“Since there’s such a good way, we can catch the rabbits ourselves by using the rope, so we don’t need to move to their place.” Gu Mili’s mother has always been a little timid and didn’t really agree with moving, but the two elderly people had always been the ones making the decisions in the family, so she hadn’t raised any objections.

“How could you have such a thought? Uncle Gao went to great lengths to find us such a good way out. Besides, didn’t you hear what Mi Li and the others were talking about? Even if we stay and have these rabbits, do you know what we’ll be facing next?” Gu Dongzhi’s questions left his wife completely bewildered.

"It's because we can't bear to leave our home. Although this place is a bit run-down, we're the ones who cleaned it up ourselves."

"You have to give up something to gain something. Go and clean up these rabbits first. We can take them with us to eat on the road tomorrow." Grandpa Gu knew that his daughter-in-law was usually a bit indecisive, but now that she saw so many rabbits, her mind started to waver. So he simply asked her to do something to distract her.

The next day, Sicheng was considerate enough not to wake everyone up early in the morning to start the journey, but instead delayed it for a while. The leaders of the other villages also remained silent.

This time, Gaozhuang packed up everything they wanted to exchange, and the entire village, young and old, set off together. They had originally planned to leave the elderly and children in the village, but Sicheng, seeing so many young and old, was worried about leaving them alone, so he decided to take everyone with him. Otherwise, if something happened while they were away, it would be too late to regret it.

His decision made the people of Gaozhuang feel more at ease.

"When I was young, I worked in the salt wells here for many years. There are many salt wells here, big and small. Although I haven't been here for a long time, I can still hear news about this place." Grandpa Gao followed Si Cheng and the others in front because he was leading the way.

"I heard that making well salt is a very tiring job, and many people can't stick with it for long." Today it was Pinghe Village's turn to lead the way again, and this time it was Wu Yong and his group's turn.

"That's right. Back then, everyone was focused on the health benefits of salt, and the old process of making well salt was gradually being abandoned. But after some hype, it's become popular again this year. Because of this, many job opportunities have been created. We were introduced to the area by the county government."

Because Gao Zhuang brought all the cattle out this time, it greatly reduced the burden on everyone. The smaller but lighter items were tied to the cattle's backs, so Si Cheng no longer had to be like a moving mountain. He could take a look around with binoculars from time to time.

"The salt wells are all made by boiling groundwater. I wonder if the previous earthquake damaged those salt wells?" Wu Yong used to watch some videos. Although he didn't know their exact distribution, he still had some understanding of salt wells based on the videos.

“They have many workshops there, big and small. At first they used manpower, but later they also added machinery, so each workshop can produce a lot of salt every day. Sometimes, in order to complete the transaction on time, each workshop will have some stock. Even if it doesn’t work out, we can exchange our stock with them.”

Hearing Grandpa Gao say that, everyone felt their hearts sink.

"If they only have inventory, will they still trade with us?" Wu Yong voiced the question that was on everyone's mind.

Yun Qi looked at the stunned villagers speechlessly, "You don't actually think their inventory is the same as what our village purchased before, do you?"

“Isn’t that right? Every household prepared so much before, and it’s almost all used up in less than two years.” Sun Shaofeng felt that even if the workshop had some reserves, it wouldn’t have stored too much.

"Like the small workshop where I last worked, it used some foreign equipment. It could produce dozens of tons of salt every day, and there were even three large warehouses, each full. Even if the salt wells collapsed, with all that inventory, all our materials would only be a drop in the ocean." Grandpa Gao was very confident about this salt exchange.

Fearing they might still be uneasy, he added, "Besides, after so much time spent making salt there, there's hardly any good farmland nearby. What we're transporting these things to them is exactly what they need."

"Now that you say that, we feel much more at ease. Otherwise, we were worried that this trip might have been in vain."

"If you keep going forward, you can take that small path on the side. I used to take a motorcycle there when I went to work. If it had been another hour or so, you could have reached the nearest salt well," Grandpa Gao told everyone, pointing to a small path under the highway.

"There are traces of people walking on that path, which means that people in this area are still active here." Si Cheng saw that the grass on the ground had been trampled to one side, and immediately felt relieved. It seemed that there was still a possibility of getting salt here.

"The first workshop here was built by the whole village together. They had three deep wells that produced water, and this was usually the main source of production," Grandpa Gao explained responsibly.

When everyone got off the highway and onto the side roads, they found that the roads were easier to drive on than they had imagined. It was obvious that the roads in the vicinity had been repaired.

"It seems they have a good manpower here. The road they built is even better than the one in our village," Liu Xingwei and his group said after exploring the road for a while.

"They raise some horses and cattle here, and sometimes they still rely on these animals to complete some transportation tasks."

After hearing Grandpa Gao's words, everyone nodded in understanding.

Si Cheng's cautious nature wouldn't allow him to recklessly lead over a thousand men straight there. He put all his luggage on the ground, found Monkey and the others, and asked them and Big Bear to stay here to keep watch, while he took Wu Yong and Liu Jun to the front to check.

Fortunately, his actions saved them from several dangers later on.

The road ahead must have been repaired by the nearby villagers. So they traveled without any delay and arrived at their destination in half an hour.

What puzzled them was that there was no one guarding the high walls, and the gate at the bottom was also open.

"Be careful and wait for me outside. I'm going in to check." Si Cheng sensed danger from this place. Something must have happened in this village, otherwise it wouldn't be so unguarded.

"Brother Cheng, we'll go in with you. In case anything happens, we can look out for each other." Wu Yong and the others were still a little worried and wanted to go in with him.

"You all stay here and guard the door. As soon as I go in, block the door and try not to let anyone out." Si Cheng didn't want things to get out of hand.