Chapter 631 Someone Set a Fire
A few days later, the case finally had a result, and to everyone’s surprise, it turned out that the person who set the Mao Family’s house on fire was the youngest son of the neighboring Cheng Family.
It turned out that the youngest son of the Cheng Family, Cheng Hongjun, and the third son of the Mao Family, Mao Hongfei, both worked in the textile factory, and they were even in the same workshop. Before the new year, their workshop was selecting a team leader, and initially, both of them were on the list of candidates. However, when the public election came, Cheng Hongjun’s name was inexplicably removed.
This infuriated Cheng Hongjun, who, after inquiring around, heard that Mao Hongfei had badmouthed him to the director. Following an investigation by the director’s people, it was decided that although he was trying to help others, his temperament was too impulsive, and his name was removed from the list.
Indeed, it was Mao Hongfei who had spoken to the director, but he had only recounted what he had seen with his own eyes. However, Cheng Hongjun blamed him for ruining his career path, so he decided to teach the Mao family a slight lesson.
He had noticed that there was some snow a few days before, and even though the snow had been cleared from the rooftops and courtyard, there must still be some moisture. To scare them, he deliberately poured half a bottle of kerosene on the pile of wood stacked up against the Mao family’s wall, which was leftover from when the Mao family had made furniture.
What he didn’t expect was that the wind picked up last night, fuelling the fire, which soon became uncontrollable. Seeing the situation getting out of hand, he hurriedly jumped into the Mao family’s yard to wake everyone up.
Luckily for him, he managed to alert them just in time. Had he been a moment later, the entire Mao family, more than a dozen people, would have perished in the blaze. Although the people were saved, all of their belongings were completely destroyed by the fire.
Cheng Hongjun was quickly taken away by the public security officers, and the cries and screams of the Cheng family were in vain. Cheng Hongjun’s grandmother knelt before the Mao family, begging for their mercy on behalf of Cheng Hongjun, arguing that if not for him alerting them, they all would have died.
No matter how the community office staff tried to persuade her, the old lady stuck to her guns, ranting and raving, infuriating the Mao family and nearly leading to a physical altercation between the two families.
The old matriarch of the Cheng family felt she had to protect her grandson at all costs, but what Cheng Hongjun committed was a legal offense with serious ramifications. Not only did he have to compensate for all of the Mao family’s losses, but he also faced imprisonment.