Chapter 9 Seeking Help
"If rescue doesn't come, what will happen to these six or seven hundred people?"
Hu La Tang is best eaten while it's hot. Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong hadn't returned yet, so the family of four in the car didn't just sit there waiting. They left the remaining portions for two people and started eating right away.
When they finished eating, the cars that had gone out just came back.
More than a dozen people wearing raincoats and holding umbrellas got out of the car. Huang Liping saw the familiar figures and quickly opened the window and called them back.
"Dongzi, here!"
Seeing that everyone passing by was looking over here, Huang Liping said, "I've brought you two your meals. Everyone else, hurry up and go. I think there's still plenty left in the main hall. It's a good time to eat while it's hot."
Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong heard the sound, said hello to the people who went out with them, and walked towards their own bus.
The prolonged heavy rain caused water to accumulate in the square in front of the temple, even though it was located at a high altitude. Yesterday, the water barely covered the soles of my shoes, but today it was already above my ankles.
Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong stood in the boarding area, took off their raincoats, shook off the rain, and hung them on the handrail at the door before getting on the bus.
Jiang Qian had already prepared food for both of them.
"You came just in time. It's still warm. Do you want it heated up again?"
Jiang Weimin took it and shook his head, "No, heating it is too troublesome."
Although they brought their home gas tanks and stoves, they were still piled up with their luggage, and it was quite troublesome to lay them out and install them.
"What's the situation outside?"
Jiang Dong took a bite of his steamed bun. "Not too bad. Except for the dozen or so houses on the highest ground in our village, all were flooded. Except for the houses with second floors, almost all the rest of the houses were submerged in water. The bridge back to the village is gone, and the water in the creek is at least five meters higher than usual. The situation in other villages is similar to ours."
"How could this happen?" Huang Liping murmured, "When can we go home?"
"Go home?" Jiang Weimin shook his head. "Not to mention there's no way back now, even if there were a way, we'd have to wait for the water to recede. After all, our house is still submerged!"
"What about the rescue?" Ren Ru asked, holding the child. "When will the rescue come? They won't let us stay in the temple forever, will they? I heard many people say yesterday that they didn't take much with them when they evacuated. Now there's no food in the temple, and we can't go back to the village. If there's no rescue and no supplies, so many people here won't be able to hold out for much longer!"
"Who knows?" Jiang Dong gulped down his soup and sighed, "Uncle Hongbing did call the town and contact the fire department, but after hearing about our situation, they just said it's been registered and told us to wait, and they'll send someone to deliver supplies as soon as possible... I guess we'll have to wait. I heard the situation in Binhe is very serious, and even if there is a rescue force, they will definitely go there first."
Jiang Dong was talking when he suddenly remembered something. He said to Ren Ru, "When I went out today, I found that there was still a signal outside, so I called our parents. They are all doing well at my sister's house. Don't worry, take good care of yourself and Chenchen."
"real?"
Ren Ru was surprised and happy to hear the news about her parents. She regretted not getting up earlier so she could go with them. "How are they? Are they all right?"
"My mom said everything's fine. Although there's water in the neighborhood, it's not serious. Only the residents on the first floor have had water in their homes, and they've been evacuated. Everyone else is still at home. She also said it's a good thing we bought a lot of food and drinks ahead of time, so we're much better off than our neighbors who have to wade through the water to get groceries. Although the power is out, I listened to you and prepared a power bank, so we can still contact the outside world. But I can't get through to our phone, and seeing the news online is a bit worrying."
"Really?" Hearing that her family was fine, Ren Ru was so excited that she almost shed tears. "That's good, that's good. Did mom and dad say anything else?"
"I told my parents that when they asked about us, I didn't want them to worry, so I told them that we had evacuated in advance and were currently in a government resettlement site, where we were safe."
"That's fine, that's fine."
Ren Ru agreed with her husband's approach, and she didn't want to make her parents worry.
Although their current situation is not as stable as it was at the resettlement site, they have food and drink prepared in advance, so their situation is much better than that of most people, and there is no need to worry their loved ones.
Seeing the worry and loss in his wife's eyes, Jiang Dong reached out and patted her shoulder, comforting her, "Don't worry, our parents and sister are all fine. If you're worried, I'll go out with you and make a phone call so you can ask in person."
Ren Ru thought about it and shook her head. "Forget it. It's enough to know that they are all fine. Their community has lost power. With the limited battery of their phones and power banks, there's no telling how long they can last. Instead of calling me, it's better to save this opportunity for a critical moment. If something really happens, calling the local rescue number will be much more useful than calling me."
As she spoke, she looked at the rest of the family and said embarrassedly, "Speaking of this, it's all thanks to our parents and sister for reminding us. If it weren't for... my mom and them, they wouldn't be living so comfortably now."
Ren Ru thought of the complaints she had in her heart before, and felt a mixture of gratitude and apology.
"That's because you listened," Huang Liping said indifferently, "If you didn't listen, no matter how much Qianqian and I talked, it wouldn't help. I hope you don't blame us for being nosy."
"How could that be?" Ren Ru quickly shook her head. "If you hadn't prepared in advance and asked Dongzi to bring Chenchen and me back from the city, I might still be trapped in the city now."
Speaking of this, Ren Ru thought about the situation in the community again, "So how is the situation in our community? Have you contacted anyone?"
"I called the property management, but no one answered, so I checked the homeowners' group chat," Jiang Dong said, his tone growing heavy as he thought of the chaos in the community's property management group. "Many first-floor residents' homes have been flooded, and they've been forced to evacuate upstairs. We've contacted the fire department, but no one has come yet. I guess the situation in our community isn't serious, so they're focusing on other areas first."
Ren Ru nodded. Even though she was anxious, she knew that distant water could not quench immediate thirst. She could only sigh, "I hope everyone is safe!"
After Jiang Weimin and the other person had finished their meal, Huang Liping and Jiang Qian put the dishes outside and washed them with the rainwater.
After knowing the situation outside, Huang Liping also told her plans for the morning.
"Shall we cook and eat in the car?"
When Jiang Weimin heard this, his first reaction was to disagree.
There was nothing wrong with his family sharing their food, but now, knowing that the temple didn't have enough food, he was still eating separately. It was like his family was hiding the food and eating it all by themselves. After all, anyone with a discerning eye could see his family's cart and probably guess that they had enough food. If he did this, Jiang Weimin felt he would be too ashamed to face the villagers.
Huang Liping didn't get angry when she saw her husband's disapproving expression. After half of her life together, she knew her husband best. He always thought that face was more important than anything else and didn't want anyone to say anything bad about him.
"We're not the only family that cooks their own food. Jiang Sanliang's family has been eating their own food since yesterday, and so has Jiang Aiqin's family. If they can eat their own food, why can't we?"
Those are things people bring from home and it’s inconvenient to eat in a big pot with everyone! Small bread, instant noodles, six walnuts, eight-treasure porridge, pure milk, etc., are those proper meals?
Jiang Weimin was about to say this, but was interrupted before he could finish his words.
Huang Liping didn't give her husband a chance to retort, and continued, "Everyone evacuated temporarily, and they didn't bring much with them. The temple is about to collect food again, and we don't know how many people will donate this time. We brought a lot of food this time, and we can also give it out. I wasn't stingy during the two previous food collections, but can we feed six or seven hundred people with just this little food? As you said, we don't know when rescue will arrive, so I have to make plans for our family. Lao Jiang, you are the head of the family, and you don't think about yourself. Are you willing to let the children starve with you?"
Knowing that his wife's idea was reasonable and was for the good of their family, Jiang Weimin pursed his lips, and the words of rebuttal turned around in his mouth twice, but he didn't say them in the end. When he lowered his head, he happened to meet his little grandson's clear eyes. His heart softened, and the anger that had been rising up in an instant subsided. He sighed deeply.
"Then let's do as you say!" He stood up and looked at his son beside him, "Dongzi, come with me to fill the liquefied gas."
"Hey." Jiang Dong responded loudly, and when his father wasn't looking, he secretly gave his mother a thumbs up.
After the two men got off the car, the three women in the car looked at each other and saw smiles in each other's eyes.
It's rare for the head of the family to listen to other people's advice, so how can they not be happy!
While Jiang Weimin and Jiang Dong were fiddling with the liquefied gas stove, the temple master and the village chiefs of several villages also began to collect food near the main hall.
The food they had collected looked substantial, but compared to the number of people in the temple, it wasn't nearly enough. The villagers of Xiaohewa and other villages who had prepared for evacuation early were fine, having more or less prepared extra food. However, the villagers of other villages simply couldn't afford to eat so much as they fled.
Yesterday we had thought that we could go down the mountain to buy some food after the rain subsided and the water level decreased, but now the roads outside were completely blocked and the monks in the temple had no choice but to discuss with the village cadres to raise food again.
But this time, the few families who had donated generously before did not continue to donate generously. The news brought by the people who went out in the morning forced them to prepare for the worst.
It’s okay to raise food, but you also have to consider your own family.
Therefore, the total amount of food collected this time was less than a quarter of yesterday's.
Many people, after understanding the current situation, decided not to participate in the temple's communal meals. The Jiang family, who also decided to cook their own meals, mixed in without attracting anyone's attention.
The rain continued to fall, and by noon, Jiang Weimin had installed and fixed the liquefied gas stove in the bus.
Huang Liping took out seven or eight bags of frozen dumplings from the freezer, asked her son to get water from the temple, and cooked them in the car.
Outside the bus, those who had collected food all went to the rooms behind the temple. Those who did not participate, like the Jiang family, went back to their cars or took food out of their cars and ate together with the hot water boiled in the temple.
The rain didn't stop all day.
The overcast weather made the people waiting in the hall increasingly depressed. Village cadres from several villages would take turns holding umbrellas and go out every once in a while to see the situation outside, contact the outside world, and ask when rescue would arrive.
It would be fine if there was enough food to stay in the temple, but the rain came suddenly, and few families have stored food at home. The things that can be taken for temporary evacuation are also very limited. If rescue does not come, what will happen to these six or seven hundred people?
【Author’s words】
Let me tell you a joke I made recently.
A few days ago, I saw on Xiaohongshu that if you want to apply for a ranking or V, you need to check your collection in advance to avoid invalid collections affecting the ranking or V. Yesterday, I found a place and tried it, but a pop-up window popped up, saying that your collection is less than 50 and cannot be checked. Please don't tease the administrator [covering face]
I'm sorry, I'm not worthy!
Since the author is so pathetic, can you please add this to your collection if you are reading this? [Tears]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
