Chapter 180 The House Burns Down

The next morning, Sheng An gave the four treasures some instructions and then went to the brokerage firm to look at the shop.

The broker wasn't exaggerating; among the newly registered shops, there were indeed two in very good locations, and more importantly, the prices were very reasonable, with almost no room for negotiation.

As a result, several people were interested in these two shops, and the seller implicitly suggested that they bid against each other, with the shop going to whoever offered the highest price.

The five potential buyers, including Sheng An, were not fools. Seeing the seller's tactic, they tacitly told the brokerage firm that they didn't want the property anymore.

Now the seller panicked and dared not cause any more trouble.

In the end, Sheng An generously paid upfront and, through the broker's skillful communication, successfully acquired one of the shops, which he then rented to the original tenant for fifty taels of silver per year.

With another shop added to her collection, Sheng An was overjoyed and no longer missed Xu Jinnian as much as before.

This good mood didn't last long. On a drizzly afternoon, Sheng An had just finished her work and was about to go back to her small building for a nap when Zhang Xiao Kui came over and told her some bad news.

"What? My old house in the village burned down last night?"

Sheng An stood up abruptly, shocked by the burning of his old house: "How could it have burned down out of the blue, especially in the middle of the night? Was it arson?"

Zhang Xiao Kui shook his head: "My aunt-in-law came to my house this morning to tell me the news. It's uncertain whether someone set the fire or not. The village chief asked around and no one admitted it."

Sheng An was somewhat angry.

Although the old house is very old and can't be lived in now, it holds the memories of three generations of the Sheng family. Anyone would be angry if it were burned to the ground.

Sheng Anxie, who had come to deliver the news, gave Zhang Xiaokui a roast chicken and then saw him out.

When the two elderly people of the Sheng family returned to the small building that evening, she told them about the old house in the village that had been burned down.

Upon hearing this, Grandma Sheng sadly burst into tears: "Your grandfather and I spent two whole months digging and carrying soil in the dead of winter, making and removing molds piece by piece, and then we hired a group of people to lay the foundation and ram the earth before we could build this house..."

They spent all the money they had saved for more than ten years to build this mud-brick house.

She was prepared for the house to deteriorate year by year and collapse at any time, but she never imagined that it would be burned to the ground, leaving only the unburnt mud bricks and tiles.

Grandpa Sheng's face also showed sadness. He sighed and said to Sheng An, "The shop will be closed for the day tomorrow. Your grandma and I will go back to the village to take a look."

Sheng An shook his head: "The village isn't far. I'll go back with you tomorrow."

Grandpa Sheng hesitated and asked, "What about the guests who come to eat?"

Sheng An: "I'll be back after I finish watching, it won't delay anything."

Upon hearing this, the two elders said nothing more.

Xu Chenglin also wanted to help, so he decided to go to the village with them tomorrow.

The next morning, Xu Chenglin drove a donkey cart with the two elderly people to Huai Shu Village, while Sheng An followed closely behind on horseback.

As soon as the group of four entered the village, a villager came up to them and explained, "An'an, the fire started in the middle of the night the day before yesterday. Everyone was fast asleep, and by the time they discovered the fire, it was too late."

The fire was discovered by a dog in the village, which kept barking in the direction of the Sheng family's house, waking up the whole family and forcing them to get up and check the situation.

Upon discovering the fire, they quickly started beating drums and gongs to call for help to put it out.

Fortunately, the fire was discovered in time, and there was no strong wind the night before, so the fire did not spread to the neighbors on either side. Otherwise, if it had been any later, the neighbors' houses would have been burned down as well.

Sheng An was unaware of these details, but upon hearing the villagers' account, she quickly bowed to them in gratitude: "Fortunately, everyone helped put out the fire. Once things are resolved, we will definitely visit all the uncles and aunts to express our thanks."

Grandpa and Grandma Sheng also got off the donkey cart and kept thanking the villagers.

The villagers felt comforted and waved their hands with smiles: "No need, no need. It's fortunate that you moved away, otherwise the fire would have killed anyone."

After saying that, he lowered his voice and said, "The fire is suspicious. It's most likely that someone set it on purpose. Think carefully about whether you've offended anyone recently."

The three generations of the family thanked the villagers for their kindness. After the villagers left with their hoes, the two elders walked home while discussing in hushed tones:

"We don't have many families with whom we have a grudge, but Kong Dazhuang is the most suspected arsonist."

"It shouldn't be him. If he wanted to start a fire, he wouldn't have waited until now."

“Indeed, he knows we’ve made a lot of money in the city. Burning down an old house that’s worthless won’t hurt our family, and he won’t get anything in return.”

The two elders discussed it for a while, but couldn't come to a conclusion.

Sheng An was even more suspicious of Liu Huazhi, but since there was no evidence, he couldn't say much and silently followed the two elders.

They encountered several villagers along the way. Knowing that the three generations of the family had come back specifically to see their burned-down old house, they all offered words of comfort and said they would help rebuild it.

Sheng An felt a warmth in his heart. The atmosphere in Huai Shu Village was still very good, with only a few bad apples.

Soon the group arrived at the old house that had been burned down. Looking at the charred ground, with only collapsed earthen walls and tiles remaining, it was impossible to recognize its original appearance. Grandma Sheng's eyes reddened again.

Sheng An put his arm around the old lady's shoulder and whispered to comfort her, "Out with the old, in with the new. Let's build a new courtyard here, and come back to stay for a few days whenever we have time."

Grandma Sheng wiped away her tears: "Fallen leaves return to their roots. Your grandfather and I will eventually be buried on the back hill when we get old. We need to build a new one."

Sheng An couldn't bear to hear any of this, and didn't know what to say, so he could only stare at the charred remains on the ground in silence.

Not long after, the village chief arrived and said to Grandpa Sheng, "The fire started in the middle of the night. The village dogs were barking fiercely at the time, so it's possible that outsiders sneaked into the village and set the fire."

Grandpa Sheng's face darkened: "My family and I are all honest people. We have been staying in the city for more than a year and have not offended anyone. I don't know which heartless person came to the village and set fire to the house."

In the crowd, Kong Dazhuang spat out: "Pah! This is retribution for your inhuman behavior!"

After saying that, he glared fiercely at Sheng An, as if he wanted to pierce her with his gaze.

Standing next to Kong Dazhuang, Peng Chunlan and her two children all wore gloating expressions, clearly happy to see the Sheng family suffer a great misfortune.

Kong Dazhuang deliberately lowered his voice, but the villagers who were close to him still heard it and couldn't help but show some disdain on their faces.

No matter what, they are his former father-in-law and his own daughter. During the years he married into the Sheng family, they didn't mistreat him. It's really inhuman to gloat like this.

Provoked by these strange looks, Kong Dazhuang angrily pointed to his lame leg, then pointed at Sheng An and began to curse:

“It’s because of this unfilial daughter that I lost this leg. Now that my house has been burned down, what is this if not retribution!”

This shout instantly reached the ears of Sheng An and the others.