Rebirth 78: Hunting for Treasure in the Mountains, Spoiling My Wife and Daughter to the Heavens

"Wu Jian! Don't run!"

The fire had already reached the roof beams. The house, which was made of adobe bricks mixed with straw, was basically beyond saving.

All the villagers gathered around, comforting Liu Dazhuang's family or chatting idly.

Some kind-hearted aunts even took pity on Liu Ermei and her two sisters.

They didn't mind that they were dirty, and kept bringing them home.

But these three girls were like glues, only trusting Lu Weiguo.

She only wanted to stand by Lu Weiguo's side and not go anywhere else.

Just as Lu Weiguo was circling the house, searching for that familiar pungent smell...

A figure running in the opposite direction caught his attention!

Lu Weiguo looked closely and saw the limping leg and the distinctive green leather cap.

That's Wu Jianyao!

"Lu Weiguo! What business is it of yours if I run away? The fire is so big here, I'm afraid my hat will get burned!"

Don't pull me! Do you know how expensive this hat is?!

"Green skin" refers to wolf skin.

In those days, dog-skin hats weren't valuable; almost every household had one.

But the green leather hat, with its nicer fur and warmer fit, would sell for at least twenty or thirty yuan at the supply and marketing cooperative.

That's a symbol of city dwellers, of people with jobs.

"Get lost! Wu Jian, talk to me properly, what does this fire have to do with you?!"

Lu Weiguo grabbed Wu Jian by the collar and dragged him toward the fire like he was carrying a dead dog!

"Damn it! Don't you dare wrong an innocent person!"

Wu Jian's face turned bright red, partly because he couldn't breathe properly, and partly because he felt he had lost face in front of the villagers.

"It's none of your business, why are you running away! The whole village came to help, why aren't you, a village official, here?"

The noise attracted the attention of many people.

Since the fire couldn't be put out anyway, and everyone was alright, they all gathered around.

Upon hearing Lu Weiguo's words, everyone looked around.

Lu Weiguo is absolutely right. When a house in the village caught fire, the village chief, Huang Guangzu, was extremely busy.

They checked to see if anyone was injured and blocked the fire source to prevent it from spreading to other homes.

Instead, the young village cadre did not come.

"What's it to you? You guys want to join in the fun, but I can't stop you!"

"You call this a spectacle! Are you even human?!" This time, without Lu Weiguo's intervention, many villagers pointed at Wu Jian and started cursing.

Previously, because Wu Jian was an accountant, as long as he didn't go too far, no one would take the lead or provoke him.

But now, there's Lu Weiguo, this troublemaker.

Lu Weiguo will take the blame if anything happens. The old men who have long disliked Wu Jian will not tolerate him.

A junior like him dares to boss them around like that, which is something Lu Weiguo doesn't do.

After all, they were the younger generation in the village, and even though he was a gambling addict, they still treated them with respect.

"Exactly! You're a village official, and instead of finding a solution, you're just watching the show?!"

"Damn it! You little bastard, did you start the fire? How could it catch fire in the snow?!"

"That's definitely him. I saw him sneaking around nearby just now!"

"..."

Whether they've been wandering around the area or not, nobody can guarantee that!

But people just parrot what others say, and there's no evidence. Everyone in the village says he can't clear himself of any involvement.

In an era where public opinion can be devastating and people can be drowned in spittle, we relied entirely on such unfalsifiable claims.

"No, don't talk nonsense! I only came because I saw the fire. Don't spout lies, I'll sue you for defamation!"

"Don't you understand defamation? It's illegal. Let the police arrest you!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Jian visibly panicked, pointed at the crowd, and tried to escape.

But no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't get rid of Lu Weiguo's hand.

"Uncle, paternal uncle, listen to me first. A great man once said, 'Never wrong an innocent person, nor let a guilty person go unpunished.'"

Lu Weiguo's words clearly carried more weight than Wu Jian's.

Many of the uncles and elders stopped, lit cigarettes, and waited for Lu Weiguo to continue.

"Wu Jian, why did it catch fire in this weather? You're educated, can you explain it to me?"

Lu Weiguo threw Wu Jian to the fence, through which lay the nearly burnt-out house.

"I don't know, it wasn't me who put it there. Um... I guess, I'm just guessing, maybe the pine resin on those pine bark got stained by fire?"

That stuff is oil, it's flammable.

Oh, and the cow dung on the roof, the firewood in the shed... they're all flammable!

Mingzi is wood that has been soaked in pine resin, which people used to use as kindling.

In later generations, some people made them into tea trays or bracelets.

"Yeah! That stuff is all pine resin, it catches fire instantly."

"Maybe Wu Jian has been wrongly accused?"

"Nobody said Accountant Wu started the fire, right?"

Many people immediately realized that Wu Jian's words made perfect sense.

Both pine bark and cow dung are materials that are easily flammable.

Especially Mingzi, every household has that thing, and it's the only thing that can start a fire in winter.

"Oh? Do you know what that pungent smell in the air is?"

Lu Weiguo continued to sniff, but people of this era couldn't smell it.

It's because they haven't had any experience with it.

In his previous life, Lu Weiguo often used this thing to start fires when hunting in the wilderness.

If the people from the forest farm came, they could smell it too!

It doesn't smell very strong, but it produces black smoke when burned, which is quite pungent.

It's just the smell of burning diesel fuel!

Lu Weiguo felt something was strange as soon as he arrived. The pungent smell was familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

It wasn't until they saw the furtive Wu Jian and the black spots on his clothes that they realized...

That's when I remembered.

After all, in my previous life, when hunting in the mountains, chainsaws and diesel fuel were essential items to carry.

For convenience, a few drops of diesel fuel are also dripped in when igniting the fire.

"Pungent? A smell? What is that? Lu Weiguo, are you crazy? Liu Dazhuang's house is covered in cow dung!"

We've been burning cow dung in our house for over ten years, and the whole house is permeated with the odor. Isn't it normal for it to smell a bit?

"Lu Weiguo, that's enough! I'm telling you, don't push me! If you do, you'll regret it!"

Wu Jian saw a figure flash past behind Lu Weiguo.

The more he spoke, the more confident he became.

In the end, they even stood up, pointed at Lu Weiguo's nose, and kept saying that he was innocent and that Lu Weiguo had hit them for no reason!

"Weiguo, stop fooling around. Let's settle Dazhuang and the others first. The fire is so big, anything we have will be burned to ashes."

Li Xiulian was afraid that Lu Weiguo would cause trouble, and she also had a little ulterior motive, thinking that Lu Weiguo was settling a personal score.

Only then did he step forward to offer his advice.

"Honey, wait a minute, I'll just ask you a few questions, then we'll go home."

Lu Weiguo moved forward slowly, step by step, without rushing.

Wu Jian slowly withdrew his hand, afraid of touching Lu Weiguo's body.

Until he was leaning against the fence.

"What are you doing?"

"Wu Jian, I'll ask you one last question: how do you know so much about Liu Dazhuang's family?"

Did you conduct prior research and prepare your explanation in advance?

And what's that black spot on you? Is it diesel fuel? Do you own a car now? Or... are you using it to start a fire?