Back To The 80s-Chapter 458 - 468: Encounter_1

Lu Zhanguo listened to Zhou Siping’s nagging without uttering a word. If they didn’t return by the 11th, Cheng Qijia and He Qin, they’d have to wait until the snow had melted next year.

By October, it began snowing in the Tibetan Area. Heavy snowfall made the mountains impassable. They certainly couldn’t risk returning, and would have to wait until spring next year.

Zhou Siping complained, but he also understood the nature of Cheng Qijia’s work. Sighing, he said to Bai Xiaolan, "I should go. If your aunt gets wind that I’ve been here for so long without seeing your brother Qi, she’s going to get anxious all over again."

"Just tell her you’ve seen my brother Qi, and that he’s doing well and has even put on some weight. That will put my aunt at ease," Bai Xiaolan suggested.

Zhou Siping shook his head, "I’ll address it when I return. Speaking of, don’t forget to take Doudou with you to visit whenever you and Xiangdong have time. Your father has been too busy to even meet his first great-grandchild."

"Sure, I understand. Maybe my dad should retire early so he has time to come visit us in the city," Bai Xiaolan said with a smile.

As they were chatting, Shen Heng arrived with Qin Mei. Qin Mei’s belly was slightly protruding, revealing her three or four months into her pregnancy.

Gu Xiaobei was washing dishes and was so startled she nearly dropped the dish. She saw Qin Li every day and had not heard anything about her sister being pregnant or getting married.

Leaving the dishes unattended, she wiped her hands on her apron, and followed them out to the grapevine to see what was going on.

Shen Heng looked gleefully at Lu Zhanguo, then turned to Lu Songyuan and Wen Xiuqing, saying, "Uncle, aunt, I brought you wedding invitations." As he spoke, he took out a grand red invitation and handed it to Lu Songyuan.

Wen Xiuqing glanced at Qin Mei’s belly, puzzled. Why would they have a wedding when she is already visibly pregnant? Wouldn’t that invite ridicule?

Seeing Wen Xiuqing’s puzzled expression, Shen Heng hastily explained with a smile, "We already had the wedding in Capital City. We’ve returned to host a second one here, to invite our relatives and friends here." He glanced at Bai Xiaolan holding Doudou, then exclaimed, "The baby has grown so big in the few months I’ve been absent! Is it a boy or a girl?" He took out a red envelope from his pocket, stuffed a few ten-dollar bills inside, and handed it to Bai Xiaolan, saying, "Take this, it’s a gift from the baby’s uncle."

Bai Xiaolan accepted the red envelope without hesitation, laughing, "Heng, you certainly work fast."

Shen Heng’s face was filled with pride and joy, while Qin Mei stood beside him, quietly smiling. Pregnancy had added a feminine charm to her, toning down some of her dynamic energy.

Lu Zhanguo was curious too, "Where have you been these past months? I haven’t seen you."

"Busy, we were out of town on business for a few months," Shen Heng replied with a smile.

Gu Xiaobei mulled over the situation in gossip mode, asking herself, did Shen Heng win Qin Mei over while they were out of town on business, leading to her pregnancy and their subsequent marriage?

The next day, as soon as Gu Xiaobei saw Qin Li, she couldn’t wait to ask, "Did you know about your sister’s wedding?"

"Yes, they got engaged at our house during Chinese New Year. Didn’t you know?" Qin Li asked in surprise.

Gu Xiaobei was taken aback, "It was not until yesterday when I saw your pregnant sister arriving with Shen Heng to deliver wedding cards, that I found out." Gu Xiaobei remembered that after the new year, Qin Li was completely caught up in mourning the loss of her jujube tree and didn’t have time to discuss gossip.

"How did your sister agree to marry Shen Heng? I thought they were always at odds?" Gu Xiaobei dug for more inside information.

Qin Li blinked, "Were they at odds? I don’t know. During Chinese New Year, my mom was trying to persuade my sister to go on blind dates. Shen Heng happened to come to our house, and my sister announced that Shen Heng was her boyfriend. Then Shen Heng started cooking and cleaning at our home; my parents were very satisfied and asked them to get married on May 1st. I think they took out the marriage license and went out of town for a mission immediately afterwards. I don’t know what happened after that," Qin Li wasn’t entirely sure of the details. After the New Year’s celebration, she hadn’t seen much of her sister, Qin Mei. She had heard about the pregnancy just yesterday from her aunt.

Gu Xiaobei concluded with a phrase for Shen Heng and Qin Mei: show me your enemy, and I’ll show you a friend.

Shen Heng’s wedding was scheduled for October 1. Given that they had received their marriage certificate back in April, and had already held the wedding in Capital City, it wasn’t an out-of-wedlock pregnancy nor marriage. Some guests who had come to watch the drama were somewhat disappointed upon hearing the truth.

Gu Xiaobei found Shen Heng’s wedding odd in some way, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint why. On her way home after the banquet, she couldn’t help but ask Lu Zhanguo, "Why do I keep feeling like something’s off?"

Lu Zhanguo raised an eyebrow, asking, "Well, why don’t you tell me what feels off?"

"Well, look at Shen Heng. Yes, he’s very happy. But if it was like before, he would’ve run to us to show off about his marriage as soon as he got his marriage license. But this time, he waited until she was quite far along in her pregnancy to tell us, which is very unusual. Also, notice that not many of Shen Heng and Qin Mei’s colleagues attended the wedding. Instead, there were many people from other walks of life," Gu Xiaobei articulated her thoughts.

Lu Zhanguo looked at Gu Xiaobei with admiration. That little brain of hers was always catching the details that others missed. Smiling, he said, "Their marriage is real, so is the child. But half of this wedding ceremony was for show, and the other half was for the sake of some mission."

"What mission?" Gu Xiaobei asked curiously.

Lu Zhanguo shrugged, "I don’t know. It must be a classified mission."

After the 11th, Gu Xiaobei began preparing for the renovation of her own tea shop. She found a craftsman who was skilled in carving furniture to create some hollowed-out floral patterns on wooden boards for use as wall decorations. The shop sign was also to be intricately carved.

After finalizing the specifications and designs with the craftsman, all she had to do was wait for a month to collect them.

Standing in her barren tea shop, imagining what it would look like in the future, Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help but smile. She believed that things would gradually get better.

On a whim, she visited the newly opened tea shop.

The Fuqing Ming Tea Shop was still very quiet, with only a man in his thirties standing in front of a shelf, wiping a spotless tea cup with a white cloth.

Gu Xiaobei assumed he was the owner and took a casual walk around the shop. Spotting a layer of thin dust on some tea containers, she figured they contained expensive tea.

"Boss, could you weigh out two ounces of Da Hong Pao for me?" Gu Xiaobei thought it wouldn’t be proper to browse without buying anything. So, she decided to buy some of this excellent tea for Lu Songyuan.

The man, who they called Brother Three, put down the tea cup. He looked at Gu Xiaobei, smiled lightly, and said, "Alright, just a moment."

Gu Xiaobei waited patiently while taking the opportunity to inconspicuously observe the shop owner. He was tall and well-dressed, easily inspiring trust. But his eyes were somewhat gloomy, a sign of shrewdness. Gu Xiaobei concluded that this man would be a formidable business competitor and resolved to stay vigilant.