"Father, with our current status, those schools might not be willing to hire us."
"Yes, I've also thought of that."
At this moment, Meng Qingping's mood was tinged with a trace of decadent sadness.
Fearing that his father couldn't withstand such a blow, Fu Yu quickly said, "Father, although we can't teach, we can at least still work the land."
"That's true. I just don't know if we'll be assigned land by the authorities or if we'll have to buy it ourselves with our own money."
"Son, I hope we can buy it ourselves." Fu Yu knew the law, "If the authorities assign us land, it will be very troublesome."
Meng Qingping thought about it too. If the authorities really assigned their family land, then their status would be no different from that of the Meng clan members.
Then his son and grandson... He dared not think further, but his gradually paling face betrayed his current emotions.
"Father, you don't need to worry. Our family won't be." Fu Yu was familiar with the law, "Since the imperial edict clearly states that our family is merely being relocated, there will be no mistake."
"Oh, I'm old, and my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be." Meng Qingping rarely admitted to being old.
"Father isn't old; you're just like before." Fu Yu, afraid of increasing his father's sadness, quickly spoke to comfort him.
In fact, when he saw him today, he was almost moved to tears. He wondered what kind of hardship his gentle and refined father had endured over the past month to become like this. His face looked more than ten years older, and his hair had turned white. If it weren't for the two children by his side, he would have barely recognized him.
Fu Yu then thought of the two children, who had become as thin as bones, and the bitterness in his heart instantly spread throughout his body.
"Yu'er..." No one knew him better than his father. Meng Qingping instantly caught the change in Fu Yu's heart.
"Father..." Fu Yu was about to explain to his father, to reassure him, when he saw his daughter suddenly sit up from the ground, her eyes sharply fixed on the outside of the temple gate.
"Ci'er, what's wrong?" Fu Yu thought his daughter was having a nightmare and asked with concern.
Fu Xinci stared fixedly at a certain spot, a habit developed over more than a year in the apocalypse. She was afraid that with the slightest lapse, the monsters would change positions, increasing the difficulty of combat.
"Ci'er?" Seeing that his daughter remained silent, Fu Yu's heart was gradually enveloped by unease.
"Ci'er?" Meng Qingping also sensed something was wrong. However, it was already close to midnight, and he didn't want to wake the sleeping people, so he lowered his voice and called out.
Fu Xinci's eyes had not left a certain direction. Only when she was sure she wasn't being overly suspicious did she say to her grandfather and father in a slightly hoarse voice, "Grandfather, Father, quickly wake everyone up. There are wolves outside."
"Ci'er, you say there are wolves outside?" Meng Qingping was startled to hear his granddaughter mention wolves outside. However, having been a local official for over twenty years, his calm demeanor was deeply ingrained in his bones.
Fu Yu looked at his daughter in disbelief, still thinking she was groggy from sleep and not fully awake.
Ginger is indeed spicier with age. Meng Qingping believed his granddaughter's words and immediately called out loudly for everyone to get up.
"Brother Jiang, Zhuzi, Nianzi, nephew Wu... quickly get up, there are wolves outside." Meng Qingping's voice was not loud, but it was particularly clear in the silent, rainy night.
"Father..." Fu Yu, though accustomed to indulging his children, still felt it was excessive to wake everyone up based on a child's sleep-induced remark.
"What is it? What's wrong?" The first to wake up was Qi He. He rubbed his sleepy eyes, not yet knowing what had happened.
"Father..." Fu Yu tried to stop his father from waking everyone.
"Brother Qi, hurry and wake up Grandpa Jiang and the others. There are wolves outside." Fu Xinci was fully alert and ready for battle.
"What? Wolves?" This time, Qi He was completely awake, all traces of sleep gone. He got up from the ground and ran like lightning towards Jiang Tou'er's side, shouting, "Grandpa Jiang, Uncle Zhuzi, hurry and get up! There are wolves outside."
The young man's voice, whether from fear or nervousness, carried a tremor he himself didn't notice.
Wu Laoda, who hadn't been sleeping soundly, was also woken up. He groggily sat up from the straw mat and reflexively grabbed the stick he kept by the mat for self-defense, shouting, "Where are the wolves?"
"The wolves are outside." The clear voice carried an undeniable certainty.
Most of the people sleeping soundly were woken up, but they hadn't fully regained their senses.
It wasn't until the anxious and fearful cries of the mules and donkeys were heard from outside, and the sound of hooves striking the ground grew louder, that those startled from their sleep finally felt fear.
"What's going on?" Jiang Tou'er, abandoning his usual carefree demeanor, wore a rare serious expression.
"Boss, it seems there are wolves outside." This was Nianzi's first encounter with real wolves. Although he hadn't truly faced them yet, he didn't know where to put his hands.
Jiang Tou'er had seen the world and wasn't seeing wolves for the first time. He heard the constant commotion of mules and donkeys outside the temple gate, and his experience told him there were definitely wolves outside, and more than one.
"Boss, we can have a big fight now." The dark-faced burly man was indeed someone who had followed Jiang Tou'er through various regions. Upon hearing about the wolves outside, his hand, which held his saber, never loosened, and a hint of approaching bloodshed flickered in his shining eyes.
Jiang Tou'er, however, was not as optimistic as he was. His eyes were fixed on the outside of the temple as he quickly made arrangements.
"All the old, weak, women, and children, sit by the wall. All able-bodied men, stand outside the old, weak, women, and children. I don't expect you to help, but at least don't cause trouble."
After instructing the Meng clan members, Jiang Tou'er turned to the Wu brothers, who were holding sticks, and their companions, saying, "Brothers, we're going to have a big fight today. I hope you brothers can lend us a hand."
"That's only natural." Wu Laoda replied faster than anyone. Their mules and goods were outside. If these officials didn't intervene, their brothers would suffer the greatest losses.
Clearly, the people following him had also realized this, and they gripped their sticks tightly, as if ready to rush out and fight the wolves together at his command.
Jiang Tou'er was very satisfied with their response. He glanced around, and the few brothers who followed him were also holding their ground, standing tall and straight to his left and right, exuding an air of impending battle.
"Good." With his brothers in this formation, it showed that his life hadn't been lived in vain. He had earned people's loyalty.