Chapter 168: Clues to Arson

"Oh? Even the regiment commander got involved?"
Xia Yan was somewhat surprised to hear that the regiment commander had personally stepped in this time.
"Of course. Several officers from the public security bureau went over as well. After their investigation, they declared it was arson, intentionally set right in the backyard. With your house burned down and several pigs killed in the fire, the losses are so massive that the regiment commander simply cannot sit by and ignore it."
Wang Guilan's words confirmed Xia Yan's own suspicion.
She had been certain the fire was man-made; given how meticulous her fire safety awareness was, she would never have been so careless.
"How did the investigation go?"
Wang Guilan lowered her voice and replied, "I heard from Xiao Tian that the police found children's footprints in your backyard."
"Children's footprints?!"
Xia Yan looked over at Lin Hongzhe, recalling that the two boys had also gone to the backyard that day, wondering if they could have left them. "Zhe, did you and your younger brother go near the firewood pile when you went to lead Huohua?"
"No, Mom, we only went over to the pigpen."
"Then whose could it be?" Xia Yan wondered aloud.
At that moment, Lin Hongzhe suddenly spoke up: "Mom, do you remember the day Qian Yuxiang came to our house to stir up trouble and watch the spectacle?"
"I remember. Why?"
Xia Yan felt a surge of anger just thinking of Qian Yuxiang's smug face that day.
"Well, I didn't see Zhu Daqang! That fellow loves a spectacle just as much as his mother. He wouldn't have missed it unless something kept him away, especially after I beat him up that morning."
Xia Yan's eyes lit up. Exactly! There had been three little scoundrels fighting with her son that day, but when Qian Yuxiang came over, she only had two of them with her. The oldest one, named Zhu Daqang, hadn't shown up at all.
Could it really have been that kid who started the fire?
She definitely needed to discuss this with Lin You. If that child truly was the arsonist, the gravity of the matter would depend entirely on the decision made by her and her husband.
"Auntie, let me talk it over with Lin You when I get back and see what he thinks."
"Alright. I still need to go buy some New Year goods, so I'll head off first. Come up the mountain early after the New Year begins, Auntie still wants to take you to dig for caterpillar fungus."
Wang Guilan had been so busy chatting with Xia Yan after arriving that she hadn't bought a single thing yet.
After she left, Xia Yan began packing up her stall, took Lin Hongzhe to buy some groceries, and then started pushing her cart back home.
"Mom, so this is what doing business is like."
"That's right."
"It's actually pretty fun."
Lin Hongzhe sat on the tricycle holding a skewer of candied hawthorns, which, in his mother's words, was his wages.
"Pretty fun?"
Xia Yan stopped the cart and glanced at Lin Hongzhe. "If you find it fun, how about Mom teaches you how to do business in the future?"
"Okay!"
By the time the two of them reached home, it was already half-past eight.
"We're back."
"Mom, big brother, you're back!"
Lin Hongzhu ran out first, looking quite unhappy. "Big brother, why didn't you call me when you went out?"
"You were sleeping, of course I didn't call you. Helping Mom out should come from within; you shouldn't need anyone to wake you up."
It was the first time Lin Hongzhe had ever tried to claim credit in front of his mother.
"Lin You, come out here for a minute!" Xia Yan called toward the inner rooms.
Chen Qiumei walked out from inside. "Lin You went up the mountain and won't be back until this afternoon. You and Zhe must not have had breakfast yet; Mom will go fix something for you."
"Mom, Zhe and I already ate, you don't need to trouble yourself."
After breakfast, Xia Yan washed the dishes and immediately set about boiling more eggs. There was an evening market following the morning one, and in business, one could not afford to be lazy for even a moment.
"Are you setting up the stall again today?"
Chen Qiumei was somewhat surprised to see her daughter-in-law busy at work.
"Yes, Mom, there's business again in the evening." Xia Yan looked up and smiled.
Chen Qiumei felt a pang of sympathy for her daughter-in-law. "Yanyan, why don't you let Mom run the stall this evening and you stay home and rest?"
"Mom, I'll handle all of it before the New Year. Once the New Year passes and Lin You and I head up the mountain, you can take over then. During this time, just rest well."
Seeing her daughter-in-law so determined, Chen Qiumei could only nod and started cleaning up the house.
In the evening, Xia Yan pushed her small cart out the door. This time, no matter what, Lin Hongzhe insisted on coming along, having already agreed with Lin Hongzhe to take turns every other day.
As soon as they stepped outside, they ran into Elder Sister Zhang. "Xiao Xia, setting up the stall again? Why weren't you set up in the compound this morning? Auntie was hoping to buy some for breakfast."
"Auntie, I went to the vegetable market this morning. I'm changing locations every day to build up the reputation of my spiced tea eggs sooner," Xia Yan replied with a smile.
"You really have a sharp mind, girl. If my youngest boy had your business sense, I'd be all set," Elder Sister Zhang sighed admiringly.
Xia Yan smiled. "I actually saw Third Brother at the vegetable market today. His stall was completely surrounded by young girls; his business must be fantastic, he's definitely making a fortune."
Hearing this, Elder Sister Zhang burst out laughing. "Oh, he's just messing around with petty trades, making a fortune is out of the question. I doubt he makes as much as your tea eggs."
Xia Yan continued, "Not at all, what I make is just hard-earned labor money, but Third Brother can definitely make big money."
In business, sometimes you couldn't even reveal your true bottom line to your own family, let alone outsiders. Besides, her venture was just starting out, and she couldn't afford any competitors.
If a price war broke out later on, her profit margins would shrink.
Hearing Xia Yan's continued praise, Elder Sister Zhang laughed happily. "Him? He's just playing around."
In truth, she had been growing increasingly delighted lately. She had spent a long time worrying about her younger son who never applied himself, yet yesterday when he came back, he pulled out a thick stack of cash and claimed it was just his earnings for the month.
Elder Sister Zhang had been utterly shocked at the time; the money he brought in was more than double the combined salaries of her eldest and second sons.
The two chatted for a little longer, and then Elder Sister Zhang, not wanting to delay Xia Yan's business, headed home.
The evening business was just as brisk. In a little over an hour, several catties of eggs were completely sold out.
Lin Hongzhe counted the money, his eyes shining brightly. "Mom, there's so much money."
"You little money-lover."
Calculated by the day, she had sold five catties more than yesterday, totaling fifteen catties.
With less than five catties of eggs remaining, Xia Yan wasted no time and headed back to the vegetable market to find Auntie Wang, the egg vendor. This time, she directly ordered fifty catties of eggs, startling the older woman with such a massive order.
"Girl, you sold out in just two days?"
"Sold out!"
Xia Yan pulled out the cash and handed it to Auntie Wang.
"Girl, would you be willing to sell that recipe of yours?"
Hearing the older woman ask this, Xia Yan's guard went up. "Does Auntie Wang want to start a tea eggs business too?"
Auntie Wang did indeed have that thought in mind. After seeing how well Xia Yan's business was doing that morning, she couldn't help feeling envious. Thirty catties of eggs—she wouldn't even be able to sell that many in two days herself.
"I was just asking, planning to make some for my little grandson and the others back home."
"That's easy enough. I'll bring a few over tomorrow, and you can just take them home directly."
"Well, thank you so much then!"
As Xia Yan turned to walk back, she muttered to herself, "Looks like I still need to secure my own source of eggs. What if this old lady refuses to sell to me one day and catches me off guard? What would I do then?"