They arrived in August. It was hot and the road was difficult to travel on, so it took them more than a month to get there. At this pace, if they didn't leave early, they would not be able to return home before winter.

"I'm afraid we'll have to wait!" Mu Sen frowned and replied. The salt mines in the southwest were all controlled by the imperial court. In the past, they couldn't transport the private mines in their village. Now the price of salt in the city is 50% higher than the last time they came. The price of medicine has also risen. If they buy the goods at the current price in the city, then the food they brought won't be able to exchange for much.

"Alas! This year's weather looks even colder than last year. If we return late, we'll probably freeze on the road!"

"Get lost, you kid, hurry back to get married!" Mu Sen waved his hand, smiled and scolded Yang Tian, but he was right, the road outside was not easy to walk, and he really had to consider returning. He thought carefully about what Yang Tian said, and then said: "Wait for two more days, if we still can't find a good price, we will go back."

Originally, he had not planned to bring Yang Tian on this trip, but his sister took a liking to him, so he decided to bring Yang Tian out to see what kind of person he was. Throughout the journey, although this guy couldn't help much, he could see that he was an honest and decent person, so his sister could rest assured with him in the future.

After staying in Yunshan City for another two days, more and more people poured into the city. Even a small farmer like Yang Tian who had never seen the world felt something was wrong. He asked around and heard that the sea water had slowly flooded over. There were more and more sea rats on their side, and the manpower outside to clean up was already overwhelmed. The city was preparing to force people to work outside to build a taller and stronger city wall. It was said that they, the merchants, were also included in the scope of conscription.

When Mu Sen and his companions heard the news, they did not bother to look for other ways out. They hurriedly dealt with the food they brought and prepared to rush back. Otherwise, if they were caught and forced to serve in the army, it would be hard to say whether they would be able to return alive.

A group of people fled Yunshan City in a panic. Anping County is about 600 miles away from Yunshan City. They were traveling by mule cart and horse, so it was not easy to make a round trip.

Mu Sen is an expert at taming snakes, and he brought a few tamed big snakes with him this time. He didn't feel anything when he came, but before he had walked less than one-third of the way back, the snakes he brought had almost all been killed.

"We've almost used up the snake medicine we made ourselves!" The people who came out with them said dejectedly, "We need to prepare new medicine quickly!"

Although the medicinal herbs they exchanged for could still be used for a lot of necessities, they were all used up before returning home, so wouldn’t their trip be in vain?

"Oh! Maybe the situation will be better if we stay in Yunshan City!" In just two months, there are so many sea rats outside. They are rushing back in such a hurry. Not only is the road dangerous, but they don't know what the situation is like at home. Maybe it will be safer to stay in the city.

"If you go back to the city now, you may still be able to catch up with the brick-moving work. We won't stop you. Go ahead!" someone joked with him.

"Oh, forget it, I'm out!" The person being teased smiled. He was just complaining. How could he really want to go back? He would have to come out again. The city is in a mess now. Not only will he be conscripted, but his food might also be confiscated. It is said that this was done a few years ago. Food was distributed by the government. Only in the past two years, when life has improved, can everyone have some more money.

The next step was to continue on their journey, heading east along the official road. There was no one dedicated to maintain the official road, and the post station had long been deserted. The originally flat road had now become bumpy, with cracks in the ground and weeds and trees growing in the middle of the road seriously affecting their speed. But the worst thing was when it rained.

Their carts were loaded with salt and medicinal herbs, which could not stand water. When they were halfway there, the rain was getting heavier. At first, they could use tarpaulin to block some of the rain, but after several days of continuous rain, there was no village or shop nearby, and not only were the goods in danger of being damaged by the rain, but people would also get sick.

The group of people searched for several days before they found a dilapidated temple. They hid inside for several days, watching the rain outside getting lighter and lighter, but the water on the ground increasing.

"Throw away all the salt and take as many herbs as you can!" The weather was getting colder and colder, and they had to hurry home before it froze. However, the road outside was now full of sea water and difficult to walk on. If they wanted to go back by wild roads, it would be difficult to carry these several large carts of things.

"Then our trip would be completely in vain!" Some people in the caravan were stubborn and unhappy. Here were not only their own property but also a lot of borrowed grain. Everyone was waiting for this batch of salt to exchange for food to live on, so how could they just throw it away!

"It's too late. If we continue to drag these things on the road, we will freeze to death before we get home!" Mu Sen, as the leader of this trip, directly set the rules.

At this point, Yang Tian regretted going out. Although he had learned a lot, he had put most of his family's wealth into the food. There was also food from his two uncles and other relatives in the village. The salt he got back was not much. If he threw it away, how would he explain it when he got home? Would he be able to get married this year?

…☆…

The situation in the village has been getting increasingly tense recently. The rice in the fields will be harvested in more than half a month, but the wall on the river side is about to collapse. No matter how much sand and soil are piled up, it can't stop it, and cracks have already appeared in the bricks.

Yang Dachuan didn't plan to wait any longer. One acre of their three acres of paddy fields had already been flooded. If he waited for the water to rush in again, he would really have no harvest. After walking around the field twice, he went home to prepare the harvest.

"Are we going to start harvesting rice at this time?" Yu Ge'er looked puzzled. The rice in the field is still in the milky stage, the rice grains haven't hardened yet, and the leaves haven't turned yellow at all. Not only will the rice harvested now be unpalatable, but it may not even contain 30% of the grain.

"Let's harvest it. Even if we can't harvest the grain, we can cut the rice stalks and feed the livestock!" Yang Dachuan was also hesitant, but the uneasiness in his heart made him determined. He said, "It's okay. There are nearly two acres of paddy fields in front of our house. There is enough food this year."

Since the head of the family had made the decision, Yu Ge'er did not object. In addition to taking care of village affairs during the day, Yang Dachuan also went to the fields with Yu Ge'er.

Their early rice harvest has caused a lot of discussion again, but this time almost no one in the village will join them in harvesting rice. This is different from the heavy rain a few years ago. The rice was ripe at that time, and it didn't matter if they harvested it early or late. It is still strong now. If they harvest it now, it will just be a pile of rice stalks, which is useless except for feeding livestock. It's better to bet that the wall can hold up until the harvest!

Yang Dachuan and his wife quietly harvested the crops, and brought back the sweet potatoes, soybeans, and corn grown in the dry land, and dried them on a sunny day. Although the villagers did not harvest rice with Yang Dachuan, they did not dare to delay harvesting the crops in the dry land, and stored what they could in the warehouse.

"Hey, Dachuan, your family is too aggressive this time!"

"Hey, this year we estimate that we can harvest more than 500 kilograms per acre. Look how thick the rice bunches are!"

"Alas, what a waste of the Okawa family's food!"

Seeing the food coming down