Returning to the small mountain village of '86, intelligence updated daily.

Li Hu leaned slightly forward and whispered an address into Zhou Shiwei's ear.

That was a restaurant further away from here, almost on the edge of the county town.

The other party clearly made a well-thought-out decision by choosing this address.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be in a busy downtown area, or right next to the police station; that would be far too audacious.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Li Hu, Zhou Rui counted out 260 yuan that he had prepared and handed it to him, which Li Hu accepted without complaint.

Looking at the cloth bag that was now mostly empty, Zhou Rui felt no heartache whatsoever.

The deal was done, and Zhou Rui and his companion walked out of the shop. As soon as they came out, Zhou Shiwei subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the police station next to him.

The look in his eyes was quite inexplicable.

After only a brief glance, Zhou Shiwei stopped lingering and led Zhou Rui toward a direction in the county town.

There were many people on the road, most of them riding old-fashioned bicycles, and a few riding roaring motorcycles.

Each time a motorcycle roars past, most people around take it for granted and don't react, with only a few people focusing their attention on it.

Zhou Rui couldn't help but sigh, "If you were in a rural town, riding a motorcycle to the market during a big day, you'd definitely turn heads."

But things are different in the city.

Moreover, it was quite noticeable that people in the county town were wearing fashionable clothes, and some men were wearing watches.

These things didn't really affect Zhou Rui much, even though "now," including this time, he had only been to the county town three times in total.

But in his previous life, he had seen places that were ten times more prosperous than this.

The two kept walking. It was autumn now, and although it was still hot, the wind was already carrying a hint of coolness. This was probably what they meant by the refreshing autumn breeze.

Soon, Zhou Shiwei led Zhou Rui for nearly an hour before finally arriving at a place.

It was a privately owned restaurant, and because it was afternoon and the restaurant was located on the outskirts of the county, there were very few customers inside, with only one table having lunch.

Zhou Shiwei took the lead and walked into the restaurant. The owner, a scruffy, unkempt man, greeted him very warmly.

"Hey bro, what would you like to eat? We have everything here, see what you'd like."

Zhou Shiwei sized up the person in front of him. The other person's smile was just right, neither ostentatious nor impolite.

Zhou Shiwei asked a probing question.

"Are you the owner here?"

Seeing the question posed, the bearded middle-aged man reacted quickly without hesitation.

"Sure, what's up, bro?"

Having confirmed the other party's identity, Zhou Shiwei had a sudden thought.

"I'd like a bowl of stir-fried pork belly, and a stir-fried liver and kidney. Oh, and do you have seaweed and egg drop soup? The kind with lard."

Zhou Shiwei first announced the names of two dishes as usual, and then casually mentioned seaweed and egg drop soup, which was a code he had obtained from Li Hu.

As long as Zhou Shiwei comes to this shop and orders a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup with lard, the shop owner will understand why he came.

Sure enough, as soon as Zhou Shiwei finished speaking, the boss gave him a look without making a sound.

"Of course, please take your seats in the private room. We will serve you your dishes shortly."

Zhou Rui noticed that even the way the boss addressed Zhou Shiwei had changed.

The two followed the owner inside. This restaurant had very few private rooms, only two, and they went to the innermost one.

The only table of guests was engrossed in their conversation and paid no attention to what was happening here, only glancing at Zhou Shiwei and his companion when they first entered.

They assumed the two were ordinary, wealthy guests.

Zhou Rui walked at the back, looking around at the surroundings. There was nothing special about it; it was just a restaurant, but the decor was very new, so it looked like it hadn't been open for long.

This is not surprising, as private enterprises and individual businesses are just emerging at this time, so apart from state-owned businesses, other shops have only been around for a short time.

The two quickly entered a private room, where the owner invited them to sit down and promptly poured them tea.

"Please have a seat, I will serve you the dishes shortly."

The boss smiled obsequiously, his attitude becoming much more respectful, even bordering on fawning, a stark contrast to his earlier composed demeanor.

Seeing the boss leave, Zhou Shiwei couldn't help but laugh.

"This boss is quite interesting; no wonder he took this job."

Generally, these kinds of things shouldn't be done openly. So, the fact that this unassuming boss is trusted by both Li Hu and that mysterious person is enough to show how capable he is.

Zhou Rui smiled as well.

"Yes, he looks very ordinary, but he's quite shrewd."

"He's someone important."

Zhou Rui offered his own assessment, agreeing with his father's words.

The two were not kept waiting for long; the boss disappeared for less than ten minutes before returning with a large sack of grain.

The moment the boss entered, a smile and fawning immediately appeared on his face.

"Gentlemen, there were many people outside just now, please forgive us for any neglect..."

His first words were an apology, which left Zhou Shiwei somewhat amused and exasperated.

"Don't talk nonsense. What are you afraid of? What can the two of us do to you?"

Zhou Shiwei said with a mixture of confusion and amusement.

Upon hearing this, the restaurant owner visibly relaxed, then gave a wry smile and said:

"Sigh—gentlemen, these days, it's not easy for us in this line of work..."

"Alright, that's getting off-topic. Let's not talk about that anymore."

"These are your belongings, please take a look. I'll go out and keep watch now to ensure no one can come in and disturb you. Please rest assured, I know nothing..."

After the restaurant owner finished speaking, he ignored the two people's reactions, gently put the bag on the ground, and then turned and walked out of the private room.

Zhou Shiwei and his son exchanged a glance, each seeing a variety of expressions in the other's eyes.

There was confusion, doubt, and an uncontainable excitement.

Zhou Rui was puzzled because, logically speaking, people in their line of work should have connections behind them.

But judging from this, he is clearly very scared.

Zhou Ruixin had a guess, probably because the "swords, guns, and cannons" were too rampant in those areas...

However, this is none of Zhou Rui's business. As long as no one bothers his family, it's not his place to care.

What's most important right now is what's in my pocket...

Zhou Shiwei did not make a move, but gestured for Zhou Rui to open it.

Zhou Rui also stepped forward without hesitation, squatting down and carefully untying the rope binding the bag.

What came into view were some hay and scraps of cloth, which filled the pocket and made it look very full, so that no one could tell what it contained from its appearance.

Pushing aside the dry grass and scraps of cloth, Zhou Rui's fingers soon touched something cold and slender.

Zhou Rui knew what it was, and quickened his movements, revealing the true form of what he had just touched.

Slender and glossy grayish-brown.

gun.

What Zhou Rui just touched was the front of the gun barrel.

At the very bottom of the pocket was a box of bullets.