Siheyuan: Starting from the driver

What about Chapter 701? And what can be done?

"what!"

With such a big incident happening to the Jia family, naturally someone went to the steel mill to call her back.

Upon hearing that the Jia family's house was on fire, Qin Huairu was terrified.

"Bang Geng, Xiao Dang, Kuihua! My children!"

Without even asking Guo Da Piezi for leave, Qin Huairu abruptly pushed aside the basket of spare parts beside her.

Metal parts clattered and clattered all over the ground, eliciting a few gasps of surprise, but she paid no heed.

Jia family.

"Stick! Little Dang! Locust Flower!"

"Mom!" Upon hearing Qin Huairu's voice, Banggeng and Xiaodang immediately ran out.

"Sigh~" Qin Huairu excitedly hugged the two children into her arms, then looked at them to see how they were doing.

"As long as it's okay, it'll be okay."

The two appeared to be unharmed, and Qin Huairu's heart, which had been pounding in her throat, suddenly returned to its place.

"Where is Kuihua?"

“My little sister is sleeping inside,” Xiao Dang explained.

When Qin Huairu saw Kuihua fast asleep on the bed, her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down, and she felt a great weight lifted from her shoulders.

After comforting the child for a while, Qin Huairu went to check the location of the fire outside her house.

The fire clearly started on the side of the Jia family's house near the courtyard wall, right next to the kitchen side wall.

At this moment, the area was a mess, charred black, and the debris that had been piled up there had disappeared, leaving it empty.

"Oh no! Inside the house!"

Qin Huairu's gaze swept eagerly over every corner of the kitchen.

"Thank God, thankfully no one is hurt."

The kitchen stove was closest to the source of the fire, but fortunately, the side closest to the fire source was filled with pickled vegetables and other non-flammable items.

Because the family was poor and didn't have many things, and the kitchen wasn't stocked with much stuff, they were spared from disaster.

“There are advantages to being poor,” Qin Huairu said with a sense of relief, waving her hand to dispel the smell from her face.

If it weren't for the lingering smell of smoke, she wouldn't have been able to tell that her house was on fire.

"It's truly... truly a blessing from God!" Qin Huairu leaned against the door frame and patted her chest.

Seeing that her home was safe and sound, Qin Huairu went outside again to check on the situation.

The once neat exterior wall was transformed into a large, ugly, and bottomless black color by the smoke and fire near the corner where the fire started.

The fine cracks in the plaster on the wall, caused by the high temperature, are faintly visible.

"I wonder how the wall is doing? It can't just be blackened by smoke, can it?"

Qin Huairu reached out to touch it, but feeling the intense heat, she immediately withdrew her hand to avoid getting scalded.

"No, this wall is so dark and creepy. Who knows if there are any injuries inside?"

"We need to find a professional to take a look, otherwise it would be a real problem if something really happened to the wall."

A few years ago, when we were renovating our house, we were struggling financially and had to stretch every penny.

All the budget was prioritized for the interior, with little regard for the exterior.

As for who to find, Qin Huairu immediately thought of the best candidate – Engineer Han.

"Banggeng, keep an eye on your sister. You two don't go near the wall, it's not safe, you know? Mommy is going out to find someone to watch the wall."

"Understood," Banggeng replied.

After settling the two children in, Qin Huairu went to ask Engineer Han to come and take a look.

As Qin Huairu stood there, she mentally calculated how much it would cost. "Repairing the walls and plastering will probably cost quite a bit."

After listening to Qin Huairu's hurried description of the situation, Engineer Han picked up his tool bag without saying a word and went back to the courtyard house.

Once inside the yard, Engineer Han walked around the remaining fire debris again and again, and then took out a small hammer from his bag.

"Bang bang~"

"Tuk Tuk~"

The tapping from different locations produced sounds that were either dull or slightly hollow. They even picked at the peeling paint on the wall and rubbed the charred ash.

Banggeng watched nervously as Engineer Han inspected the wall, barely daring to breathe, silently praying, "Please, please don't let anything go wrong, please don't!"

He was the one who started the fire; he was more afraid than anyone else that something would happen to the wall, that it would really collapse.

Qin Huairu's heart pounded with each strike of the hammer, her palms clenched with sweat.

Finally, Engineer Han stopped hammering, let out a long sigh of relief, and turned to walk towards Qin Huairu, who looked tense.

"Han, how is it?" Qin Huairu asked anxiously.

Engineer Han twitched his lips and said, "From what I see, the fire isn't burning very deep. It's mainly burning fiercely against the wall, which has scorched the wall surface too much."

He pointed to the deepest scorch mark: "Look, right here. This part was burned quite badly, and it's a bit crumbly inside, so it's not as strong, but it's still okay."

"It's a bit cracked, so if it rains or in winter, moisture, rainwater, and cold wind will seep in, making the room quite cold."

He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was already clear.

Qin Huairu's heart leaped into her throat again: "Engineer Han, what do you mean?"

“We can’t just scrape off the black parts and call it a day for these charred areas.”

Han Gong gestured with his hands: "We need to scrape off and clean away this old, brittle mortar and the bricks that have cracked from the baking, to expose the solid parts inside."

"Then use good quality new plaster to fill in and smooth it out, and finally paint the entire large area of ​​wall that was smudged with soot. That should be about right."

Qin Huairu nodded, her eyes showing some hesitation.

Han Gong noticed this and explained, "Don't worry too much. This job looks complicated, but it's actually not a big project. It's just this corner of the wall."

"Just get some lime plaster, sand and other materials, those are easy to get, the main thing is that it takes a lot of labor."

"I estimate that, including materials and labor," he gestured with a few fingers, "it should cost around ten yuan, at most twenty yuan, and I guarantee I'll get it done quickly."

Upon hearing "ten yuan," Qin Huairu's tense nerves relaxed considerably.

When she heard the figure of "twenty yuan" again, a huge sense of relief instantly washed away all her anxiety.

"Oh! Thank you so much, Engineer Han! No problem, I'll do it your way, I'll listen to you." Qin Huairu was so grateful that she almost burst into tears.

"I'll leave this to you! Please let me do it when it's convenient for you."

Holding a huge sum of 400 yuan in his hand, this is only 20 yuan. This amount is just a drop in the ocean, not much at all.

Knowing the result, Bang Geng felt relieved, saying, "It's good that everything is alright, it's good that everything is alright."

Suddenly, he turned his head and saw Xiao Dang, thinking to himself, 'I'll have to find Xiao Dang later; I can't let her tell everyone about me.'

Hearing Qin Huairu agree, Engineer Han was overjoyed: "Okay, I'll prepare the materials now. I happen to have some left, I'll come and get them for you this afternoon."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

"Not at all," Han said happily as he left.

the other side.

The police officers completed their investigation of the area around the yard.

"Captain, only a few women passed through this alley before the fire started in the courtyard, but none of them smoked, and there were no signs of smoking on their hands."

"Our initial assessment is that it wasn't them who did it."

The police officers explained the investigation details one by one, which only made the captain more puzzled.

"No one threw a cigarette butt, so how did this fire start? Could it really have been an accident?"

One officer said, "Captain, judging from the current situation, it's more likely an accident." "I also agree that it was an accident. Only the two children involved knew the truth, and they're so young they shouldn't be lying. This kind of accident has happened before."

"Yes, something similar happened last year. Fortunately, the fire wasn't big and was put out in time."

All the officers believed it was an accident, and the captain stopped insisting on whether it was intentional.

"Okay, you guys can go back to your positions. I'll go explain to them."

Immediately, the officers separated, and the captain went to Qin Huairu to explain the situation.

"Officer, have you found anything? Who harmed my family?" Qin Huairu asked anxiously as soon as she saw the captain.

"We've investigated the matter thoroughly. The fire was caused by an accident. That's all there is to it. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

The team leader explained the investigation findings in detail, attributing the fire to a haphazardly piled-up clutter.

The two were completely unaware that Bang-geng was watching them as they spoke.

Taking this opportunity, Banggeng immediately approached Xiaodang on the kang (a heated brick bed): "Xiaodang, if the police ask you about it later, you absolutely cannot say that I started the fire, understand?"

"If you dare say I did it, believe me, I'll beat you up! Once Grandma gets out, she won't give you any more treats! Do you hear me?!"

"I heard you," Xiao Dang replied timidly.

"Remember this, you absolutely can't tell, or I'll beat you up!" Bang Geng threatened with a punch at the end, scaring Xiao Dang into closing his eyes tightly.

"Hmph!" Seeing Xiao Dang's cowardly appearance, Bang Geng felt confident.

Outside, the police were explaining things to Qin Huairu.

"How could a fire start out of nowhere?" Qin Huairu still didn't believe that the fire was caused by an accident.

"At the moment, this is the only possibility. Your two children were at home at the time, and neither of them saw anyone start a fire. This is the only possibility."

Upon hearing this, Qin Huairu's brows furrowed unconsciously.

She felt that Bang Geng was too quiet today, unusually quiet, as if he was trying his best to hide something.

But she didn't feel anything was wrong, and she subconsciously thought that the fire couldn't have been lit by a stick.

"If you don't believe me, why don't you have your two kids tell you?"

"Okay." Qin Huairu nodded, turned around and shouted, "Bang Geng, Xiao Dang!"

"Mom! What's wrong?" The two of them ran out.

"Mom has something to ask you two. You were home at the time, didn't you really see anyone?"

Banggeng quickly shook his head: "No, I didn't see it."

The captain asked again, "Bang Geng, did you really not see anything unusual? Did you leave anything sparking nearby and forget it? Think carefully?"

Banggeng's body stiffened almost imperceptibly: "No, I really didn't see it. Ask your sister if you don't believe me."

Xiao Dang timidly looked up and glanced at Bang Geng: "Uncle Policeman, I... I was taking care of my sister on the ditch, and I didn't hear any noise."

"I was terrified when I suddenly heard my brother shout outside."

The captain concluded definitively, "Master Qin, both of your children say so, and you didn't see anyone. This fire is very likely caused by an accident."

"As for the reason, it's probably because you put something more flammable in your pile of junk, and the weather was dry, so it just happened to catch fire."

"Fortunately, the fire was small and was extinguished in time, so your family's losses were not significant."

Having said all that, the captain finally said, "For now, this matter can only be classified as an accidental fire and the case can be closed."

"Oh no? What about my house? The fire destroyed my walls, we can't just let it go like this without any compensation, can we?"

The captain nodded: "I'm afraid that's the case. This fire was ultimately caused by your pile of debris, so you'll have to bear the loss from repairing the wall yourself."

"Unless you can find out who started the fire, he will naturally have to compensate for the loss, and the person will be arrested and imprisoned."

Since there was no room for maneuver, Qin Huairu stopped pressuring the matter.

It's good that the child is alright; peace is a blessing.

"Alright then, thank you for your help, officer."

"Serving the people is our duty. If you find out who started the fire, you can contact us."

"Okay." Qin Huairu nodded.

With that, the captain turned and left.

It's fortunate that it wasn't Jia Zhangshi who came. If it were her, even if the police station wasn't at fault, she would still find some fault to make the police station compensate her.

They'll have to make the police station pay dearly before things calm down; they can't just suffer this loss for nothing.

Fortunately, the fire did not affect other houses, otherwise Qin Huairu would have had to pay a lot of money in compensation.

After seeing the police off, Qin Huairu felt much more at ease, thankful to have survived the ordeal: "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."

Now that she's back, Qin Huairu doesn't plan to go back to work at the factory.

"Bang Geng, lend a hand to Mom."

"it is good!"

Qin Huairu started cleaning up the debris in the corner, and directed the baton holder to fetch water to wash away the ashes and water stains on the ground.

Mr. Han will be here to repair the wall soon, so let's save time.

Before long, Han Gong arrived in the yard with two apprentices behind him, carrying a lot of things.

"Thank you for your help, Mr. Han."

"Okay, I'll start repairing the wall for you right away and try to get it done in the next couple of days."

After saying that, Engineer Han told his apprentice to start preparing.

He carefully examined the scorch marks on the wall again, especially the old bricks at the base of the wall that had developed cracks from the heat.

Then, he deftly scraped off the crispy layer of mortar and carefully removed a few loose and brittle old bricks.

Looking at the exposed walls and clear scorch marks and cracks, the neighbors in the courtyard marveled at the severity of the fire.

"This fire is burning a bit strangely."

While clearing away the debris, Engineer Han muttered to himself, "How did this pile of junk suddenly burn so thoroughly against the wall?"

Qin Huairu heard this and her heart skipped a beat, but she didn't reply, only urging him on.

"Mr. Han, please hurry up with the repairs."

With practiced ease, Han used lime plaster to fill and smooth the gaps. Then, he used a trowel dipped in thinner mortar to repaint the large area of ​​wall that had been blackened by smoke.

This job sounds complicated, but it only takes half a day to actually do it.

When settling the bill, Han quoted the actual price: "Master Qin, the materials are just the cost of lime paste, hemp fiber, and sand. The labor is just a few dollars."

"Just charge me 10 yuan in total."

"Okay! I'll leave this job to you, Engineer Han! You've really been a great help!" Qin Huairu said gratefully, taking out the money.

"Okay, next time you need work, just let me know, I'll give you a good price." After receiving the money, Engineer Han finished his work and left.

The wall is repaired, the cost is settled, and the fire is over. Today, everything is finally settled.

In the stillness of the night, Qin Huairu lay wearily on the kang (a heated brick bed), her three children fast asleep beside her.

Suddenly, she heard Banggeng sobbing, followed by indistinct murmurs in his sleep: "No, it wasn't me...it wasn't me who ordered it."

boom--

In the darkness, Qin Huairu suddenly opened her eyes wide, her breath catching in her throat.

He got up and looked at Bang Geng. He was surprised to find that Bang Geng had actually started the fire. Although he had some suspicions during the day, he just couldn't believe that Bang Geng was the one who did it.

After staring at the stick for a while, Qin Huairu finally did nothing: "Forget it, it's all in the past. Just consider it a loss to avoid further trouble."

"What can you do about your own son?"

In the end, Qin Huairu had no choice but to let it go, considering that Banggeng was the only male in the family.

(End of this chapter)