Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

Xia De hasn't gone to work at the cotton mill at all these past few days.

He took a long leave of absence and rode his old bicycle all over the county following Lin Zhaotang.

From the guesthouse to the state-run hotel, and from the state-run hotel to the supply and marketing cooperative, he followed far behind like a shadow, neither getting close nor losing sight of them.

On several occasions, he even discovered that a kid from the county theater troupe was also sneaking around and following Lin Zhaotang. The kid was short and would hide behind trees and go into alleys, as if he was also investigating something.

Xia De had planned to wait for the other party to reveal themselves first, but it seemed that the other party was only focused on Lin Zhaotang.

"Damn, this is really lively." Xia De cursed inwardly, and decided to ignore the brat.

Fortunately, Lin Zhaotang had been going back and forth between several supply and marketing cooperatives these past few days, which gave him some relief.

But this very afternoon, Lin Zhaotang actually went to the county theater troupe again!

Xia De's heart clenched. It seemed that this bastard was still after Pan Lanxiang!

He remained there, crouching behind the large poplar tree diagonally opposite the theater troupe, staring intently at the direction of the troupe's gate.

As darkness fell, the jeep drove out of the yard and passed by him. He could clearly see that Chu Shengli was the only person in the back seat; Lin Zhaotang was not in the car.

Xia De's pupils contracted sharply. That bastard was left in the theater troupe!

Then, a few minutes later, he saw Lin Zhaotang and Pan Lanxiang walking out of the troupe's gate side by side in the dark.

His fists clenched instantly, his back teeth grinding together, and he followed them all the way to the entrance of the guesthouse.

The moment he saw Lin Zhaotang's hand on Pan Lanxiang's waist, his reason completely collapsed. He roared like a mad bear, rushed out of the alley, and knocked Lin Zhaotang down with a single punch.

A scream of pain suddenly rang out in the night. Chen Xiangdong and Li Mancang, who were rummaging through drawers with flashlights, were startled and quickly turned off the lights.

"What the heck?"

Startled, Li Mancang rushed to the window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and squinted downstairs.

By the dim moonlight, he could vaguely see two men and a woman downstairs. Although he couldn't make out the face of the one lying on the ground, his unique suit, the only one of its kind in the entire county, made him exclaim in surprise, "It's Lin Zhaotang!"

"That guy's back? Quick, draw the curtains, we need to hurry!"

Chen Xiangdong's heart tightened immediately, and he quickened his movements.

The luggage had been turned inside out. Apart from a few changes of clothes that looked to be of good quality and a "Letter of Introduction for Hong Kong and Macao Compatriots to Return Home" stamped with the official seal of the Luohu Port, the rest was just a bunch of tickets and odds and ends.

There were only a few receipts from the Dongping County Supply and Marketing Cooperative in the three-drawer table next to the bed, but these were not the things Chen Xiangdong was looking for.

Li Mancang's heart was pounding. He quickly drew the curtains and frantically started rummaging through the bedding. When he lifted the pillow, he suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Huh, what's this?"

Chen Xiangdong looked up and saw Li Mancang holding a small cloth bag, about the size of a palm, and taking out a piece of paper and a small piece of wood from it.

He took the two items from Li Mancang, turned his back, shone his flashlight on them, and discovered that the flat piece of wood was actually a homemade official seal with the words "Luohu Port" engraved on it.

Lin Zhaotang's "Introduction Letter for Hong Kong and Macao Compatriots Returning to Their Hometowns" was indeed a forgery!

Looking at the paper again, it reads, "This is to certify that Lin Zhaotang, male, forty-two years old, a member of the Tantou Brigade of Xiaolangtan Commune, is classified as a poor person..."

The inscription was signed by the Tantou Brigade of Xiaolangtan Commune in Chaoshan.

Chen Xiangdong's eyes suddenly lit up.

found it!

This is Lin Zhaotang's true identity!

Having obtained the evidence of fraud, Chen Xiangdong left room 303 with Li Mancang without a moment's hesitation and ran downstairs.

When I ran to the lobby on the first floor, it was indeed empty.

The old dormitory manager and the female server were not in the duty room; they had already run out to see what was going on.

When Chen Xiangdong and his companion left the guesthouse, they discovered a crowd gathered on the street, clearly drawn by the screams they had just heard.

Upon closer inspection, they found Liu Dezhu, Niu Laohei, and Lin Datou, who had been promised to meet them, pinning Xia De to the stone ground with their hands and feet.

Xia De was still struggling, his shoulders pressed against the ground, as if trying to get up, but Niu Laohei used his knee to press down on his waist, and the force he had mustered was only halfway up before it dissipated.

Pan Lanxiang squatted in front of Lin Zhaotang, wanting to go over and offer her help several times, but when she saw the bloodstains on Lin Zhaotang's body, she felt disgusted and ultimately did not reach out to wipe the blood off him.

Lin Zhaotang sat on the ground, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. He didn't bother to wipe the blood from his nose, and just kept holding his nose, which had tilted to one side, groaning "Ouch."

The dorm supervisor was still yelling, "My God! How could they beat up a foreign businessman like this?! This is going to cause a huge mess! You coward, just you wait, the police will arrest you!"

Zhu Zheng stood a few steps away, watching the scene expressionlessly until he saw Chen Xiangdong and Li Mancang come out of the guesthouse. Only then did his expression change, and he quickly went to meet them, lowering his voice: "Found them?"

"I have fulfilled my mission!"

Chen Xiangdong smiled at him and handed him the letter of introduction, the forged official seal, and the flashlight. Zhu Zhengke turned on the light, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and then an uncontrollable smile appeared on his lips: "We knew it!"

He put away the evidence, turned around and glanced at Liu Dezhu and the other two men who were pinning Xia De down, and said in a deep voice, "Go! Take them to the police station!"

Upon hearing this, the old dormitory supervisor immediately perked up, his voice even louder than before: "That's right! That's right! This coward should be arrested!"

The crowd started clamoring, some pointing in Xia De's direction, others already moving forward to lend a hand.

But to everyone's surprise, Zhu Zhengguo bypassed Xia De and walked straight to Lin Zhaotang with Chen Xiangdong on either side. Zhu Zhengguo bent down, grabbed the back of his neck, and lifted Lin Zhaotang up from the ground.

Pan Lanxiang, who was standing to the side, was startled by this sudden reversal and looked at Zhu Zhengkuo with a look of astonishment: "Secretary Zhu, what are you doing?"

Lin Zhaotang was also shocked and subconsciously took half a step back, but Zhu Zhengwei was still holding the back of his neck. He tripped and barely managed to steady himself.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions. He thought that one of Pan Lanxiang's suitors had jumped out to compete for her attention. He was already filled with regret and cursed himself for being so blind.

If he had known this woman was involved in so much trouble, he would never have dared to mess with her even if he were beaten to death!

Lin Zhaotang swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly, "W-what are you going to do!"

The dormitory supervisor and the onlookers were all stunned. What's going on here?

Didn't they say they'd take the person to the police station? Is this coward still trying to figure out who the victim is?

All eyes turned to them. Liu Dezhu, Lin Datou, and Niu Laohei exchanged glances, already guessing: This is... they've found evidence?

Even Xia De, who was pinned to the ground, was panting heavily and turned his head to look over.

Chen Xiangdong approached Lin Zhaotang and asked with a sneer, "Do you know where Xiaolangtan Commune in Chaoshan is? Tantou Brigade, you must have heard of it, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhaotang stiffened, his pupils contracted sharply, and even his heart skipped a beat.

All he could think about was that he was doomed!

Zhu Zhengkuo then spoke up: "This man isn't a Hong Kong businessman at all; he's a fraudster from the Chaoshan region!"

These words immediately caused an uproar among the onlookers.

The dormitory supervisor was so shocked he couldn't close his mouth. He looked around at the crowd, still unable to believe it: "This...how is this possible?!"

"Let's go! To the police station!" Zhu Zheng grabbed Lin Zhaotang by the back of the neck, kicked him in the butt, and forced him toward the police station.

Pan Lanxiang was frozen in place, completely numb, her mind blank.