Back To The 80s-Chapter 559 - 551: Warning (1)

Shen Heng felt a chill run down his spine, looking at Lu Zhanguo in disbelief, "How could this be possible?"

"Keep investigating. Has Xu Yanhong had any missing periods of a few years in her life? Did she change her identity at some point? Run background checks on her parents, grandparents... Everyone!" Lu Zhanguo demanded angrily. If Xu Yanhong truly were a sniper, living in a residential area, wouldn’t it be a huge threat? And did she intentionally marry Zhao Honghe?

Shen Heng’s expression became somber, "Don’t worry, we will definitely investigate it thoroughly."

Lu Zhanguo gazed at Shen Heng, emphasizing every word, "You should provide me with the information as soon as possible. I don’t want to have to find people to research this myself."

"You have to believe me!" Shen Heng reassured.

Lu Zhanguo looked at Shen Heng suspiciously, and then took a seat.

Shen Heng cleared his throat, explaining, "You’ve probably guessed that Ou Tiannan has committed serious crimes. I can’t go into detail yet, but rest assured, I will not allow anyone else to be endangered."

Lu Zhanguo sat, his hands interlocked over his abdomen, weighing every word that Shen Heng had spoken, hoping to glean some useful information.

Noting that Lu Zhanguo remained silent, Shen Heng rubbed his chin and reassured, "Don’t worry, when the case is closed, I will tell you everything."

To this, Lu Zhanguo arches his brows in understanding.

...

Over the next few days, Gu Xiaobei did not encounter Xu Yanhong or Zhao Honghe in the residential area anymore.

Zhao Hongmei mentioned that the couple had rented a house elsewhere. This was well received, as Mo Wang always became agitated whenever he saw Xu Yanhong, much like a startled rooster.

When Lu Zhanguo heard about this from Gu Xiaobei, he simply furrowed his brow but said nothing.

Gu Xiaobei continued, "Hongmei said that Xu Yanhong found a job at the water factory as a contract worker. Now she reads water meters." Gu Xiaobei chuckled as he relayed this.

However, Lu Zhanguo mulled it over. How did Xu Yanhong end up working at the water factory?

Without waiting for Lu Zhanguo to ask, Gu Xiaobei said, "Zhao Hongmei said that a relative of Xu Yanhong who is a leader at the factory brought her in."

Lu Zhanguo’s growing suspicions only became stronger. Shen Heng surely knew about this, yet he hadn’t mentioned it. A daring guess began to form in his mind.

"Tomorrow is Sunday. Xiaohong and Chen Zhao are getting married. Would you like to attend?" Gu Xiaobei changed the topic.

Lu Zhanguo pondered over it, "If Chen Zhao is getting married, we should at least show up."

"Why don’t we take Xiaopang and Mo Wang with us? They’ve never been to a wedding before." Gu Xiaobei suggested.

"Alright, we can take them along. After the feast, we can take them to the new park by the Yellow River." Lu Zhanguo had read in the newspaper that the newly built park was rather impressive.

...

On Sunday morning, after breakfast, Gu Xiaobei helped both children into their new clothes. Xiaopang wore a red sweater outfit with a small white rabbit on the front, and was styled with two topknots.

The family of four took a bus to attend Chen Zhao’s wedding.

Chen Zhao and Xiaohong’s wedding ceremony was firstly conducted at Xiaohong’s home. With the mild weather, they directly set up the feast in the courtyard.

In one corner of the courtyard, a temporary stove had been built. The cooks were neighbors known for their cooking skills. Seven or eight women helped with chopping vegetables and washing dishes while the young men assisted with boiling tea.

When Gu Xiaobei and her family arrived, the entrance of the courtyard was filled with neighbors who had come for the feast. Almost every family had come to participate.

A young man assigned to greet the guests guided Gu Xiaobei’s family to a designated place to pay their respects, and then arranged seats for them inside the courtyard.

When Gu Xiaobei followed him to give a donation, she unexpectedly found Xu Yanhong’s name on the list. Afraid that she had made a mistake, she examined it again closely. Indeed, it was Xu Yanhong.

She made a quick scan around the area, but Xu Yanhong was nowhere to be found.

However, she saw Li Fengmei and Zhang Lijun approaching with smiles, "Sister-in-law, I was just thinking to go over to your place at the residential area and come together."

Gu Xiaobei suddenly remembered that Chen Zhao had been Zhang Lijun’s subordinate, it was her recent forgetfulness to blame.

"I totally forgot about that. I don’t know what’s been on my mind these days," Gu Xiaobei laughingly replied.

Zhang Lijun went to chat with Lu Zhanguo. Xiaopang and Mo Wang were dutifully standing next to Lu Zhanguo, watching a group of older children running around the tables.

"Sister-in-law, when you have time, let’s visit Li Juan," Li Fengmei said.

"Hmm, okay." Gu Xiaobei replied absent-mindedly, continuing to look around, yet Xu Yanhong was still nowhere to be seen.

Being from out of town, Chen Zhao’s wedding ceremony did not include a bride fetching process. At the right time, the newlyweds came out of the house and started pouring drinks for the guests on each table.

The banquet was rich, boasting sixteen dishes including ten meat dishes. Xiaohong’s mother did not want people to gossip that her daughter was marrying an out-of-town countryside man, hence made a grand effort: with high dowry, good banquet, and generous betrothal gifts. In the end, Xiaohong’s mother had to dig deep into her own pocket to pay for a portion of the expenses.

At the end of the feast, Gu Xiaobei still hadn’t seen Xu Yanhong.

On their way to the Yellow River Park, Gu Xiaobei told Lu Zhanguo about seeing Xu Yanhong’s name. "Isn’t it strange? Xu Yanhong isn’t from Nanhai City. How could she possibly know Xiaohong? Perhaps it was just a person with the same name?" She suddenly realized she didn’t even know which three characters made up Xu Yanhong’s name and laughed at her own unnecessary concerns.

Lu Zhanguo, however, didn’t think it was a coincidence. Since he had begun suspecting Shen Heng’s intentions, he had felt that nothing would occur by chance.

However, he could not look into it himself as it would violate the rules. He could only wait for Shen Heng to provide him with the answers.

Upon entering the park and watching the two children gleefully running around, Gu Xiaobei also began to cheer up.

In one corner of the park, a private theater troupe was performing Qinqiang Opera. The lively and forceful singing attracted a lot of onlookers. Some of them simply sat on the ground to watch.

Xiaopang and Mo Wang also ran to see the commotion. While they did not understand the show, they were much attracted by the noisy suona horns and sheng pipes. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Gu Xiaobei and Lu Zhanguo followed the two children to watch the show.

Xiaopang, when excited, would often tug at Mo Wang’s hand, hopping and jumping around.

Watching Xiaopang’s antics, Gu Xiaobei said to Lu Zhanguo, "Do we maybe not take them out often enough?" She suddenly felt guilty for being so focused on making money and for Lu Zhanguo’s frequent absences. Thinking how the children were always either in the residential area or at their small house, she felt that they were both failing as parents.

"Hmm, from now on, every Sunday when I’m home, we will go out together." Lu Zhanguo heartily agreed, seeing his daughter so happy.

There were many private theatre troupes in the park, even monkey trainers and fire-breathers. There were also several stalls selling various items.

Xiaopang and Mo Wang lingered at each stall, their eyes wide and mouths agape in fascination.

Gu Xiaobei found a stall selling artificial flowers and peach trees with plastic peaches, which were actually quite pretty. In her delight, she went ahead and bought a pot.