Chapter 181 Ambush

When he met Sheng An's gaze, Kong Dazhuang couldn't help but shrink back.

Realizing his cowardly reaction, a hint of resentment appeared on his much older face. He glared at Sheng An and said with a fierce but weak expression, "What are you looking at, you unfilial daughter? What did I say wrong?"

Hmph, with so many people here, I don't believe this unfilial daughter would dare to do anything so rebellious.

Just as Sheng An was about to retort, her grandfather blocked her way, his gaze towards Kong Dazhuang filled with suspicion:

“The three of us, grandfather, grandmother, and grandson, have always been kind to others and have never offended anyone in the city. But you have never said a good word about us all these years, and now you are kicking us when we're down in front of everyone. If you want to know who would set fire to a house, I can't think of anyone else but you.”

Upon hearing these words, Kong Dazhuang jumped up and down like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, cursing loudly: "You old bastard, I didn't burn down the house, don't you dare make false accusations!"

Seeing him curse his former father-in-law like that, the surrounding villagers all frowned and looked at him with suspicion.

Yes, after Kong Dazhuang ran off with the money and "remarried," he never said a good word about the Sheng family. He used to complain to people that the two elders of the Sheng family looked down on him and made him do all the heavy and tiring work.

If it weren't for the fact that everyone has eyes and knows he's lying through his teeth, they would really think the Sheng family is some kind of den of dragons and tigers.

Ever since someone broke into the Liu family's house in the middle of the night last year and broke the legs of the whole family, Kong Dazhuang has been shouting that it was Sheng An who ordered the incident.

It's not impossible that he would secretly set fire to the house in the middle of the night to get revenge on Sheng An and the Sheng family.

Seeing the villagers looking at him like he was an arsonist, Kong Dazhuang became furious, his face turning red and his neck bulging. He waved his arms and shouted, "It wasn't me! I didn't start the fire! They got what they deserved! It has nothing to do with me!"

This unfilial daughter is ruthless and cruel. We must not let her think that he set the fire, otherwise he will definitely not live to see tomorrow.

Kong Dazhuang was terrified, and by the end his shouts his voice was hoarse.

Peng Chunlan and her children were both afraid and resentful of Sheng An, fearing that she would misunderstand and cause trouble for their family. They argued vehemently, "If we didn't do it, then we didn't. Don't try to frame an innocent person!"

"That's right, if anyone's going to burn something down, it'll be your big mansion in the city. What's the point of burning down an old, dilapidated house!"

"You're already rich enough, don't try to frame us for money. My family is dirt poor and has no money to give you!"

"..."

Seeing the family's reaction, Sheng An knew that the arson had nothing to do with them, so she turned her gaze away and solemnly thanked the village chief and villagers: "Thank you all for helping to put out the fire last night. An An thanks you all."

As she spoke, she bowed deeply, intending to write down the names of the families who helped with the fire later and send them a thank-you gift.

Grandpa and Grandma Sheng also thanked everyone and expressed their gratitude.

The villagers said, "It's only right for neighbors to help each other. You and your grandchildren don't need to thank each other."

Seeing everyone's reaction, the three generations of the family were deeply moved.

The village chief glanced at the ashes scattered on the ground and asked Grandpa Sheng for his opinion: "If we can't find the arsonist, what do you plan to do? Should we report it to the authorities and let them investigate?"

Grandpa Sheng shook his head and sighed: "We didn't see the arsonist at night, and reporting it to the authorities won't yield any results."

Not only did they fail to get any results, but they also had to pay a sum of money as a form of compensation.

The village chief nodded, patted Grandpa Sheng on the shoulder and comforted him, "It's a great blessing that no one was killed. This kind of beast who sets fire to houses won't have a good end."

Grandpa Sheng smiled helplessly: "That's the only way to think about it."

After the two elderly people of similar age chatted for a while, the village chief asked, "This house was burned down to nothing. If you want to rebuild a new house, you should find someone to make the bricks before it freezes, and then build it directly next spring."

The finished brick blanks need to be dried in the sun. In good weather, they need to be dried for at least half a month. There isn't enough time to build a house before it freezes.

Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng exchanged a glance and nodded in tacit agreement. Then Grandpa Sheng said, "No need to make brick blanks. We'll bring back a few truckloads of blue bricks next spring to build two brick and tile houses."

The village chief and villagers looked surprised, but quickly composed themselves and looked at the Sheng family elders with a hint of envy.

When Uncle Sheng and Aunt Sheng returned to the village before, I heard them say that they were selling wontons in the city.

I thought he was just selling wontons to make a living and to make things easier for An'an in her husband's family, but now he's talking about building a brick house. It seems he's made money selling wontons.

Sheng An spoke up at the right time: "We will find a master craftsman to build the house in the city, but we will still have to rely on you uncles for odd jobs. We will pay you by the day, so that you won't work for nothing."

The villagers waved their hands repeatedly: "No money, no money. When we built our houses before, your grandparents helped out without getting paid."

That's how it is when houses are built in the village. The homeowner provides two meals a day for the workers from the village who help with the construction. After the house is finished, they prepare a feast with both meat and vegetables as a thank you. They don't have to pay the workers.

"I have too many things to do at home and can't get away. My grandparents are too old to take good care of my uncles and aunts, so I can only pay them for their meals."

Sheng An smiled as he explained why he was being paid, not wanting to break the village's rules.

After all, it's not good to pay villagers for building houses, but it's also not good not to pay them. So, calling the wages "food expenses" solves the problem.

At that time, the family will not provide meals, and the grandparents will only need to check on the progress and will not need to worry about the meals anymore.

Sure enough, after hearing what Sheng An said, the villagers stopped refusing and looked at Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng with a burning desire to become part of the house-building team.

Only Kong Dazhuang's family was extremely jealous, wishing that it was their family that got to build the brick house.

But nobody cares what they think.

The matter of building the house was temporarily settled. After the villagers dispersed, Sheng'an asked the village chief about the people who fought the fire last night.

After receiving the exact list, the three members of the family politely declined the village chief's offer to stay for a meal and left Huai Shu Village by car and horseback.

On the way, the four of them made casual guesses about who had set the fire.

When they reached a grove of trees, Xu Chenglin suddenly pulled on the reins, forcing the donkey to stop.

Seeing this, Sheng An quickly stopped and looked around, clearly realizing that something was wrong.

It's too quiet.

The grove is home to many birds that nest there, and the birdsong is lively every day. When I arrived, the birds on the branches were chirping merrily, but now they are quiet and peaceful.

The next moment, a string of crackling firecrackers flew from the woods to the donkey's feet.

The donkey and horse were startled and reared up, ready to break free and gallop wildly.

"careful!"

Xu Chenglin shouted and quickly got off the cart, trying his best to control the donkey cart that was about to go out of control.

Sheng An was shocked and immediately dismounted, decisively releasing the reins.

With a neigh, the horse took off galloping away and quickly disappeared from sight.

Xu Chenglin dared not release the donkey's reins, holding the donkey's neck tightly, his feet leaving two deep scratches on the ground from the force he exerted.