Jiang Linchuan immediately stepped forward, blocking Xu Xinghe, his tone icy, "No need to trouble you, I can help her. We're siblings, it's only right that we help each other."
The old educated youth paused for a moment, looked at Jiang Linchuan, and then at Xu Xinghe, "Alright, then you two siblings can work on it together. Ask me if you don't understand anything."
After saying that, he turned and left, without staying as he had said he would.
The two squatted in the nursery, pretending to tend to the seedlings, and talked quickly in hushed tones.
"Zhang Qiang seems to be a master of disguise. If I hadn't known beforehand, I would never have guessed he was a spy," Xu Xinghe said softly as she loosened the soil around the seedlings with a small shovel, her eyes warily scanning her surroundings.
Jiang Linchuan nodded, his hands still moving. "He's been able to lie low for so long, he must be good at deceiving people. We have to be extra careful when we contact him in the future. We need to give Zhang Qiang a code name to avoid directly using words like 'spy,' or it will be troublesome if someone overhears it."
He thought for a moment, then glanced at the poplar saplings not far away. "Let's just call it Poplar. There are poplars everywhere in the forest, so it won't stand out. In the future, when you want to talk about him, just mention the poplars in the forest first, and then continue with the story. Understand?"
"Understood." Xu Xinghe's heart skipped a beat. "So what should we do next? Should we try to get close to him and look for clues in the documents?"
“Not for now.” Jiang Linchuan shook his head, his tone cautious. “We’ve just arrived at the forest farm and haven’t settled in yet. Yang Shu is definitely observing us. Paying too much attention to him now will only arouse suspicion. Let’s focus on our work, get along well with the other educated youth, and find an opportunity to contact him and inquire about the whereabouts of the documents once we’re familiar with the situation at the forest farm.”
Xu Xinghe nodded, agreeing with Jiang Linchuan's point.
She kept her head down and continued tending the seedlings, but out of the corner of her eye, she kept an eye on the movements around her.
Several other educated youths were working in the nursery, and the voices of male educated youths could be heard from time to time on the wasteland in the distance.
The May sun gradually rose higher, dispelling the chill of the morning.
"Time to eat!" A shout came from the direction of the educated youth settlement, and the educated youth working put down their tools and walked towards the source of the sound.
After a morning of physical exertion, everyone was starving, and their pace was faster than usual.
Xu Xinghe straightened up and rubbed her slightly sore back. Jiang Linchuan walked over quickly and took the small shovel from her hand. "You must be exhausted. Go eat first. Take it easy this afternoon and don't push yourself."
"I'm fine, you are. Be careful of your back carrying so many stones," Xu Xinghe replied softly. The two followed behind the group of educated youth, walking slowly and observing the surrounding route and environment.
The forest farm's kitchen was a large tile-roofed house with several old wooden tables, on which rough porcelain bowls and chopsticks were already laid out.
The person in charge of distributing the food was an old woman with a wrinkled face. She was holding a large iron ladle and serving corn porridge to the educated youth. Later, each of them would also receive a coarse grain steamed bun.
"New educated youth, wait a moment, I have something to tell you." A dark-skinned, older educated youth who looked to be in his early twenties walked over. His name was Lao Zhou. He had been in the forest farm for a year and was the group leader among the older educated youth.
He held a bowl of corn porridge in his hand, his tone somewhat serious, "We don't eat for free at our forest farm. We have to exchange our grain for work points. Since you've just arrived and haven't accumulated any work points, the farm will give you a month's worth of grain, just enough to barely survive. After a month, the grain distribution will be based on the work points you earn each month. The fewer work points you have, the less grain you'll get. If you're lazy and try to cheat and don't earn any work points, then you really won't have any food to eat."
Zhao Xiaoyan had just taken a bowl and was about to eat when she heard this and was immediately stunned. "Huh? We have to use work points to exchange for food? What if... what if we don't have enough work points and really can't get food? Won't the forest farm take care of us? They can't just watch us go hungry, can they?"
She grew up in the city and knew the principle of working for food, but she didn't expect the forest farm to be so strict, with no room for maneuver.
Upon hearing this, Old Zhou sneered, "Don't get your hopes up. This forest farm isn't as nice as you think, nor is it as humane as you imagine. Not only will you not have enough work points to eat, but even if you're sick and can't work, it's common for nobody to care about you."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the new educated youth present, his tone becoming more serious, "Let me tell you, here you can only rely on your own hard work to earn work points. Don't expect others to help you, and don't even think about slacking off. Everyone must remember, there's no such thing as a free lunch."
After saying that, he glanced at Xu Xinghe before turning around and going to the next table.
Xu Xinghe pursed her lips. She hadn't expected that this forest farm not only harbored spies, but also that the living conditions of the educated youth were so cruel.
Moreover, judging from what Lao Zhou said, something must have happened in the past, otherwise he wouldn't have needed to bring it up specifically.
Looking at the corn porridge in her hand, Zhao Xiaoyan lost her appetite and whispered to Xu Xinghe, "Li Juan, what are we going to do? I've never done such heavy work at home before. What if we don't earn work points and we really can't eat?"
Xu Xinghe patted her arm and comforted her in a low voice, "Don't worry, if we work hard, we'll earn work points eventually. If things get really tough, we can help each other out and get through this."
Jiang Linchuan walked over, said nothing, but gestured with his eyes for her to eat first.
Lunchtime passed quickly.
After quickly finishing their meal, the educated youth had to return to their respective posts to continue working.
Because of her long-term use of the spiritual spring, Xu Xinghe has excellent physical condition. Even if she works all day, she has no discomfort except for a slight backache.
But Zhao Xiaoyan and Wang Lili are different. They both grew up in the city and were always in school. They might have helped with some housework, but it was nothing compared to the workload they have now.
After finishing her work for the day, even the usually lively and cheerful Zhao Xiaoyan fell silent, her face looking strained.
Wang Lili was even worse off than her; her steps were heavy, and she seemed to want to drag herself along.
Seeing them like this, Xu Xinghe also showed that she was very tired. After all, her persona was that she was not in good health, and it would be bad if someone noticed something was wrong.
Back to the educated youth settlement.
Zhao Xiaoyan lay on the kang (a heated brick bed), staring blankly at the dark ceiling. "Won't we be like this every day from now on?"
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