Divorced woman with child travels through time

Xiaoling is so filial! Old Wang happily ate his chicken leg and drank his wine, finishing everything before finally going to sleep, slightly tipsy. Elderly people have short sleep durations and are easily startled, and with the added effect of drinking, Old Wang naturally got up in the middle of the night.

Old Wang squinted and stumbled to the outhouse outside. After relieving himself, he shook himself off and, by the moonlight, glanced at the newly built small building behind Chen's Restaurant in the darkness. He couldn't help but smile. "Our Chen's Restaurant is going to grow bigger and bigger in the future."

There were some flickering lights in the distance, but Old Wang didn't pay them any attention. He drowsily went back to bed and lay down. He vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he was too sleepy to resist, so he lay down to sleep again. Just then, he heard the sound of a watchman's drum in the distance. Old Wang thought to himself, "It's the fourth watch. I need to sleep a little longer. I have to get up at the fifth watch!"

After a few breaths, Old Wang, half-asleep, seemed to smell the aroma of burning wood. Could someone be roasting sweet potatoes? There had been a bumper sweet potato harvest recently, and many families were roasting them in their stoves. But wait! Old Wang suddenly woke up. Who would be lighting a fire at this hour?

He sat up abruptly, quickly flung open the door, and rushed to the backyard. Sure enough, there were faint flames between the two small buildings of Chen's Restaurant. The building in front of Chen's was a two-story wooden building. If it caught fire, it would be all over. Old Wang broke out in a cold sweat instantly. Without thinking, he rushed into the kitchen, grabbed an iron basin and a spatula, and started banging on it as he ran, shouting, "Fire! Help! Fire!"

Old Wang rushed outside and started banging on Chen Ji's door. Wang Hanyang, being a former soldier, had been sleeping in a room on the first floor with Da Zhuang and Wang Xiao Er. He woke up at the first knock from Old Wang. Hearing the shouts, he quickly grabbed his clothes and started dressing before running to the main hall to open the door. Old Wang was already banging on the door.

"Uncle Wang, don't panic, I'm opening the door," Wang Hanyang shouted.

Old Wang felt a little more at ease after hearing someone reply. Chen's gate was quite sturdy, with a horizontal beam at the top, a vertical beam made of a tree trunk as thick as a thigh, and another horizontal beam in the middle. When he bought it, Wang Erniu laughed at the previous owner, saying, "You made this gate like a city gate, didn't you? More than ten people couldn't break it open, could they?" The owner laughed and said he was afraid of being vandalized, and since he wasn't exactly a tough guy, he preferred to build the gate and the house very solid so he could sell it for a good price. Chen Wenfang and the others had also seen the potential in this aspect.

Wang Hanyang quickly opened the door, and Old Man Wang rushed in, shouting loudly.

"Hurry to the back, I see a fire."

Wang Hanyang ran towards the backyard. As he spoke, Dazhuang and the others also got up and rushed towards the backyard together. Chu Yi and Wang Xiaoer went to the storeroom and the kitchen, respectively.

Chu Yi was worried that there might be looting later, so he guarded the warehouse immediately. Wang Xiaoer went over and woke up Chef Wang, who was sleeping soundly. He was always a heavy sleeper. Chen Ji's business was so good and the wages were high, so he simply lived in the back. He would only go home when he was not busy or on a break. His wife also came to work during the day and went home at night. Their child was in school and was taken care of by family members.

When Wang Hanyang and the others arrived at the backyard, the pile of firewood was already ablaze, and it was about to burn down to the adjacent building in front. Old Wang pounded on the iron basin and ran into the building, shouting desperately, "Everyone, get up! There's a fire! Get up!"

Wang Hanyang and Dazhuang grabbed the buckets next to them, filled the large water vat they usually used to store water with, and were about to pour it on when a strange smell flashed by as they lifted it up.

"Wait, stop! Don't splash it!" Wang Hanyang shouted. Everyone stopped drawing water. Wang Hanyang brought the water to his nose and smelled it. "There's kerosene in it. Go check the kitchen inside."

Dazhuang rushed to the kitchen and grabbed a bucket of water. Wang Hanyang then quickly stepped forward, sniffed it, and said, "This one doesn't have any! Everyone come here to get water. Cover the water with an oilcloth. Uncle Wang, you keep an eye on things and don't let anyone come over. Be careful not to let anyone get a spark."

"Okay!" Old Wang immediately found an oilcloth and covered himself up completely with Da Zhuang.

The merchants upstairs and the neighbors on both sides also came over. With so many people, and the fact that the fire in the yard was newly harvested firewood, and the fact that the fire was discovered early, plus the firefighting team that rushed to the scene, the fire was quickly brought under control. The firewood was mostly burned, and a few windows were blackened, but it wasn't too bad.

By the time the fire was extinguished, it was already broad daylight. When Xiaoling came to work, she found that everyone's faces were covered in soot and white, and a lot of onlookers had gathered outside. It was time to open for business. Wang Hanyang came out and dispersed the crowd. A seemingly ordinary man who had been hiding in the crowd saw this and slowly followed the flow of people away. It seemed that things had gone wrong again. Chen Ji was really lucky!

Before long, Wang Erniu and Chen Wenfang arrived at Chen's shop again, dragging a large cart full of goods. After learning what had happened, Wang Erniu was so angry that his veins bulged. "This is outrageous!"

Chen Wenfang took his hand and comforted him, "Don't be angry! We'll find a way to return it to him. It's easy to do bad things. Since he's come openly, we're not afraid of him."

He turned to Dazhuang and asked, "Have the officials come?"

"We've been here, but we couldn't find any evidence," Dazhuang said disappointedly.

"What about the kerosene? Can't you find it?"

“We can’t find it. This stuff is sold on the black market, but they wouldn’t buy it here. They probably got it from the next town. Since they dare to do it, they must have done it in a way that makes it impossible for anyone to trace them.” Wang Erniu said in a deep voice, glancing at Wang Hanyang thoughtfully. Wang Hanyang nodded, and the two exchanged glances without Chen Wenfang and the others noticing.

Chen Wenfang was somewhat worried. Constantly guarding against thieves like this couldn't go on forever. If only there were surveillance cameras like in her previous life! After thinking for a moment, she said, "I'll go to the Ouyang residence and see if there's anything I can do."

Wang Erniu put his arm around her waist and said, "Wife, don't worry, I will handle it. But it would be good for you to go there. If you can talk to them, it will be easier to resolve the issue with money."

Chen Wenfang nodded and took Dazhuang to the Ouyang residence. The Ouyang residence was as magnificent and elegant as ever. Chen Wenfang was a little uneasy, but soon she met Jiang Mingyue and explained her purpose.

Jiang Mingyue had someone inspect the tea, then sighed and said, "Master told me about this this morning. It's no longer just a matter between the Li family and you. The people behind the Li family have already clashed with my brother's superiors. You've just been affected. I've already had Master send someone to warn the Li family. However, they just lost a steward. This steward watched Li Shanqing grow up and probably holds a grudge. He won't let you off easily. You should wait a few more days. In a little over a month, it will be the Mid-Autumn Festival. You can sell the tea recipe then. I think the Li family won't target you anymore."