Chapter 138: Then Write a Statement

Han Li paid no attention to how things had ultimately turned out, because his feigned drunkenness had long since become genuine sleep.

When everyone was breaking up, however, Zhang Xiangjun shook him awake.

Han Li narrowed his eyes and surveyed the situation around him. Sun Yong, Xiong Xianjin, and the others were at least eighty percent drunk; their tongues had grown thick, and their steps had already begun to stagger.

Zhou Guoan looked much like Han Li. He was being supported back toward the educated-youth compound by Sun Yong and Xiong Xianjin.

Apart from her flushed cheeks, Wu Lili was perfectly fine. Her steps did not waver in the slightest.

Zhang Xiangjun was still in decent condition. At the very least, he was able to help Han Li back home.

Once inside, he laid Han Li on the brick bed, pulled out a quilt from the bed cabinet, draped it over him, and left.

The moment Zhang Xiangjun was gone, Han Li became completely alert. He sniffed himself with disgust, catching the heavy smell of smoke and alcohol clinging to his body.

He had barely eaten any meat and had only taken a few drinks, yet all he had gained was a body reeking of tobacco and liquor.

Han Li went into the courtyard, fastened the street gate securely, and then hummed the Ussuri Boat Song he had heard earlier as he went to bathe.

“Ah, lang-he-na, ah, lang-he-na; ah, lang-he-he-na, he-lei-he-he-na; ah, lang-he-na, he-lei-ge-gen.”

It was naturally too late to heat any water, but Han Li’s body could easily endure a cold bath.

Since he was about to sleep, Han Li did not bother putting on clothes after bathing. Carrying a kerosene lamp, he returned to the inner room—and was startled by what he saw.

A bedding roll had already been laid out on his brick bed, and someone was burrowed inside it.

Only the top of the person’s head was visible. Han Li could not tell who was hiding beneath the quilt.

“Who is it?”

A wooden club instantly appeared in Han Li’s other hand. If the figure under the quilt made the slightest suspicious movement, he would swing it without hesitation.

“It’s me. Han Li, don’t be nervous.”

“Jiang Xiaoli? I remember fastening the street gate. How did you get in? And what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?”

Jiang Xiaoli sat up from beneath the quilt, revealing the upper half of her body. She was wearing nothing but a camisole.

Under the hazy lamplight, Han Li suddenly recalled descriptions from several ancient poems.

Two crimson lanterns, reflected in whose eyes? Plump, ripened fruit—who would be the one to gather it?

The meaning conveyed by those verses was far more provocative than his secret flirtations with Yun Yingying.

He then extended his spiritual sense and carefully examined the surroundings. When he confirmed that Jiang Xiaoli was alone, his heart finally relaxed.

“When I came over, you were drinking with Sun Yong and the others. At first, I couldn’t make up my mind. But when I saw you pretending to be drunk, I finally decided.”

“Jiang Xiaoli, what exactly are you implying?”

“Ha! You still don’t understand? You’re courting Yun Yingying. Her sister and she eat and drink at your expense—have they still not given themselves to you? To be honest, I’ve had enough of these days with no future in sight. I don’t want to remain in Upper River Village any longer.”

Han Li secretly swallowed and said, “Heh. You don’t need to concern yourself with Yingying and me. But if you want this recruitment position, why have you come here? I don’t have the ability to help you secure it.”

Jiang Xiaoli said expressionlessly, “No, you do. Even that brute Sun Yong knows enough to host dinners and win people over. Surely I can fight for my own future.”

“There’s nothing wrong with fighting for it. But what are you doing sneaking into my bed dressed like that?”

“Ha. There are seventeen educated youths in Upper River Village. Only four of the older ones are qualified to take part in this recruitment, but there is only one position. The other thirteen have to vote. Xiong Xianjin, Zhou Guoan, Zhang Xiangjun, and Wu Lili have more or less been won over by Sun Yong. I’ve persuaded only Qi Ruying and Yuan Hongying. Hao Hongmei, Yang Xiuying, He Mi, and Qi Zhaodi have never given me a definite answer, and there’s no need even to mention the Yun sisters.”

At this point, Jiang Xiaoli paused. She studied Han Li seriously for a moment before continuing.

“Sun Yong probably thinks that winning you over is the same as securing three votes, including Yun Jingjing and Yun Yingying. But I know Hao Hongmei and the others will follow your opinion. You alone can influence seven votes. Add Qi Ruying and Yuan Hongying, and I would be certain to win. As long as I’m willing to take this step, I can leave Upper River Village and escape this life of bending over the fields beneath the open sky. Besides, you’re very handsome. If I give you my first time, I won’t exactly be losing out.”

After saying this, Jiang Xiaoli moved straight to the edge of the brick bed and reached out to seize Han Li, who had just bathed and had not yet put on his clothes.

Han Li slipped aside, avoiding her hand, and looked at Jiang Xiaoli with a greedy yet complicated expression.

After all, she was an educated youth from the city, and she kept herself exceptionally clean and neat.

Her features were attractive, and the skin of her face was a healthy wheat color.

She wore a camisole that left her navel exposed, along with a pair of loose cropped trousers reaching halfway down her calves.

Her skin was not especially fair or delicate, but she radiated the vitality and beauty of youth.

Especially in an era when people often had to work in the fields, her body had not a trace of excess fat, giving her a distinctly wild and vigorous allure.

Jiang Xiaoli stared blankly for a moment after Han Li avoided her. Then she buried her face between her knees and began to cry.

Han Li secretly swallowed again. As though he had made some sort of decision, he said to Jiang Xiaoli, “A man who refuses an advantage placed before him is a fool. But if you insist on doing this, you must first write me a statement.”

Her sobbing stopped at once. Jiang Xiaoli raised her head in confusion and looked at him.

“What kind of statement?”

“I’ll draft it shortly. Once you’ve read it and agreed, you can copy it out and press your fingerprint on it.”

Jiang Xiaoli hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Han Li took out paper and a pen and began drafting the statement.

His mind was working at full capacity. He added every detail and every possible circumstance he could think of.

It was a statement placing complete responsibility on Jiang Xiaoli. Morally, ethically, legally, and in every other respect, Han Li would stand as the innocent party.

If Jiang Xiaoli agreed to sign it, even a lawyer from a later era would have wept upon reading it.

Han Li wrote rapidly beneath the lamplight. Jiang Xiaoli sat beside him with her arms folded, her thoughts unknowable. The room was utterly silent.

Only when Han Li placed the finished statement before her did Jiang Xiaoli return to her senses.

But she had not even finished half of it before angrily throwing it aside. Pointing at Han Li, she said furiously, “Absolutely not! If I write this statement in my own hand, then my life will truly be over!”

Thanks to Wandering Taoist You Sifang for the five-hundred-point tip.

Thanks to Xiao Se Nei Wai for the one-hundred-point tip.

End of chapter.