Lu Chengming got up after a sleep. It was getting dark outside. After dinner, he grabbed his clothes without a word and walked out.
Lin Xiaohui quickly asked, "Chengming, where are you going so late?"
Lu Chengming didn't answer. His footsteps didn't stop. He opened the door and walked out.
Seeing him like this, Lin Xiaohui's heart was again in her throat.
It felt like the calm before a storm. It would have been better if he had thrown a tantrum, hit her a few times, or scolded her to vent his anger. Now that he was like this, Lin Xiaohui felt completely uncertain.
At night, Wang Dazhu was sleeping soundly when he suddenly heard a commotion from downstairs. In the silent night, the sound was particularly jarring.
His years of training made him instantly alert. He lay in bed and listened quietly for a while. Confirming there was indeed something going on downstairs, Wang Dazhu sprang up from the bed like a carp. Without even bothering to put on his clothes, he quickly rushed downstairs.
The other party seemed to sense something and turned to run as he came down. In the pitch darkness, Wang Dazhu only managed to catch a glimpse of a blurry figure.
He went upstairs to get a flashlight and came back down. After a careful inspection, he discovered that the lock on the door showed signs of being pried open. However, the perpetrator was likely a novice, making too much noise. Before the shop door could be fully opened, Wang Dazhu was already awakened.
The next day, Wang Dazhu briefly told Wang Aixiang what had happened. Wang Aixiang also felt a pang of fear.
"Those scumbags, they're idle all day long, growing extra hands. They have hands and feet but don't do honest work, only resorting to these crooked ways. Next time I catch them, I'll beat them to death."
While she cursed, she also felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, Wang Dazhu discovered it in time. Otherwise, if they lost their goods again like last time, she would have been furious to death.
"Let's not tell Lishu about this for now. She's busy enough already. Since nothing was lost, let's bother her less."
After this incident, Wang Aixiang found Wang Dazhu much more pleasing to the eye, and calling him "Big Brother" didn't sound as jarring anymore.
While Lu Chengming's attempt at revenge failed, Zhao Hong's progress was going smoothly. People had already privately approached her to inquire about the situation. If nothing unexpected happened, the shop and goods would be sold within these two days.
In the past two days, Jin Kun had only come home once. As usual, he didn't inquire about her shop's affairs. Instead, he gave her two hundred yuan to keep for household expenses.
However, since she had already decided to leave, there was nothing left to cherish in this home. Zhao Hong took the money, said nothing, and went straight to put it away in the cabinet. She didn't notice that Jin Kun's gaze towards her had already faded considerably.
Guarding a piece of stone that wouldn't melt, even the hottest heart would gradually turn cold over time.
Just as Chen Lishu was waiting for Li Yuanchao's batch of clothing to arrive, the warehouse suddenly caught fire.
Because there were elderly people and children, Wang Aixiang's family, as usual, turned off the lights and went to bed early.
She was sleeping soundly in the middle of the night when she suddenly heard noisy commotion outside. At first, she thought it was a couple arguing again and didn't pay much attention. Just as she was about to roll over and go back to sleep, she suddenly heard someone outside shouting about a fire, startling her awake.
A fire was no small matter. The bungalows they lived in were all adjacent, and the roofs were made of felt paper. A single spark could set them ablaze. This was no joke.
Wang Aixiang rolled over and sat up from the heated brick bed. She quickly went to wake her mother-in-law and child, putting on clothes as she said, "Hurry, get up! I heard someone shouting about a fire outside."
When she went out to check the situation, Wang Aixiang glanced at the wall clock by the moonlight. It was already past one in the morning.
After she hurriedly pushed the door open, she found no signs of fire in the yard. Several neighbors had also come out to check the situation.
Upon asking, she learned that the fire was in the railway family housing compound not far from them.
It turned out to be several hundred meters away.
Wang Aixiang's relief was short-lived as she suddenly realized that the railway family housing compound was where the warehouse was located!
Her face turned pale. Disregarding everything else, she ran towards the railway family housing compound, praying that their rented warehouse would not be affected.
When she reached the scene and saw the situation, Wang Aixiang's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed.
The raging flames almost reached the sky. Even from a distance, she could feel the intense heat emanating from it, and the center of the fire was their warehouse!
Because it was filled with flammable fabrics, the fire was large and spread rapidly. By the time everyone managed to extinguish it, the house was reduced to a frame and a pile of ruins. It even affected two adjacent houses. Although they didn't catch fire, their walls were blackened by the smoke.
Chen Lishu received the news the next morning. When she rushed over, Wang Aixiang was standing by the ruins explaining something to a few people.
"We are renting this house now. Yes, we have caused trouble for two families. We take responsibility for the damage to the walls. After this matter is resolved, we will see if we should compensate you with money or repaint your houses. What do you think?"
No one wanted such a thing to happen. Seeing her sincere attitude, and knowing they had to go to work soon, the two neighbors exchanged glances and decided to let Wang Aixiang arrange for someone to repaint their houses. After all, they were working during the day and didn't have time. The matter with the neighbors was quickly settled.
"Sister, you're here." Seeing the neighbors leave, Wang Aixiang looked up and saw Chen Lishu approaching. She quickly explained the situation in detail.
"I asked the neighbors around. They said the fire started suddenly in the middle of the night. No one lives there usually, and there's no fire lit. I don't know why the fire started out of nowhere," Wang Aixiang said with a sigh.
From the middle of the night until now, Wang Aixiang had been helping everyone fight the fire. She had gotten out of bed, her hair was a bit messy, and combined with a sleepless night, she looked very haggard.
Chen Lishu saw everything and said, "Sister Aixiang, let's close the shop for a day. You go home and get some rest. I'll handle the rest."
The origin of the fire needed to be investigated, and the landlord had to be informed. Especially the goods inside, they needed to be tallied after consulting Liang Chunsheng.
"I'm fine. Besides, with such a big incident, how can I sleep?"
"When I came, I had already notified Liang Chunsheng and Wang Dazhu. You should rest well. After all, the shop still needs people."
Chen Lishu said, her gaze falling on the burnt-out ruins, and she couldn't help but sigh.
Fabrics and clothing were both flammable items, easily catching fire with a single misstep.
Wang Aixiang also knew that now was not the time to be stubborn. After hesitating, she followed Chen Lishu's arrangement and went home.
Wang Dazhu and Liang Chunsheng arrived one after the other.
"Dazhu, can you figure out the cause of the fire?" Chen Lishu asked Wang Dazhu first.
The warehouse was not inhabited, so excluding weather factors, the possibility of an internal fire was extremely slim.