Chapter 75 - Fire!

Lin Qiang asked with great interest, “Why do peanuts in sandy soil taste so good?”

Wen Jiang entered the conversation. In a lively chatter, he said, “These peanuts aren’t grown in fertile soil with a high mineral content or a barren wasteland with no moisture. Loose, sandy soil is the best if you want to get them just right. Our peanuts aren’t oily but plump and juicy. It is the type of peanut our ancestors cultivated, and now we cultivate today.”

“All you need to do is boil them in salt water and dry them; it’s simple. This is how our ancestors derived a sweet and fragrant peanut that can be preserved.”

Ding Yao was surprised by Wen Jiang’s depth of knowledge. These peanuts tasted very similar to a certain brand of peanut she knew in her previous life, and they were both very delicious.

On the way to the capital, the four chatted and familiarised themselves. The gloomy atmosphere filling the air dissipated. Occasionally, jokes would be tossed, though it was limited to Wen Jiang and Lin Qiang.

Ding Yao did not want to raise her voice over the chatter, so she chose to speak as little as possible. Xu Zhizhi was mostly reserved throughout their journey. She remembered her grandfather’s words on social etiquette and tried her best to remain silent unless addressed.

The journey to the capital would take a few days, so they stopped to rest for the night in a small hotel. Xu Zhizhi and Ding Yao shared a room, while Wen Jiang and Lin Qiang shared another.

Dawn broke with nothing disturbing their rest. Lin Qiang went off to rent a new carriage for the next leg of their journey. While he was away, Long San discretely handed Ding Yao a note. The note read: “Everything is normal. No dangers have been detected. There’s no need to worry.”

Long San and Long Liu were her escorts, and they shadowed her diligently. They were a source of silent strength for Ding Yao, assuaging her worries. She clambered onto the newly rented carriage with the rest of her party, repeating their stay at an inn come nightfall. Strangely, they were the only guests in that inn. A while later, she received another note from Long San saying, “Be careful. Don’t worry; we’re here with you.”

That night, Ding Yao heard shouting, “Fire! Fire! Get Up and run for your lives!” It was Long San’s voice! Ding Yao quickly shook Xu Zhizhi awake. “Hurry, we need to escape!”

The two women dressed in the blink of an eye and rushed out of their room. A fire had started at the woodshed outback, near Ding Yao and Xu Zhizhi’s room. Ding Yao trusted Long San and the others to handle the fire while she and Xu Zhizhi fled.

The room they stayed in was on the second floor, where everything seemed to have been made from wood. By the time they reached the stairs, Long San and Long Liu had managed to put out the fire, but it did nothing for the billowing clouds of smoke rising through the stairwell. Xu Zhizhi was so scared her skin took on a ghostly parlour. Nothing else was on her mind save her husband and his well-being. “Wen Jiang! Wen Jiang!” She called desperately.

Ding Yao’s face darkened. It seemed her uncle, Lin Hu, wanted her dead. She did not know of any enmity between them, yet he still took steps to kill her. Ding Yao felt hatred coiling in her chest.

Wen Jiang heard his wife’s cries and soon arrived by their side. He shepherded them down the stairs and to the inn’s lobby. More than a dozen people were standing around, all in shock.

Lin Qiang was berating the owner of the inn, “What kind of establishment is this? How can your safety measures be so poor? Is there no one on duty? Someone set the woodshed on fire using gasoline. If it weren’t for someone discovering it and alerting everyone else, wouldn’t we all have died in the fire?”

Lin Qiang was referring to Long San, who had shouted the warning earlier. When their eyes met, Long San may have pretended not to know her, but Ding Yao recognised him immediately. Why was General Long so concerned for her safety? She could not understand why he would think so highly of her that he would secretly send his bodyguards to protect her. Song Xiuyan and Song Yang had saved the wizened general, not her.

The owner of the inn dragged a young man with a large bump on his head over, explaining, “We did have someone on night duty. However, someone knocked him out. Fortunately, someone find him…”

Lin Qiang interrupted the inn owner, “Stop spouting nonsense and trying to justify yourself! We should call the police and have them investigate the matter. If your inn is at fault, I’m sure the police will forcefully close the establishment. Otherwise, your negligence would drag more innocents to an early grave!”

Lin Qiang’s words sparked anger in those milling about, watching the drama unfold. One after another, they decried the inn’s owner, calling for him to be arrested and charged by the police.

The owner of the humble inn was so nervous his forehead was beaded in sweat. “Please calm yourselves. We have never hurt anyone, let alone caused undue harm due to negligence. I’m afraid other actors are at play, which caused the fire.”

If the police were brought into the picture, the inn would certainly be closed pending an investigation. He might not even be granted permission to reopen. The innkeeper knew he had no enmity with anyone, yet, he also knew he would not be able to escape unscathed with the public up in arms. His only choice was to beg for clemency and hope for the best.