Sun Shiguang now lives alone in two rooms. He feels he's in good health and can live on his own, so when he built the house, he also built two rooms in the yard. He had already seen his third daughter-in-law, Chen Zheng, looking at him with a hesitant expression, so he decided to cut off that escape route for her.

Sun Zhimiao quickly stepped forward, ignoring his wife's winks: "Let's clear out one room first, and then build two more rooms in the corner later."

Hearing this, the Chen family naturally had no objections. Even if Chen Zheng was somewhat dissatisfied, she dared not say anything more now that her family had come to rely on her.

Si Cheng and the others were unaware of what had happened in the village; they had already been resting in the orchard for a day.

That day, they didn't just rest; each of them chopped a sack of chestnuts. As for the oranges, they only picked a couple for seasoning and didn't touch them at all.

The happiest people here are the three young men, who have indulged in eating wild game for the past few days.

To prevent the snakes from lurking in the grass, Uncle Bing led them to clear all the grass in the orchard, killing several snakes on the spot.

This is their last night here. Tomorrow they will travel in a straight line back to the village, as the route has been cleared of danger. This way they can travel without worry and should be able to reach their destination in half a day.

That night, everyone had incredible luck; they actually found a muntjac in the trap.

The muntjac is a Class III protected animal, but it was already dead when they found it. Since no one was checking, the group proceeded to butcher it by the pond.

Because they had to go back early the next day, the group dismantled all the traps they had set up.

Even so, they still managed to catch more than ten rabbits in the past two days. They released the mothers and the babies, keeping only ten fat rabbits.

Everyone hung the rabbits by the fire to dry. Since they didn't have much seasoning left, they only did simple processing. They would eat three more rabbits tonight, and each person could take one home for their family to try.

Now there's another muntjac weighing fifty or sixty pounds, and even Si Cheng couldn't help but smile. Although they had stored up a lot of meat before, this was the first time they had encountered such a legendary muntjac.

After everyone had eaten and rested well, they packed their things early the next day and headed back.

Although each person was carrying a load of over 100 kilograms on their backs, it was still manageable for these men who had undergone rigorous training during this period.

As usual, Si Cheng led the way with ease, while the others followed closely behind. No one complained of needing to rest, and they walked for less than three hours before reaching the foot of the mountain.

Uncle Bing then stopped everyone: "Let's put the things with the monkey or the bear first. Although the village said before that these things would belong to us individually, these things are too eye-catching this time, so everyone should be careful."

Si Cheng and the others thought about it and understood Uncle Bing's meaning. In the past, these things wouldn't have caused much of a reaction. But now, resources were becoming increasingly scarce, and if someone discovered they had more wealth than them, their mentality would gradually become unbalanced. At this time, it was best to quietly amass wealth; this was better for everyone.

So everyone took their things to the monkey's house first, and then walked together into the village.

"Why is there so little person in the village? Where have they all gone at this hour?" As soon as I entered the village, I felt that it was quieter than usual.

"Acheng, you're back." Mother Yun was just getting ready to take her two children to play with other kids in the village when she saw Sicheng and his group return as soon as she stepped outside.

"Yes, we just got back." He said, trying to amuse himself.

"Sister-in-law Ming, are you taking them out for fun?" Uncle Bing and the others greeted her.

"These two little rascals are impossible to keep at home; they're always jumping around trying to run outside. So I took them to the front to find other children to play with."

The monkey asked, "Auntie, why is the village so quiet today?"

"Now everyone in the village, young and old, is rushing to the village entrance, where they're building a wall. My sons, Zhiming and Yunqi, have also gone to help."

"No wonder I didn't see anyone at my house; I thought they had gone to the fields again."

"Wait a moment, you'll see them when you get there. Did it go smoothly this time?" The last question was directed at Si Cheng.

"Everything went smoothly. I didn't see any rush before. Why are they all rushing to build the wall now?"

Just as Mother Yun was about to tell them what had happened, the two siblings couldn't wait to run ahead. Afraid they might fall, Mother Yun chased after them, instructing them, "Go to the village entrance and find the village chief and the others; you'll find them there."

“Brother Cheng, my little nephews, they don’t even recognize you.” Yun Xun saw that neither of the siblings greeted their father. “Looks like they’ve completely forgotten about you.”

Si Cheng retorted without hesitation: "You should also find a mirror and look at yourself. Even if you were standing in front of your parents right now, they might not recognize you."

At this moment, everyone looked at themselves. After so many days of neglecting their appearance, they all looked like wild men. They hadn't felt anything in the mountains, but once they arrived in the village and saw themselves like this, they felt a little out of place.

Big Bear patted his chest and said loudly, "This proves that we are all men."

The group walked to the village entrance and saw that everyone in the village was working hard. Even children as young as ten were doing their best, and some were even lifting a stone together.

The elderly men standing nearby noticed them and gestured for them to head towards the square.

As soon as we arrived at the square, my second grandfather and the others asked, "How's the search going on the mountain? Are there any potential dangers?"

Uncle Bing quickly told the group what he had found on the mountain, and explained that he had found the orchard and its condition.

The elderly people immediately decided that the wall could be built today or tomorrow. They wanted to harvest the chestnuts from the mountain as soon as possible, before the weather turned cold and there was no sunshine. Otherwise, if it snowed, they wouldn't be able to go up the mountain anymore.

Si Cheng sighed inwardly, "It's true what they say, 'Having an elder in the family is like having a treasure.' With these elderly people in the village, people can feel at ease and get through this difficult time peacefully."

I mentally calculated the time; the long, freezing weather was just around the corner. The entire freeze lasted for half a year. Fortunately, houses had already been built in the village, otherwise, it would have been quite difficult to get through that period.