Xu Xinghe sat back down and told him about her experiences in Hongqi Village that afternoon. "I always felt that there was a connection between Shen An, Feng Qiushi, and Xu Mingli. Otherwise, how could Shen An look so much like Xu Mingli? Feng Qiushi always seemed guilty and avoided me whenever he saw me. My intuition told me that they were definitely not simple. Maybe Xu Mingli's whereabouts were related to them."
After listening, Jiang Linchuan nodded, agreeing with her judgment. "Your intuition is always very accurate. Since Feng Qiushi has gone to town, let's wait for news tomorrow and then make further plans."
After he finished speaking, he looked at Lian Xiao and said in an icy tone, "We still need to eat. If you don't have anything else to do, you can go back first."
Lian Xiao pursed his lips, pulled over a chair without ceremony, sat down, picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of food. "No way, I haven't eaten yet. Your food smells delicious. Let's eat together, it'll be more lively."
Dinner ended quickly.
After clearing away the dishes, Jiang Linchuan stood up, his voice icy, "Lian Xiao, your place is on the same route as mine, let's go together."
Lian Xiao knew the other party was unhappy. "Alright, I'll just chat with you about things in the military."
The two walked out of the courtyard side by side as night fell.
The streetlights in the military headquarters shone with a dim yellow light, and soldiers could be seen patrolling the streets from time to time.
After walking a few steps, Jiang Linchuan suddenly turned towards the training ground.
Lian Xiao raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you going to see me off? What's going on?"
"Let's practice." Jiang Linchuan stopped, rolled up his sleeves to reveal his muscular forearms, and his eyes sharpened. "Lian Xiao, you still won't give up on Xinghe?"
Lian Xiao scoffed, crossing his arms. "Why should I give up? Xinghe hasn't registered her marriage with you yet. As long as you two aren't legally married, I'll have a chance to steal her away. Besides, I understand her better than you do. She'll be more relaxed with me."
"Whether you can do it or not isn't up to you. Come on!"
The smile in Lian Xiao's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a serious expression.
He flexed his wrists and suddenly charged towards Jiang Linchuan, his fist aimed straight at his chest.
Jiang Linchuan dodged to the side, grabbed his wrist with his other hand, and the two instantly started wrestling.
There was no extraneous sound on the training ground, only the dull thud of fists hitting bodies.
Every punch landed with full force, yet each move deliberately avoided vital points.
This is a contest between two men.
It's not about hatred, it's just about the person in my heart.
Meanwhile, Xu Xinghe was completely unaware of what was happening on the training ground.
After taking a shower, she changed into loose pajamas, snuggled into her warm bed, leaned against the headboard, and picked up a book about cultivating medicinal herbs.
The soft light shone on the pages of the book as she read, reminiscing about her days at the forest farm.
During that period, she didn't come away empty-handed; at least she really learned how to farm and plant trees.
Now, she no longer just knows theory, but truly understands the hardships and joys of working in the fields.
As I watched, drowsiness gradually crept in.
Xu Xinghe closed the book, casually placed it beside her pillow, and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Xu Xinghe woke up.
After washing up, she took her book and went to the yard, where she sat in the chair she had used yesterday.
The morning air was exceptionally fresh, and the birds in the yard were chirping away.
She opened the book and had only read a few pages when she heard a voice coming from the neighboring yard. It was Zhang Cishu.
I didn't expect him to wake up so early.
The two sat on opposite sides of a low courtyard wall, one on the east and the other on the west, each reading a book. Occasionally, a breeze would blow through, rustling the leaves, creating a quiet and pleasant atmosphere.
After a while, Zhang Cishu suddenly spoke, his voice coming through the courtyard wall, "Xinghe, the medicinal herbs you gave to the military before have begun to be cultivated on a large scale."
Xu Xinghe was stunned for a moment, then looked up at the direction of the courtyard wall, "So fast?"
Previously, it was still in the cultivation and experimental stage.
"Hmm." Zhang Cishu closed the book. "The military attaches great importance to it, and has specially set up a cultivation base and organized professional personnel to take charge. By the way, this kind of medicinal herb has never been discovered before, so they took the liberty of naming it after you, called Xinghecao (Star Grass). The first batch has now been successfully cultivated and put into mass production. The frostbite ointment made from it will be on the market soon. However, considering that the soldiers on the border need it more, most of the frostbite ointment will be supplied to the border troops first."
Xu Xinghe couldn't help but smile, revealing her dimples.
She initially offered this medicinal herb in the hope of helping more people.
She didn't expect it to be effective so quickly, but naming it... made her feel inexplicably guilty.
This medicinal herb was not something she discovered; it was something that came with her space.
But who... left this space behind?
Xu Xinghe quickly came to her senses. "Thank you, Cishu, for telling me this news. I'm really happy to hear this."
“You’re welcome,” Zhang Cishu’s voice remained gentle. “This is what you deserve. You should be proud of yourself for doing so much for everyone.”
Xu Xinghe was immersed in joy when a slightly hesitant sound of footsteps suddenly came from the courtyard gate.
She looked up and saw Lian Xiao walking in slowly with his hands in his pockets, a smile on his lips as usual, looking no different from any other day.
But as he got closer, Xu Xinghe vaguely sensed that something was wrong.
When Lian Xiao walked, his left shoulder was slightly tucked in, and the movement of raising his hand to hand something was a beat slower than usual. Although there was no wound on his face, a small, faint bruise could be seen on his neck, which was mostly covered by his collar and could not be noticed unless you looked closely.
"Why are you here so early in the morning?" Xu Xinghe put down her book, stood up and asked, her gaze unconsciously falling on his shoulder. "Is your shoulder bothering you?"
"It's nothing." Lian Xiao quickly waved his hand, deliberately straightening his back and pretending to be relaxed. "I just slept with a stiff neck last night, it's nothing serious."
As he spoke, he took out a neatly folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Xu Xinghe. "This was just delivered by the person I sent to follow him. It shows where Feng Qiushi went last night, in the old town area, near an abandoned grain station."
Xu Xinghe immediately took the note, unfolded it, and saw a detailed address written in pencil, along with a few lines of small print indicating Feng Qiushi's arrival and departure times.
"How long did she stay there? Did she see anyone?"
"I stayed there for about an hour." Lian Xiao leaned against the courtyard wall, trying to make himself as comfortable as possible and avoid aggravating the bruises on his body. "The people I found followed her to the vicinity of the grain station, but the gate was locked and there were high walls all around, so we couldn't get in at all. We could only guard outside. There was another person inside, but we didn't see what he looked like."
"I didn't see the face..." Xu Xinghe frowned slightly, "Then did you see the figure clearly? Is he tall or short, fat or thin?"
"No, we only know there are people inside, but we don't know anything else."
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