Chapter 160: Important News

October 22, 2023

Author: Zi Tao

Uncle Long first glanced outside to make sure there was no one else around, then lowered his voice to reply.

“News just came in—Feng Chunhua has gone to the county town. You’re here at the right time. Go wait by the phone and answer it as soon as it rings. We have a client dropping by unexpectedly today, so I’ll need to handle that.”

“Alright.” Even though Mu Chenze hadn’t slept all night, he was still full of energy. “Uncle Long, where’s that Ge Dan who’s always with you?”

“I sent him out of town to deliver some jade pieces—thought he could use the experience.”

“You really have your eye on him, huh!”

“It’s for Xiao Xuan’s sake. Ge Dan’s mother is helping Xiao Xuan keep an eye on Feng Chunhua.”

“I see.”

Just then, Xiao Huan came in from the backyard.

“Uncle Long, the client’s here.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Uncle Long headed toward the backyard.

Xiao Huan nodded at Mu Chenze in greeting, then followed Uncle Long out.

Mu Chenze poured himself another cup of tea and patiently waited by the phone.

Five minutes later, the phone rang.

He picked up.

On the other end was one of Uncle Long’s men. “Uncle Long?”

Mu Chenze recognized the voice and explained, “Uncle Long has a client and asked me to watch the phone. I’m Mu Chenze—we’ve met before.”

“Oh, it’s you! Feng Chunhua checked into Room 303 at the county guesthouse. I asked at the front desk—the guest in 303 is registered as Zhang Lei, not Liang Shi.”

“Is there any way to get a photo of Liang Shi?”

“That’s tough. But I’ll try to get into the room for a look and sketch his portrait when I get back.”

“Good. Be careful. Liang Shi is dangerous—he’s ruthless. Whatever you do, don’t blow your cover.”

“I know.”

The call ended.

Mu Chenze still felt uneasy and decided to go to the county town himself.

He went to the backyard to let Xiao Huan know he was leaving.

But Xiao Huan stopped him.

Uncle Long had made it clear: Mu Chenze could be involved and share information, but he absolutely could not be put in danger.

Anyone Chu Xuan wanted to protect, Uncle Long would protect as well.

Xiao Huan whispered to Mu Chenze, “You’re not a professional tail, and you’ll only make things messier over there. If you don’t want all our efforts to go to waste, just wait by the phone. If you insist on going, Uncle Long will call off your cooperation.”

Mu Chenze had no choice but to obediently return to the shop and wait for the phone.

Meanwhile, in Room 303 of the county guesthouse, Feng Chunhua was embracing a man.

Feng Chunhua was getting on in years, and so was the man.

Yet in front of him, Feng Chunhua still blushed.

“Old Liang, I miss you so much! I think about you every day.”

The man she called Old Liang was Liang Shi.

Liang Shi had checked in under someone else’s name.

“Chunhua, I miss you too. Every moment of every day.”

They whispered to each other.

“Did you call me here today because something important happened?”

“That’s right. You said before you’d ruin Chu Xuan and her brother, but now it looks like Chu Xuan hasn’t turned out useless at all—she’s actually very capable. As for Chu Feng, he’s nothing special, so we can ignore him for now. But Chu Xuan—she has to die, or be left a living corpse.”

“Alright. I’ll take care of Chu Xuan. What about Qin Xuehong?”

“No chance to act. The Qin family has gotten smart and is guarding her tightly. If I try to kill Qin Xuehong now, I’ll get caught.”

“But Qin Xuehong has seen our son’s birthmark. If she wakes up and talks, our son could be exposed. Don’t forget, his current parents know exactly where the birthmark is and what it looks like.”

“I know Qin Xuehong has to die, but there’s nothing I can do right now. I tried to slip something into the acupuncturist’s kit, but he caught on. I almost blew my cover. I can’t go to the neighboring county for a while—I’ll have to lay low here.”

“Then we’ll wait for another chance. By the way, Yuan Tian isn’t handing over the money very willingly.”

“You have to understand—she’s never wanted to have anything to do with Chu Zhi. If you ask for money for our son’s sake, she’ll give it without hesitation.”

“I’m not so sure. Sometimes I wonder if it was right to keep her in the Yuan family.”

“Of course it was. Chunhua, I remember everything you’ve done for me. I’ll never forget it as long as I live.”

“I had Chu Zhi with Chu Dashan, and I’ve always treated him well. Do you blame me for that?”

“No, I blame myself. If I hadn’t heartlessly abandoned you back then, you wouldn’t have had a child with Chu Dashan out of spite. Chu Zhi is your son—it’s only right you care for him. After all, when you’re old, he’ll be the one to look after you.”

“Thank you for understanding, Old Liang. These years have been so hard for me. I don’t like Chu Dashan at all, but I have to face him every day. And he’s unfaithful—he finds other women when I’m not home. If it weren’t for Xiao Zhi, I’d have killed him already.”

“If you can avoid killing, don’t. If you really can’t stand him, just let him die of illness.”

“If Xiao Zhi found out, he’d hate me. I can’t take that risk.”

As Feng Chunhua spoke, she snuggled into Liang Shi’s arms, not noticing the impatience on his face.

He hadn’t risked this meeting just to listen to her ramble.

But if he wanted her to kill Chu Xuan, he had to put up with it.

He had his own plans—sometimes you have to endure small annoyances to achieve big goals.

Feng Chunhua was old and no longer attractive to him. If she hadn’t had a useful son and a daughter who could make money, he wouldn’t bother with her at all.

Outside the door, a man dressed as a hotel staff member stood with two kettles of water, ear pressed to the door, trying to eavesdrop. Unfortunately, he couldn’t make out what was being said.

As a backup plan, he knocked on the door, hoping to get a look at the guests inside.

Liang Shi and Feng Chunhua stopped hugging and straightened their clothes when they heard the knock.

Liang Shi called out, “Who is it?”

“Bringing hot water. Could you please hand out your empty thermos?”

“Alright.”

A moment later, Liang Shi opened the door, handed over the empty thermos, took a kettle of hot water, and quickly closed the door.

An hour later, Mu Chenze received a sketch.

After looking at it, he made a copy himself.

He left one for Xiao Huan to pass on to Uncle Long.

Then Mu Chenze took his leave.

He hurried to the city to ask a classmate to help identify the man in the sketch.

After Uncle Long finished with his client, Xiao Huan handed him the portrait.

Uncle Long looked at it but didn’t recognize the man.

He told Xiao Huan to call the village office where Chu Xuan lived.

Xiao Huan did so right away.

When the call connected, he politely said, “Could you please let Chu Xuan know that the yarn she ordered has arrived? She should come pick it up as soon as possible.”

This was their agreed-upon code.

“The yarn has arrived” meant the portrait of Liang Shi was ready.

The person who answered was Accountant Wen.

He went to find Chu Xuan and relayed the message word for word.

After seeing Accountant Wen out, Chu Xuan rode her bike to town.

She went straight to Uncle Long’s shop.

As soon as she entered, she caught a familiar scent.

Why did she smell Mu Chenze’s unique scent here?

Had he been here?

Uncle Long noticed Chu Xuan sniffing around and couldn’t help but ask, “Is there a strange smell in my shop? I don’t notice anything.”

Chu Xuan smiled. “No strange smell. I just caught a whiff of a familiar scent—maybe a customer happened to smell like someone I know. Uncle Long, can I see the portrait first?”

“Of course. Come with me to the study.”"