Yun Zhixin took the initiative to lead the team back to his hometown, and those who came with him were all fellow villagers from the surrounding area.

As we traveled along, the more we learned, the more shocking it became. Many villages along the way were wiped out by natural disasters or man-made calamities, with many villages being completely destroyed.

This caused great grief to many soldiers who had not seen their loved ones, and no one knew how to comfort them.

Although Yun Zhixin had already inquired about the situation at home, he still couldn't quite feel at ease until he saw it with his own eyes.

They patiently made records along the way, stopping to repair any deep potholes or dangerous sections. No one dared to linger, and even so, by the time they reached Pinghe Village, the land had already been prepared for planting.

"Why is the gong ringing? Let's go see!" Upon hearing the gong, everyone, whether in the fields or at home, started running towards the village entrance.

"What's going on? Has someone arrived?" The first person to run to the village entrance asked the person on duty at the lookout tower.

"I saw a group of people walking this way from a distance, but I couldn't make out who they were."

"Ya Zai, are your eyes not very good? Why don't we send someone else up to take a look?"

After hearing what he said, Ya Zai, who was guarding the watchtower, also began to doubt his own eyesight, since he sometimes had to wear glasses with a prescription of about 100 degrees.

"Then let someone with better eyesight come up and take a look." With that, he started walking down from the observation deck.

"Brother Cheng, why don't you go up and take a look?" Several young men around him chimed in.

When Sicheng stood on the observation platform, the people opposite moved closer.

"They were all wearing military uniforms, so they were from the military. We don't know who they are yet, so we can't see them very clearly."

Upon hearing Si Cheng's words, Second Grandma became excited: "Cheng, look more closely, isn't that your new uncle and the others?"

Liu Huiqing, who was supporting her second grandmother, had red eyes and her hands tightened involuntarily. The second grandmother also held her daughter-in-law's hand, silently comforting her.

Upon hearing Second Grandmother's words, Si Cheng stared intently at the group of people, and as they drew closer, they became clearer and clearer.

"It really is Uncle Xin! Everyone, open the door quickly!"

Upon hearing that his father had returned, Yunxun quickly ran over and pulled open the large wooden beams and bolts securing the iron gate, then ran straight out.

Second Grandma and the others followed closely behind, hurrying out to greet them.

Yun Xun hadn't run far when he saw his father not far away. By then, he had lost his previous composure and was calling out "Dad!" as he rushed forward.

Hearing his son's shouts from afar, Yun Zhixin quickly stepped forward to greet him.

"Dad, you're finally back!" she shouted as she rushed over to him.

Yun Zhixin stepped forward and hugged his son, who had grown into a man. "Son, Dad is back."

The soldiers behind them watched with curiosity as their usually stern-faced officer actually spun around twice while holding his grown son.

"Ah Xin, you're back!" Second Grandma looked at her son excitedly. During this time, she had been worried about him all the time, but she couldn't show it in front of her daughter-in-law. Only her husband knew how many sleepless nights she had spent tossing and turning.

Yun Zhixin stepped forward and saluted his mother, "Mom, your son is back."

After saying that, he looked at his wife, who was supporting his mother, and said, "Huiqing, you've worked hard."

Grandma looked around carefully in the crowd again, but did not find Yun Zhizhong. The old woman was a little disappointed.

"Boss, where's your brother?"

“Zhi Zhong is still in the army. He is currently in charge of logistics and cannot leave for the time being.”

Hearing her eldest son's words, she finally felt relieved.

"Come on! Let's go home first." Second Grandma stepped forward and grabbed her son's hand. Looking at her son, who was covered in dust from his journey, she felt sorry for him and wanted him to go home and rest as soon as possible.

Following the old woman's hand, the couple helped her walk towards the village, not forgetting to turn back and signal to everyone to follow.

Seeing the tall wall at the entrance of the village, Yun Zhixin was only slightly surprised. Nowadays, many villages have built their own high walls, and apart from being a bit higher than other places, the wall in his village was nothing special.

But upon entering the village and seeing its completely transformed appearance, everyone was astonished.

Looking at the rows of houses in front of me, which were clearly rebuilt after the earthquake, I couldn't help but ask, "Does our village have so much cement and sand? How could we rebuild the entire village?"

The villagers who came out to greet them heard this and couldn't help but laugh.

"Where can we find cement? After the earthquake, all the vehicles were like scrap metal and couldn't leave the village. Where can we get cement?"

"Exactly, even if you can drive the car out, there's nowhere to buy it."

"Can you guess how people built their houses?"

As Yun Zhixin watched everyone chatting away, but no one gave him the answer he wanted, he couldn't help but turn his gaze to his son beside him.

"Dad, this is using mortar and cement as a substitute for cement. Its strength is no worse than cement."

A soldier nearby couldn't help but ask, "What is 'three-in-one soil'?"

The villagers couldn't help but proudly say, "Sanhetu is made by mixing red clay, lime, and sand in a certain proportion. All the houses in our village were built with it."

Along the way, everyone greeted Yun Zhixin. They were all happy to see him return and invited him to their homes when he had time.

Along the way, Pinghe Village was the most vibrant village they had seen during this period. The farmland in the village had already been planted with crops, which was a world of difference from other villages that were still cultivating the land.

Seeing his mother trying to take him home, Yun Zhixin quickly stopped her: "Mom, don't rush home. I still have a mission. Is Brother Wu still in charge of the village?"

"Yes, A-Wu was just here a moment ago, why can't I see him now?" Second Grandma heard that her son still had a mission, so she hurriedly searched for Yun Mingwu in the crowd.

"As soon as Uncle Wu confirmed they were one of our own, he took a few men and carried the weapons they had taken out back in," Yun Tao quickly replied when he saw his grandmother looking for the village chief.

"Does our village still have weapons?" Yun Zhixin was shocked. What had happened to the village during this time?

“What kind of weapon is that? It’s just a machete that everyone in the village collected together. We used to look at bones, but now we use it to scare people,” the shrewd old lady quickly replied.

"Now that the village chief is busy, let's all go to his house to rest. I'll have Yuntao call Uncle Wu to come over later."

“Yes, hurry up and go home to rest. When we see the village chief, we’ll tell him.” The villagers nearby also urged him.