Each family exchanged the rest of their grain for salt, leaving only the grain they needed to return to the city. Although the salt didn't seem to take up much space, the salt village took care of them, and with the ten catties of salt given to each person, everyone's shoulders were bent from the burden.

The medicinal herbs brought by Hepinghe Village were the most popular, perhaps as a way to recoup medical expenses. The village also exchanged the herbs for several tons of salt. Fortunately, they brought along some cattle this time, otherwise they really wouldn't have been able to bring them back.

After saying goodbye to Yancun, there was no need to rush on the way back to Gaozhuang. Although everyone was carrying more weight, they hurried back as fast as they could.

Even the women in the group gritted their teeth and kept up with everyone else, and not one of them complained of being tired.

As for Yunqi, he refused Sicheng's offer to carry all the salt on his back, insisting on carrying his own portion of salt instead.

"Grandpa, we've traded all our grain for other things. What will we eat then?" Gao Baiyun asked with some concern, looking at the salt piled high on his two cows.

“Silly son, salt is more precious than grain now. Besides, Brother Cheng promised to bring us some salt to exchange for grain when we get there. That way, we don’t have to carry so much grain on the road, and we get so much salt for free. This deal is more profitable than doing business before.” Gao Shitou was also carrying a full bag of salt, but he couldn’t stop smiling.

After spending the day together, the more he learned about Pinghe Village, the more excited he became about his future life.

“Your dad is right. This is the perfect way to handle things. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to take all that stuff with us. Now that we can reduce the burden and provide a few cows to the village, it’s like doing them a favor in advance.” Grandpa Gao and his daughter-in-law were in charge of driving their own cows. Seeing the situation in Yan Village, his hesitation about moving away from Gaozhuang had disappeared.

Upon arriving at Gaozhuang, all the young people threw all their luggage on the ground and began to scatter to check the snares they had set earlier. This time, even the young girls followed along to watch the excitement.

"Brother Cheng, let's go for a walk around here. I heard from Baiyun that there's a small pond if you follow the stream downstream." Seeing that everyone had scattered, Yunqi knew that no one was in the mood to rest anymore. Thinking of the several empty water buckets in his space, he suggested that they go to look for them nearby to replenish the water in his space, otherwise the water shortage would be more serious on the way.

Si Cheng naturally agreed. He put his things on the ground, greeted the uncles who had come with him, and then led Yun Qi in the direction he had mentioned.

The two walked forward in the direction Gao Baiyun had indicated, with Si Cheng holding Yun Qi's hand tightly the whole way.

“How long has it been since we’ve spent time together privately? We’re starting to look more and more like a farming couple.” Yunqi scratched the thick calluses on Sicheng’s palm, then looked at the thin calluses on her own palm and said with a smile, “But I’m the most fortunate farm woman in our village.”

"Once we get through this difficult period, I'll make you even happier." Si Cheng reached out and brushed Yun Qi's stray hairs behind her ear, showing no disgust at her matted hair.

Yunqi also raised his hand to tidy his messy hair. "Wait a minute, if I find a water source, I'll definitely wash this hair. If it weren't for the fact that it's not convenient to get my hairdressing tools out right now, I'd like to thin this hair out a bit more."

Si Cheng knew about Yun Qi's obsessive-compulsive disorder about cleanliness. You see, in her previous life, she often shaved her own head with a razor blade until she was completely bald.

"Should I shave your head completely bald?" Si Cheng teased with a smile.

Hearing this, Yunqi thought of her bald head in her previous life, and she quickly shook her head, "No way! I shaved my head before because I was afraid that the smell of my head would bother you, but now conditions are not as difficult as before, and I want to be beautiful too."

Si Cheng leaned close to her ear and whispered, "I liked you when you were bald too."

"You're just trying to coax me. I still remember the shocked look on your face when you saw me."

"Really? I don't remember." He said, while chopping down the thorny vines blocking his path.

"Stop trying to frame me; you'll definitely remember that."

"..."

The two of them were finally able to relax, laughing and joking all the way, and before they knew it, they had found the small pond that Gao Baiyun had mentioned.

“This pond is even bigger than the largest reservoir in our village,” Yunqi said, referring to the large reservoir that was built jointly by several families.

"Take all those empty buckets out while no one's around." Si Cheng glanced at the water; it was probably spring water from the mountain, as it was quite clear, and you could even see some fish swimming leisurely in it.

"Let's make some fish traps later! We've been traveling for so long, it's been ages since we've had any fresh fish." Yunqi's mouth watered as he looked at the fish swimming leisurely in the water.

"How about we find a secluded spot after we fill the water tank, and you can find a plate of fish to eat?" Si Cheng knew that Yun Qi had suffered a lot during this time. Every day, he saw all kinds of delicious food laid out in his space but dared not take it out to eat. You can imagine how he felt.

"Forget it, I've had a much more comfortable journey than others, at least I've been able to sneak a few snacks every now and then." Yun Qi didn't want to eat alone under these circumstances, knowing that he always felt guilty after secretly eating snacks.

Hearing her say that, Si Cheng didn't press her. "Wait a minute, your husband will make sure you can have some delicious fish tonight."

To prevent others from suddenly barging in, the two quickly refilled all the empty buckets in the space. Due to the large amount of water taken, the water level in the entire pond dropped significantly.

I didn't notice it when I was getting water, but it became quite noticeable after I finished.

"Brother Cheng, isn't this too obvious?" Yun Qi asked, frowning.

"It's alright. The water level is already dropping quickly, and the upstream is still pumping water in. It won't be long before the water level recovers." Si Cheng said as he cut vines from the roadside. These vines are very resilient and can be found almost everywhere. Although their tensile strength isn't very good, they're enough to make disposable fish traps.

Seeing that Si Cheng was already skillfully cutting off the thin parts of the vines and starting to weave a trap, Yun Qi looked at the bushes next to her and said, "Brother Cheng, I'll go get some bait."

"I'll go, you weave these traps." Si Cheng quickly put down what he was doing. Although he knew that Yun Qi could easily deal with those reptiles now, he was still very worried about letting her act alone.