Gao Liang could only reluctantly walk towards the back mountain. When he got there, he found that the mother and son were slowly walking down the mountain. He really couldn't understand them. Since they had come all this way, they could have taken some limestone back with them. How could they live like this, always relying on others for everything?

"Auntie, it's almost time for us to go back to the village to gather. My dad asked me to tell you to get to the village entrance early, in case the people from Baijia Village have already gone back, it won't be safe for you to travel on your own." Gao Liang said this and turned around and left without waiting for their reaction. Anyway, he had already delivered the message, and he couldn't care less about anything else.

Gao Liang's words left the mother and son standing there for a long time, unable to react. By the time they wanted to ask something, they realized that Gao Liang had already walked away.

"It seems your uncle can't be relied on either. I should have known better than to make such high demands. What are we going to do now?" Gao Shuzhen was at a loss.

"If all else fails, let's go back first. You can talk to your uncle at the village entrance later. It would be best if he could spare a day to accompany us. That way, things will be easier to discuss." Ever since Gao Dongxing arrived in Pinghe Village, he had seen that it was better than Baijia Village in every way. He had been secretly plotting something. If his mother could force his adopted brother to build a few houses, and he could have his mother go there every few days to collect some things, then his life would be much better.

"It's almost time to go back. On the way here, those people kept emphasizing that if we didn't get to the village entrance on time, they wouldn't wait for us. It's all that ingrate's fault. If he hadn't kicked us out, I would have stayed there today no matter what." Gao Shuzhen felt indignant at the thought. The two of them had spent most of the day waiting for Gao Zian at the village entrance. If they didn't hurry over, they would be blamed.

"What's the use of saying all this now? Let's get to the village entrance first. We can't exactly sleep on the street tonight." Gao Dongxing was also annoyed that he hadn't achieved his goal this time, but he also knew that Pinghe Village wouldn't allow outsiders to stay overnight.

Unwilling to give up, the two went around to the Yun family's house to see if anyone was there, only to find it still heavily guarded. They then hurriedly headed towards the village entrance.

"We've been waiting for the two of you, why did it take so long? If you keep delaying everyone like this next time, we won't wait for you anymore." As expected, the mother and son were greeted with a barrage of complaints as soon as they arrived at the village entrance.

"Something came up and I was delayed. I'll definitely be more mindful of the time next time," Gao Dongxing said politely in public. Because of his relatively good attitude, no one said anything more.

Gao Shuzhen kept looking towards Gaojia Village, but she couldn't see her brother anywhere. Some people in Gaojia Village recognized her, but none of them greeted her.

"Now that we're here, let's set off." As soon as the leader finished speaking, he took the lead and walked out. Baijia Village was farther away than Gaojia Village, so if they wanted to reach the village before dark, they would have to quicken their pace.

The Gao family mother and son had no choice but to follow closely. They were both inwardly blaming Gao Zian. If he said he was going back to the village, why wasn't he in the group? Had he found Sicheng without telling them? Hadn't this made them come all this way for nothing?

As for Gao Jie's marriage to Pinghe Village, they still don't know. Although Gao Zian had been trying to find an opportunity to host a banquet for his sister, his family had always stopped him. This time, although he met her, he started talking incessantly about Si Cheng as soon as they met, and he had completely forgotten about it.

Fortunately, he forgot about it, otherwise, given the personalities of the mother and son, they would have definitely found an excuse to stay at Gao Jie's place. He couldn't very well not even entertain his own aunt when she came to visit.

Gao Zian was taken to the Liu family. Only Bai Liangfen was busy in the backyard. The Liu father and son also went to help dig a reservoir.

"Our in-laws are here! Come in and have a seat!" Bai Liangfen greeted her in-laws warmly as soon as they arrived. After pouring water, she took out some roasted peanuts from the cupboard.

"No rush, I need to hurry back. Everyone must be waiting at the village entrance by now. Thank you for troubling you again." Gao Jie carried her empty basket to the backyard as she entered the courtyard, so her mother-in-law must have known.

"Why are you being so polite? I already told Xiao Jie to tell you that you can just come to my house to carry them from now on. I originally prepared them for you anyway." Bai Liangfen wasn't just being polite. Her brother's family had carried them directly back from their home before, and Liu Fengya and his son had even helped deliver them a few times. They were only doing this because the village was building a reservoir; otherwise, they should have helped the Gao family deliver them a few more times.

“Anyway, we’re all going with the village, so it won’t make much difference if we all go up the mountain together. There’s no need to trouble our in-laws.” Gao Zian felt a little awkward when he was alone with his mother-in-law.

"When your in-laws go back later, please take some fish with you. They've been setting traps in the lake every day and have had a great catch."

"No need. We've also planted some earthworms at the crossroads, and the daily catch is pretty good." Gao Zian smiled broadly as he spoke. Ever since he learned to use snake meat as bait from Pinghe Village, he's been able to catch some every time he goes back. Now, the villagers' attitude towards venomous snakes, which they used to despise, has completely changed; they'd love to encounter as many as possible. They had used earthworms as bait before, but they hadn't caught nearly as many as with snake meat.

After bringing some back every day for a period of time, now every household has started to smoke and dry fish.

"Dad, I've filled them all up and left them by the door." Gao Jie lifted the mosquito net at the door and came in.

"In-laws, we'll head back now. It wouldn't be good to keep everyone waiting at the village entrance for too long." Gao Zian quickly stood up; they really couldn't delay any longer.

"Then we won't keep you any longer. Next time, bring your mother-in-law along for a couple of days."

"Mom, I'm going to see Dad off." Gao Jie still had some things she wanted to tell her father privately.

"Alright, then I won't see you off, dear in-law. Take care!"

When the father and daughter left the yard, they saw Gao Liang waiting for them there. The three of them walked towards the village entrance in tacit agreement.

“Dad, don’t get involved in my aunt’s affairs. She’s been in the countryside for so long. I’ve heard Uncle Bai say a few times that they don’t get along well with the people in Baijia Village, and they don’t work hard. The whole family just drifts along, arguing all the time. If they continue like this, they’ll definitely not be able to make a living in the long run. You can’t drag my cousin into this mess.”

"How can this be a mud pit? That's his own mother."