One donkey could not seat three people, and the two donkeys in the shop had to work, so Song Qingqing hired a donkey cart and took two hundred and fifty people on the donkey cart.
At noon, three people and one dog arrived in Fucheng.
Inns in the city do not allow guests' dogs to enter the guest rooms to avoid scaring or biting other guests. Dogs are usually placed in the livestock shed in the backyard and treated the same as cattle, horses and donkeys.
Song Xixi didn't want Erbaiwu to live in the livestock shed, and planned to settle Song Qingqing and Song Niannian, so she took Erbaifu to the government office to let him stay in the government office temporarily, and no one would treat him badly there.
When I arrived at the inn where I usually stayed, I heard the innkeeper talking to the waiter as soon as he entered the door, with deep regret in his tone: "Oh, it's tragic, it's so tragic! More than 20 lives were burned alive like this."
Gone!"
The waiter said with lingering fear: "It's all burned to charcoal, and there's a baby inside. It's burned so much that only a piece of skull is left!"
The shopkeeper shook his head: "It's all fate..."
Song Niannian was scared after hearing this, but couldn't suppress the curiosity in his heart, so he walked over and asked, "Sir, did someone in the city catch fire and die?"
The shopkeeper was not familiar with her, but was very familiar with Song Xixi who came with her. He immediately greeted her enthusiastically: "Miss Song is here, how many rooms do you want this time?"
Before Song Xixi could speak, Song Qingqing said first, "Two rooms, we want three guest rooms."
Song Xixi glanced at the disappointed Song Niannian, took out a tael of silver and handed it over: "Just two rooms."
The relationship between the two sisters is still not very harmonious. They finally hang out together so they don't have to conflict over accommodation.
If the bed in the guest room wasn't spacious enough, she really wouldn't mind three people sharing a room. Now she can only have two rooms, one for her and Nian Nian, and one for Qing Qing.
Otherwise, she and Qingqing will be "excluded" every year, and they will be so sad that they can't sleep every year.
The shopkeeper quickly accepted the money and handed the keys to the two upper rooms to Song Xixi, and finally solved Song Niannian's confusion: "Two days ago, the post station fifty miles north of the city caught fire. There was a strong wind and the fire could not be controlled. Twenty people inside
None of the members of the family escaped..."
The inns are all run by the government, usually on both sides of the official road, and mainly provide food and accommodation for passing officials or their families.
Of course, if there is a business traveler who can't find a place to stay and wants to stay, he can stay there by spending a little more money than a hotel.
Because it is run by the government, ordinary thieves and robbers would not dare to attack the inn. The security is much better than that of the inn. Therefore, business travelers traveling from south to north will most likely choose to stay in the inn when they cannot find a suitable place to stay.
The inn that caught fire two days ago had received several waves of guests by chance, and ended up being completely destroyed by fire.
"They are so pitiful..."
After hearing the tragic story of those who were burned to death, Song Niannian's eyes suddenly turned red and he kept wiping tears: "No one escaped, they were burned alive like this, how painful it must be for them..."
Song Xixi also felt heavy in her heart. More than twenty fresh human lives were all lost overnight.
The shopkeeper sighed: "Who says it's not true? When the government officials got the news and rushed to put out the fire, the huge inn was already burned down, and they couldn't save anyone even if they wanted to. Those were all foreigners, and they died in a foreign land like this.
Not even a name."
All the people were burned, and their identity certificates were naturally gone. It was impossible to report the funeral to their relatives. Now these people were placed in a charity village outside the city and were buried by the government. Their relatives never knew who they were.
Where was he buried?
Song Qingqing, who had been silent all this time, suddenly asked: "Are you sure it's twenty-five?"
The shopkeeper was stunned for a moment: "It's twenty-five. The relative of an old friend of mine works as an errand in the yamen. He won't talk nonsense about matters that matter to human life."
After listening to this, Song Qingqing's expression changed unpredictably.
Song Xixi thought: Could it be that this fire also happened in Qingqing's previous life, but the number of deaths did not match this life?
As she thought, at this time in the previous life, the inn fifty miles north of the city also caught fire, but the number of deaths was ten more, and among those burned to death was a high-ranking official from the capital.
Because of this, the incident spread throughout the city, even the Song family living in the countryside heard about it.
It's just that the memory was too old, so Song Qingqing didn't remember it for a moment. It wasn't until the shopkeeper's words triggered her past life memory that she remembered the fire case that shocked the entire Huai'an Mansion.
Now that the death toll did not match up, Song Qingqing couldn't help but feel panic in her heart. She was not sure whether her memory was disordered or whether the so-called past life was simply Zhuang Sheng Mengdie.
No matter what the situation was, she felt like she was out of control.
"Qingqing." Song Xixi noticed Qingqing's abnormality and held her hand tightly: "You look very tired. Take a hot bath and have a good sleep later."
Facing her little cousin's eyes that seemed to see everything, Song Qingqing's impetuous mood gradually calmed down: "Well, the donkey cart is too bumpy. I feel uncomfortable all over now. I really should have a good sleep."
Song Xixi had no intention of testing anything and personally took her and Song Niannian upstairs to settle down.
After taking a hot bath, Song Qingqing's mood improved and she got into bed and fell asleep. Song Xixi told Song Niannian a few words before heading to the Yamen with Erbaiwu.
This inn was not far from the Yamen, and it took about three minutes to walk there. As soon as I reached the gate, I met a policeman I knew well.
"Miss Song, you've arrived so quickly!"
The policeman came over enthusiastically and slapped the 250-year-old dog's head hard: "I haven't seen you for a few days. You look a lot stronger now. You will have to perform well in front of Mr. Jiang soon and give us a good reputation.
!”
The individual words were understandable, but when combined together, Song Xixi was confused: "Did you know we were coming? What else, Lord Jiang, do you want Erbai Wu to behave well? Why do you have to behave in front of him?"
The policeman was surprised and said: "Lao Niu didn't tell you?"
Song Xixi reacted: "My two cousins and I came over to play. I was afraid that you might not be able to find anyone in trouble, so I brought Erbaiwu here. I didn't meet the cow catcher. I thought we came and went in a different way, and we happened to miss him."
The catcher nodded, and while leading his master and his pet to the Yamen, he explained to her: "Two days ago, a Lord Jiang came to the capital to inspect the camps of various prefectures. This Lord Jiang, like us, has
He’s a dog lover…”
Mr. Jiang has heard about the deeds of Two Hundred and Five and has always wanted to see it. In the past two days, he has been busy inspecting the camp on the outskirts of Beijing and can't spare time for the time being. When he got free today, he couldn't wait to order people to go to Songjia'ao.
Song Xixi was speechless after hearing this.
You can think of it with your toes. It must be the prefect who is also a dog lover. He deliberately showed off the two hundred and fifty in front of Mr. Jiang before Mr. Jiang found time to summon a dog in his busy schedule.
Patting the two hundred and fifty on the head, Song Xixi felt that she could not embarrass the prefect and would never give him the opportunity to deduct their meager monthly salary.