Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 150 - 146 Strange People - 1

Chapter 150: 146 Strange People Chapter 1

Just as Li Xianglu went out to pick up some books, the other four girls arrived. Seeing their individual behaviors, Li Xianglu suddenly felt that the next four years at university wouldn’t be too lonely.

After picking up the books, she received a notice that the school would be conducting a preliminary examination in half a month. The finance department, due to having the course International Trade, required an additional English exam. According to the results of the English test, students would be placed into classes, grouping those with high scores together.

For Li Xianglu, who had already gone through university once, these were all minor details.

The two rode their bicycles first to the Overseas Chinese Store to buy a duck and some bamboo shoots before leisurely heading back.

Mr. Li was currently playing chess with his old friend Mr. Xun. The two chess bums were almost guaranteed to pick a fight every ten minutes.

Li Xianglu was already used to this. Upon entering, she parked her bicycle, washed the already-prepared duck with clean water, and then asked Qin Xi to chop it in half—one half to be cooked into soup with the bamboo shoots and the other half to be stir-fried.

Seeing there was not much else to help with, Qin Xi changed clothes and then picked up a shovel to tidy up the corners of the yard. Some parts of the courtyard wall were damaged, and he was worried that they might give way during a downpour.

Then there was the garden, which Li Xianglu mentioned planting watermelons and muskmelons in, while Grandpa Li suggested adding some flowers and grass as well. He had to satisfy these requests. The soil of the courtyard was not good enough, they would need to replace it and fix up the surroundings. All these tasks needed to be done quickly; otherwise, they would miss the sowing season after April.

Grandpa Li had no qualms about his grandson-in-law doing all the work; on the contrary, he felt happily unoccupied.

Mr. Xun watched enviously, shaking his head and murmuring, "Mr. Li, you sure are crafty, securing the boy so early. Look how good he is, practically half a grandson!"

Mr. Li loved to hear such praises, smugly stroking his unbearded chin, "Naturally, who do you think I am? I am Li Huai Ren, and no one can match my foresight."

Mr. Xun wasn’t the least bit irritated by his friend’s bragging and nodded, "Yes, you truly deserve to be proud of this. Indeed, he’s better than my eldest grandson. Just look at my grandkid, spoiled all day and completely lacking in any discipline. The old couple is busy and can’t manage him. He’s busy with cockfighting and dog racing, just like the playboys in the old society. It gives me a headache just thinking about it."

Mr. Li knew his old buddies also had their fair share of family issues. Take Mr. Xun, for example: he held a high rank before retirement. Now his eldest son worked in the education department, and his second son was in the military, both doing rather well, with his third son being a doctor and chief of department.

His sons were all quite successful, but the grandchildren were another story, each lacking ambition. Thinking of this, Li Huai Ren smiled proudly. What did it matter if he had no biological grandchildren? Xiangxiang was more reliable than his own. She was filial, always thinking of him whenever she got her hands on something tasty. One day, she brought back a jar of braised beef from Old Mo just when Mr. Xun was there, who stared in envy, almost dropping his eyeballs. At their age, who lacked food to eat? It was the thoughtfulness of the children that mattered the most.

Because the duck needed to stew for a while, lunch wasn’t ready until one o’clock.

The delicate bamboo shoot and duck soup, the stir-fried duck, home-brought cured pork stir-fried with freshly harvested garlic sprouts, a simple stir-fried bok choy, and somewhat soft rice all whetted the appetite of the two elders.

After the meal, Qin Xi went to wash the dishes, while Li Xianglu brewed a large pot of tea to aid the digestion of the two old men. She then mopped the floor and tidied up the house, which she hadn’t had time to do in the morning.

Li Xianglu had just finished washing the mop when she heard the sound of a car horn outside. The two elders also curiously looked over.

Soon, they heard knocking at the door. Li Xianglu asked who it was and ran over. Next to the door was a small peephole. She stood on tiptoe to see outside and, noticing the four uniformed military personnel, she hesitated without rushing to open the door but rather looked towards Grandpa Li.

Li Huai Ren thought it might be Xu Xi coming over and didn’t bother; however, seeing that his granddaughter looked concerned, he frowned and walked over. Peering through the peephole, he saw the four soldiers, paused for a moment, and then opened the door.

Mr. Li didn’t ask who it was; he simply opened the door and let the four men in.

The leader first gave Mr. Li a military salute: "Mr. Li, hello!"

Mr. Li glanced at his granddaughter next to him, but instead of introducing her, he said, "Xiao Xiang, go back and see what Qin Xi is doing."

Although Li Xianglu was curious about what these four people were up to, she knew to obey her grandfather’s words; she made some teasing faces at Grandpa Li before leaving.

Li Huai Ren couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile; this granddaughter was really clever. She was worried about him and signaled subtly that she was just inside. She wouldn’t have reacted this way if she had known what these people were here for; they were not something a young lady could handle.

Mr. Xun was taken aback by the attire of the four men, lifted his teacup, and said to Mr. Li, "I’m going to the back courtyard to take a nap in Qin Zhen’s room; I ate too much."

Mr. Li waved his hand and then invited the four men to sit down.

In the yard, there was a set of rosewood high tables, two-backed chairs, and two show stools, which had been brought out for eating and had not yet been taken away.

Mr. Li beckoned them and said, "Come, have a seat."

Three men stood leaning against the surroundings, while only the man who had saluted earlier sat down.

Mr. Li was not surprised by their behavior and calmly asked, "What’s going on that requires such a grand gesture? Before coming, you could have given a phone call, so I could have asked my family to avoid the place."

Listening to Mr. Li’s tone, which was gentle, the man sitting opposite knew that Mr. Li was actually angry, and he awkwardly touched his nose, "It’s a bit urgent, so we wanted to bring you over to have a look."

Mr. Li frowned and asked, "Very urgent?"

As the man heard Mr. Li inquire about the work, his expression immediately became serious: "Yes, very urgent. The embassy is already demanding people, and if we can’t get anything out of them, it’s going to be hard to explain."

Mr. Li shook his head and said, "You all have been dispatched already, haven’t you? How come you can’t handle even this?"

The man sighed and said, "Someone went to meet with him in between, and since then, there’s been no word."

Mr. Li frowned; the most taboo thing in such situations was someone meeting with them in the middle. What was going on at the top that they made such a mistake?

Mr. Li took a sip of tea and said, "All right, all right. I’ll go change my clothes and inform my granddaughter. You all wait outside the door."

The man stood up, gave a military salute, and the four of them, without any conversation and in tacit understanding, left and carefully closed the door behind them.

Li Xianglu didn’t know who the visitors were and felt that these people seemed quite peculiar. However, Qin Xi assured her that everything was fine and told Li Xianglu not to panic.

Mr. Li came in and asked his granddaughter to find him a new set of clothes and new leather shoes, telling her not to worry, that he would be back by the afternoon, and to inform Mr. Xun that he was taking a nap in the back. He instructed her to keep an eye on him.

Li Xianglu opened her mouth wanting to speak, but Qin Xi took hold of her, telling Grandpa Li to be careful. She then escorted Mr. Li out the door and made sure it was securely closed.

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