Traveling through ancient times to survive

The six people divided the work and worked together to refine salt. They worked by the stream for three days. Their bags were all filled and their dry food had to be wrapped in leaves.

"Okay, let's go back."

Zhao Qing waved his hand, and the other five people packed their bags happily, and ran back towards the valley, exhausted.

Six days later, the group returned to the entrance of the valley. Although they were tired, they looked energetic.

Six people entered the valley one after another. Zhao Deyu, who was walking in front, saw the villagers guarding the entrance. Before he could greet them, he saw the villagers in front of him react quickly, picked up weapons to guard against the newcomers, and shouted loudly.

"Who are you? Outsiders, stay away!"

The smile on Zhao Deyu's face froze, and he shouted indisputably: "Uncle, I am Zhao Deyu!"

The villager opened his eyes wide and looked carefully, but still could not see any familiar shadow on this dirty face. He waited for the five people behind to come in one by one, and only laughed when he saw Zhao Qing come out last.

"You are finally back! The village chief had people waiting at the entrance every day for you, and finally you are back."

Five people: "..."

The five people were so shocked that they didn't want to talk. When they came back from their trip, they were greeted not by cheers but by defensiveness. Were they so dirty? How come they didn't recognize the familiar people they had lived with since childhood?

The five of them stretched out their arms and sniffed in unison. A pungent, sour smell rushed into their noses and they almost vomited. The smell was too overpowering. They must wash it thoroughly when they get back.

Zhao Qing almost couldn't hold back her laughter when she saw the five people's fluttering facial features and disgusted expressions. She tried hard to suppress her laughter and talked seriously to the villagers who were guarding them.

"Uncle, is everything okay in the village?"

"It's hard to say whether it's good or bad. More and more villagers are starting to lose their strength, but they are still alive and not in danger of death. Did you gain anything from this trip?"

The villagers on guard looked at Zhao Qing with hope.

"Yes, we brought back salt." Zhao Qing nodded and answered decisively.

"Really? That's great. I must immediately inform the village chief." Before he finished speaking, he turned and ran.

He ran and shouted, and his excited voice could be heard from far away.

"Village chief, come quickly! They are back! They found salt!"

"Boss, you stay here and watch over the salt. Wait for the village chief. Let's go back and wash up first."

Zhao Dewen spoke embarrassedly. After entering the valley, his tense nerves relaxed and he realized how dirty he was. He felt like ants were crawling all over his body. He really couldn't bear it if he didn't take a shower.

The four people who followed him nodded their heads in agreement. Yes, yes, if they hadn’t heard it, they wouldn’t have realized it. This reminder was something they couldn’t tolerate for even a moment.

"No, you played a big role in bringing back this salt. You are all heroes of the village. What's wrong with being a little dirty? This is proof of your hard work, just like scars are medals of heroism. There's nothing to be ashamed of. Stand up straight and accept the cheers of the villagers."

Zhao Qing disagreed. She wanted to let the villagers see how sloppy they were so that they would know how difficult this trip was. It was not her style to refuse reward for merit, especially for her younger brothers who followed her.

Zhao Chengchuan came over happily with a group of villagers. He first looked the six people up and down carefully, and was relieved to see that the six people were indeed not injured.

"Qingya, Dewen, Deyu, Deming, Dewei, and Dajin, welcome home!"

The five people felt the village chief's concern and were so moved that tears welled up in their eyes and they shouted out in unison.

"Village chief, we have fulfilled our mission and brought back salt!"

Zhao Chengchuan said solemnly, "You are the great heroes of the village! None of us will forget your kindness. Of course, in addition to verbal praise, I also have rewards in kind. When the grain from the fields is harvested, each household will give you ten kilograms of grain each. Don't think it's too little, this is all the village can afford for now."

"Yes, that's what we should do."

"There should be rewards for merit."

"Look at them, they are all torn and dirty, they don't look like human beings at all, and each of them has lost a lot of weight. It's obvious that they have been having a hard time these days. They deserve some rewards."

"Yes, it makes me sad to see it. Anyone who disagrees is a black-hearted person. We can't tolerate such a conscienceless person in our valley."

The villagers who followed the village chief all spoke in agreement. Since they separated from those people who were not in their right minds, there were fewer bad people in the village, and the neighbors were harmonious and friendly. The village atmosphere was much better. Everyone could execute the orders issued by Zhao Chengchuan without hesitation. It was much easier than when the clan leader was the village chief.

Zhao Chengchuan made the final decision: "Okay, let's do this from now on. As long as they have made contributions to the village, they will all be rewarded."

The five people looked at each other in great joy. They had never thought at the beginning that there would be a reward. Even if it was only one pound of food, it was an unexpected gain and made them happy.

Moreover, there are a total of 19 households in the village. Excluding his own family, that is 180 kilograms of grain, which is a lot in today's world.

One villager urged impatiently: "Where is the salt you brought back? Take it out quickly so that we can have a look."

"Yes!" The six people put down the bags on their backs carefully. Their movements were so careful as if they were holding a treasure and were afraid of breaking it. No, to them, this was a treasure.

They put down the bundle and began to untie it. For fear that the silk would spill on the way, they tied the bundle tightly. It took them a long time to completely untie the bundle.

Everyone held their breath, and only saw white salt grains as fine as sand coming out of the opened bundle.

"???"

Everyone was puzzled. Didn't they say they were going to look for salt rock? What was this white thing that looked almost like snow?

There was total silence all around. Zhao Dewen explained with a proud expression, "This is indeed salt, the fine salt used by the nobles. We have tasted it and it is all salty, with almost no bitterness."

"Really? Then I have to try it!" Someone's eyes lit up and he stretched out his hand to dip a little to taste it.

"Pa", a loud sound was heard suddenly. It turned out that someone had knocked away the outstretched hand in time. From the sound, it was clear that a lot of force was used. Before the person being beaten could get angry, the person who was hitting him raised his eyebrows and became angry.

"You didn't wash your hands and just dipped them in. What if you ruined this big bag of salt?"

"Oh, yes, it's my fault. I was so excited that I didn't notice these things." The person who was beaten apologized with a sullen look on his face.

Six large bags of white fine salt catch the eye, bringing a great impact.

"Okay, okay, we can also try the salt that the nobles eat." Someone's eyes were filled with tears.

"Now there will be no shortage of salt, and we can use it for a long time." Some people put aside their worries and felt a lot more relaxed.