Chapter 27 Chapter 27 On Fire

The first thing Wang Nian did when he got up in the morning was to open the curtains and look at the sky as usual.

The sky was still gloomy without a ray of sunshine. Although it was not snowing, the occasional drizzle made the entire Changshenggou seem to be plunged into silence.

The frozen cement road was wet and slippery, making it difficult for people to walk, not to mention cars.

Parts could not be delivered, so the workshop had to suspend production and employees had to wait for notification from the factory to resume work. The school also gave the children winter vacation early so that they could stay at home.

But staying at home doesn't mean it's comfortable. It's not much warmer inside than outside.

Wang Nian wiped away the mist that had condensed on the glass, and one could even see hot air coming out of his mouth as he breathed.

Dong——dongdong——

Once again, there was a dull thumping noise coming from the next room. It had happened countless times since dawn.

Shi Xiangming, who was originally sitting on the head of the bed reading a book, had no choice but to put the book down, throw back the quilt and get out of bed.

"I'll go check and make sure these two guys don't tear down the wall."

Liu Chaoxian's family only had two thick quilts, which he gave to Grandma Hu, leaving nothing for the child. And Zhang Liye refused to sleep with his grandmother.

In the end, he insisted on sleeping with Shi Shuwen, holding on to a thin quilt.

The two little brats sleep together and don't have to go to school. They don't sleep at night and don't get up in the morning. The house is in chaos every day.

Shi Xiangming got out of bed and startled Shi Wan who was sleeping in the middle. The little girl turned over and burrowed into the quilt, continuing to sleep soundly.

No matter how cold it was outside, it didn't seem to affect the children at all.

Wang Nian tucked in the quilt, put two pillows outside the bed, tied a scarf around her neck and followed him out.

Fortunately, the house was built this year, and the doors and windows are well sealed, so not much moisture comes in.

I heard from Liu Chaoxian that the ground and courtyards of the first batch of bungalows were flooded, and the houses were as wet as the return of the south wind.

In the small house, Shi Shuwen was admitting his mistake. If Wang Nian remembered correctly, he also promised yesterday that he would never do it again. Even the content was exactly the same.

Children's ability to adapt to the environment is much stronger than adults.

After getting familiar with his new home and her, the little boy's naughty character began to show.

The old saying that even chickens and dogs dislike children of seven or eight years old couldn’t be more true.

Through the rear window, Wang Nian immediately saw that a corner of the straw mat covering the vegetable field was lifted up. It must have been the work of the two boys last night.

Not knowing whether there was anyone in the greenhouse being harassed, Wang Nian quickly opened the door and walked out.

The temperature outside felt at least below zero. The old cotton jacket seemed to be soaked through by the cold wind. Within two minutes, I was so cold that I couldn't help but shiver.

I squatted down and lifted the straw mat to take a look at the cabbage seedlings that had just been sown a few days ago. Fortunately, the seedlings growing in my palm were still intact and had not been frozen.

Wang Nian lifted the straw mat.

Although the temperature is low during the day, fortunately there is no frost, so the seedlings can still undergo the little photosynthesis.

Use tree branches to make a frame around the vegetable garden, and then put straw mats on the frame at night. There is no need to worry about the straw mats crushing the seedlings.

Straw was hard to find, so we planted two plots of land.

A piece of cabbage and a piece of lettuce, both of which were vegetable seeds that Grandma Hu saved last year.

Two greenhouses, one large and one small, were built in the middle of the side yard, and the firewood shed on the right was also covered with a piece of plastic to prevent moisture.

These three pieces of plastic sheets cost me more than fifty yuan, and they are still out of stock.

The main frame of the shed is welded from discarded parts in the workshop, and you can see that there are dozens of welding points on each frame.

The top beams are made of wood, which makes them easy to remove and replace in the summer.

Wang Nian took off the clips, opened the curtain and clipped them to the shelves on both sides.

Instantly, hot air hit his face. The greenhouse was actually warmer than the house. After standing there for a while, Wang Nian felt a layer of sweat on his back.

The greenhouse is approximately 30 square meters in size. On the left side, the emerald green pea tips are densely packed together and look ready to be picked.

All my agricultural knowledge in my previous life came from agricultural channels. In this life, I became a farmer... and I have never been to the fields.

It was also the first time for Wang Nian to grow vegetables himself. The peas were planted too densely, so the seedlings that grew out were squeezed thin and long.

The green onions and Chinese cabbages on the right are growing well. They look completely different after being fertilized and watered.

The natural fertilizer and water, apart from the slightly overpowering taste, the vegetables grown are purely natural, organic and healthy.

Coriander seedlings grow slowly, and it takes more than half a month before the initial shape of coriander leaves can be seen.

However, looking at the green vegetables in the greenhouse, Wang Nian felt a great sense of accomplishment.

After a round of inspection, he finally pinched two handfuls of pea tips before turning around and lowering the curtain, leaving only a palm-wide air inlet with a clip.

The small greenhouse was planted with only quick-growing vegetables. Granny Hu accidentally mixed the bitter vegetable seeds with the cabbage seeds. Wang Nian didn't know what they were when she sowed them, and now even though the seedlings have emerged, she still can't tell.

But...it's good enough to be eaten.

It was the first day that Wang Nian’s family saw green vegetables since the factory stopped operating for eight days.

“It really came out!”

Although it was just a handful, Liu Chaoxian held it like a treasure and went home to show it to her mother-in-law and then held it out again.

It's not just Wang Nian's family who haven't seen any green vegetables on the table for a few days, everyone is the same.

"For this handful of pea tips, I have to cook a bowl of noodles this morning." Wang Nian smiled and pointed at Xie Yulan's house, looking inquiringly at her.

For several days, the door of Xie Yulan's house was closed. There was someone in the house but he didn't come out.

Liu Chaoxian sighed and pulled Wang Nian to the side.

"Xie Yulan is moving."

"Why?" Wang Nian was surprised. Why did they have to move again after just moving in a few days?

Liu Chaoxian pointed upstairs and whispered, "It's not far actually, just upstairs from you."

"Upstairs?" Wang Nian also looked up, and immediately thought: "Isn't there someone living upstairs?"

Wang Nian still remembers the scene when the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were standing at the door and arguing that day.

Later, I specifically inquired about that family.

The mother-in-law is Jiang Fang, the daughter-in-law is Zhong Manli, and the father-in-law Xiao Hua is the director of the second workshop. He has a lot of work interactions with Shi Xiangming.

However, Shi Xiangming's evaluation of Xiao Hua is that his work ability is average, but he is a smooth and sophisticated person.

The two families lived upstairs and downstairs from each other. They were just friends who nodded to each other when they met, and they basically didn't have much interaction with each other.

Let me tell you, that daughter-in-law is called Zhong Manli..."

To put it simply, Xiao Hua reported to the Housekeeping Department that his daughter-in-law Zhong Manli had difficulty going up and down the stairs due to her pregnancy, and his wife Jiang Fang had poor legs, so they applied to move to the first floor.

Rooms 1 to 3 on the first floor are already occupied. I heard they are the factory director's son and his family, as well as some director's family.

Don’t even think about changing those three rooms. The only option is to move to the three families on the right.

But... Zhong Manli liked number 6 the best, so the Housekeeping Department eliminated that option directly, leaving only numbers 4 and 5.

"Speaking of this, our whole family has to thank Comrade Shi. Do you remember the day we went to the store to buy kimchi jars?"

"Remember, I went back to the Red Flag Brigade to deliver potatoes this afternoon. What happened?"

"Someone from the Housekeeping Department came to my house that day..."

Huang Guohua is the deputy director of the Logistics Support Department after all. If a room is to be changed, it will definitely be easier to mobilize the technician Zhang Guiqiang.

That day, the king thought about the cold weather, so he asked Shi Xiangming to stay at home to look after the two children, and he rode his bike alone to deliver the potatoes back to the Red Flag Brigade.

Of course Liu Chaoxian did not agree to change houses.

For no other reason than there are public toilets and washrooms upstairs. Not only is there an extra yard on the first floor, but there are also utility rooms on both sides near the stairwell.

The family members' bicycles and some farm tools were parked in the house.

The key is that the toilet is in the house. This winter, Liu Chao has experienced the convenience. Who would still want to live upstairs?

Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, the Housekeeping Department began to enforce the factory's regulations.

At this time...Shi Xiangming heard the quarrel and went next door.

"Comrade Shi directly asked the Housekeeping Department which factory rule required the change of rooms, and asked who made the rule so that he could go and ask for the specific details." Liu Chaoxian shook his head and laughed: "Didn't you see that the staff member of the Housekeeping Department said that he remembered it wrong at the time."

"Why didn't I hear you then?"

Given Liu Chaoxian's personality, she would definitely not be able to hold back and talk when Wang Nian came back that day.

"My husband Zhang said that we must not tell anyone about this, for fear of causing trouble for Comrade Shi." Liu Chaoxian sighed, and looked at the noisy Wang Nian's house, feeling a little amused and helpless: "I thought Comrade Shi must have told you, but who knows why he didn't even mention it."

Wang Nian was suddenly at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

Maybe in Shi Xiangming's heart, those few righteous words were not worth mentioning at all, and there was no need to mention them to Wang Nian specifically.

Liu Chaoxian pursed his face and looked back at Xie Yulan's house: "And I never thought that the Housekeeping Department didn't dare to take any action, and Zhong Manli's husband Xiao Jianmin still went to find Huang Guohua, and the two of them even reached an agreement!"

No one knew what the two talked about, but two days ago, Liu Chaoxian saw Xiao Jianmin going to the next door, and they had agreed to move to another house when the weather got better.

"Do you think Xie Yulan will hate us? Otherwise, it would be my family that would be the one to move house! And Comrade Shi is helping us to stand up for the injustice!"

In addition, Xie Yulan had been hiding in the house for the past few days and had not come out, so Liu Chaoxian was very worried and had no mood to find out anything else.

"Don't worry." Wang Nian shook his head gently: "This matter has nothing to do with us. If Xie Yulan wants to blame someone, she can only blame Huang Guohua."

Xie Yulan seems strong to outsiders, but in fact, Huang Guohua has the final say in the Huang family. He even decides what dishes to eat every day.

After spending so many days together, Wang Nian found that Huang Guohua was too narrow-minded and Xie Yulan was too cowardly.

Gradually, Wang Nian stopped inviting her to go out and spend money, for fear that Huang Guohua would stare at her with those little eyes again.

"What do you know?" Liu Chaoxian asked.

Wang Nian shook his head, and Shi Xiangming walked out the door at this moment and casually continued the conversation.

"Xiao Jianmin offered to pay 90 yuan... but Huang Guohua asked for 120 yuan before agreeing to change rooms. Comrade Liu saw that Xiao Jianmin was there to give money that day."

“…”

Wang Nian just forgot to mention another characteristic of Huang Guohua...he is greedy for money.

"You said you read books at home every day, so how come you know more about what happens in other people's homes than I do?" Wang Nian was really surprised.

Shi Xiangming took the book and slowly sat down in front of the stove. He raised the corner of his lips and said to Wang Nian in a clear voice, "Xiao Jianmin said it himself."

Xiao Jianmin perfectly inherited his father Xiao Hua's tactfulness. After successfully changing the house, the first thing he did was to try to get close to Shi Xiangming.

During the conversation, the matter of spending money to change rooms was mentioned inadvertently, and Shi Xiangming revealed everything in just a few words.

Wang Nian looked at Shi Xiangming strangely.

Normally this person speaks in a slow and calm voice, not as loud as it was today. It could probably be heard throughout the entire corridor.

Then, I quickly understood.

I just said it on purpose for Xie Yulan and her husband to hear, so that Huang Guohua would not blame their two families later.

brush--

The curtains in Xie Yulan's house were suddenly drawn shut. Xie Yulan asked questions while sobbing in the house, and then Huang Guohua answered righteously.

Liu Chaoxian frowned when he heard this.

"This man is a piece of shit!"

Wang Nian was sure that if Shi Xiangming had not seized the opportunity to tell the truth today, Xie Yulan would have really blamed both of their families.

This is what they call... No matter how careful you are, you can't guard against a thief in your own home.

"Let's cook. I have to deliver the shrimp oil after we finish eating." Wang Nian retracted his gaze.

"Zhang Liye, go home and have breakfast." Liu Chaoxian stopped caring about other people's business. He felt relieved and shouted: "After breakfast, do your homework."

School is temporarily suspended, but homework has not been neglected.

Preschool class - the same homework of writing big characters was assigned, but the difference was that Shi Shuwen finished it obediently on the first day after returning home, and Wang Nian didn't have to worry about it at all.

"Mom! Send some noodles to Aunt Wang Nian's house. I want to eat here."

"You little brat, we're cooking noodles today, too."

"The noodles you cooked are not tasty."

"You little bastard, I haven't done anything to you in just a few days, and you're already itching, right?"

There are not many vegetables to eat right now, and every household only eats cabbage and potatoes. Liu Chaoxian thought that now he finally doesn't have to drool with envy.

I never thought that Wang Nian could cook the same potatoes better than her.

No wonder Zhang Liye is so shameless as to go to other people's houses for free meals. If it were her... she would want it too!

Wang Nian has always been generous with his food, and he always puts more seasonings in a bowl of plain noodles than others.

Stir-fry the chopped ginger and scallions until fragrant. Add the shrimps until they change color, then add water and put them in directly when the water boils. Finally, add the pea tips into the pot and blanch them.

Add a little shrimp oil before taking the dish out of the wok. The noodles will be yellow and red, and look really good.

Current refrigerator freezing technology is at an early stage, and the shrimp meat becomes somewhat loose after being frozen for a period of time.

Wang Nian tries to use some in cooking every day, so that everyone can have a taste of meat during this period when there is no meat.

"See if Xiaowan is awake. If she is, let her eat in the room. If she is not awake, let her continue to sleep."

The heat from the noodles was quickly blown away by the wind. Wang Nian placed a small bowl over the bowl of noodles, picked up two more bowls and walked straight towards the hut.

“…”

The quilts on the lower floor were used to form two holes, and one person sat in one of them and meditated with his eyes closed.

As soon as the noodles were placed on the table, Zhang Liye immediately opened his eyes, lifted the quilt and was about to jump to the ground.

"Just sit on the bed and eat. It's cold outside today."

"It smells so good!" Shi Shuwen also raised his head from the quilt, but just obediently did not move.

Wang Nian brought the dining table from the living room to the bedside. The height of the table was just enough for two people to eat while kneeling on the bed.

Both of them had messy hair. They covered themselves with quilts obediently and started eating.

"You really dote on them."

Feeling sorry for letting his son eat and drink for free at Wang Nian's place, Liu Chaoxian specially cooked a few eggs and brought them over.

As soon as I entered the cabin, I saw the two children were just like the young master, even with chopsticks handed to them.

"If it's a cold, it's just a matter of eating and drinking." Wang Nian smiled helplessly: "You haven't seen how many children have been injected in the health hospital these days."

I don’t know if it’s due to the abnormal weather this year or the sequelae of food poisoning a while ago, but the health hospital has been crowded every day recently.

There is a shortage of medical care and medicine now, and Wang Nian doesn't want the children to suffer from that.

So a few days ago, they deliberately let Shi Wan sleep with them, and gave all the quilts to Shi Shuwen and the other two, and did not dare to let them go out to play during the day.

"You are still careful."

"After dinner, you can get dressed and go to the living room to play. I'll bring the beehive stove into the house, and you can take your sister to read comics." Wang Nian instructed again.

In order to prevent the few people from running outside, Shi Xiangming borrowed a lot of books from the library.

During the day I either read or write or watch TV, so the time is easy to pass.

"I know."

"Uh-huh."

The two boys obviously didn't hear Wang Nian's instructions. Their faces were buried in the bowls, and only the sound of them slurping noodles could be heard.

"Peel your own eggs after eating."

Shi Wan was sleeping soundly and showed no sign of waking up, so Shi Xiangming put the noodles in the pot to warm them.

Wang Nian finished his meal in a few bites and then pulled Liu Chaoxian out.

Xie Yulan's crying next door was getting louder and louder. It was neither good for me to stay and try to persuade her nor for me to listen. I decided to just ignore her and not be bothered.

Xu Fen applied for a house a few months later than Wang Nian and his friends. The No. 43 family building had just been allocated, and they finally moved in when a vacancy became available in the No. 21 family building.

The house is relatively old, and the exterior walls are still ordinary red brick buildings, which are less thermally retaining than washed stone.

"It's only been a short while, why is Principal Cui's family buying shrimp oil again?"

"It's not Principal Cui's house."

Wang Nian didn't know who he was, but he heard that he grew up by the sea and loved all kinds of seafood.

Someone had spread some straw on the ground in front of the courtyard. Several children were sitting on the stone steps in the corridor, and the sound of their sniffing was louder than the other.

"It's so cold, why do parents let their children sit on the ground?"

One of the little kids was wearing open-crotch pants, and the adults were not afraid of catching the child sick from frostbite... It looked like the child was already sick.

"Teacher Xu... cough cough... cough cough..."

Xu Fen lives on the third floor, and Wang Nian usually delivers the things downstairs and waits for her to pick them up.

Today, as usual, I was standing downstairs and just shouted, and immediately I started coughing violently because of the smoke that came from somewhere.

A thin stream of black smoke was coming out from the crack in the window of the house in the corner.

"Let's go and take a look." Wang Nian covered his mouth, sent the child away, and ran to the window of the house with Liu Chaoxian to look inside.

This is amazing to watch.

The wooden sofa caught fire and was spreading to the low cabinet next to it at a very fast speed.

"It's on fire!" Wang Nian covered his nose and shouted at Liu Chaoxian: "Go call for help."

Wow wow wow——

At this moment, a one or two-year-old child suddenly ran out of the hut, frightened by the scene and burst into tears.

"You go call for help, I'll go in and save the child." Wang Nian quickly put the bowl aside and dipped the towel into the water in the big pot.

"Fire—fire—"

"Someone come! Come and put out the fire, no one is coming down to put out the fire--"

While Liu Chaoxian was attracting everyone, Wang Nian had already raised his foot and kicked the door lock.

"Sister, my sister is still in the room."

Among the snotty-nosed kids was this child. The little boy was so panicked that he just cried and even forgot that he had the house key hanging around his neck.

Bang——

With one kick, the lock fell to the ground with a clang, and a fist-sized hole appeared on the door in an instant.

Without having time to think whether the door lock was too bad or he was just too strong, Wang Nian rushed into the room, picked up the child and quickly walked out.

"Carry your sister to the embankment." Wang Nian handed the little girl to her brother, turned around and picked up the big iron pot from the stove.

This family has the habit of storing water, and there is a water jar next to the stove.

The people who came later scooped water from the water tank and directly opened the window to splash the water into the house.

Fortunately, the fire had not yet completely spread. With everyone taking turns to splash water, the fire was put out with two wooden sofas being half burned.

At this moment, the mother of the two children just came home after grabbing some food.

"I am so sorry to all my neighbors today. Otherwise, not only would my house be burned down, but everyone else would be implicated as well."

After hearing the whole story, the woman immediately thanked her neighbors for their help, and at the same time, she slapped her eldest son on the head twice.

"I told you to stay inside and play, but you just wouldn't listen."

Sometimes it’s not that parents don’t love their children, but...the children asked for it.

After teaching the child a lesson, the woman came to Wang Nian again and said, "I really want to thank you two ladies today. If anything happened to my daughter, I would not be able to live."

Wang Nian smiled and waved his hands, wiping the water that had flowed into his clothes with the back of his hand: "Comrade, just don't blame me for kicking down your door."

"I can't blame you. I can't thank you enough for saving my life."

The woman's name is Wu Taohua. Her husband is a fifth-level clerk in the transportation department. They have a son and a daughter.

In the morning, she heard that vegetables had just arrived at the vegetable market. Thinking that her lover was at home, she went out without any worries. Unexpectedly...

The eldest son brought the charcoal brazier to the sofa and started to warm himself. Later, his friends called him out to play, and he immediately forgot about the matter.

Right now, every household has their doors and windows closed. If Wang Nian and his companions hadn't come, no one would have noticed until the house was half burned.

"I wonder where my husband Zeng has gone? He can't even take care of a child." Wu Taohua looked tense, her eyes as sharp as knives as she looked at the road leading to the family building.

Wang Nian pursed his lips and suddenly said, "The fire was burning against the wall. I wonder if your neighbor's house was affected. I just saw someone walking around in the house."

After saying that, he pulled Liu Chaoxian and pointed at Xu Fen at the stairs: "We'll leave first."

"Okay, my husband Zeng and I will definitely come to your house to express our gratitude someday."

Wu Taohua had no time to keep anyone, and after thanking him profusely, she turned around and went to clean up the house.

Before Xu Fen took the two people upstairs, Wang Nian saw Wu Taohua knocking on the door next door out of the corner of his eye.

"I thought no one was next door?"

There was such a big fire next door but there was no movement at all. If Wang Nian hadn't said that he saw someone moving around, no one would have thought that there was someone in the house.

Xu Fen suddenly coughed lightly: "The person living next door is a widow. Qi Xiu'e's husband just passed away the year before last, and the daughter is planning to get married this year..."

Wang Nian: “…”

After they entered the house, Xu Fen continued, "The man is the youngest son of Director Luo, and the wedding house is the one you live in."

Qi Xiu'e's husband died in the line of duty, and the factory gave the young couple special treatment and allocated the house.

After the two got married, the factory took back Qi Xiu'e's old house, so she moved to the new house and lived with her daughter and son-in-law.

Wang Nian didn't expect that he would come to deliver shrimp sauce today, but he would save someone and at the same time he would catch someone having an affair.

After coming out with the child in her arms, Wang Nian clearly saw two white figures hurriedly putting on their clothes behind the window curtains next door that were not drawn tightly.

The man put on his pants and wanted to come out, but was stopped by the woman

Dabai Qingtian was doing that kind of thing in the house, and he even spoke in a low voice. It was obvious at first glance that they were not a serious couple.

Now after listening to Xu Fen's explanation, I can basically confirm...it was an affair.

The party having an affair would become neighbors in the future, and Wang Nian's scalp tingled whenever he thought about the scene of having to deal with them.