1993, Pengcheng Police Affairs

Chapter 52 Revisiting the Past

The group of people clinked their glasses and drank it all in one gulp.

Hou Hao sat on the side, watching the family, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up.

Gu Huai noticed his expression, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Brother Hou, come over for dinner whenever you have time. You've tried my mom's cooking before, it's absolutely delicious."

"Yes." Zhou Huifen chimed in, "Xiao Hou, you can come anytime, Auntie will make it for you."

Seeing everyone's eager eyes, Hou Hao naturally wouldn't refuse their kindness, and lowered his head to give a soft "hmm".

The reply, however, sounded somewhat muffled.

Gu Huai knew that he was thinking about his home again.

He didn't say anything, but just put another piece of food on his plate.

"Eat it, it won't taste good if it gets cold."

Just then, Gu Huai's pager went off.

He looked down and saw that the pager contained a number, and the sender was Ling Yue.

"You guys eat first, I'll return a call."

With that, he got up and went to the living room to return Ling Yue's call.

"Ah Huai?" Ling Yue's voice came from the other end of the phone. "I heard you went home?"

"Yes, I'm home."

"Team Leader Wu asked me to inform you that the bureau is holding a summary and commendation meeting at nine o'clock tomorrow morning, and you need to attend."

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Sister Ling."

"Also," Ling Yue paused, "people from Yangcheng have come to see you, meaning they want to thank you in person."

"Thank me?" Gu Huai asked, puzzled. "Thank me for what?"

"What do you think?" Ling Yue joked, "If it weren't for you, who knows how much longer this case would have dragged on."

"Uh...that's what I mean," Gu Huai said with some hesitation, "but isn't it a bit too much to come all the way to thank a newcomer like me?"

"Then I don't know. This was Wang Zhi's idea," Ling Yue explained.

Gu Huai thought for a moment and roughly guessed what Wang Weiguo meant, so he replied, "Okay, see you tomorrow."

After hanging up the phone, he returned to the dining table.

"The bureau's phone number?" Gu Guoliang asked.

"Yes, there's a meeting tomorrow morning, and both Brother Hou and I have to attend."

"About the case?"

Gu Huai nodded without saying anything more.

Upon hearing that a meeting was about to begin, Hou Hao pushed his glass of wine forward and stopped drinking.

The meal ended quickly after the drinking session.

After dinner, Gu Guoliang invited the two to have tea in the living room for a while.

He also asked Hou Hao about Gu Huai's work situation.

Although at the beginning, Gu Guoliang was actually not very willing for Gu Huai to become a policeman.

But now that the die is cast, he has no choice but to accept this reality.

How could a father truly not care about his son?

When Gu Guoliang asked him a question, Hou Hao naturally praised Gu Huai, making Gu Huai, who was sitting to the side, feel embarrassed.

Upon hearing Hou Hao's praise, Gu Guoliang simply smiled and nodded, taking it as mere politeness and not taking it to heart.

After several rounds of tea, Gu Huai realized it was almost time and prepared to head back to the bureau.

Since he arrived, he hasn't had time to pack his luggage yet, and he has to go back to the dormitory to pack it up whenever he has free time in the evening.

Before leaving, Zhou Huifen packed two large bags full of food, including cured meat, sausages, and braised dishes.

Gu Huai took the bag and casually gave one to Hou Hao.

"Ah Huai, this is too much." Hou Hao quickly declined and tried to hand the bag back.

"Not much, not much, you young people can eat a lot." Zhou Huifen stuffed the bag into his hand, "Xiao Hou, come often in the future."

Seeing that he couldn't refuse, Hou Hao had no choice but to accept the bag and bow deeply.

"Thank you, Auntie."

Li Xiulan was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "You child, why are you being so polite?"

When I went outside, it was already completely dark.

Gu Huai and Hou Hao walked out of the factory along the road. The streetlights cast long shadows on them.

"Ah Huai," Hou Hao suddenly spoke.

"Um?"

"Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"Thank you for bringing me back for dinner," Hou Hao said in a low voice. "I've never had a meal like this before."

Gu Huai patted him on the shoulder, "Brother Hou, Sister Ling told me everything about your father, I..."

Gu Huai felt that today's opportunity was perfect. Taking advantage of Hou Hao's deep longing for his family, he would bring up his father's affairs, and Hou Hao's reaction wouldn't be too strong.

When Hou Jianguo was mentioned, Hou Hao's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. "Did Sister Ling tell you that there was something wrong with my father's case?"

"Hmm?" Gu Huai looked at Hou Hao with some surprise.

"Sister Ling mentioned this to me before." Hou Hao sighed with regret. "Actually, I didn't believe it at first, but I asked my master in person."

"What did Captain Wu say?" Gu Huai asked curiously. "Did Captain Wu show you the case files?"

"No," Hou Hao shook his head, "but my mentor assured me with his police honor that it was indeed my father who admitted it himself, and he absolutely did not use any means against my father throughout the entire process."

Seeing Hou Hao's serious expression, Gu Huai had no choice but to believe it.

Given Hou Jianguo's status, it would indeed be difficult for Wu Feilin, who worked in the same unit, to use tactics against him without everyone knowing.

Furthermore, Gu Huai found it hard to imagine why Wu Feilin would do such a thing.

[Could it be that I'm overthinking things? Or is it really that the municipal bureau is closing the case hastily to avoid airing their dirty laundry in public?]

Gu Huai muttered to himself.

Even so, Gu Huai still felt that there was something wrong with this.

Now that Hou Hao is so certain, he naturally can't continue to pester him.

After this little incident, the two didn't speak to each other for the rest of the journey.

After taking a taxi back to the police station, Hou Hao carried the bag and headed towards Wu Feilin's house.

Gu Huai, meanwhile, carried the bag as he walked towards his dormitory.

Since there was no refrigerator in the dormitory, Gu Huai, adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, carried the bag and knocked on each door of the dormitory building, distributing the contents of the bag to a large group of colleagues.

As the saying goes, you can't hit a smiling face. Although everyone wasn't familiar with Gu Huai, they all thanked him with smiles after seeing that he had come to deliver local specialties.

Gu Huai smiled and declined everyone's invitation to come in and sit down.

After dividing the items, he took the portion he had saved for Ling Yue and returned to his dormitory. As for the portions for Wu Feilin and Jiang Cheng, he left them for Hou Hao to deliver.

As leaders, they wouldn't even look down on their little possessions.

After tidying up his belongings piece by piece, Gu Huai finally lay lazily on the bed.

However, at this moment, Hou Hao walked in from outside the door with his head down.

Gu Huai was about to get up and greet him when he noticed that Hou Hao's eyes were bloodshot and he had jumped onto his bed with his head down.

Clearly, he was reprimanded at Wu Feilin's home.

Gu Huai didn't know what had happened between Hou Hao and Wu Feilin, but he had a vague feeling that it was definitely related to Hou Jianguo's case.

With that in mind, Gu Huai had no choice but to get up, walk to the door, and turn off the light.

Lying in bed, Gu Huai kept his eyes open and thought for a long time.

If there really is a problem with Hou Jianguo's case, then where exactly does the problem lie?

He didn't understand.