HCB Chapter 1981 When Conjecture Becomes Reality
Chapter 1981 When Conjecture Becomes Reality
When Li Xiangnan strode into the courtyard gate, a crowd had already gathered in front of the screen wall.
Two grass-green fire trucks were parked outside the courtyard gate. Seven or eight people in dark blue fire uniforms stood in front of the screen wall. The leader was a middle-aged man in his forties with a serious face. At this moment, he was being blocked by Song Ziming and Yuan Zhencheng in front of the door of the back room.
Grandpa Yu and Grandpa Yuan stood to the side holding brooms, while the surrounding neighbors looked rather grim.
"Do you know this is resisting the law? My fire department is conducting an inspection as required, and you dare to obstruct us—that's no small matter! I advise you to bring Li Xiangnan out immediately to cooperate with the inspection! Holding a banquet is his business, it has nothing to do with you neighbors, don't force me to resort to force!"
The middle-aged man at the head of the group stood with his hands on his hips, surrounded by his subordinates, exuding an extremely cold and stern aura.
“There are no fire safety issues in our courtyard, and we don’t need your inspection! There are so many courtyards in Nanluoguxiang, why do you only inspect ours and not the others? I think you’re doing this on purpose! Our courtyard is number 80, if you’re going to inspect, start from number 1!” Grandpa Yu argued forcefully, not giving the man a chance at all. As he spoke, he even stretched his broom forward, showing no fear of the firefighters.
The man's face suddenly darkened, and he began rolling up his sleeves. "Right now, your Li family is the only one holding a wedding banquet in Nanluoguxiang. If we don't investigate you, who will we investigate? You're so uncooperative when our fire brigade is on duty, so don't blame us for taking action! All the neighbors around here, open your eyes wide and see. It's the 80th family that's not cooperating, not our fire brigade making excuses. We're here with the permits!"
As he spoke, he winked at the seven or eight team members around him, and they immediately dispersed.
Seeing the scene, with neighbors all speaking up for the Li family and supporting him, Li Xiangnan, who was already prepared, was naturally unafraid and would never allow his neighbors in the courtyard to get hurt. He waved his hand and stepped forward, saying calmly, "I am Li Xiangnan. What can I do for you, comrades?"
The middle-aged man in the lead turned around and sized him up, then pulled out his identification from his pocket. "I'm Luo Jianguo from the Fourth Fire Brigade! We received a report from the public that you're planning to hold a large banquet here, posing a significant fire hazard! According to the newly issued 'Fire Safety Management Regulations,' we naturally have to come and conduct a routine inspection!"
As Luo Jianguo spoke, his gaze swept over the red silks and lanterns hanging all over the courtyard, as well as the eight-immortal table that had already been set up, and his brows furrowed more and more.
"Dr. Li, they have ulterior motives. We can't let them investigate!" Yuan Qingshan, fearing that Li Xiangnan would suffer, quickly stepped forward to remind him.
"Investigate! Captain Luo, please investigate!" Li Xiangnan stepped aside to make way, glanced at Grandpa Yuan, and said, "It's alright, Grandpa Yuan, let them investigate, we'll cooperate!"
“But…” Grandpa Yuan’s face tightened as Song Ziming grabbed his arm. He turned his head and saw that Song Ziming was shaking his head at him. He could only sigh.
This incident made the neighbors in the courtyard a little nervous.
These people clearly came prepared, and their intentions were not good.
After Li Xiangnan finished speaking, Luo Jianguo glanced at him with some surprise, seemingly not expecting him to be so decisive. He then waved his hand, and the surrounding team members immediately dispersed to begin their inspection.
Fearing they might do something bad, the crowd followed them into the courtyard in single file.
"Please!" Li Xiangnan smiled and extended his hand to invite Captain Luo. "Captain Luo, you are a good official who puts the safety of the people first!"
Luo Jianguo pursed his lips, his face showing joy, but his eyes were icy cold, and he didn't say a word.
Just then, a young team member shouted from the backyard, "Captain Luo, there's a lot of firewood piled up in the kitchen!"
Luo Jianguo's face darkened, and he immediately looked at Li Xiangnan: "Comrade Li, this won't do! Banquets require a lot of fire, and if you pile firewood up in the kitchen like this, the consequences could be disastrous!"
After he finished speaking, he gestured to the team members, and one of them handed over the materials, which were the notices of fines and requirements for rectification.
The people gathered in the courtyard immediately became agitated.
Wang Defa clenched his fists, He Dashuang, Xu Damao, Yuan Zhencheng and the like turned pale, and even Song Ziming couldn't help but frown.
Li Xiangnan, however, calmly grabbed Luo Jianguo's arm and said with a smile, "Captain Luo is right, why don't you go in and take a look? Let's not rush into the rectification, punishment, and ban on banquets notice! Do you know how the firewood is stacked, how far it is from the stove, and whether there are fire prevention measures? Since it's an inspection, let's see it through to the end!"
Luo Jianguo was taken aback, then said to the young team member, "Xiao Wen, go in and take a closer look!"
The young team member, Xiao Wen, immediately turned around and went back into the kitchen. A moment later, he came out with a strange expression: "Team Leader Luo, the firewood is piled up in the back corner, four meters away from the stove! Moreover, there's a brick wall around the firewood pile, and it's covered with a sheet of iron!"
"What!?" Luo Jianguo was shocked and went into the kitchen to see for himself.
Li Xiangnan followed him inside, and the surrounding neighbors rushed into the backyard, craning their necks to see what was happening.
The area used as the kitchen was a large side room of the Hao family's house, plus a shed that had been added later. Inside, four or five women had already started picking and washing vegetables, but they stopped working when they saw people coming in.
There was indeed a pile of firewood taller than a person in the corner, but as Xiao Wen just said, a half-meter-high fence made of red bricks had been built around the firewood pile, and a solid sheet of iron was placed on top of it.
Outside the fence, there were two large water vats filled with water, with five water ladles next to them!
"Captain Luo!" Li Xiangnan pointed to the corner of the wall: "This firewood is for the banquet, but I specially had a fireproof barrier built, and the sheet metal can prevent sparks from flying everywhere. The water tank can be used to put out the fire at any time! Do you think this arrangement complies with fire safety regulations?"
Luo Jianguo opened his mouth in shock, and after a long while, he said, "What about the fire escape? You're having such a big wedding banquet, how are you going to evacuate people if something happens?"
"Come with me!" Li Xiangnan led him out of the kitchen and into the yard.
"This main gate, the moon gate, is the main passageway, 1.8 meters wide! The east and west side rooms each have a hanging flower gate passageway on one side. If you come from the back kitchen, the small door on that side can also lead to the neighboring courtyard! Five exits, unobstructed!"
Li Xiangnan pointed around, "See those? I've prepared eight water vats, all filled with water. I've also prepared twenty buckets and five sacks of sand, which I've placed next to the vats!"
Luo Jianguo looked in the direction he was looking and sure enough saw a large water vat in the corner of the yard. The water in the vat was almost overflowing and the surface of the water was covered with a layer of ice.
"Captain Luo? Check the water source?" Li Xiangnan reminded him.
Luo Jianguo walked to a vat, tapped the side of the vat with his hand, and made a dull sound. The water inside was crystal clear.
"Where did you get the water from?" he asked suspiciously.
"Tap water!" Li Xiangnan smiled slightly. "I contacted the water company beforehand. The water pressure has been increased these past few days, and just to be on the safe side, I also connected three water pipes from the neighbor's yard for emergencies, so we can replenish the water supply at any time! I can handle any kind of fire!"
Luo Jianguo fell silent.
He had been a fire chief for over a decade and had inspected countless units, but he had never seen anyone host a private banquet to this extent!
This isn't just complying with regulations; it's practically following the standards outlined in fire safety textbooks.
"Team Leader Luo!" A team member came over from the side room. "I've checked the wiring too. It was all recently replaced, the insulation is intact, and there were no unauthorized connections!"
Another team member ran over from the backyard: "Team Leader Luo, the passageway in the backyard is indeed clear and unobstructed, with no clutter or debris, so it doesn't affect the evacuation!"
Luo Jianguo's complexion grew increasingly worse.
"Captain Luo, please take another look at the fire patrol records!" Li Xiangnan suddenly pulled a notebook out of his pocket and handed it over.
Luo Jianguo took the notebook and opened it, only to find it filled with densely written words.
"On December 1st, at 12 PM, Wang Defa inspected the entire hospital and found no potential hazards."
"On December 4th, at 12 PM, He Dashuang was on patrol and found that the public streetlights in the east wing were hung too low, too close to the wooden rafters. They have been adjusted!"
"On December 9th, at 1 PM, Yuan Zhencheng discovered that the firewood pile in the kitchen was not up to standard, and it has been rectified!"
……
Every day, at every time period, every problem discovered and how it was handled was clearly documented.
Luo Jianguo was stunned. After closing the notebook, he looked at Li Xiangnan with a complicated expression.
This young man not only considered all the potential risks, but also took the corresponding measures to the extreme!
What's even more terrifying is that he recorded everything in black and white, so clearly that he couldn't find any fault with it!
"Captain Luo," Li Xiangnan said calmly, "do you think there's anything we need to improve?"
There was silence in the courtyard.
Everyone looked at Luo Jianguo, waiting for his answer.
However, Luo Jianguo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't say anything!
What could he say?
You did such a great job! You said we made a wasted trip!
His face was extremely gloomy, and he felt incredibly frustrated as he thought about the mission ending.
drip-
Just then, he heard several cars stop and honk their horns in the alley, and he suddenly looked up, his eyes lighting up!
"Something's wrong! People from the epidemic prevention station and the cultural relics bureau are here!" Zhou Yuejin rushed into the courtyard to warn everyone.
"hiss!"
Everyone broke out in a cold sweat at that moment, especially the group that had the meeting last night!
I never imagined that my wild guess would actually become a reality!
Li Xiangnan silently clenched his fist, thinking to himself that it was just in time!