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

Liaobei County.

The storefront wasn't large, with a green gate, whitewashed walls, iron bars on the windows, and fairly clean glass. Above the door hung a red sign with white lettering that read "Agricultural Bank of China, Liaobei County Branch".

Xie Lu parked his bicycle in the shed by the entrance and locked it.

He walked into the bank. It was cooler inside than outside. The ceiling was high, and several ceiling fans were slowly turning. The counter was made of wood, painted dark brown, and the surface was polished to a shine. There was an iron gate in front of the counter, with only a small window that was just big enough to pass in documents and cash.

There were three people lined up in front of the window.

The first one was an old lady, clutching a passbook in her hand, talking to the staff inside.

The voice was loud, but the speech was intermittent, and Xie Lu couldn't quite hear what he was saying.

The second was a middle-aged man wearing blue overalls with the words "Liaobei Steel Plant" printed on his chest. He was counting the change in his hand, smoothing out each bill.

The third one was a young girl with two braids, her back to the door.

Xie Lu walked to the end of the line and stood still.

He looked around. There were propaganda posters on the walls that read "Frugality and thrift, support construction," depicting workers and farmers standing side by side.

The people in front slowly moved forward.

After the old lady finished her business, she shakily accepted a few banknotes, counted them several times, then put them in her pocket and left, leaning on her cane.

The middle-aged man stepped forward and handed over his change and a stack of tickets to the window. Inside was a female staff member, in her thirties, with short hair that reached her ears. She took the money and placed it on the table.

Attorney Xie waited patiently.

When it was his turn, he walked to the window, took out the withdrawal slip from his pocket, and handed it in.

The female staff member took the form, glanced at it, and then looked up at Lawyer Xie.

"Attorney Xie?"

"it's me."

"Six hundred yuan?" she asked again to confirm.

"right."

She picked up the form, carefully examined the official seal and signature, then took out a thick register from the drawer, opened it, and made notes on it with a pen.

After she finished writing, she stood up, walked to a row of iron cabinets at the back, opened one of the cabinet doors, and took out a bundle of money.

Ten yuan each, a bundle of one hundred, exactly one thousand.

She counted out sixty bills, then placed the stack on the counter and sat down to count them again.

One, two, three... sixty.

After counting the money once, she counted it again, then handed it to her colleague to count it again. Only after confirming that everything was correct did she arrange the money and hand it out through the window.

"Count them and see if the numbers are correct," she said.

Attorney Xie accepted the money.

It was a thick stack of bills. The ten-yuan notes were light green, with portraits of workers, peasants, and soldiers on the front and the national emblem on the back. He counted them: sixty bills, six hundred yuan.

I counted it again, and it was correct.

"Oh, right."

The female staff member nodded, stamped "Paid" on the withdrawal slip, tore off the stub, put it in the drawer, and then handed out the customer copy of the document.

Xie Lu took it, folded it in half, and put it in his pocket.

Xie Lu put the money into his pants pocket. The pants were made of polyester and the pocket was deep, but even with six hundred yuan inside, it was still bulging. He pressed it with his hand to make sure it wouldn't fall out.

He turned and left the bank.

The sunlight outside was dazzling, so he squinted, pushed his bike, and rode it.

The money in his pockets was heavy, and he slapped his thighs with each pedal stroke. Xie Lu rode steadily, neither too fast nor too slow, as shops, pedestrians, and bicycles on both sides of the street flashed past him.

Six hundred yuan.

In 1985, this was a considerable sum of money. An ordinary worker could only earn twenty or thirty yuan a month, and it would take him almost two years to save up.

In rural areas, a family is considered lucky if they can save a few dozen yuan a year after deducting food rations and expenses.

And now, he has six hundred in his pocket.

It was written by him using a pen over a total of four or five days.

After withdrawing the money, Xie Lu didn't go straight home. He turned a corner and rode into a familiar alley. On both sides were red brick bungalows with low courtyard walls. You could see the loofahs and beans growing inside. Occasionally, children would run out of the yard, playing and making noise. When they saw the bicycle coming, they would quickly dodge away.

Liu Zhenyu's home is on this street.

Xie Lu rode to the gate of the courtyard and stopped.

The courtyard gate was ajar, and he pushed it open and went inside.

The yard was very clean, with some coal piled up in the corner covered with plastic sheeting, and several pots of flowers on the windowsill, blooming brightly.

He called out, "Zhenyu!"

Footsteps came from inside. The door opened, and Liu Zhenyu peeked out, paused for a moment when he saw Xie Lu.

"Ritsuko? What brings you here?" He came out, holding a book in his hand.

"I'm here to pay back the money," Xie Lu said, taking out ten ten-yuan bills that he had prepared and handing them to Liu Zhenyu.

Liu Zhenyu didn't take it. He looked at the money, then at Xie Lu, and frowned.

"What do you mean by this?" Liu Zhenyu asked anxiously. He looked at the hundred yuan in Xie Lu's hand. This money should have been in the hands of Li Hanwen, the village clerk, at this time. Why was it still in Xie Lu's hands?

Moreover, Xie Lu returned the money to him.

Could it be that Xie Lu isn't going to university?!

This thought terrified Liu Zhenyu.

"Here's your money back, the hundred yuan I borrowed from you a few days ago."

"That's not what I'm asking!" Liu Zhenyu grabbed Xie Lu's arm. "I'm asking you, where did you get the money? Are you... are you not planning to go to Wuhan University?"

His expression was serious.

Xie Lu laughed: "What are you thinking? How could I possibly not go to Wuhan University?"

Liu Zhenyu looked at the hundred yuan that Xie Lu handed him, puzzled.

He knew Xie Lu's family situation perfectly well; his parents were farmers, and their situation was much worse than his own. How could they possibly have so much money?

"Where did you get this money? Isn't your dad still trying to raise money? How do you have the money to pay me back?"

He grew increasingly agitated: "Luzi, I'm telling you, you absolutely have to go to Wuhan University! That bastard Li Hanwen, if he dares not give you your acceptance letter, I'll... I'll go to the Education Bureau and cause a scene! You absolutely can't give up on university because of money!"

Seeing his friend so anxious, Xie Lu felt a warmth in his heart.

"Don't rush, listen to me."

He stuffed the money into Liu Zhenyu's hand: "I've already received the notification letter. Li Hanwen didn't dare to ask for the money the day before yesterday, so he delivered it to me personally."

Liu Zhenyu was stunned: "He got it? He... he doesn't want the money anymore?"

Xie Lu shook his head: "No, the specific situation is a bit complicated. I'll explain it to you slowly later."

In short, I already have the admission letter from Wuhan University, and I'm definitely going there. I earned the money myself.

Hearing Xie Lu's words, Liu Zhenyu became even more confused.

"Earned it? How did you earn it?"

He paused for a moment.

A bad thought suddenly flashed through Liu Zhenyu's mind.

"No, Ritsuko, don't tell me you went to rob a bank!!"