Chapter 74 Let's hide in higher ground
In the end, Aunt Zhao was taken away by the inspection team and would be sent to the police station at dawn.
Du Ruoxia still did not reveal her identity; she only showed the other party her military dependent identification.
Section Chief Zhao was so angry that his face turned black. Wang Hu kept protecting Du Ruoxia, so he couldn't get close to her.
"You better pray you don't fall into my hands!" Section Chief Zhao said ruthlessly.
As soon as it was light, Du Ruoxia checked out and left.
The rain subsided, and they needed to hurry to find transportation to Gaojia Village.
Unfortunately, after following Gao Songbai for an hour, Du Ruoxia had already finished digesting her breakfast but still hadn't seen the car Gao Songbai had mentioned.
"Strange, usually cars would have already gone to Gaojia Village by now." Gao Songbai said, his face full of doubt.
In fact, Du Ruoxia was also waiting here with a glimmer of hope, guessing from what she knew that there shouldn't be any cars going in that direction at this time.
"Let's see if we can find a tricycle and hire one!" Du Ruoxia finally decided.
Gao Songbai was still unwilling to give up and wanted to wait, as chartering a car was too expensive!
"If there are landslides on the road and the vehicle can't pass, it probably won't leave. Let's see how far we can go!" Du Ruoxia comforted him.
In the end, they could only find a three-wheeled vehicle used for hauling goods. The driver picked them up because he was going the same way. The front of the vehicle could block the rain, so Du Ruoxia sat in the front, while Gao Songbai and Wang Hu got soaked in the rain in the back.
The diesel engine was very loud, and Du Ruoxia tried several times to ask the uncle about the village, but he couldn't hear her. In the end, she had no choice but to give up.
Du Ruoxia couldn't help but recall her previous life, in which she grew up in an orphanage in Xilan City. She had heard the director talk about the flood in 1975, which destroyed many families. Many of the uncles and aunts in the orphanage became orphans because of this natural disaster, including the director's parents, who died in a landslide.
She didn't know if her insignificant strength could save them, but she would save as many as she could!
Because the rainy season was too long, the road was full of potholes, mud, and bumps, making Du Ruoxia extremely dizzy.
I don't know how much time passed, but the car stopped moving.
"Oh dear, there was another landslide yesterday, we can't get through here." The uncle said as he got out of the car and walked to the back.
Du Ruoxia took a deep breath and looked behind her. Gao Songbai and Wang Hu looked normal, and she couldn't help but give them a thumbs up!
The man took a shovel from under the cargo behind him and walked towards the landslide without saying a word.
Du Ruoxia couldn't help but sigh. People at this time were more self-disciplined, not needing to be assigned tasks or waiting for rescue.
"Uncle, I'll join too!" Gao Songbai spontaneously joined them.
A light drizzle was falling outside. Du Ruoxia held an umbrella and watched, but couldn't do much to help because she had limited tools.
Fortunately, the landslide wasn't too big, and the three of them finished it in no time.
The group washed off the mud in the ditch and got back into the car. The uncle spoke up, "The road ahead is difficult to travel, so you'd better hurry."
Du Ruoxia could tell that this place was not far from Gaojia Village.
"Uncle, where is the most serious problem here?" Du Ruoxia handed the uncle a local specialty she had bought on the train.
"The worst situation is in your Gaojia Village and Liu Dawu! I heard that water is starting to flood into the houses there," the uncle said, looking at Gao Songbai.
Du Ruoxia had a hunch: these two villages were probably the lowest in elevation, but the torrential rain continued to fall, affecting more than just these two villages.
The car traveled less than a kilometer further before another landslide occurred. They continued on this stop-and-go route until they had a little more distance to go before getting out of the car.
Du Ruoxia felt a chill run down her spine as she thought about the sights she had seen along the way.
There are no more rice paddies here. The rural area of Xilan City, once famous for its rice, has become a vast expanse of water, with glimpses of unharvested rice still visible.
Those that failed to yield a harvest must have been planted with slightly later seeds, because the rain prevented them from being harvested in time.
“These rice plants are probably going to sprout in the fields, alas…” Gao Songbai looked on with a pained expression.
Wang Hu's expression wasn't good either. He came from a peasant background, so he must understand Gao Songbai's feelings. Du Ruoxia couldn't find any words of comfort.
"Let's go back and check first. This rain won't stop so easily. Everyone needs to evacuate!" Du Ruoxia urged Gao Songbai to leave.
The three continued walking, and it took them half an hour to reach their destination, led by Gao Songbai.
Gao Songbai's home was across a two-meter-wide river, but the bridge has now been washed away.
"We can't cross without a bridge; Gaojia Village and Liujia Village are right on the other side!" Gao Songbai said with a look of despair.
Du Ruoxia's forehead throbbed as she looked at the river in front of her. This was the cause of the tragedy that happened back then!
"Are there any boats?" Du Ruoxia asked seriously, looking at the dark sky.
“The boat is upstream; it’s about a mile up from here,” Gao Songbai replied excitedly.
The three continued upstream.
It took them a full half hour to walk just one mile because the road had become incredibly muddy.
But looking at the boats on the other side of the river, Du Ruoxia felt a chill in her heart once again.
"The water is too strong, we can't get across!" Gao Songbai said anxiously, scratching his head.
Du Ruoxia can swim, but she can't cross such a fast-flowing river.
“I’ll handle this, you all wait here,” Wang Hu said.
"No, Brother Wang Hu, this water will wash people away!" Gao Songbai stopped him.
Du Ruoxia looked at the two-meter-wide river and pondered, thinking that Wang Hu might be able to jump across it.
"Can you help me jump over?" Du Ruoxia asked Wang Hu.
Wang Hu nodded, and then jumped over it.
When she saw him stumble when he landed, Du Ruoxia's heart jumped.
Wang Hu found a two-meter-long stick, tied the raft to the opposite side, and then pushed it into the water to move it over little by little.
The current was too strong, and the boat was being pulled along and it was difficult to move. Fortunately, the stick was long enough.
As we crossed the river, the water on the other side was already ankle-deep, and thunder began to rumble in the sky.
"Let's hurry up, it's going to rain," Du Ruoxia urged Gao Songbai to lead the way.
Their luggage was soaked through, and Du Ruoxia guessed that the situation inside the village was probably no better.
Gao Songbai led the way, while Du Ruoxia and Wang Hu followed behind, neither of them speaking.
It seems Yang Zeyan and the others haven't arrived yet. What went wrong?
"Can you contact Yang Zeyan?" Du Ruoxia asked Wang Hu.
Wang Hu pondered for a few seconds before replying, "I'll ask when I get to the village."
Du Ruoxia secretly breathed a sigh of relief; it was good that she could contact Yang Zeyan.
The situation in Gaojia Village was much more serious than Du Ruoxia had imagined, because the terrain was lower than the river, and the water was already above ankle level.
What's even more serious is that the village is mostly populated by elderly people and children, as many young people have gone out to work.
"You still have to go to work in this situation?" Du Ruoxia was shocked.
"Comrade, you don't understand. Our village floods every year. We're used to it. How can we not work?" Gao Songbai's grandfather said helplessly.
Du Ruoxia looked at Gao Songbai, and Gao Songbai nodded.
"Then why don't you go to higher ground to take shelter? It's still raining," Du Ruoxia said again.
Grandpa Gao Songbai looked at his home with a reluctant expression, and Du Ruoxia understood.
“Those livestock can be driven up the mountain and locked up first, and then brought back when the water recedes.”
“Now that Gao Songbai is back, we have someone who can do the work,” Du Ruoxia suggested.
Gao Songbai's grandfather still looked resistant, and the others in the village were the same.
Du Ruoxia couldn't help but sigh repeatedly. Without an organization's call to action, it seemed they wouldn't move.
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