Siheyuan: The Era of Struggle

Chapter 377: Lu Zhenbang's clever trick
As soon as He Yuanchao finished speaking, everyone in the room looked at him.

Zhang Lide understood his brother-in-law's character and knew that he would not ask about this matter for no reason, so he did not say anything, but picked up the teacup and sipped the water in small sips.

Lu Zhenbang looked at his wife. Although he didn't know what He Yuanchao was thinking, he hesitated for a moment and said truthfully:

"I didn't know about this when I delivered the supplies to the widow. It was only when Xiao Zhao was investigated by the army that I realized that the bastard in my family had caused such a big disaster."

This answer was as good as saying nothing, and He Yuanchao was very dissatisfied.

"So when the incident happened, did you ask them about it, uncle?"

"I would like to ask."

Seeing He Yuanchao questioning him like he was interrogating a criminal, Lu Zhenbang felt a little unhappy and replied in a rather stiff tone:

"On the day of the accident, Xiao Zhao was taken away by the army. My bastard didn't even go home and disappeared without a trace. Your aunt looked for him for several days but couldn't find a trace of him."

After Lu Zhenbang said this, he saw He Yuanchao frowning and about to open his mouth, and immediately guessed what he wanted to ask.

"I also learned about it after Xiao Zhao came back. It seems that the confession letter was taken back. As for whether the widow's family wrote anything, I really don't know."

As if he felt that this statement might easily lead to Zhang Lide's misunderstanding that he only cared about his son and ignored his son-in-law, Lu Zhenbang hurriedly added:

"Xiao Zhao has been in a bad mood since he came back from the army. I asked him once, and he said that it was that bastard from my family who went there to deliver the supplies. I saw that Xiao Zhao was in a bad mood, and I was afraid that if I asked more, it would irritate him, so I didn't ask any more questions."

After hearing this, Zhang Lide and He Yuanchao didn't say anything, but their expressions looked unhappy.

The high-sounding words sounded nice, but the fact was that after seeing their son escape from the predicament, the Lu family immediately stopped their efforts and did not want to get involved in this muddy water anymore.

Lu Zhenbang also noticed the changes in Zhang Lide and He Yuanchao's expressions, and knew that they had seen through his thoughts. In order to hide his inner embarrassment, he looked at He Yuanchao with a serious look and said something to make conversation:

"Xiao He, do you have any ideas? Tell us and we can discuss it together."

He Yuanchao did have some ideas, but after finding out what the Lu family was thinking, he instantly came up with a new idea. However, this approach involved the future relationship between the Zhang and Lu families, so he had to discuss it with his father-in-law and see what his father-in-law thought.

He was thinking about the feasibility of the matter in his mind, and did not let Lu Zhenbang's words fall on the ground.

"I'm in the dark, what can I think? I'm asking because I'm afraid they'll threaten you with the confession later."

Comparing the attitudes before and after, even a blind person can see the perfunctory meaning.

Lu Zhenbang didn't care. If the matter was easy to handle, there would be no right for a young man who knew nothing to talk nonsense here. He would have solved it long ago, and his son-in-law would not have been punished and lost his job.

Although he thought this in his mind, he didn't show it on his face at all.

It is understandable that young people love to show off and want to be in the spotlight in front of their powerful father-in-law.

Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law was not as optimistic as her own husband. After being scolded by He Yuanchao just now, she knew that this young man was a little difficult to deal with. She wanted to remind him to be careful, but she couldn't think of the right words for a while, and she was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead.

Lu Zhenbang didn't notice his wife's expression. When he saw that He Yuanchao stopped asking questions, he felt relieved for no reason, and his stern face relaxed a lot.

"Xiao He! If you have any good ideas, don't hide them. Right now, our most important thing is to deal with this matter quickly..."

Hearing that Lu Zhenbang didn't talk about the main business and just chatted with meaningless words, He Yuanchao completely lost the desire to talk to him. After responding with a few "um" and "ah" words, he lowered his head and said no more.

Seeing this scene, Lv Zhenbang felt a little angry. It's really like a dog biting Lv Dongbin who doesn't know the kindness of a good person. I worked so hard to set up a stage for you to show your talents, but you didn't say thank you, and you even turned your face away from me. You are such a piece of shit.

Thinking of this, Lu Zhenbang decided not to try to please someone else and turned to chat with Zhang Lide who was sitting on the other side of the table.

Zhang Lide saw everything that happened in the room, and he felt particularly relieved by He Yuanchao's behavior.

If he wasn't afraid of making things difficult for Zhang Zhao, he would have wanted to say a few words to Lu Zhenbang and give him a cold shoulder at the same time.

You are over fifty years old, why are you still trying to be clever? You are a smart person, but you are not talking about practical things. Who can you fool with empty and pretentious words? You are really living a dog's life at your age.

……

It must be said that Zhang Lide is worthy of being a leading cadre for many years. He has done a great job in cultivating his energy. No matter how upset he feels, his expression and tone of voice do not give people the impression of being out of place.

The two father-in-laws started talking about Zhang Zhao. As they chatted, Lu Zhenbang saw that Zhang Lide seemed reluctant to talk about this topic, so he used the issue of food shortage to talk about the domestic situation.

After chatting for a while, Lu Zhenbang couldn't help but sigh in his heart, it's no wonder that he can reach the deputy hydrocarbon level. His vision and knowledge are really beyond the reach of small local officials.

After realizing this, Lu Zhenbang felt like he had found a confidant. He raised the problems that usually troubled him one by one, hoping to take this opportunity to get some guidance from his father-in-law.

If I gain something, maybe I can take a step forward before retirement.

Just when Zhang Lide was getting a little annoyed, the sound of a door opening was heard outside the house, and soon after, Zhang Zhao walked in carrying cigarettes, alcohol and vegetables.

At this moment, Zhang Lide felt that Zhang Zhao, who used to make him angry no matter how he looked at him, was extremely pleasing to the eye.

He stopped wasting time with Lu Zhenbang and stood up from his chair with a bang.
"Xiao Zhao, pack up quickly. Let's go to your unit as soon as possible."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhao knew that he had to clean up his mess, so he didn't waste any words. He put the things in his hands on the table, turned around, walked to the door, picked up the enamel basin and towel, and left the room.

The Zhang family's father and son acted quite suddenly. It took Lu Zhenbang a while to react after Zhang Zhao left the house.

"Brother Lide, look at what you are doing. No matter how urgent it is, you can still save a meal."

After standing up, Lu Zhenbang turned his head and said to Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law, who was still sitting on the chair and drinking water slowly:
"What are you still hesitating about? Go and cook."

Seeing that Lu Zhenbang had a stern face, Zhang Zhao's mother-in-law didn't dare to say anything. She just responded and stood up to get the bag of vegetables on the table.

Zhang Lide was unwilling to stay in the Lu family for even a minute. Seeing this, he quickly found an excuse to stop them:
"Brother Zhenbang, mother-in-law, please stop being so busy. We can use this lunch break to invite the army leaders to have a meal and see how to solve the follow-up problems of Xiaozhao's case."

When Lu Zhenbang heard that he was going to use his connections, he knew he couldn't stop him, but he still pretended to try to keep him.

While the two were talking politely, Zhang Zhao, who had packed up neatly, came into the room, picked up a coat from the bed, and interrupted them:

"I'm done packing, when are we leaving?"

"Go right now."

Zhang Lide responded, then said a few polite words to Lu Zhenbang and his wife, then left the house without looking back.

Seeing this, He Yuanchao, who had been prepared for a long time, did not hesitate. He smiled and nodded goodbye to Lu Zhenbang and his wife, then walked out of the house with Zhang Zhao, carrying two bags.

(End of this chapter)