Back To The 80s-Chapter 554 - 546: Visiting (New Year’s Day Extra Update, Asking for Monthly Tickets)_1
"No, her family background is quite simple, just an ordinary fisherman’s family by the sea, with no overseas connections."
Lu Zhanguo remained silent, lowering his head to make dumplings. After making a few, he suddenly asked, "How about her social relationships? Apart from her employment relationship with Ou Tiannan, does she engage in any inappropriate social activities, like frequenting dance halls or something?"
"As far as we can tell, no," Shen Heng said helplessly. It was already good enough to have found out this much in such a short time. Lu Zhanguo was being a little too demanding.
Lu Zhanguo glanced at Shen Heng sitting on the sofa, "Go wash your hands and come help make dumplings."
Shen Heng rose, grumbling, "After all the fuss, Xiaopang and Mo Wang are both your long-term helpers that you captured. Now you’ve caught me too."
With the participation of Shen Heng, the dumpling making process sped up considerably.
Zhao Hongmei came to visit with Xu Yanhong and Erhu. When Shen Heng came in, he had the door slightly ajar.
Zhao Hongmei entered directly, laughing, "Erhu at home kept saying he wanted to find Xiaopang and Mo Wang to play with."
Lu Zhanguo simply lifted his head to glance at Zhao Hongmei and Xu Yanhong, then went back to making dumplings.
On the other hand, Shen Heng was quite interested in Xu Yanhong who was behind Zhao Hongmei.
"Xiaobei isn’t home? I was thinking Xiaobei was at home." Zhao Hongmei looked around and didn’t see Gu Xiaobei, feeling a bit awkward.
Lu Zhanguo grunted without lifting his eyes.
Xu Yanhong, who was trailing behind Zhao Hongmei, saw Lu Zhanguo’s attitude, chuckled slightly, and bent down to say to Erhu with a smile, "Erhu, didn’t you say you wanted to play with Xiaopang and Mo Wang? Go find them to play."
Erhu twisted his body, hiding behind Zhao Hongmei, not daring to move. He was afraid of Lu Zhanguo.
Xu Yanhong gently strode over and took Erhu’s hand with a smile, "Erhu, come, Aunt will lead you over."
With an adult to bolster his courage, Erhu finally started moving towards Xiaopang and Mo Wang.
Xu Yanhong, still smiling, turned to Lu Zhanguo and said, "Captain, would you like me to help you make dumplings?"
"No need, Shen Heng, take the dumplings and bring them into the kitchen for me. We’ll stop making them for now." Lu Zhanguo responded, picking up the dough board and heading into the kitchen.
Shen Heng glanced deeply at Xu Yanhong, then carried a board full of dumplings into the kitchen.
Xu Yanhong looked a bit awkwardly at Zhao Hongmei. She had come with good intentions after all.
Zhao Hongmei comforted her with a laugh, "Don’t mind him, Lu is just like that."
Ever since Xu Yanhong stepped in, Mo Wang had been watching her intently. Now seeing Xu Yanhong leading Erhu over, he moved closer to Xiaopang.
Xu Yanhong sighed inwardly at Mo Wang’s small movements. This little one was quite young, but seemed to have such a strong sense of alertness.
When Lu Zhanguo and Shen Heng came out of the kitchen, Mo Wang quickly pulled Xiaopang and ran over to Lu Zhanguo. Although he didn’t say anything, his eyes were clearly unfriendly towards Xu Yanhong.
Seeing the situation, Xu Yanhong laughed and said, "I thought Sister-in-law would be home. I was planning to have a chat with her. Now that she’s not here, I’ll go back first." Saying this, she began to head towards the door.
Zhao Hongmei also felt uncomfortable staying with a child in tow, so she called for Erhu and they left.
After everyone had left, Shen Heng went over to close the door, then turned and said, "Just because she dresses a bit flashily. Young women in Nanhai City all dress like this now, you are overreacting."
"Shouldn’t you be investigating everyone associated with Ou Tiannan?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Shen Heng was left speechless by the rebuke and walked off without a word.
Lu Zhanguo became even more suspicious of Xu Yanhong. In the morning when he had taken the two children to buy meat, Xu Yanhong had clearly been standing on the balcony looking at them leaving the family compound. How could she not have heard Xiaopang and Mo Wang saying that mom wasn’t home and that dad was buying ice pops?
Her coming to his house now, using Zhao Hongmei and Erhu as a pretext, was obviously purposeful.
Shen Heng observed Lu Zhanguo sitting on the sofa, deep in thought with a serious expression, and let out a sigh, "Sometimes, you shouldn’t be so paranoid. Even if it is someone from Ou Tiannan’s camp, even if it’s a bad person, why would they need to keep an eye on your house?"
Lu Zhanguo felt that Shen Heng had left his brain at home when he went out today and didn’t reply. The intention might only be revealed at the very last moment, but that didn’t mean precautions should be neglected.
...
As soon as Xu Yanhong entered Zhao Hongmei’s house, she couldn’t wait to ask, "Sis, do I look very scary? Why does Mo Wang from Sister-in-law’s family always look so guarded against me every time we meet?"
Zhao Hongmei hadn’t noticed anything and casually replied, "Maybe Mo Wang is just shy? Mo Wang has always been quiet since she was little, don’t think too much about it."
Xu Yanhong looked down at her clothes and touched her face, shaking her head, "This child just dislikes me. Every time she sees me, she seems to want to get away from me as quick as possible."
Zhao Hongmei looked at the heavily made-up Xu Yanhong. In fact, she didn’t like her sister-in-law dressing like this. It didn’t seem like a decent young woman’s attire. But considering it wasn’t easy for her brother to find a wife, she had tolerated and kept quiet about it.
Now when Xu Yanhong asked, Zhao Hongmei laughed and suggested, "Maybe the kids don’t like the way you look with makeup. Why don’t you try not wearing makeup tomorrow?"
Xu Yanhong thought this made sense and decided to stop wearing makeup and dress more plainly starting tomorrow. If Mo Wang still disliked her then, then it must be a case of incompatible personalities.
...
Gu Xiaobei had been busy until the 6th of October, the day before the Mid-Autumn Festival. Like previous years, after giving everyone a holiday bonus, they all gathered for a meal.
During the meal, Chen Zhao announced to everyone that he and Xiao Hong would be getting married on the 18th of October, and asked everyone to make sure to come and cheer.
Gu Xiaobei was surprised, "Oh my god, why didn’t you guys tell us earlier? I asked Xiao Hong before October 1st when you guys were going to do it, she said it wasn’t set yet. Were you afraid I’d give you guys a vacation?"
Chen Zhao laughed and said, "Sister-in-law, Xiao Hong and I were afraid that if we took a leave, we wouldn’t get this year’s big Mid-Autumn red packet!"
Gu Xiaobei was touched, these two kids must have been worried that she wouldn’t be able to handle everything here, "There are only twelve days left, will you be able to handle it? Do you need any help?"
"No, no, my mom’s almost finished with the preparations. We just need to buy clothes and stuff these few days." Xiao Hong waved her hands while laughing.
Wang Wei suggested, "How can such a festive day lack wine?"
G Province is known for its hops, so beer had quietly entered people’s lives in an era where they still weren’t very popular. In recent years, Lan Le beer (later known as Yellow River Beer) had quickly dominated the entire Northwestern market.
Gu Xiaobei, clearly pleased, slapped the table and ordered twenty bottles of beer.
By the end of the meal, everyone had had quite a bit to drink. Gu Xiaobei herself was also two bottles in, currently feeling the effects and seeing double.
Qin Li didn’t drink much less and was chattier from the alcohol. She held onto Gu Xiaobei’s hand, talking nonstop about her childhood experiences with Jin Cheng. The words she had been holding back in her heart were all coming out under the influence of alcohol.
Gu Xiaobei nodded as she listened. It felt like there was a little person playing a drum in her head. She also managed to occasionally respond to Qin Li...
