ear about running into Xiangmin, asking if he wanted to go over.

Lu Zhanguo thought a little bit more. This sudden show of goodwill must be with a purpose, so he must go and see what’s up.

Gu Xiaobei said goodbye to Aunt Xiao and the others, and went with Lu Zhanguo to Room 2.

When they passed by Room 1, the door, which had initially been ajar, suddenly closed tight.

Guo Huaqiang, seeing Lu Zhanguo and Gu Xiaobei knock on the door and enter, his face briefly showed a trace of embarrassment.

Gu Xiaobei noticed some changes in Guo Huaqiang. His hair had grown long, styled in a three-to-seven part, he had lost a lot of weight, and didn’t seem to be in the best of spirits.

As soon as Xiangmin saw Gu Xiaobei, she smiled and said, "Xiaobei, come sit down, we just ordered, we haven’t started eating yet."

Gu Xiaobei smiled, greeted Ding Guihua, who seemed to be in a bad mood, "Auntie, how have you been lately? Xinxin has grown so much." The two-year-old Xinxin, prematurely born and not very well taken care of after birth, appeared much smaller than children of the same age and was very shy. Seeing Gu Xiaobei speak, she was scared and crawled into Ding Guihua’s arms.

Seeing Gu Xiaobei greet her with a smile, finally, a hint of a smile appeared on Ding Guihua’s face, "Quite well, you two are well too, aren’t you? And the children?"

On one side, Gu Xiaobei and Ding Guihua were exchanging pleasantries.

Lu Zhanguo sat down silently, quietly watching Guo Huaqiang, once a brother, now a stranger.

Guo Huaqiang cleared his throat, trying to ease the embarrassment, and forced a smile, "Lu Zhanguo, how have you been lately?"

"Pretty good." Lu Zhanguo responded litely.

Xiangmin, on the other side, was trying to lighten the mood, "Xiaobei, Lu Zhanguo, these are the newly served dishes and utensils, they are clean, start eating."

Lu Zhanguo looked at the neatly arranged six pairs of bowls and chopsticks on the table, his eyes flashed, but he didn’t speak.

Gu Xiaobei squinted her eyes and said with a smile, "We arrived early and ate almost everything outside. I was even ordered to drink two cups of grape wine."

The chopsticks in Xiangmin’s hand froze in mid-air, how could she forget that this woman was so clever? She had just told Gu Xiaobei that they were in a private room and didn’t see them. Now Gu Xiaobei intentionally said they had almost finished eating outside, but the dishes on the table in the private room had just been served and were still hot. Wasn’t that an obvious contradiction indicating that she was lying?

Guo Huaqiang took a glass, poured wine for Lu Zhanguo, and said, "No matter if you do or not consider me as a brother, I always remember that you are all my good brothers."

Lu Zhanguo looked deeply at Guo Huaqiang, picked up his glass of wine, banged it slightly against the table and said, "To what once was." His voice carried a touch of mockery.

Guo Huaqiang clenched his teeth, lifted the cup, drank it all in one gulp and said with regret, "I know you and old Zhang have misunderstood me. I have lost face, you know. What face do I have to see you now that I am in this situation?"

Lu Zhanguo saw Guo Huaqiang’s eyes shifting unnaturally to the left as he spoke, his eyelids drooping. No matter how well disguised, a person tends to give instinctive reactions when lying. Guo Huaqiang was a political worker and had never received professional training, so he couldn’t hide his behavior well.