On March 28, the morning of the sixteenth day after the Spring Examination, Fang Zian decided not to go to Su Heng's home to participate in the construction of the blast furnace. In fact, Fang Zian had no way to get involved in this matter, and he could only go there. It was just a side fight. Today Fang Zian decided to go to the Shi's Mansion to visit Shi Ningyue.

Three nights ago, Fang Zian and Qin Xiqing went to visit Shi Ningyue. Shi Ningyue's injuries had recovered to a stable level and she was able to get out of bed and walk normally without feeling any discomfort. However, it was already night and she was accompanying Qin Xiqing. Those who went there could only listen to their conversation, and did not talk too much to Shi Ningyue. Today Fang Zian planned to go alone and stay with Shi Ningyue for a day. Once Shi Ningyue's injury had basically recovered, he had not yet Stay with her well. Secondly, there is news that the gold medal will be released in the next two days, which means that Shi Hao is coming back. Fang Zian also wants to discuss countermeasures with the Shi family's mother and daughter.

At the end of March, it is already the peak of spring. The branches of the trees in the city are already full of green, and all kinds of flowers and trees are in bloom. Some of the peach blossoms, apricot blossoms, pear blossoms, plum blossoms and other flowers are in full bloom, and some have even passed their flowering period. , leaving red falls all over the ground. The air is filled with the fragrance of various flowers and trees, which makes people very comfortable.

Fang Zian rode his horse slowly on the way to Shijia, admiring the spring scenery and the lively people on the street, and felt very happy. Although there were unexpected incidents recently, fortunately, there was no accident. It was a big disaster. And through this incident, I finally didn’t have to hide my feelings. Moreover, I found Su Heng, a great craftsman with real skills, to build the steam engine for me. Everything went so smoothly, so I was naturally in a good mood. .

Fang Zian’s house is in Shuijing Hutong inside Yongjinmen, and Shi’s house is in Liuyeer Hutong inside Houchaomen to the north. In fact, they are not too far apart. Go north along Donghe Street and cross four horizontal streets and a stone bridge to get there. Let’s get together. It was only three or four miles away. Fang Zian was not in a hurry. He rode his horse slowly among the crowds on the bustling Donghe Street, enjoying the street view and the boats passing by on the Donghe River. It was a beautiful spring day. But after crossing the East River to the north of Shilan Bridge, suddenly there was a commotion on the street ahead. Many people rushed towards the east side street, as if something had happened.

Fang Zian was startled. He wanted to go find a passerby and ask what happened, but soon he didn't have to ask. Because at the intersection of Donghe Street and the cross street in front, a thick smoke was coming right in front of him. Rising from behind the lush canopy of trees beside the street. The thick black smoke looked very eye-catching and terrifying against the blue sky. Fang Zian immediately understood that it was a fire.

In a bustling street like Donghe Street, a fire is a very serious and terrible thing. In fact, a fire is something that requires extreme precautions for the entire Lin'an City. Because Lin'an City has too many people and too many houses and shops. Crowding, if not handled properly, will cause huge losses. In a dense place like Donghe Street, if the fire spreads, the entire street may be burned down. It may even burn to the private houses between the streets.

The crowds blocked the road, and Fang Zian could not move forward, so he dismounted, tied the horse to the dock and galloped forward to check. However, he saw thick smoke billowing from a three-story restaurant at the intersection of the street, and among the black smoke , people kept running out of the building, their faces covered with gray and gray, and they kept coughing.

"Help, neighbors, help put out the fire, please

Please. Please." A short, fat middle-aged man cried loudly and bowed and begged to the onlookers. He seemed to be the owner of the restaurant.

"Oh, what's the big deal? Why is it on fire? Shopkeeper Xu, there's no way to save this. We have to wait for the fire brigade of the Fang Yu Army to put out the fire. Someone has already gone to report it. The Xicheng Fang Yu Army should be there very soon.

It's coming soon." Some people consoled him.

"Oh no, when they come, my restaurant will be completely burned down. This is my life's hard work, and all my belongings are here. If the restaurant is gone, I won't be able to survive. I beg you.

Please help put out the fire." The owner of the restaurant, Shopkeeper Xu, begged loudly.

Although the people expressed sympathy for him, no one came forward to put out the fire. It was not that they were heartless, but the fire had spread to the first floor of the restaurant and burned to the lobby. The second and third floors were all shrouded in billowing black smoke. Basically, a restaurant like this

It is mainly a wooden structure. Once the fire on the first floor becomes bigger, it will quickly spread to the second and third floors, which is impossible to save. If you go close to fight the fire, you are looking for death.

Amidst the commotion, the whistle was sharp and the beeping was heard. Someone shouted loudly: "Get out of the way, get out of the way, get out of the way."

The people shouted one after another: "The anti-Japanese army is coming, the fire brigade is coming. Make way for them to come in."

The crowd quickly moved out of the way, but saw cluttered footsteps. A dozen soldiers drove two large vehicles and turned in from Donghe Street. The two large vehicles carried huge boxes that were as tall as one person. You could hear the shaking of the vehicles.

There was a clanging sound of water inside. This was obviously the water tanker they used to put out the fire.

"Oh, Master, put out the fire quickly. I beg you. If we don't save it, it will be too late." Shopkeeper Xu stepped forward and cried loudly as if he had grasped a life-saving straw.

The soldiers of the Anti-Japanese Army jumped out of the car, each holding a large bucket in their hands, ready to collect water to put out the fire. But when the leader saw the fire, he immediately waved his hands and shouted: "Brothers, don't waste your efforts. Don't lose it."

He lost his life. This fire cannot be saved."

Shopkeeper Xu was shocked when he heard this and said, "Why can't we save him? You guys should save me."

The leading officer shouted: "Save it, do you want us to die? I thought it was a small fire, but it turned out to be such a big fire, so how can we save it? Do you want us brothers to die? Come closer to avoid being scorched."

It won’t work, it won’t work.”

All the people shouted: "What are you talking about? Aren't your Fangyu Army just putting out fires? Why are you still saying such things?"

The leader of the Fangyu Army scolded: "Damn it, you guys are standing and talking without pain. You all make sarcastic remarks, why don't you save me? Who says it can be saved? I'll lend you a bucket and you go save me. I won't go."

We're going to die. We only get three taels of silver a month, so you're asking us to risk our lives for three taels of silver? It's a shame you can say so."

The people were speechless. Fang Zian couldn't help shouting: "Hey, you guys must do something. The fire hasn't started yet, so there is still a chance. At least pour a few buckets of water and give it a try."

The leader of the Fangyu Army glared at Fang Zian and said: "Who the hell are you? That's easy to say, do you pay for our lives when we were burned to death? The fire is about to start as soon as we speak, are you blind?"

Fang Zian frowned and said: "The fire hasn't started yet, so you should use the water hose to put it down. You can save it by putting down the fire."

Defend

The leader of the Yu army sneered: "Water dragon? Where did the water dragon come from? Damn it, we don't even have smoke and fire protection masks, and there is still a water dragon?"

Fang Zian was also speechless. Indeed, the equipment on this group of people was just ordinary uniforms, not even armor, and they did not have any fire-fighting equipment at all. If there were water dragons that could extinguish fires from a distance, they could even

If there are no water dragons, then what else can we save? The fire brigade of the Fangyu Army is too shabby.

"Boss, this fire will spread. What should we do? The shops and buildings on both sides will be destroyed. What should we do?" a soldier asked from the side.

"The old method is to clear out the surrounding buildings, pull down the house, and wait until the fire is gone. Then it will naturally go out. Bring the rope and bring the mule pulling the cart." The leader ordered in a deep voice.

All the soldiers took action together, and someone went to the shop next to the restaurant to drive out the people inside. Several soldiers swung the ropes around the roof trusses of the shop next to them, and four mules and a dozen soldiers began to pull hard together.

Amid the yelling and yelling of the owner of the shop next to him, there was a loud rumble, and the shop next to him was forcibly pulled down, the walls collapsed, and turned into ruins.

The fire brigade did not stop, but also pulled down the two adjacent shops to the east and north, and knocked down the walls. Someone also started to chop down several large trees nearby, and then stopped.

Fang Zian frowned as he looked at it, but he also understood that these people were not deliberately causing damage. This was the only way they could prevent the fire from spreading along the densely packed shops and houses on the street. The collapse of the surrounding houses was actually

It creates a fire zone to isolate the spread of fire. But this method of fighting fires is really frustrating. When a shop catches fire, the surrounding families suffer as well.

After such a long delay, the fire in the three-story restaurant has also spread to the third floor. The entire restaurant has been burned into a sea of ​​​​fire. Even after dozens of steps, my face was burning and painful. Shopkeeper Xu of the restaurant

He collapsed on the ground and cried loudly, shouting: "It's over, it's all over, it's all over. The property I have worked hard for all my life is just gone. Nothing is left."

The people nearby comforted him and said: "Shopkeeper Xu, it's okay if you're fine. If you don't have anything, you can make more money. Just look at it. Fire and water have no mercy. Hey!"

Shopkeeper Xu stood up slowly, looked blankly at the crowd of people around him, and sighed: "My whole life's hard work is gone, what can I do to make more money? This restaurant is my life and root. I still owe money to it for it."

.It’s just gone...what’s the point of living for me.”

As he spoke, shopkeeper Xu suddenly stamped his feet and ran towards the raging restaurant. Everyone screamed, and Fang Zian rushed out to stop him, but he only took a dozen steps and watched Xu helplessly.

The shopkeeper jumped into the fire. Fang Zian endured the scorching heat and ran a few steps to pull him out from the door sealed by the fire. He heard a strange sound in Kalara, and Fang Zian knew something was wrong, so he immediately turned around and backed away.

There was a loud rumbling sound, sparks flying, smoke and dust flying, and half of the restaurant collapsed. Fortunately, Fang Zian saw the opportunity quickly and avoided the fate of being hit by the huge burning pillar and being buried inside. But such a collapse,

Shopkeeper Xu had completely disappeared in the flames.
Chapter completed!