Xu Xinghe looked at Zhang Qiang, who was being held captive, and couldn't help but smile slightly.

The operation began.

They were finally able to leave the forest farm.

While many educated youths were still watching the spectacle, a man who looked like an officer walked towards Xu Xinghe with a hint of respect on his face.

He extended his hand, gave a military salute, and said solemnly, "Comrade Xu, thank you for your hard work."

Xu Xinghe knew that her identity could be exposed.

She put down her hoe, extended her hand in return, and said, "You've all worked hard; we've finally waited for you."

The other educated youth around were dumbfounded.

Zhao Xiaoyan and Wang Lili were completely dumbfounded.

How did Li Juan come to know a soldier?

He was even called Comrade Xu?

At this moment, Jiang Linchuan also walked over from the group of male educated youth.

The leading soldier immediately turned to him and saluted. "Commander Jiang, thank you for your hard work. Your commendation ceremony has been approved by the higher-ups and will be arranged after the follow-up matters are handled. Would you like to leave with us now?"

"Okay." Jiang Linchuan nodded, his gaze falling on Xu Xinghe. "Please wait a moment, we'll go back and pack some things and come right away."

"No problem, we'll wait however long it takes." The soldier chuckled and said to the educated youth around him, "Everyone can go back to their own residences first and stay inside. Someone will explain the situation to you later."

The educated youth looked at each other, not daring to disobey, and all headed towards their dormitories.

Xu Xinghe and Jiang Linchuan were among them.

Zhao Xiaoyan and Wang Lili quickly followed, their faces full of doubt.

As soon as they entered the dormitory, Zhao Xiaoyan couldn't help but grab Xu Xinghe's arm and ask anxiously, "Li Juan... no, Comrade Xu? What's going on? Who are you? Why do those soldiers know you?"

Seeing their curious and shocked expressions, Xu Xinghe smiled and extended her hand. "Let me reintroduce myself. My name is Xu Xinghe, and I work for the Heilongjiang Provincial Military Department. I'm here at the forest farm disguised as an educated youth on a secret mission. Due to confidentiality regulations, I can't tell you the specifics of the mission for now."

She added, "But don't worry, the mission is complete, and someone will explain things to you about Zhang Qiang. If you ever have the chance to visit Heilongjiang Province, you can come and visit me, and I'll treat you to Heilongjiang's specialty dishes."

After saying that, she picked up her small cloth bag and turned to go to the wash area outside the dormitory.

For the past few days, she had been covering her face with black paint to disguise herself, but now that the mission was over, she could finally take off her disguise.

Sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), Zhao Xiaoyan still couldn't believe it. She grabbed Wang Lili's hand, her voice trembling, "Lili, am I dreaming? It turns out Li Juan's real name isn't Li Juan at all. She's actually a soldier! And she's here on a secret mission!"

Wang Lili nodded, equally incredulous, "I can't believe it either! I never imagined she was so amazing..."

She suddenly remembered what she had done before, and her face flushed with embarrassment.

If Xu Xinghe were just an ordinary person, then he would only be embarrassed.

But the other party was not an educated youth, but a soldier who came to carry out a mission.

Thinking back to how she had targeted Xu Xinghe before, she couldn't help but feel a little scared. "Xiaoyan, do you think... Comrade Xu won't hold a grudge against me for what I did before and will arrest me?"

Zhao Xiaoyan immediately patted her hand and comforted her, "Don't be afraid, she's not that kind of person. Although her identity is fake, our time together these past few days has been real."

A short while later, Xu Xinghe finished washing up and returned to her dormitory.

She washed off the black powder from her face, revealing her originally fair skin. Her hair was also neatly combed, and she was wearing a clean shirt. She looked refreshing and beautiful, completely different from the Li Juan who had dark skin and freckles before.

The female educated youths were stunned and gathered around, exclaiming, "Comrade Xu, you're so beautiful! Were you just pretending to be beautiful for the mission?"

“Yes,” Xu Xinghe nodded with a smile, “The more convincing the disguise, the better we can carry out the mission.”

She shook hands with each of the female educated youth and said goodbye earnestly, "Thank you all for taking care of me during this time. I'm leaving now. I hope we can meet again someday."

After saying that, she slung her cloth bag over her shoulder and walked out of the dormitory.

Unlike the lively female educated youth dormitory, the male educated youth dormitory was quiet.

When Jiang Linchuan pushed the door open, several male educated youths were sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), looking at each other, none of them daring to speak first.

Just now, seeing Jiang Linchuan being addressed as "commander" by soldiers in the field, and knowing that he and Li Juan were both carrying out secret missions, everyone felt both curious and in awe. Even Zhang Guoming, who was usually the most talkative, lost his usual chatter.

Jiang Linchuan ignored everyone's restraint and went straight to his bunk to start packing his things.

His luggage was simple, consisting of only a cloth bag containing a few changes of clothes and stationery and a fountain pen that he had bought in town.

He deftly folded the items, put them into the cloth bag, and zipped it up. He didn't say a word throughout the entire process; the only sound in the dormitory was the soft rustling of the fabric.

"Comrade Jiang... Comrade Jiang." Finally, Zhang Guoming couldn't help but speak, his voice still a little tight, "You... are you leaving?"

Jiang Linchuan nodded, picked up the cloth bag, and looked at everyone. "Well, the mission is complete, it's time to go. You all work hard here. Someone will come to handle the affairs of the forest farm later. There will be a better captain in the future, and your lives will gradually improve."

His tone was calm, no longer silent as before, and more gentle.

Zhang Guoming was silent for a moment, then asked again, "Is Chen Yifan's coma related to you?"

After these words were spoken, the dormitory became even quieter.

All the other male educated youths turned to look at Jiang Linchuan.

Ever since Chen Yifan was sent away, everyone had a feeling that something was amiss, but no one dared to ask.

How could a perfectly healthy person suddenly fall into a deep sleep and never wake up, and then be sent to an outside hospital?

There's definitely something wrong here!

Jiang Linchuan nodded frankly, "Yes, it has something to do with me."

The male educated youth held their breath, waiting for him to continue.

“Chen Yifan stumbled upon a crucial part of our mission,” Jiang Linchuan explained. “If we don’t deal with it, it could expose our identities and allow Zhang Qiang to find out in advance. In that case, not only will the mission fail, but Zhang Qiang might also take the opportunity to escape. But don’t worry, I didn’t hurt him. I just made him temporarily unconscious. He will be back soon after Xinghe and I leave, and there won’t be any aftereffects.”

Everyone then realized the truth, and their doubts were resolved.

Zhang Guoming scratched his head and said embarrassedly, "I see. We thought you... Sigh, we were overthinking it."

"It's nothing." Jiang Linchuan smiled, turned around and walked out. "I should go now. See you again someday."

Several male educated youths quickly got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and hurried after him.

One of the educated youths blushed and mustered his courage to ask, "Comrade Jiang, can we...can educated youths like us join the army?"