The next day, the village prepared all the medicinal herbs that they had agreed to exchange with Yaojia Village and handed them over. As for the iron products that were still missing, they agreed to go and pick them up in a while.

Building two houses with the collective strength of the village was a simple task for everyone. To show their sincerity, the village also built a water storage pond for them in one go.

Looking at their new home, which had been built in just a few days, the Gao and Gu families stood excitedly in front of their new house, repeatedly thanking the villagers who had helped them.

“From now on, we’re all from the same village. There’s no need to be so formal. In our village, as long as you follow the village rules, we’ll treat everyone the same.” Although Yun Mingwu knew that the two families in front of him were honest people, he still repeated what he needed to say in front of the relocated residents who had moved in earlier.

"Don't worry, we're not that kind of people. We don't know anything except farming and raising cattle," Gao Daniu quickly said on behalf of both families, and the others nodded in agreement.

This time, it took them more than two months from the day they set off until they returned. During those two months, the village was under lockdown, and villagers were not even allowed to go up the back mountain. Now that they have finally finished everything, these people are starting to roam freely up the mountain and down the river, frantically bringing things home.

A group of uninvited guests arrived in their original urban area, quickly filling Yun Zhixin and his group's original residence to capacity.

"Old Ma, things are better here than back home. I looked at the map and found that the groundwater resources here used to be very abundant. Why don't we find a place to camp here first?" The speaker was a middle-aged general, but his clothes were so worn that their original color was no longer discernible.

"It's been so difficult. We've lost so many people just getting here. Let's rest here for a bit, and then we'll check around the area. If the local area can accommodate so many of us, then we'll settle down here." The man next to him, Old Ma, quickly agreed. They really couldn't travel any further. Even if they could manage, the ordinary people were about to collapse.

"This used to be a military district. I don't know where all these people have gone. Such a nice house is all empty here." The Si family of four was crammed into a bungalow. "This is the first time we've lived in such a nice house since the disaster."

"I don't know when this will end, and the food we brought along the way is getting less and less every day. If we can't find a place to settle down soon, we'll starve to death even if we don't die of thirst." Huang Yun simply swept the dust off the floor before sitting down and taking a big gulp of water from the water bottle next to him. "Fortunately, we finally found water a couple of days ago, otherwise I thought I wouldn't be able to hold on."

"Luckily, we're all in good health. Didn't you count how many familiar faces we've lost along the way?" Si Zhengwei sat down next to her and took a big gulp of water from her hand. "I can't believe we all made it through."

"Dad, Mom, the porridge is ready, come and eat." Si Liang called out from the doorway into the house.

Hearing their son call, the couple quickly responded, stood up, and went out the door.

At this moment, Si Ming also returned carrying a large pile of firewood. It's possible that the residents here had used up all the firewood in the vicinity, and this firewood was something they had picked up on their way back.

Huang Yun quickly stepped forward to help put the firewood in the corner, and casually asked, "Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"We circled around here for ages but couldn't find any firewood. It's probably all used up by the people who lived here before. So we went back the way we came." Si Liang brushed the dust off his clothes before taking the water his younger brother handed him.

"I wonder if we should rest here for a while or continue on our way?" Huang Yun muttered to himself, looking at the busy people not far away.

Upon hearing this, Si Zhengwei's expression became slightly uneasy. Huang Yun probably had forgotten that she came from this city, but that was understandable since she had never been here before, so her impression of it was not deep.

Looking at his two sons, Si Zhengwei put aside his slight guilt. After all, there had been no news for so long, and he figured they might not be staying here.

Just as they were settling down, the military also gathered information from the surrounding area.

"Old Ma, are you saying they've distributed all the city's residents here?" Chief Kuang asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, because most of those left here are local soldiers. When the earthquake struck, some of their storage warehouses were buried underground. And there's no place to grow crops in this city. This place has always been sparsely populated, so they sent everyone to the countryside in batches. That way, at least they had a chance to survive." Old Ma told them all the information he had gathered.

"Then why have the troops here been disbanded? Isn't this a joke? Who will be in charge of security in this area from now on?" Political Commissar Wang scratched his head angrily.

Chief Kuang had a different perspective: "Actually, this is the wisest thing for them. All the reserves are buried deep underground, and they can't grow anything nearby. How are they supposed to make a living? By dispersing everyone and letting the local soldiers manage them nearby, they won't let the area descend into chaos for the sake of their families."

“But this is too scattered. If something happens, we won’t be able to fight back.” Political Commissar Wang still felt that what they were doing was very inappropriate.

Old Ma walked up to him, put his hand on his shoulder, and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Sometimes being alive is more important than anything else."

"Should we continue searching for a place? But I think many people are about to give up. The food supplies we brought are almost gone. If this continues, it won't just be a matter of dying of thirst, it will be starving to death." Old Ma thought of his comrades who had been falling along the way. These people were carrying food heavier than ordinary people and trying to conserve every drop of water. Even if they were physically strong, they couldn't withstand such torment. So many people collapsed on the road, and their bodies couldn't even be properly buried. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but wipe his face. Those were all young and vibrant lives.

"Let's inquire here first and see if they can accept some people. If they can, we can see who is willing to stay. Maybe that's another way out." Chief Kuang pressed his brow. "If there are enough people here to accommodate our more than 100,000 people, then it's not impossible to settle them down."