Wu Xiaoliu thought for a moment and said, "It's like this. I pretended to want to rent a room and went into the alley. I asked around among the street hustlers. They said there was someone who wanted to rent a room at the fourth house at the entrance of the alley. I didn't see the landlord at the time, but I took a look at the house from the outside. It was bigger than the one that Xiao Chu said Jiang Cheng rented. It had two rooms."

He lived with his sister and niece, so logically this house would have been the most suitable. However, he didn't want the house at that time; instead, he took the smaller room inside, which didn't make sense.

"Sixth Brother, do you mean that when Jiang Cheng was renting the house, the house you looked at was also for rent?" Li Chu asked.

Wu Xiaoliu nodded: "Yes, the person who showed me the room said that these two rooms have been vacant for a year and haven't been rented out."

When Jiang Cheng needed to rent a place, he must have asked around in the same way, so he would have known that there were two vacant rooms here.

"What if when he inquired about it, no one told him that there were houses for rent in that area?"

“You’re right, but I’ve asked several people, and they all know there are vacant rooms for rent there. It’s impossible that the people Jiang Cheng asked about just happen not to know.”

Zhang Meng nodded and said, "Yes, I also tend to agree with what Xiao Liu said, that he did it on purpose."

Wu Xiaoliu continued, "I wandered around that area until after 7 p.m., and I was about to leave when Jiang Cheng came out again, so I followed him."

He was going to meet someone this time. They must have arranged it beforehand; they met on the roadside. If I'm not mistaken, the person he met was the one who followed you, Xiao Chu, last night.

As he spoke, Wu Xiaoliu pointed to his wrist: "When that person raised his left hand, I saw that there was gauze wrapped inside."

And there's one more thing, something you'd never expect.

"What is it?" Li Chu and Zhang Meng asked in unison.

"When I was following Jiang Cheng, I discovered that there were other people following him as well."

"Is someone else following him?" Li Chu exclaimed in disbelief.

Zhang Meng looked at Wu Xiaoliu with great interest, waiting for him to continue. He felt that this matter was becoming more and more interesting.

"Yes, when Jiang Cheng was leaving get off work, no one was following him. It was only when he went out at night that this person started following him."

Luckily, I kept a relatively long distance, otherwise he probably would have spotted me too.

"Sixth Brother, did you get a good look at what that person looked like?"

"Jiang Cheng went out to meet that person that night, and it seems he gave that person money again. The two parted ways not long after meeting."

Then Jiang Cheng went straight home. The reason I came back so late was because I went with the guy who was following Jiang Cheng. That guy lives in the supply and marketing cooperative's residential compound in the west of the city, but I felt like he had received some training.

"Training? Xiao Liu, what kind of training are you referring to?"

“I can’t quite explain it, but based on his walking style and the fact that he deliberately takes a detour when he goes home, I always feel that he has received training in this area, but he hasn’t learned it very well.”

After listening to what Wu Xiaoliu said, Li Chu and Zhang Meng looked at each other in bewilderment. What was going on? How come there was another person who seemed to have been trained?

"Sixth Brother, could this person be from Jiang Cheng's workplace?"

Wu Xiaoliu thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "I can't say for sure, but I don't think so. Why would people from their workplace do things like that to avoid being followed on their way home?"

"By the way, Xiao Liu, where did the person who followed Xiao Chu last night go?"

“That guy was easy to find. I could tell at a glance that he was a pickpocket.”

"Then let's ignore him. As long as he has a trail, he'll be easy to find. The key question now is, what does Jiang Cheng want to do by having a thief follow Xiao Chu?"

Also, who exactly was the person who later followed Jiang Cheng?

Li Chu seemed to have thought of something: "Could the person who was following Jiang Cheng be a spy?"

Zhang Meng interrupted Li Chu's speculation: "Alright, Chu, let's stop guessing. Now that we've found out that the person who was following you was instructed by Jiang Cheng, and that he even threw potentially poisoned buns into the courtyard today, it's safe to say that he has ill intentions towards you. You should report to the commander tomorrow and see how to handle the situation."

As for the guy who was following Jiang Cheng, report him as well.

Li Chu nodded slowly. He was still somewhat puzzled as to why Jiang Cheng would treat him this way. The answer would probably only be known after the truth came out.

"Sixth Brother, you've worked hard these past two days. Do you want something to eat? I'll make you a bowl of noodles." Now is not the time to think about those things. Let's talk about it tomorrow.

156n.

Wu Xiaoliu leaned back on the sofa and said with a smile, "We're all brothers, no need to be polite. I ate out this afternoon."

"In that case, let's all get some rest. I don't think anything will happen tonight. Xiao Chu, please arrange a room for me too."

"No problem, there are plenty of rooms. My two brothers have been busy with my affairs for half a day today. Come to my house during your time off this week, and I'll cook some good food for you."

Wu Xiaoliu glanced at Li Chu with disdain: "Come on, you don't even drink, eating with you is so boring."

"Just invite my brother-in-law too, let him drink with you, there's plenty of good wine."

"If there's good wine, I won't refuse. Brother Meng, you should join us too."

Zhang Meng smiled helplessly; this guy was definitely a drunkard.

After making up Zhang Meng's bed in the east wing, it was already past midnight, so the three of them didn't waste any more time and each went to rest in their own room.

Li Chu didn't rush to bed. He sat in his study, took out paper and pen, and wrote down everything Wu Xiaoliu had just said.

He always felt that something was strange about this place, and wondered why there was another person following Jiang Cheng.

Although he hadn't received any special training, his parents had done this kind of work before, so he had heard a lot about it and could do basic analysis.

Which man doesn't want to be a hero? If he could really follow the clues and uncover a spy organization, he could also indulge in the fantasy of being an unsung hero.

Then he thought of his wife and two children, and decided to leave the professional work to the professionals and not cause them any trouble.

If anything goes wrong, I'll be devastated.

But why did Jiang Cheng do this to his childhood friend whom he hadn't seen for over a decade? Li Chu was filled with mixed emotions.

He then thought of Jiang Li. What role did she play in all of this? Did she know about Jiang Cheng's actions?

Li Chu's head was spinning. He raised his hands and rubbed his face hard a few times before standing up and walking towards the bedroom. It was another night without his wife to hold. He missed her.