37 The outside world (1/2)

”Mr. Zhang,” Ren Xiaosu said politely to Zhang Jinglin, ”I hope that you can let Liuyuan and Big Sister Xiaoyu live on the school premises during my period of absence.”

Zhang Jinglin looked at Ren Xiaosu and asked, ”Has it already been confirmed that you must go?”

Ren Xiaosu thought for a while and said, ”I'm afraid there's no way to reject them anymore. You saw the plight of Zhang Baogen. Your life and mine are in the hands of those people from the stronghold. If I take the initiative to go and face the dangers now, I might be able to avoid dying. I could even sacrifice the others to save myself when I'm out there. But if I continue to stay here and reject them, I'm afraid that they'll start using underhand methods to deal with us.”

”Is there no better option?” Zhang Jinglin asked.

”I'm afraid not.” Ren Xiaosu shook his head and said, ”But, Mr. Zhang, don't worry. Even if they get wiped out, I'll be fine.”

In fact, Ren Xiaosu did not want to get involved in this initially. With his current fitness and experience in field survival, he was not worried that he would not make it back alive.

However, the reward that was offered to him was unsatisfactory. It would have been better if he, Yan Liuyuan, and Xiaoyu could all get into the stronghold. Otherwise, it would all be meaningless to him.

He was very eager to get into the stronghold, but he could not leave Yan Liuyuan and Xiaoyu behind and go in by himself.

What Ren Xiaosu didn't tell Yan Liuyuan was that after he had gained his power, he would, on certain nights, toss and turn in bed in his desire to see the bigger world.

This town was so small that he could see the other end of it in a single glance from a high place. It was so small that he could hear the voice of a widow scolding some young punks in the west from the east of town.

He had also thought of heading out to see the world.

In fact, the only thing that Ren Xiaosu was worried about was who would ensure the safety of Xiaoyu and Yan Liuyuan if he left.

If Zhang Jinglin refused to allow Xiaoyu and Yan Liuyuan to stay, Ren Xiaosu would not leave with the band no matter what.

”It looks like you know what you're doing. Tell Xiaoyu and Liuyuan to move over this evening. I'll clean up the house for them in the meantime,” Zhang Jinglin said with a nod. Zhang Jinglin felt that no one in town would be more experienced than Ren Xiaosu when it came to surviving in the wilderness. As such, seeing how confident Ren Xiaosu was from his point of view as a teacher, he did not say anything more.

Ren Xiaosu was relieved when Zhang Jinglin agreed to his request. ”Teacher, I've recently managed to save up 5,000 yuan, so please accept it as a boarding fee for Big Sister Xiaoyu and Yan Liuyuan.” Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please clickfor visiting.

”Take it back.” Zhang Jinglin shook his head and said, ”I'm a schoolteacher, so I only accept payment for tuition.”

”Please don't reject it, Teacher. You can use the money to buy some cigarettes to smoke,” Ren Xiaosu said.

Zhang Jinglin hesitated for a moment before coughing. ”I'll accept 1,000 yuan as the rent.”

Ren Xiaosu did not haggle with him any further. He counted out 1,000 yuan and handed it to Zhang Jinglin. He was usually a stingy person, but he would never mull over something so important. Ren Xiaosu would never hesitate to spend money on Yan Liuyuan.

For the remaining 4,000 yuan, Ren Xiaosu's intention was to hand it over to Xiaoyu.

This money must not be handed over to Yan Liuyuan in case Xiaoyu got any ideas for the money. At most, she could take all of the money and leave, but Yan Liuyuan would not come to any harm as a result.

If the money was given to Yan Liuyuan instead, his safety would be threatened.

Even now, Ren Xiaosu still had some doubts about Xiaoyu. He might be wrong in thinking this way and Xiaoyu would feel let down if she knew about it, but this was probably the best choice to minimize any pain or regrets.

Honestly, Ren Xiaosu still felt that their time spent with Xiaoyu was too short. It was not that he doubted Xiaoyu to have any motives. It was just that he had been struggling for so long in this wasteland, fighting for each day of survival with his own hands and leaving a trail of blood every step of the way. Having led such a life, how could he so easily leave their fate to someone they had known for such a short time?

Ren Xiaosu returned to the clinic with Yan Liuyuan to pack their belongings. He did not expect that their recently acquired ”new home” would be vacated again. Wang Fugui said, ”Don't worry, I'll look after the yard for you and will absolutely not let anyone else move in.”

”OK, much appreciated,” Ren Xiaosu said.

”Actually, you don't have to insist on letting them move into the school. With me around, what's there to be afraid of?” Wang Fugui laughed.