How I Tamed My Wolfish Husband Back in 80s-Chapter 156 - 158: The Kitchen is on Fire_1

Everyone’s attention was focused on the screen, and Li Qiao, being attentive, noticed something unusual about Qin Jin, "What are you digging out from the tree?"

There shouldn’t be any bird eggs this season, right?

Lowering his voice to a whisper, Qin Jin confided, "We’re in luck! There’s a lot of money in the bird’s nest." He had discovered that whenever he took her out to play, eight times out of ten they wouldn’t come back empty-handed. If she didn’t have to work, he really wanted to take her on a long trip to broaden her horizons.

She was like a walking wealth-attracting Pixiu.

Li Qiao’s eyes widened slightly, so he had found a lot of money?

How come he’s so lucky?

The most she had ever found was fifty cents.

"Young man, young lady, would you like to buy some peanuts or melon seeds?"

A middle-aged auntie, holding two cloth bags, approached Li Qiao and Qin Jin amidst the crowd.

Li Qiao, feeling peckish, asked, "How much are they?"

"Fifty cents for a big spoonful."

Qin Jin said, "Let’s have a spoonful of each."

"Sure thing!"

The aunt scooped up peanuts and melon seeds,

Li Qiao cupped her hands together to catch them before tucking them into her pants pocket.

Qin Jin stepped aside to fish out money and turned on his flashlight again. There were two one-yuan bills shining back at him, several fifty-cent pieces, and a handful of one and two-cent coins. His heart pounded with excitement—wealth, at last!

He took out a ten-cent bill to pay.

The aunt shone her flashlight on it, squinting at the dirty note, grimacing, "Is that bird poop on your money? Eh~ it really is, how stinky!" she exclaimed with disgust after sniffing it.

Qin Jin replied, "It’s the only one I have."

Nevertheless, the aunt pocketed the money and left.

Li Qiao peeled and ate the peanuts.

Qin Jin walked up behind her, chin resting on her shoulder as he bent over, "You’re just eating by yourself."

Li Qiao opened her palm, revealing the shelled peanuts inside. She pinched one and moved it toward his mouth. He opened wide and gently bit down, his teeth catching her fingers as well.

Li Qiao’s hand tingled, and she quickly withdrew it, chiding, "What are you doing? It’s so embarrassing if someone sees us."

Qin Jin was unfazed, "No one’s paying attention to us. Look how flustered you are, feed me another." He opened his mouth again, waiting.

Li Qiao, "...." Acting like a big shot! She slapped her palm against his mouth, smothering it with the peanut kernels.

Chewing, Qin Jin said, "This is how I like to eat."

Unable to stand his smugness, Li Qiao shrugged her shoulder upward, pushing away his jaw and heading towards the courtyard, "Let’s go home!"

Qin Jin asked, "Not watching anymore?"

"Can’t see anything with the crowd in the way."

Qin Jin motioned for her to sit close to his neck.

In front of such a large crowd, how could Li Qiao muster the nerve? "Let’s just go home. Next time there’s a movie, we’ll come early to grab a spot."

As they walked back, seizing the moment while the road was deserted,

Qin Jin tucked the flashlight under his arm and started counting the money bill by bill, unable to contain his joy, "Four yuan and thirty cents, I’ll buy you beef to eat tomorrow."

Li Qiao was equally thrilled. Four yuan was a lot, delight sparking in her eyes as she said, "Great!" Then she thought, "You need tickets for that, right?" Ever since her family started weaving, they had been better off financially, and the pocket money her grandmother gave her was always in amounts of one or two yuan.

But they could only eat meat on rare occasions.

Without meat tickets, even with money in hand, they couldn’t buy it.

Qin Jin said, "You don’t need tickets for cooked food."

Li Qiao replied, "With the weather turning hot lately, who knows how many days the ready-to-eat food in the shops has been lying around? Let’s buy fish instead. Fish is cheap and doesn’t require a ticket. I want to eat braised fish."

"Sure!" Qin Jin agreed without hesitation. He’d satisfy whatever his wife craved.

Having secured the money, they slowly ambled toward the courtyard, when they suddenly smelled a strong odor of smoke.

By the dim light of the street lamps, they could see it was coming from their own courtyard.

Li Qiao’s heart skipped a beat, everything had been fine, so why was their house on fire?

Qin Jin swiftly opened the door to check.

The kitchen had caught fire, with thick smoke spreading and flames making it impossible to see anything.

He quickly grabbed a bucket of water from the courtyard to put out the fire, but Li Qiao stopped him, "The thick smoke is toxic, cover your mouth and nose with a wet towel before fighting the fire."

Qin Jin made safety precautions and poured water into the kitchen.

Li Qiao was busy pumping water from the well, the neighbors had all gone to watch a movie, and when the fire was extinguished, no one came to inquire.

Li Qiao was breathless from exhaustion.

Qin Jin was covered in soot, discarded the wet towel, and sat down to rest, "The stove was so far from the firewood, for it to catch fire is just unbelievable!"

A short while later.

Li Qiao regained her strength and went inside to inspect the damage. The once pristine house was now smoke-damaged and ruined. She felt both heartbroken and angry.

Controlling her emotions, she carefully observed and noticed some oil stains on the floor in a corner. She touched some with her fingertip and brought it close to smell, catching the scent of diesel fuel, something they did not have at home. Someone had intentionally set the fire! She felt a surge of anger in her chest, "Someone must have set the fire while we weren’t home."

Qin Jin said, "It must have been that flirtatious woman next door! I’m going to find her!"

Li Qiao replied, "Without evidence, she’ll deny it. If you hit her and she accuses you, today’s earnings will be for nothing. Don’t rush. Don’t clean up this room or around the house, I’ll have someone come to investigate tomorrow."

"Okay."

.....

The kitchen’s electrical wires had burned.

Qin Jin turned off the main switch and went out to buy candles.

Li Qiao washed up in the dark, and just as she came out of the bathroom, there was a knock on the door.

"Is anyone there?"

"Yes," Li Qiao opened the door to find their neighbor from next door, Wang Jianggan, who had previously refused to help her by leaving a handprint to prove Yan Xiaoyu had framed her. Ever since they learned she was the Top Scholar, family members would always stop by to chat if they knew she was at home.

Li Qiao said, "Hello, what brings you here so late?"

"Did something at your place burn? I smelled something from my house and came to check," he said.

Li Qiao let out a soft sigh, "Our kitchen burned down."

Wang Jianggan stepped toward the kitchen.

Li Qiao said, "Don’t go in! It will disturb the scene and affect the police investigation."

Wang Jianggan halted, craning his neck under the streetlight to see the charred walls, "You young people need to be more careful when you cook. Now what will you do? You’ll have to rewire the electricity, right? Do you know any electricians? I can introduce you to one."

"Sure, please do. But we use a coal stove for cooking, which is far from the firewood pile," said Li Qiao, hinting that the fire in their kitchen was the result of arson.

"It could be due to old wiring."

Li Qiao replied, "Before moving in, all the wiring in the house was replaced with new ones. We’ve been targeted for retaliation."

"Oh?" Wang Jianggan immediately thought of Yan Xiaoyu.

Neighbors returning from the movie, smelling the faint scent of something burnt, came over to inquire.

"Thank you all for your concern, only the kitchen was burned." Li Qiao was relieved that before leaving, she had instinctively closed the doors and windows of the main house; otherwise, what would’ve caught fire would not have been the kitchen, but the living room.

The furniture inside the living room was all made of wood, and there were curtains on the bed that would easily catch fire.

They needed to get a dog to guard the place as well.

Li Qiao was quietly considering her options.

Yan Xiaoyu next door was very disappointed, Li Qiao and Qin Jin had returned earlier than expected.

If they had waited until the movie was over, the fire would not only have spread to both sides, but the Qin family’s house would have likely been reduced to ashes.

About two minutes after the neighbors left, Qin Jin returned, missing a small portion of his pant leg.

Li Qiao couldn’t help but laugh, curious, "Did you get robbed or something? And they only took part of your pant leg?"

Qin Jin replied sullenly, "I was chased by a mad dog, and you’re laughing."

The smile on Li Qiao’s mouth gradually vanished, and she immediately checked his calf with a flashlight; fortunately, there were no marks.

"If you were bitten, do we have a rabies vaccine? Be more careful next time, okay?"

Qin Jin replied, "Finally, you’re speaking sense!"

Li Qiao: "...." When did she ever not make sense?

....