The person who wanted to move immediately shut up after the other party mentioned the village chief, indicating that the village chief has considerable authority.
There were four of them, all young men in their early twenties. Each of them wore straw sandals, carried a stick (presumably for climbing), and had poorly made baskets on their backs, clearly hand-woven by beginners. After passing through the woods, they saw Xu Lin and Zhou Pin sitting on the ground.
The four men immediately pointed their machetes and axes at Xu Lin and Zhou Pin.
"Who are you?" one of them asked.
"We came here to find supplies," Zhou Pin said.
"Alright, you guys stay here, we'll go somewhere else." Seeing that Xu Lin and the others were sitting still, the four put away their weapons and prepared to find supplies elsewhere.
Unexpectedly, the other party was quite reasonable. Judging from their accent, they were from northern province, so Xu Lin decided to ask them about the situation.
“Hey guys, it’s fate that we’ve met. I see you’ve picked some ginseng, and it looks pretty good. I’d like to trade some supplies with you,” Xu Lin said, pointing to the ginseng in their baskets.
Xu Lin didn't flatter them; the ginseng roots they picked were intact, and it was clear at a glance that they were quite old.
"What will you use to exchange?" the older boy asked.
“I have honey, blueberry jam, wine, toilet paper, toothpaste, and toothbrushes here. See what you need,” Xu Lin said, taking things out of her backpack. “You can sit here and rest for a while, and have some water. This is purified water.”
The four were clearly interested, so Xu Lin pressed on and used water to lure them to sit down.
"Brother, how about we take a break? We've been walking all morning." The youngest person asked the oldest.
"Don't worry, the water is definitely fine. Let me have a sip first." Xu Lin took her cup, poured herself a glass of water, and drank it.
The four of them, perhaps because they were not very worldly, were easily persuaded by Xu Lin and sat down to drink water.
The four were indeed inexperienced, and this was their first time venturing out to find supplies on their own; previously, they had always come out with their families. Although they had experienced the apocalypse and were highly vigilant, Xu Lin and Zhou Pin were unlike the burly, obviously wicked people they had encountered before.
"You're from the North Province, right? Where do you live now?" Xu Lin asked.
Seeing that the four remained silent, Xu Lin knew that the children were still on their guard.
"My name is Xu Lin, this is my husband. We live on that mountain over there. We came here today to find supplies," Xu Lin said, pointing to the mountain where they lived to the southwest.
Xu Lin wasn't lying. They were searching for supplies on each mountain, and sooner or later they would find the mountain where they lived. By greeting them now, they could gain their trust.
“So that’s where you live,” one of the young men said.
"Have you been there?" Xu Lin asked.
"I haven't been there, but the village chief looked with binoculars and said there are people active on that mountain. A lot of people went there a couple of days ago, and he told us to stay away from that mountain when we're looking for supplies." The child was quite honest.
This village chief is interesting.
"Is the village chief you're talking about the one I understand?" Xu Lin was quite curious about their village chief.
"The village chief was appointed to our village before the apocalypse. Then the apocalypse happened, and she led us to find supplies, build houses, and take us to flat land before the earthquake. After the tsunami, she took us to the mountains." It's clear that this village chief is quite capable.
"Your village chief is really amazing!" Xu Lin genuinely believed that this village official was impressive.
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