When they gathered at the village entrance, the old folks, including my second grandfather, were speechless at the sight of such a large group of women. They really treated this like a market day, with everyone carrying big and small bags, not afraid of emptying their own grain stores.

Fortunately, there were still about a third of the male villagers, otherwise leading such a large group of women out would have been a headache enough.

They say three women make a drama, and with so many women gathered together, the whole village entrance was bustling with excitement, and even the loudspeaker couldn't drown out their enthusiasm.

Si Cheng walked directly to the watchtower, picked up the bronze gong, and started striking it, which finally quieted everyone down below.

"Everyone, please divide into groups first and follow your group. If anyone gets lost on the way, we will not stop to look for them."

There are many middle-aged women among them, and this is their first time going out with everyone. If they don't explain things clearly, they might get separated from the group, which would be a big problem.

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly found their original group, quickly counted the number of people, and set off.

Many people are excited at first because it's their first time going out, but as the journey becomes more and more difficult and they feel burdened, they gradually quiet down.

This time, Yun Qi didn't follow Si Cheng ahead, but stayed obediently in his assigned group. The road leading into the city had become relatively safer due to the constant flow of people.

While everyone was on their way, they often encountered groups from other villages going to the city to exchange supplies, which showed that everyone had a great enthusiasm for these supplies.

"This is the third team we've encountered already. I wonder if they'll have enough items to exchange for?" During their rest and meal break, the villagers started chatting and expressed their concerns.

“We came out relatively early. Several villages nearby hadn’t even reacted when we left. If we can’t get the information, then it’s all for nothing for the others.” Pinghe Village was fortunate to have Yun Zhizhong and his team. They would quickly go back and report any news. Otherwise, the village would be waiting for instructions from above, which would definitely delay things.

"I hope we can get some cotton quilts, or even cotton will do." These are the things that every household is most in need of now. Although we don't need quilts yet, we always need to prepare them when our daughters get married or when they find wives.

"It would be even better if we had some cloth. We can hardly find a single decent piece of clothing in the house now; almost everything is patched up. In the past, we wouldn't even give these clothes a second glance." Aunt Wu raised her hand to look at her sleeve, where there was a patch.

"That's right, I really wish we could run to the city right now. I wonder if we can leave anything behind?" Aunt Wei chatted with her younger brother and sister-in-law while patting her thigh. This was the first time she had left the village since the disaster. Her feet were a little sore from the long journey, even though her daughter had taken care of most of the things in her house.

"I'm getting old. My legs can't take it after walking for so long. If I wasn't worried that these young people might be unreliable and bring back a bunch of junk, I really wouldn't want to make this trip." Several older women sitting next to me started rubbing their legs.

"I hope this old body can live up to expectations and not hold me back."

"Let's walk a little further and see. If it really doesn't work, I'll stop and wait for them in Majia Village. I can also go see my sister there." Aunt Wei came out with Yun Liping this time. She had already made up her mind before she left that if she really couldn't walk anymore, she would wait for them to come back in Majia Village.

"Yes, if all else fails, we can stay in the county town. I'm sure the people there won't refuse to take us in."

Seeing so many elderly women, they started thinking about their future, which amused some of the young people nearby, who then began to joke with them.

"Aren't you afraid we're unreliable and will bring you back a bunch of useless stuff?"

"What if we get taken advantage of or cheated? Don't blame us then."

"What if we don't carefully select some defective products and they come back? We won't have anywhere to exchange them then."

Everyone chimed in, recounting exactly what their elders had said at home.

"Isn't that how it is? If you're so capable, show us how it looks and see if it's like what we're saying."

The rest time passed quickly with their laughter and chatter. When they finally arrived in the city, no one fell behind; they all persevered and followed the group into the city.

Looking at the city, which was completely unrecognizable, many people sighed, realizing that natural disasters and man-made calamities are unavoidable.

Looking at the completely unfamiliar place before him, Yunqi found the ground covered in ruins and couldn't find the location of his original house at all. His previous idea of ​​going back to his house to take a look was completely extinguished.

Although Pinghe Village was not the first village to arrive to exchange supplies, it was not too late either. Apart from a few surrounding villages that had exchanged their supplies, the other villages were still queuing up here.

"Brother Cheng." Ma Donglai from Majia Village and Liu Jun from Xihe Village came up to greet him.

"How long have you been here?" Si Cheng greeted them with a smile when he saw them.

“We arrived yesterday, but there are too many people exchanging items, and we’re in a queue. Did you get a number? You need to queue according to your number,” Liu Jun reminded Si Cheng.

Si Cheng genuinely didn't know that redemption was based on number plates. "Where do we go to collect them? Is it for the whole village, or for each person to collect them separately?"

"It's a unified system for the whole village to collect them. They'll be letting people in one village at a time to exchange them. After you get your number, they'll give you a list. But I heard that if everyone in the village has exchanged theirs, they'll cancel those items later." Liu Jun told them everything he knew. "You should go and get your number first, in case other villages come later and you have to wait in line again."

Ma Donglai saw his aunt waving to him in the group and waved back.

"Then I'll go get the number first, and we'll talk later." Si Cheng looked around and then said to Liu Jun, "Are you free right now? If you're free, come with me. We don't know where to get it now."

Liu Jun and his group came with this intention in mind. They were all old acquaintances, and they wanted to lend a hand. Besides, since everyone was just waiting here, they might as well do something to make time pass faster.

With someone leading the way, Sicheng quickly finished everything ahead of schedule and received a large handwritten list, but several supplies had already been crossed out.

"This is too fast. We had all the lists when we came here yesterday. I wonder if we'll be able to exchange them for something to take back?" Liu Jun noticed the scratches on the list and started to worry, thinking about the villages ahead.