Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

A group of people drank from noon until after 2 p.m., and several people were lying slumped over in the corridor.

Chen Xiangdong had originally intended to have a couple of drinks, but as soon as he brought the wine bowl to his lips, he was glared at by Jia Dafang and Zhu Zhengwei because of his young age. He had no choice but to put the bowl down and focus on eating.

The stewed tofu and braised pork were delicious. While everyone else was busy drinking, he ate until he was stuffed.

The performance has ended, and the bus back to Dongping County won't arrive until early tomorrow morning. The actresses are getting restless.

These days, it's not easy to make a trip to Hongzhou, and nobody wants to go back empty-handed. They all changed into their finest clothes, wrapped themselves in silk scarves, and went out in twos and threes.

Lu Meiyin linked arms with Ma Dongmei, chatting and laughing as they strolled down the street in front of the guesthouse.

Liu Dezhu was completely drunk and had been helped back to his room by Chen Xiangdong. He was now lying on his back on the bed, snoring loudly with his mouth open.

Chen Xiangdong's head was buzzing from the noise, so he simply closed the door, went downstairs, and strolled out of the guesthouse by himself.

He walked straight along the street, turned at the intersection, and the street became much wider. He could already see the "Hongzhou Department Store" ahead. He thought to himself that he might as well go inside and take a look to see if there were any snacks or something, so that he could buy some for Li Zhangqing and Wu Xiaolian to take back and satisfy their cravings.

Suddenly, a military green jeep slowly drove past him and stopped a short distance away. The door opened, and a burly soldier got out.

The man had gray hair and a slightly hunched back, but once he stood still, he exuded a calm and dignified aura.

As soon as the car door closed, a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit rushed out from the nearby government compound to greet him. He jogged up to the man in the green military uniform, grabbed his hand excitedly, shook it vigorously, and said with a choked voice, "You've suffered so much these past years."

The man didn't reply immediately. He reached out and patted the man in the Zhongshan suit on the shoulder, sighing, "It's all in the past."

As Chen Xiangdong passed by them, he couldn't help but glance at them a few more times out of curiosity. The man in the Zhongshan suit looked quite wealthy, clearly a leader who spent most of his time sitting in an office.

As for that man, although his face was dark and there were many fine lines around his eyes, it wasn't hard to tell that he must have been quite handsome when he was young, and his eyebrows and eyes...

It's probably just my imagination...

He brushed past them, reached into his pocket and touched the five yuan and food coupons. He quickened his pace, thinking that he might as well buy some hawthorn candy and peach shortbread. They weren't expensive, and five yuan would be enough to buy a big bag.

Chen Xiangdong had already walked past them, but the conversation behind him still drifted into his ears on the wind.

The man asked, his voice slightly tense, "Have you found their whereabouts?"

The man in the Zhongshan suit smiled and nodded, saying, "We have some initial clues. The place your son and daughter-in-law moved to was initially in the Chencang mountain area, and later they were transferred to the Hongzhou area, which should be one of the counties under its jurisdiction."

He paused briefly, then continued, "We're still investigating which county it is, but we've got a pretty good idea of ​​the general direction."

The old commander paused for a moment, his clenched fist loosening slightly, muttering, "A clue is good, a clue is good..."

The man in the Zhongshan suit added, "Don't worry, old commander. I've already arranged for people to search through the personnel transfer files from back then. I estimate we'll have results by tomorrow at the latest."

As Chen Xiangdong walked further and further, he reached the entrance of the department store, pushed open the worn glass door, and was immediately greeted by a mixed aroma of leather, soap, and sweet pastries.

The terrazzo floor on the first floor has been polished to a shine. A counter surrounds the wall, and the separate glass cabinets display various items such as watches, transistor radios, thermos flasks, etc.

Chen Xiangdong walked straight to the candy and pastry section. In the rows of glass display cases, glutinous rice strips, small twisted dough sticks, small round biscuits, and pieces of fruit candy wrapped in wax paper were placed separately in several transparent glass jars. On the other side, peach shortbread and sponge cakes were neatly arranged, half-covered with a thin layer of oil paper.

The sales clerk behind the counter was casually sweeping the glass counter with a feather duster. Seeing Chen Xiangdong approach, she looked up and asked, "What would you like to order?"

Chen Xiangdong leaned over the counter, scanned the items, and pointed to the peach shortbread and sponge cake: "Two pounds of each of these."

He then pointed to the fruit candies and hawthorn candy in the glass jar: "Weigh out half a pound of candy balls for me, mix them all together. And give me two pounds of hawthorn candy."

The sales clerk responded, quickly weighed the items, and put them into a brown paper bag. The final payment was four yuan and eighty-two cents, plus some food coupons.

After buying his things, he didn't rush back. Carrying the bags of candy and pastries, he left the department store and strolled towards the nearby Mule and Horse Market.

As I turned the corner, I suddenly saw two familiar figures sitting at a small table drinking tea in front of a teahouse with a faded blue curtain hanging in the air.

Chen Xiangdong raised an eyebrow. Was it Han Zhengkui and Mao Shidao?

These two old men certainly know how to enjoy themselves, coming here to have afternoon tea and kill time.

"Brother Kui, Master Mao, what brings you two here to escape to a peaceful place?"

Chen Xiangdong walked over with a smile. Han Zhengkui and Mao Shidao turned around, saw it was him, and quickly invited him to sit down: "You little rascal, aren't you quite free too, strolling around buying snacks?"

"Here, have a bowl." Mao Shidao smiled and pushed a bowl of tea over. "I went to watch your performance this morning. I never expected that you, a little rascal, could play the clapper drum so well. You're a promising young man."

Chen Xiangdong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "Master Mao flatters me. My little skills are hardly worthy of your attention."

"We're going back to Dongping County tomorrow, Brother Kui, don't you want to go back and visit?"

Han Zhengkui was taken aback at first, then hesitated. Mao Shidao, who was standing next to him, laughed and said, "What? If you want to go back, then go back. Don't worry about me. Anyway, we're just idle people wherever we are. It's the same no matter where we stay."

"Old Mao..." Han Zhengkui looked somewhat embarrassed, and lowered his head to stir the tea leaves floating in his teacup. "Maybe it's because I'm getting old, I never really thought about going back before..."

Mao Shidao laughed heartily and slammed his teacup on the table: "Ever since I met the Dongping County Opera Troupe yesterday, I've sensed that you're a bit distracted. If you want to go back, then go back. You can scout out the way for me first. If it's a better place to retire, just write to me and let me know. Who knows, I might just pack my bags and head over there to join you someday."

Seeing that Han Zhengkui was indeed considering returning, Chen Xiangdong quickly pressed his advantage: "Brother Kui, it's been ten years since you two brothers last met, hasn't it? If you ask me, let's go back together tomorrow. Master Fang and Master Feng will be overjoyed to see you back."

Han Zhengkui paused slightly, his hand holding the teacup. His gaze lingered hesitantly between Chen Xiangdong and Mao Shidao before he said tentatively, "How about... we go back and take a look?"