Cannon Fodder Group Ch.260

Chapter 260 – Flour

“Boss Jia, Boss Jia, I knew it was you.”

“Boss Jia, I finally found you. Why are you dressed like this?”

“Boss Jia, those loaches, can you sell me some?”

“…”

Xu Jinning followed his line of sight and saw that the man holding a large bag, allegedly filled with loaches, was being grabbed by another man, an elderly man in his sixties.

The old man had graying hair, dark skin, and a thin, careworn face. His back was slightly hunched, and his clothes and straw sandals were as tattered as the other man’s.

However…

Xu Jinning finally understood the incongruity about the man the old man referred to as Boss Jia.

Boss Jia also had the appearance of a farmer.

But his facial complexion didn’t seem like the typical tan acquired from laboring under the sun. Instead, it looked as if he had deliberately smeared something black on his face.

This was evident from the unnatural contrast between the color of his face and the paler skin of his neck, hands, and the feet exposed by his straw sandals.

Especially the feet peeking through the tattered sandals.

A genuine farmer, whose straw sandals had worn out, would have calluses or small wounds on his feet, not such pristine, unblemished skin.

This man seemed out of place.

His attire looked like it was taken from someone else and deliberately worn by him.

It felt like… a disguise.

This was Xu Jinning’s conjecture. Since transmigrating, Xu Jinning’s sensitivity, memory, logical thinking, and all other abilities had improved.

Moreover, her intuition had become frighteningly accurate.

Of course, Xu Jinning also noted the old man’s remark: “Why are you dressed like this?”

This meant that the man was not dressed like this before.

And that obviously more farmer-like old man called this person “Boss.”

What kind of person is called “Boss,” and what would a boss typically wear?

Why would he need to disguise himself?

Indeed, this man’s outfit was definitely a disguise.

Realizing this, Xu Jinning immediately became vigilant.

This man definitely had a purpose.

As for what it was, it needed further observation.

Xu Jinning’s gaze remained on the two men, intending to observe more.

Her gaze wasn’t conspicuous because the surrounding people’s attention was also drawn to them, curious and fixated on them.

“You’ve mistaken me. I’m not this ‘Boss Jia’ you speak of.” The man denied it, trying hard to free his arm from the old man’s grip. If the passageway hadn’t been so narrow, the old man might have been flung to the ground.

“I’m not mistaken. Boss Jia, the loaches in your bag were bought from me. You specifically asked us to catch them. I even saw you sprinkling flour on them. Once the flour is sprinkled, the loaches die. But that’s flour, such a precious thing! How could you waste it on loaches?”

The old man’s words seemed to touch on something the man didn’t want mentioned.

As soon as he spoke, the man instantly looked up at the old man, his eyes briefly turning sharp, his entire body tensing.

He also glanced around furtively.

But it was only a fleeting change in expression; he quickly regained his composure.

Then, he began scrutinizing the old man, as if taking a careful look at him. After a moment, he suddenly seemed to realize something, “Oh, I remember now. You’re Uncle Xie.”

“Uncle Xie, I’m sorry, I didn’t recognize you just now.”

“Yes, yes, I’m Xie Rong.”

“Uncle Xie, what do you need from me? How about we find another place to talk?” Noticing the curious gazes of the surrounding people, the man’s brows furrowed, looking somewhat displeased.

He seemed unwilling to be the center of attention and eager to leave this spot.

“Sure, sure, anywhere is fine.” Uncle Xie agreed readily, as it was just a matter of finding another place to talk.

“Let’s go then, over there.”

The two of them then walked towards the other side of the passageway.

As they passed by Xu Jinning’s position, she overheard their conversation.

“Boss Jia, I’ve come this time hoping you could give me some chunks of flour. I can buy it from you.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t expect my grandson to secretly eat your flour…” Uncle Xie began rambling about his grandson’s reaction after eating the flour.

“Stop talking! We’ll discuss this later,” the man hissed softly.

“Oh, oh, okay. He even banged his head against the wall, insisting on eating your…”

“……”

Xu Jinning couldn’t hear the rest because the two men had moved too far away.

But within her, a storm was brewing.

She knew. She finally knew!

She realized why she felt she had forgotten a plot point from the book.

It was because she had seen the man with the loaches.

And now, the conversation between the two, especially the old man’s words, had suddenly reminded Xu Jinning of a particular plot in the book.

Flour, dead loaches, the abnormal reaction of the old man’s grandson…

This was a plot point that was supposed to appear much later in the book, ten years later, to be exact.

It was intended to create opportunities for the female protagonist, Lin Wangshu.

In the later part of the book, that man with the loaches was caught by Lin Wangshu after she saw through his disguise.

However, this man had been traveling back and forth on the train for nearly ten years.

Ten years! Just imagine how much that gang could have grown and developed in that time!

Exactly!

That man wasn’t selling loaches at all.

He was selling dr*gs!

Addictive dr*gs!

The book mentioned that this man disguised himself as a boss, specifically instructing villagers from various places to catch loaches.

Why loaches? Because although they can be eaten, they are less valuable compared to other fish, yet they still have some worth.

And they are something that farmers can catch relatively easily.

But the loaches were merely a tool for carrying.

The substance in question looked like damp flour, which forms into chunks when wet.

This is why the old man and his grandson mistook it for flour.

In reality, they might not even know what it truly was.

And the old man’s grandson stealing it to eat? He genuinely thought it was flour.

Now, the old man’s grandson is addicted, unable to control himself.

Hence, he keeps clamoring to eat more “flour” or goes mad without it.

Of course, this was Xu Jinning’s conjecture.

In the book, it only mentioned the man using loaches as a disguise, without bringing up the old man.

Xu Jinning recalled that it was now 1982, and in the book, Lin Wangshu discovered this situation ten years later.

She remembered the book stating that by then, the man’s gang had already been operating for nearly eleven years.

From a small group, they had grown into a large and formidable organization over those ten years.

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