Lin Cuiying nodded, then turned and ran outside.
The Lin family lived in a somewhat remote place, with no neighbors on either side, so the commotion they made earlier didn't wake up the villagers.
However, now that it's on fire, I can only run out and call for help.
By this time, some villagers had been alerted by Lin Cuiying's loud shouts and got up to check the situation.
When everyone saw that the Lin family's house was on fire, they all grabbed their weapons and rushed towards the Lin family's house.
With the help of others, the fire was finally brought under control.
However, by the time the fire was extinguished, the Lin family's house had been burned beyond recognition.
"Cough...cough cough!" Lin Cuiying wiped her face with her sleeve, which was covered in soot.
The village head's daughter-in-law stood at the former gate of the Lin family's courtyard, carrying a half-full bucket of water. "Heavens above," she cried, "your family only has two beams left!"
The villagers, now with some free time, began to chatter about the sudden fire.
"Brother Chang Geng, are your family members alright?"
"How did the fire spread so fiercely?"
Lin Changgeng coughed as he peeked out from behind the charred door frame, with two charred roof beams swaying precariously above him.
Thick smoke, carrying the smell of burning, swirled above the crowd.
A yellow dog, brought by someone, was circling around the charred fence post, its paws stomping on the muddy ash.
"What kind of deity has the Lin family offended?"
"It's rather strange that a fire would suddenly break out in the middle of the night."
"Smell carefully, why does it smell like kerosene?"
Upon hearing this, some curious people stepped forward and took a closer sniff, and indeed they could smell the odor of kerosene.
"That's right, the smell of kerosene is so strong, could it be arson?"
"Yes, yes, how could a fire start out of nowhere in the middle of the night?"
"Could it be that someone is jealous of the Lin family's success and deliberately set fire to their house?"
Seeing that everyone had finished discussing, Lin Cuiying helped Chen Shi take a step forward.
"Fellow villagers, thank you so much for today. If it weren't for you, my whole family would probably have been burned to death in this fire."
Lin Cuiying pretended to be sad, and Chen was also wiping away tears beside her.
Everyone quickly reassured them, "It's alright, it's alright. We're all from the same village, it's only right that we help each other."
"Cuiying, are you alright?"
"It's alright, it's alright, thank you all for your concern." Lin Cuiying shook her head and then continued, "However, this fire didn't start for no reason; someone deliberately set it."
Upon hearing this, everyone was astonished. "What? Someone deliberately put it there?"
"Yes, it was Lai Pichun, his uncle Zheng Daniu, and Wu Tiezhu who set it there," Lin Cuiying told everyone what had just happened.
Upon hearing this, everyone was furious. "That scoundrel Chun and his gang have gone too far! They actually dared to set people on fire!"
"That's right, that's right! People like that should be arrested and handed over to the authorities!"
"Yes, send it to the authorities!"
"Why haven't we seen them?"
"Are you stupid? Do you think they'd just stand there and wait to get arrested?"
"You're saying they also poured kerosene?" the village head's voice came from outside the crowd. "Make way! Everyone, make way!"
Everyone turned around and saw the village headman pushing through the crowd and striding over. Standing in the Lin family's courtyard, they could indeed smell a strong kerosene odor.
Then, the village head ordered more than a dozen able-bodied men present to go to Zheng Daniu and Wu Tiezhu's homes to arrest them.
Lai Pichun was originally from Luhua Village, but he stopped living there after his parents died.
When he comes back occasionally, he stays at his aunt Zheng's house.
Moreover, his old mud house collapsed several years ago, and no one cared about it.
The young men who had arrested the two men soon returned, saying that no one was home.
Upon hearing this, the people present began to murmur amongst themselves again.
"Did they all run away?"
"This matter has caused quite a stir in our village. If they don't run away, are they just waiting to be arrested and handed over to the authorities?"
"We can't let them off so easily."
"That's right, that's right."
The village head gestured for everyone to be quiet, then turned to Lin Changgeng and asked, "Changgeng, what do you think?"
Lin Changgeng wiped his face, the ash from his cigarette seeping into his wrinkles: "To pour kerosene at midnight is to kill someone; this is to cut off the Lin family's livelihood."
“Yes, our family never makes enemies. Where did we offend Lai Pi Chun and his gang?” Lin Tiandong chimed in from the side.
"This matter..." The village head coughed, twirling his beard three times with his fingertips. "In the end, no one was killed."
The second half of the sentence rolled around in his throat, and when he exhaled it with cigarette ash, it was as light as a sigh.
Lin Cuiying, who was supporting Chen Shi, immediately understood what the village head meant—he wanted to smooth things over!
In the eyes of the village head, no one had died, but that was because she had a cheating device.
Otherwise, the six members of the Lin family would very likely have perished in tonight's fire.
Lin Cuiying was somewhat dissatisfied; she didn't want to let Lai Pichun and his gang off so easily.
"Village head, this matter can't be left like this. They want our lives!" Lin Cuiying said through gritted teeth.
The village head glanced at her, his eyes filled with a complex expression.
He knew this was unfair to the Lin family, but since it involved people in the village, he didn't want to make things too big.
“Cuiying, I know you’re unwilling, but we need to think about this matter carefully.” The village head pondered for a moment and said, “Although Lai Pichun and his gang are despicable, they are still people from our village. If we take this to the authorities, it will not be good for our village’s reputation.”
The villagers fell silent, each with their own agendas.
If an arsonist comes from the village, it will not only damage the village's reputation, but also affect marriage prospects.
Which family would want to form a marriage alliance with a village that produces arsonists?
At that moment, the whispers all around exploded like water splashed into a pot of oil.
"Last year, a thief appeared in the next village, and this summer, people were still gossiping about it."
"My daughter is getting married in town this December..."
"My third daughter just had her birth chart changed!"
"..."
Families with weddings in their households all turned to look at Lin Changgeng's family.
Just as Lin Cuiying saw Lin Tiandong about to speak, she stepped forward and pulled her back, then raised her voice, "I don't want everyone to be in such a difficult position, but everyone has seen how badly our house was burned down."
At this point, Lin Cuiying pretended to wipe away imaginary tears, "Luckily, I got up in the middle of the night and discovered what Lai Pichun and his two companions were doing, otherwise our six-member Lin family would have..."
The villagers fell silent upon hearing this, otherwise...
The village head was well aware of the consequences of this matter, and looked troubled. "Cuiying, thankfully your family is alright. If something had really happened, they would have definitely reported it to the authorities. But you see..."
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