In the end, they followed the little boy in the direction he pointed out. Along the way, Yunqi chatted with him while also inquiring about the situation in the area.
It turns out that this area was a poor county. Before the highway was built, it took them most of the day to walk to the county town. Even though the transportation improved later, they still had to rely on the village for self-sufficiency every day.
Yunqi and his group were the first people to arrive at their village since the great catastrophe.
Their village is called Gaozhuang, and it has only seven or eight households. After the great disaster, they went to the county for help, but found that the situation was the same everywhere, and the county was not very peaceful either. So they simply returned to the village and tried to find a solution themselves.
Perhaps because they were known for their poverty in the area, no one came looking for them. In addition, the freezing weather later made them give up the idea of going out.
The little boy's name is Gao Baiyun. He should be in junior high school now, but because of this terrible disaster, he can only help his family manage a few oxen every day.
Yes, the people of Gaozhuang have made a living by raising oxen for generations. However, with the popularization of mechanization, people gradually no longer needed oxen. Although the number of oxen raised in the village has decreased, each household still keeps a few. It is because of their special affection for cattle that they have been able to continue raising them even in the more difficult circumstances that followed.
When Yunqi learned that there were now dozens of cattle in the village, his heart was pounding. These kinds of oxen would be essential in the future. Besides plowing, they could also pull heavy loads, which was more cost-effective than raising horses.
She wanted to ask Gao Baiyun if the cattle in their village were for sale, but she didn't know how much it would cost to get a cow. She thought it would be better to discuss these things with his parents.
"Master, we have a guest." Gao Baiyun called out to the field, and soon a person stood up straight and looked in their direction.
"Yun, who's here?" Grandpa Gao asked as the newcomer hurried over from the field.
Si Cheng and the others quickly stepped forward to greet them, "Hello! We're just passing by and wanted to find some water in the village."
"Wasn't it someone sent from the county?" The old man was clearly disappointed.
When Si Cheng and Yun Qi heard this, they didn't know how to tell the old man in front of them that he would have to rely on himself to survive for a long time to come.
"No one has come here much lately. I wonder if they've forgotten about us." Grandpa Gao said with some helplessness and disappointment. He had lived his whole life here without any problems. But the younger generation has to go out and explore, otherwise, given the current situation in Gaozhuang, it's uncertain whether they will even be able to survive in the future.
Although somewhat disappointed, Grandpa Gao still politely took them home.
Knowing they were looking for water, he pointed to a nearby irrigation ditch on the way, saying, "That's our village's drinking water, but for some reason, the water supply has been decreasing lately."
The kind-hearted old man even asked his grandson to prepare food for the guests, saying, "Finding this place is fate. I'll have my daughter-in-law come back later and cook some of the local specialties for you."
Yunqi quickly pulled Gao Baiyun back: "Uncle, there's no need to go to so much trouble. We still need to continue our journey. Besides, there are people from our village waiting for us at the highway exit. We can't afford to be delayed for too long."
"Then call everyone from your village over. It's getting late, so why don't we rest here for the night and continue our journey tomorrow?"
Si Cheng and the others hadn't seen such a straightforward person in a long time.
“Uncle, we have quite a few people here, more than a thousand. We couldn’t find a water source on the way, so we came here to look for it. We’ll go back and bring some people to fetch water later. We wouldn’t dare trouble you any further.”
"So many people! Where are you all headed? The road is difficult to travel now."
Yunqi then told the old man in front of him the purpose of his group.
"That place isn't far from here. It used to only take two or three hours by car." Grandpa Gao's words stunned Yun Qi and the others. According to the map they had seen before, it would have taken several more days to get there.
"Uncle, our main purpose this time is to go to S Province to exchange salt. It will take several more days to reach their famous salt city."
"No mistake. I worked there when I was young. The salt well is in the next county. As for Yancheng, which you mentioned, that's a city under their jurisdiction. The trading takes place there, but the salt production is right next door. Here, we basically buy our salt wholesale directly from the salt well."
Si Cheng and the others wanted to slap themselves for not thinking of that. The salt well definitely wouldn't be built in the city. They were almost misled by the name in the book. If they hadn't arrived at Gaozhuang, they might have missed their destination and had to take a lot more detours. The two quickly thanked Grandpa Gao.
"Brother Cheng, let's go and tell them to come and get water first, and then continue our journey tomorrow."
Yunqi originally wanted to stay here and find an opportunity to fill his space with water, but Sicheng was not comfortable leaving him alone.
When they arrived with their men to fetch water, they found over twenty villagers waiting for them. Perhaps because it had been so long since any strangers had visited, they seemed to have endless questions. Si Cheng and his men explained the situation outside to them, even subtly reminding them that there was a drought everywhere and that they should prepare in advance.
When we arrived at the water source in their village, we found that the original stream had turned into a small ditch.
While everyone was washing and fetching water, Yunqi found Grandpa Gao again. At this time, their son and daughter-in-law were also at home.
After being introduced, I learned that the couple had also been working in the south before the disaster. They returned to their hometown after receiving a disaster warning, and now the family relies on the harvest from the fields for a living.
"Uncle, I see that we still have so many oxen in our village. I wonder if we could trade a few with you? Don't worry, as long as you ask, if we can do it, we will definitely trade with you."
Grandpa Gao's son, Gao Shitou, glanced at his family before stammering out his plan.
“We still have five oxen, one of which is pregnant. We were wondering if we could trade them for a piece of land.” Seeing Yun Qi’s puzzled look, she realized she hadn’t explained herself clearly. “We’re thinking of keeping two oxen and trading the rest for the same treatment as your village. Things are getting increasingly difficult here; the water is almost gone, and we can’t grow crops. We have to find another way. Seeing so many people here, and most importantly, the atmosphere around you is very comfortable, we were thinking of moving here.”
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