Chapter 630: Chapter 630: Putting Out a Fire Chapter 630: Chapter 630: Putting Out a Fire The days were gradually getting hotter. After Luo Qiao arrived home, she first steamed rice and stewed ribs, and then she closed the courtyard door and went to the backyard to tend to the vegetable plot. She had already turned over the soil before, and these past few days she had been organizing the vegetable ridges to facilitate planting in the coming days.
Once she almost finished, she washed her hands and returned to the kitchen. Seeing that the ribs were almost done, she added chunks of potatoes and also stir-fried some bok choy. Then she was finally ready to eat. She had stewed quite a bit of ribs, so she took out a portion and stored it in the Spatial Warehouse.
After cleaning up following the meal and as the sky darkened, she remembered that the school normally had evening self-study sessions. However, she had previously arranged with her homeroom teacher to revise at home in the evenings.
After checking the main gate was secure, she returned to her room, locked the doors and windows, and entered the Spatial Warehouse. The crops inside the space were ready to be harvested, and the fruits in the valley needed to be picked, or else they would affect the flowering.
Once she finished tidying everything up and had gathered the mature medicinal herbs from the garden to process them for storage, she stretched lazily, ready to prepare a hot bath.
Having spent such a long time in Capital City before, she wasn’t quite accustomed to living alone upon her return. Previously, as long as Lu Yichen was here, he took care of the dishes and the kitchen. She realized that habits could be terrifying things.
Soaking in the bath, she pondered her personal matters, and without realizing it, she ended up staying in longer than intended. After getting everything in order, she decided to rest a while in the space.
In the middle of the night, she was awakened by a noise outside. She got dressed, left the Spatial Warehouse, and checked the watch outside; it was just past two in the morning. Opening the door, she couldn’t help but shiver from the chill.
Even though it was April, the temperature at night was still quite low. Luo Qiao heard people shouting outside: “Fire, fire! Wake up, everyone, come help put out the fire!”
On hearing the shouts, Luo Qiao instantly snapped awake. She quickly grabbed a basin from the kitchen, took the lock from behind the main gate, secured the door, and followed the crowd running towards the house that was on fire.
It was only then that Luo Qiao learned it was the Mao Family’s house that was ablaze. It didn’t take long for the community police and public security officers to arrive and join the firefighting effort.
Thankfully, water pipes had been installed in the area the previous year, which was much faster than drawing water from a well. Everyone, young and old, joined in, and they managed to extinguish the fire without it spreading to the neighboring houses.
With the fire out, they were asked to disperse and go back home to rest.
Luo Qiao watched the family, who was crying heartrendingly, and felt a pang of sympathy. People nearby also discussed, “How did this fire start out of nowhere?”
“Who knows? Everything’s been burned; it’s really distressful.”
“How are the Mao Family going to get by now? There’s nothing left from the fire.”
“Fortunate that no one was hurt. As long as there are people, life can always get back on track.”
The community representatives advised them to stay with the neighbors next door to stabilize their emotions. They also asked the neighbors to be so kind as to make some ginger sugar water.
Qu Meimei approached Luo Qiao and asked, “Qiaoqiao, did you come to help with the fire, too?”
Luo Qiao replied, “Yes, with such a big commotion, it would have been hard not to hear. But how did the fire start?”
Qu Meimei said, “That’s hard to say, the fire was already sky-high when we got here.”
Luo Qiao glanced at the destroyed house, relieved that there were no casualties, which was fortunate. But she thought she smelled a faint scent of kerosene in the air.
Just as she found it odd, Qu Meimei suggested, “Let’s go, we can go home and wash up, maybe catch up on some more sleep.”
The next day, Luo Qiao woke up late. Without taking time to cook, she grabbed breakfast from the Spatial Warehouse and ate.
As she was about to leave for school, a public security officer came for a visit. Luo Qiao recounted the events of the previous night. Suddenly, she remembered the kerosene smell she had noticed.
She spoke up, “Officer, after the fire was put out last night, I smelled a faint scent of kerosene in the air.”
Her statement caught the attention of the officers. The one taking notes made a special mark of this information. Another officer asked, “Are you sure you smelled kerosene?”
Luo Qiao nodded and said, “I have a slightly more sensitive sense of smell than others. The kerosene smell was very faint, but I did smell it.”
After recording the statement, the officers moved on to the next household. Luo Qiao, seeing that there was nothing further concerning her, headed to school.
Upon arriving at school, many classmates were also discussing last night’s events.