Someone set this fire!
Li Xiangdong had a bad feeling and went back into the house to call Li Zhen, who was studying, out of the house. He told her to hurry home and call Li Jin, while he grabbed his homemade gun and headed straight for the fire.
We don't know who started the fire, so we should take precautions.
Li Lan is a light sleeper, and she was woken up at this time. Li Xiangdong told her to lock the front door at home, take good care of the children, and not to go out.
Li Xiangdong carried his gun and jogged along. The fire site was a bit far from the Lijiapo residential area. When Li Xiangdong arrived, the joint defense team had also arrived.
Panting, Li Xiangdong bumped into Li Kang. "Uncle Kang, what happened?"
Li Kang looked dejected. "I don't know!"
At this point, there was no time to talk about anything else; the group hurriedly began to put out the fire.
It was 11:30 p.m., and most of the villagers were fast asleep when they were suddenly awakened by a loudspeaker blaring. They then learned that a mud house on the edge of the village was on fire. Many people, without even bothering to get dressed properly, grabbed buckets full of water and ran towards the fire.
At that time, there was no running water, so everyone automatically formed a human chain to carry water from Sanzhihe to the fire site.
The firefighters closest to the fire had their faces completely blackened, and their hair was curled up from the heat.
Fortunately, the wind was blowing from the southeast at that time, and the house was relatively far from other houses. Otherwise, with such a large fire, it would have connected all the houses in Lijiapo!
Even so, the fire was gradually brought under control as dawn broke.
Only then did everyone realize that not only was the entire house burned down, but also the dozen or so haystacks next to it were completely burned! Even the poplar trees a dozen meters away had their trunks charred.
Everyone was exhausted, but they still mustered their last bit of strength to pour two more buckets of river water on the black ashes that were emitting white smoke, completely extinguishing the small flames hidden within.
Lijiapo Brigade Headquarters.
Li Jin glared angrily at Niu Yonggui, Aunt Niu, and the Qian family mother and son, who were in their fifties and staying at Lijiapo.
"Niu Yonggui! What exactly happened?!"
Niu Yonggui, completely unlike his previous docile self, kicked Aunt Niu viciously, yelling, "You jinx, did you start the fire?!"
Aunt Niu, who had been sitting on the ground like a lump of mud with her eyes vacant, suddenly stood up like a mad lioness after being kicked in the chest by Niu Yonggui!
She grabbed Niu Yonggui by the collar and shoved his head hard, causing his nose to bleed instantly.
Niu Yonggui was caught off guard and was caught off guard by Aunt Niu's attack. He was in pain and furious. He reached out and grabbed Aunt Niu's hair, about to slam her face against the door frame.
Everyone had seen Aunt Niu throw tantrums for decades, but they had never seen Niu Yonggui act so ruthlessly!
This person, isn't he a good-natured, mild-mannered guy?
Li Jin couldn't bear to see Niu Yonggui beat Aunt Niu to death, so he quickly ordered his men to separate the two.
The Qian family mother and son, who had been sitting like wooden or clay sculptures just moments before, felt sorry for Niu Yonggui and went over to wipe his nose, seeing it bleeding profusely.
Looking at the four people, Li Xiangdong finally understood why.
Why!
Aunt Niu glared at the three men, her fierce spirit rising within her. She turned to Li Jin and said sternly, "Li Jin, I'm from Lijiapo. If I'm wronged, are you going to help me?"
Aunt Niu was indeed a girl from Lijiapo. The Niu family had few members, and Aunt Niu was the only one in the family. So Old Man Niu set up a house to find a husband for her, and that's how Niu Yonggui came to live with them.
To be honest, Niu Yonggui wasn't originally surnamed Niu; he changed his surname to Niu after marrying Aunt Niu.
Li Jin nodded, "If you really have a grievance, just speak up. If I can't help you, the government can!"
Aunt Niu smoothed her loose hair and pointed at Niu Yonggui, "Deng Yonggui! From today onwards, you are not worthy of bearing the surname of the Niu family, and you are no longer a member of the Niu family!"
Niu Yonggui—no, now it's Deng Yonggui—sneered, "Who cares!"
Aunt Niu didn't argue with him, but turned to the others and said, "Aunties, uncles, brothers, I'm wronged! Ever since my son died, Deng Yonggui has been smashing things at home every day, and now, now he's hooked up with Lao Qian!"
Old Qian was using a handkerchief to wipe the blood from Deng Yonggui's nose that was stuck to his face.
Everyone looked at it and realized that something was indeed wrong.
What's going on here?
Aunt Niu was filled with grief and indignation. "No! It wasn't something we just started doing now! I only found out today that Qian Xiaomi is actually the daughter of these two! They've been having an affair for a long time!"
Whoosh—
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Upon closer inspection, Qian Xiaomi did indeed resemble Deng Yonggui somewhat, with the same single eyebrow, narrow eyes, and small, round head. However, Deng Yonggui was thin and small, while Qian Xiaomi resembled his mother more, being taller and stronger.
Li Jin looked at Deng Yonggui and asked, "What exactly is going on? Didn't you say that the Qian family mother and son were refugees you rescued from outside?"
The mother and son had come to Lijiapo more than a decade ago. At that time, there were many people fleeing famine, and there were outsiders in every village and township, so no one doubted Deng Yonggui's claim that he had picked up a mother and son who were starving and on the verge of death.
The people of Lijiapo are kind-hearted. Although they themselves don't have much food, they can't just watch people starve to death. So they use a handful of millet from one neighbor and a handful of beans from another to save the two people.
From then on, the Qian family mother and son lived in an abandoned mud house some distance from the village.
Over the past ten years or so, the small mud house has been renovated, and the mother and son's household registration has long been settled in Lijiapo.
Deng Yonggui's face was ashen. "Qian Xiaomi is indeed my son! Qian Daduo is also my wife!"
The room fell silent as soon as he said that. What was going on?
Before Li Jin could even ask, Deng Yonggui launched into a tirade, “Niu Aihua, you’re the one who ruined my family! Let me tell you, I was already married to Da Duo a long time ago. If it weren’t for the severe famine back home, I wouldn’t have left my hometown for Lijiapo, and your father wouldn’t have chosen me and forced me to be a live-in son-in-law for so many years!”
The crowd erupted in uproar!
Niu Aihua, Aunt Niu: "You're talking nonsense! When my dad asked you if you were married or not, which dog said it was a person?!"
Deng Yonggui looked slightly uncomfortable, but his expression was quickly replaced by resentment. "It's all your father's fault! If I told him I was already married, he would kick me out, and I would starve to death!"
"So you dared to lie to my dad? And even lied to me about marrying you?"
Niu Aihua was so angry that she was trembling all over.
"Hmph! In all these years of marriage, I haven't done a single chore, not even a housework, except to care for your father in his old age, bury him, carry his funeral banner, and break pots. And I've been cuckolded, raising someone else's son!"
Upon hearing Deng Yonggui's words, Aunt Niu's eyes rolled back in anger, and she nearly fainted!
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