Fire Knife Village was extrely dry during the winter days, and it hadn’t rained for more than half a month. The dried grass in the fields was blown by the wind and baked by the sun daily, devoid of any trace of moisture. If you picked up a handful and broke it, it would make a crisp "crack" sound. At this mont, licked by the flas, it spread the raging fire around like madness.
The threshing ground was quite far from the river, so fetching water from there was clearly impractical. Feng Da’s two sons had already run back and forth between the fields and ho twice, and the daughters-in-law had also rushed to help, carrying all the water-holding utensils they could find in their hos and pouring them aimlessly onto the fire.
Fortunately, it was Chinese New Year’s Eve, and most people in the village stayed up late. A few households nearby heard the commotion, looked out the window curiously and saw the blazing red light. They hurried to put on their clothes and ran out to help.
Feng Da was so anxious about the fire, not only because she was distressed about the radishes and cabbages in the field, but more importantly, the few acres of winter wheat planted by her family were right next to those two vegetable plots. If she didn’t put out the fire quickly, and it spread to her fields, that would be no laughing matter. Hua Xiaomai had no experience in firefighting and knew that if she rushed in recklessly, she might not only be unable to help but could beco a burden to others. Therefore, she just assisted by passing water buckets and basins, or followed Feng Da’s daughters-in-law back ho to fetch water, and also had to keep an eye on ng Da’s movents, making sure she didn’t add to the chaos by joining the firefighting team.
This fire was indeed sowhat suspicious.
During the New Year, there certainly was no shortage of mischievous children in the village with a pocket full of firecrackers, setting them off wherever they went. As for Chinese New Year’s Eve, as soon as it got dark, there was a snap, crackle, and pop everywhere, with no quiet mont, and even in the most remote corners, red paper scraps floated about, and the air was filled with the sll of saltpeter and sulfur.
If this fire had been ignited before midnight, Hua Xiaomai might not have been so suspicious, since that was precisely when the children ran wild around the village. But now the night was deep, and even the naughtiest boys would have been dragged back ho by their mothers to sleep by now. How many people would have run into her fields, and what were the chances that all four straw stacks on the field border were set ablaze?
Luckily, the fire was discovered in ti, and the villagers were very enthusiastic. In just half an hour, the fire was extinguished, and not a spark remained. Hua Xiaomai roughly examined the damage and saw that about half an acre of cabbages were ruined, but nowhere else was seriously affected. Although distressed, she was ultimately relieved and hurriedly thanked all the neighbors. She also specifically told Feng Da that she would definitely bring a gift to express her gratitude another day. Then she helped the still fuming ng Da back to the ng family’s yard with unsteady steps.
All this commotion had left them both exhausted, and they had no energy to talk anymore. They hastily washed their hands and faces before going to bed. The next morning, Hua Xiaomai went to the field again, dug up and disposed of the burnt cabbages, fearing that the nearby vegetables would be affected. She even brought over water to carefully water the area before returning ho. Just as she reached the door, she heard the liveliness in the main room. Stepping inside, she saw Chun Xi and La i had brought Luo Yuejiao and Zhou Yunyun over, and Great Saint was also standing in the yard, all speaking gently and consolingly to ng Da.
The villager would surely spread news of such an incident on such an important holiday. Hua Xiaomai sighed again, and before she could speak, Chun Xi, La i, and Luo Yuejiao rushed forward and took her hands, saying, "How are you, weren’t you scared? The Da ntioned you went to the field; is everything okay there?"
"Yeah, Xiaomai sister, are you hurt anywhere?" Luo Yuejiao widened her eyes and looked her up and down.
Zhou Yunyun couldn’t squeeze through them and only followed timidly behind, ekly saying, "Master, are you okay?"
"I’m alright." Hua Xiaomai thought to herself, how could her mood not be affected by such a disorderly event? She managed a smile for the four of them and then turned to greet Great Saint, "Great Saint brother, you ca too."
"Yuhuai brother had to travel far for the holidays and specifically instructed before leaving to look after you and Da. With such a good relationship with him, isn’t that what I should do?" Great Saint said with a cheerful smile.
After thanking him, La i pulled Hua Xiaomai aside and whispered, "Erqiao also heard about this and was worried sick. She wanted to co check on you but feared your mother-in-law would cause trouble. She’s heavily pregnant; can she possibly jump and argue with your mother-in-law? I told her it’s better to save the trouble. Chun Xi and I ca to see you, and we’ll give her the details when we’re back."
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