Amidst the ruins, village chief Zhao Xingguo was sweating profusely in anxiety.
When the earthquake just broke out, their family of seven was sitting in the yard eating. Suddenly, their big yellow dog suddenly barked non-stop, and ran out with the puppies in its nest, completely ignoring the words of other family members.
When the Sichuan earthquake happened, everyone watched the news and learned more or less about the strange phenomena that would occur when an earthquake strikes... things like fish leaping out of the water, toads coming out of their holes and running all over the streets and alleys, cats and dogs barking incessantly and running out with their babies in their mouths, rats moving their houses, and so on.
Therefore, when Zhao Xingguo's eldest son Zhao Jinsheng saw that something was wrong with his big yellow dog, he immediately reacted and shouted to his parents and wife to take their son and follow their big yellow dog out. He then followed his younger brother Zhao Yinsheng and rushed into the inner room to carry the old lady lying on the bed.
At first, Zhao Xingguo thought that his son was making a big fuss. After all, their place was not an earthquake zone. He had lived in Wanxi Village for more than 50 years and had never heard of any earthquake.
However, unexpectedly, the family of seven had just walked out of the house and came to the open space outside the house when the earthquake came!
Zhao Xingguo saw his house collapse with a loud bang!
Dust and gravel blew towards him and hit his face.
After seeing his house collapse, Zhao Xingguo's first reaction was a mixture of fear and relief. Fortunately, his son just reacted, otherwise their family of seven might not have been able to escape.
But then, a series of worries arose in Zhao Xingguo's heart.
Because he saw that in addition to the collapse of their house, most of the other houses in the village collapsed in the earthquake, but most of the remaining houses that did not collapse were still wooden houses!
These wooden houses were built by the villagers to be used as pig pens, storage rooms or firewood rooms. Only a few villagers with extremely poor family conditions would live in such wooden houses.
But today's earthquake caused so many houses in the village to collapse. Every household in the village has little money. In such cold weather, I am afraid that they will not be able to celebrate the New Year happily this year. I am afraid that many people will have to go hungry and cold.
What about those people who were buried under the rubble because they were a little slow, and those villagers who were injured and bleeding profusely? What about their medical expenses?
Zhao Xingguo was so anxious that his hair was almost turning white. He was constantly worried about the situation in the village. His wife Zhang Cuimiao suddenly cried out, her eyes red, and slapped her thigh and said, "Oh my! Such a big earthquake! What should we do with our third child?! Our third child is still in the city! Xingguo! What should we do if something happens to our third child in the city!"
Zhao Xingguo pursed his lips. He was no less worried about his child than Zhang Cuimiao.
But when he saw the devastated village and the injured villagers buried in the rubble, Zhao Xingguo was completely unable to bring himself to ask his family to go out and look for his youngest son.
Zhao Xingguo gritted his teeth at his wife's sight and called on his two sons to organize the villagers to help dig out the buried people. Meanwhile, their village secretary, Zhao Zhengde, arranged for a group of villagers to help treat the injured.
When Qin Suyun arrived, she saw Zhao Xingguo organizing the villagers to dig, and Zhao Zhengde was constantly making calls on his mobile phone while arranging other people to treat the wounded.
As Qin Suyun came all the way, Dahei and the others naturally followed behind her.
Nine big wolfhounds suddenly appeared in the village following Qin Suyun. Even though they had just experienced an earthquake, everyone couldn't help but turn their eyes to Qin Suyun.
These nine fat and strong wolfhounds were really too majestic. When they stood on their hind legs, they were taller than humans. With such big bodies and such sharp fangs, one bite from them would probably break an arm.
Ordinary people would feel a little scared when looking at such a big dog, let alone nine of them appearing at once!
Zhao Xingguo was also suddenly startled by the posture behind Qin Suyun.
Fortunately, Zhao Xingguo was a brave village chief. Moreover, he was sweating profusely because of the earthquake and had no time to focus on Dahei and the other dogs, let alone ask Qin Suyun why she had so many dogs.
Zhao Xingguo calmed himself down and asked, "Why are you here, Miss Qin? Did your house collapse in the earthquake just now? We're digging and rescuing people. There are more than a dozen villagers buried underground. If it's just financial losses, don't worry. Wait until we rescue them. Secretary Zhao has already called the higher-ups, and the rescuers should be here soon. Don't worry, Miss Qin..."
Before Qin Suyun came here, Zhao Xingguo had already comforted many villagers who came to inquire about the collapsed houses.
Although Miss Qin in front of him had only lived in their village for half a year, she was now also a villager of their Wanxi Village. Zhao Xingguo naturally had to speak out to comfort her.
Zhao Xingguo knew about Miss Qin. She was a single woman and did not live with other family members in the village.
Since the other party is now standing in front of him, it naturally cannot be the most urgent matter, such as the house collapsing and someone being buried underground.
"My house is newly built and the quality is pretty good. It hasn't collapsed... I just saw such a big thing happening in the village. Do you need my help?" Qin Suyun frowned and glanced around.
Because the roads in Wanxi Village were not easy to travel on before, most of the houses in the village were built close together. With just a quick glance, Qin Suyun had a general idea of the current situation in the village.
Wanxi Village had over a hundred households, each typically consisting of a two- or three-story self-built house and smaller structures like a pigsty, cattle shed, and utility room. Almost half of these self-built houses and utility rooms had collapsed, especially the long-dilapidated pigsty, cattle shed, and some adobe houses from the last century, all of which had collapsed completely!
Many of the remaining houses that did not collapse looked shaky and precarious.
Only those houses that were obviously built in recent years and of better quality are still standing.
Of course, what surprised Qin Suyun a little was the old blue brick and tile house in the village.
The house had clearly been built for years, with moss growing on the tiles outside, making it look old and worn. It looked even more grey and unremarkable among a group of newly built, small two-story buildings. Unexpectedly, while the other houses nearby had collapsed, this one house alone was still standing.
After taking in the general situation in the village, Qin Suyun continued to say to Zhao Xingguo, "Village Chief, although I don't have the strength to help you dig and rescue people, our dogs can help find those buried underground. They have a very keen sense of smell and they obey my instructions very well. The search and rescue will be much faster than if everyone just digs aimlessly."
As Qin Suyun spoke, she touched the head of Dahei next to her. Dahei barked twice, as if responding to what Qin Suyun said.
Zhao Xingguo looked down at the large wolfhound beside him, which had lost one eye but was still exceptionally alert and obedient. He nodded and said gratefully, "Thank you so much... We were just worried about not being able to locate it. Miss Qin, you're so kind to have your dog come out to help us get it."
There were many dogs in their village, but none of them had received any special training. Often, their actions were merely unintentional digging, and they might find a dead chicken or nothing underneath. Therefore, after digging a few times without finding anything, the villagers gave up on using the dogs for help.
Sure enough, the search and rescue dogs raised in the city are completely different from the local dogs raised in the countryside!
Miss Qin's dogs are fat and strong, and you can tell at a glance that they are good hands.
Although search and rescue dogs are difficult to train and ordinary people would never have such dogs at home, when Zhao Xingguo saw the big dogs squatting or standing beside Qin Suyun, he chose to believe what Qin Suyun said at the first moment.
Of course, it wasn't just because Dahei and the other dogs were indeed sturdy and had shiny black fur, unlike the other dogs raised by the villagers. Most importantly, Zhao Xingguo felt that Miss Qin had absolutely no reason to lie to him about such a matter involving human life.
Seeing Zhao Xingguo's agreement, Qin Suyun hurriedly called the little guys over. After patting their furry heads, Qin Suyun pointed to the ruins nearby and ordered in a deep voice, "Dahei, you guys come here... Help me find out where there are people buried in these ruins. If you find them, come and tell me! Go!"
Listening to the orders given by their master, Dahei and the others pricked up their ears, wagged their tails and barked twice to show that they understood.
Because the earthquake came suddenly, Qin Suyun did not tie leashes to Dahei and the others when she went out.
Therefore, at Qin Suyun's command, the nine wolfhounds quickly rushed into the crowd, and without waiting for everyone to exclaim, they dispersed to look for the traces of the trapped villagers.
At first, the villagers were a little afraid of the black dogs' bites, so when they saw them approaching, they quietly stood at a distance and watched. They saw these sleek big dogs darting through the collapsed ruins, their moist black noses searching the ground, trying to find the villagers trapped under the houses.
The way these people looked at these dogs was different. Their expressions, which were three parts expectation and five parts excitement, explained their mood at the moment.
Everyone looked at Dahei and the others with anticipation. Even Zhao Zhengde, who had been on the phone, put down his phone and watched what was happening here, hoping that these dogs could create a miracle for them.
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