Yunqi tried many ways to persuade the two elders overnight, but none of them worked by the next day.
Because they wanted to bring back all the camellia seeds at once, couples from every household formed pairs of men and women, leaving even Yun Zhiming speechless.
Since the route had already been decided, everyone decided not to postpone it and prepared to set off early the next morning.
As for Xin San Village, Wu Tianxiang was asked to go there and ask if they wanted to come into the mountains with him.
Captain Liu had wanted to come and inquire before, but he knew that Village Chief Si was not in the village, so he could only keep quiet about it. Now that the other party had sent someone to inform him, he agreed without even discussing it with Shi Jingchong.
After seeing Wu Tianxiang off, Captain Liu got busy, not only notifying everyone in the village, young and old, to attend a meeting, but also arranging for the village's safety.
Everyone busied themselves packing the food and supplies needed for the next few days, and Sicheng also welcomed an unexpected guest.
Old Zhao looked at him with guilt, "I don't know where everyone heard the news, but they all want to go into the mountains with you, so they asked me to come and persuade them."
Si Cheng hadn't expected this purpose. He turned to look at Yun Xun and the others, who were also surprised.
Old Zhao knew this request was a bit excessive, clearly an attempt to take advantage of others. "These guys haven't seen any profit in a long time, so they shamelessly came knocking on our door."
Si Cheng said, "I can't give you an answer right now. After all, it needs everyone's consent. I'll give you an answer after I discuss it with the villagers."
Old Zhao nodded hurriedly, "It's nothing, I should thank you no matter what."
After Yun Jianying saw the person out, Si Cheng looked at everyone, wanting to hear their opinions.
Hou Yunhai said, "If all else fails, we'll take them with us. We might not be able to carry them all back in one trip."
Wu Yong said, "But those people are too weak. What if they have to carry us halfway through, just like last time?"
Sun Shaolei said, "Let's refuse them. Otherwise, they'll all want to get involved in any of our future actions, and it's not good to develop that kind of habit."
Yunxun said, "We are all neighbors. If we only bring Xin San Village up the mountain this time, there will definitely be conflicts between the three villages in the future."
Si Cheng said, "What you all say makes sense. We won't blindly bring everyone up. We'll only give them twenty spots, and only those with good physical strength."
No one else objected. Old Zhao only told them to bring their own people, but how many to bring and how to bring them was up to them.
Yun Xun went to the village gate and explained the conditions to Old Zhao, who had been waiting there. As for how to allocate these quotas, that was their business.
After Yun Xun left, many people surrounded him, asking, "So? Did you agree?"
Old Zhao said, "They gave us twenty spots, and the requirement is good physical strength."
"Twenty? That's so few?"
"With so many of us, even if we only have twenty spots, we won't be able to bring back many tea seeds."
Everyone's focus was on the number of spots, completely forgetting that without good physical strength, it would be impossible to carry tea seeds back from such a far place.
"Go and inform each other. Anyone who is physically fit can come along," Old Zhao waved his hand, dismissing everyone.
He was in the wrong in this matter. If the other party did not limit the number of people, and they all went, he knew their physical condition and they would not be able to do heavy labor. Even if they went, they might not be able to carry them back.
“Uncle Zhao, the number of people is too small. Even if we bring back tea seeds, we won’t be able to extract much oil. With so many of us, we simply can’t distribute them all.”
"Yes, Uncle Zhao, should we go and talk to them again?"
Old Zhao said, "Since it can't be distributed, then it won't be distributed. It can be used as a common resource for the village in the future. The fact that they let us follow them is already a favor to us. We can't take advantage of them."
After saying that, he left without waiting to see if they had listened or not, taking his two grandsons with him.
Seeing Old Zhao leave, everyone knew that this was the only way this time. Those who remained were conflicted. If all the gains from this event were attributed to the village collective, should they try to get them or not?
No matter how conflicted they were or how they tried to handle it, they packed their things early the next morning and were ready to leave.
Although there was no limit on the number of people allowed in Xin San Village, they didn't dare to go too far. They inquired about the number of people traveling in Pinghe Village before deciding that one person would be sent from each household.
The group of about three hundred people went directly from behind Xin San Village onto the road they had previously traveled.
This time, Yun Qi did not lead the way, because the medicine pack he carried had been improved so that the snakes could stay far away.
Speaking of medicinal herbs, all the apprentices from the village came along this time. Their task was to collect as many wild medicinal herbs as possible within a certain safe area.
A few days ago, Ma Tao came and basically swept all the medicinal herbs in the village. Now, apart from what each household kept for themselves, the village's collective medicinal herbs are running out.
Upon entering the mountains, the group arrived at a small pond, but it had completely dried up. Fortunately, everyone was prepared and had brought enough spare water.
"Brother Cheng, are you still resting in that cave tonight?" Wu Yong asked as he caught up with him.
Si Cheng said, "With so many people, that cave probably won't be big enough. Tell them to bring some firewood along the way, as some of them may have to rest outside tonight."
Wu Yong nodded and went to inform everyone. They were all traveling light, and there was plenty of firewood along the way. In no time, everyone was carrying a bundle.
"This is the place where we encountered the hyenas last time. See that big rock? Brother Cheng blocked the cave entrance with the rock, otherwise someone would definitely have been dragged away by them." Zhao Dongwei told the villagers who had followed him as they walked.
When everyone arrived at the place, they began to look around curiously, especially at the huge rock, which once again amazed them at the strength of Village Chief Si.
"This place is wonderful, it's practically a natural refuge. If it weren't deep in the mountains, we could just build a door at the entrance and make it our home," Liu Huatian exclaimed after walking around.
Wang Dali said, "Come on, you're staying here, aren't you planning to go out? As soon as you go out, you're in danger of being dragged away by wild animals on the mountain at any time."
Liu Huatian said, "I was just expressing my feelings. We're already quite happy with where we live. It's just a small wooden house, but the sense of security there is just different. Compared to those who are still wandering around, I'm very content."
Wang Dali gave him a push, "Stop sighing there, hurry up and help us arrange the timber in a circle. We need to be observant, otherwise they won't take us with them next time."
Upon hearing this, Liu Huatian dared not delay any longer. He followed everyone to form a large circle around the firewood and then went around to collect a lot of firewood to keep for later use.
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