With the water diversion channel repaired, everyone felt relieved.
The rain gradually lessened and lasted for shorter periods. Seeing this as a glimmer of hope, everyone began visiting each other's homes while the rain was still down.
Yunqi and her son hadn't seen Gao Jie for a long time, so they rushed over to see her as soon as the rain stopped.
Although she stays home with her child every day, Gao Jie is actually thinner than before, but she is still in good spirits.
As soon as they met, Bai Liangfen grabbed Yun's mother's hand and thanked her repeatedly, "If it weren't for your family bringing a ewe, these two children would not know where to find food."
When Gao Jie gave birth to twins, three or four months later, Yun Qi's family had a ewe that had just given birth. After discussing it with her family, Yun's mother brought the whole ewe over and lent it to the Liu family.
"This is what the two little brats deserve. It just so happens that the ewe gave birth at that time, which is just in time to make up for the lack of breast milk."
As they talked, the four of them split into two pairs. The two mothers went to the kitchen to prepare food and chat, leaving their cousins in the room.
"I wonder how they're doing back home? Are they still bickering like that?" Gao Jie sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) chatting with Yun Qi, her tone revealing her worry.
Yunqi said, "As long as the two families separate, and Gao Liang had a good talk with his uncle before, and his uncle also made a compromise, there shouldn't be any major problems."
Gao Jie said, "If only that were true. My mom even asked me to keep an eye out for good girls in our village and to play matchmaker. But given my family's situation, even if I did meet a good one, I wouldn't dare introduce her to anyone!"
Yunqi said, "Auntie is really persistent. She's been asking around everywhere. Since the major disaster in our village, no girl has married out of the village except for Liu Qingying. Gaojia Village is quite far from here, so her family will be even more reluctant to let her go."
"Gao Liang's marriage will probably take some time to resolve, and with the recent rainy season, I wonder how Gaojia Village is doing now?" Gao Jie couldn't help but feel worried as the village has basically lost contact with the outside world.
Yunqi said, "Everything should be fine now. After all, there is a water source, and everyone has returned to their familiar homes. The only problem right now is that the roads are difficult to travel on. Once the rain stops, everyone will be able to travel back and forth again."
Gao Jie understands this principle. Now her focus is on her two children. Even though her parents' home used to be nearby, she rarely visited them. Thinking about it now makes her feel very bad.
They don't know that the people they're worried about now are actually doing much better here than they did before.
Back in the village, everyone moved back to their original homes, including Gao Shuzhen and her son.
After Gao Liang's threats and warnings, Gao Zian became completely silent upon returning to the village. Apart from tending to the crops in the fields, he never spoke to Gao Shuzhen, showing an attitude of completely severing ties.
Even so, Hu Lingling was not completely at ease and did not keep a firm grip on the things in the house.
Since his in-depth conversation with Gao Zian, Gao Liang's influence at home has changed dramatically, and he has become involved in all sorts of matters, big and small.
After this change, the whole family was completely transformed, and the atmosphere became harmonious.
Gao Shuzhen wanted to come over and take advantage of her again, but Hu Lingling immediately shut her up. Gao Zian stood to the side without saying a word.
As the rainfall decreased and the roads became less muddy, the village became lively again. Elderly people and children who had been cooped up indoors for a long time would take the opportunity to play and chat in the square with their families.
Si Cheng also wanted to take advantage of the fact that the vegetation wasn't yet very lush to make another trip to Yancun. So he'd been discussing it with the village officials for the past few days.
Si Cheng asked everyone to share their thoughts, "What do you all think? Should we go alone this time, or should we invite a few other villages in the surrounding area to join us?"
Sun Shaolei: "Those villages that lived here before have been causing us trouble all along. Should we not bring them this time?"
“Yes, our village will go by ourselves.” Yun Jianying immediately responded, unusually agreeing with Sun Shaolei’s idea.
Yunxun said, "Then what? Can we keep the salt we worked so hard to get? And what will we do when our relatives and friends come to visit? Even if we had three heads and six arms, we couldn't satisfy so many people."
Yunxun's words stopped everyone from arguing, and they couldn't help but think that if their village were to act alone, they might actually encounter the problems mentioned above.
"Should we call them again? No matter how much we help these people, it feels like they won't appreciate our kindness. It makes me feel a bit resentful." Sun Shaolei was somewhat resistant, always feeling that his village was being taken advantage of.
"It's actually safer to travel with more people. Those with ulterior motives will at least be more restrained when they see so many of us." Hou Yunhai also agreed that calling more people could sometimes intimidate some petty thieves and deter them from causing trouble.
Si Cheng said, "Actually, a large number of them are still quite good people. It's just that people are selfish, and when faced with interests, they will choose what is beneficial to themselves. Our village has always lived a relatively stable life. If we were in their situation, we might not be as good as them."
Seeing that everyone was still somewhat skeptical, Si Cheng continued, "Bringing them along can prevent future gossip, and our village won't need to have relatives and friends come to plead for help again. It's a win-win situation, so why refuse?"
Yunxun agreed with Cheng Ge's statement, "We can make things clear to them upfront. In the past, everyone helped each other on the way to exchange salt, and no one took responsibility for everyone's safety. Moreover, the last time we went to exchange salt, everyone got along well and there were no disputes. There's no need to condemn everything."
"If they push their luck again this time, we won't be taking them with us next time," Yun Jianying said somewhat defiantly.
"I'll leave this to you," Si Cheng said, looking at Yun Jianying. "Take some men and patrol the nearby villages, but be extra careful. The grass there is taller than a person; who knows what might be hiding inside?"
Yun Jianying nodded in agreement. "Have we decided on a departure date?"
Si Cheng said, "We'll set off once the rain has completely stopped and the ground isn't so muddy. So there's no need for you to rush to inform them. Let's wait until the ground is a bit drier before we go."
Although there isn't as much mud when you go out now, this kind of semi-dry, semi-wet muddy ground is the most difficult to walk on. Sometimes your shoes get stuck to the ground and are very difficult to pull off.
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