This is the secret code agreed upon by the military.

Uncle Li's eyes softened instantly. He stepped aside to let her in and lowered his voice, "Come in quickly. From now on, you'll be the youngest child in my brother's family. You're the fifth child, so just call me Uncle."

Xu Xinghe strode into the courtyard, and Uncle Li immediately closed the wooden door and bolted it shut.

The courtyard was small but kept very clean, with firewood piled in the corner and dried crops hanging under the eaves.

“The military has told me everything.” Uncle Li led her into the house and poured her a bowl of cold water. “Don’t worry, you can stay here. No one will suspect you. This village is small, and everyone is related by blood. Besides, my brother is indeed in a neighboring province, so no one will ask any questions.”

Xu Xinghe took the cool water, drank it all in one gulp, relieving the heat from the journey, and said softly, "Thank you, Uncle Li, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"Don't trouble yourself." Uncle Li waved his hand and pointed towards the corner of the courtyard. "Go and rest in the west room for a while. The bedding is freshly aired and very clean. After you've rested enough, I'll take you for a walk in the fields. You know how to work, right?"

"Yes, I have done a lot of farm work before." Xu Xinghe nodded immediately. She had been a sent-down youth for several months and had to work every day, so this was a piece of cake for her.

Uncle Li smiled with relief, "That's good. Sending you to the fields isn't really for you to do the work, it's just for show. The main thing is to let you show your face in the village and let everyone know you. This village is small, and if an outsider comes to any house, it will be a big deal. Once everyone gets used to seeing you, no one will suspect anything when you go out."

Xu Xinghe understood; this was exactly what she wanted.

She followed Uncle Li to the west room, pushed open the door, and was greeted by a refreshing, sun-dried scent.

The room was spotless, with brand-new coarse cloth bedding neatly folded on the earthen bed, and an old wooden box in the corner polished to a shine, clearly prepared by Li Bo.

"Just call me if you need anything. I'm tidying up the farm tools in the main room." After saying that, Uncle Li turned and left, giving her plenty of space.

Xu Xinghe locked the door, quickly placed her cloth bag on the wooden box, and took out a few changes of clothes from her storage space and put them away.

We must put on a good show.

She checked the birthmark on her face to make sure it hadn't faded, then adjusted her headscarf again, opened the door, and walked out of the room.

Uncle Li was already waiting for her at the gate of the courtyard with a bamboo basket containing a water bottle and a few coarse grain cakes. "Let's go, let's go to the village chief's house to say hello first, and then take a stroll in the fields."

The two locked the courtyard gate and walked towards the center of the village.

The afternoon sun was still scorching, and there were few people on the main road in the village, as most were busy working in the fields.

As they passed by a few houses, the elderly people sitting in the shade at the door curiously peeked out and looked at Xu Xinghe. When they saw the birthmark on Xu Xinghe's face, their eyes paused for a moment before they quickly looked away.

When we arrived at the village chief's house, rice was drying in the yard.

The village chief was a slightly overweight old man, probably in his sixties. When he saw Uncle Li bringing a stranger, he immediately came forward to greet him, "Brother Li, who is this?"

“This is my younger brother’s fifth child, named Su Xiao. He’s from a neighboring province and helps me with some farm work,” Uncle Li introduced, handing over Xu Xinghe’s letter of introduction. “This is a certificate issued by the village. Village chief, please take a look.”

The village chief took the letter of introduction, glanced at it, and then looked Xu Xinghe up and down a few times. His gaze lingered on the birthmark on her face for a moment before he nodded. "Okay, I understand. We're all family, so you can stay here. Come back to me for a certificate when you leave."

"Thank you for your trouble, Village Chief." Xu Xinghe lowered her head, her voice timid, perfectly befitting the shy demeanor of a country girl.

After leaving the village chief's house, the two headed towards the fields outside the village.

As soon as I reached the edge of the field, many villagers who were working there looked over.

Lijia'ao is a small village, and it's rare for outsiders to come here on weekdays. Everyone was curiously looking at Xu Xinghe.

"Uncle Li, is this your relative?" A man hoeing the ground asked first, full of curiosity.

"Yes, it's my younger brother's daughter, she came to lend me a hand," Uncle Li replied with a smile, while giving Xu Xinghe a wink.

Xu Xinghe immediately lowered her head, pretending to be shy as she hid behind Uncle Li, tightly gripping the handle of the bamboo basket in her hand.

"She's quite slim, but that face..." Another man clicked his tongue, and before he could finish speaking, his eyes were fixed on the birthmark on Xu Xinghe's face, his tone carrying a hint of disgust.

Several men around him echoed his sentiments, with one even muttering, "Tsk tsk, this birthmark is so ugly, it looks like a dirty thing."

The sound wasn't loud, but it reached Xu Xinghe's ears clearly.

She felt nothing, and even a little relieved.

This is exactly the effect she wanted.

She pursed her lips slightly, feigning grievance, and lowered her head even further.

Uncle Li frowned and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about! Don't spout off."

After saying that, he turned to comfort Xu Xinghe, "Xiao girl, don't take it to heart, they're just gossipy."

"It's alright, Uncle," Xu Xinghe replied softly, which made the villagers think she was weak and not a threat.

Those men who had originally wanted to come up and talk to her, to inquire about the situation, lost interest immediately upon seeing Xu Xinghe's birthmark and her appearance. They all turned back to their work, and when someone occasionally glanced over, their eyes showed obvious aloofness.

Xu Xinghe followed Uncle Li to his own field.

Uncle Li gave her a small hoe, saying, "You can just weed here. Don't overdo it, just do a little bit."

"Hmm." Xu Xinghe took the hoe, squatted down, and pretended to be seriously weeding along the edge of the field.

Her movements were not awkward at all; she clearly had experience with farm work.

As she pulled the weeds, she discreetly observed her surroundings.

The villagers in the fields were mostly busy working, occasionally chatting about everyday matters and the harvest, nothing unusual.

But she could sense several gazes falling on her from time to time, clearly still keeping an eye on her as an outsider.

Xu Xinghe didn't care. As long as she kept looking like this and showed her face in the village a few more times, people would gradually get used to her presence and stop paying too much attention to her.

At that time, she will be able to use various pretexts to secretly investigate and search for Jiang Linchuan's whereabouts.

As the sun gradually sets in the west, the heat in the air slowly dissipates.

Uncle Li glanced at the sky and said, "Alright, that's enough for today. Let's go back."

Xu Xinghe put down his hoe and followed him into the village.

Along the way, no one came up to talk to them.

Xu Xinghe breathed a sigh of relief upon returning to Uncle Li's house.

He had succeeded in his first step, gaining a foothold in Lijia'ao and acquiring a legitimate identity and a reason to stay.

Next, we just need to wait patiently and observe from the sidelines.

An investigation is never a quick process, especially since her very existence is dangerous, so we must be extremely careful.

Just as Jiang Linchuan said, the more critical the situation, the more important it is to stay calm so as not to make mistakes.