As the sun goes down, tranquility gradually returns to Taiping, which was bustling during the day. Most of the shops along the street have closed their doors, and there are fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road. Most of the houses have smoke from cooking, and you can still vaguely smell all kinds of things.
The smell of such food. Therefore, at this moment, the carriage was speeding along the spacious road, and gusts of wind penetrated through the gaps in the window, carrying with it the smell of market food and the burning smell.
, making people in the car feel more impatient.
“It’s here, it’s here!”
Hearing this sound, Xu Xun didn't wait for the car door to open, and immediately opened the car curtain, slammed the door and jumped to the ground. What he saw was a bright red fire, but it was not his home as he thought at first.
, but Xu Liang’s dilapidated small courtyard. I could see the flames rising up in bursts, and the crackling sound was extremely harsh. Although there were people putting out the fire in twos and threes, more people were watching the excitement.
For a moment, he rushed forward almost without thinking. At this moment, a man came out of the crowd and bumped into him.
"Master!"
Xu Xun was stunned when he heard this, and after looking for a long time, he recognized the person. He saw that most of the person's face was blackened by smoke, his long hair was messy and tied up with a rag, and his clothes were blackened by the fire.
There were also traces of burnt holes everywhere, and one shoe was missing from the foot. Who else could it be if it wasn't Ruisheng? He realized something almost in a flash, and immediately grabbed Ruisheng's wrist.
"Did you escape from the fire?"
Ruisheng looked at Xu Xun, as if he would cry anytime and anywhere, but he finally stopped. He sniffed hard, raised his sleeve to wipe his face, and then said in a dry voice: "No,
Brother Jin Liu sent the young master out, and Sister Jin Liu and I were guarding the house together. Later, Sister Jin Liu suddenly ran in and said that Grandpa Liang's house was on fire, so I ran out to see. When I saw the fire, I went back to get a quilt and soaked it.
After taking the water, I wrapped it around my body and rushed in..."
"You..." Xu Xun wanted to scold Ruisheng for being reckless, but looking at the little guy's clear eyes, he finally sighed and asked immediately, "Uncle Xu Liang is not in there?"
"Master, how do you know?" Ruisheng's eyes widened for a moment, and then he said sarcastically, "Grandpa Liang is indeed not inside. I searched several houses but couldn't find it. If Aunt Su hadn't seen me entering the fire scene,
, I called a few enthusiastic people for help, but it was not easy for me to get out... I was afraid that you, young master, would jump into the river to save people before your injuries healed. If something happened to Grandpa Liang, what would you do impulsively when you came back?
I thought it would be better to find out on my own than to take risks..."
Hearing that Ruisheng actually rushed into the fire for such a reason, Xu Xun was instantly angry. He wanted to reprimand but couldn't say a word. Finally, he suddenly hit Ruisheng on the forehead with his finger: "Remember this from now on.
Don't be so reckless if you encounter such a dangerous situation again. If Aunt Su hadn't called for help today, your life would not have been saved!"
After saying this, he left Ruisheng and walked quickly towards Aunt Su. He saw this stout woman in her fifties raising her voice and yelling for people to put out the fire, but she finally agreed to help.
Although there were people there, more people were either pointing and looking, or blaming themselves on his old age. He unconsciously looked behind him. He was expecting to see where Wu Shou was, but unexpectedly this well-dressed rich man turned out to be there.
It was following him. Then his heart moved and he immediately asked: "Can Mr. Wu bring any cash?"
Wu Shouzheng was originally worried that the house on fire was Xu Xun's house, but he was relieved when he found out that it was someone else's house. But when he followed behind and heard the exchange between Xu Xun and Ruisheng, he found that Xu Xun seemed to know this house.
He hid his relaxed expression. As soon as people looked over, he immediately sighed and said: "How could such a good person suddenly catch fire..."
As soon as the words came out, he clearly heard the words behind Xu Xun. He was slightly startled, and his mind became active. He hesitated for a moment and then asked: "Seventh Young Master, do you want money? I don't have much cash with me. I don't have much cash with me in the car."
There are still dozens of taels of silver in the cash box, seven or eight green clams, and three or four hundred loose coins. Treasure notes are too cheap now. Although I brought a bunch of them, others may not be willing to take them. The money notes are here.
You can redeem money at many places in Jinling, but this night..."
Looking at Xu Xun's face, he immediately stopped the second half of his words, and then said with a smile: "If the Seventh Young Master wants to use money, I will get it immediately!"
"It doesn't take that much, just bring over the few guanzhuangs and loose money first."
After Xu Xun said these words, he immediately came behind Aunt Su and called out. When she turned around, he said loudly without waiting for her to speak: "Auntie, thank you very much for Ruisheng's incident before!"
Aunt Su was already sweating profusely. When she heard this, she smiled and smoothed the messy hair on her forehead, but she said angrily: "Young Master Seven has the time to say such kind words, so why not hurry up and help put out the fire!"
The same goes for the kid Ruisheng. With such a big fire, why would you rush in rashly and seek death? Old man Liang followed the monk living next door out in the afternoon. I just happened to come over and knock on the door to ask him to help fetch water tomorrow, but there was no one there when I knocked.
Then he shouldn’t be back sooner or later!”
Xu Xun's heart moved and he quickly asked: "When will that be?"
"I'm not here yet, what's wrong?"
Seeing Wu Shouzheng and the horseman holding a box coming over panting, Xu Xun had no choice but to put the matter aside for the time being. He only stepped forward and shouted loudly: "Dear neighbors, it's been a long time since the weather has been dry.
It’s raining, so we have to put out the fire quickly. If the wind blows and burns other houses, it will be too late!”
Aunt Su had just called a dozen or so people for help. Now she saw Xu Xun also came forward. She was immediately happy and shouted loudly: "Brother Xun is right. Don't look at it, everyone, hurry up."
Help, or you’ll burn your house down and cry!”
At this moment, someone in the crowd sneered: "It's the good old man who caught fire, it's none of our business! A moat separates this Taiping from the Imperial City and the major government offices. There have been only a handful of fires in the past ten years.
, Besides, we have already gone to report to the official, and the people from the Nancheng Army and Horses Department will be here in a blink of an eye, so why should we be busy! There is no wind here, if the fire is really burning everywhere, we will be unable to withstand it now!"
Although it was already late at night, the fire in Xu Liang's yard was burning brightly. Even if it didn't make the surroundings look like daylight, it was still enough for him to see people in all directions. He vaguely recognized that it was a member of the Xu clan, and he frowned
He frowned, and then shouted loudly: "It really doesn't make sense that we all worked so hard all night in vain. In this way, the water truck loaded with water cost twenty coins per truck, and the water truck brought three coins per bucket.
Those who put out fires are also rewarded!"
"Don't talk nonsense, where did you get all this money?"
As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar from all directions. The Xu clan member who had just spoken had to jump out to question the truth of these words. Without saying a word, Xu Xun immediately pulled the groom Wu Shouzheng over and opened the money
The lid on the box brought out a heavy amount of copper coins. When the onlookers saw the copper coins shining dimly under the light of the fire, they gradually became commotion. Although Aunt Su on the side did not understand why Xu Xun suddenly acted like this
He was so generous, so he immediately let out his voice to lobby. After a while, many people who had just watched on the sidelines immediately started to move.
There are many people like Xu Liang in this area who make a living by drawing water, and there are several water trucks. Under the temptation of this money offensive, several trucks of water were delivered in a short time. Although Aunt Su is a female,
He is usually talkative, but he is quite impressive. He assigns people various tasks and instructs Rui Shengzi to keep accounts carefully. An old man who has experienced two fires even guided everyone to demolish a wall.
By the time people from the Nancheng Army and Horses Division arrived, the fire was nearly under control.
Fortunately, although there was little rain in the spring this year, the wind was not strong at night after all. In addition, it rained last night. Xu Liang's small courtyard was separated from several houses on the right by a road. Many neighbors came here for money.
Well, in order to prevent their own houses from being affected, everyone did their best to take turns. In addition, the people in the Nancheng Military and Horse Division are professionals these days after all. The fire place is too close to the imperial city and is too sensitive. Xu Xun
They were promised two more coins, and several of them worked very hard.
We were busy until midnight when the fire was finally put out. Except for the small courtyard next to Monk Xu Liangjia Huitong, which was also burned to ashes, the damage to several other nearby courtyards was finally limited, and some walls
It was scorched black and some roof tiles were damaged, but it was nothing serious after all.
Xu Xun saw that Ruisheng's face was gray and his voice was hoarse, so he sent his people back first. He followed Jiang Limu, the leader of the Nancheng Army and Horse Division, and others into the messy fire scene. He wandered around the charred place for a long time.
He found that it really didn't look like there was anyone there. He knew that Aunt Su was not wrong at first, but after turning around a lot, he noticed that there seemed to be some suspicious marks next to the ruins of the wall. He knelt down and checked for a moment, and something moved in his heart.
, picked up the charcoal-like black ash and rubbed it in his hands, his face gradually became serious.
Sure enough, someone set the fire on fire!
Seeing that the people from the Nancheng Army and Horses Division were still checking the fire scene, he quietly retreated out. As soon as he went out, he saw an empty space in the middle of the crowd. Two groups of people were facing each other in a tense situation. On one side was Xu Lianghe.
Monk Huitong, as for the other party, it was the eldest son, the third young master Xu Jin, who was accompanied by two young men.
ps: The third update, please click and recommend! The gap between the two rankings of the click list and recommendation list is very small. I sincerely ask everyone to give it your full support!