Although we don't know when this rainy season will end, since Brother Cheng has spoken up, there is hope.

Gu Mili patted Yao Lie on the shoulder, offering silent comfort. Although Yao Lie didn't usually express it, many people knew that since the drought, he had been inquiring about his village.

Everyone found it strange that Yaojia Village hadn't come to pick up Yao Lie for so long, and sometimes they couldn't help but think the worst.

"Brother Cheng, can you take me with you? I also want to go back to my hometown to take a look." Gu Mili also leaned closer to Si Cheng and asked in a low voice.

For some reason, these younger generation members inevitably became somewhat hesitant and afraid to open up when facing Brother Cheng.

Si Cheng looked him up and down for a while, "You need to strengthen your physique a bit more, or you might hold us back later."

Gu Mili nodded quickly, "I'll train harder starting today, and I definitely won't hold anyone back."

Si Cheng replied, "That's not up to me to say. There will definitely be competition in the village. Let's see if we can get through this!"

Gu Mili thought of the strong young men and veterans in the village, and her shoulders slumped. If that was the case, then there was really little hope.

Seeing his expression, Si Cheng smiled. If the whole village were to go out to exchange for salt, then each household would definitely have to send someone, and it wouldn't be like what was said before, where strength would be the deciding factor.

After observing from the city wall for a while, Sicheng came down, opened the city gate, and arrived at Hutiao Village.

"Village Chief Si, what brings you here today?" Old Zhao greeted Si Cheng as soon as he saw him come out, but he didn't dare loosen the rope on his hands and kept looking back at his eldest grandson by the lake.

"I just came out to check the water level. Looks like you've had a pretty good catch." Si Cheng noticed that there were already seven or eight large fish in the bamboo basket next to them.

Speaking of this, Old Zhao's face lit up with a smile. "This is a rare opportunity. The fish are all swimming around the lake now. Anyone with a good eye can catch some. Take some back with you when you go back to the village."

Si Cheng replied, "No need. We still have some at home, enough to eat. You've worked so hard, you could dry these and keep them for later use."

Old Zhao didn't stand on ceremony with him. He knew that every household in Pinghe Village had a small pond. "These days, everyone has smoked some dried fish. We were thinking that once the rain stops, we could go to the city to exchange them for some salt. The salt we subsidized for everyone is almost used up, so we have to exchange it."

Si Cheng nodded in understanding. Old Zhao and the others had asked before, but after such a long period of salt consumption, the salt reserves in Pinghe Village were not ideal, which is why he had the idea of ​​continuing to search for salt.

Si Cheng didn't tell Old Zhao about the undecided matter, but he did give them some reminders: "You should also keep an eye on the crops in the fields, after all, that's the staple food."

Speaking of the crops in the field, Old Zhao's mouth almost split open with joy. "The harvest this time is definitely going to be good. These crops are like they've been injected with hormones, each one growing tall and strong. Even if there's only a little bit in the corner, it should be enough to eat."

Just as they were talking, Old Zhao's eldest grandson ran back carrying a large fish weighing four or five pounds.

Seeing Sicheng standing with his grandfather, he shyly greeted him, put the fish down, and quickly ran away.

Si Cheng didn't take it seriously and told Old Zhao the purpose of their trip out of the village: "Let's all dig a drainage ditch together the day after tomorrow! Otherwise, if the lake continues to rise, those low-lying fields will suffer."

Upon hearing this, Old Zhao quickly nodded, "Okay, I'll notify the village in a bit and tell them to get ready."

Seeing that he had agreed, Si Cheng thought he would go to Xin San Village to inform them.

As soon as I entered Xin San Village, I heard familiar cries and curses.

"Since living like this is just suffering anyway, I might as well just jump into the lake and end it all." Huang Yun's unique tone sounded particularly jarring in the deserted rainy season.

No one came out to check on the situation, presumably because everyone was used to the family's antics.

Although Si Cheng did not live in this village, he still heard some news about his family.

Ever since Huang Yun was poisoned by snake venom, he has become extremely stubborn and meticulous about everything.

Si Cheng was unaware that Huang Yun had suffered greatly while trying to cure the snake venom. Because only a small portion of the antidote had been given, the detoxification process took longer and the effect was not ideal, leading to severe aftereffects.

Huang Yun's entire leg was affected by the virus, and now she can't walk very well, and even has to rely on crutches to walk.

Because she saw that she had become disabled, she was afraid that her husband and son would despise her, so she would throw tantrums at home every day to seek a sense of existence.

She was unaware that her antics were causing Si Zhengwei to gradually lose patience. If it weren't for their two children, he wouldn't even want to talk to Huang Yun anymore.

"Don't say the same thing every day. If you actually jump into the lake, I'll respect you for keeping your word. But if it's just verbal threats every day, don't you find it cliché?"

Si Zhengwei was also very frustrated. Living under the same roof with such a woman every day, all he did was argue. Sometimes he would rather stay in the fields than stay at home idle.

The two brothers, Si Ming and Si Liang, were in another room. They just stayed quietly. It wasn't that they didn't want to come and mediate. No matter who they spoke for, they would never get anything in return. After this happened many times, they chose to ignore it.

"Dad, are you home?" Si Cheng initially intended to walk past, but then thought better of it and came over to greet him.

The two people who were still arguing in the room immediately stopped talking, neither of them wanting to lose face in front of Si Cheng.

Si Zhengwei came out. "Why did you come here today? The journey must have been difficult."

Si Cheng said, "I just happened to come here to see Village Chief Shi about something. I'm wearing straw sandals, so I can walk slowly without any problem."

"Looking for Village Chief Shi? Come on, I'll take you there." Si Zhengwei picked up the straw sandals from the corner of the wall and was about to put them on.

Huang Yun inside was anything but quiet. "Village Chief Si, you've come all this way and you haven't even come over to greet your elders. It's true what they say about not having a mother."

Si Cheng remained silent, instead staring intently at Si Zhengwei. Si Zhengwei felt utterly humiliated by being looked at like that by his eldest son.

He picked up the straw sandals in his hand and threw them inside, saying, "Shut your stinking mouth. You have a mother who taught you, but she didn't raise you to be any better. All you do is spew filth from your mouth all day long."

The shoe was thrown in and hit Huang Yun right in the face. She screamed and hopped out on one foot after picking up the shoe.

With an aggressive demeanor, she said, "You think I'm spewing nonsense? Don't you know who caused my current situation? If I hadn't argued with you, would I have been bitten by a snake? Now that I'm disabled, you start to despise me, right?"