The road ahead will only get harder to travel.

After the rain this morning, the temperature was even lower than yesterday.

Even at ten in the morning, the temperature was still only two or three degrees.

The sun hung in the sky, with no white clouds, the azure sky looked less beautiful.

Li Yu sat by the car window, rolled down the window a bit, lit a cigarette, and puffed out clouds of smoke.

The development of the base is a long-term mission.

They still have a lot to do, but they can’t rush.

......

In order to return to the base early, they didn’t stop on the way, didn’t rest at noon, and settled lunch in the car.

Dapao didn’t sleep all the way to the base either, the conditions of the road were too bad, and the bumpy ride meant he didn’t sleep well.

So he simply stopped trying to sleep and chatted with Wang Cheng and others in the car.

After the rain in the morning, the trees on both sides of the road outside the car, the pine needles hung with dewdrops.

These pine trees are the most enduring, many survived even in extreme weather.

After a rain, they regained some vitality.

Speeding all the way.

They were getting closer to the Big Camphor Tree Base.

....

Western Alliance.

Zhou Family.

Ever since Liu Cunyi approached last time, Zhou Zhisheng and others began to think about whether to leave the Western Alliance together with the Liu Family.

Now they were still being watched 24/7 by the Gan Family, although not as strictly as before, but as long as Zhou Family members went out, someone would follow closely behind.

This made the Zhou Family very uncomfortable.

This feeling of being guarded at all times was like having a sword hanging over one’s head, ready to fall at any moment.

Finally on the second day.

After a day of internal discussion and research, Zhou Zhisheng, representing the Zhou Family, found the Liu Family.

Liu Family’s courtyard.

Liu Cunyi looked at Zhou Zhisheng, a smile on his face, and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

Zhou Zhisheng was very serious, and said to Liu Cunyi, "The biggest problem is, how do we leave? Gan Xiong won’t allow us to leave, you should know this well."

Liu Cunyi restrained his smile and said to Zhou Zhisheng, "Leaving will certainly be very difficult, but I think Gan Xiong is also troubled by us now.

He neither trusts us nor finds a suitable excuse to deal with us, plus if they want to fight both our families at once, they will definitely pay a price.

My idea is that all our family industries, except for existing food supplies, will be given to Gan Xiong. In exchange, we get the opportunity to leave."

Zhou Zhisheng heard this, and said with a look of reluctance, "The price for this is too high..."

In the Western Alliance, originally each family had some of their own industries and stockpiled some items.

Like the Zhang Family, who previously had a canned food processing plant, and the Zhou Family had a soybean oil factory.

When they chose to join the Western Alliance back then, they also moved the product equipment of their family factories.

Liu Cunyi, upon hearing Zhou Zhisheng’s words, realized that Liu Cunyi was actually not unwilling to part with these, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been discussing paying such a high price, but would have outright refused.

So he continued to say, "Compared to our lives, these are not important, our family is also paying, it’s not just your family sacrificing."

Zhou Zhisheng didn’t answer immediately, he added, "You gave two choices that day, one was our two families collaborating to establish a new base.

The other choice was about Zhang Rufen, which you didn’t finish explaining. I want to know what the second choice is."

Liu Cunyi spoke up, "Zhang Rufen, he escaped from Gan Xiong’s pursuit from the Western Alliance and went to the neighboring province’s minority group, joining a powerful faction. That faction is strong, though they don’t have many guns, their side is very stable."

"You mean Yun Province?"

"Yes, in the neighboring province."

"But isn’t the road there difficult to travel?" Zhou Zhisheng said with a furrowed brow.

Originally, their location was in a basin, and to head south to Yun Province, one must pass through the Yun Gui Plateau.

"Don’t worry, it’s not that remote, there are bridges and tunnels all the way, it’s not hard to travel. The key is whether you want to go."

Zhou Zhisheng asked with some confusion, "How do you know about this?"

Liu Cunyi’s face showed a troubled expression, as this involved the Liu Family’s most important secret.

So he solemnly said, "Sorry, I can’t tell you, but I can assure you of the accuracy of this matter."

Zhou Zhisheng took a deep look at Liu Cunyi and said quietly, "To achieve cooperation and leave together, if you’re still keeping secrets, how can I trust you."

Liu Cunyi’s face showed a hint of struggle, and he said, "Our two families face the same situation, I’m not lying to you.

Even though I can’t tell you why we know, I can tell you why we want to find Zhang Rufen.

Zhang Rufen joined that faction and married into the family of their faction leader’s daughter, so he has some influence there.

Moreover, Zhang Rufen is always thinking about revenge, you know about his hatred with the Gan Family, the annihilation of his family.

He promised us, as long as we join them, they can provide us safety, even if Gan Xiong comes after us, he can ensure our safety."

Zhou Zhisheng was still somewhat skeptical, looking straight at Liu Cunyi, trying to discern the accuracy of his words.

After all, this involved not only their individual issues but also their families, so caution was necessary.