Back To The 80s-Chapter 411 - 421: Conspiracy_1

Lu Aiguo shrugged his shoulders and said, "I came looking for big brother for retirement, and to have big brother marry Song Wuxiu", he even teasingly glanced at Bai Xiaolan after saying this.

Bai Xiaolan wasn’t angry and casually replied, "Lu, the third one, if you don’t want to miss a tooth this New Year, speak properly."

Lu Aiguo clicked his tongue and said, "Sis-in-law, I’m only speaking the truth, don’t worry, I’m always on your side, no matter what."

Bai Xiaolan picked up the piece of green onion again, which she had discarded just now, and kept peeling it while saying: "I don’t care what they want to do. The times are different now. No matter how justified they are, they can’t surpass the law."

Lu Aiguo, not having a filter, said, "Wow, sis-in-law, as expected, your consciousness is quite advanced".

Bai Xaolan smiled and threw an onion leaf at Lu Aiguo: "One more word from you, and I’ll make you eat colors over New Year".

Lu Aiguo dodged and said with a laugh, "Dad said to bring the food over."

"You should let them wash up first. The food is ready, it just that we didn’t expect so many people, so I’ve just warmed up some more steamed buns." Gu Xiaobei said while chopping pickles.

During the meal, the three sisters-in-law along with the children and Song Wuxiu ate in the kitchen.

Song Wuxiu sat stiffly at the dining table, not daring to move her chopsticks.

Bai Xiaolan picked up a steamed bun and handed it to her, smiling as she said, "Your name is Wuxiu, right? Go ahead and eat, you’re at home now. It won’t do for your sister-in-law to let you go hungry."

Gu Xiaobei secretly gave a thumbs-up to Bai Xiaolan. She had already noticed that this girl had a high EQ.

Song Wuxiu accepted the steamed bun, biting into it in small bites, somewhat unable to relax her guard.

Xiaopang and Mo Wang wanted to emulate Yueyue by eating by themselves. Gu Xiaobei each handed them a small spoon, and the two finally sat obediently to scoop porridge to drink. They weren’t too good at using the spoons, but they managed to get some into their mouths.

Bai Xiaolan laughed while watching Xiaopang and Mo Wang eating, "They’re just like the little monkeys at the temple fair." She then asked Song Wuxiu, "I heard that you’re married and have a child. How old is the child? Boy or girl?"

Song Wuxiu lowered her head, speaking in a soft voice, "Five years old."

Bai Xiaolan smiled and asked, "Why didn’t you bring your child with you?"

Song Wuxiu hurriedly ate a mouthful of her steamed bun and didn’t make a sound again.

Bai Xiaolan didn’t ask any more questions, she pushed the plate of pickles towards Song Wuxiu and said, "Have some vegetables."

In the room, the atmosphere among the people eating at the kang table was also very subdued, no one spoke, everyone just ate their meal in silence.

After Ji Xiangdong finished the last mouthful of porridge, he gently put down his bowl. Looking at Song Dajiang, who had also finished his meal, he said, "Uncle, there’s something I want to discuss with you alone."

Song Dajiang was startled for a moment before nodding, "Alright, let’s go outside to talk."

Ji Xiangdong was silent, he took Song Dajiang into the western room. The two of them closed the door, and once inside, they talked for over an hour.

Wen Xiuqing spoke anxiously, "What if he comes to ask for money, that’s acceptable, but what if he causes a ruckus and demands Wuxiu to marry Xiangdong. What will we do?"

Lu Songyuan angrily retorted, "What era is this? I’m not worried about that. What I’m worried about is them creating a ruckus, accusing Xiangdong of being an ungrateful wretch, not providing for them."

A single sentence rendered everyone silent. The public often sympathizes with the weak. Especially under the influence of traditional culture, people will definitely condemn Ji Xiangdong, who doesn’t know how to repay kindness, without trying to probe the truth. Ji Xiangdong is in politics. This matter could be a big deal.

Ji Xiangdong was the first to come out of the west room, his face calm. It took Song Dajiang a while longer before he emerged, his complexion pale. He went into the kitchen and called for Song Wuxiu, announcing that they were leaving.

Lu Songyuan was a bit surprised and asked, "How come they suddenly want to leave?"

Song Dajiang’s voice was a bit hoarse as he said, "I’ve apparently misjudged his character, raising a wolf all those years."

As soon as he heard this, Lu Songyuan grabbed Song Dajiang and said, "Big brother, if there’s a problem, we can discuss it." Even though he was resentful towards Song Dajiang and his daughter, he couldn’t forget the kindness he received from them.

Song Dajiang waved his hand away and said, "No need. We’re heading to the train station now. We’ll be taking tonight’s train back home." As he was saying this, he grabbed Song Wuxiu’s arm and started to head outside.

All this time, Ji Xiangdong stood to one side without saying a word. His expression, however, grew increasingly serious.

Seeing Song Dajiang insisting on leaving, Lu Songyuan pulled out a stack of ten yuan notes from his inner coat pocket. Without even counting, he guessed that there must be four or five hundred yuan. He stuffed it into Song Dajiang’s hand and said, "Take this money and have a good New Year."

Watching as Song Dajiang, leading Song Wuxiu, walked out of the small courtyard gate, Lu Songyuan then turned to Ji Xiangdong perplexed, asking, "What did you say to him? Why is he suddenly acting like this?"

Ji Xiangdong glanced at Bai Xiaolan, who was poking her head out of the kitchen and said, "Nothing, don’t worry about it. They won’t ever be coming back."

Wen Xiuqing sighed and said, "Actually, I don’t really hate them either. They did raise you after all. It’s just the stupid things they do that make me mad. But, having them leave like this, it’ll give people an opportunity to criticize you in the future."

Ji Xiangdong ignored Wen Xiuqing’s words, he turned to Lu Zhanguo and asked, "Are you going back to the department later?"

Lu Zhanguo shook his head, "Got something?"

Ji Xiangdong: "Come with me to take care of something."

After Song Wuxiu was dragged out of the small courtyard by Song Dajiang, she was somewhat confused and said, "Dad, didn’t we agree to spend the New Year here? Why are we suddenly leaving?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Song Dajiang went outside and toughened up, coldly snorting: "That Xiangdong is no longer the Song Tiancheng of old, he’s cunning now. At a single glance, he saw that someone had instructed us to come."

Song Wuxiu was surprised and said: "We could just deny it, right? Dad, didn’t that man say that if we succeeded, he would give us 10,000 yuan?"

Song Dajiang shook his head: "Wu Ya, we thought it was too easy. Xiangdong said that even if we didn’t confess who had instructed us, it wouldn’t matter. But if we dared to cause trouble here, he would find a way to send us off. At that point, we can’t blame him for his callousness any longer."

Song Dajiang didn’t mention what Ji Xiangdong had also said: if they went back home honestly, every year they would still send something over, and money as well.

Song Wuxiu wrapped her cotton-padded coat tighter, tears welling up in her eyes. Before that incident had occurred, Tiancheng had been kind to her. They are of a similar age, and when they were younger, they spent most of their time together.

Looking at his daughter, Song Dajiang sighed and said, "Alright, don’t cry now. I have no idea how that man found our home. We just acted rashly and came here." He muttered the last sentence so quietly it was hard to hear.

Lu Zhanguo only asked Ji Xiangdong after they had stepped outside the gate of the house, "What are we going out for?"

Ji Xiangdong, with his eyebrows tightly knitted together said, "Find Shen Heng to help me investigate a person named Bai Pingtian, from G Province. He’s around forty years old, currently holding a position as Group Commander in the 124th Division of X Province. He recently returned home to visit."

Lu Zhanguo frowned: "Your competitor for the seat?"

Ji Xiangdong faintly smiled and shook his head: "No, rather, I am his stumbling block to get to that position. That deputy division commander position, I’m not interested in it."

"Let’s go find Shen Heng first. Why do you suspect him? How could he know about your past life in Zhangbei?" Lu Zhanguo voiced his doubts.

"Once, when I asked someone to help me to deliver something to the Song Family over the phone, he was there. I was negligent at the time." Ji Xiangdong thought about it for a long time, feeling that it must have been this part that went awry.

"So you mean, Song Dajiang was instructed to await your arrival in the provincial city, and they never once went to my department?"

Ji Xiangdong nodded: "It appears to be the case now."