Chapter 430 Arson

When Zhong Minglou returned to their tent, Zhong Yingying was lying in the corner of the tent wrapped in a blanket, motionless. Zhong Minglou was somewhat patriarchal in nature and had never paid much attention to his daughter before, so he didn't know much about her.

"Yingying, your mother is in poor health. She may think too much sometimes. Some of the things she said to you were just angry words. Don't take them seriously." Zhong Minglou said.

It was not known whether Zhong Yingying heard what was said or not. She just lay there silently and did not react.

"Come with me to your uncle's place tomorrow to see your mother. If you still want to be reunited with your mother in the future, tell your mother and uncle that what you said today was just angry and not true. Otherwise, you will never see your mother again." Zhong Minglou said threateningly.

Zhong Yingying's arm was pinched purple by Zhong's mother and was in great pain. She listened to Zhong Minglou's words and gritted her teeth without saying a word.

"As long as you do as I say, Dad promises to give all that I earn to your mom. Our family of three will continue to live the same way as before, and your grandma and aunt won't bully you anymore." After Zhong Minglou said this, he felt Zhong Yingying's tense shoulders relax slightly. He felt a glimmer of hope, and went on to tell her many interesting stories about when Zhong Yingying was little and when he and his wife took the child out to play.

Zhong Minglou recalled the past and spoke emotionally for a long time. When he finished, he found that Zhong Yingying had fallen asleep.

Zhong Yingying, who was still a little chubby before the end of the world, was now so thin that only a bag of bones was left on her body. The eyes on her palm-sized face seemed particularly large, and now they were closed, with narrow eye corners, making her look very childish. She had a small mouth and a high nose bridge. Zhong Yingying's facial features inherited the best features of both her husband and wife. If her face had not been a little out of shape, she would have been a very delicate little beauty.

Zhong Minglou looked at his skinny daughter and suddenly felt uncomfortable. He might have gone too far in the past. He gave all the money and food he earned to his mother. He knew that his mother was mean and harsh to her, but he never cared about her.

Isn't it said that children who are not loved are more eager for love? I should be nicer to my children in the future, Zhong Minglou said to himself secretly.

It was late at night and the huge playground was silent. Occasionally, the sound of orderly footsteps could be heard. These were the soldiers on duty from the army patrolling the camp.

The Zhong family's tent was pitch black. Zhong Yingying, who had fallen asleep, suddenly opened her eyes. She sat up carefully and looked at every corner of the tent with the faint moonlight leaking through the broken parts of the tent.

She sat there for more than half an hour, patiently listening to Zhong Minglou's heavy snoring and counting the frequency of his breathing. After making sure that he was indeed sleeping soundly, she quietly walked to his side and found a bag next to his pillow. In the bag were his collection of lighters, small oil cans for refueling lighters, and exquisite mechanical watches. Before the end of the world, Zhong Minglou was a heavy smoker and always carried a lighter with him. After the end of the world, the most ordinary cigarettes became luxury goods, and the lighter that he never left behind also became a collection.

After finding the lighter, Zhong Yingying gave Zhong Minglou a cold look. She couldn't let this man deceive her mother again. Her mother still remembered their past friendship, and this man knew her mother very well and was good at sweet talk. She couldn't tell if her mother would be fooled again.

If their family had not shamelessly hidden in grandma's house, grandma and grandpa would not have died.

Zhong Yingying felt very sad whenever she thought of her grandparents. Her parents were busy with work and had only taken care of her since she was a child. Her grandparents were the ones who loved her the most. If her grandparents were still alive, how could they let them bully her like this!

Zhong Yingying crouched down and walked out of the tent. She hid under the van between the two tents and listened carefully to the movements in the tent of Zhong's father and mother. In order to prevent someone from stealing the fuel in the vehicle, Zhong's father would empty the oil in the tank and hide it in an oil barrel every time he parked the car. Zhong's father thought he hid it well, but in fact Zhong Yingying could always see where he hid the oil barrel.

Zhong Yingying waited under the van for more than half an hour. She felt her body was frozen, so she carefully entered the tent of Zhong's father and mother. She easily found the oil barrel hidden by Zhong's father for refueling the van. The oil barrel was a little too heavy for a little girl of seven or eight years old. Zhong Yingying tried a few times but found that she couldn't lift it. She simply opened the lid of the oil tank and gently placed the oil tank on the ground. "Splash" the gasoline spilled all over the ground.

Mother Zhong slept a little uneasily. She turned over and muttered. The mouth of the baby, who was a few months old, was tightly wrapped with a circle of tape to prevent the baby from crying at night. They had been worried and exhausted during the day, and no one wanted to get up to comfort the child at night. What's more, if the child cried at night, it would attract monsters and no one would agree.

Zhong Yingying took a look at the direction in which the gasoline on the ground was spreading, lit a fire, and set the quilt not far from Zhong's mother on fire. Zhong Yingying quickly left the tent. As soon as she walked out of the tent, she heard a "bang". The gasoline spread to the fire point and the fire suddenly intensified.

"Ah, there's a fire, there's a fire, Lao Zhong, Lao Zhong" the sharp voice of Zhong's mother pierced the night sky, "thump thump thump" the soldiers on duty passing by ran over here.

"Oh, it hurts so much, Minglou, Minglou, come quickly, someone wants to kill our whole family, go and ask the military commander to take charge of our family!" Mother Zhong shouted at the top of her voice.

"Ah, put out the fire quickly, my hair is burnt." Zhong Mingli screamed in despair.

Zhong Yingying looked with some pity at the family that was rescued from the fire by the soldiers on duty who tore open their tents. The family included Mr. and Mrs. Zhong, Zhong Mingli, and the baby. Except for Mrs. Zhong's clothes which had a few holes burned on them, everyone else was unharmed.

The rescue came too quickly, and they all escaped. Zhong Yingying looked at the burning tent with some dissatisfaction. If the tent had been covered with gasoline, the rescue would have been much more difficult than it is now, right? Wouldn't they have been rescued in such a short time?

Zhong Yingying was seriously reflecting on the reasons why the arson attempt failed, and Zhong Minglou had already noticed her with his sharp eyes.

"Yingying, when did you run out? Are you okay?" Zhong Minglou had not yet realized that the fire was started by his daughter.

"." Zhong Yingying looked at him silently without saying anything.

(End of this chapter)