Chapter 20: Disaster Relief Scene

  Then, Tian Gu gathered dozens of villagers to sit by a river ditch and talk, but those villagers couldn't listen anymore. "Stop talking so much, hurry up and rescue, we've raised so many leading cadres, not one is useful." "Village Chief Tian, let us go dig ourselves, don't say so much." Cries and curses filled the air.

  At this time, Huang Zhengming, the secretary of Xin Qiao District Committee, arrived at the scene with Vice Mayor Mao Renguang, several secretaries and leaders from relevant departments in the district.

  "Secretary Huang, Mayor Mao, you've worked hard. Let me report to you, under these few houses, there may still be six people trapped because the rescue personnel haven't arrived yet, and we don't dare to take action to rescue them rashly." Guo Kesheng hurried over to shake hands with the two leaders, saying carefully.

  Qinghe Town is a very peaceful town, and such accidents have never occurred before. Even landslides during the flood season have never happened, so it can be said that local leaders have no experience in this regard.

  "What's going on with you guys, a bunch of people standing around, if the rescue personnel don't come, you'll just stand here and watch. When I first arrived, the armed police had already called me because there were too many people and big vehicles, the road from the district was not easy to walk, they had changed their tools and were walking, should arrive within half an hour. Guo Kesheng, what's wrong with you, can't you do some preliminary work first? Your thinking is just too conservative." Huang Zhengming didn't even look at Guo Kesheng straight in the eye.

  Kuo Kesheng's heart had turned cold, he was still afraid of causing trouble.

  Wang Guoqiang also arrived late, "Sorry, leader, I'm late. Oh, it's Director Mao, you're all here." His mouth still reeked of alcohol.

  Mao Renguang saw the situation and almost wanted to kick Wang Guoqiang to the ground, "You are still the deputy mayor in charge of civil affairs and social affairs, look at how long it has been now, you just arrived, did you get drunk before leaving?"

  "How dare I, how dare I, I was drinking and just received the notification." Wang Guoqiang wiped his face with his palm, trying to sober up a bit.

  Huang Zhengming turned his head upon hearing the two men talking, "Mayor Wang, if this incident results in severe consequences, you can just take a break directly."

  Wang Guoqiang took a closer look at the speaker and exclaimed, "Ah, it's Secretary Huang of the district committee." "Secretary Huang, I was wrong, please give me another chance. Liu Yadong, the district head, is my brother-in-law. Please, Secretary Huang, I know I was wrong, I'll go rescue people right away." After saying that, Wang Guoqiang crawled and climbed to dig through the rubble of the houses.

  Chen Gong never thought about showing off in front of the leaders, he just wanted to figure out how to rescue the villagers. He walked forward and said, "Secretary Huang, Mayor Mao, I think we should immediately organize a temporary rescue team to investigate the specific location and depth of people trapped under the rubble. If it's not too difficult, we can start rescuing them right away. If it's slightly more challenging, we can wait for professional rescue personnel to arrive before taking action."

  "Hmm, not bad. Then you quickly organize the personnel to do this thing. You come and be the leader of this temporary rescue team. The personnel arrangement is up to you, I'll let these bureau chiefs follow your instructions." Secretary Huang thought Chen Gong's words made sense, so he wanted to try out this young man.

  "Secretary Huang, Mayor Mao, I'll go find a few people to start working first. You and Mayor Guo, Mayor Wang, and the district leaders can study the post-disaster treatment of the affected households, I'll leave first."

  Huang Zhengming stopped Chen Gong, "Don't worry, we'll have a meeting on site this afternoon to settle this matter. I'll go with you to the rescue, and all of you follow us to help out." Huang Zhengming shouted loudly at several district leaders.

  Chen Gong stood on a small mound, supporting Huang Zhengming to stand upright. Huang Zhengming held a loudspeaker and said, "Comrades, let's not waste words. Everyone work together to complete the preliminary preparations for the rescue. Comrade Chen Gong will make specific arrangements. Let's do our best to rescue the trapped villagers." After finishing speaking, he handed the loudspeaker over to Chen Gong.

  "Everyone spontaneously divided into six small groups, with five or six people in each group. They split up to search for every collapsed house, moving carefully not to make too much noise. The main task was to determine the exact location of people trapped under the houses and gently lift off objects that were bearing weight on them without triggering further collapse. Let's get started!"

  In just over ten minutes, the location of four out of six people buried under the rubble has been confirmed. Three of them only suffered minor injuries, but a 16- or 17-year-old boy was not only buried inside but also had his leg pinned down by a stone slab. His leg had almost lost all sensation, and his voice was very weak, clearly on the verge of collapse from mental exhaustion.

  Chen Gong stood beside the ruins, "Brother, you must hold on, hum a tune in your heart and think of things, just don't fall asleep."

  "There's blood... so much blood coming out, I'm... going to... die soon." The low voice of the child came from the ruins, and then there was no more sound.

  Chen Gong anxiously stamped his foot beside him, and with a desperate effort, he tried to revive the dying horse.

  Because he was under the rubble, if his body had been on the surface, the stones that pressed him down could have been chiseled open quickly.

  Chen Gong shouted loudly, "Get a few people to move that broken tree trunk over and prop it against this fulcrum stone."

  Chen Gong walked towards his broken Haifei car, "Director Huang, Mayor Mao, and all the leaders, saving people is urgent. If this car breaks down, the insurance company won't compensate me, I'll have to pay out of my own pocket. If anything happens to someone, I'll take full responsibility." Chen Gong was gambling, he hadn't thought about what would happen if he succeeded, it would be a pioneering deed.

  "What are you doing, Chen Gong? Don't be reckless! If your luck is bad and a big stone falls down, or if that person dies on the spot..." Guo Kesui hurriedly said.

  "He's almost dead. If he dies because of the car accident I caused, whatever happens to me is fine!" Chen Gong had already boarded the Hafei Roadster.

  "Stop! Come a bit closer in this direction." Chen Gong shouted loudly from inside the car.

  With a loud roar, the accelerator was floored and the car sped towards the big tree trunk forty meters away. Due to the uneven ground, the car began to jump left and right.

  Bang, bang... The car rushed up the small slope and collided with the big tree trunk at the front of the space. The big tree trunk pushed the boulder more than a meter away under the force, and the Jett car was also miserable. Due to the impact and angle, it had already rolled over on the spot, and the entire scene fell silent.

  Suddenly someone shouted, "Come quickly, you can see that person now."

  Everyone got excited and ran to the edge of the ruins, where the young man's body was already exposed.

  "Director Huang, Chen Gong's head was hit and he may have fainted."

  Huang Zhengming rode his horse to rush towards Ha Fei, "Others who are fine, quickly think of a way to chisel open the stone and rescue him. You all come help, get Chen Gong out."

  Li Fenghua led several people to successfully rescue the child.

  ……

  A woman in white clothes beside the ruins opened Chen Gong's eyes and said, "There doesn't seem to be a problem now, but we must go to the hospital for an examination."

  Huang Zhengming instructed the medical staff, "Prepare a vehicle, and we will send Comrade Chen Gong to the hospital for further examination later."

  Everyone at the disaster scene, including the armed police officers and medical personnel who arrived later, were eating boxed lunches on the edge of the ruins. "Sleep well, Comrade Xiao Chen has woken up," shouted Mayor Mao.

  Huang Zhengming walked over and sat down beside Chen Gong's stretcher, "Nothing wrong, is there, Chen Gong? As long as you're awake, that's good. I was just about to get a few comrades to send you to the district hospital for a check-up."

  "Thanks for the concern, Secretary Huang and Mayor Mao. I think I should be fine, was that person rescued?" Chen Gong looked anxious, he wanted to know if his adventure had saved a life.

  "He's been rescued, and although the leg injury won't fully recover, running is out of the question, but walking slowly isn't a big problem. He's already been sent to the hospital for treatment. The others have also all been rescued, and after the armed police arrived, the rescue work went very smoothly, thanks to your efforts beforehand." Chen Gong felt reassured upon hearing Huang Zhengming's words.

  "Chen Gong, you take a rest first. There's an on-site office meeting this afternoon to discuss the relocation of villagers here. If you're feeling well in the afternoon, please join us."

  In the afternoon, the light rain on the scene also stopped. All the villagers who were affected came to the activity center of the Erxi Village Committee. The small conference room in the village committee was also packed with people. Huang Zhengming sat at the center of the round table and said, "Chen Gong, come sit by the side of the table." Chen Gong was originally sitting in a corner of the second circle.

  "Director Guo, you first tell us how the affected villagers will be resettled, and of course, also about other village groups."

  "Report to Director Mao, I just had a call with Secretary Qi and they are currently inspecting the situation on the streets of the town with District Director Yuan. The crowd in the town is basically calm, and the damage to houses is not significant. It seems that the situation in the two villages is not optimistic, and there are expected to be more than 20 households without a place to live." Guo Kesheng was already afraid of Huang Zhengming, who had not given him a good look since they met.

  "What's going on with the supervision in your town? Villagers build houses, and you guys approve them from start to finish. These buildings are basically just a little bit stronger than those tofu dregs projects. Just pray that there aren't any deaths in the hospital, or else you can really retire early." Mayor Mao Renguang spoke up, with a very resolute attitude. In fact, he also knew that the people rescued wouldn't be in mortal danger anymore, but seeing these terrible buildings made him so angry...

  Mao Ren Guang continued, "Director Guo, you continue to tell Secretary Huang and the leaders about this resettlement matter."

  "Next, Guo Kesong continued, "In our town, we arranged it like this: in the flat areas, temporary board houses were set up immediately, and all the affected villagers were relocated there to live together. For those whose houses were damaged but still habitable, repair funds were distributed."

  Mao Renguang listened to Guo Kesheng's words, his anger didn't dissipate at all. "You people in the town can solve problems by avoiding them if possible. Can a wooden house be lived in for a lifetime? What repair fees, no need to issue, directly have your town find someone to deal with it."

  "Alright, Director Mao, even if we find people to repair it, who will pay for the reconstruction on this old site? Now, the district finance is in charge of the money, and the villagers won't pay. Everyone knows that the district's finances are tight. The plank house needs money, rebuilding needs money, and transition also needs money. I'm at a loss, with over 20 households, it's impossible to resolve this without taking out hundreds of thousands of yuan." Guo Kesheng was also getting angry, in front of so many leaders, he hadn't finished yet, no big deal, he could just retire early.

  "What's with your attitude, all you care about is money...!" Mayor Mao and Town Head Guo were at odds.

  "Alright! Are you arguing or solving the problem? If you're going to argue, get out!" Huang Zhengming's words were like a spell, and the surroundings immediately calmed down. Almost everyone lowered their heads.