PCJ – Chapter 172 Sacrifice Life but Not Wealth

Old Xiao was always very cautious. Every time he stoked the fire, there was always a large pot of boiling oil in the pan, steaming. Sometimes the smoke from this oil could catch fire. So, every time he stoked the fire, he was particularly careful. He would scoop out the ashes, sprinkle some water on top to completely extinguish the fire, and then cover today’s ashes with the already cooled coal ash. It was a double layer of protection, so in decades of operating his fried dough stick shop, there had never been an accident.

But on this day, something went wrong. Just as he was scooping out the ashes, someone suddenly rushed into his shop and grabbed the wooden box where he kept his money. Inside was all of Old Xiao’s earnings for the day, along with some change, totaling about sixty or seventy yuan. Don’t be fooled by the fact that a fried dough stick costs only fifteen cents; the daily sales were considerable. His was the only fried dough stick shop on this street.

Old Xiao immediately chased after the thief, forgetting all the safety precautions he usually took. In his haste, he accidentally knocked over the oil pan. Focused on retrieving his money, he didn’t pay attention. By the time he returned, disappointed and heartbroken, the shop was already smoking.

Old Xiao rushed into the shop, looking for something to extinguish the fire. But as soon as water touched the fire, it exploded into flames, quickly turning into a raging inferno.

As Luo Changjun rushed near his house, he saw thick smoke billowing.

“Changjun! Are you crazy? You’re rushing in at this time?” Someone pulled Luo Changjun back.

“Let go! Let go quickly! I need to find my dad!” Luo Changjun was desperate, trying to free himself from the grip.

“Your dad’s not stupid. He wouldn’t stay inside waiting to be roasted. He was just here helping the neighbors fight the fire. Don’t worry, he’s fine!” The person quickly explained the situation to Luo Changjun.

“Where is he now?” Luo Changjun couldn’t be at ease without seeing his father.

“There, over there!” The person pointed not far away, right in front of the fried dough stick shop.

“Let me go, I need to go over there.” Luo Changjun, seeing through the smoke, could confirm that it was indeed Luo Yongming.

No need to run over to confirm; he already heard Luo Yongming’s voice, “This way, this way, we must control the fire, or the whole street will burn.”

This whole street was full of old wooden houses. Once a fire started, it could burn everything to the ground. Luo Changjun could clearly see the flames raging inside the fried dough stick shop, and despite buckets of water being thrown in, it had little effect. There were fire hydrants on this old street, but they were useless since Gezhuping Town didn’t have a water supply plant; every household used well water. Each household had a water pump, and the water used to fight the fire was pumped from nearby wells. The hydrants were useless; only a few factories had functional hydrants.

“Did you call the fire department?” Luo Changjun ran over and shouted.

“We called, but they can’t get here quickly. Even if they do, the water in the fire truck won’t be enough,” Luo Yongming glanced at Luo Changjun.

Luo Changjun suddenly remembered something, took out an amulet from his pocket, and stuffed it into Luo Yongming’s pocket.

“What’s this?” Luo Yongming asked.

“A protective amulet given to you by the priest! Dad, be careful and stay safe!” Luo Changjun advised, then joined the firefighting efforts.

Old Xiao’s shop had some vegetable oil, and using water to extinguish an oil fire wasn’t the best method. But compared to other methods, water was the easiest firefighting resource available on this old street.

Strangely, though the fried dough stick shop was burning upstairs, the old house next to it, Luo Changjun’s family home, showed no signs of catching fire. On the other side of the fried dough stick shop was a renovated brick house with a prefabricated cement roof, which also wasn’t easily flammable. So, although the fire seemed intense, it hadn’t spread. If it did, the entire street of wooden houses could be at risk. So far, the fire hadn’t caused a whirlwind, which would have been disastrous if it spread the flames elsewhere.

Everyone understood this, so the enthusiasm for firefighting was very high, with more and more people joining in. When someone got tired, others immediately took over. The fire was effectively controlled, but there were several barrels of oil inside, and the house was filled with wooden furniture. Once the fire started, throwing water on it only slightly weakened it before it flared up again. The mix of steam and smoke made firefighting increasingly difficult.

Old Xiao had been pulled out of the fire from the beginning. Watching his house crackle and burn, Old Xiao felt as if his heart was being cut out.

“There’s ten thousand yuan in cash inside!” Old Xiao suddenly broke free from the grip of others and rushed into the fire. He was determined to retrieve his hard-earned money.

“Are you crazy!” Luo Yongming shouted, quickly chasing after him.

But Old Xiao couldn’t hear anyone. His only thought was to get his hard-earned cash!

“Stop! It’s dangerous!” Luo Yongming, slower to start and much older than Old Xiao, couldn’t catch up. He could only watch as Old Xiao charged into the flames.

Luo Yongming hesitated at the edge of the fire, then rushed in.

“Dad!” Luo Changjun, seeing this, screamed in agony and rushed forward without hesitation. Several nearby neighbors quickly grabbed him.

“Changjun! Don’t be impulsive. It’s too dangerous inside. You can’t take any more risks!”

Luo Changjun struggled desperately. How could he watch his father burn alive? Three or four strong neighbors pinned him down, not letting him go.

“Ah! Let me go! Let me go! I need to save my dad!” Luo Changjun roared, struggling like a dying beast.

“Changjun! Stay calm. If something happens to Old Luo, who will take care of things?”

“If you could go in and save him, we wouldn’t stop you. But going in now is suicide. This Old Xiao, risking his life for money, has put Old Luo in danger! Old Luo is a good man!”

…

At that moment, someone suddenly rushed out of the fire! If Zhang Jiaohua were here, he would be shocked because this scene was exactly what he had hallucinated before.