Translator: Lonelytree
It was late at night, and there was no light. Only the bugs could be heard.
A figure walked out of the village entrance. He was holding an old-fashioned flashlight with a few things in his hand. The figure was moving towards Tai Ping Field. Tai Ping Field belonged to the Xiao Family... except for the few patches owned by the few families who didn't rent their land to Xiao Lingyu. The land was covered in strawberries, peanuts, and soybeans!
Because of the strawberry business and its high value, Xiao Lingyu hired four men to take turns to guard it. It was to stop thieves and to prevent people from causing damage!
Every section of the road had street lamps, and the greenhouse was also equipped with sun lamps. The sun lamps were very bright. It illuminated everything inside the shed.
The figure didn't walk towards the street lamps. Instead, he wandered towards the location where the darkness was thickest. However, the street lamps still illuminated his faint shadow. The figure passed through a small ridge and then arrived at the side of the river.
The river was not big, only two or three times wider. The water wasn't rapid, but the river was uneven with deep spots and shallow spots. It was dangerous to cross the river at night.
There were many cedar trees planted on both sides of the river. Cedar trees were famous for their piercing leaves.
There was a small path that cut through the middle of the river. But if one wanted to wade through the river, one had to brave the cedar trees and the dangerous water.
The figure stood beside the river and hesitated. Then, he walked down the path in the middle of the river.
"Ouch!" However, the night was too dark, and the flashlight was weak, so he was stabbed by the cedar leaves. He cried out in pain.
However, he immediately covered his mouth. Then, he carefully made his way across the stream. Soon, he arrived before a large water pipe.
The pipe was installed a few years ago when the fields were a little dry. It was used to pump water with an engine. Water flowed through this pipe from the river into the fields.
The diameter of the big pipe was about 30 centimeters. During low tide, it would be fully exposed. Many children liked to walk on it when the river was shallow.
This figure bent down and used the pipe to guide his away across the river. The other side of the river was Tai Ping Field.
After getting on the riverbank, there was a lush grass patch. Bending his body, the figure carefully walked through the grass patch.
He had completely hidden thanks to the night.
There were four guards, and each of them guarded a corner. However, there would be loopholes since the field was so large.
The person carefully avoided the guards. He found his way to a patch of dry land in Tai Ping Field. The patch was about three Fen large.
The figure poured some liquid onto the land and then ignited a lighter.
The faint light from the lighter shone on the person's face, revealing a sinister and dangerous smile.
He said with a ferocious expression, "Xiao Lingyu and Xiao Family, we'll see how much you'll lose this time."
After saying that, he threw the lighter onto the ground.
...
Pregnant women had to use the toilet often! Whenever Xiao Lingyu got up at night, she would pass through the computer and stop to look at the screen. The video showed the surveillance of the field.
The video quality was good.
When she saw a certain spot in the video, Xiao Lingyu shivered and woke up immediately.
She found her phone and made a call. As soon as the call was connected, Xiao Lingyu said anxiously, "Uncle Chengbang, quick, someone is setting a fire on Xiao Chengcai's land!"
When Xiao Chengbang heard that, he immediately replied, "Alright, we'll rush over now." The moment he said that the flames ignited. He said, "Not good. The fire has already started."
After saying that, he hung up the phone. Together with the three other guards, they grabbed the fire extinguishing tools and quickly ran to the place where the fire was.
Xiao Lingyu was extremely anxious. She ran to her parent's room. She knocked on the door fiercely as she said, "Dad, Mom, someone is setting fire to the strawberry field."
Hearing this, Mother Xiao and Father Xiao opened the door and asked in shock, "What? Is someone setting fire to the field? Who is so horrid?"
Father Xiao said anxiously, "No matter what, we have to go there now. No, we need to get the villagers' help to put out the fire." Thankfully, the field was close to a river. Xiao Lingyu also had the foresight to do a series of fire prevention and firefighting measures. But they needed people to operate.
"Yes, I'll go inform everyone." Mother Xiao turned to Xiao Lingyu and instructed, "Yu 'Er, you stay at home and are not allowed to go out, understand?"
Xiao Lingyu nodded.
Mother Xiao took out a loudspeaker and shouted loudly, "There's a fire! Please help! There's a fire!"
The people who were sleeping soundly immediately woke up when they heard about the fire. They asked the people beside them. "Did you hear that?"
"That's right. It sounds like Qiuying."
"Let's go and take a look. Bring a bucket!"
"Yeah, I'll go too."
"Make sure the elderly and children stay at home. It's dangerous with too many people!"
"Okay!"
Everyone received the news and came out of their homes with fire extinguishing tools. They asked, "Qiuying, Where's the fire?"
Chen Qiuying said, "The fire is at the strawberry field."
The villagers ran to Tai Ping Field. It usually took about ten minutes to walk from the village to the Tai Ping Field. But this time, they ran the journey in three minutes.
When they arrived, the fire was already burning.
The fire started from Xiao Chengcai's field and quickly spread in all directions.
Since there was kerosene as an accelerant, the fire started quickly.
Even though Xiao Chengbang and the other three guards used fire extinguishers, they could not put out the fire in time.
Under the high heat, the plastic shed paper quickly melted. The fire quickly spread and started to burn everything.
The Gong Family also received the news. Old Master Gong quickly ordered everyone in the family to help extinguish the fire.
"Quick, go and help!" Old Master Gong urged, "Tianhao, quick, there are still a few fire extinguishers in the house. Each of you will take one and bring it with you."
The others picked up the fire extinguishers and ran to the place where the fire broke out.
After everyone left, Old Master Gong paced around the room a few times. He was really worried about Xiao Lingyu, so he brought his flashlight and went to the Xiao residence to take a look.
When he arrived at the Xiao residence and saw that the lights were bright, Old Master Gong shouted, "Lingyu, Lingyu..."
However, no one responded.
This made him extremely anxious as he muttered to himself, "She wouldn't have run off to save the fire, right? She is pregnant! What should I do? No, I need to find her!" He left the Xiao Family and headed towards the strawberry field.
On the way, someone saw him and asked in shock, "Old Master, are you going to help with the fire at your age?"
Old Master Gong said anxiously, "Quick, get someone to look for Lingyu. That child might have gone to put out the fire as well. It's too dangerous for her."
"What?" Someone was shocked, "This child has always been very steady in her actions. Why is she acting so rash now? Old Master, you don't need to come along. You should go back to wait for the news." After all, he was aged. If he went over, he would only be a hindrance.
Old Master Gong was also very self-aware. He nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go back now. Please look after the girl."
"Old Master, of course, we will."
...
Gong Tianhao followed Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhang to the place where the fire broke out. However, his eyes were sharp, and he saw two figures in the distance. One of them looked very much like Xiao Lingyu.
The two of them seemed to be arguing about something.
Gong Tianhao handed the fire extinguisher to Xiao Wang and said, "That figure seems to be Xiao Lingyu. I'll go and take a look."
When Xiao Wang saw it, he exclaimed, "That does look like Xiao Lingyu. Wait, the other person is pushing her!"
Gong Tianhao did not care about anything else.. He ran over like the wind.