Over the next three days, the atmosphere at the forest farm changed noticeably.

Zhang Qiang, who used to frequently attend meetings in town and occasionally go out, not only never left the forest farm, but also went to the planting area where the educated youth worked every day.

He would either squat on the edge of the field smoking and observing, or patrol around the various areas, his gaze always frequently falling on Jiang Linchuan.

Liu Hu and his group of former educated youth originally wanted to find an excuse to slack off, but when they saw Zhang Qiang watching them every day, they all restrained their arrogance, buried themselves in their work, and didn't even dare to chat loudly with others.

Xu Xinghe saw this and became secretly wary.

Zhang Qiang's unusual behavior was clearly an attempt to observe, especially Jiang Linchuan.

Jiang Linchuan seemed oblivious, continuing to work as usual every day.

He always finished his own task efficiently first, and then no matter how many times Xu Xinghe said she didn't need help, he would silently walk to her area, take the small shovel and help with soiling and watering, his movements quick and steady.

Sometimes, after helping Xu Xinghe, he would also take the initiative to help the elderly villagers move saplings and repair irrigation ditches.

The villagers thanked him politely, but he only nodded in response, as taciturn as a stone that could never be warmed.

All of this was observed by Zhang Qiang, who was not far away.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, as the sun began to set, Zhang Qiang finally got up and walked over to Jiang Linchuan. He pointed to the farm tools piled up not far away and said, "Li Guowei, go and sharpen those hoes and sickles, and check the tarpaulins in the warehouse. We'll need them tomorrow."

That was clearly extra work, and it was time-consuming. Other educated youth might have complained, but Jiang Linchuan just glanced at Zhang Qiang, didn't say a word, put down the small shovel in his hand, and walked towards the pile of farm tools.

He squatted beside the millstone, picked up a hoe and carefully polished the stone. His movements were so focused that he simply wiped the sweat from his forehead into his eyes with the back of his hand.

Zhang Qiang stood aside and watched for a while, then suddenly asked, "Where is your hometown? Who else is in your family?"

Jiang Linchuan didn't stop what he was doing, and answered in a steady voice, "My hometown is in northern Hebei. I have parents and a younger sister. My sister and Li Juan used to study in the city together. Later, in response to the call, I went to the countryside."

He spoke of Li Guowei's background in a pre-prepared manner, his tone natural and without any flaws.

Zhang Qiang asked a few more questions, and Jiang Linchuan answered them all, neither appearing talkative nor deliberately concealing anything, maintaining a calm demeanor throughout.

Zhang Qiang didn't ask any further questions, nodded, and turned to leave the planting area.

That night, all the lights at the educated youth settlement were turned off.

Liu Hu was suddenly summoned to Zhang Qiang's house.

There was only one kerosene lamp lit in the main room, and the light was dim.

Zhang Qiang sat in a chair, his face unreadable. "Tomorrow, take a few men and go cause some trouble for those new educated youth."

He lowered his voice and said, “Don’t go too far. Just deliberately find fault with them while they are working. For example, complain that the spacing between the saplings they planted is not right, or say that they are being lazy. Make them do more work, but don’t make too much noise. But let them know that the forest farm is not a place they can stay whichever they want.”

Liu Hu was stunned, his mind filled with doubt.

Just a few days ago, Zhang Qiang was keeping an eye on them to prevent them from causing trouble. How come he suddenly asked him to bully the new educated youth?

But he didn't dare ask too many questions. He knew Zhang Qiang's temper; asking too many questions would only get him scolded.

He nodded quickly, "Understood, Captain Zhang, I'll take care of it tomorrow."

Zhang Qiang grunted in agreement and waved for him to leave.

As soon as Liu Hu stepped out of the Zhang family's gate, he saw Zhang Qiang blow out the kerosene lamp, plunging the main room into darkness.

He scratched the back of his head, still unable to figure out Zhang Qiang's thoughts, but didn't think much of it.

Anyway, just do whatever Zhang Qiang tells you to do. Maybe you can take the opportunity to mess with Jiang Linchuan and vent your anger after being beaten last time.

Meanwhile, in the back hills where the educated youth were staying, Xu Xinghe was speaking to Jiang Linchuan in a low voice, "Zhang Qiang has been watching you these past few days, he's definitely testing you. What did he ask you when he spoke to you today?"

Jiang Linchuan shook his head, his eyes darkening. "He didn't ask any more questions, but Liu Hu just went out. I saw that he went to Zhang Qiang's house. Maybe something will happen later."

Xu Xinghe frowned. "What do we do then? Could it be that he's discovered something?"

"Don't make any rash moves yet." Jiang Linchuan was quite calm. He felt that Zhang Qiang shouldn't have discovered their identities, but rather had other plans. "Let's see what Liu Hu does tomorrow. What we need to do now is to keep things stable and not let Zhang Qiang see any flaws."

Xu Xinghe nodded, "Okay, I'll head back now."

She returned to her dorm, pretended to have just finished washing up, and crawled into bed.

Wang Lili was still awake when she heard the noise. She snorted coldly, "Some people, instead of sleeping at night, just want to disturb others."

Xu Xinghe ignored her completely and closed her eyes.

Wang Lili said a few words to herself, and when no one paid attention, she finally quieted down.

The next morning.

Planting area.

Liu Hu, accompanied by two veteran educated youths, waited early in the morning near the area where the new educated youths were stationed. He played with a small shovel in his hand, and his eyes were full of provocation when he swept over Zhang Guoming and the others.

Zhang Guoming had just squatted down to add soil to the sapling when Liu Hu walked over and kicked the pile of soil around his feet, shouting, "What kind of soil is this? You didn't even break up the clods! Do you want the sapling to die? Do it again!"

Looking at the scattered soil, Zhang Guoming felt wronged but dared not refute it.

Liu Hu was the leader of the older educated youth, and the new educated youth couldn't afford to offend him. They could only silently pick up their hoes and break up the clods of earth again.

The other new educated youths nearby were not spared either. They were either told that the spacing between the saplings was wrong or that they were watered too quickly. They were all flustered and overwhelmed, but they didn't dare to utter a single complaint.

After Liu Hu finished messing with the others, he went straight to Jiang Linchuan's side.

Jiang Linchuan was focused on pruning the dead branches of the saplings when Liu Hu snatched the scissors from his hand and threw them on the ground. "Li Guowei, what kind of shoddy work are you doing? You've cut off all the good branches, are you trying to ruin these saplings on purpose?"

Jiang Linchuan looked up at him, his eyes cold, but he didn't say anything. He bent down, picked up the scissors, and continued trimming.

Seeing that he was being ignored, Liu Hu became even more arrogant, reaching out to push over a newly planted sapling next to him. "Didn't you hear me tell you to stop? Can't you understand human language?"

Jiang Linchuan finally stopped what he was doing, stood up, stared at Liu Hu, and said in an icy voice, "Get lost, or I'll take action."

Liu Hu sneered, "You still dare to lay a hand on me? Do you believe that the captain will throw you into some godforsaken place?"

"I'm not afraid, but before I leave, I'll definitely make you suffer first."

Looking at Jiang Linchuan's eyes, Liu Hu ultimately didn't dare to actually step forward.

That kid really went all out!

He still remembers the pain from last time.

But he was unwilling to leave just like that. He turned around and saw Chen Yifan not far away, and immediately had an idea.

Chen Yifan wore glasses and was thin; he looked like someone who could be easily bullied.

He was carefully watering the saplings when Liu Hu and his men walked over. One of the older educated youths kicked him in the leg, and Chen Yifan lost his balance and fell into the mud. His glasses also fell off, and the lens cracked.

"You can't even water properly? Have you been slacking off every day these days?" Liu Hu looked down at him, his tone full of sarcasm.

Seeing this, Jiang Linchuan could no longer hold back. He quickly walked over and helped Chen Yifan up. "Get out of here, all of you! If you dare to cause trouble again, don't blame me for being impolite!"