Chapter 86 Arson
"Everyone, wake up! There's a fire in the tube building."
"Let's go help!"
In the middle of the night, when Lin Siqiao was sleeping soundly, he was awakened by a series of hurried knocks on the door.
Qiao Yingjing didn't finish listening to the story at noon. He slept with Lin Siqiao at night, so he woke up now.
"Be good, lie down in bed, and I'll go out and take a look."
Qiao Yingjing rubbed his eyes, looking confused, and then he lay back in bed obediently.
"Sister, then you should come back early."
"Um."
When Lin Siqiao got dressed and went out, Qiao Zhiping and his wife were already holding washbasins and buckets and were about to go out.
"Xiao Qiao, don't go."
"There are enough people in the family compound. Everyone will come to help when they hear the noise."
Lin Siqiao had no plan to go. Going at this time would only cause trouble. She just came out to see the situation.
"Uncle, aunt, please be careful."
"Don't worry."
The two of them hurried out with their things. When Lin Siqiao got to the front door, he saw Aunt Guihua standing outside with her clothes on.
"What a sin!"
Aunt Guihua glanced in the direction of the fire and sighed.
When Lin Siqiao arrived, he saw those tube-shaped buildings. After going up the stairs, there was a long corridor, which was a bit similar to the teaching buildings in later generations.
There are eight households on each floor, and the doors of each household are close to each other, and the doors and windows are all made of wood.
The narrow corridor was filled with all kinds of debris, and many people piled coal briquettes outside the door.
If a fire occurs, the situation will indeed be grim.
Lin Siqiao stood outside for a while and then went back to the house. He couldn't fall asleep.
I just picked up a book and started reading.
I don’t know how long it took, but the people who went to the family compound to help came back one after another.
Lin Siqiao heard the sound of the courtyard door opening and went to the living room in slippers.
Wang Xiaofei sat on the bench, catching her breath with a tired look on her face. Lin Siqiao quickly poured her a cup of hot water.
"Aunt, where's uncle?"
"Your uncle and his friends have been called to a meeting. They probably won't be back tonight."
Wang Xiaofei drank some hot water, calmed down, and then explained the situation.
No one knew how the fire started, but she guessed that Biaozi had something to do with it.
Most of the Li family’s belongings were burned in the fire.
Deputy Battalion Commander Li and his parents were fine, they only suffered minor injuries.
But Biaozi's mother was in a miserable state. When she was carried down, her face was covered with blisters, which will leave scars for the rest of her life.
The most unlucky ones were the families next door to the Li family, as a lot of things in their homes were burned.
Fortunately, the fire was discovered in time, otherwise the whole building would have burned down.
"What about Biaozi?" Lin Siqiao asked.
Wang Xiaofei gets angry when he mentions him. "He kept everyone awake all night, but he himself was fine."
"Aunt, don't be angry."
"He committed arson and knife attack. If he doesn't die this time, he will spend the rest of his life in jail."
Lin Siqiao's guess was absolutely correct. The next morning, when Qiao Zhiping returned home, he told him that Biaozi had been handed over to the public security department.
Deputy Battalion Commander Li was given a serious warning and demoted two levels. It will be almost impossible for him to be promoted in the future.
Not only the Li family, but even the regiment commander and the political commissar were implicated in this matter and were severely reprimanded by the division commander.
Qiao Zhiping came back, packed up briefly, changed his clothes, and said something very apologetically.
"Qiao Qiao, I have something else to do in the army, so I have to leave soon."
"Maybe I won't be back until evening."
"I can't take you there."
Lin Siqiao thought it was something else and spoke quickly.
"Uncle, I'm in Shanghai now, not in Ancheng. I'll come over anytime I'm free."
"Go and do your own thing. Make sure you take care of yourself."
Qiao Zhiping nodded repeatedly. When it comes to caring, his daughter is the one.
"Don't worry, I'll go to work and ask for half a day off later."
"Let's prepare lunch early. After we finish eating, I'll take Qiao Qiao to the dock."
Wang Xiaofei arranged everything, and Qiao Zhiping felt relieved. Before leaving, he reminded them not to forget to deliver the medicine to the other party today.
"I know. I won't forget it."
As soon as Qiao Zhiping left, Wang Xiaofei asked Lin Siqiao to pack up.
Yesterday the child only bought stamps, and I know she really likes them.
But Wang Xiaofei still felt that this kid was most likely trying to save money for himself.
So Wang Xiaofei went to the warehouse of the unit in the morning and found some old stamps for her. The stamps were cheap, most of them were only a few cents each.
Buying these was not enough, Wang Xiaofei also bought Lin Siqiao a pair of white sneakers according to the size of Lin Siqiao's feet.
I heard that girls in Shanghai like to wear this. It is comfortable to wear and you won’t feel tired even after walking for a whole day.
Wang Xiaofei also exchanged some cloth coupons with his colleagues and bought Lin Siqiao a few feet of thick velvet cloth, which was made into a coat, perfect for wearing in winter.
"You have fair skin, and black looks old-fashioned, so I picked out a bright red one for you."
"You are at an age when you should wear red and green. You will definitely look good in them."
Wang Xiaofei took the red velvet cloth and compared it with Lin Siqiao's body. The more he looked at it, the more satisfied he felt.
"I wanted to give you some money, but your uncle said it would be inconvenient for you to buy tickets in Shanghai without any."
"So I took it upon myself to buy it for you."
"I don't know if you like it or not?"
This is no longer a question of like or not. Lin Siqiao feels very happy to be remembered by so many people.
Since his aunt had already bought it, Lin Siqiao didn't refuse.
Sometimes not spoiling other people's fun can also enhance their happiness.
"Aunt, you have such good taste!"
“Everything I picked out looks great!”
"I love so much."
Wang Xiaofei's face lit up with pride when he heard this. "Okay, then you clean up and I'll go cook."
"Aunt, I'll go help you light the fire."
"Okay, let's talk."
When the two little friends heard this, they also carried stools to the kitchen.
Lin Siqiao saw some sweet potatoes in the basket in the kitchen. People in Shanghai usually call them yams, the kind with red skin and white core.
It is crispy, sweet and refreshing when eaten raw, but fragrant and sticky when baked!
"Would you two like to eat some baked sweet potatoes?"
"want!"
The two little guys nodded in unison, and Lin Siqiao picked a few and stuffed them into the kitchen.
Wang Xiaofei smiled, went to the well, and took out the big yellow croaker hanging in it.
The temperature in the well is low, and the yellow croaker that has been stored overnight is still very fresh, and the fish feels cool to the touch.
The swimming crabs were placed in a washbasin, which was covered with a wet towel and a bamboo basket.
After a night of keeping them, not a single one died.
After Wang Xiaofei steamed a crab and fried two vegetarian dishes, he heard a knock on the door. It sounded like Aunt Guihua from next door had come.
"Aunt, go ahead."
"I'll do the fish."
Aunt Guihua came over suddenly, probably because she wanted to see my aunt about something.
Wang Xiaofei nodded, put the apron on Lin Siqiao and went to the front yard.
This fish was quite big, so Lin Siqiao directly cut it into two.
Steam half of it, and for the other half, scoop the fish meat out with a spoon and then use the back of a knife to smash it into paste to make fish balls.
After a while, Wang Xiaofei came back with a big bag of dried shrimps and dried fish.
These were given by Aunt Guihua, and Lin Siqiao was asked to take them back to try.
After dinner, the two children followed Lin Siqiao reluctantly, looking extremely pitiful.
Lin Siqiao promised them that she would come to see them once a month, and the two children became happy.
After Wang Xiaofei settled the two children, he rode his bicycle to send Lin Siqiao off.
On the way, they first went to Qiu Mingze's home.
There are fewer people at noon, so it’s not easy to be discovered if you go there.
When he arrived at the place, Lin Siqiao felt for the first time the cruelty of reality.
The dark and damp thatched hut, which was less than ten square meters, housed the five members of their family, and was next to the pigpen of the commune.
Mr. Qiu seemed to be in good spirits, but everyone present knew that he might not survive the winter.
"Here are the painkillers you requested."
"This is one month's supply. I'll come again next month."
Mother Qiu was so excited that she didn't know what to say. She took her three children and bowed to them one by one.
"Thank you. Thank you."
Wang Xiaofei's eyes were red and she turned her face away, unable to bear to watch this scene.
Lin Siqiao also felt very sad.
Even when he boarded the ferry back to Shanghai, Lin Siqiao was still feeling a little depressed.
It was already four o'clock in the afternoon when we arrived at the Shanghai Port.
Lin Siqiao got off the boat carrying her things, and as soon as she got out of the dock, she saw someone she didn't expect.
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