Village chief Xu Anbang led a group of villagers out to rescue people, while Chen Yu and the remaining villagers waited anxiously below.
"Uncle Zhao, I'm going inside to hide. I left in a hurry and didn't wear enough clothes. It's so cold," a young man said to Zhao Zhang, his teeth chattering from the cold.
Zhao Zhang nodded, signaling him to hurry up and not catch a cold, and to call him again if he needed help later.
The young man felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately turned and ran toward a small stone house not far away, as if he did not want to stay in the biting cold wind for even a moment longer.
This stone house is somewhat different from the villagers' houses. It is not completely embedded in the snow wall. A large part of it is exposed in the passageway, taking up most of the already small passageway. The remaining part of the passageway has a small iron gate.
Judging from the material of the stone house and its special location, this small house was obviously newly built and was specifically constructed for the villagers guarding the entrance and exit of the village.
Chen Yu withdrew his gaze and refocused his attention on the slope above.
About five minutes later, a flurry of footsteps came from the sloping passage, mixed with the voices of villagers above.
"Slow down, watch out for the steps!"
"Watch out, stay calm!"
…………
Before long, several villagers carried the stretcher down the steps. Their faces were covered in sweat, and they were breathing heavily, clearly having gone through considerable hardship.
Village chief Xu Anbang walked at the front, his hands gripping the corner of the stretcher tightly. On the wooden board lay a pale-faced, unconscious man, who was secured with ropes to prevent him from slipping while going down the stairs.
"Quick! Carry him back to the village!" Xu Anbang shouted as he handed the stretcher to Chen Yu and the others.
Chen Yu and the others carefully took the stretcher and then hurried along the path towards the village.
On the way, Chen Yu glanced at the person on the stretcher, hoping to see a familiar face. Unfortunately, most of the person's face was covered by a tattered cloth, and the rest was covered by ice and snow, making it impossible to identify the person.
A sense of foreboding rose in Chen Yu's heart, but he hoped it was just his overthinking.
The group carried the stretcher for several hundred meters before finally stopping in front of a somewhat dilapidated house.
“Old Zhang passed away half a year ago, and there’s no one left in his family. Let’s settle him here for now.” Zhao Zhang said, pushing open the creaking wooden door first. A faint musty smell wafted out, indicating that no one had lived here for a long time.
But the situation was urgent, and there was no time to think about anything else. Everyone quickly got to work, carried the stretcher into the house, and carefully placed it on a dilapidated wooden bed.
Just then, several women from the village also hurriedly ran over, carrying quilts and kettles.
"Here!" Zhao Zhang called out to the women as he heard the commotion.
The women rushed over and entered the room. Upon seeing the scene inside, they immediately put down what they were doing and joined in the busy work.
They quickly spread out the blankets, and Chen Yu and the others gently moved the man on the stretcher onto the blankets to ensure that he could lie comfortably and not feel uncomfortable because of the hard wooden board.
"I'll leave this place to you. We still need to pick up the rest of the people." After saying that, Zhao Zhang, along with Chen Yu and two other young men, hurriedly set off again with the stretcher.
Halfway there, they encountered another group of villagers returning home, also carrying a stretcher with another rescued person lying on it.
The two groups met halfway down the slope and exchanged a tense yet determined look.
When Chen Yu and his group arrived at the exit, Xu Anbang and three villagers were just coming down from above with great difficulty. Their faces were full of exhaustion and tension, but their eyes shone with an indomitable light.
The two teams exchanged stretchers, quickly completed the handover, and without saying much, hurriedly embarked on their respective journeys home.
Xu Anbang led his team to climb up the snow, while Chen Yu and the others carried the newly wounded soldiers they had taken care of, rushing anxiously towards the village.
The injured person on the stretcher was breathing weakly and was still pale, as if he could lose his life at any moment.
Chen Yu and the others walked very carefully, afraid that even the slightest bump would cause greater harm to this fragile life.
In this way, after four difficult rounds of handover, the four stretcher teams safely rescued all the members of the Fire Seed Base transport team who were trapped in the blizzard and brought them back to the village under the snow.
"Uncle Wang, how is the situation?" Xu Anbang asked an old man as they returned to the house in the village where the wounded were being housed.
Uncle Wang's real name is Wang Cheng. He is the only doctor in the village and is over 60 years old. It is truly remarkable that he can come out in the cold night to provide treatment for the wounded.
He was squatting beside an oil lamp, carefully examining the wounded who had just been brought in by the dim light.
“The situation is not very optimistic.” Wang Cheng sighed, looked up at Xu Anbang, his eyes full of worry. “These children have been trapped by the blizzard for too long, their body temperature is too low, and some of them have even suffered frostbite. In addition, the bumpy journey has put a lot of strain on their bodies.”
"Sigh! At least we did our best and have a clear conscience." Xu Anbang sighed.
"Well, Xu, you've been busy all night, you should go back and rest. Leave this to me." Wang Cheng patted Xu Anbang on the shoulder to comfort him. "Let's see if they can make it through tonight. If they do, things shouldn't be too bad."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Uncle Wang." Although Xu Anbang was worried about the wounded, he knew that Wang Cheng's words made sense.
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