Returning to the county opera troupe in 77

As soon as the door was opened, thick black smoke billowed from the direction of the kitchen, and a cacophony of screams rose and fell.

"quick!"

Chen Xiangdong and Liu Dezhu ran over immediately. A large crowd had gathered in front of the storage room. Some people were splashing water from a distance with basins, while others were stomping their feet. However, the fire was too big, and no one dared to rush in.

Jia Dafang, Han Wenxue, and other leaders of the troupe were completely panicked. Jia Dafang was so anxious he was jumping up and down, his face turning pale: "Who told you to arrange for those brats to stay here! What are we going to do now, what are we going to do?!"

Han Wenxue felt wronged. He genuinely didn't know about arranging for the children to stay in the storage room, but now was not the time for accountability. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "Hey, my commander, don't rush to shirk responsibility now, saving lives is the priority!"

Black smoke billowed from the storage room window, and flames licked the door frame as they shot out.

"Zhang Qing, don't be afraid! Your uncle is here to save you!" Liu Dezhu glared with his bull-like eyes and was about to rush in, but Lu Meiyin grabbed him and almost made him stumble.

He turned around and yelled, "I'm saving my niece, what are you doing?!"

Lu Meiyin's pretty face was full of anxiety. She clutched his cotton-padded coat tightly, her voice trembling with tears: "What good will it do if you go up there? The fire is too big. You can't save the child, and what if you burn to death yourself!"

"Let go!"

The two were tearing at each other, and Liu Dezhu couldn't break free, his eyes turning red with anxiety.

The entire troupe stood anxiously in front of the fire, unable to pour water in or rush inside. The black smoke grew thicker and thicker, and the flames on the door frame were already higher than a person.

The gatekeepers, Hu Xiaolian and He Jianshe, were also extremely anxious. Han Nongyue and Fu Xiaoyue were still in the storeroom and hadn't come out yet, so how could they not be worried?

"Playing with the moon! Playing with the moon!" Hu Xiaolian shouted at the top of his lungs towards the fire, his voice cracking from shouting.

He Jianshe was carrying a half-full basin of water, his hands trembling so much that most of the water spilled. His eyes were red as he stared at the door that was blocked by fire.

"This fire didn't happen in my previous life, so what went wrong?"

Chen Xiangdong was anxious, and he vaguely saw a blurry figure moving behind the window.

But now is not the time to investigate. Whether it is Li Zhangqing, Han Nongyue, or Fu Xiaoyue, they are all people he had interacted with in his previous life. How could he just stand by and watch them be burned alive in this fire?

"I've already died once, so damn it, I'll risk it all. What's the worst that can happen? I'll die again!"

Chen Xiangdong gritted his teeth, turned around and ran to the woodshed. He grabbed the new cotton quilt from the bed, rushed outside the kitchen, shoved it into the icy water vat, pulled it out, and draped it over himself, still soaking wet.

As everyone was at a loss, a cry of surprise rang out from the crowd. A figure wrapped in a wet quilt rushed out and plunged into the fire.

Upon recognizing him, Fatty Qin was immediately shocked: "Dongwa, have you gone mad?!"

Lin Gouwa, his body blackened by soot, looking like he'd just crawled out of a chimney, stared with panicked eyes and shrank back into the crowd. Taking advantage of the moment when no one was looking, he crouched low and slipped away as if his feet were greased.

"Bang!"

He kicked open the door, and the storage room was filled with thick smoke, making it hard to open his eyes. Chen Xiangdong covered his mouth and nose with a wet quilt and crouched down to grope inside.

"Li Zhangqing! Where are you?"

No one answered. He had no choice but to continue feeling his way forward. Fortunately, the room was not large, and he could faintly hear a few weak coughs, like those of a kitten, coming from a corner.

Chen Xiangdong composed himself, squinted and looked in the direction of the sound, and saw three thin figures huddled in the corner.

"There it is!"

Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed over.

Han Nongyue and Fu Xiaoyue had dark, blackened faces and had already fainted. Li Zhangqing was still awake, but his eyes were half-open and he was coughing incessantly, probably because he had inhaled too much smoke and was no longer lucid.

The unconscious person was in even more critical condition, so Chen Xiangdong picked one up in each arm and rushed out.

Those outside saw one figure suddenly rush out of the raging fire in the storage room—no, three figures!

A gasp rippled through the crowd: "Oh dear, they've rescued two!"

Liu Dezhu and the others rushed over. Hu Xiaolian grabbed Han Nongyue, and He Jianshe snatched Fu Xiaoyue away. The two grown men held the unconscious child, tears streaming down their faces.

"Nongyue! Nongyue, wake up!"

"Xiaoyue!"

Liu Dezhu looked down and saw that Li Zhangqing was not among the two girls Chen Xiangdong had rescued.

He grabbed Chen Xiangdong, who was panting heavily, in a panic: "Where's Zhang Qing? Why isn't Zhang Qing here!"

Chen Xiangdong didn't even have time to speak. He took a deep breath, tightened the damp quilt that was already blackened by the smoke, and amidst the gasps of the crowd, he turned around and rushed into the storage room.

The pale-faced Commander Jia looked at the two rescued children, his expression filled with emotion, and kept muttering, "Thank goodness, I was so scared..."

As everyone watched, Chen Xiangdong rushed back into the fire, and the wooden beams above the storage room seemed to have been burned through, with tiles and beams collapsing with a crash.

"ah!"

The women all covered their mouths, and Pan Lanxiang's pretty face turned deathly pale: "Is the person inside dead?"

Liu Dezhu was stunned by the sudden collapse of the roof. As if all his strength had been drained, he collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the ever-growing flames.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the front. Jia Dafang and Han Wenxue felt their legs trembling uncontrollably. Was someone really going to die?

They could even foresee the severe punishment that awaited them after the fire was extinguished.

The flames burned brighter and brighter.

Just as everyone was silent, suddenly, a figure wrapped tightly in a quilt rushed out!

"He's alive! He's still alive! He's out!"

The crowd immediately erupted in uproar.

Rushing into the fire twice to rescue people completely exhausted Chen Xiangdong's spirit and strength.

The moment he rushed out, his legs went weak, and he almost fell headlong. He rolled over and rolled out of the quilt, but he held the thin and small Li Zhangqing tightly in his arms the whole time.

He lay there on his back, panting heavily, feeling as if his chest had been pounded by a hammer, extremely suffocated.

Liu Dezhu's face rushed into view, and he hugged Li Zhangqing tightly, bursting into tears. Then, Chen Xiangdong lost consciousness.

When he woke up, it was already past three in the afternoon. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Liu Dezhu, Hu Xiaolian, and He Jianshe crowding around him with faces full of surprise.

"He's awake! He's finally awake!"

It was Hu Xiaolian who spoke. The old man laughed and called out, "Chef Qin, quickly bring over the chicken soup you prepared! The child is awake!"

He Jianshe's eyes were still bloodshot. He gripped Chen Xiangdong's hand tightly and said, "Dongwazi, if it weren't for you today, my Xiaoyue would be gone. I don't know how to thank you."

Chen Xiangdong sat up in bed and realized that the bedding had been completely changed. He moved his arms and, apart from soreness all over his body, he was fine.

"Let's not talk about that now, I'm going to get some water, I'm so thirsty."

He pursed his slightly chapped lips and looked around.

Liu Dezhu brought over a bowl of cooled boiled water from behind him. Chen Xiangdong took it and gulped it down in a few mouthfuls. He then let out a long breath and felt as if he had come back to life.

"Drink slowly, no one's going to take it from you." Liu Dezhu took the empty bowl, grinned at him, and said, "Zhang Qing is fine, he just caught a bit of smoke. The doctor came to check on him and said he'll be fine in a couple of days. The two girls are also alright, Pan Lanxiang and the other women are taking care of them over there."

Chen Xiangdong nodded, intending to get up and go check. Liu Dezhu pressed down on his shoulder: "Drink the chicken soup first. You can't even stand up straight, where do you think you're going?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Fatty Qin's voice came from outside the door: "Coming, coming, the chicken soup is here."

Chen Xiangdong looked up and saw Fatty Qin carrying a large bowl of steaming chicken soup, walking in cautiously, followed by two people wearing peaked caps.

The woodshed was too small; when these people stood in, there wasn't even room to turn around.

The two police officers didn't come in. One of them, a man with a dark complexion and a square face, stood outside the door and nodded to Chen Xiangdong: "We're here to find out about the fire. We've already spoken with your commander."

Another, younger police officer smiled and said, "Young man, don't be nervous. Your heroic act of rushing into the fire to save people is an exemplary deed that deserves high praise from the county. It's a good thing."

Chen Xiangdong scratched his head sheepishly, then suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, doesn't Lin Gouwa live in the storage room next door? How's he doing?"

The square-faced police officer frowned: "After the fire was extinguished, we didn't find any trace of Lin Gouwa. However, judging from the extent of the fire, his house was burned more severely, and the fire most likely started in his house. We are looking for him now."

Chen Xiangdong understood; Lin Gouwa knew he had committed a serious crime and had fled to avoid punishment.

But that brat is so silly and can't even speak a complete sentence properly. Where can he go after leaving the theater troupe compound?