Back To The 80s-Chapter 181: Night Exploration_1

Yuan Ye saw Lu Zhanguo sitting calmly, letting Qin Ximei rattle on, his face showing not the slightest bit of fluctuation. He tugged on Qin Ximei’s arm: "Mom, why are you saying all these things? Zhanguo can’t go back home because of his work. Don’t keep harping on this."

Qin Ximei pouted: "If a son can’t go back to provide for his parents, shouldn’t the daughter-in-law at least return to pour some tea or water?"

Lu Zhanguo lightly knitted his brows, a bit miffed. No wonder Gu Xiaobei didn’t cook dinner; perhaps she had been unkind in her words earlier.

Gu Xiaobei smiled and said: "Aunt Yuan, actually it’s not that I don’t want to return home. But my belly isn’t cooperating; there isn’t a baby in sight. When people age, they long to play with their grandchildren, right? And you, Aunt Yuan, you like children too, don’t you?"

Qin Ximei suddenly fell silent. She had no son of her own, and now that Yuan Ye had two children, not one of them had returned home. She lacked any grandchildren to pamper, and each time she saw older sisters in the courtyard flaunting their grandchildren, she felt utterly slighted.

Yuan Ye’s face briefly flashed with a hint of pain upon hearing these words. His hand gripped the tea cup even tighter, and his knuckles turned white from the strain.

Sitting across from him, Lu Zhanguo naturally noticed Yuan Ye’s reaction. He inwardly praised Gu Xiaobei’s sharp tongue. Her seemingly innocent comments could strike right at the soft spot of others.

Seeing that Qin Ximei had fallen silent, Gu Xiaobei felt a sense of joy: happy that she’d been able to get a rise out of the woman who was intent on self-punishment.

Yuan Ye regained his composure and chuckled: "Xiaobei, when it comes to having children, you can’t rush it. Everything happens when the time is right."

Gu Xiaobei nodded: "Yes, that’s exactly what I think too."

During their casual chat, two soldiers brought up the meals: a small pot of caramelized pork and cabbage vermicelli, a plate of stir-fried shredded radish, a plate of cold shredded radish, and a dish of scrambled eggs with scallions. The main dish was a large bun made from a mix of cornmeal and flour, leftover from dinner.

The chef, wiping his hands, came over: "This is all the meat left for tonight, so we’ll have to make do."

"No problem, it’s good. Calculate the total cost later, including the accommodation. We’ll pay upfront." Lu Zhanguo instructed.

"Alright, then. You all take your time eating. I’ll get the bill for you." It was a custom that anyone who came for a meal or lodging had to pay.

Having been silenced by Gu Xiaobei, Qin Ximei remained quiet, making the meal a peaceful one.

After dinner, Lu Zhanguo arranged for Qin Ximei and Yuan Ye to settle into their accommodation. When he came out, he saw Gu Xiaobei and Jiujiu standing at the entrance of the inn, beaming smiles on their faces.

The path from the inn to the army base’s main gate was unlit. Given that it was a cloudy night, the darkness was as thick as a bolt of black cloth.

Gu Xiaobei held Jiujiu’s hand tightly and followed behind Lu Zhanguo. Suddenly, her other hand felt a warm touch - Lu Zhanguo reached out to hold it: "Let’s walk slowly. I forgot to bring a flashlight."

Gu Xiaobei grinned: "It’s great that you forgot." Otherwise, would you have offered to hold my hand? She added in her mind.

"Don’t get upset about Aunt Yuan’s words today." Lu Zhanguo began, recalling Qin Ximei’s comments.

"I won’t get upset. I tend to ignore insignificant people. But don’t worry, I won’t let myself be wronged either." Gu Xiaobei smiled reassuredly.

Lu Zhanguo tightened his grip on Gu Xiaobei’s hand. This girl, she was only twenty years old but was able to see so many things clearly.

Once they entered the military compound and were under the streetlights, Lu Zhanguo let go of Gu Xiaobei’s hand, though she was still amused by his serious demeanor.

Lu Zhanguo left Gu Xiaobei and Jiujiu at the gate as he entered the guard station to give a quick call to tonight’s duty officer.

......

Once Lu Zhanguo left, Qin Ximei immediately began ranting: "Zhanguo is too protective of his wife. What’s so special about Gu Xiaobei? He’s too reluctant to say a word against her!"

"Mom, that’s their family’s business, why are you so concerned?" Yuan Ye replied with a frown.

"Xiuqing and I are very close. Of course, I have to stand up for her. When I go back, I need to talk to her properly. It’s not good for her to be bullied by her mother-in-law when she’s young and then by her daughter-in-law when she’s old." Qin Ximei said, righteous indignation on her face.

Yuan Ye didn’t reply, he unfolded his blanket, then laid down - still in his clothes.

"Why aren’t you taking off your clothes? Get up, didn’t you bring a pack? It’s bulging, isn’t it filled with clothes?" Qin Ximei started nagging Yuan Ye again. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"It’s okay, Mom, you go to sleep first. I’ll just lie here for a while, and then I’ll wash my face." Yuan Ye said, then closed his eyes to feign sleep.

While Qin Ximei undressed, she grumbled, "We’re about to sleep, why are you washing your face? What’s with all these strange habits?"

Yuan Ye remained silent, only opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling once he heard Qin Ximei’s snoring.

At around ten o’clock in deep night, the darkness grew thicker and even the chirps of the autumn insects ceased. Everything was so quiet that even a breath sounded loud.

Yuan Ye changed into a dark suit and quietly left the inn, heading towards the riverbank.

Yuan Ye seemed to be very familiar with the terrain here, his figure agile as it moved through the thick darkness.

Reaching the root of the city wall on the outskirts of the army base, Yuan Ye didn’t rush to climb. Instead, he stood by the wall, then squatted to pick up a clod of dirt from the ground, throwing it towards the city wall.

Because it had just rained, the clod of dirt made a dull "thud" as it hit the ground. In the suffocatingly silent night, the sound seemed much louder than it was.

After a while, seeing that there wasn’t any movement, Yuan Ye moved forward a bit and repeated the action. Still, it led to no reaction.

Feeling wary, Yuan Ye was about to retreat when he heard footsteps and the conversation of two soldiers: "I just heard a sound here. Did you hear it?"

"I heard it too, it might just be some loosened clods of dirt falling from the wall."

"We’re about to start the drill, and only our team is on guard. Looks like we’ll each have to stand watch for four hours."

"Yeah, it’s bearable during the day, but four hours at night is just too much."

The two soldiers chatted as they walked away.

Hearing the soldiers walk away, Yuan Ye’s heart skipped in excitement. Tonight’s trip wasn’t in vain, after all.

He hurried back to the inn, snuck back into the room, and sat down just when Qin Ximei mumbled: "Where did you go? You were gone for such a long time."

"I washed my face and went to the restroom. It wasn’t that long."

Qin Ximei heard this, turned over, and fell back to sleep.

......

"He’s here." Zhang Lijun came into the office and said to Lu Zhanguo, who was sitting there waiting.

After sending Gu Xiaobei home, Lu Zhanguo returned to the office. He expected that Yuan Ye would certainly take action tonight.

"Did gyou arouse any suspicion?"

"No." Zhang Lijun pulled out a chair and sat down: "The third company commander and I initially didn’t want to make a sound. But we were worried that she might become suspicious, so we made some noise on purpose."