The child was a bit thin when he came, but after eating well these past few days, he has become much stronger and taller. When he turns sixteen after the New Year, he will be in his prime!

Most importantly, Ling Ran is knowledgeable, grateful, and quick-witted; with him around, they feel at ease.

And food, right now, is the last thing we lack.

After parting ways with Ling Ran and returning to her room, Shui Qing considered the situation and realized that the one thing they had in abundance was food!

Whether they flee to other places or stay at home, they will not lack food.

“I think it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to escape.” Fan Jin analyzed to Shui Qing, who was sitting in a round-backed chair by the window: “Jinling City is north of Guangning Prefecture, and Beidu, where the Prince of Yan is located, is even further north of Jinling City.”

Even if the Prince of Yan really rebels, the main battlefield will be between Beidu and Jinling. Our area will be affected, but only to a limited extent.

Shui Qing nodded.

Beidu was equivalent to Beijing in the Chinese Empire. In this dynasty, it was located very far to the north. The main reason for having the Prince of Yan guard the area was to defend against nomadic tribes.

Guangning Prefecture is far from Beidu, let alone Jinling City. The probability of them fleeing is indeed low, but the possibility of them staying at home is much higher.

She replied quietly, "However, if a flood really occurs next year, we can't rely on the imperial court at all."

Originally, they didn't have high hopes for the imperial court to provide disaster relief, but with the imperial court around, at least it could deter the disaster victims and prevent them from acting recklessly.

If the vassal kings rebel and war breaks out, wouldn't the world become even more chaotic?

Fan Jin looked grave, and after a long while said worriedly, "Shuiqing, I'm afraid. I'm afraid that if the war doesn't end in a year or two, and if it continues for several years or even decades, how can you and the children be guaranteed to be safe?"

His previous concern was about the floods.

But floods are not like droughts. They may result in no harvest, but they will not leave the land barren. The mountains are covered with vegetation, so there will always be wild vegetables, grasses, and tree bark to eat.

However, only a few people would take the risk if they had food.

With my father-in-law's family there, plus Taurus and his family, I'm not too worried about safety.

If war were added to the mix, the natural disasters and man-made calamities would combine to create a scene that would be nothing short of hell.

Shui Qing knew that this war would not last for more than ten or twenty years, but only four years. When she read history books, she thought four years was not a long time, but now that she was actually in it, she felt that four years was incredibly long!

It's so long it seems to stretch on forever.

Think about it, for four years, the outside world was in chaos, going out was always dangerous and could lead to death, and at home, someone could break in at any time.

The prefectural city is off-limits, Niutou Town requires caution, and even within the villages, one must proceed with extreme care.

The whole family spends most of their time at home.

And they would have to live in fear for four years!

The only saving grace was that they built a large house with many rooms to accommodate many people, and a large yard with plenty of space to move around...

"Don't worry, we have the shopping mall! I've calculated it, and if we don't buy anything expensive, the savings in the mall will be more than enough to eat and wear."

As for safety, we must prepare early. Our courtyard wall is completely embedded with iron nails, and this is high ground. Even if bad guys come, they will go to the village first and then come to us.

However, if the people of Shanshui Village can't hold out, it won't be safe for just our two or three families to do it alone. We need to organize them all for protection!

The refugees and displaced people are not just one or two individuals, nor are they just a few groups; they are very likely to come in large groups with weapons!

At that time, robbery, beatings, and even rape will be commonplace.

How can a dozen or even a hundred people resist with just these ten or so people?

Putting everything else aside, the sheer amount of patrolling and defense day and night is exhausting.

Fan Jin gradually calmed down and replied, "Alright, the old village chief has experienced war, and he probably values ​​this as much as we do."