Reborn in 1981, starting by smashing my iron rice bowl.

Not two days after Liu Weidong returned to the village, everyone was spreading astonishing news. It was the evening of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year when the county's state-run store was robbed! The thief didn't steal anything else, but he swept away all the grain coupons stored in the store—reportedly tens of thousands of kilograms!

In an era when communication relied mainly on shouting, the fact that news of something happening in the county town reached the village so quickly speaks volumes about how sensational the case was.

I heard that not only was the entire criminal investigation team of the county bureau mobilized, but it even alarmed the city's top leaders, who personally issued instructions to solve the case as soon as possible!

After all, tens of thousands of kilograms of grain coupons are no small amount, especially since they were stolen from a state-run store, making the crime even more egregious. This thief committed such a serious crime during a crackdown on crime; if caught, he'll likely be executed, or at least sentenced to life imprisonment!

Faced with the gossiping villagers, Liu Weidong remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was somewhat agitated. Having lived two lives, he naturally remembered this major case from years ago, and knew that despite the current uproar, the thief had never been caught.

Years later, during the renovation of the county's shantytowns, a large number of grain coupons were found in a room. Based on the quantity of the coupons and the years printed on them, it was estimated that they were the same batch that had been stolen from the state-run store years ago.

However, by then, grain coupons had long been abolished, and these coupons, which were worth tens of thousands of yuan back then, were worthless. As for why the thieves didn't come back to retrieve them, no one knows anymore. This once sensational case has become an unsolved mystery.

At the beginning of 82, Liu Weidong was arguably the only person besides the thief who knew where the grain coupons were hidden. He had been waiting for this day for a long time, hoping to use it to ensure that Zhao Baojun truly received the punishment he deserved!

This bastard almost ruined Wang Shujuan's life, and he tried to frame Liu Weidong several times. It's not something that can be forgiven by a couple of beatings, digging a drainage ditch, and paying a fine!

Liu Weidong rode his bicycle to the county town without making a sound, and soon found the atmosphere there to be tense. There were many more joint defense team members wearing red armbands on the road, all with very serious expressions, scrutinizing the pedestrians with their eyes.

Liu Weidong turned into a narrow alley and followed the house numbers one by one. Finally, near the end of the alley, he saw the house number that had left a deep impression on him: No. 88, Wuyi Lane. If he remembered correctly, the thief had hidden the stolen grain coupons in the rafters of this house!

Liu Weidong knocked lightly on the door, but there was no response. This meant that the thief had also chosen an uninhabited place to hide the stolen goods, which conveniently came to Liu Weidong's aid.

Liu Weidong put on the gloves he had prepared beforehand, pried open the window, and climbed inside. It didn't take him long to find a black faux leather briefcase on the roof beam; sure enough, it was full of grain coupons!

Although Liu Weidong was prepared, his heart still raced. He quickly counted the grain coupons in his bag and found over 80,000 jin (approximately 40,000 kg) of local grain coupons. These local grain coupons alone were worth tens of thousands of yuan!

What's even rarer are those 50,000 jin (25,000 catties) of national grain coupons, which are now considered invaluable and money can't buy them. If a suitable buyer can be found, they could easily fetch 20,000 to 30,000 yuan on the black market!

Looking at the full bag of grain coupons, Liu Weidong muttered to himself with a cold smile, "Zhao Baojun, you're dead this time!"

Fearing something might happen, Liu Weidong didn't linger there. He quickly stuffed his bag into his military overcoat, got on his bike, and left the tense county town.

After returning to the village, Liu Weidong first took out several thousand kilograms of national grain coupons and hid them in the dilapidated ancestral hall at the entrance of the village. Then, carrying a briefcase, he leisurely arrived near Zhao Baojun's house.

Liu Weidong had already inquired indirectly and learned that Zhao Baojun hadn't been in the village during the Spring Festival; nobody knew where he'd gone off to. His mother, Li Chunhong, had gone to visit relatives and wasn't home either.

This undoubtedly created excellent conditions for Liu Weidong. Seeing that no one was around, he climbed over the wall and stuffed the black artificial leather bag into the woodpile.

After doing all this, Liu Weidong climbed over the wall and left. Without anyone noticing, he transferred all the stolen grain coupons from the state-run store to Zhao Baojun's house.

The rest was easy. Liu Weidong wrote a letter of complaint with his left hand. He stated that he was an anonymous concerned citizen who saw Zhao Baojun and Luo Gang from Hexi Village acting suspiciously in front of the state-run store around 7 or 8 pm on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year. He didn't know what they were doing.

Under the cover of night, Liu Weidong slipped the letter into the window of the guardhouse at the county public security bureau. Back then, unlike later years when surveillance cameras were everywhere, as long as one was careful, no one would know it was him who slipped the letter.

Just like in the previous life, the task force found no useful clues and took the tip-off letter very seriously. Liu Weidong had just sent out the letter the night before, and the next morning two Beijing-plated Jeeps arrived at the village entrance early in the morning.

These days, cars rarely come to the countryside, which immediately aroused the curiosity of many villagers, who all looked in this direction. However, when they saw that the people who got into the car were wearing police uniforms, everyone tacitly dispersed.

The theft at the state-run store is making headlines right now, so the police coming to the village at this time is not a good thing.

Liu Weidong had been waiting at the village entrance for a long time. Unlike the others, he did not disperse but instead looked at the policeman who got out of the car with a "curious" expression.

After the middle-aged policeman in the lead got out of the car, he asked Liu Weidong, who was standing closest to him, "Young man, are you from Hexi Village?"

Liu Weidong, with an innocent look, nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, my name is Liu Weidong, and I live in the village!"

"Oh, Comrade Liu, I'm Wang Jianzhong, the captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the County Public Security Bureau. My colleagues and I are here in the village to gather some information." The middle-aged policeman introduced himself first, then asked Liu Weidong in a low voice, "Do you know where Zhao Baojun lives in your village?"

"Of course I know, I'll take you there!" Liu Weidong agreed without hesitation and led Wang Jianzhong and the others to Zhao Baojun's house.

The others, of course, wouldn't miss this opportunity to watch the excitement, and they all followed at a distance, speculating about why the police had come to find Zhao Baojun.

Before long, the group arrived at Zhao Baojun's house. Wang Jianzhong gave his subordinates a look, and two policemen immediately ran to the back of the yard to prevent the suspect from escaping.

Wang Jianzhong then stepped forward and knocked loudly on the courtyard gate, saying, "Zhao Baojun, open the door quickly! We are police officers and need to ask you some questions!"

However, after waiting for a long time, the courtyard remained quiet and there was no sound at all.