The thatch has grown to half a person's height. If they want to go out, they really need to bring a few more people with them.

Then there was another half month of rush to harvest. The sea rats outside were like they were dying, ramming into the walls and gnawing at the foundations like crazy. The sea rats were making a lot of noise, and more snakes came down from the mountain. Because of this noise, the work of building the fence inside was stopped. It was really impossible to do it because it was too dangerous outside.

"We have to get bigger stones to fill up the wall." A group of people gathered around the top of the wall and saw sea rats gnawing at the bricks and stones below. At this rate, within a few months, holes would be gnawed in their wall.

"Aren't they making bricks in the village now? Let's go get some and fill the gap with bricks!"

"Alas, now the wall of this courtyard must be repaired from time to time just like the fields outside!"

"It's good enough that you can defend yourself, but you still expect to stay intact forever. I'll kill you!"

After working for more than half a month, the work in the fields was finally done and the farmers could finally let go of their worries. I don't know if it was because they were too tired, but when they suddenly relaxed, many people in the yard fell down. Fortunately, there was nothing serious now and they could recover by lying in the house and recuperating.

Seeing that their salt jars were slowly running out and no peddlers from other places came to their village, Yang Dachuan could no longer sit still. He went from house to house and alley to call for help from a dozen people, and they rushed to Qiuli Town with food and self-defense gear.

In the past, if they wanted to go out to exchange salt, they would have to pull a cart to transport grain. However, there were few people going this time, and pulling a cart was heavy and conspicuous. Everyone carried ten kilograms of white rice on their backs. White rice is a precious commodity nowadays. Their village has just harvested the best and fresh white rice, so they don't have to worry about not being able to exchange it for salt.

When passing by Dayuan Village, we saw people from Pingshan Village going into the town to exchange salt. There were also a few families who were in urgent need of salt, so they teamed up to set out on the journey.

"Hey, what did you use to exchange for salt? No food? How come you are all empty-handed?" The people from Dayuan Village were panting. Those of them who went out together were either carrying or shouldering large and small bags of food. They were surprised to see the relaxed and agile appearance of the people from Pingshan Village.

"We didn't exchange much, so we brought less food." They didn't know the situation in other villages yet, so they didn't dare to tell others that there was rice in the village.

"Your village is peaceful. Are people still growing crops in the yard?" Yang Dachuan then asked about the situation in their village.

Compared with Pingshan Village, Dayuan Village is much luckier. They built a wall around the entire village and enclosed a lot of land. They eat, drink, defecate, urinate and live inside. So their life is much more comfortable than that of the people in Pingshan Village. Unlike them, they don't have to hang out in the snakes and rats all day long and work to earn food!

"It's not easy either, it's very difficult!" The people of Dawan Village shook their heads. Although their village had enclosed land, it was not much, just enough to fill their stomachs. Moreover, they were not like the people of Pingshan Village who went out to work every few days and were brave. Now they were not afraid of sea rats and poisonous snakes outside.

The people of Dawan Village stayed in the village and rarely went out to eat rat meat. If they didn't have any salt at home, they would not risk going out.

"Hey, is there any white rice in your village now?" Seeing that they couldn't get any answers after a long time, the people who came out with Yang Dachuan said anxiously.

"I guess there are still a few pounds of old rice in the warehouse. What? Do you want to exchange it?" The people in Dawan Village thought it was funny. They haven't grown rice for several years. There are not many families who still have white rice. Tsk tsk! It seems that the people in Pingshan Village are living a good life. They can even eat white rice!

"Hasn't your village fenced off a lot of land? Have you ever thought about growing some rice?" Compared to their Pingshan Village, where people were frugal with every inch of land in front of and behind their houses, their Dawan Village had plenty of land. At least each person could have half an acre of land.

"Growing rice can only produce a few kilograms of grain, but the family will be out of money in a few days. No one grows this kind of food nowadays." The Dawan villager waved his hand, transferred the burden to another shoulder and continued, "But we still have two or three acres of public land in our village, where we grow rice. Usually we use the output from there to exchange for things from other villages to supplement the village. If you want to exchange for white rice, you have to go to our village to find the village chief."

It seems that some people in the surrounding villages still grow rice, especially in large villages like Shanglin Village. It is estimated that the amount of rice grown is quite large. Only their Pingshan Village is poor and does not even have enough land to grow rice. Yang Dachuan breathed a sigh of relief. Then it would not be conspicuous for them to take out the white rice today.

"Then how do you exchange rice for salt in your village?" When the people of Pingshan Village heard that some people were indeed exchanging rice for salt, they became excited.

"Then I don't know. Anyway, we have never changed it." The people in Dawan Village were confused and kept asking about the white rice. "Is that the white rice you are carrying?"

"Hehehe!" The people of Pingshan Village touched their heads and giggled.

"Hey, no wonder you always ask about rice. That's good, your village can grow rice now." Although the people in Dayuan Village are envious, they are not jealous.

Tsk tsk, although their village can barely get enough to eat, they live much more comfortably than Pingshan Village. What's more, their village has always been able to grow rice, unlike Pingshan Village, which only heard about it this year and is afraid that others will know. Oh, how short-sighted they are, there's no telling!

The road to Shangqiuli Town was really bad. It hadn't been walked on for half a year, and it was covered with grass as tall as a person. Not only did it block the view, but it also left a bloody mark on the body when it was hit. There were also potholes on the muddy road, and if you were not careful, you could sprain your ankle. Snakes and insects that suddenly jumped out could scare people. The group walked and stopped until noon before they set foot on the ground in Qiuli Town.

Several of these people had been to the town before and knew where to exchange salt, so when they arrived in the town they did not stop and went straight to the stranger's store.

The town was deserted, with no one in sight. Everyone was staying in the yards. Only when you approached the yards could you hear human voices, otherwise you would have thought it was an empty town!

"Hey, where are you from and what are you doing?" Before they even got close to the strangers' courtyard wall, someone on the wall shouted at them.

"We are from Pingshan Village and Dayuan Village. We come here today to exchange salt!" Some people from the village had been here before and were not afraid of them, so they answered clearly.

"Put a ladder for them to come in!" They all looked familiar, so the people inside invited them in.

"Why haven't you been to the countryside for so long?" After entering, the group took a break and asked them. Could it be that Qiuli Town really gave them half of the land, and they had enough food to eat, so they didn't plan to sell the goods?

The person in charge of the salt exchange spat and complained, "Alas! The road between Dawan Village and Pingshan Village is too difficult to travel. There are many poisonous snakes and sea rats outside. We have to cherish our lives!"

And the most important thing is that there is nothing good to be gained from either of their two villages. The food they take out to exchange is always sweet potatoes. If it weren't for the fact that vegetables could be used to replace rat meat, which was a favor from Pingshan Village, no one would be willing to go that way. To exchange sweet potatoes and grains, any village nearby would be fine. They had to risk their lives to travel far away. As a result, the outside world became increasingly dangerous in the past six months, and no one simply went there.

"Fellow countryman, how do you exchange salt nowadays?"

"Fifteen catties of grain for one catty of salt!" he said.