Meng Qingping watched the little girl's actions, sighed faintly. He should have thought of it long ago, that in a family like the Mengs, anyone not useful would be ignored.
Coupled with the hardships of the exile journey, it made this child understand the difficulty of survival at such a young age.
Seeing her paternal grand-uncle looking at her, Ke'er mumbled, "Second paternal grand-uncle, Ke'er wants to go out and pick up branches too." After speaking, Ke'er walked towards the outside.
Just then, a muffled thunderclap struck, startling the little girl. She turned around, wanting to run back to where her mother was. However, after taking two steps, the little girl seemed to recall something, slowly stopped, and turned back to look at her second paternal grand-uncle pitifully.
Meng Qingping saw the little girl's every move. He beckoned to her, "Ke'er, sit down. It's going to rain outside, don't wander around."
"Yes, Ke'er will listen to second paternal grand-uncle." The little girl replied and obediently walked over to sit beside Yu'er.
At this moment, lightning flashed and thunder roared in the sky. Fu Xinci called out to them, "Let's go back quickly."
"Okay." Qi He was the first to respond. He nimbly carried the dry branches he had picked up and ran into the temple. He had to run; the thunder was too scary.
Seeing that his sister was also frightened by the thunder, Qishan quickly freed up a hand to pull his sister and ran back, shouting for Qitian to follow.
"Hey, coming right up." Qitian was reluctant to leave the dry branches in front of him. He picked them all up before running back.
As the group of them ran into the temple gate one after another, they looked back and saw a huge fire-like snake writhing in mid-air. A thunderous explosion, "Ka-cha," erupted in the sky, followed by heavy raindrops pounding down on the ground. The long-dry earth instantly kicked up a cloud of dust, which was then quickly soaked by the rain, disappearing without a trace.
When the thunder sounded, Yu'er and Ke'er were so scared they pressed their small bodies against their grandfather, not daring to move. Qiren also flinched closer to his second uncle, frightened.
Now, seeing his elder brothers and sisters return, he looked at them with expectant eyes, urging them to sit closer to him for courage.
Fu Xinci immediately handed the dry branches she had picked up to her grandfather, asking him to place them behind him.
She had just scanned the surroundings and noticed that many parts of the dilapidated temple's roof were in disrepair. Such heavy rain would not be tolerated, and it would definitely leak. After comparing the different sections, she found that the roof directly above where her grandfather was looking was still relatively intact.
Through this small action, she was once again impressed by her grandfather's meticulousness.
Seeing Fu Xinci's action, the Meng siblings also followed her example and handed over the dry firewood they had collected.
Qi He, however, was a little confused and asked, "Sister Fu, why are you putting all the branches behind Grandpa Meng?"
"We need to guard against some lazy people who want to get something for nothing." Before Fu Xinci could speak, Qishan answered Qi He's question.
"Mm, it seems there really are such shameless people." Without naming names, everyone's mind conjured a long list of names.
Along the way, these people continuously refreshed everyone's understanding of the world, making it hard to forget.
"We need to keep a close watch. It's not easy to find dry firewood in this heavy rain. Grandpa Meng, you'd better sit on the dry branches." Qi He felt that Grandpa Meng was an adult, and sitting on the dry branches would reduce the chances of those shameless Meng clan members snatching them away.
"Brother Qi is right. Grandfather should sit on the branches; it's too cold on the ground." Inspired by Qi He, Fu Xinci also agreed that her grandfather should sit on the branches, and the other children chimed in.
"Alright, alright." Meng Qingping saw the children urging him on in a rush, and without refusing, he smiled and sat on the dry branches as they wished.
...
The sound of voices was gradually drowned out by the rain. Everyone looked towards the temple entrance, their gazes falling upon the rain-soaked scene.
It seemed as if only the sound of "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" of the rain remained in the world.
Looking at the downpour, a thought suddenly arose in the hearts of many of the Meng clan members: it would be good to take a bath in the rain.
They cast furtive glances, seeing that the officials had no intention of paying them any mind. Then, they went out in twos and threes into the heavy rain, thoroughly enjoying the cleansing shower.
"Ah, this is so comfortable."
Someone, unaware of whom, uttered a sentence that was immediately met with everyone's agreement. They hadn't bathed in over a month. Not only had the dirt on their bodies obscured their original appearance, but the foul odor was enough to kill a person.
Thinking about the smell emanating from themselves every day made them wish for death.
They were born into wealthy families; their lives before, if not fragrant every day, were close to it.
Like now, not bathing for over a month on the exile journey was something they wouldn't have even imagined in their worst nightmares.
Standing in the heavy rain, being thoroughly washed by the downpour, the indescribable comfort was unprecedentedly good.
However, when someone saw streams of black water flowing down their cheeks and bodies, they could no longer suppress their despair. They covered their faces and knelt on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.
With one leading the way, others followed. In an instant, whether standing in the heavy rain or sitting in the dilapidated temple, the Meng clan members burst into tears, their cries deafening.
Fu Xinci was bewildered, thinking: What's wrong with these people? Why are they crying just like that?
Also, with so many people crying at once, could they apply for a Guinness World Record?
This thought was fleeting. In the post-apocalyptic world, Guinness Records had long become a distant memory for people.
"Sigh."
For some irreversible things, Fu Xinci offered a token moment of regret, the gloom passing in an instant.
Her heart began to critique the Meng clan members again. Gossip is a woman's nature, wasn't it? She even found a small excuse for herself.
Where was the restraint of the ancients?
Before the apocalypse, she had read many historical novels. Not only did these novels vividly depict touching love stories, but they also described the ancient way of life, how much ancients valued their appearance and face.
And these Meng clan members crying now, with snot and tears mixed with the rain, didn't seem to align with the descriptions in those books.
"I really can't bear to look," Fu Xinci thought to herself.
If the Meng clan members knew Fu Xinci's thoughts, they would surely be infuriated. At this point, what was there to say about face? They had lost everything, and being alive was good enough.
Fu Xinci, lost in her thoughts, was like an unsophisticated baby, looking at this, then at that.
Before she could figure things out, her thoughts were disturbed by the sobbing beside her. It turned out that Meng Xiaohe and Ke'er were also crying softly.
Fu Xinci thought, is today a crying competition? Everyone is fully displaying their crying skills.
However, if it weren't for the rain dispersing most of the sound, this wailing, comparable to ghosts and wolves, could have scared away wolves.