Back To The 80s-Chapter 490 - 501: Confrontation_1

Guo Huaqiang collected his thoughts, smiling, he said, "Mr. Lu, what a coincidence." He walked over carrying Xinxin, sat down across from them, and Ding Guihua also followed and sat down.

Lu Zhanguo stared at Guo Huaqiang sitting across from him with a calm gaze, and after a moment, he said, "Yes, quite a coincidence."

Guo Huaqiang felt a chill in his heart. Lu Zhanguo’s gaze and tone were telling him that this was not a coincidence. Did he know everything that he was doing now?

Gu Xiaobei looked at Xinxin in Guo Huaqiang’s arms, still so skinny and timid, she said in a tiny voice, "Daddy, I’m hungry."

Guo Huaqiang quickly called the boss and ordered two bowls of wontons and two baked buns.

When Gu Xiaobei saw that Lu Zhanguo had finished eating and showed no hurry to leave, she thought to herself, there must be something going on.

Guo Huaqiang glanced at the empty bowl in front of Lu Zhanguo, who had no intention of leaving, and he forced a smile, "It’s almost the New Year, you must be busy in the army, right?"

Lu Zhanguo slightly nodded, "Yes, quite busy, but no matter how busy I am, I still have to make time for a meal."

A chill ran down Guo Huaqiang’s spine. This wonton shop was a joint venture between him and others, and he had never spoken about it openly. They were regulars, often dining here around ten o’clock. If Lu Zhanguo could find out about all this, would he also know what he was planning to do next?

"These wontons are delicious indeed, Xinxin can even eat half a bowl herself." Ding Guihua, oblivious to everything, happily chatted with Gu Xiaobei.

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "They are delicious indeed, but the place is a bit out of the way and difficult to find. It’s my first time eating here. From what you’re saying, it seems like you come here often. Do you live nearby?"

Ding Guihua waved her hand, "We live two or three bus stops away from here."

Gu Xiaobei wondered how someone like Ding Guihua, who was so frugal that she would even save cooking oil, could afford to dine out.

Seeing the wontons being served, Guo Huaqiang hurriedly urged, "Mom, hurry up and eat with Xinxin."

Lu Zhanguo took out two fifty-cent coins and placed them on the table, then said at a leisurely pace, "The wontons are delicious, and the filling is quite good." He nodded at Ding Guihua, then got up with Gu Xiaobei and left. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Watching Lu Zhanguo leave, Guo Huaqiang’s eyes narrowed, a flash of bitterness crossing them. What did he mean by the filling was good? Was he saying that Guo Huaqiang was rotten to the core?

Once they were out of the shop, Gu Xiaobei couldn’t hold back any longer and asked, "Did you know Guo Huaqiang and his family would be eating here, so you deliberately didn’t eat breakfast at home?"

Lu Zhanguo laughed and nodded. The gears in this girl’s head were always turning fast.

Unexpectedly, the next thing Gu Xiaobei said was, "Could you just tell me straight up? Why did you have to make me get up so early in the morning?"

Lu Zhanguo nearly tripped over his feet. This didn’t seem to add up. With no one around, he leaned in and swiftly whispered in Gu Xiaobei’s ear, "Mainly because you look more appetizing."

Gu Xiaobei nodded, unabashed, "Hmm, I think so too. By the way, how did you know Guo Huaqiang eats here?"

Lu Zhanguo thought there was no need to hide this from Gu Xiaobei, so his voice lowered a bit, "I had someone look into Guo Huaqiang. This shop is a joint venture between him and others. Plus, he doesn’t make any profit from selling timber, and recently he’s had Xiangmin get close to you frequently. I’m afraid he’s going to mess with your business. By the way, he and Xiangmin didn’t make up. Now, to see her daughter, she has to fulfill any of his requests."

Gu Xiaobei was somewhat confused, "So do you want to scare him off now? But his business doesn’t affect mine at all, right?"

Lu Zhanguo shook his head, "What worries me is that things have been too quiet recently. I’m afraid that he has some worse ideas, and my guess is right, he might likely use your parents."

Gu Xiaobei was startled. She had completely forgotten about her birth parents. If Guo Huaqiang brought Gu Weimin and Chen Qiumei to the city, it would be a hassle. She would rather give them money than have them causing a ruckus every day.

"Guo Huaqiang might not be that cunning." Gu Xiaobei tried to console herself.

Lu Zhanguo shook his head, his tone firm and decisive, "You’d better be careful. I came here today to tell him that I know everything he’s up to. If he dares to mess around, I won’t let him get away with it."

Many times, Gu Xiaobei was rather fatalistic. Since she couldn’t avoid it, she could only react to the situation when the time comes, reacting to each attack as it comes.

Once she figured it out, she grabbed Lu Zhanguo’s sleeve, filled with excitement, "Let’s go, let’s go shopping for the New Year. First, we go to the department store to buy clothes for our kids."

The economy had been booming over the past two years and people had more money in their pockets, so there were more people shopping before the New Year. Every stall was packed with people, haggling like they were arguing, making sure their voices weren’t too quiet, in case others couldn’t hear.

Gu Xiaobei elbowed her way through the crowd with Lu Zhanguo. She regretted her decision a bit. There hadn’t been so many people when she, Fang Jing, and Bai Xiaolan had come shopping last year. If she had known, she would have come to buy things right after New Year’s Day.

Finally, they squeezed into the children’s clothing stall and picked out clothes from the pile of colorful garments. Selling children’s clothes was also good business. Parents would always buy clothes for their children no matter what.

Seeing that it was a group of women crowding in front, and seeing Gu Xiaobei squeeze in too, Lu Zhanguo could only step back two steps and stand in a less crowded spot to wait for her.

Gu Xiaobei picked a set of clothes for both Xiaopang and Little Mo Wang. After making sure the sizes were right and some haggling that resembled a quarrel, she managed to get both sets for thirty yuan.

Gu Xiaobei was holding two sets of clothes, grumbling non-stop about how these mediocre quality red track suits were so expensive at thirty yuan for two sets.

Lu Zhanguo saw Gu Xiaobei grimacing while grumbling and looking around reluctantly, and he couldn’t help but laugh, "If you don’t like them, don’t buy them now."

"I’m afraid that even these two sets will be gone later. It’s like everyone is snatching stuff this year." Gu Xiaobei said, somewhat puzzled.

"That means people are getting a bit richer now. Before, clothes were homemade, but now everyone’s starting to buy," Lu Zhanguo analyzed rationally.

Gu Xiaobei nodded, "It seems like selling children’s clothes could also be quite profitable in the future."

After walking around for a while, Gu Xiaobei bought a red cotton-padded jacket for Xiaopang, with a big ’Fu’ (blessing) character embroidered on the front with gold thread. After thinking about it, she bought a small size to take home for Doudou. For Little Mo Wang, she bought a small set of military clothing and a big brimmed hat. Looking at them, Lu Zhanguo couldn’t help saying, "This looks good, Little Mo Wang will definitely look cute in it."

Gu Xiaobei was quite delighted, imagining just how smart Little Mo Wang would look in these clothes.

After buying the clothes, Lu Zhanguo urged Gu Xiaobei to buy some clothes for herself.

Drawing on previous experiences, Gu Xiaobei decided to come back later with Bai Xiaolan, knowing that it would be impossible to buy satisfactory clothes shopping with this man.