At the same time, Lu Zhiye also began to reflect. In the past, he would definitely have been able to find a breakthrough in the crowd immediately!

But at some point, he started associating with people at higher levels, and subconsciously overlooked these details!

This is something we really need to reflect on. If things continue like this, we're going to run into a major mess!

He imitated Niu Liye and sat on the steps in front of the old lady's door.

"That's right, I also think this cigarette is weak. Auntie, do you still have any tobacco leaves? Can I have a bagful?"

The old lady holding the pipe rolled her eyes: "What do you think tobacco is? It's not something easy to get."

Now it's not allowed to grow them in the city, so only some people in the countryside still grow them!

I wouldn't have been able to get this if I hadn't asked someone I knew.

If you want my tobacco leaves, you can trade them for the cigarettes you have!

"This old woman is used to smoking this tobacco, but I'd really like to try the tobacco you have!"

At this point, the old lady stopped pretending and almost drooled as she looked at the cigarettes in the two men's hands!

Lu Zhiye then pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket: "Auntie, you haven't seen this kind of cigarette before, have you?"

"These are cigarettes from Zhejiang Province. How about this, I'll give you this pack too, let's make a deal, okay?"

From the old lady's few words, Lu Zhiye could deduce that she was someone who had experienced many trials and tribulations.

Rather than beating around the bush with her, it's better to be straightforward.

The old lady took a puff of her cigarette and said slowly, "I know what you mean. You think our alleyway courtyard is lifeless, right?"

This is nothing unusual. If you had seen it just now, I would have known you parked that little tin car at the entrance of that alley!

"Who is someone of such high status visiting our little alley?"

The old lady's subtle questioning made Lu Zhiye sigh inwardly, thinking that Niu Liye had really found the right person.

The old lady was positioned so that she could see the entrances to both alleys. Whether you said it was intentional or not, she had grasped at a glimmer of hope!

Lu Zhiye intended to leave the rest of the matter to Niu Liye. He had already set the stage, and now it was up to Niu Liye to decide how to proceed!

Niu Liye understood Lu Zhiye's meaning and coughed twice: "Auntie, to be honest, we're not here to find anyone!"

We're thinking of renting a courtyard here. I see there are a lot of elderly people here, and I was thinking that it would be too crowded for my parents, who came from the countryside, to live with us!

Let's rent them a courtyard here, not far from us. That way, there will be fewer conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, right?

I don't know which sentence touched a nerve with the old lady, but she nodded in deep agreement: "That's true, there should be a certain distance between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law!"

However, you've come to the wrong courtyard!

The old men and women in our little alley have really strange tempers; quite a few of them are…”

The old lady's words came to an abrupt halt. The reason was simple: an old man playing chess not far away cast a sharp glance over.

Lu Zhiye noticed the gaze and turned around without making a sound. The old man who had been sitting there playing chess slowly walked up to the group with a limp: "If you want to know anything, just ask me!"

"There's no need to try and get information out of her. What could an old woman like her possibly know?"

The old lady smoking next to him was so angry she wanted to kick him!

"Hey, you surnamed Kong, who do you look down on?"

Her response was a disdainful sneer from the old man!

Lu Zhiye remained seated, while Niu Liye stood up and said, "Uncle, please don't misunderstand, we really are here to look for a house!"

I just wanted a place to stay, and I heard there are quite a few empty houses around here, so I wanted to come and take a look!

"Heh, if you want to take over these houses, just say so. Go back and tell the people behind you that we'll guard these houses, and they can forget about getting their hands on them."

Lu Zhiye paused, his hand stroking the pebbles. Why did those words sound so familiar?

Could it be related to Jiang Huaiqing of the Jiang family?

If that's true, Jiang Huaiqing really deserves to die.

At the same time, Lu Zhiye was also somewhat surprised that Jiang Huaiqing alone could have such a great influence.

Or is there a giant crocodile behind him that hasn't shown itself yet?

Lu Zhiye's thoughtful expression naturally caught the eye of Old Kong.

At this moment, Old Kong became even more certain that the man in front of him had ill intentions!

He tried to shoo him away with a cold face, but the next moment, Old Liu came over with a smile and said, "Brother, it's all the fault of my two sons. They didn't think before they spoke!"

Don't take it personally with them. These two guys are just trying to find us a place to stay!

We really have no other ideas. Look, this is our letter of introduction!

We're really not bad people!

As Old Liu spoke, he took out the letter of introduction that Captain Lu had given him!

Old Kong had only glanced at it casually, but when he saw the signature at the bottom, his pupils contracted violently!

With trembling hands, he snatched the letter of introduction away, nearly tearing it in two!

Old Liu's face darkened as well: "I call you 'Big Brother' out of respect!"

If you tear up my letter of introduction, where am I supposed to get a replacement?

They just sent me back to my hometown! Honestly, why are you so careless and impulsive?!

As Old Liu was speaking, he tried to snatch the letter of introduction from Old Kong's hand!

The next moment, Old Kong asked in a trembling voice, "Is there a family with the surname Lu in your village?"

Old Liu rolled his eyes: "Most of the people in our village are surnamed Lu!"

The next moment, Old Kong couldn't wait to say a name!

Old Liu was about to open his mouth to refute when he realized who the name involved, and his eyes widened like a bull's!

Subconsciously, she looked towards Lu Zhiye's direction.

At this moment, Lu Zhiye also understood a thing or two. Judging from this person's posture just now, he must have come down from the battlefield!

Recalling what his mother had said before, Lu Zhiye felt that the man in front of him was most likely related to his grandparents!

Or perhaps it was one of the people that grandparents helped in the past!

Before figuring out the real situation, Lu Zhiye did not rush forward!

But the old lady who had been smoking couldn't sit still any longer. She rushed to Old Kong and picked up the letter of introduction, looking it over from top to bottom!

Frustrated, she took several puffs of her cigarette, and soon, layers of white smoke filled the air around her.

Old Liu coughed violently from the choking!

Realizing that he couldn't get his letter of introduction in a short time, Old Liu stopped worrying and stood silently to the side, watching the two of them jump around!

About five minutes later, the old lady's eyes welled up with tears: "Is it really that Dahe Village?"

Seeing Old Kong nod beside her, the old lady wished she could stuff the letter of introduction into her own pocket!

Old Liu was so anxious he was jumping up and down: "You took my letter of introduction, what will happen when the neighborhood committee comes to check?"