Capítulo 962: Chapter 648: Fire Breaks Out

The second watch is here.

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“Fire! Fire!”

“Put out the fire! Put out the fire!”

The commotion startled Chuxia, who sat up quickly. “What’s going on?” Zhao Yulan muttered as she quickly got up to look outside. Lin Baojuan and Old Lady Zhao also got up, but Luan Xiaoxiang continued to sleep soundly.

“Even if you dragged Xiaoxiang into the street to sell her while she was asleep, she wouldn’t know,” Lin Baojuan said, giving her daughter a slap on the backside. Yet, Xiaoxiang remained motionless.

“Let her sleep…” Old Lady Zhao hurriedly stopped her, “We don’t even know what’s happening yet. Why wake her up?”

By this time, the men in the west room had already dressed and arrived in the living room. “You all stay put, Qingshu, Xiaomi, Wenbin, and I will go take a look,” Lin Baohe’s voice came through.

Zhao Yulan had already dressed and hurriedly opened the door to go out, looking at the line of men standing in the living room. She cautioned, “It’s probably a haystack from someone’s house catching fire. Be careful, don’t get hurt.” Seeing Old Master Zhao also stepping out, she quickly stopped him, “Dad, you’re too old to join in the commotion.”

Old Master Zhao glared disapprovingly at his daughter, “They didn’t even wait for me before getting dressed and leaving. And now you despise me too. Being old is tough, always being looked down upon.”

“Dad…” Zhao Yulan said, both amused and helpless, “Can you be reasonable?”

“Yulan, I don’t like what you’re saying. You know my temper. Even if I went along, would I foolhardily jump in? I’m not a cat with nine lives.”

Seeing Zhao Yulan’s predicament, Zhou Mikang said, “Grandpa, you can come with us. I’ll take care of you, mom, don’t worry.”

“Xiaomi cares the most for Grandpa,” Old Master Zhao said, putting his hands behind his back and striding out. The rest shook their heads helplessly and followed him out.

Outside, it was increasingly lively, with running footsteps, clattering water buckets, and the noise of people gathering. Hesitating a bit, Zhao Yulan also started to go out, only to be pushed back by Lin Baohe: “Stay here and keep watch over them.”

Zhao Yulan nodded, “I know, I just want to check the doorway to see which side caught fire.”

Lin Baohe didn’t stop her further.

Outside the doorway, the entire northeast corner of the village was glowing red.

“Baohai’s house is over that way,” Lin Baohe said, quickening his pace. The others also started running.

Zhao Yulan hurried back into the house as Lin Baojuan was getting out of bed, “Second sister-in-law, which side?”

“The northeast corner, looks like Baohai’s house. Baojuan, let’s go look too,” Zhao Yulan said, looking at Chuxia, “Chuxia, stay home with Grandma.”

As for Luan Xiaoxiang, Lin Baojuan had said unless you shook her with the force of an earthquake, she wouldn’t wake up.

Chuxia nodded, “Okay, I’ll stay with Grandma. Mom, Aunt, don’t crowd too close up front, the men are there.”

“Got it!” Zhao Yulan and Lin Baojuan responded and ran out.

Old Lady Zhao patted Chuxia, “Chuxia, sleep, it’s far from us. Have a good rest.”

“Grandma, everyone ran out, I can’t sleep. If you’re not tired, shall we have a chat?” Knowing very well the old lady couldn’t sleep, Chuxia offered.

“Sure, Grandma will have a chat with Chuxia.”

Chuxia recalled a sketch about chatting she had seen before and couldn’t help but laugh, “Grandma, by the time we chat enough to earn a work point, they’ll be back.”

Old Lady Zhao laughed, “What kind of calculation is that?”

“Look, if Dad went to the fields to work, he could earn ten work points a day. Those ten work points take about ten hours of work. So one work point naturally equals about an hour.”

Thinking for a moment, Old Lady Zhao laughed, “This child really likes to concoct things. You even thought of that.”

“Hehe…” Chuxia laughed, “Grandma, you’re not so nervous now, right?”

“You little mischief!” Old Lady Zhao poked her granddaughter’s head, then sighed, “Your grandpa is good in many ways, but he won’t admit he’s getting old.

He can’t do a lot of work anymore, but refuses to accept it and loves to show off. Your eldest uncle and aunt live in constant worry, afraid he’ll strain his back, break a leg, or hurt an arm.”

“Gran, don’t worry, with Zhou Mikang there, Grandpa will definitely be fine. Think about it, Zhou Mikang has survived the battlefield before, what’s a little fire? Right, Gran?”

“Yes, I’m just worrying for nothing.” Old Lady Zhao indulgently tucked a lock of hair behind her granddaughter’s ear, “Chuxia, you’re making me more and more assured now. With you around, I don’t have to worry about your mother.”

“Don’t worry, Gran, I will definitely be filial to Mom, to Dad, to Grandma and Grandpa, and to Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt.” Thinking of her Second Aunt Lin Xiaohua’s behavior, Chuxia added, “Gran, I haven’t heard Second Uncle and Second Aunt mention Qiyan this time. Do you know how she’s doing?”

“I don’t know, that child hasn’t come back for several months, not even for New Year. Your Second Aunt wrote to her, but she didn’t reply. Who knows what’s going on? But you don’t have to worry about her, that child wouldn’t suffer losses easily. If she’s determined not to have contact with the family, let her be. As long as she’s comfortable, we won’t expect anything from her.”

“Gran, I haven’t seen her, but Xiaoqiong met her once and said she’s pregnant and went for a check-up…”

Old Lady Zhao interrupted Chuxia joyfully: “Really? Why didn’t she tell the family? Oh, that child, such great news, why not share it with the family.”

“Gran, that’s what I wanted to say. Xiaoqiong said, from the looks of it, Qiyan doesn’t seem to be doing particularly well. I heard Liu Zhenqiang has arranged for her to be taken care of by a nanny outside. Everything she does is accompanied by the nanny.

Her mother-in-law hasn’t completely accepted her yet, the implication being that if she gives birth to a son, she’ll acknowledge her as the daughter-in-law. If it’s a daughter, Liu Zhenqiang might marry another woman.

Qiyan probably isn’t writing home because she doesn’t want anyone to laugh at her before things are clear. We all know her character; she feels good only when she’s better than everyone else.”

“That’s exactly her character. I should give your Second Aunt a hint. If she’s willing to visit Qiyan, she might as well go; after all, it’s her own daughter…” Sighing, Old Lady Zhao continued, “It’s not scary for children to have bad tempers when they’re little. What’s scary is when parents don’t set a good example. Look at you and Qiyan, aren’t you the most obvious examples?”

Chuxia just smiled and didn’t respond. She really couldn’t answer that.

About an hour later, Zhao Yulan returned, her face covered with black soot.

Chuxia quickly wrung a hot towel and handed it to her: “Mom, whose house caught fire? Was it quickly put out?”

“Oh!” Zhao Yulan sighed while wiping her face, “It was your Third Uncle’s house that caught fire. Fortunately, the family noticed early and everyone got out, and some valuable things were saved.

However, the house is unlivable. The roof is completely burned, and the back wall has collapsed. To fix it is equivalent to rebuilding it. It’s mostly put out now, but I came back early to let you know so you wouldn’t worry.”

Mom, your father is very sensible. He saw how big the fire was and didn’t get too close. He stayed behind helping everyone pass tools.”

Old Lady Zhao visibly relaxed: “Your father always makes others worry.”

“Where is that family?” Chuxia asked.

“Your grandma is sitting on the ground outside wailing. Your grandpa is standing outside with a gloomy face, saying nothing. Your younger uncle and aunt are of course busy putting out the fire, and the things they saved are piled outside.”

“Oh,” Chuxia replied lightly, continuing to ask, “Did the Eldest Uncle’s family go?”

“There were so many people, I really didn’t see clearly…” Zhao Yulan suddenly realized what Chuxia meant, “Chuxia, are you suggesting that your Eldest Uncle’s family might be avoiding this?”

“Big Brother wouldn’t avoid it, but Eldest Uncle and Eldest Aunt might. So, where do Third Uncle and Grandpa and Grandma live now?

Mom, don’t think I’m being cynical, but I’m wondering why everything is so unusual. We thought they’d come yesterday, but they didn’t.

Then suddenly, their house catches fire, and the valuable things are saved while everything else burns. Why is it so coincidental?

If the Eldest Uncle’s family doesn’t care, then who will? Naturally, everyone will think of us. Whether in living space or living conditions, if we don’t help, some people will gossip.

Originally, those who thought Grandpa and Grandma treated us unfairly will now say, ‘Why bicker when someone’s in trouble? After all, you grew up eating their food.’

Then, with more gossip, how can Dad and Mom come back? And if they don’t give up the house, they’ll face even more criticism.

Even Grandma and Grandpa’s house could be dragged into this, and as for the young aunt, she would also feel particularly awkward. She wants to side with us, but in this situation, what can she say?

Anyway, the more I think about it, the more I feel this fire was perfectly timed, intriguingly set, and expertly executed.”

Zhao Yulan wanted to refute her daughter, but she couldn’t find a reason. Indeed, everything her daughter said was reasonable.

If Old Master Lin and Old Lady Lin had come to see them beforehand, she wouldn’t be surprised. As her daughter said, why have they been so calm?

But this way of doing things is too vicious, too unethical.

Footsteps approached from outside, probably Lin Baohe and the others returning. Zhao Yulan quickly got up to greet them, and Chuxia followed closely behind.

(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)