Back To The 80s-Chapter 316 - 326: Villains_1

Lu Zhanguo went to open the front door and found Lei Feng on the other side. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Scratching his head and laughing, Lei Feng said, "It’s snowing heavily outside, we can’t leave yet, so I thought it would be good to chat with you to kill some time."

Lu Zhanguo nodded and invited Lei Feng into the house.

As soon as Lei Feng sat down, he introduced himself, "My name is Liu Changhua, you two must also be from the military, right?"

Lu Zhanguo gave a simple introduction of himself and of Lu Aiguo.

Liu Changhua was a talkative man. After a few sentences, he reminisced about the past, "We used to serve in the Northeast, our regimental commander was a great guy, easy-going, good-tempered."

Lu Aiguo perked up at the mention of serving in the Northeast and asked, "So why did you come to Zhangbei?"

"I just passed through Zhangbei. I’m running an errand for our commander," Liu Changhua replied. He couldn’t resist sneaking another glance at Lu Zhanguo. There was a striking resemblance. If it weren’t for his sharp eye, he doubted anyone else could see it.

"Your regimental commander is also from Zhangbei? Zhangbei sure is a place full of talent," Lu Aiguo spontaneously praised.

Liu Changhua, being a practical man, agreed wholeheartedly, "Yes, our commander is extraordinary. Out of everyone in this world, I only admire him. I follow his orders without question, I’m sure he’d never lead me astray."

Lu Zhanguo could see out of the corner of his eye that Liu Changhua was examining him frequently. He kept his curiosity to himself and let his eyes fall, ignoring Liu Changhua’s gaze.

Finally, Liu Changhua couldn’t resist saying, "I haven’t seen the commander for three or four years. It’s only because he wrote me a letter asking me to come to Zhangbei." He found himself constantly looking at Lu Zhanguo because it felt like his commander was seated right there in front of him, patiently guiding his thoughts.

"When I first met Brother Lu last night, I was taken aback..." Liu Changhua’s words were interrupted by noise from outside.

Lu Zhanguo squinted to listen, then abruptly stood, opened the door, and rushed outside. Seeing his hurried manner, Liu Changhua quickly followed. Lu Aiguo, not wanting to miss out, got down from the kang bed, put on his shoes, and rushed out too.

In the narrow hallway, a young man lay in a pool of blood. A shadowy figure darted out of the inn.

Lu Zhanguo instructed Lu Aiguo to stay and tend to the injured man, while he chased after the figure.

The inn’s staff, startled by the possibly fatal incident, didn’t dare to approach. A brave attendant nervously ran out to alert the police.

Lu Zhanguo gave chase with lightning speed. Despite the heavy snow falling like goose feathers, it didn’t hinder his cheetah-like speed. Liu Changhua was stunned, and spurred himself on to follow.

Three thugs fled the scene recklessly aimed for the outskirts of the town.

In the early 1980s, Zhangbei was a very underdeveloped town. Apart from a main street with a few businesses, the rest of the town was made up of low-lying residential areas.

Seeing someone chasing after them, the culprits ran even faster.

Lu Zhanguo squinted at the chubby one lagging behind, caught up to him in a few strides, and kicked him down. Seeing this, the two men in the front, a taller one shoved his shorter companion. "Linzi, take the goods and run!" He pulled out a knife and charged towards Lu Zhanguo.

Upon hearing the command, the young man hugged the goods in his arms and scrambled into the depths of an alley.

Lu Zhanguo watched the tall man wave his knife around with some skill. He stood still, waiting for the right moment. Suddenly, he launched a flying kick, executed an exquisite roundhouse kick, spun around, and kicked his opponent’s neck and shoulder.

The tall man who had been wielding his knife was momentarily stunned by Lu Zhanguo’s kick, collapsed and retreated several steps, finally falling to his knees.

By the time Liu Changhua caught up, he was full of admiration at Lu Zhanguo’s speed and explosive power.

Lu Zhanguo quickly told Liu Changhua, "You stay here with these two, I’ll go after the other one."

Because the alleys were so intricate, coupled with the heavy snowstorm blown by the bitter wind quickly erasing any trace of footprints. Lu Zhanguo knelt on the ground for a closer look, then followed in the direction the young man had run off.

In the roaring wind and snow, it was tough to keep his eyes open, much less give chase. Despite his best efforts, Lu Zhanguo wasn’t able to locate the fleeing young man.

When he returned to where Liu Changhua was waiting, they both escorted the two culprits to the local police station.

After their interrogation by the police, the two criminals consistently claimed that they had simply had a verbal disagreement which led to the accidental injury.

After helping the police to record their statements, Lu Zhanguo walked out to find Liu Changhua looking at him in admiration. "Brother Lu, you’re really skilled. Your martial arts skills are as impressive as our commander’s. It’s a shame he’s been transferred to X Province to build the corps there. Otherwise, you two could have sparred."

Lu Zhanguo noticed Liu Changhua often brought up his old commander, who must be quite the character. He felt a sense of kindred spirit, like a spiritual bond was formed even before they metface to face.

The next day, the heavy snow stopped, and some short-haul trains were able to operate again. Saying a quick goodbye to both men, Liu Changhua was eager to meet his old commander. In his heart, he hoped to spend the New Year with his commander, who would otherwise be alone in the vast Gobi Desert, which was a pretty lonesome prospect.

Lu Zhanguo and Lu Aiguo were delayed in Zhangbei for three days and only returned to the capital city on February 3rd.

When they arrived home, they found Gu Xiaobei holding Xiaopang and Wen Xiuqing holding Mo Wang, who were both eating apples at the dining table.

Upon seeing his father return, Xiaopang no longer cared about his favorite apple. He reached out his hands while making noises, eager for his father to hold him. His little body leaned forward repeatedly.

Gu Xiaobei laughed and said, "This little ungrateful rascal. He sees his dad and suddenly doesn’t want his favorite apple anymore."

After removing his army coat and warming by the heater, Lu Zhanguo picked up Xiaopang. As soon as Xiaopang was in his father’s arms, he laughed, his eyes curved in happiness, and his mouth was wide open with joy.

Lu Aiguo noticed that there was something different about the atmosphere at home, but couldn’t quite point out what.

Gu Xiaobei asked curiously, "Why were you gone for so long?"

Lu Zhanguo, touching Xiaopang’s little face, said, "There was a heavy snowfall there, and the trains heading our way were suspended."

Gu Xiaobei just responded with an "Oh," she didn’t ask anything further. Even if she was burning with curiosity, she still held it in, especially in front of Wen Xiuqing.

Gu Xiaobei helped Auntie Li with lunch. As Lu Zhanguo and Lu Aiguo were back home, Auntie Li made noodles. Gu Xiaobei made Lu Zhanguo’s favorite hot and sour dish.

Seven-month-old Xiaopang and Mo Wang saw the adults eating and became restless with impatience. Wen Xiuqing took a piece of noodle that was not soaked in the dish and put it in Mo Wang’s mouth. Mo Wang smacked his lips and began to chew with his toothless gums. Seeing Mo Wang eating, Xiaopang, who had yet to be fed, became restless and discontented. Wen Xiuqing quickly fed him a small piece as well.

Gu Xiaobei was a little worried and asked, "They don’t even have teeth yet. Will they be alright?"