Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 430 If five years isn't enough, then ten years will do.

After listening to Zhu Ming's words, the leader didn't even look at the notebook; his first question was, "What does he need the gun for?"

"hunt."

Zhu Ming blurted it out immediately.

He paused for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly and said, "They say it's for hunting, but it's really just that young people are curious about guns and bought them for fun. The two hunting rifles and the PPK pistol were all acquired from a production team by Station Chief Zhou of the veterinary station with his help. Chen Fan came to me to register the guns as soon as he got them."

I recognized those guns immediately. They were spoils of war that a farmer had seized from a military officer's residence sometime in the 1940s. Because he wasn't part of our unit and had performed meritorious service, we didn't ask him to hand them over. That man passed away a couple of years ago, and his son has been trying to sell the guns, but the asking price is quite high.

There are people who can make homemade guns, and you can buy one for just a few dollars. Moreover, each production team has militia equipment, so you can use it right away. Who would want to spend tens of dollars to buy those fancy but impractical guns?

Until the day Chen Fan bought it, the gun's range was only a few dozen meters. Seeing his reaction, I realized he was clearly overly excited, just like my son when he handles a gun. So I got him a gun license.

He paused for a moment, then added, "And I've already spoken with the Lujiawan brigade headquarters and asked them to keep an eye on things."

Their deputy captain in charge of militia and security is a retired veteran who joined the army a long time ago and fought in the Korean War. He was discharged due to injury. After resting at home for so many years, his health has recovered considerably. He often leads militia training, and his skills in all aspects are still intact. He could easily handle our entire unit by himself. With him overseeing things, there definitely won't be any problems.”

The leader was slightly taken aback, and his eyes lit up. "What's that old hero's name?"

He had clearly seen it just now. This police station looked unremarkable, but apart from the female household registration officer, everyone else was a former soldier and had basic professional qualities. For an old man to be able to choose a police station like this, it was definitely not simple.

Without hesitation, Zhu Ming said, "Xiao Liewen, Minister Cao of our county's armed forces department knows him. But we don't know his original unit number. His file is kept in the armed forces department, and apart from a few leaders in the county, no one else knows about it."

The leader immediately frowned; this person was clearly no ordinary individual.

He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly. Although he was interested in this old hero, now was not the time to ask about that, so he asked about Chen Fan instead, "According to your deduction, is it possible that this Chen Fan is an enemy agent?"

"That's impossible."

Zhu Ming raised his head and said, "When I was in the army, I also worked in the reconnaissance company. For a period of time, I also cooperated with the public security department in counter-espionage work. I specifically learned how to identify enemy agents."

First of all, Chen Fan was on the verge of death when he was rescued. I asked Yang Chuanfu, the squad leader of Team 6 of Lujiawan who rescued him, in detail. According to him, if it had been 5 minutes later, the man would have died. So it was absolutely impossible to sneak in in this way.

Secondly, I examined his hands, feet, and gait; there was absolutely no sign of training.

At this point, Zhu Ming softened his tone and said softly, "At the time, he looked to be about 16 years old, and he was sick and looked weak and listless. You should have heard about the situation here. People from other provinces often come here to make a living, from Sichuan, Henan, Zhejiang, almost every year."

Some of those with letters of introduction were alright; they all planned to go back. But some who didn't plan to go back concealed their origins and stubbornly refused to leave. We couldn't exactly push them to the brink, so we generally turned a blind eye to those who could pass the screening and let them stay. Whether they could actually stay depended on their own abilities.

He looked up as he spoke, "That's how I dealt with Chen Fan back then."

The leader listened and nodded gently, clearly well aware of the situation.

After a two-second silence, he suddenly asked, "Is it possible to find a new way..."

He pondered and gestured, "So, instead of training in military skills, we'll focus on training in other areas, like various professional knowledge?"

Zhu Ming looked at him, somewhat confused. "Not training him in military and espionage skills, only in professional knowledge? Then what's the point of him coming here?"

Are we sending them here as a contribution?
However, he swallowed those words back down.

The leader looked at him and also felt that his question was a bit absurd.

Instead of sending a talented individual here, it's better to select a group of outstanding candidates for recruitment and training. This approach not only has a higher success rate but also yields greater future benefits.

Why go through all that trouble for nothing, wasting such a talented person?!

He wiped his face, ignoring the question, and continued, "Tell me your thoughts on Chen Fan."

Zhu Ming said without hesitation, "First of all, he is definitely not a rural person, not only because he doesn't look like someone who has lived in the countryside for a long time, but also because he lacks the most basic understanding of rural life."

Then he spoke fluent Yunhu dialect. Even in the county seat, people frequently interact with rural areas, let alone the communes below. Only in Yunhu city proper do people rarely have the opportunity to contact rural areas, so I concluded that he was from Yunhu city proper.

Having heard this, the leader had essentially ruled out any suspicion of Chen Fan and shifted his focus to finding clues.

Upon hearing Zhu Ming's words, my first reaction was to agree.

Just as he was about to speak, he heard Zhu Ming say, "At the time, I reported this matter to my superiors and focused on the list of missing persons and educated youth sent to the countryside in the year before the incident, but after investigation, no one matching his situation was found."

The leader looked at Zhu Ming and nodded in satisfaction. If it were him, based on the existing clues, he could only draw this conclusion and follow those clues to investigate. After a two-second pause, he smiled and said, "And the second one?"

Seeing the change in his leader's expression, Zhu Ming felt slightly relieved and continued, "Secondly, he should come from an intellectual family."

The leader leaned back, looked at him, and asked, "Because his knowledge is very solid and extensive?"

Zhu Ming nodded, then shook his head slightly. "Actually, when he first arrived in Lujiawan, he didn't have such great skills as he does now. He learned many things later. But by normal standards, it's impossible for a person to learn so many and such diverse skills in just one year."

As he spoke, he started counting on his fingers, “At first, I learned cooking skills that were very different from home-style dishes, and then I learned to speak Mandarin and repair radios.”

He then looked at the leader and said, "But at that time he didn't know veterinary medicine, medical skills, or how to repair machinery. He learned many things later, but his learning progress was very fast."

The leader nodded thoughtfully. "You just said that it's impossible for one person to learn so many diverse skills in a year. But his learning progress is indeed so fast, so there's only one possibility."

Zhu Ming nodded. "There's a high probability that he's had this kind of knowledge before, but he forgot it along with his amnesia. As long as he learns it again, he'll be able to get the hang of it quickly."

The leader suddenly let out a long sigh, looked around at the colleagues who had come with him, and said with emotion, "Many people think that amnesia is fake, but in fact, amnesia is a real phenomenon and it is not uncommon. The most common cause is a severe blow to the brain."

In addition, brain lesions, mental symptoms, and even excessive psychological stress can all cause amnesia.

Years ago on the battlefield, several of my comrades were hit by the shockwaves of artillery shells and were so badly injured they didn't recognize themselves. It took them several years to recover.

Zhu Ming nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, "That's what Captain Xiao from their brigade said too, and his company commander also experienced something similar."

The leader nodded, pondered for two seconds, and said, "From the current perspective, your handling of the matter is correct, and Chen Fan is indeed not a suspect."

He looked up as he spoke, "However, in any case, his background must be investigated."

Without saying a word, Zhu Ming spread his hands and said with a wry smile, "I really can't do anything about this."

He was just a grassroots police officer, good at handling minor matters, but powerless to deal with things beyond his jurisdiction, so he could only report them to higher authorities.

The leader looked at him and laughed, saying, "It's alright, you've already done a lot. The content of today's conversation will be of great help to our work."

He turned to look at a colleague next to him and said with a smile, "At least we can be sure that it's useless to only check for missing persons and educated youth sent to the countryside within the past year."

Seeing that they all had smiles on their faces, Zhu Ming smiled back and said, "Boss, if we start counting from now, it should be within two years."

The leader smiled and nodded, "Yes, it's been a year, it should be within two years."

He tapped his fingers twice on the table, then turned to his head and said, "Old Zheng, contact the Yunhu Public Security Bureau now and have them review all the missing persons files from the past five years, focusing on the clues that Comrade Zhu just provided."

If no clues are found within the last five years, expand the search area and investigate within the last ten years.

Old Zheng nodded. "Okay."

As soon as he finished speaking, he stood up and asked Zhu Ming, "Does the station have a phone?"

Zhu Ming quickly stood up. "Yes, yes, I'll take you there."

He had just turned around when he heard the leader say, "Comrade Zhu, I need your help again."

Zhu Ming turned around and looked at him. "You say it."

The leader laughed and said, "Old Zheng, go make the call yourself."

Before Lao Zheng could leave, he looked at Zhu Ming and said, "I want to go to Lujiawan to find the leaders of their brigade headquarters and learn more about Chen Fan. Could you please show me the way?"

Zhu Ming immediately laughed and said, "It's nothing, no problem."

He then pointed outside, saying, "I'll take you there now."

As he walked out, he said, "About the deputy captain Xiao I just mentioned, he's usually on duty at the team and rarely goes out. We'll definitely find him there. He's one of the people who knows Chen Fan best. Oh, by the way..."

Zhu Ming turned to look at his leader and said with a smile, "Chen Fan's boxing and shooting skills were also taught by him. It is said that his level is very high, even surpassing their militia company commander."

The leader walked towards the car and laughed heartily, "So, Chen Fan is truly accomplished in both literary and martial arts."

(End of this chapter)