Chapter 46 He panicked during the rainy season.

Lin Fei and Aunt Ruo exchanged a glance, and she ran to the coffee shop across the street to check the situation.

Inside the house, Jiang Hua rushed downstairs. Ying Shuiying picked up her daughter beside her and gently patted her to comfort her. Even Xiao Qiao forgot to cry, her expression blank, with tears still on her face.

"What happened?" Jiang Hua asked anxiously.

The old man said, "Not only is the road to the city blocked, but the mountain road behind it has also collapsed, trapping Amin's son and daughter-in-law."

Jiang Hua said seriously, "I'll go to the scene right away."

Ying Shuiying grabbed Jiang Hua, worried: "What's the use of you going to the scene? We should call the fire department now!"

"I'm the Party Secretary, I have to go to the scene." Jiang Hua didn't have time to think about anything else, and before leaving, he reassured Ying Shuiying that he would be careful.

Ying Shuiying, carrying her daughter, chased after Jiang Hua to the door, watching his departing figure with a worried expression.

Lin Fei stepped forward and hugged Qianqian, saying, "It's raining heavily, and it's easy to get wet standing under the eaves. It's the change of seasons now, so don't let Qianqian catch a cold."

Ying Shuiying then came to her senses.

Xiao Qiao sat there in a daze: "Should I...should I go too?"

“Since you asked, then we won’t go.” Lin Fei sat down and retied Qianqian’s disheveled hair. She said, “Don’t do things that are uncertain, especially when there’s a mudslide or flood.”

"But... I'm a cadre," Xiao Qiao said weakly.

Lin Fei: "What's wrong with cadres? Cadres are human too, and human beings will have different ideas."

Lin Fei cried out in pain after being slapped on the back by Ying Shuiying.

"I spent the whole night trying to persuade you, don't make me waste my time with just a few words." Ying Shuiying glared at Lin Fei, who was good at stirring up trouble.

Lin Fei laughed: "I was wrong, I was wrong, Mrs. Secretary, you've worked hard, I'll shut up."

Ying Shuiying was worried about Jiang Hua and didn't have time for banter. She said, "I'll go with him to check on things. You can watch over Qianqian for me for a while."

"Don't worry, Qianqian loves me." Lin Fei didn't act foolishly at the crucial moment, reassuring Ying Shuiying.

After the person left, Xiao Qiao shifted her body restlessly.

"Sister Fei, wouldn't it be bad if I didn't go?" she asked.

Lin Fei reiterated, "If you ask me, I will only answer that I won't go if I haven't thought it through, because going would only cause trouble. This is not a joke; the front line is full of dangers."

Xiao Qiao looked utterly defeated, leaning against the stool and sighing, "I just wanted to quit, how did this happen..."

"You want to resign?" Lin Fei feigned surprise.

Xiao Qiao shut her mouth, looked at Lin Fei for a while, and then said with a determined heart, "Sister Fei, do you think I should resign?"

"Go ahead and leave. It's your freedom. Besides, given your position, you should know better than me what the consequences of leaving are. You've already brought it up, which means you've thought it through carefully. I support you." Lin Fei even had time to tease Qianqian.

Xiao Qiao looked even more dejected, staring at the ceiling and saying, "Sister Fei, your words have really made Sister Shuiying's entire night's work go to waste."

"You can't keep someone who really wants to leave." Lin Fei and Ying Shuiying have different positions and their views are bound to be different. If Xiao Qiao hadn't asked, she wouldn't have shared her thoughts. But since Xiao Qiao asked, she told her frankly. There's no such thing as Ying Shuiying's entire night of ideological work being wasted.

Xiao Qiao looked at Lin Fei in front of her.

I see a kind of composure in her, not the peace of having seen through everything after experiencing the vicissitudes of life, but the calm that remains unperturbed even in turbulent times.

"Sister Fei, do you regret quitting your job and returning to Jiangdu to open this intangible cultural heritage shop?" Xiao Qiao was confused. Before mentioning her resignation to Jiang Hua, she thought quitting was the right thing to do. But when Ying Shuiying advised her, she felt that quitting was the wrong thing to do; she couldn't handle hardship and was utterly incompetent. However, a few words Lin Fei said after she arrived made her feel that quitting was the right thing to do.

Seemingly trying to balance the scales in her heart, she ran from left to right and then from right to left, but the fluctuations were too great and she was afraid of falling and getting hurt, so she could only stand in the middle to balance the two sides and slow down.

Lin Fei thought for a moment, then a faint smile appeared on his lips: "I will not regret any of the choices I have made. Even if I have regrets in my heart, my answer to you now is still - no regrets."

"But I'm afraid I'll regret it." Xiao Qiao lay on the table, her cheeks puffed out, full of resentment.

Lin Fei knew that what she was about to say might be harsh, but after thinking for a moment, she still said, "To me, regret is the most useless emotion, even more useless than sadness, grief, or disappointment. I'd rather you feel bad about your current situation than regret the choices you made. Once a person falls into regret, it's hard for them to look forward."

"Wouldn't someone who never regrets something be arrogant?" Xiao Qiao felt that few people could have Lin Fei's mindset.

“It’s not like you can’t reflect on yourself.” Lin Fei put Qianqian down and walked behind Xiao Qiao. “Xiao Qiao, don’t think too much. You just came out of university and entered society from an ivory tower. Be kinder to yourself and don’t push yourself too hard. If you can’t finish your work, you can tell Jiang Hua. We may lack ability, but we can’t have a bad attitude. Did Jiang Hua start out as someone who could take on great responsibilities? Everyone has their own path.”

"Sister Fei, you must have a great job after graduation." Xiao Qiao grabbed Lin Fei's hand.

Lin Fei shook his head with a smile: "No, my life after graduation was... terrible. I couldn't adapt to the high-intensity work, I ate excessively every day, and whenever I had a little personal time, I would lie down and play on my phone."

“That’s exactly what I’m doing right now!” Xiao Qiao nodded repeatedly. “How did you adjust?”

Lin Fei recalled with extreme reluctance: "I didn't realize at all that overeating caused me to gain weight too quickly in a short period of time, which led to fatty liver. Later, I was afraid of dying, so I had to lose weight and even developed abs. But my bad eating habits bothered me for a long time. If no one was watching me, I could eat the amount of food for three people. It was only after returning to Jiangdu that I gradually adjusted myself."

"So there's no solution." Xiao Qiao hung her head in dejection and sighed several times.

"After all, it's your own life, and you have to walk your own path. If other people's answers could give you a shortcut to life, then there would only be one way of life in this world." Lin Fei sat back down. "That's why I say, don't have a regretful mindset. Believe in every choice you make. If it's right, we celebrate; if it's wrong, we reflect on ourselves and keep moving forward without looking back."

Xiao Qiao seems to know how to choose, but it's still not very clear.

“Sister Fei, after talking with you, I feel... much more at peace.” Xiao Qiao took a deep breath. “I’ve been in a state of chaos since graduation. I got a respectable job in the eyes of my parents, but only I can understand the hardships involved.”

“You’re better than me. You’ve been working for less than a year and you’ve already found inner peace. My first two years at work were chaotic.” Lin Fei didn’t spout grand theories; these were things Liang Yanzhe had told her: treat your emotions kindly and follow your heart.

Xiao Qiao stood up and clenched her fist: "Although I can't make a decision I won't regret right now, I know that as a member of the neighborhood committee, I would definitely regret it if I didn't rush to the front line right now. I'm going to see Brother Jiang Hua. Thank you, Sister Fei, for telling me all this today."

Lin Fei watched Xiao Qiao run into the rain.

At this time, no customers will come to the coffee shop, and the main street is blocked.

Lin Fei closed the coffee shop door and carried Qianqian home.

Aunt Ruo saw them come in, came over to lend a hand, and took Qianqian from her. She asked, "Where are the child's parents?"

"They've all gone to the front lines to see what's going on." Lin Fei tidied up the cash register. "Let's close the shop too. Aunt Ruo, you should go home now."

Chunxi Street is located in a low-lying area and gets flooded every rainy season. In recent years, the water level has only reached the ankles and recedes in two days. But now, with landslides and mudslides, the situation is likely to be more difficult than in previous years.

Aunt Ruo didn't dare to linger and rushed home to check on the situation.

Grandma and Auntie recently cleared out the lobby on the second floor and decided to move the weaving workshop there. Otherwise, if a flood were to occur, it would be disastrous. The fabrics they are weaving now are all for commercial orders, and they have to be responsible to their customers.

The cultural and creative shop didn't have many items. Aunt Ruo had already started packing up half of them, and Lin Fei would spend another half hour packing up the other half before putting them in the storeroom.

She couldn't open her shop this week, so she went online and closed her online store. Only the museum was supplying her normally, since they only restock once a month, so it didn't affect her business.

"Sister, when is Mom coming back?" Qianqian asked in her grandmother's voice, sitting on the stool.

Lin Fei pulled up a chair and sat down in front of her: "I'll be back soon, maybe after dinner, or maybe after a nap."

When Qianqian heard that she might not see her mother today, she didn't make a fuss and obediently nodded in agreement. She grew up in the neighborhood, and her parents were too busy. Yesterday she had lunch at her uncle's house, and today she had dinner at her aunt's house. She grew up eating food from many different families, so she was used to it.

Grandma came downstairs and asked in surprise, "Why are you in Chunxi? Don't you live in the city center?"

"The road is blocked now, I can't go back," Lin Fei said. "I'll go back when the water recedes."

Southern China is rainy, especially Jiangdu. Low-lying areas are prone to flooding every year. Every child who grew up in Chunxi Street has childhood memories of their home being flooded and cleaning up the water with their family. If the water didn't recede for a long time, they would take a boat to school the next day.

When I was a child, I didn't understand and enjoyed it. Only when I grew up did I realize how much of an impact it had, as it delayed the adults from going to work.

Grandma led Qianqian over: "I'll take you upstairs. You should also go take a shower and wash your hair. If the water level really rises, the tap water will get dirty."

"Okay." Lin Fei went upstairs to wash up.

It was almost eight o'clock when Lin Fei called Liang Yanzhe.

It was well past the shift handover time, but she could never reach him by calling right after the handover time. Instead, she learned to be smart and call later when he was busiest.

Liang Yanzhe answered quickly, and after the call connected, a magnetic voice said, "It's me."

"I'm not staying at home tonight, I've gone back to Chunxi. But it's the rainy season now, so I expect the water level to rise and the streets will be flooded for a couple of days. I'll go back when the water recedes." Lin Fei sat by the window, looking at the torrential rain outside. "There might also be no signal, so don't worry if you can't reach me."

"Wait a minute." Liang Yanzhe didn't know what he was doing, but all that could be heard was the soft sound of the mouse clicking.

"Did you encounter any mudslides on your way back?" he asked seriously.

Lin Fei subconsciously straightened her back, belatedly realizing she had dodged a disaster: "I... took the subway back."

"This situation is quite serious. You should stay home and not go anywhere." Liang Yanzhe was worried and checked the latest reports; the subway station was also flooded.

This year's floods are expected to be more severe than in previous years, and the water level rose rapidly in a short period of time, making the situation serious.

Lin Fei felt a wave of fear wash over him, rendering him speechless, and his hands turned icy cold.

Before she hung up, Liang Yanzhe repeatedly emphasized, "Don't do anything dangerous, and keep in touch with me before the signal is lost."

Lin Fei was dazed: "Um... I understand. I'll hang up now..."

"Feiwen," Liang Yanzhe called out to her, "You must not do anything dangerous, just stay at home."

Lin Fei was a little distracted, eager to understand the current situation: "I will ensure my own safety, and so will you":

After hanging up the call, Lin Fei stood there in a daze for more than ten minutes before going down to the second-floor living room to find his grandmother.

Chi Yao and Chi Xin were also there, and everyone looked serious, indicating that the situation was not good.

My aunt rushed back from outside and shouted upstairs, "Ah Yao and Ah Xin, come downstairs and help! Let's raise the doorway higher, because the water will rise tonight and might get into the house."

Lin Fei followed them downstairs to help.

"Auntie, is it that serious?" Lin Fei was uneasy. She thought it was just like every year, but she didn't expect it to turn into a terrible flood in just a few hours.

“I heard it from everyone, Ah Min’s son and daughter-in-law…” the aunt said in a low voice, “They must have been caught in a mudslide.”

Chi Yao and Chi Xin both looked at Lin Fei at the same time.

"I'm going upstairs first." Lin Fei couldn't stand their gazes anymore, as if she were some kind of pitiful person.

Her parents have been gone for a long time, and she feels sad occasionally, but not to the point of being this sensitive.

At 10 p.m., Ying Shuiying knocked on the door to pick up Qianqian and take her home.

Lin Fei opened the door, and Chi Yao followed behind, holding Qianqian in his arms.

"What's going on up ahead?" Lin Fei had been scrolling through news reports all night and had seen many posts on Xiaohongshu about the flooding in Chunxi District. It wasn't just their Chunxi Street; the two neighboring streets were also affected to varying degrees, as their street was located by the river, making the situation even more severe.

Ying Shuiying could not hide her exhaustion: "The mudslide is too serious. Firefighters have been dispatched for rescue. There is still a risk of secondary disasters, so the roads are difficult to clear. The subway station is also flooded and cars cannot pass. Many neighbors have volunteered to help. Jiang Hua is still directing operations on the front line and will most likely not be able to come back for the next few days. The roads will be cleared before dawn. Xiao Qiao and I are helping to coordinate supplies and are too busy to leave. I will take Qianqian back to my mother-in-law's house tonight."

"I'll help too," Lin Fei said, taking the raincoat and rain boots. "But how long will you two be busy?"

Chi Yao grabbed Lin Fei's wrist and shook his head.

Ying Shuiying glanced at them and said, "I'll take Qianqian first, we'll talk later."

Lin Fei asked in confusion, "What do you mean? Didn't you hear that the streets are short-staffed and need help?"

Chi Yao: "Big sister, this is too dangerous."

“Everyone knows it’s dangerous. I’m just helping to allocate supplies, not rescuing people.” Lin Fei pulled her hand back. “Go back upstairs and do your homework.”

“Brother-in-law…” Chi Yao hesitated for a moment before saying, “He told me to keep an eye on you and not to do anything rash or dangerous.”

Lin Fei took out her phone and sent a message to Liang Yanzhe, informing her that she had gone to help coordinate supplies. Holding the chat window up to Chi Yao, she said, "I've reported it, is that okay?"

Chi Yao couldn't do anything about Lin Fei, after all, no one could stop Lin Fei from doing what he was determined to do.

When I got outside, I found that the water was already up to my ankles.

Lin Fei thought to himself, "Wow, it's rising so fast! Only two hours have passed."

She won't go to help tonight, but her aunt will. That's how it is among neighbors. Although there are bound to be minor conflicts on ordinary days, everyone unites to deal with natural disasters.

Upon arriving at the front lines, Lin Fei heard two mournful cries coming from a makeshift tent.

Ying Shuiying turned around and met her gaze.

"The people haven't been found yet. It's likely that the couple were swept away or buried by the mudslide while driving around a bend."

After hearing these words, Lin Fei felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had just brushed past death.

That's how accidents happen; they strike suddenly, and once vibrant people disappear forever before your eyes.

“Let’s go, a batch of supplies has arrived, we need to distribute them. We can’t use the water now, we need to make sure everyone has food and water tomorrow.” Ying Shuiying took Lin Fei’s hand, lowered her head, and walked forward in silence.

Lin Fei didn't have time to think too much. After the car arrived, he followed everyone through the dirty water again and again, delivering the supplies to each household.

Although I was wearing a raincoat, my clothes underneath were wet, and my rain boots were also filled with water, leaving my feet white and wrinkled from being soaked.

"Why don't you take a break?" Ying Shuiying said, holding a notebook in her hand as she was in charge of registering the information.

Lin Fei was also exhausted, and walking in the water was more difficult than usual, so he found an open space to sit down.

The place that once smelled of rice and wheat in the wind has become a ruin. The mud has washed away the peaceful homes, as if we were in the apocalypse.

The overcast sky was as oppressive as my mood.

"You really don't pay attention to details." Ying Shuiying handed her a bottle of water. "Change your clothes, or you'll catch a cold."

Lin Fei sighed, "I just feel that everything happened so suddenly, there was absolutely no time to react."

"It's almost noon, you should send a message to Dr. Liang," Ying Shuiying reminded him.

Lin Fei took out his phone and found it was out of battery; the area was without power due to flooding.

"May I borrow your phone?" Lin Fei asked Ying Shuiying.

Ying Shuiying glanced at her phone: "There's no signal, and it's still not fixed."

"Never mind, let's get back to work." Lin Fei didn't dare to rest for too long; half of the residents on the street still hadn't received their supplies.

Because it was still raining, the sky was gloomy, and it was already dark at three o'clock in the afternoon.

Lin Fei felt a sharp pain in his stomach and realized he hadn't eaten anything. He decided to say goodbye to Ying Shuiying and head home, and also use the power bank to charge his phone.

Xiao Qiao was so tired she could barely walk, so she slung herself over Lin Fei on the way back.

"Sister Fei, I've made up my mind. I won't quit for now," Xiao Qiao said with a smile. "Although it's tiring, when I think about it carefully, it's very fulfilling. I'll stick with it for a while longer."

Lin Fei was so tired that he had no strength left, so he gave her a thumbs up.

"Sister Fei, is there someone over there?" Xiao Qiao asked uncertainly, as it was dark and she was afraid she had misjudged.

Lin Fei, whose eyesight was better, recognized the man as Uncle Min. He exclaimed, "Oh no!" and pushed Xiao Qiao aside. He didn't know where he got the strength, but he rushed over quickly and shouted, "Uncle, don't go! It's dangerous over there!"

Xiao Qiao paused for three seconds, then ran back to the makeshift tent and shouted, "Something terrible has happened! Uncle Min has run to the mudslide area!"

It's raining heavily now, and there's a risk of a second collapse at any moment.

-

Liang Yanzhe was reviewing information for tomorrow's surgery in his office. The office door was open, and he overheard the doctors on duty passing by discussing the flooding in Chunxi District, where many injured people had been brought to the emergency room of the Second Affiliated Hospital.

He turned his phone back on.

Still no reply. Has the signal not been restored yet?

The next second, several messages popped up.

But it wasn't Lin Fei, it was Chi Yao.

Chi Yao: [Brother-in-law, my sister went to the front lines to help. I tried to stop her, but she said she informed you.]

Chi Yao: [Brother-in-law, my sister worked all day. When she came to our house to deliver supplies, she was soaked in sweat. She worked so hard.]

Chi Yao: [Brother-in-law! My sister ran to save someone and got into an accident! She fell badly and passed out. The ambulance took her to the nearest Second Affiliated Hospital.]

Liang Yanzhe stood up abruptly, strode to the elevator lobby, but couldn't wait for the elevator to go up and then down, so he chose to take the stairs down and rush to the emergency room.

After the floods, the emergency room was filled with patients, some with serious injuries and others with minor ones.

"Excuse me, has Chunxi District sent in a patient named Lin Fei?" Liang Yanzhe asked at the nurses' station.

The nurse saw Liang Yanzhe with a stern face for the first time, unlike his usual gentle demeanor.

"Yes...yes, they were just delivered. They're in bed 2 of ward 6."

Before the nurse could finish speaking, Liang Yanzhe turned and walked away.

When the ward door was pushed open forcefully, Lin Fei was startled, tightened the towel on her head, and looked at the doorway in horror.

Liang Yanzhe breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed that everyone was alright.

She only had severe abrasions on her forehead and knees, but the bleeding had stopped. He stepped forward and asked with concern, "You..."

Lin Fei looked confused and instinctively took two steps back: "Who are you?"

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Author's Note: It's better to do nothing than to overthink things; someone's about to go berserk in the next couple of days. [Milk Tea emoji]

Still 66, please comment and give me some nutrient solution, love you all!