Chapter 952

  At this point, Wang Qifang's heart skipped a beat and her face turned pale.

  "It shouldn't be so coincidental, right? Zhao's nanny just went to ask a question, she shouldn't get implicated, should she?"

  Wang Qifang was muttering to herself in a low voice, hurrying out of the courtyard, when she collided with Qiangniang, who was running towards her.

  "Second Mistress, where are you going? The neighboring Zhang's family is burning weeds and hasn't cleared the isolation zone. The big fire has already reached our doorstep! Although it hasn't spread to our yard yet, it's not safe to go out. You'd better stay in the house!"

  Since Zhao's arrival at Qingyuan Manor, this was Qiangniang's first time seeing Wang Qifang. She saw Wang Qifang hastily rushing out, without exchanging pleasantries, and grabbed her arm, pulling her back with force.

  "How is it, the big fire is very serious?" Wang Qifang had just stood on the stone table and looked at it when the fire was not very big, and it was not close to the mountain villa either. But hearing Qian Niang say this, Wang Qifang's face became even worse. The fire had burned to their feet. No matter whether Zhao Niang went to Chenjiazhuang or not, such a big accident happened now. According to Zhao Niang's idea of putting herself first in everything, she must have rushed back long ago.

  Now the fire is so big, but Zhao's mother has disappeared, isn't that...?!

  No, Zhao's nanny is a seasoned person who has seen the world and will definitely handle such an emergency properly, at least she won't put herself in danger.

  Wang Qifang desperately persuaded herself, using both hands to pry open Qian Niang's grip, her mouth still muttering: "Zhao Ayi has left, the fire scene is so far away, Zhao Ayi must have left early. No, I have to go take a look, she must be fine, she must be fine!"

  "What? Did Zhao's wife leave?"

  Qian Niang's face changed, and her voice rose two degrees in surprise.

  "So I must go and take a look, Aunt Zhao can't come to any harm!"

  As she spoke, Wang Qifang pushed aside Qian Niang's obstruction and was about to run out of the village when she saw a familiar figure: "Auntie Zhao!"

  "Oh dear, my seventh daughter, gently, gently!"

  Mrs. Zhao hugged Wang Qifang, who was rushing towards her, tightly in her arms. Her chubby face was smeared with black soot and yellow dust, looking a bit disheveled, but her eyes were filled with joy - Ah, it's still the Seventh Lady's kindness that touches people's hearts! Even if you don't consider the gratitude for saving her life, just looking at how Seventh Lady treats her with genuine kindness, this nanny is already content.

  "Wooh, Nainai, I was really worried something would happen to you," Wang Qifang's tightly strung heart relaxed as soon as she saw Zhao Ayi return safely. She ran over and threw herself into Ayi's broad, warm embrace, almost in tears.

  "Don't worry, don't worry, Auntie is fine," Zhao Auntie patted Wang Qifang's trembling back with both hands, softly comforting her. When she caught a glimpse of the only outsider at the scene out of the corner of her eye, she raised her head and motioned to Qian Niang to leave.

  Qian Niang knew the identity of this Zhao Ayi, and she no longer bothered with her attitude of always looking down on herself. Seeing that the master and servant seemed to have private words to say, she stayed here a bit awkwardly.

  Qian Niang nodded slightly, her hands clasped at her waist, and gave a slight curtsy to Zhao Ayi before quietly leaving Wang Qifang's courtyard.

  "Alright, stop crying," Zhao Ayi half-pulled and half-embraced Wang Qifang into the courtyard, freeing up one hand to close the door. Turning around, she saw Qiuniang's tear-stained face and, feeling both relieved and heartbroken, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. "Nainai is fine, really fine. If I don't see our Qiuniang living a good life, Nainai will never leave your side! Come on, stop crying, you're a grown woman now, why are you still crying like when you were a child?"

  "Others, others are worried about you!" Wang Qifang only then remembered that Qiangniang was just here, and her own crying and shouting had been seen by people, ah, so embarrassing.

  "Alright, alright, I know you're worried about me, but we can't lose our dignity either, understand?" Zhao Ayi supported Wang Qifang as they returned to the bedroom. "And another thing, now that you're pregnant with twins, how dare you still run around and jump? Aren't you afraid of hurting the children? Sigh... I really need to hurry up and hire a few more people to attend to you. With no one reliable by your side, what would you do if something happened to me?"

  "Well, whatever Nainai says, we'll do," Wang Qifang had no opinion. In family matters, big or small, Zhao Nainai was in charge. Only, judging from the current situation, there didn't seem to be any major issues except for buying a house.

  Mentioning Zhuangzi, Wang Qifang suddenly thought of the big fire outside, "Right, auntie, what's going on with the big fire outside? Feng Dajie said it was a wildfire caused by Zhuangzi burning weeds, is it serious?"

  "That's right, it's the Qingyuan Manor west side of the Qingquan Village. Alas, what a sin! Zhao's mother heard Qiuniang's words and her face showed unbearable sympathy, saying in a sympathetic tone: "A good large piece of farmland, the wheat just sprouted, all burned to ashes at once. The wheat seedlings can be replanted after being burned, but people are gone..."

  "How could this be? There are still people who died in the fire?" Wang Qifang was shocked, she didn't think the fire would be so severe.

  "I was far away at the time, and only vaguely heard someone shouting, 'There's someone in the burning house!' But by the time the villagers rushed up to put out the fire, the flames were raging, and the sparks were flying right above their heads. It was impossible for them to get close! By the time the fire had died down a bit and they could rush inside, it was too late... Alas, the wheat fields and houses have all been burned, I don't know how those two villages will survive!"

  Mrs. Zhao has experienced many things, but it was the first time she saw such a tragic scene: flames dancing everywhere, suffocating smoke and heat waves, and the occasional cries for help and screams... In the eerie firelight, the big trees quickly turned into black charcoal, the tender shoots were almost scorched to ashes, and the yellow earth instantly became scorched earth. Alas, water and fire are ruthless!

  "Two villages? Wasn't it Qingquan Village that caught fire? How did it spread to another village?"

  Wang Qifang had never experienced it personally, so she didn't have a particularly deep feeling about what Zhao's nanny said.

  "Ah, and also Chenjiazhuang next door," Zhao Ayi sighed softly, thinking of that clever young man, wondering if his family had escaped this disaster, "Hmmm, it's the village where that Chen Ergou lives!"

  Chen Family Village?

  Good heavens, Zhao Ayi almost escaped the fire, thinking that she might have lost this kind old woman who truly cared for her, Wang Qifang couldn't help but shiver.

  "Hehe, Seventh Girl, don't be afraid, we're fine, aren't we?" Zhao Ayi took one look at Wang Qifang's expression and knew what she was worried about, so she quickly reached out to pat her hand. "It's just a pity that something happened in Chen Family Village, Chen Er Gou probably won't be able to help us now!"

  It turned out that when Zhao heard Wang Kui Fang wanted to buy a house, she began to think about who would go and run errands. Feng Tiezhu was the maternal uncle's man, so he definitely couldn't be sent. When looking for someone else, Zhao had some difficulty, after all this wasn't the capital city, and she was also a newcomer who didn't know the local customs, and there were no people around her to handle things.

  Let her go and run by herself, Zhao's aunt was still worried that Wang Qifang had no one to serve her, and after thinking for a long time, she really racked her brains. Suddenly thought of the day when I went shopping, the porter who helped her pick things up, hum, seemed to be called Chen Erdou or Chen Gourou, quite a clever young man, just don't know if he can be used as his own.

  With a goal in mind, Zhao Ayi also had a direction to work towards. After lunch, she went to Chenjiazhuang to sound out the young man and see if he was clever enough, then try to win him over.

  It's easy to arrive at Chenjiazhuang, find Chen Erdou, and Zhao Ayi tells the intention. The young man pats his chest and says he is willing to help Ayi, and as soon as he opens his mouth, he mentions the better farmland and farmhouses within a radius of 100 miles.

  Madam Zhao was increasingly pleased as she listened, and immediately gave him a few silver coins for tea money, telling him to quickly find out where there were farms for sale. If the matter was successful, there would be another reward.

  Chen Ergou unexpectedly got a good errand and was very satisfied, happily took the silver, and carefully sent Zhao's mother out of the house.

  Up to this point, things had developed smoothly, but a big fire disrupted all the plans. When Zhao's aunt left Chenjiazhuang, she heard that "the burning house has someone", it seemed to be said that Chen Erdou's family, but at that time Zhao's aunt was worried about her family's Qiufang, and the fire spread too quickly, she didn't dare to stay for long, and hurried back.

  Wang Qifang saw Zhao's disappointed face and silently sighed, the master and servant sat quietly in the bedroom, the noise and shouting outside the courtyard grew smaller.

  The next morning, after serving Wang Qifang breakfast, Zhao Ayi thought of Chen Ergou's affairs and wanted to go to Chenjiazhuang again.

  Wang Qifang also wanted to go, but considering her physical condition, plus the fact that a fire had just occurred there and everything was unclear, it wasn't good to rush over. Seeing Zhao's mother preparing to leave, she hastily took out the silver note from her purse and let Zhao's mother use it for expenses.

  "What is this?"

  Madam Zhao took a look at the silver ticket, recognized that it was a national bank note commonly used in the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the Great Zhou Dynasty, then looked at the date of issue, and somewhat understood. She turned her head to confirm with Wang Qiefang: "Is this what Madam left for Seventh Girl?"

  "Ah, and in the hidden compartment of the jewelry box, there's over 7,000 taels more." Wang Qifang didn't think about hiding this silver from Zhao Ayi. Yesterday when she opened the jewelry box, Zhao Ayi saw the pearls and gems filling the box, but instead of greed or envy in her eyes, they were filled with genuine joy, the kind that came from being happy for Wang Qifang's sake.

  If Wang Qifang had any slight doubts about Zhao's nanny before, she was completely at ease in that moment.

  "Great, now those jewels don't have to be sold and can be kept for Xiaoyao's dowry!"

  Zhao's aunt listened to Wang Qifang's words and happily accepted the silver ticket. With money in hand, she settled the matter of the farm today.

  Pushing open the courtyard gate, there were two people kneeling at the entrance, with Qiangniang and Feng Tiejun standing beside them.

  "You, aren't you Chen Ergou?"

  Mrs. Zhao found someone at the door and hastily pushed Wang Qifang back, then slipped out of the courtyard sideways and closed the door behind her.

  "Aunt Zhao, please save us siblings!"

  As he spoke, Chen Ergou pulled over a 12 or 13-year-old little girl beside him, kowtowing non-stop. Meanwhile, Zhao's sharp eyes discovered that both children had a white cloth strip tied around their heads. Could it be that they were really from his family?