C28 Returning to the 1960s: Starting with Digging for Fo-ti

“Join the army?”

Du Jianguo was taken aback. He hadn’t expected He Yong to suddenly bring up such a topic.

In the 1950s and 1960s, serving in the military was indeed an excellent opportunity for rural youth. After two years of training, a soldier would receive a discharge allowance, and their family would be recognized as a military family. This status would bring benefits like reduced collective labor obligations and lighter grain delivery requirements.

He Yong continued, “You have excellent marksmanship skills. While hunting in the village is a viable livelihood, I feel it would be a waste to keep such talent here. Why not apply this skill in the army? I have a friend at the county conscription office who can help look into this path.”

He Yong was naturally kind-hearted and had a strong sense of belonging to the military due to his police academy background. Seeing someone with shooting skills that surpassed his own sparked his desire to nurture talent.

Du Jianguo smiled bitterly. “I’m afraid I have to disappoint you. My current situation doesn’t allow me to join the army.”

“Why?” He Yong asked, genuinely surprised. “Your family’s class background is fine. You’re from a poor and lower-middle peasant family, right? That’s as legitimate as it gets!”

“But we’re genuinely from a poor and lower-middle peasant family!” Du Jianguo quickly clarified.

“Then why won’t you go? You’re at the perfect age.”

Du Jianguo smiled. “I’m already married, and I have children who are several years old. If I join the army now, my wife and daughter would have to manage the farm alone, which would be too hard for them.”

“I see. I apologize for being presumptuous,” He Yong nodded understandingly. “With your wife and daughter at home, it wouldn’t be right to leave. I truly regret missing such great marksmanship skills.”

Another police officer, Li Qiang, chimed in, “Indeed. In my opinion, this comrade’s marksmanship is better than the instructors we’ve invited! I heard the bureau recently hired a highly skilled shooting instructor, but I’m not sure if he’s as skilled as this comrade.”

Du Jianguo modestly waved his hand. “No, no. I was just lucky.”

Li Qiang suddenly had an idea. “Why don’t we apply to the bureau chief to see if we can invite this comrade to give a talk?”

He Yong’s eyes lit up. “Would you be willing? Don’t worry, our bureau will certainly compensate you well!”

“Why wouldn’t I be willing!” Du Jianguo immediately agreed.

“There’s an opportunity to earn extra money like this. Du Jianguo readily accepted.”

“I guarantee I’ll be available whenever needed!”

“Great!” He Yong smiled and chatted with Du Jianguo for a few more minutes, officially becoming friends.

Before leaving, they tied the dead bear to the roof of their jeep and drove it back to the village. This saved Du Jianguo from many social debts.

This incident left the villagers extremely envious. They stared at Du Jianguo with eyes full of jealousy.

“Not to mention anything else. Being invited to teach police officers how to shoot, what level of skill must that require?”

“And the police officers personally helped bring the black bear back. Du Jianguo is truly going to prosper now!” someone said sourly.

Another villager chimed in, “No wonder the police officers recognized his talent. If we tried, let alone shooting the bear, we’d probably get torn apart by it!”

Li Ergou, hiding in the crowd, turned pale. He had originally planned to ask Zhang Desheng to convene a village meeting and try to take control of the bear from Du Jianguo. But now that the police were personally involved, attempting to stir up trouble with Zhang Desheng would mean directly opposing the police.

“How does Du Jianguo have such great abilities?”

Li Ergou began to doubt his impression of Du Jianguo. Before, he thought the young man was just a useless loafer who played cards and was even considered one of his’s subordinates. How could he suddenly become such an excellent marksman?

Li Ergou didn’t dare speak up, fearing someone in the crowd might find a reason to beat him. He slipped back into the village and immediately went to Zhang Desheng’s house.

At that moment, Zhang Desheng was taking advantage of the absence of able-bodied villagers to “tutor” a thirty-something-year-old woman. His hands were already wandering on the woman’s shoulder. “Sister Wang, I’ll definitely take care of your family’s situation in the future. As long as you…”

“Bang!”

The door was suddenly kicked open. Li Ergou rushed in angrily. “Bad news, leader! Du Jianguo has shot a black bear!”

After speaking, Li Ergou noticed Zhang Desheng groping the middle-aged woman. The woman screamed in shock, her face turning bright red. She quickly stood up and rushed out of the room.

Li Ergou finally realized he had interrupted the leader’s business. He coughed awkwardly and stammered, “Leader, I… I didn’t know there was someone in your room…”

“Slap!”

Zhang Desheng angrily slapped Li Ergou across the face. “Next time you enter my room, knock first!”

“Okay, leader, yes…” Li Ergou, even after being hit, dared not complain. He nodded obediently while holding his hurting cheek, but inside he was seething with anger.

Damn it! You’re not a good person either! If you’re willing to go after someone so ugly, you must be desperate for women!

“What did you just say?”

Zhang Desheng’s brow furrowed into a tight knot. He spoke in a deep, serious tone. “You said Du Jianguo shot a black bear? How is that possible? You’re not lying to me, are you?”

“Leader, how dare I lie to you? It’s absolutely true!”

Li Ergou quickly explained. “Just now, the police department’s vehicle brought that black bear back to our Xiao An Village. They’re currently unloading it at the village committee!”

“Wait, what did you say?” Zhang Desheng’s eyebrows knitted together tightly. He raised his hand to interrupt. “Police department people? What are they doing here?”

Li Ergou then explained the entire sequence of events from He Yong inviting Du Jianguo to join the army, to Li Qiang proposing that Du Jianguo give a shooting training session, and finally to the police driving the bear back to the village.

Zhang Desheng’s expression grew darker as he listened. When he heard that Du Jianguo had established a connection with the police bureau, his face turned pale with fear.

Zhang Desheng always thought he had some connections. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to easily transfer to the countryside as a village cadre. But compared to the police bureau, his connections were nothing!

“Damn it! How did Du Jianguo get such a wonderful opportunity?” He clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles turning white. His anger burned so fiercely that his face turned green, and his chest felt like it was on fire.

Zhang Desheng suddenly changed his tone. His eyes darkened. “Did you tell anyone about the plan to set a trap for Liu Chunan?”

Li Ergou was stunned and quickly shook his head. His tone carried a hint of flattery. “No! Absolutely not! The old village head is probably also concerned about the village’s reputation and hasn’t told the police about this matter.”

Zhang Desheng’s eyes grew colder. His tone carried a warning. “Good. Keep this matter strictly secret! If even a single word leaks out and the police find out, I will not give you a good time!”

Li Ergou shuddered and nodded like a drum. “Don’t worry, leader! My mouth is sealed tighter than glue. I won’t let out a single word!”