Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

Just as Li Mancang reached the theater entrance, he bumped into Chen Xiangdong and Liu Dezhu coming out of the main gate one after the other.

"Brother Xiang Dong, Brother Xiang Dong!" Li Mancang bent over, catching his breath, before straightening up. "Something terrible has happened! That Sun Zhan Dou has dragged Aunt Lu away!"

"What?" Chen Xiangdong frowned sharply. "Sun Zhan Dou? That guy from the supply and marketing cooperative?"

"Yes! That's him!" Li Mancang quickly pointed to the theater troupe's gate: "Just now, I saw Sun Zhan Dou drag Aunt Lu by the arm out the door and head east!"

Liu Dezhu, standing nearby, immediately changed his expression and gritted his teeth, saying, "That bastard's harassing Lu Meiyin again? That son of a bitch! We'll teach him a lesson today!"

As he spoke, he turned his head and looked around the courtyard gate to see if there was anything he could use.

Chen Xiangdong grabbed him, "Master, what are you doing? Finding the person is the priority, let's see what's going on first. If you rush over with your weapon, they might sue you for assault with a weapon, and we'll be in the wrong!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Find them first!"

Stopping him like that instantly cleared Liu Dezhu's head. After speaking, he strode towards the main street to the east, and Chen Xiangdong and Li Mancang quickly followed.

The three hurried along East Street, with Li Mancang, who was at the back, having to jog to keep up with the two in front.

After walking across East Street and turning inwards, Chen Xiangdong's eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed to the backs of a man and a woman ahead and exclaimed, "There they are!"

Liu Dezhu stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction Chen Xiangdong was pointing. He saw Sun Zhan Dou holding Lu Mei Yin's sleeve as the two of them walked into the East District State-run Restaurant one after the other.

Li Mancang tugged at Chen Xiangdong's sleeve and asked in a low voice, "Should we still follow them in?"

"This..." Chen Xiangdong was also undecided and passed the buck to Liu Dezhu.

"Go in!" Liu Dezhu turned around and glared at them. "Why aren't you going in? Go see what they're up to!"

As he spoke, he strode toward the entrance of the state-run restaurant. But the moment he reached the door and reached out to lift the curtain, his swaggering posture deflated completely, like a punctured ball.

He ducked in, head down, and crouched to enter the room.

Chen Xiangdong and Li Mancang followed suit and went inside. After entering, the three of them scurried along the wall to sit down at an empty table in the corner.

The three of them simultaneously raised their hands to cover half their faces, their eyes scanning the restaurant through their fingers. Sure enough, at the table opposite them by the window, Lu Meiyin was sitting with a stern face, while Sun Zhan Dou, sitting opposite her, was craning his neck to lean closer and say something.

Just as Chen Xiangdong was about to look away, he inadvertently glanced at the small blackboard on the wall, where several large characters were written crookedly in chalk: "No beating guests without cause."

He was taken aback for a moment, and then his lips twitched slightly.

I guess only in this day and age would you see such bizarre slogans...

Liu Dezhu stared intently at Lu Meiyin's lips, then suddenly lowered his voice excitedly, "Look, look! That guy has angered Lu Meiyin!"

Chen Xiangdong was immediately surprised: "Master, you can read lips?"

"What idiot?" Liu Dezhu rolled his eyes at him. "Didn't you see Lu Meiyin's face was as black as a statue?"

"Oh..." Chen Xiangdong craned his neck to look ahead and saw Lu Meiyin suddenly widen her eyes, raise her hand and slap the table, then point her finger at Sun Zhan Dou's nose, her mouth opening and closing. Although it was too far away to hear what she said, judging from her expression, he could guess that it was definitely not something nice.

Sun Zhandou waved his hand as if he wanted to explain, but Lu Meiyin on the other side didn't give him a chance. She stood up and angrily walked away.

As Lu Meiyin walked through the aisle between the rows of tables, Liu Dezhu, Chen Xiangdong, and Li Mancang quickly pulled their necks back and buried their faces in the tables, barely managing to avoid being discovered.

Sun Zhan Dou followed closely behind as he exited the hotel, quickly catching up with Lu Mei Yin ahead.

Chen Xiangdong couldn't help but sigh. This kind of tracking work is not something that just anyone can do. It can be considered a special job, right?

"What should we do?" Li Mancang blinked and looked at Chen Xiangdong and his apprentice.

"Chase!"

Liu Dezhu immediately made the decision, got up and left, and the three of them followed him to the theater troupe's compound.

From afar, Lu Meiyin had just entered the courtyard when Sun Zhanzhuan, who was following closely behind like a leech, was stopped by Xu Erdao, who stood with his hands on his hips and pointed at her.

The head of the security department, who was usually ignored, finally got his moment in the spotlight. With his hands on his hips, his belly sticking out, and his chin held higher than usual, he launched into a righteous and stern lecture at Sun Zhanzhu.

Seeing that he had been blacklisted by the troupe, Jia Dafang had publicly stated that "so-and-so and dogs are not allowed to enter," but "so-and-so" actually dared to venture into the compound. Xu Erdao's position as the head of the security department finally came in handy today.

After a barrage of accusations, Sun Zhan Dou indeed hung his head and left dejectedly.

Chen Xiangdong and his group, who were hiding behind the street corner, were stunned. Liu Dezhu chuckled, his face full of satisfaction: "This idiot finally did something decent. He's much better than that old rascal Hu Xiaolian."

Back in the compound, Lu Meiyin stood with her arms crossed at the entrance of the rehearsal hall, sneering at Liu Dezhu as he approached. Her smile was ambiguous, but her eyes were like knives, scrutinizing Liu Dezhu from head to toe.

Chen Xiangdong and Li Mancang, who were behind them, noticed from afar that Lu Meiyin's eyes seemed a bit off. They exchanged a glance, turned around in tacit agreement, and hid behind a corner of the wall, peeking out with half their heads peeking out.

"Wow, you've gotten quite capable, even learning those spy tricks now!"

Lu Meiyin's forced smile and sarcastic tone sent a chill down Liu Dezhu's spine: Had he been discovered following her?

He rubbed his hands together and chuckled dryly, "What are you talking about! I just happened to be passing by..."

"A coincidence?" Lu Meiyin snorted, then glared at him fiercely. "Are we just going to leave our relationship like this? You coward, you can't get anything done!"

Seeing Liu Dezhu's sheepish expression and cowardly demeanor, Lu Meiyin was furious. She stepped forward and grabbed his ear. Her eyes suddenly reddened, and she said in a low, hateful voice, "You heartless bastard! You did that to me... and now you're pretending to be stupid and refusing to stand up for me. I was blind to believe your lies!"

Liu Dezhu could tell that Lu Meiyin was really angry. His ear was being twisted, and he was in so much pain that he grimaced but didn't dare to move away.

Lu Meiyin's voice grew softer and softer, but the sobs filled with disappointment and resentment grew stronger: "My second aunt is coming to the county tomorrow. If you're a man, stand up and make things clear. I don't want... I don't want to live like this, in this ambiguous state!"

"Your second aunt?" Liu Dezhu was taken aback and subconsciously asked, "You mean the second aunt who introduced you to someone? What's she doing here?"

"What is she here for? What do you think she's here for!"

Lu Meiyin had been waiting for him to say something firm, but this guy seemed to have lost his mind and asked such a thoughtless question.

She was so angry that she suddenly let go of his hand, forced back the tears in her eyes, glared at Liu Dezhu, and turned to leave in a huff.