C40 Returning to the 1960s: Starting with Digging for Fo-ti

Du Jianguo gripped the Type 56 rifle and ran quickly in the direction of his memory.

This was the long-term base of the group that had originally kidnapped his wife, Liu Xiuyun.

Du Jianguo and Liu Xiuyun’s marriage was arranged through deception.

Back then, Liu Xiuyun was teaching at a girls’ middle school in the county town. Du Jianguo took a fancy to her but felt inferior due to the status gap.

He didn’t even dare to speak to Liu Xiuyun.

Later, Du Jianguo was egged on by Li Ergou. He spent thirty yuan to hire a group of thugs from the county town to kidnap Liu Xiuyun. He then “happened” to appear, playing the role of the hero saving a beauty. This made Liu Xiuyun feel indebted to him, allowing him to successfully marry her.

Now, when the Public Security Bureau mentioned the kidnapping of a wife, it matched his knowledge of that gang perfectly.

Shortly after, he arrived at the destination, a dilapidated old tiled house.

Du Jianguo silently climbed over the wall and lowered his voice as much as possible, straining to listen to the sounds in the yard.

The spot where he was hiding was a visual blind spot. He could see clearly into the yard, but anyone inside would have great difficulty noticing him.

He saw the scene in the yard clearly.

Five or six people were surrounding a woman with her head covered. Her mouth was stuffed with cotton, so she could only make muffled noises.

“There it is!”

He immediately recognized the kidnappers, the same group that helped him play his trick years ago.

The leader was Hu San, who specialized in human trafficking. He kidnapped women and even children.

Currently, Hu San leaned against a pillar in the yard, smoking a cigarette, with a cold stare directed at the struggling woman.

“Damn it! She’s quite lively! Just now she kicked me twice. If the buyer didn’t need her intact, I would have wanted to split her skull open and have my way with her first!”

A subordinate approached tentatively and asked, “Boss, there were police officers nearby when we kidnapped her. Could this woman have connections to the police? How will we operate in the county afterwards?”

“What should I be afraid of!” Hu San spat out his cigarette butt, looking completely careless.

“We are already engaged in unspeakable deeds! We are already on the police’s blacklist! If we complete this deal and earn one hundred yuan, everyone will get ten or twenty yuan. Is there anything faster to make money than this?”

The subordinates, upon hearing that there was money to share, began to giggle happily and soon cast their worries aside.

Another subordinate stared at the woman longingly. “This woman is so beautiful. No wonder the buyer paid one hundred yuan for her! If I can’t find a wife, I would want to buy one no matter what.”

Hu San spat a wad of phlegm onto the man’s shoe. “Earn money with me first, get your life in order, and then talk about it!”

Hu San looked up at the sky to estimate the time. “About right. Find a sack to cover the woman and meet the buyer. Put her in the vehicle, and the hundred yuan is ours!”

The subordinates immediately started moving.

“This is bad!” Du Jianguo frowned tightly. This gang was about to take action! Once Song Qingxue was put in the vehicle, even the largest Public Security Bureau would have a hard time finding her.

Hu San specialized in selling women deep into the mountain gullies. Once they were sent off, they would disappear without a trace.

However, Song Qingxue was key to forming the county’s hunting team. The opportunity to join the hunting team was too important for him. He absolutely could not let this fall through.

Du Jianguo’s mind raced, and he came up with a somewhat imperfect plan.

He quietly jumped down from the wall, circled around to the main gate, took a deep breath, and knocked on the yard gate. “Hu San! Hu San! Are you in the yard?”

Inside the yard, Hu San was startled, and everyone looked squarely at the gate.

“Who are you?”

“Hu San, it is me Du Jianguo!”

Du Jianguo intentionally raised his voice. “I am from Xiao An Village. I did business with you before regarding the marriage arrangement. You don’t remember?”

“Du Jianguo?”

Hu San thought for a moment and remembered. He nodded to his subordinate. “Open the gate, let him in.”

Du Jianguo entered the yard. Hu San asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Oh, don’t even ask, Hu San!”

Du Jianguo wore a miserable face, pretending to be aggrieved, and even squeezed out a couple of fake tears. “My wife ran away with her cousin. They already have a child and she won’t stay! I want to come back to you again, follow the old rules to buy a wife, and play the hero saving the beauty again. Still thirty yuan. Can we do it?”

Hu San saw his pathetic state and completely dropped his guard. He patted his shoulder.

“Alright! Find a target, and we will help you again. Go back first. Once you see a girl you like, tell me.”

Du Jianguo nodded, his gaze falling on the bound woman. “Hu San, can I buy this woman?”

Hu San immediately shook his head. “This is someone else’s ordered cargo. The buyer paid one hundred yuan. You can’t afford her.”

“What if?”

Du Jianguo didn’t give up. “If I piece together everything I have, maybe I can scrape together one hundred yuan. Let me just take a look at what she looks like. Can we do that?”

Hu San frowned tightly. “I said it is someone else’s cargo! Do you think I have no credit? If I give it to you and the buyer comes looking, what will I tell them?”

“I just want to look! I don’t necessarily have to buy her.” Du Jianguo smiled sweetly. He took several pieces of loose change from his pocket and casually slipped them into Hu San’s pocket. “Just let me look, okay?”

Seeing that Du Jianguo was so “understandable,” Hu San’s tight expression finally relaxed. He waved his hand. “Let you look is fine. It doesn’t matter.”

He licked his lips, walked forward, and ripped off the hood covering the woman’s head.

In an instant, a face with the temperament of a cultured lady was revealed. This woman was surprisingly beautiful!

Du Jianguo couldn’t help but marvel internally. In terms of appearance alone, she could rank in his top three most beautiful women he had ever seen. Especially that quality of being unstained by the mud, it was even more touching. She was probably only slightly less beautiful than his wife, Liu Xiuyun.

The woman glared fiercely at Hu San, her eyes full of rage.

Hu San didn’t care at all. He only licked his lips and turned to smile at Du Jianguo. “How about it? This woman is delicate, right? Damn it, just looking at me makes me feel hot.”

He paused and then remembered something. “By the way, I remember that the wife you married back then was quite beautiful too. Compared to this woman, the difference isn’t much.”

Du Jianguo nodded along, agreeing with his words. “Brother Hu is right. This woman is indeed very beautiful. It makes me unable to hold back!”

He then showed a look of longing. “Can we really not discuss it? Sell this woman to me?”

Hu San frowned, his tone becoming impatient. “Why are you so stubborn, kid? There are plenty of women in the world besides her. I will find you another one later!”

He waved his hand to his subordinates. “Come on, brothers, put her in a sack. It’s time for us to go.”

Seeing this, Du Jianguo slowly took a deep breath. His eyes instantly turned cold as he stared fiercely at Hu San. “Hu San, what if I say I insist on buying her?”

“Are you trying to live too long? I said no!” Hu San was completely infuriated and cursed while glaring at him.

As soon as his words left his mouth, his gaze suddenly swept to the bundle wrapped with a rag behind Du Jianguo.

Hu San’s face instantly changed color. “Kid, what is that stick-shaped thing wrapped behind you?”

Hu San jumped back two steps and shouted sternly, “Show it!” Then he reached for his waist.

“No!” Du Jianguo instantly pulled out the rifle. The black, muzzle of the gun was aimed directly at Hu San’s head. “Don’t move!”

“Gun! This kid has a gun!”

The other bandits turned pale with fear and shrank back.