After taking stock of the items, Yun Jianying came over and whispered something in Si Cheng's ear.
Si Cheng looked at Captain Xiao in surprise, "Why are there extra cotton-padded clothes in this batch of supplies?"
Captain Xiao said, "These cotton-padded coats are a gift for each of you. It's a pity we can't give you anything more. We just want you to keep them on the road to keep warm as the weather gets colder."
Si Cheng declined, saying, "How could we accept this? It's said that one shouldn't accept a reward without merit, and this would be too hot for us to handle."
Captain Xiao genuinely wanted to give them the coats. "We've been so grateful for all the care you've given us along the way, and we've even learned so many skills from you. This is something we can't even ask for normally. We feel a bit embarrassed to give you just a few cotton-padded coats."
Si Cheng could see the other party's sincerity. "Then we'll accept it with our pride. But we can't let you have an easy time explaining it to us. We'll leave you all the animal hides we got earlier as our exchange."
Captain Xiao knew the exact number of animal hides this time, so his side didn't really suffer a big loss. After all, animal hides are sometimes much better at keeping warm than cotton, so they actually made a profit.
"Look, I just wanted to repay you, but I didn't expect to end up taking advantage of you instead."
Si Cheng then realized that although he valued cotton more, their demand for animal hides was much greater than his own. Moreover, his village did not lack animal hides, and some elderly people even disliked the strong smell of homemade animal hides and did not like to wear them.
After some more casual conversation, the two sides went about their own business.
Looking at the animal hides that Pinghe Village had just delivered, Deputy Liu's eyes lit up. "They really know how to process animal hides. They're both soft and shiny. It's just a pity they don't teach this technique to others."
Captain Xiao said, "You should be grateful. They have already taught us so many skills and even selflessly contributed the blueprints for the crossbow. It's already very good. Besides, the skill of tanning fur doesn't belong to them. Even if they wanted to teach it, they would have to get permission from others."
Lieutenant Liu disagreed, saying, "They're so far away, even if we taught them, they wouldn't know."
Captain Xiao stopped him, saying, "One should always be honest. I think Village Chief Si and his team have done a very good job in this regard. Let's find another bag of compressed biscuits later so we can give them as a farewell gift when we see them off tomorrow."
Lieutenant Liu: "More? Didn't we just receive these cotton-padded coats?"
Captain Xiao said, "They gave you back animal hides, we can't always take advantage of others."
After saying that, she ignored him. There was a lot of work waiting for them outside. Once their rest day was over, they would be facing a busy period.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, after bidding farewell to the people who had come early to see them off, Pinghe Village began to head back the way they had come.
"Brother Cheng, there's a kid following us all the time." After walking for most of the day, Wu Tianfu, who had been bringing up the rear, caught up with us.
Hearing him say that, everyone stopped and looked back at the road they had come from, but found nothing.
Yun Jianying: "Are you sure you're not mistaken? Isn't there nobody here?"
Wu Tianfu said with certainty, "I just slipped into the bushes. I thought I was mistaken at first, but I only confirmed it after checking several times."
Si Cheng had already noticed something different in the shaken haystack. He pointed in that direction and said, "Tianfu wasn't wrong, the person is hiding there."
Yun Jianying immediately became furious, believing that all of this was caused by those refugees. "Why are they sneaking around following us? If they have something to do, they should do it openly. Are they afraid that we will do something to harm them?"
Wu Tianfu said, "Don't be so irritable. The one who just followed us was a child, thin and small, and he didn't look very old."
Yun Jianying said, "So what if he's a child? If it weren't for the adults instructing him, he wouldn't dare follow us like this all the way."
After saying that, he rushed towards the bushes ahead, and the others, fearing he would cause trouble, quickly followed.
"You..." Yun Jianying stopped after saying only two words. The child he was holding looked like a skull, with big eyes looking at him timidly. No matter how much blame he wanted to give, he couldn't bear to say it.
Although Gangzi was also thin, he wasn't as badly thin as the boy in front of him. If it weren't for his skin, he would have looked like a walking skeleton.
Yun Qi walked over and grabbed Yun Jianying's wrist. "Let go first. What can a child do to so many of us?"
After saying that, she squatted down and looked at the little boy in front of her, and asked him softly, "Why are you following us? Is there anything I can help you with?"
The little boy looked at them timidly, "Can I follow behind you?"
Yun Qi patiently asked him, "Why are you following behind us? Didn't you just come with us?"
By this time, everyone recognized the child as one of the previous members of the group, but they never expected him to appear here.
The little boy looked at Gangzi in front of him with envy. "I don't eat much, and I can help you with chores. Please, please let me follow you."
Yun Liping also squatted down, "Where are your parents? They'll worry if you run away like this."
The little boy pursed his lips and said stubbornly, "They won't worry. They'll just wish I would disappear from their sight."
Yunqi patted his head. "Did you have a fight with your parents? Go back and talk to them properly. No matter what, it's always better to stay with your family."
The little boy looked at Yunqi with his round eyes and said, "My parents are gone, but I promised them I would live well."
The little boy's words immediately brought tears to Yunqi's eyes, which welled up with tears. It was because of this promise that she had struggled through so many years in the apocalypse, and only she knew the hardships she had endured.
"Who did you live with before? Won't people worry about you running away like this?"
The little boy shook his head. "They won't worry."
As if recalling the first question, he continued, "I used to live with my uncle and aunt, and I left them notes, so they should be happy now."
Looking at the little boy in front of them, no one knew what to do.
Everyone looked at Si Cheng, waiting for him to make a decision.
Si Cheng looked at Gangzi on horseback, then at the boy standing by the grass who looked like a human skeleton, and sighed, "Let him come along! Besides, there's no difference between bringing one or two, so bring them both."
He said that because he had some impression of the boy; with his keen hearing, he could always hear things that others couldn't.
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