Every word they said was a veiled reference to Jiang Linchuan, and their tone was full of threats.
Jiang Linchuan ignored him and went straight to the tap, turned on the water, and began to wash up.
The rushing water washed over the enamel basin, also diluting the provocative words.
He knew that Liu Hu was warning him, trying to make him back down.
He's unlikely to back down, but he'll pretend nothing happened for the time being.
It wasn't out of fear, it was for the sake of the mission.
After washing up, Jiang Linchuan picked up the basin and turned to leave, not even lifting his eyelids as he passed by Liu Hu.
Liu Hu stared at his straight back, his face darkening. He spat out a curse, "Damn, this kid's got guts. Just you wait and see!"
The fifth day since arriving at the forest farm.
Suddenly, news came from the forest farm office that the brigade leader, Zhang Qiang, was going to hold a bonfire party in the open space and had even specially ordered a sheep to be slaughtered to roast a whole lamb to improve everyone's meals.
As soon as the news spread, the educated youth and the villagers of the forest farm got excited and rushed to the open space to help set up scaffolding and gather firewood.
When Xu Xinghe followed Zhao Xiaoyan to the open space, it was already bustling with activity.
The bonfire was set up, and several villagers were busy tending to the sheep. Zhang Qiang stood in the middle of the group, smiling and directing everyone's work. He would chat and laugh with the villagers from time to time, appearing very approachable.
Xu Xinghe saw this and became secretly wary.
The fact that so many people believed them shows that their disguise was indeed flawless.
Instead of joining the other educated youth, she noticed several women nearby who were busy preparing seasonings.
Xu Xinghe straightened her clothes, gave a shy smile, and stepped forward to speak, "Auntie, let me help you pass things. You seem too busy."
Aunt Wang, who was in charge, glanced at her and, seeing her well-behaved appearance, smiled and replied, "Good, little girl, you're so sensible. What's your name?"
"My name is Li Juan. I'm a new educated youth. I've only been here a few days, and there are still many things I don't understand." Xu Xinghe said while helping to hand over the salt container. "I'm afraid I don't know the rules of the forest farm and might accidentally do something wrong and upset everyone. I wanted to ask the aunties what the rules are like in the forest farm."
While stirring the seasonings, Aunt Wang casually replied, "There aren't many rules, just work hard to earn work points and don't be lazy. By the way, if you need anything, you can ask Captain Zhang. He's a good guy and will definitely help you."
"And the vice-captain? The vice-captain greeted me when I arrived," Xu Xinghe asked casually.
“The deputy captain…” Aunt Wang paused, lowering her voice, “He’s not a bad person, but he’s cold-hearted and not easy to get along with. He doesn’t talk much and is indifferent to everyone, unlike Captain Zhang who is so warm.”
Aunt Li, standing nearby, nodded in agreement. "That's right! Captain Zhang is a truly good person. Who in our forest farm hasn't received help from him? A while ago, my son was sick and had a fever in the middle of the night. It was Captain Zhang who personally took us to the clinic and didn't even ask us to pay back the medical expenses he paid."
When Zhang Qiang was mentioned, Aunt Li's tone was full of gratitude. "He is kind and thoughtful, and he is good to the educated youth. You newcomers will definitely be right to follow him."
Xu Xinghe smiled and agreed. No wonder everyone praised Zhang Qiang so highly; it turned out he had done so much. Even if there were something unusual about such a person, it would be hard to suspect him.
Xu Xinghe didn't linger. She went to the other side to help the aunties who were skewering meat. She used the same trick again, "Aunties, you've worked hard. Let me lend a hand. I'm new here and don't know the team leader and deputy team leader very well. Could you tell me about them? I'd like to know how to get along with them in the future."
"Captain Zhang is such a good man in our forest farm!" Aunt Liu, who was skewering meat, immediately chimed in. "Last winter, there was a lot of snow, and many villagers didn't have enough firewood. It was Captain Zhang who organized the educated youth to help chop firewood and deliver it to them. Sometimes, when the farm didn't distribute enough food to the educated youth, he would even pay out of his own pocket to give them some extra. You couldn't find such a good cadre even with a lantern!"
The other women also praised Zhang Qiang, one after another, from helping villagers solve their problems to taking care of the educated youth, there were so many things he did that they couldn't even count them all.
Next, Xu Xinghe took the opportunity to chat with many people, and not one of them said a bad word about Zhang Qiang.
She silently kept it all in her heart.
Zhang Qiang has a very strong fan base, and he has been pretending for so many years, it's really hard to find any flaws in his story.
At this moment, Zhang Qiang walked over with a smile, holding several skewers of freshly grilled meat in his hand, and handed them to everyone, saying, "You've all worked hard, have a taste first, the whole roasted lamb will be ready in a bit."
Xu Xinghe quickly accepted it, bowed her head and thanked him, "Thank you, Captain Zhang."
Zhang Qiang looked at her and said gently, "Li Juan, are you settling in alright? If you have any difficulties, just tell me. Don't be shy."
"I'm used to it, everyone takes good care of me." Xu Xinghe still pretended to be shy, not daring to look him in the eye for too long, afraid that he would see through her act.
Zhang Qiang seemed to have just asked casually, and quickly went elsewhere.
The atmosphere of the bonfire party grew more and more lively. The fat from the roasted whole lamb dripped onto the charcoal fire, sizzling and releasing a fragrant aroma that wafted far and wide.
Xu Xinghe sat around the campfire with the others, holding a piece of shredded mutton in her hand. The meat was tender and had a faint cumin flavor.
The village aunt next to her enthusiastically taught her to sing folk songs from eastern Mongolia, the lyrics of which were full of the vastness of the grasslands and the boldness of the herdsmen.
Xu Xinghe studied diligently, occasionally singing off-key, which made everyone laugh. The tense nerves gradually relaxed amidst the laughter.
Jiang Linchuan sat not far away, glancing at her from time to time. Seeing that she got along well with the villagers, the worry in his eyes faded slightly.
He held a skewer of meat in his hand, but didn't eat much of it, focusing most of his attention on the people around him.
Jiang Linchuan became even more wary of Zhang Qiang, who was surrounded by villagers and chatted and laughed with them with ease.
The party only ended when the moon rose to mid-sky and the bonfire gradually died down.
The educated youth walked towards their settlement in twos and threes.
Xu Xinghe and Zhao Xiaoyan walked together, humming the folk song they had just learned.
Just as Xu Xinghe reached the entrance of the educated youth settlement, a female educated youth in gray clothes suddenly caught up with him and stopped him. "Comrade Li Juan, wait a moment, I need to talk to you about something. Come with me."
Xu Xinghe was taken aback. This woman was an old educated youth who hadn't spoken much before. He wondered what she wanted from him.
She glanced at Zhao Xiaoyan, who also looked puzzled, and whispered, "Do you want me to go with you?"
"No need, I'll be back soon." Xu Xinghe shook her head and followed the female educated youth to the side.
Now that we're near the former educated youth settlement, the other party probably wouldn't dare do anything; they might actually have something important to do.
The female educated youth walked quickly, turning left and right until she reached the open space behind the educated youth settlement. There were few lights here, only the distant moon casting a faint glow.
"Wait here for me, I'm going to get something." The female educated youth said this, turned around and walked away quickly, disappearing from sight in no time.
Xu Xinghe stood there for a full five minutes, and when no one came, she prepared to go back first.
No matter what the other party wanted from her, she shouldn't have left herself here.
Although it was very close to the educated youth settlement, who knew what might happen in the pitch-black night?
Just as she was about to turn around and walk back, she heard footsteps approaching. When she looked up, she saw Liu Hu.
Liu Hu, holding an oil paper package, walked up to Xu Xinghe with what he thought was a handsome smile on his face. "Comrade Li Juan, have you been waiting long? She had to leave earlier and asked me to bring you something."
He handed over the oil paper package, saying, "This is the leftover meat from today's whole roasted lamb. I specially saved it for you; it's still warm."
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