Chapter 51: Life and Death [VIP]

There are a few "snowmen" standing around the collapsed mountain.

Chen Yao found Yang Wenying among the snowmen, took her frozen hand and returned to the mud house.

Yang Wenying held the pickaxe and refused to leave.

Shen Qingshan and the other villagers began to persuade everyone: "Go back to your houses and warm up, leave this to us."

Yang Wenying looked at the villagers who came to help dig and transport stones, and she couldn't hold back the tears in her eyes. They burst out in an instant.

Inside the earthen house.

Chen Yao brushed off the snow on Yang Wenying's body, opened the reed jacket in her arms, and ordered her to put it on in a deep voice.

Yang Wenying cried as she put on her reed jacket and gloves again. "Ayao, my brother will be fine, right?"

Chen Yao raised her hand to wipe her tears, nodded firmly, picked up her uncle's cotton-padded jacket hanging on the wall inside the house, and pulled Yang Wenying out.

Miao found her husband in the crowd, looked at the blood oozing from his bandaged head, and cried and scolded him.

"There are so many people digging, can you just go back to the house and rest for me?"

Huang Songbai ignored his daughter-in-law's beatings and scolding, and continued to take turns transporting the stones with the people of Wanhe Township.

"Boss, if something happens to you, what will happen to Dongsheng and me?" Miao grabbed Huang Songbai's sleeve to stop him from carrying the heavy stone.

Amidst the snowstorm, a layer of frost formed on Huang Songbai's swollen eyelashes. He roared, "If anything happens to Zi'an, I'll never be able to rest in peace. He was trapped down there trying to save me."

When the mountain collapsed, Yang Jizong gave him a strong push, and he saved his life.

Huang Songbai looked at Yang Wenying who was walking towards him and felt guilty, and kept apologizing to her.

Yang Wenying felt a little dry in her throat. The incident happened so suddenly, how could she blame others?

"Uncle, put on your cotton jacket first. If your injury gets worse, it would be a waste of Zi'an's efforts to save you." Chen Yao handed the cotton jacket to her aunt.

Miao tore off her husband's outer coat, put his cotton jacket on him, wiped her tears and stopped trying to stop her husband from digging stones to save people.

"Ayao, I'd like to borrow an iron pot from Coach Xing to make some ginger soup for everyone. Is that okay?"

Chen Yao picked up a torch from the snow and shouted to everyone, "My aunt is going to ask Coach Xing to borrow an iron pot to make ginger soup for everyone. If anyone feels cold or tired, please drink a bowl and take a rest."

Everyone kept their hands moving and replied in unison: "We are not tired."

Pieces of stone were carried to the open space of the quarry by people in relays. The huge stones that could not be moved were pried open and chiseled, and rolled down from their original places amid one loud and energetic shout after another.

The torch flickered in the wind and snow. After moving stones for a while, Chen Yao was already sweating profusely. Her cheeks were red from the cold. She blew out two strings of snot bubbles with her hands and then continued to work.

At the same time, the officers took Miao to meet Coach Xing.

In the dim earthen house, Miao fell to her knees and kowtowed to the "Rakshasa" sitting at the head of the table: "Please have mercy, sir. I want to pay money to redeem Huang Songbai."

Xing Fang sat at the table in silence.

The officer who had brought Miao here was so frightened that he knelt before Xing Fang and said, "Sir, this woman told me she wanted to borrow the iron pot to make ginger soup, but she didn't tell me she was coming to redeem someone."

Xing Fang listened to the shouts rising and falling in the snow outside, then looked at the woman kneeling on the ground and asked, "Did you bring the money?"

Miao was so happy that she cried. She hurriedly took out some loose silver and copper coins from her bosom and placed them on the table with both hands.

Xing Fang flicked the copper coins with his whip and looked at Miao coldly: "Not enough."

"Sir, please be merciful and allow me to take my husband home to recover first. I will definitely make up the remaining money someday."

Xing Fang stood up suddenly, his tall figure gradually approached Miao, and the words he uttered made her unable to stand up.

"There's no precedent for offering money to ransom someone in the quarry. I'm making an exception by granting you this one opportunity today. Since the money isn't enough, don't stay here any longer and drag her out."

"Sir!" Miao cried out as she was thrown into the wind and snow by the officers.

When she dragged her heavy feet back to the team empty-handed, Huang Mei looked her up and down.

Before she could even ask the question, Miao told her everything.

Seeing that she had messed up something important, Huang Mei was furious and anxious. She brushed the snow off Miao's body and stretched out her hand to her: "Give me the purse."

"Eldest sister?" Miao's eyes were filled with tears.

Huang Mei glared at her: "He's my third brother, and also Ayao's uncle. How can we just leave him alone? But you are so petty. I asked you to borrow a pot to make ginger soup, and you—"

Huang Mei was so disappointed that she took out the money bag from Miao and persuaded the police to help her meet Xing Fang again.

Huang Mei came out of the dim earthen house and exhaled a breath of cold air. Miao immediately rushed over and asked, "Big sister, is it done?"

"Lord Xing will show mercy, of course it will be done. Stop crying and making a fuss here. Come with me and go get the iron pot to boil the ginger soup."

Miao responded immediately, with an unstoppable smile on her face. If Huang Mei hadn't repeatedly reminded her to be more restrained in the current situation, she would have been spitting at her if everyone knew about it.

At this time, it only adds to the chaos.

The two sisters-in-law took out a large iron pot, cut ginger slices, and built a stone stove in the wind and snow to boil ginger soup.

Bowls of hot ginger soup were served to everyone, and the digging continued until dawn.

The people of Wanhe Township were taken away by the police to serve in the army. Goudan cried and shouted for wheat, but was whipped by the police and finally dragged away.

Luo Laolian's stomach was rumbling with hunger. Seeing that his fellow villagers all looked unhappy, he sighed inwardly.

Yang Jizong still hasn't been dug out, I'm afraid everyone will be upset.

"Ayao, come out, I heard someone shouting loudly from a distance.

"Sister, we are here to deliver rations." Huang Dongsheng and Tian Baolai each carried a bag of food behind them.

Chen Yao ran over excitedly to greet him, saying it was a good thing he came.

The villagers, tired after a night of work, immediately looked for usable firewood and waited for the hot porridge in the pot.

With food in my stomach, I feel strong again.

Everyone worked hard again, and finally when the wind and snow were about to stop in the afternoon, they dug out a corner of the clothes from the pile of rocks.

"Someone come, come quickly, I found someone." The men in the village couldn't stop being excited.

The stone was dug open by everyone, revealing a small face covered with dust.

"Help, help." Maizi was dying, and she grabbed the stranger's sleeve tightly and refused to let go.

"Oh, it's not Wenying's brother, it's a girl."

"Uncle, feed the baby some rice soup first." Chen Yao rushed into the crowd and took a look: "Maizi? Are you Maizi?"

"Sister Ayao, sob, sob!" Maizi drank a bowl of rice soup and then cried with her head tilted back while stuck in the narrow hole.

Chen Yao took back the bowl and coaxed her: "Don't cry, don't cry, we will rescue you in a while."

Maizi was crying breathlessly, "Sister Yao, Brother Yang is also down there. He's injured and his condition isn't good."

When everyone heard this, they were both happy and surprised. They finally found someone.

Boss Zhang and Boss Luo immediately said, "What are we waiting for? Hurry and save them."

Everyone immediately started to move the stones. As soon as they moved a stone, Maizi screamed and was hit on the back of his hand by a falling stone from the collapse.

"I-we didn't mean to do that."

"Don't move, the cave entrance will collapse." Yang Wenying shouted in the crowd to stop everyone.

"What should we do?" Everyone was at a loss.

Chen Yao looked around at the spot, then looked at Maizi: "Can you try to slowly retract it? I'll insert some wooden boards to separate you from the rocks above. Can you and Brother Yang hold on for a while?"

Maizi pulled her hand back with tears in her eyes and nodded to Chen Yao.

Chen Yao tried to take a step forward and looked inside the cave cautiously. There was indeed Yang Jizong lying unconscious inside, and no matter how she called him, he did not respond.

"Maizi, how are you guys?"

"Where is my brother injured?"

Maizi curled up in the cave, felt Yang Jizong's breath, and shouted to the people outside: "Brother Yang is still breathing, but I don't know where he was injured."

Chen Yao asked again: "Have you ever had your limbs stuck by rocks?"

Maizi felt Yang Jizong's arms, legs and feet. When he felt a sticky mass of blood, his teeth chattered with fear: "It's not stuck by a rock."

After hearing this, Chen Yao breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked her father and uncle for thick wooden boards.

Without saying a word, Tanaka Zheng and Shen Qingshan took people to cut down trees and split wood boards.

Chen Yao looked at the villagers again and said, "Uncle Luo, you will lead the others to hold up the wooden planks to block the falling rocks. Hold them up as long as you can. Uncle Zhang, you will lead the others to move the rocks around the entrance. Follow my instructions and move them away. Don't be too fast or too slow. Once they are moved away, we can disperse."

Everyone nodded in agreement, understanding what Chen Yao meant. If they wanted to rescue the person, they needed unity and speed.

"Uncle Zhou!"

Zhou Dashun was called by Chen Yao in the crowd, and he immediately responded: "Ayao, go ahead."

"The cave entrance will be opened soon. Aunts, you must drag the person out as quickly as possible. After dragging him out, Uncle Zhou will carry Yang Jizong into the house first, and my aunt will carry the wheat."

Zhou Dashun and the women in the village also nodded in agreement.

Huang Mei brought another bowl of warm rice soup and handed it to Chen Yao.

Chen Yao shouted to Maizi in the cave, "Open his mouth and feed him. If he can't feed you, drink it yourself. Then stretch out your arms. We will pull you out quickly. You have to trust us and don't move or struggle. Can you do this?"

Maizi took the bowl and nodded heavily.

When Yang Wenying saw Maizi's hands covered in blood, she couldn't help crying.

Chen Yao turned around and chuckled, "Don't cry. We've already found the people. You have to trust us. We will definitely be able to rescue them."

Chen Yao's words undoubtedly gave everyone a reassurance.

After Shen Qingshan and Tanaka Zheng brought back the chopped wooden boards, Chen Yao carefully stuffed the boards into the cave entrance while asking about the situation inside.

By the time the two wooden boards were inserted diagonally into the hole, Maizi was already suffocating from the pressure, but he still pushed the unconscious Yang Jizong towards the hole entrance so that his arms could stretch out.

"Sister Ayao!" At the entrance of the cave, even though no one could see, everyone could imagine that the little kid's face must be covered with tears and dust.

"Close your eyes, I'll let you open them again and again. Trust us and don't be afraid." Chen Yao retreated with Yang Wenying.

Boss Luo and the strong young men in the village had already grabbed the wooden board and felt the other end of the board against the stone wall.

Boss Zhang and the others stared intently at the stone they were going to move and rehearsed it in their minds several times.

The women stared at the two hands, one big and one small, at the entrance of the cave.

Everyone held their breath and waited as Chen Yao shouted loudly one after another.

"Move, disperse."

"Hold on, hold on hard!"

"Hurry up, aunties, hurry up!"

Everyone divided the work in an orderly manner. As soon as the stone at the entrance of the cave was moved away, the fallen rocks above quickly pressed down. Boss Luo and others could feel the wooden boards in their hands breaking quickly. They were so scared that they followed Chen Yao and shouted at the women.

The women lived up to expectations. As soon as the stone at the entrance of the cave was moved away, they quickly stepped forward and dragged the man out.

Maizi's back was scratched by the stone under him. He cried loudly in pain, but he didn't dare to struggle. Soon he fell into a warm embrace.

Yang Jizong, who was in a coma, couldn't help but frown because of the pain.

There was a loud bang.

The rocks fell again, and scattered with the sound of Chen Yao.

Everyone picked up the things on the ground and ran towards the earthen house.

Zhou Dashun gritted his teeth and carried Yang Jizong back to the house in one breath, put him on the bed, and sat on the ground, gasping for breath.

Oh my god, it was really scary.

He was almost buried. Next time, even if something big happens to the Shen family, he won't come to help.

"Uncle Zhou, thank you, thank you for saving my brother." Yang Wenying ran back to the house and bowed deeply to Zhou Dashun.

Zhou Dashun stood up on the wooden bed and waved his hands: "Why thank me? It's my duty. Everyone has a share."

Everyone in the room looked at each other as if they had escaped death, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Huang Mei carried the wheat into the house and thanked everyone deeply.

Everyone waved their hands to indicate that it was not necessary, carried their hoes, hummed a tuneless tune, and left the quarry to go home.

When Chen Yao led the doctor into the house, she saw that the group of people in the village who had come to help had disappeared in the white snow, talking and laughing.