Yun Qi and Gao Jie then helped Gao Zi'an to their village's camp. Gao Liang had to join the night patrol and couldn't take care of him all the time.
But things are different in Pinghe Village. Not only can Yunqi and Gaojie take care of him, but his son-in-law Liu Fengya can also check on his wounds from time to time, so he is the perfect fit for this place.
What saddened Gao Zian the most was that his kind nephew, who had protected and helped him along the way, hadn't once approached to ask if he needed any help or anything. Thinking about all he had done for Gao Dongxing along the way and not receiving a single word of concern in return, his heart sank.
Seeing that her father had been in low spirits all night, Gao Jie thought he was feeling unwell, so she quickly ran over and dragged her husband over so he could get a proper check-up.
"Dad, if you feel unwell, remember to tell Fengya."
"I'm not feeling unwell at all, you can all go about your business." Seeing his daughter, son-in-law, and niece surrounding him, Gao Zian's heart swelled with warmth. It was at this crucial moment that he could see who truly cared for him.
"Uncle, why don't you rest here for a bit? We'll call you over when we've prepared dinner." Yunqi piled everyone's luggage together and then laid a blanket on top so that Gao Zian could lean against it and rest.
Because Gao Zian had lost too much blood, Yun Qi specially took out a handful of millet and a few red dates from his space, preparing to cook a bowl of millet porridge for him later.
Because of the leopard's sneak attack, everyone made a series of traps with ropes outside the camp before they felt safe enough to walk back to the camp to rest.
"Let's go and retrieve those things tomorrow, but can everyone handle the weight?" Si Cheng thought of the pile of supplies they had buried in the ditch, and seeing that everyone was already carrying heavy loads, he wondered if they could handle the added burden.
"If only the weather were as frozen as it was before, we could just make a plank and slide them all back." Yun Jianying and the others were now actually missing the frozen weather.
"The road is just too bad. If it were smoother, we wouldn't be in such a predicament." Looking at the uneven cement road, it's impossible to repair it manually.
"Let's ask the villages for their opinions later. Maybe they'll have different ideas, but our village can go through the trouble of bringing them all back." Gao Mingwei actually advocated taking them all out at once, even though it would be tiring, at least they wouldn't have to make two trips.
“Those things may seem like a lot, but if we spread them out among more than a thousand people, we should be able to handle it.” Si Cheng also agreed to take everything back at once, since leaving it here might lead to some unforeseen changes.
"Brother, should we share some of these things with the people in Gaozhuang?" Zhao Dongwei whispered in his ear. He had gotten along well with the two brothers in Gaozhuang recently and wanted to do something for them.
"We need to consult the opinions of the other villages. If everyone agrees, then there will definitely be no problem."
“But if they don’t agree, it’s not good for us to divide it ourselves. After all, they are now part of our village. We can’t just divide it up so clearly.” Zhao Dongwei was still unwilling to give up and wanted to try to persuade them, because he knew that as long as Brother Cheng spoke up, the others would have no objections.
Si Cheng didn't want to waste time arguing with him about such a trivial matter. He nodded and said, "I'll mention it to them later, but the final decision will depend on everyone's decision."
As expected, everyone unanimously decided to take everything back. This meant they would have to stay a little longer tomorrow to distribute the items. As for whether to share them with the new villagers of Gaozhuang, everyone agreed that they had no objection. After all, each person wouldn't lose much if the items were split equally, and there was no need to create misunderstandings for the future over such petty gains.
However, the oil cannot be taken away for the time being; besides not having a container, it is indeed too heavy to carry.
Because the supplies obtained from the warehouse needed to be distributed equally, the leaders of the several villages took stock and divided the goods equally. To ensure fairness, everyone drew lots to get a share, and whether they got what they wanted depended on their luck.
After all this, they had wasted most of the day here, meaning they wouldn't be able to reach the next campsite before dark. They decided to rest a bit longer, because along the way they discovered that many water collection points were already dry. Actually, Yunqi hadn't bothered to fill them with water beforehand, seeing everyone else was well-prepared, because the drought was getting worse, and filling them with water himself would have made the difference very obvious in comparison to the surrounding areas.
"Brother, should we set some traps nearby? Maybe we'll get some unexpected results." Yun Tao looked at everyone sitting idly in the camp in the afternoon. He looked at the mountains all around and thought that even if there weren't many, there should be some wild rabbits. Although he was tired of eating rabbits lately, rabbit meat was still better than eating dry rations.
"Let's go. This time, don't all run out. Just find a few people to go and take a look together." Si Cheng also wanted to familiarize himself with the surrounding area, and it wasn't right to just sit here for most of the day.
When Gao Dongxing saw the group heading towards the mountainside, he reached the campsite in Pinghe Village and saw his uncle resting against the luggage. He squatted down and shook his leg. Only after Gao Zian opened his eyes did he ask a question.
"Uncle! How's your wound? Is it alright?"
"I'm fine." After answering, Gao Zian realized, "What are you doing here? I can't help you now."
"Uncle, I was terrified at that moment, and I couldn't handle a leopard on my own. I really didn't mean to not help you." After yesterday's journey, Gao Dongxing sensed that no one wanted to accommodate him anymore. If he fell behind again, no one would stop to wait for him. At that moment, he missed his uncle terribly. Moreover, he was afraid of another incident like the one with the leopard, so he gritted his teeth and kept up closely.
Moreover, he had another purpose for coming this time: "Uncle, could my brother help me carry some things? The things are too heavy for me to carry."
“If you can’t carry it, you can either put it down or give it to someone else. Look at me, I’m injured now, and the things that should have been carried by me are now on their shoulders. Moreover, I need their help to walk. I can’t bring myself to ask them for help.” Gao Zian knew that he had held back several of the younger generation this time. Although the village had let him ride on horseback yesterday, he had injured his arm, not his leg. Now that he had rested here for a day, he would have to travel on his own tomorrow.
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