C27 Returning to the 1960s: Starting with Digging for Fo-ti

“Call the Public Security Bureau?”

Upon hearing those two words, Li Ergou’s heart skipped a beat. He had broken the law often enough in the past to be naturally afraid of the police, like a rat seeing a cat.

Li Ergou tried to appear calm, though his tone betrayed his guilt. “This is just a village matter. Once we split it up among everyone, it’s over. Why involve the police? I object!”

“None of that is up to you,” Du Jianguo said calmly. He turned to Liu Chun’an. “Chun’an, go back to the village first. Use the phone at the village committee to call the Public Security Bureau and ask them to come here and take a look.”

Although confused, Liu Chun’an nodded and turned to rush back toward Xiao An Village.

The old village chief quickly approached Du Jianguo and asked, “Jianguo, what exactly are you plotting in that gourd of yours?”

Du Jianguo explained, “Chief, I remember there used to be a regulation in our county. Anyone who kills dangerous wild animals that threaten the safety of the people gets to keep the carcass. Does that sound familiar?”

The old chief paused, thinking for a moment, before his eyes lit up. “Now that you mention it, I do recall something like that! The black bear definitely counts as a dangerous wild animal. Once the police verify it, no one will dare to say another word against it!”

Du Jianguo nodded. “That is exactly the point I want to make.”

Longping County, where Xiao An Village is located, sits on the edge of dense mountains. Dangerous wild animals frequently roam down from the hills, occasionally threatening the safety of villagers and their livestock.

Because of this special situation, the municipal committee had specifically announced this regulation to encourage everyone to actively deal with these ferocious beasts and protect the villagers.

Liu Chun’an made the call efficiently. Although Xiao An Village was remote, it was only a few dozen miles from the Public Security Bureau.

Before long, a military-green jeep arrived at the scene, and several officers stepped out.

“Was it you who called saying you hunted a bear?” one officer asked.

The old chief hurried forward, pointing to the black bear beside Du Jianguo. “Yes, yes, comrade officer! This is a bear hunted by our villager, Du Jianguo. Please take a look. According to the regulations, shouldn’t this belong to him privately?”

“Wow, what a huge black bear!” The lead officer, a young man in his twenties, looked at the bear on the ground and couldn’t help but show surprise.

Next came the investigation and evidence collection. After confirming that Du Jianguo had indeed hunted the bear, the police were quite straightforward. They immediately stated they would issue a certificate clarifying that Du Jianguo had the right to dispose of the bear as private property.

Du Jianguo thought the matter was settled, but the young lead officer suddenly walked up to him and said seriously, “Du Jianguo, are you sure everything you said is the truth? If you lie, you will bear legal responsibility.”

Du Jianguo frowned. “Of course it is the truth. Is there a problem?”

“You claim that in such a critical situation, you took down the mother bear with a single headshot using that old-model Hanyang rifle?”

The young officer pointed to the gun nearby, his tone full of disbelief. “Do you know that a charging bear can run as fast as a car? At such high speed, and without any professional training, how could you possibly hit your mark?”

The old chief quickly chimed in to help. “Comrade officer, this does seem a bit unbelievable, but at that time, besides my wayward son, only Du Jianguo was present. No one else could have helped him!”

“It is still suspicious,” the young officer shook his head.

The old chief opened his mouth to explain further, but Du Jianguo waved him to stop and step aside.

Du Jianguo looked at the officer. “Comrade officer, if you doubt my marksmanship, we can compete.”

“Compete? With me?” The young officer was stunned, then laughed. “I haven’t introduced myself yet. My name is He Yong. I am the only police officer here who graduated from a formal police academy. I scored a perfect mark in shooting while at school. Are you sure you want to compete with me?”

“Since you doubt my ability, a competition is the best way to prove it,” Du Jianguo said calmly, showing no fear.

“Good kid, you have guts!” He Yong laughed, then turned and shouted to another officer. “Li Qiang, lend me your pistol!”

The officer known as Li Qiang immediately handed over his gun. He Yong handed his own service pistol to Du Jianguo and asked, “Do you know how to use a pistol?”

“Of course I do,” Du Jianguo took the gun and nodded. “A gun is a gun. There is no difference.”

“Alright, I won’t bully you,” He Yong said, pointing to the distance. “We will shoot at a stationary target 50 meters away. We will do three rounds. If you win even one round against me, I will admit this black bear was yours.”

Since he practiced shooting often, there were targets on the jeep. He immediately had someone set up a target 50 meters away to begin the competition.

The people of Xiao An Village also gathered around, craning their necks to see if Du Jianguo was just bragging or if he truly had the skill to hunt bears.

“Ready, begin!”

He Yong raised his gun first, squinted to aim for a moment, and pulled the trigger with a bang.

“Eight rings!” Li Qiang ran over to check the target and shouted loudly.

“Old He, your skills are not bad!” a nearby officer joked.

He Yong shook his head with a smile and a hint of regret. “It’s been years since I graduated from the academy, and my hands are a bit rusty. I missed a bit, otherwise it would have been at least nine rings. Your turn, Du Jianguo.”

“Okay.” Du Jianguo raised the gun. He Yong reminded him, “There is wind now. You can wait until the wind stops before shooting.”

Before he could finish speaking, a gunshot exploded. Du Jianguo had already pulled the trigger.

Li Qiang quickly ran over. After seeing the target, he froze in place. After a long moment, he shouted, “Ten… Ten rings!”

“Just luck? Hitting ten rings even with such strong wind…”

“Alright, I admit you have some skill!” He Yong put aside his earlier contempt. “Whether it was luck or not, I admit it. This black bear is yours!”

Saying this, he raised his gun and pulled the trigger twice in succession. With the previous attempt behind him, his accuracy improved significantly. Li Qiang checked the target and shouted, “Nine rings! Nine and a half rings!”

He Yong lowered his gun and turned to Du Jianguo, saying, “You don’t need to…”

Before he could finish, two gunshots rang out in quick succession. Bang! Bang! Du Jianguo fired two rounds instantly.

Li Qiang ran over to check the target, staring at the bullseye for a long time without moving. His voice trembled. “Ten… Ten rings! Three shots… three shots are all ten rings! How is that possible?!”

He Yong froze in shock. He rushed to the target, saw the three small holes clustered tightly together, and was completely stunned.

“This kid is a god of marksmanship!”

Hitting three ten-rings in a row despite wind interference was a level of shooting skill far beyond ordinary!

Du Jianguo held the police officer’s pistol, looking slightly reluctant to let go. After lingering for a moment, he finally returned it to He Yong. To be honest, he had never held such a handy weapon before.

Even in his past life while hunting, he had only used cheap, soon-to-be-obsolete hunting rifles. Nothing compared to such a well-made tool.

He Yong took the gun back and paused, then asked, “Do you want to join the army?”