Back To The 80s-Chapter 529 - 521: The End - 1
Gu Xiaobei pouted, pretending to be jealous, and said, "That’s supposed to be my place."
Lu Zhanguo didn’t say anything, but there was a smile in his eyes as he carried Xiaopang and sat down on the sofa.
Only then did Mo Wang snuggle up, leaning against Lu Zhanguo’s leg, looking at her father with a beaming smile.
"You’re back, let’s go to the courtyard for dinner tonight, shall we?" Gu Xiaobei also sat down and suggested.
"Hmm, let’s take a day off on Sunday and buy some summer clothes for Xiaopang and the others, Xiaopang’s dresses are getting a bit small." Lu Zhanguo stretched out the little skirt on his daughter’s body, which only reached her thighs, looking like a small umbrella.
Gu Xiaobei’s eyes twitched. She had specially made this new dress for Xiaopang at the tailor shop this year, thinking it was very cute. And the capris on Mo Wang were made intentionally short. In Lu Zhanguo’s eyes, all these clothes were too small.
While they were talking, Zeng Changzhi brought Zhao Hongmei over for a visit.
As soon as Zeng Changzhi entered the room, he began to apologize non-stop, "Lu, I’m sorry. Xiaobei, I’m sorry. About that day, I really apologize. I just got back and heard about the misunderstanding – the unpleasantness – between Hongmei and Xiaobei."
Zhao Hongmei, holding Erhu’s hand, stood to the side, feeling very awkward.
Lu Zhanguo, with Xiaopang in his arms, stood up to let Zeng Changzhi and his family sit down first before continuing the conversation.
Once Zeng Changzhi was seated, he resumed, "I was away on official business some days ago and wasn’t at home. When I came back, I had Hongmei tell me what happened and I knew there must have been a misunderstanding. After questioning her in detail, she said it was Luo Renliang’s wife who spread the rumors. Can we trust the words of his wife?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
It’s not that Zhao Hongmei had such high self-awareness that she had the courage to admit her wrong and to change. Rather, after listening to Zeng Changzhi’s analysis, she understood that publicly having a large dispute with the residents of the compound could greatly undermine Zeng Changzhi’s political assessment because it would look bad for a political officer like him, who was supposed to gain people’s trust and respect, to fail to resolve a family dispute.
Zeng Changzhi was also clever. Having made it this far in his career, he always considered the importance of his future prospects. Although honesty was the main trait of his character, he didn’t exclude the existence of some selfish considerations.
Zhao Hongmei was even more afraid that Zeng Changzhi’s career might be ruined because of her. She was willing to apologize, even kneel down if necessary.
After listening to Zeng Changzhi, Zhao Hongmei hurriedly said, "Xiaobei, I’m sorry. I was so flustered when I heard about the pay cut that comes with the custodian job. It’s several bucks less than the teacher salary. In the heat of the moment, I started yelling."
Gu Xiaobei thought to herself that they were neighbors after all, destined to run into each other often. She smiled and said, "It’s alright. We just need to clear things up."
Zeng Changzhi sighed in relief and said, "That Luo Renliang’s wife is close with Huang Wenying. I suspect the reason she fabricated rumors was because of Zhong Zhi’s issue."
Lu Zhanguo, however, didn’t concur with this answer. He said, "I heard that Zhong Zhi and Luo Renliang don’t have a good personal relationship. Zhong Zhi even refused to live in the family compound because of Luo Renliang. Don’t their wives know that?"
Zeng Changzhi hesitated for a moment, then nodded, "You heard about this too? That happened many years ago. Not many people in the unit know why Zhong Zhi and Luo Renliang became enemies because personnel changes happen so frequently."
"Why?"
Zeng Changzhi looked taken aback. He looked at Lu Zhanguo, whom he didn’t figure as someone who was into gossip, then at Zhao Hongmei and said, "We’re not exactly sure what happened between them. We only know they got into a physical fight at the training ground. Their relationship soured after that, but Zhong Zhi’s wife often comes to the family compound to hang out with Luo Renliang’s wife."
Lu Zhanguo didn’t inquire further. He held Xiaopang, his expression becoming serious. Things seemed to be developing in the direction he had expected.
Luo Renliang was in his dormitory, his head buried in his blanket. He figured once he made one mistake in life, he went on to make more mistakes. Especially after being caught by Zhong Zhi, now he realized Lu Zhanguo’s various moves were all warning him—he had become a suspect. How could he have been found out when he thought he’d hidden it so well?
When he was in Cat Mountain, there was a moment of hesitation when he was supposed to shoot Lu Zhanguo. But he knew he only had about thirty seconds to hesitate, otherwise Lu Zhanguo would certainly notice something was off. Eventually, he steeled himself and shot Ji Xiangdong instead. He didn’t expect Lu Zhanguo to shield Ji Xiangdong with his back. The second shot, which he fired deliberately at Ji Xiangdong as he retreated, was to give Lu Zhanguo the impression that Ji Xiangdong was the one who had made enemies. He thought he could draw Lu Zhanguo’s attention away that way.
Today’s probing by Lu Zhanguo worried Luo Renliang; he couldn’t figure out where he had given himself away. He needed to find Zhong Zhi and make things clear—he was done!
Luo Renliang jumped out of bed, ready to leave when he thought twice and stepped back. Going to find Zhong Zhi now, wouldn’t that just play into Lu Zhanguo’s hands? Perhaps someone was watching his every move in secret.
Luo Renliang backed away to the desk by the window, where he clenched his fist and pounded the table in frustration. He roared out angrily, then pulled out a chair and sat down. He took out a stack of writing paper from a drawer, thinking about how to get in touch with Zhong Zhi as soon as possible.
.......
Yang Tianhua had also received news about Lu Zhanguo’s injury; he excitedly reported it to his third brother.
Upon hearing this, third brother rotated his neck, and a look of disdain appeared on his face, "Did Guo Huaqiang tell you this?"
Yang Tianhua nodded, "Third brother, isn’t this cause for celebration?"
Third brother sneered, "Cause for celebration? I’m afraid it’s more disaster looming. Don’t look for Guo Huaqiang for now. Pack up, we need to lay low for a while."
Yang Tianhua was confused, "Why? Why do we need to hide? We haven’t done anything."
"Idiot, if you don’t have the ability to get rid of Lu Zhanguo, don’t stir things up. If you attract Lu Zhanguo’s attention, he’ll stick to you like a leech, and you won’t be able to shake him off. Are you waiting for Guo Huaqiang to expose us? By the way, when you were in contact with Guo Huaqiang, did you reveal your real name?" said the third brother disdainfully.
"No, how could I have given my real name? I always use the name Yanghua when I’m dealing with outsiders. You have to give Guo Huaqiang credit for having guts though, daring to collude with others and resort to dirty tricks behind the scenes."
Third brother scoffed, "That’s just stupidity. Men like him, who have a smaller mind than the eye of a needle, are never going to amount to much. We should leave as soon as possible. We can come back later. What a fool."
Although Yang Tianhua was unwilling, he felt more apprehensive as third brother spoke. He was afraid that if Guo Huaqiang tried to exonerate himself, they might end up being dragged in.
"By the way, third brother, what about the business with Ma De? Are we just going to leave it?" Yang Tianhua asked anxiously.
"Don’t worry, for a while, at least, the situation with Ma De is safe—unless Ou Tiannan betrays us. But Ou Tiannan is currently in Nanhai City."
Third brother was smart. He had never thought that revenge had to be achieved through bloody means. Maybe this was the fastest way, but it would ruin his life; he didn’t think it was worth it.
