The news that Wen Huaiming personally went to Longtougou Reservoir in Shishan Town soon reached Wen Liang's ears.
This was inevitable. Although Yang and his party could not stop Wen Huaiming's actions, they were able to report to the city as soon as possible. Of course, Zuo Yuxi, who was an important matchmaker between Wen and Yang, also received a call from Yang and his party.
At that time, Zuo Yuxi was leading a team to inspect the safety and flood prevention work of primary and secondary schools throughout the city. After receiving the news, he immediately stopped what he was doing and called Wen Liang: "... Don't worry, although the situation is dangerous, Secretary-General Wen may not go directly to the dam. Even if there is a problem, there is still time to withdraw safely..."
After hanging up the phone, Wen Liang stood blankly in front of the French window. Zuo Yuxi didn't understand Wen Huaiming, but how could he not understand his own father? Wen Huaiming was upright, fearless, idealistic, and persistent. Although his unsatisfactory official career over the years had smoothed his edges, his conscience and responsibility as an official had never dissipated. When he was not in that position, he might still protect himself, but when he really reached that position, that environment, that critical moment of life and death, his choice would never be his own life.
Wen Liang's thoughts suddenly became blank. The reports and rumors about this rainstorm in his previous life kept drilling into his mind. How many people died when a reservoir collapsed in a certain place, how many people died when a flood broke through a dam in a certain place, how many people died when a landslide occurred in a certain place...
No matter what the situation is, there is only one result - death!
Pipe bursts, subsidence, landslides, dam breaches, and turbulent torrents rushed down, mercilessly sweeping away everyone standing on the dam. By then, there was no gender, old or young, rich or poor, noble or humble. For the first time in life, all beings achieved true equality, but it was at the moment of facing death.
Is this irony or sadness
Wen Liang suddenly began to tremble uncontrollably, and with a snap, he pressed his right hand against the French window, which was how he managed to hold his body together. An Baoqing, who was standing behind him, was startled and took a step forward, trying to reach out to help: "Young Master Wen, you..."
"fine!"
Wen Liang waved his left hand back to stop An Baoqing. Cold sweat was already dripping down his drooping forehead, and his voice became hoarse in an instant. He said, "Brother Jiu, go find a car... Don't use your Land Rover. Change it to a Mitsubishi off-road vehicle with better performance. I'm going to Yishan."
Minister An Bao didn't know what was going on. He looked at the heavy rain outside and hesitated, "I'm afraid it's not safe to go on the road in this weather..."
"Go ahead, I have something important to do, thank you for troubling me, Brother Nine!"
There is something he didn't say, which is very important, much more important than my own life!
Wen Liang stood up straight, staring out the window with his bottomless black eyes. Faced with the might of heaven and earth, an individual's power is so insignificant. But no matter what, even if he has to fight against God, nothing must happen to his father!
The heavy rain did not stop overnight. Many elderly people who participated in the rescue work on the dam said that they had never seen such heavy rain in their lives. A faint light appeared at the end of the distant mountains, like a bright light that cut through the darkness, making the morning sky no longer as dark as the night yesterday. However, the continuous rain line still swept over without stopping, covering the entire Longtougou Reservoir in a precarious situation.
No one knows how long they can hold on, and no one knows whether they can retreat safely when real danger comes. But as long as someone feels tired and afraid to move forward, they can always see that figure, although not tall enough, but extremely heavy, appearing at the most dangerous and difficult place on the dam.
Stone can be broken, but its hardness cannot be taken away; cinnabar can be ground, but its redness cannot be taken away! Therefore, do not avoid difficulties, and face death with equanimity!
This is a man who stands tall and upright, a capital man, a man of noble character, a man who is worthy of the country and the people!
After another inspection on the embankment, Wen Huaiming was almost exhausted and sat in a chair. The tent was full of mud and the cold wind blew in from the gaps, making him feel cold all over. Tang Ye, who was sitting on another chair, had fallen asleep with her head tilted. It was hard for her to fall asleep despite the noise outside. It was obvious that she had been busy all night and had caused great fatigue to her body. Wen Huaiming glanced at her, shook his head helplessly, stood up and found a relatively clean canvas coat to cover her. Although he didn't want to admit it, Tang Ye's performance this time really impressed Wen Huaiming. He didn't expect that this seemingly delicate reporter would really disregard her image and fear no danger. From boosting morale to rescuing the wounded, she went through wind and rain and gritted her teeth without saying a word of bitterness. Looking at her fierceness, if she couldn't carry the sandbag, she might have rolled up her sleeves and followed Wen Huaiming to carry it together.
Such a woman is really rare!
Li Qiang happened to bring breakfast from the village. There was no need to think about hot food. Not to mention bad luck, even if it was transported up, it would have been cold. It was a great blessing to be able to drink a few sips of hot water with steamed buns at this time. However, when he saw him personally carrying a pot of steaming chicken soup, Wen Huaiming couldn't help but get angry. Li Qiang stiffened his neck and said, "Secretary Wen, let me say something you don't want to hear. With this rain and weather, we can withstand it with thick skin and flesh, but you can't withstand it anyway! The current situation in the reservoir area depends on you to hold it up here, otherwise everyone would have dispersed and the reservoir would have collapsed. Secretary General, if for nothing else, just for the tens of thousands of people in Shishan, you have to drink this chicken soup, otherwise your body can't stand it and everything you say will be in vain."
This twisted logic made Wen Huaiming laugh and cry. Yang Dingjun walked in at that moment and tried to smooth things over: "How about this, Director Tang was reported by the provincial government, but he risked his own life for our flood relief work in Yishan. Let's treat this chicken soup as a token of our appreciation. It's not an exception for female comrades. What do you think?"
Wen Huaiming looked at Tang Ye's slightly pale face in his sleep. His usually clean and tidy clothes were covered with mud spots, and his hair was wet and stuck to one side. He said helplessly, "Dingjun, you... Okay, wake up Director Tang."
Tang Ye woke up from his deep sleep, and after figuring out the situation, he smiled and said, "Well, County Chief Yang, Secretary Li, you are really stingy. You sent me away with a bowl of chicken soup? Be careful or I will go back to Guanshan and write an article about 'Dayi Mountain is a place of outstanding people and beautiful scenery, but stingy people are everywhere'."
Yang Dingjun and Li Qiang laughed out loud, and even Wen Huaiming forgot about the past intrigues between them and laughed heartily.
Before the laughter died down, a man suddenly rushed in from outside, shouting as he ran, "Is Secretary-General Wen here? Is County Magistrate Yang here?"
Yang Dingjun saw the person coming and hurriedly asked, "Chonggu, weren't you in Beiling Town directing flood control? Why are you here?"
The visitor was Deputy County Chief Li Chonggu, who said, "County Chief Yang, I am reporting back to the county. I just received a report from the city saying that the Shuanghua River in Yongchang County upstream has burst its banks, and the water has been diverted to the Qingliu River. The huge flood peak from the two rivers will soon reach Longtougou Reservoir. Beiling is the closest to Shishan, and Secretary Yang really can't spare anyone, so he asked me to come and inform you on the way. He wants you to assess the situation. If it really doesn't work, you can retreat, and he will take the responsibility... the responsibility..."
Wen Huaiming spread out the map, glanced at it quickly, and asked, "How long will it take? Has the upstream hydrological station measured the water volume and flow rate? Li Qiang, go find Meng Hun."
"Ah, here is a detailed explanation of the situation!"
Li Chonggu hurriedly took out a document from his bag and handed it over. Wen Huaiming took a quick look at it and handed it to Meng Hun who rushed in. He said, "You are an expert. According to your estimate, with our current resources and the current status of the reservoir, can we withstand it?"
Meng Hun took the information, his forehead was bulging with nervous veins, his lips trembled but he couldn't say a word. After all, although he was the best expert in the county, when it came to such a critical moment where a single word was needed to make a decision, he naturally felt a sense of suffocation.
Everyone stared at Meng Hun. He swallowed and stammered, "I... I don't know..."
Yang Dingjun, Li Qiang, Li Chonggu, and even Tang Ye could not hide the deep disappointment on their faces. However, Wen Huaiming's expression remained unchanged. He just frowned slightly, and then quickly relaxed. At this critical moment of life and death, as the backbone, he could not show even the slightest weakness and powerlessness.
He picked up the document again. According to the city's report, the Shuanghua River burst its banks at 5:40 a.m. last night, and part of the river water flowed into the Qingliu River at 6:37 a.m. According to the flow rate, it will reach the Longtougou Reservoir at 8:30 this morning.
At this time, it was almost seven o'clock, which meant that they only had one and a half hours to prepare for this severe flood peak.
Wen Huaiming turned to Li Qiang and asked, "How is the evacuation of the people downstream going?"
"Except for the second batch of strong laborers who were preparing to go up the embankment, the rest of the elderly, women and children had already evacuated to a safe area overnight. However, due to the urgency of the evacuation order, the villagers did not have time to move their property. If, if the dam was really abandoned, the loss would be..."
Even without Li Qiang saying it, everyone in office understands that the Longtougou Reservoir is important because it controls the throat of the Qingliu River and can effectively regulate the water level and flow downstream. If the dam is really abandoned, the loss will not only be the villagers' houses and property, but also tens of thousands of acres of farmland will be submerged, winter wheat will face a total crop failure, and the turbulent river water will flow downstream, and the flood control pressure downstream will immediately increase exponentially. Under the influence of the chain reaction, it will be a catastrophic situation.
Should I give up or keep
Everyone's eyes shifted to Wen Huaiming. The tent was eerily quiet. Tang Ye looked at Wen Huaiming's face and suddenly felt heartbroken.
Take on this heavy responsibility alone!
Wen Huaiming finally made up his mind. With a shortage of both manpower and supplies, he had no right to gamble with the lives of the hundreds of people on the dike. He was about to issue an order to retreat when a man opened the tent and walked in, saying, "I'm here uninvited. I hope I didn't disturb you, leaders?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.) (To be continued)