1985, the year of the great writer, began with Infernal Affairs!

Li Hanwen deliberately avoided Xie Youshan, and instead glanced around the courtyard. Not seeing Xie Lu, he assumed he was inside. Just as he was about to step inside, Xie Youshan reached out and stopped him.

What do you want?

Xie Youshan didn't give Li Hanwen a friendly look. If Li Hanwen hadn't been holding his son's Wuhan University admission notice, he would have kicked him out long ago and wouldn't have let him in the door at all.

Seeing that he was being stopped by Xie Youshan, the guy who had made him lose face in the past, Xie Youshan didn't have a good look on his face either. The two of them just stood there, staring at each other.

Thinking about the phone call he received today, and the scolding from his brother-in-law, he almost lost his job.

The culprit behind all of this is that guy in the house!

He wouldn't want to come to this lousy place if it weren't for work.

In the end, Li Hanwen made a concession.

"Bring out your top student from Wuhan University."

Li Hanwen spoke sullenly to Xie Youshan.

After saying that, seeing that Xie Youshan still didn't seem inclined to call Xie Lu out from inside, he glared at him again and added:

"If you don't need the acceptance letter, then forget it."

Xie Youshan was stunned when he heard Li Hanwen's words.

But he quickly realized what was going on and, not caring what Li Hanwen was up to, hurriedly turned around and dragged Xie Lu, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), out of the room.

Li Hanwen sized up Xie Lu, who was being dragged out. He was 1.8 meters tall, wearing a faded navy blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing strong but not muscular arms.

His face was clean and clear, unlike the dark skin common among rural children. Instead, it was fair and clean, with thick eyebrows, bright eyes, and a straight nose. He was a handsome young man that was hard to find anywhere in the surrounding area.

However, Li Hanwen simply couldn't appreciate it.

Thinking of the scolding he received this morning, he couldn't help but feel a bit resentful when he looked at Xie Lu.

It's just an admission letter from Wuhan University, isn't it?

Is it necessary to alarm those above?

He got a good scolding from his brother-in-law!

Li Hanwen stood in the Xie family courtyard, clutching the rectangular envelope in his hand, his fingertips turning white from gripping it so tightly.

He didn't think he had gone too far at all.

Is two hundred yuan a lot?

not much.

Li Hanwen is the village clerk, and his monthly salary is about twenty yuan. Two hundred yuan is just over a year's income.

But this isn't about the money; it's about saving face. It's about the scars left from the beating he received five years ago, and he still hasn't regained his dignity.

Five years ago, that summer was just as hot.

He ran into Wang's second daughter-in-law, who was visiting her parents, at the edge of a cornfield at the east end of the village.

The young woman was fair-skinned, had a slender waist, and her braid swayed as she walked.

He had only gone up to say a couple of jokes, and before he could even touch Xie Youshan, Xie Youshan charged at him like a wild bull and knocked him down with a single punch.

That beating!

Li Hanwen's cheek still aches faintly when he thinks about it now.

Xie Youshan was a farmer with calloused hands and fists as hard as stone; one punch from him would loosen his teeth.

The worst part was that Xie Youshan shouted as he fought, attracting a crowd from half the village to come and watch.

From that day on, Li Hanwen's reputation for harassing women spread. Young women and wives who used to greet him with smiles now avoided him.

As a result, he even got a lecture from the police station.

On what grounds?

He only said a couple of words and touched her little hand, right?

Xie Youshan beat him to death and ruined his reputation.

For the past five years, he has been unable to hold his head high in the village, and his chances of becoming the village head have now vanished.

If it weren't for his brother-in-law, who is the deputy secretary of the Education Bureau, he probably wouldn't even have this job as a village clerk.

Isn't all of this Xie Youshan's fault?

So when he saw Xie Lv's admission notice sent to the village committee, the anger that had been building up inside him for five years finally found an outlet.

Wuhan University.

That's one of the best universities in the country.

It's amazing that Xie Youshan, that taciturn man, was able to raise such a promising son.

Li Hanwen held the admission notice in his hand and sat in the village committee office for the entire morning.

He thought of his good-for-nothing nephew, who hadn't even finished junior high and was still loitering around at home.

If we could take Xie Lu's spot.

So, the Li family also produced a top student from Wuhan University.

But he hasn't actually done it yet.

The news was leaked by someone, but no one knows who did it.

Seeing that the news had been leaked and the substitution was no longer possible, Li Hanwen simply turned to the Xie family and asked for fifty yuan.

Fifty yuan.

He initially thought of fifty yuan.

Five years ago, Xie Youshan beat him up. It's not unreasonable for him to pay him fifty yuan in medical expenses.

But once the words got out, they took on a different meaning.

The villagers embellished the story, saying he wanted two hundred and that he threatened to have someone take Xie Lv's place in college.

Let it be spread, Li Hanwen thought. Two hundred it is. If Xie Youshan is really willing to spend this money for his son, then he can finally vent his anger.

But to his utter surprise, Xie Lu, that kid, managed to get to the top without making a sound.

This morning, his brother-in-law, who is the deputy secretary of the county education bureau, called and started yelling at him.

"Li Hanwen, have you lost your mind? You dare to withhold Wuhan University's admission notices? Do you know that Wuhan University has even called the Municipal Education Bureau? The Wuhan University Admissions Office heard about the complaint from He Chongshan, the editor-in-chief of Contemporary Newspaper, and personally called to inquire about it!"

His hands were shaking as he held the phone.

"Should we...should we recruit?"

"What newspaper?"

"He Chongshan from People's Literature Publishing House! A professor from a top university! He said Xie Lu is a student he has his eye on, and if there's any problem with the admission letter, he'll investigate thoroughly!"

Li Hanwen broke out in a cold sweat.

He's just a lowly village clerk, barely even getting a glimpse of county leaders, yet now he's managed to attract the attention of a professor from a top university, and the editor-in-chief of Beijing People's Literature Publishing House? How can someone from Wuhan University possibly have connections with Beijing?

That's impressive!

Isn't Xie Lu a bookworm who buries himself in books?

The brother-in-law lowered his voice on the other end of the phone: "Hurry up and send the notice back. Be polite. If this gets out of hand, not only you, but I'll be implicated!"

That's why he's standing here now, in Xie Youshan's dilapidated courtyard, holding the Wuhan University admission notice he originally wanted to exchange for two hundred yuan.

"Here you are."

Li Hanwen handed the envelope forward stiffly and reluctantly.

Xie Lu took the envelope, pulled it out, and glanced at it.

The header is red, the printed text in black contains his name, and the official seal of Wuhan University is stamped in the lower right corner.

After confirming that everything was correct, Xie Lu looked up and smiled at Li Hanwen, saying, "Thank you so much, Uncle Li, for bringing my admission notice back to me. I thought you were going to give it to your nephew."