Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 329 Aftermath
Concealing the sadness in her eyes, Xia Mingyue asked Song Sixi curiously:

"Song Zhiqing, you were the first to discover this fire. Do you have any clues about the source of the fire?"

"We usually pay the most attention to fire prevention, and we would never start a fire in the middle of the night."

Upon hearing Xia Mingyue's words, Song Sixi's expression immediately turned indignant, and he said through gritted teeth:

"This fire couldn't have started for no reason; it was all the work of that bastard Luo Wenbin."

"It was quite a coincidence. I happened to hear the noise when I got up in the middle of the night, and then I saw a dark figure sneaking into the kitchen."

"At first I just thought someone was trying to steal food, so I didn't pay much attention to it. But when I looked again, it was already on fire."

“We arrived early and just in time to see Luo Wenbin preparing to escape.”

"My roommates immediately caught up with us, leaving me here to help everyone put out the fire."

At this point, Song Sixi gave Xia Mingyue an apologetic look and said regretfully:
"If only I had discovered Luo Wenbin's crimes sooner, the fire wouldn't have gotten so big and so fast, burning all of Xia Zhiqing's belongings to the ground."

Xia Mingyue, however, took it quite well and instead comforted Song Sixi, saying:
“Song Zhiqing, don’t think too much about it. This is not your fault, but the fault of Luo Wenbin, the arsonist.”

"Everyone, you must be tired from fighting the fire. Why don't you take a rest first, otherwise you won't have the energy to work during the day."

Hearing Xia Mingyue say that, the educated youth who had been fighting the fire all returned to their rooms.

They were exhausted after being disturbed so much in the middle of the night.

In addition, they have to earn work points tomorrow, so they really can't keep up without a good rest.

Only Song Sixi stayed behind. After everyone had left, he explained what had happened to Xia Mingyue, saying:

“Xia Zhiqing, you shouldn’t thank me for this, but you should thank Comrade Wang Chengpeng.”

Hearing Song Sixi's words, Xia Mingyue was also a little confused, wondering why she should thank Wang Chengpeng, who was thousands of miles away.

Seemingly noticing the confusion in Xia Mingyue's eyes, Song Sixi immediately explained, especially emphasizing that Wang Chengpeng had asked him to help keep an eye on Luo Wenbin and protect Xia Mingyue.

Upon hearing Song Sixi's explanation, a look of sudden realization flashed in Xia Mingyue's eyes, and she murmured:
"So that's how it is. Then I really should thank Comrade Wang."

"Comrade Wang had warned me before to be careful of Luo Wenbin, but I didn't take his words to heart."

At this point, Xia Mingyue couldn't help but start to overthink again. Why was Wang Chengpeng so good to her? Why did he take such good care of her and even ask Song Sixi to keep an eye on Luo Wenbin?

But after thinking it over and over, she couldn't come up with a solution, so she had no choice but to put it aside for the time being and said to Song Sixi standing in front of her:

"Song Zhiqing, you should go and rest early too. I'll just sit in the courtyard for a while."

"The fact that my room caught fire has already delayed your rest time. If I make you waste your time with me, I'll really feel bad."

Song Sixi hadn't slept all night, and the firefighting had taken a toll on his energy, so he didn't make a fuss and went straight back to his room to sleep.

Women can hold up half the sky too. He believed that Xia Mingyue was not that fragile and should be able to stay safely in the yard.

After telling her to call him if anything happened, Song Sixi went back to her room to sleep.
Xia Mingyue was left alone, staring blankly at her house, which had been burned to a crisp.

……

Although they returned to their rooms, after suddenly encountering such a serious incident, who could really concentrate on sleeping? Especially those educated youth who shared a room with Luo Wenbin, their eyes were completely devoid of sleepiness.

Lying in bed, after a long silence, Su Yun spoke first:

"How could Luo Wenbin be this kind of person?"

"That's arson, and it's arson in a house where people are staying. If Xia Zhiqing hadn't escaped in time, wouldn't her life have been in danger?"

Such a terrible thing happened that even Luo Wenbin's roommate didn't side with him this time. Zhang Jinhu quickly chimed in:

"It's also good that Xia, the educated youth, happened to run into Song, the educated youth, who was getting up in the middle of the night. Otherwise, I really don't know how far this matter would have developed."

"It is said that the other educated youths who shared a room with Song went to arrest Luo Wenbin. I don't know if they can bring him back."

Qi Xuan shook his head helplessly and said, "I thought Luo Wenbin was just a little irrational, but I didn't expect him to be so bad."

"It's fortunate that he's already been arrested, otherwise he might have held a grudge against us for our suggestion to get rid of him and had tried to harm us as well."

Nodding in deep agreement, Su Yun murmured, "What on earth is going on?"

After chatting for a few more minutes, the group finally drifted off to sleep, though it remains to be seen whether they will have nightmares tonight.

……

Although Luo Wenbin was fast, he knew that based on what he had done, he would definitely face imprisonment if caught.

Wangjia Village is only so big. Even if his potential is unleashed, how could he possibly escape the capture of the entire village?
At this point, all he needed to do was shout, and the patrolling militia and villagers living nearby would come to his aid. Where could Luo Wenbin, who didn't even have a bicycle, run to? His fate was sealed: he had nowhere to run.

As the sun struggled to climb into the sky, releasing the first rays of dawn, Luo Wenbin was also pinned to the ground by militia member Ding Yongkang.

Looking at the group of people who rushed over, Ding Yongkang's eyes were full of doubt, and he asked:
"What exactly is going on? Why are you arresting Luo Zhiqing in the middle of the night?"

"Arsonist? Could it be that Luo Zhiqing set the fire? How could he dare to do such a thing?"

"Where is it burned? How serious is it?"

When questioned by Ding Yongkang, Hua Mingwei briefly described the incident to Ding Yongkang, explaining the ins and outs of the matter clearly.

Upon hearing his reply, Ding Yongkang frowned and said in a deep voice:
"Xia Zhiqing's room caught fire?"

"How big is the fire? Has it been extinguished? Has Xia Zhiqing been injured?"

Apprehending the criminals is indeed important, but protecting Xia Zhiqing's personal safety and the safety of the village's public property is equally important.

Faced with Ding Yongkang's question, Hua Mingwei also felt somewhat embarrassed and immediately tried to cover it up:
"There were still many male educated youths in the educated youth settlement at that time, so it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Song, the educated youth, also felt that the arsonist should not be let off so easily, which is why he informed a few of us to arrest Luo Wenbin."

"Luo Wenbin runs incredibly fast, and it's dark outside. If we didn't have a few people around, we might not have been able to catch him in a short time."

Hearing Hua Mingwei say that there were many male educated youths at the settlement helping to put out the fire, Ding Yongkang breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Okay, I have a general idea of ​​the situation. I will explain it to the village later."

“It’s still night, so you educated youths should go back and rest first. I’ll take Luo Wenbin to the village first, and we’ll deal with him after we find out what’s going on there.”

Upon hearing Ding Yongkang say he was going to deal with him, Luo Wenbin's face turned as black as the bottom of a pot. However, he dared not do anything to the village militiamen, and could only glare angrily at Hua Mingwei and the others, cursing loudly:
"You bunch of bastards, you have no regard for the friendship we shared when we went down to the village together, so many of you came to arrest me."

"If it weren't for this, I might..."

Luo Wenbin wanted to say that he might be able to escape, but before he could finish speaking, Ding Yongkang slapped him hard across the face.

He felt he had to teach this unrepentant arsonist a lesson, to make him realize what was right and wrong and what was absolutely forbidden.

Luo Wenbin, who had been slapped by Ding Yongkang, dared not speak out in anger, but could only glare at Hua Mingwei and the others with resentment, like a man-eating beast.

However, Luo Wenbin was taking himself too seriously. Hua Mingwei and the others felt they hadn't done anything wrong, so why would they want to be scolded and glared at by him for no reason?

Hua Mingwei couldn't hold back any longer and kicked Luo Wenbin hard.

The force of the kick was so great that Luo Wenbin groaned on the spot.

After doing all this, Hua Mingwei realized that his behavior was somewhat inappropriate and chuckled awkwardly:

"Comrade Ding, I'm so sorry, he was just too cheeky, I couldn't help myself."

Nodding in deep agreement, Ding Yongkang pretended not to have seen anything and said with a smile:
“Hua Zhiqing, what did you just do? I didn’t see anything.”

"Alright, let's not waste any more time, you can go back now."

"This kind of person deserves to be taught a lesson!"

"He just stole Xia Zhiqing's textbooks yesterday, and today he burned down Xia Zhiqing's house. People who don't know the situation would think he has some kind of blood feud with Xia Zhiqing."

Hua Mingwei also sighed and said, "This Luo Wenbin is like a mad dog, he bites anyone he sees."

"We need to teach him a lesson this time, so he won't cause trouble again."

Ding Yongkang nodded vigorously and said with great certainty, "Yes, an arsonist like him will definitely not have a good end."

……

The educated youth started a fire, which was a big deal in itself. In addition, the arrest of Luo Wenbin was such a big commotion that the matter quickly became known to everyone.

This time, no one sympathized with Luo Wenbin, the arsonist, and he was immediately sent to the town's police station by the village.

Luo Wenbin's matter has been resolved, but Xia Mingyue's matter remains a troublesome issue.

Although the fire didn't cause a particularly big impact, that only applied to other people. Xia Mingyue's room was completely burned down, so she only managed to get out with a set of clothes and a book.

That is precisely why the question of how to settle Xia Mingyue has become a problem.

There are still some empty houses in the village that can serve as temporary accommodations for Xia Mingyue.

The problem of where to live has been solved, but a person cannot live a normal life with just one room.

Leaving aside the big items, daily necessities like blankets and clothes are essential.

Since all her possessions had been burned to ashes, Xia Mingyue had no way of acquiring anything new.

Fortunately, the villagers of Wangjia Village were quite simple and honest. Under the leadership of Wang Fucheng, the brigade leader, they quickly organized a fundraising campaign for Xia Mingyue.

However, most people don't have much money, and they usually just donate small items that they don't need at home, which is a drop in the bucket for Xia Mingyue.

However, even when faced with this pile of seemingly insignificant donated items, Xia Mingyue smiled sweetly, bowed to everyone, and sincerely expressed her gratitude:

“Thank you all for your help.”

"Although this fire made me feel the ruthlessness of flames, it also made me feel the kindness of everyone."

“I have already written home and I believe they will send me money soon to solve my current problem.”

At this point, Xia Mingyue bowed to everyone again to express her gratitude, which made everyone feel heartbroken.

Aunt Zhao, who was on good terms with Xia Mingyue, showed a hint of reluctance on her face and murmured:
"Xia Zhiqing was such a good person, so polite and kind-hearted. How could that damned Luo Wenbin have set fire to her?"

"I even felt sorry for him back then, but now I realize I was completely blind."

Aunt Zhao's words truly expressed everyone's feelings, especially after learning that Xia Mingyue had been wronged, they felt even more regretful for their previous misjudgment of her.

Although they wanted to help, in this era where even having enough to eat was a problem, everyone was too busy taking care of themselves to do much to help Xia Mingyue.

However, with the supplies sent by the brigade, Xia Mingyue was able to barely get through this most difficult period.

After the crowd dispersed, Wang Chengpeng stepped out and headed straight for Xia Mingyue's temporary residence.

With everyone's concerted efforts, this room, which had been uninhabited for a long time, is now bright and spacious.

Not only was the floor swept clean, but some unused tables, chairs, and benches were also brought in.
Neatly arranged there, it actually has a touch of homey atmosphere.

The window that used to leak air from all sides has now been covered with newspapers. Although it looks a bit shabby, it's still usable.

In the corner, the donated items were piled up in a heap.

Although the quantity was small, it embodied everyone's expectations for Xia Mingyue, enough to allow her to live a normal life for some time despite everything being burned.

Wang Chengpeng had sharp eyes; the moment Xia Mingyue opened the door, he noticed a smear of black ash on her face that she hadn't yet wiped off, and couldn't help but sneer:

“Xia Zhiqing, it’s only been a day, how did you get yourself into this state?”

Xia Mingyue usually pays great attention to her appearance, and she always keeps herself clean and tidy except when she is working in the fields.

The fact that this smear of black ash remained on her face shows that the fire had a far greater impact on her than people thought.

(End of this chapter)